Cancer blog

April 27, 2009, 5:18 AM CT

Robotic surgery for kidney cancer

Robotic trained surgeons at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia presented a new and novel approach to surgically treat urothelial cancer (in the lining of the bladder or kidney) today at the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting. Using da Vinci robot-assisted technology, urologic cancer surgeons perform complicated urologic cases using minimally invasive surgery.

Standard therapy for ureteral cancer is surgical resection of the tumor, called a distal ureterectomy, or removal of the entire kidney, called a nephro-ureterectomy. Depending on the experience of the surgeon, this procedure can be performed using open surgery, while others may elect a laparoscopic approach. In either instance, the surgeon's experience is vital for preserving function of the kidney.

"A minimally invasive approach to this procedure is challenging for even the most experienced laparoscopist. This is due to the technical challenge of re-implanting the ureter into the bladder," says Rosalia Viterbo, MD, robotic surgeon at Fox Chase and co-author on the study. "Robotic assistance can make a minimally invasive approach more technically feasible."

In this video abstract, Fox Chase urologic cancer surgeons, Viterbo and her colleague David Y.T. Chen, MD, demonstrate the four-arm technique for robot assisted distal ureterectomy......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

April 27, 2009, 5:04 AM CT

Risks associated with prostate cancer therapy

Patients with prostate cancer who undergo treatment to decrease testosterone levels increase their risk of developing bone- and heart-related side effects in comparison to patients who do not take these medications, as per a new analysis. Reported in the June 1, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that preventive measures and careful scrutiny of patients' health can keep men from experiencing these potentially serious consequences.

While medical therapys that decrease testosterone levelscalled androgen deprivation treatment (ADT)are important and effective therapies for men with prostate cancer, they can cause a variety of side effects including skeletal and cardiovascular complications, sexual dysfunction, periodontal disease, and mood disorders.

Bone and heart complications are among the most serious side effects linked to ADT, but the actual risk patients have of developing these effects is unknown. Lockwood Taylor, MPH, of the University of Texas Health Science Center and his colleagues conducted a study to assess this risk by analyzing all of the literature correlation to side effects from ADT published between 1996 and mid-2008. They found 14 studies (8 bone-related, 6 heart-related) that were suitable for analysis......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

April 24, 2009, 4:59 AM CT

New mediator of smoking recruits

Freiburg, Gera number of Current research suggests that smoking increases the production of osteopontin in the lungs, which contributes to the development of smoking-related lung disease. The related report by Prasse et al, "Essential role of osteopontin in smoking-related interstitial lung diseases," appears in the May 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology

Nearly one billion people worldwide smoke tobacco products. Long-term exposure to compounds found in smoke can lead to both cardiovascular and lung disease. Eventhough lung exposure to cigarette smoke leads to immune cell recruitment and tissue fibrosis, how cigarette smoke causes these changes is largely unknown.

To determine if osteopontin, a molecule that attracts immune cells, mediates cell recruitment in smokers, Prasse et al compared osteopontin levels from smokers with different types of lung diseases, healthy smokers, and healthy non-smokers. They found high levels of osteopontin expression in patients with interstitial lung disease, whereas healthy smokers had lower levels, and healthy non-smokers produced no osteopontin. Osteopontin expression could be stimulated directly by nicotine therapy. In addition, expressing osteopontin in rat lung resulted in recruitment of immune cells, resulting in symptoms similar to smoking-related interstitial lung diseases. These results indicate that osteopontin appears to be pathogenic in smoking-initiated lung disease......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:54:18 GMT

Low-Sugar Vegetable Juice For Diabetics

© avlxyz
A low-calorie, low-sugar vegetable juice for diabetics have been developed by Chinese scientists. The said vegetable juice uses lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) - a known probiotics - to remove carbohydrates while retaining the juice's good taste, vitamins and other nutrients.

"The process significantly removes sugar but retains the nutritional content of the juice's raw materials," Xiuqi Liu, of Jilin University in Changchun, said in an American Chemical Society news release.

Liu and colleague Heqin Xing found that LAB-induced fermentation reduced sugar content in the vegetable juice by changing carbohydrates into lactic acid. The increased acidity of the juice inhibits the growth of other bacteria, which extends the shelf life of the juice.

The product will be in the market within a year. I'm sure more people, especially diabetics, are looking forward to it. I can't wait myself. Posted by: Gloria Gamat      Read more     Source

February 12, 2009, 6:04 AM CT

Metabolite culprit for aggressive prostate cancer?

Scientists from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a panel of small molecules, or metabolites, that appear to indicate aggressive prostate cancer.

The finding could lead to a simple test that would help doctors determine which prostate cancers are slow-growing and which require immediate, aggressive therapy.

Results of the study appear in the Feb. 12 issue of Nature

"One of the biggest challenges we face in prostate cancer is determining if the cancer is aggressive. We end up overtreating our patients because physicians don't know which tumors will be slow-growing. With this research, we have identified a potential marker for the aggressive tumors," says senior study author Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology and S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology at the U-M Medical School.

The scientists looked at 1,126 metabolites across 262 samples of tissue, blood or urine linked to non-malignant prostate tissue, early stage prostate cancer and advanced, or metastatic, prostate cancer. They mapped the alterations in metabolites and identified about 10 that were present more often in prostate cancer than in the non-malignant cells and were present most often in the advanced cancer samples......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

February 4, 2009, 6:15 AM CT

Those women who need radiation

One-fifth of women who should receive radiation after a mastectomy are not getting this potentially lifesaving therapy, as per a newly released study from scientists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study looked at 396 women who were treated with a mastectomy for breast cancer. The scientists observed that 19 percent of women who fell clearly within guidelines recommending radiation therapy after the mastectomy did not receive that therapy.

