DNA Damage News and Research

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Researchers discover potential target for cancer-fighting drugs

As tumors grow, their centers are squeezed of oxygen. And so tumors must flip specific genetic switches to survive in these hypoxic environments.

10 Jun 2013

Researchers define nine molecular hallmarks of aging, debunk myths related to antioxidants

For some species, living twice as long in good health depends on no more than a few genes. When this fact was revealed by studies on worms three decades ago, it ushered in a golden age of ageing studies that has delivered numerous results, but also sown some confusion.

7 Jun 2013

Researchers discover TRF1 gene that is important for nuclear reprogramming

Researchers are still fascinated by the idea of the possibility of reprogramming the cells of any tissue, turning them into cells with the capacity to differentiate into cells of a completely different type- pluripotent cells-and they are still striving to understand how it happens.

6 Jun 2013

Research provides insights into potential new strategies to detect, treat and prevent breast cancer

New research provides critical insights into how normal breast precursor cells may be genetically vulnerable to develop into cancer. The research is published June 4th in the inaugural issue of Stem Cell Reports, an open-access journal from the International Society of Stem Cell Research published by Cell Press.

5 Jun 2013

Study suggests possible way to halt cancer development in premalignant cells

Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors.

24 May 2013

Researchers say that receiving cancer radiation therapy late in the day may minimize hair loss

Discovering that mouse hair has a circadian clock - a 24-hour cycle of growth followed by restorative repair - researchers suspect that hair loss in humans from toxic cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy might be minimized if these treatments are given late in the day.

21 May 2013

Novel drug may increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for brain cancer

A novel drug may help increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for the most deadly form of brain cancer, report scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. In mouse models of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the new drug helped significantly extend survival when used in combination with radiation therapy.

15 May 2013

ALKBH7 protein plays key role in controlling programmed necrosis pathway

When cells suffer too much DNA damage, they are usually forced to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis. However, cancer cells often ignore these signals, flourishing even after chemotherapy drugs have ravaged their DNA.

15 May 2013

Annual Century for the Cure bike ride supports research on hematologic malignancies

The annual Century for the Cure bike ride that has raised more than $1 million since 2005 for research at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is now making it possible for new scientific exploration in the area of hematologic malignancies.

14 May 2013

Disease-in-a-dish models show promise for treating ataxia telangiectasia

Led by Dr. Peiyee Lee and Dr. Richard Gatti, researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have used induced pluripotent stem cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, ataxia telangiectasia.

13 May 2013

Inherited mutations in p53 gene put people at high risk of developing cancers

The understanding of how a powerful protein called p53 protects against cancer development has been upended by a discovery by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers. More than half of human cancers carry defects in the gene for p53, and almost all other cancers, with a normal p53 gene, carry other defects that somehow impair the function of the p53 protein. Inherited mutations in the p53 gene put people at a very high risk of developing a range of cancers.

10 May 2013

Researchers discover novel mechanism of tumor hypoxia

An article published recently in Tumor Microenvironment and Therapy - an open access journal by Versita, defines a novel mechanism of tumor hypoxia induced by the longitudinal gradient of residual oxygen along tumor vessels as they transverse the tumor.

10 May 2013

Research discovery may lead to effective new treatments for neurodegenerative disease

UCLA researchers led by Drs. Peiyee Lee and Richard Gatti at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have used induced pluripotent stem cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, Ataxia Telangiectasia.

8 May 2013

Mutations in phosphatase Wip1 could be a new target for treating cancer

Researchers have uncovered mutations in the phosphatase Wip1 that enable cancer cells to foil the tumor suppressor p53, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The results could provide a new target for the treatment of certain cancers.

6 May 2013

Expert to explain how drugs induce damage to DNA in public lecture on May 16

Anticancer drugs save lives and/or improve the quality of life for many cancer patients. Many anti-cancer drugs work by killing tumor cells after inducing damage to DNA.

4 May 2013

Researchers find deficiency in anti-tumor protein can delay DNA repair after radiation treatment

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found that a deficiency in an important anti-tumor protein, p53, can slow or delay DNA repair after radiation treatment. They suggest that this is because p53 regulates the expression of two enzymes (JMJD2b and SUV39H1) that control the folding of DNA.

23 Apr 2013

Researchers find potential new genetic chemotherapy approach for cancer treatment

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory have identified a molecule that prevents repair of some cancer cells, providing a potential new "genetic chemotherapy" approach to cancer treatment that could significantly reduce side effects and the development of treatment resistance compared with traditional chemotherapy.

18 Apr 2013

Research sheds new light on role of ATRX mutations in brain and pituitary

Research from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute sheds new light on a gene called ATRX and its function in the brain and pituitary.

9 Apr 2013

New drug combination shows anti-cancer activity in patients with solid tumors and germline mutation

A novel combination of two drugs has shown anti-cancer activity in patients who had incurable solid tumors and carried a germline mutation in their BRCA genes, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers are reporting at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Washington, April 6-10.

8 Apr 2013

Johns Hopkins scientists identify DNA-damaging substances in food

In a laboratory study pairing food chemistry and cancer biology, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center tested the potentially harmful effect of foods and flavorings on the DNA of cells.

28 Mar 2013