Neuroblastoma News and Research

Latest Neuroblastoma News and Research

New applications for proton pump inhibitors

In a new study, published in the May issue of Elsevier's Experimental Neurology (www.elsevier.com/locate/yexnr), scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat ulcers have significant neuroprotective properties, which appear to be enhanced when used in combination with ibuprofen, a widely used anti-inflammatory drug.

22 Apr 2009

Biomarker associated with poor outcome in aggressive childhood cancer

Results from a new study identify a biomarker that may be useful for predicting the outcome of treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children.

6 Apr 2009

Monoclonal antibody cancer therapy

The strategy of using monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment was first described in the late 1970s with the promise that they could be developed into therapies that were highly specific to cancer cells, killing them with few or no side effects.

6 Apr 2009

Few physicians support private banking of umbilical cord blood

A survey of physicians has found broad support for the position that parents should not bank their newborns' umbilical cord blood in a private blood bank unless another member of the family is at risk for a blood disease that will require a stem cell transplant.

8 Mar 2009

Detailed diagnosis boosts child cancer survival

More accurate disease classification now means some young children with neuroblastoma will have less intensive treatment with better survival, according to research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

5 Mar 2009

Engineered virus targets and kills apparent cancer stem cells in neuroblastoma

After identifying an apparent population of cancer stem cells for neuroblastoma, researchers successfully used a reprogrammed herpes virus to block tumor formation in mice by targeting and killing the cells.

21 Jan 2009

Researchers find novel use for old compound in cancer treatment

The compound, alpha-difluoromethylornithine or DFMO, targets the activity of a specific enzyme and, even in very limited doses, is effective in protecting against the malignancy in animal models.

19 Jan 2009

Gene abnormality found to predict childhood leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

8 Jan 2009

Gene mutations found to predict acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

7 Jan 2009

New insight into critical molecular mechanisms involved in aggressive childhood cancer

A new study reveals critical molecular mechanisms associated with the development and progression of human neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children.

5 Jan 2009

New systems to standardize studies of neuroblastomas

An international coalition of pediatric cancer physicians and researchers has developed new systems to standardize studies of neuroblastomas across the world.

10 Dec 2008

Alteration of a gene causes neuroblastoma

Olivier Delattre's team (Inserm Unit 830 "Genetics and Biology of Cancer") of the Institut Curie reveal in an article in the 16 October issue of Nature that alteration of the ALK gene is closely associated with the most frequent solid extracerebral tumor in children-neuroblastoma. By studying the familial forms of this tumor, the researchers also conclude that ALK is a gene that predisposes to neuroblastoma.

7 Nov 2008

Double-barreled immune cell approach for neuroblastoma

Adding an artificial tumor-specific receptor to immune system cells called T-lymphocytes that target a particular virus extended and improved the cells' ability to fight a form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, said researchers form Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Medicine.

2 Nov 2008

Gene responsible for rare and inherited, deadly childhood cancer discovered

The discovery of a gene which causes a rare, inherited and deadly form of childhood cancer, could lead to new treatments for the disease.

25 Aug 2008

Quick formula could forecast which cancers chemo could kill

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have coined a simple formula that predicts how well a certain chemotherapy will work for targeting brain and other nervous system cancers. The formula, which publishes mid-July in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, is pegged to two important proteins that compose such hard-to-kill tumors - one of which, ironically, makes them so drug-resistant in the first place.

15 Jul 2008