Cancer
Protein 'jailbreak' helps cancer cells live
March 28, 2012 9:13 am | by David Orenstein, Brown University | News | CommentsResearchers at Brown University and Hasbro Children's Hospital have traced the molecular interactions that allow the protein survivin to escape the nucleus of a breast cancer cell and prolong the cell's life. The study may help in the development of better therapies and prognostics.
IDBS delivers platform to accelerate personalized cancer care
March 28, 2012 7:58 am | News | CommentsIDBS announced that King's Health Partners has deployed the Oncology Research Information System (ORIS), a platform that consolidates translational medicine data from multiple sites into one system. ORIS will help uncover new avenues for research into cancer causes and personalized treatments to improve outcomes for patients in London and advance cancer research in the U.K.
Bacterial cell engineering can produce better, cheaper drug therapies
March 27, 2012 11:47 am | by Anne Ju, Cornell University | News | CommentsTherapeutic proteins, which provide cutting-edge treatments of cancer, diabetes, and countless other diseases, are among today's most widely consumed biopharmaceuticals. By introducing bottom-up carbohydrate engineering into common bacterial cells, Cornell University researchers have discovered a way to make these drugs cheaper and safer.
Scientists unlock key to cancer cell death mystery
March 26, 2012 7:07 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists has announced a new advance in the ability to target and destroy certain cancer cells. A group led by the University of Leicester has shown that particular cancer cells are especially sensitive to a protein called p21, which usually forces normal and cancer cells to stop dividing, but was recently shown in some cases to kill cancer cells.
'Bed-of-nails' breast implant deters cancer cells
March 23, 2012 8:49 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Brown University have created an implant that appears to deter breast cancer cell regrowth. Made from a common federally approved polymer, the implant is the first to be modified at the nanoscale in a way that causes a reduction in the blood-vessel architecture that breast cancer tumors depend upon, while also attracting healthy breast cells.
Breakthrough promises to speed research in cancer epigenetics
March 14, 2012 4:50 am | News | CommentsCancer is usually attributed to faulty genes, but growing evidence from the field of cancer epigenetics indicates a key role for the gene "silencing" proteins that stably turn genes off inside the cell nucleus. A new study from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine promises to speed research in the field by rapidly identifying the genes that epigenetic proteins can target for silencing.
Discovery could reduce chemo's side effects
March 12, 2012 3:17 am | News | CommentsIn a prize-winning finding, a team of researchers at Duke University has determined the structure of a key molecule that can carry chemotherapy and anti-viral drugs into cells, which could help to create more effective drugs with fewer effects to healthy tissue.
Could a NOSH-aspirin-a-day keep cancer away?
March 8, 2012 8:46 am | News | CommentsThe humble aspirin may soon have a new role. Scientists from The City College of New York have developed a new aspirin compound that has great promise to be not only an extremely potent cancer fighter, but even safer than the classic medicine cabinet staple.
Spectroscopic imaging reveals early changes leading to breast tumors
March 7, 2012 4:15 am | News | CommentsPurdue University researchers have created a new imaging technology that reveals subtle changes in breast tissue, representing a potential tool to determine a woman's risk of developing breast cancer and to study ways of preventing the disease. The researchers, using a 3D culture that mimics living mammary glad tissue, also showed that a fatty acid found in some food influences this early precancerous stage.
Sponge-like spheres give RNA the armor it needs
February 27, 2012 5:48 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsFor the past decade, scientists have been developing cancer treatments based on RNA interference, which shuts off malfunctioning genes with short snippets of DNA. Delivering the RNA, however, has been a problem. The solution at Paula Hammond’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology laboratory is to pack the RNA into microspheres so dense they reach their destination intact.
Brookhaven Lab, BMI collaborate to build advanced cancer therapy accelerator
February 27, 2012 5:47 am | by Justin Eure, Brookhaven National Laboratory | News | CommentsA new collaboration between Brookhaven National Laboratory and Best Medical International (BMI) aims to design one of the most dynamic and effective cancer therapy devices in the world. The ion Rapidly Cycling Medical Synchrotron (iRCMS) draws on the particle acceleration expertise of Brookhaven Laboratory physicists and the medical experience of BMI to advance cancer therapy, particularly the evolving use of carbon and other light ions.
A miniature device with a big impact
February 27, 2012 4:22 am | News | CommentsTen milliliters of blood may not seem like a lot, and coming from healthy individuals it isn't. But for critically ill patients with diminished resources, 10 mL could be crucial. Nonetheless, that's what's currently required to test for circulating tumor cells in late-stage cancer. However, a Northeastern team of engineers has developed an alternative testing method.
Team magnetizes carbon nanoparticles for cancer therapy
February 24, 2012 7:25 am | News | CommentsCarbon nanoparticles can be coated to make them attach to cancer cells, but getting them in the correct position can be difficult. A research team in Texas has magnetized nanoparticles so that they can be moved with a magnetic field. Administered using fiber optics, the method is non-destructive to healthy cells and carbon nanoparticles also fluoresce.
Study questions proton therapy for prostate cancer
February 1, 2012 6:24 am | by Marilynn Marchione, AP Chief Medical Writer | News | CommentsResearch suggests a pricey new treatment for prostate cancer called proton therapy might have more side effects than traditional radiation does. Hospitals are rushing to build proton centers, and nine are operating now. But a study of Medicare records revealed potential problems and no rigorous studies have been done to prove it is as safe as therapies.
Liquid lasers help detect genes linked to cancer
January 31, 2012 8:54 am | News | CommentsUsing a liquid laser, University of Michigan researchers have developed a better way to detect the slight genetic mutations that might predispose a person to a particular type of cancer or other diseases. The work could advance understanding of the genetic basis of diseases.
Metabolic errors can spell doom for DNA
January 31, 2012 2:54 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsIn a new study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology biological engineers have precisely measured the effects of errors in systems for purine production and breakdown. They found that defects in enzymes that control these processes can severely alter a cell’s DNA sequences, which may explain why people who carry certain genetic variants of purine metabolic enzymes have a higher risk for some types of cancer.
Gold-filled silicon wafer helps target, burn breast cancer cells
January 18, 2012 5:26 am | News | CommentsHollow gold nanoparticles generate heat when hit with near-infrared laser light, and researchers have been trying to use this phenomenon to burn cancerous tumors. But the efficiency of this method has been poor, leading researchers at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute to create a much more effective solution.
Lab-made tissue picks up the slack of Petri dishes
January 12, 2012 5:56 am | News | CommentsNew research demonstrates that previous models used to examine cancer may not be complex enough to accurately mimic the true cancer environment. Using oral cancer cells in a 3D model of lab-made tissue that mimics the lining of the oral cavity, the researchers found that the tissue surrounding cancer cells can epigenetically mediate, or temporarily trigger, the expression or suppression of a cell adhesion protein associated with the progression of cancer.
A new dimension in breast cancer research
January 6, 2012 11:43 am | News | CommentsDespite advances in both the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, the disease remains a leading worldwide health concern. Now, a new imaging technology under investigation at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University may help researchers pinpoint subtle aberrations in cell nuclear structure, the molecular biosignature of cancer, improving diagnostic accuracy and prognosis by providing early detection of the disease.
Device finds cancer cells before they become tumors
January 5, 2012 11:53 am | News | CommentsCurrently, physicians use computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans for melanoma cancer detection. Soon, however, commercial production of a device invented by University of Missouri researchers that measures melanoma using photoacoustics, or laser-induced ultrasound, will begin. The device will be available to scientists for cancer studies.
Single-cell monitoring technique tracks cancer growth
December 15, 2011 9:03 am | by Nicole Casal Moore | News | CommentsA technique that lets researchers monitor single cancer cells in real time as they float in liquid could help doctors study the breakaway tumor cells that cause cancer growth, or metastasis. The approach uses magnets to rotate cancer cells in a way that lets their spinning speed reveal their shape and status.
Danish mushroom could be cancer fighter
December 8, 2011 6:22 pm | News | CommentsIn Denmark, mushrooms have primarily been used in food preparation or as intoxicants. But until. Dr. Ming Chen, an expert in traditional Chinese medicine, came along, nobody had discovered than a certain type of toxic mushroom was actually effective and selective against cancer cells.
Whole-genome sequencing may help fight triple-negative cancer
December 8, 2011 2:32 pm | News | CommentsInitial results from an ongoing clinical trial, the first designed to examine the utility of whole-genome sequencing for breast cancer, indicate activation of targets not previously associated with so-called triple negative disease, which represent about 20% of breast cancers that do not respond to traditional therapies.
Scientists engineer blood stem cells to fight melanoma
November 29, 2011 9:59 am | News | CommentsResearchers from University of California, Los Angeles' cancer and stem cell centers have demonstrated for the first time that blood stem cells can be engineered to create cancer-killing T-cells that seek out and attack a human melanoma. The researchers believe the approach could be useful in about 40% of Caucasians with this malignancy.
Cancer in three dimensions
November 21, 2011 2:45 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsA team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University researchers has found that the 3D structure of a cell's genetic material, or genome, plays a large role in determining which sections of DNA are most likely to be altered in cancerous cells.