Results of the study appear online in the journal Cancer and would be reported in the March 15 issue.

Post-mastectomy radiation is known to decrease the risk of cancer returning in the chest wall and has been shown to reduce mortality in high-risk patients, but there's been some debate within the cancer community about who is likely to benefit most. Current guidelines recommend radiation after mastectomy for women who had especially large tumors or cancer in four or more of their nearby lymph nodes. Even women with fewer positive lymph nodes should strongly consider radiation therapy.

"There's an identifiable high-risk group for whom there's absolutely no debate -- they need radiation after their mastectomy. Even in this group for whom it's crystal clear, we observed that only four-fifths were treated. That's not good enough. This is a potentially lifesaving therapy," says lead study author Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., assistant professor of radiation oncology at the U-M Medical School......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:16:44 GMT

An introduction to genomics: New TED Talk

Barry Schuler talks about genomics in a new TED talk.

What is genomics? How will it affect our lives? In this intriguing primer on the genomics revolution, entrepreneur Barry Schuler says we can at least expect healthier, tastier food. He suggests we start with the pinot noir grape, to build better wines.

Posted by: Bertalan      Read more     Source

January 15, 2009, 7:41 PM CT

Patterns may predict risk of pancreatic cancer

Genetic variations in DNA repair patterns may increase risk of pancreas cancer by as much as threefold or decrease it by as much as 77 percent, depending on the genes involved, as per a report reported in the January 15, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Pancreas cancer is often identified in late stages, and thus is resistant to most available therapies. Researchers like Donghui Li, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, are working to determine genetic profiles that can be used in identifying high-risk individuals for the purpose of prevention and early detection of this disease.

"Our study provides some preliminary data on one pattern of genetic variations that appears to be useful in determining risk," said Li, who is the main author on the Clinical Cancer Research paper. "However, we still need to be cautious. As with any science, the key is replication, and the results of this study need to be confirmed by others".

Li and his colleagues analyzed nine single nucleotide polymorphisms of seven DNA repair genes among 734 patients with pancreas cancer and 780 people without cancer. DNA repair is the guardian of the genome. When DNA repair failed to fix the DNA damages caused by exogenous agents such as tobacco carcinogens or endogenous agents such as reactive oxygen species, there is an increased chance of getting cancer......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

December 24, 2008, 5:07 AM CT

Finding new targets for gastric cancer

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) that both initiate and modulate the immune response. DCs are cells in the pathway of antigen capture and presentation to T cells, with the unique ability to directly prime nave CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers. Eventhough gastric cancer treatment has made great progress, it is still difficult to treat advanced gastric cancer, as it has spread to the lymph glands and metastasized. Currently, tumor immunotherapy for gastric cancer has potential. DCs are thought to beessential for stimulating tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and inducing the protective and therapeutic anti-tumor immunity.

A research team led by Dr. Liang Wang from China investigated whether bone marrow-derived DCs (BM-DCs) pulsed with tumor lysates induce immunity against gastric cancer. Their results will be published on December 14, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology

In this study, c-kit+ hematopoietic progenitor cells were magnetically isolated with a MiniMACS separator from BALB/c mice bone marrow cells. These cells were cultured with cytokines GM-CSF, IL-4, and TNF-alpha to induce their maturation. They were analysed by morphological observation, phenotype analysis, and mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). BM-DCs were pulsed with tumor cell lysate obtained by rapid freezing and thawing at a 1:3 DC:tumor cell ratio. Finally, CTL activity and interferon-gamma secretion was reviewed ex vivo......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

November 18, 2008, 5:24 AM CT

Esophageal, stomach cancer subtypes linked to smoking

Scientists who have been following the health of more than 120,000 residents of the Netherlands for more than two decades have observed that smoking is linked to two forms of esophageal cancer as well as a form of stomach cancer, and that drinking alcohol is strongly associated with one form of esophageal cancer.

Scientists say that while their findings, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, confirm risk factors previously linked to these cancers, they don't explain the rising occurence rate of these tumors, particularly esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA), a cancer of the upper stomach area, where it joins the esophagus.

"The results of this study again confirm recommendations for a healthy lifestyle, namely not to smoke and to drink alcohol in moderation," said study author, Jessie Steevens, M.Sc., of the Department of Epidemiology at Maastricht University, in Maastricht.

"But it also suggests that there must be other risk factors for EAC and GCA," she said. "Smoking is a risk factor for both cancers, but since a decreasing part of the population smokes, this cannot explain why the incidence is rising so rapidly for both cancers in Western countries in recent decades......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

November 18, 2008, 5:22 AM CT

Exercise and rest reduce cancer risk

Exercise is good for more than just your waistline. A recent study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that regular physical activity can lower a woman's overall risk of cancer but only if she gets a good night's sleep. Otherwise, lack of sleep can undermine exercise's cancer prevention benefits.

"Greater participation in physical activity has consistently been linked to reduced risk of cancer incidence at several sites, including breast and colon cancers," said James McClain, Ph.D., cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute and lead author of the study. "Short duration sleep appears to have opposing effects of physical activity on several key hormonal and metabolic parameters, which is why we looked at how it affected the exercise/cancer risk relationship".

Even though the exact mechanism of how exercise reduces cancer risk isn't known, scientists think that physical activity's effects on factors including hormone levels, immune function, and body weight may play an important role. The study examined the link between exercise and cancer risk, paying special attention to whether or not getting adequate sleep further affected a women's cancer risk......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

November 9, 2008, 10:01 PM CT

Cancer drugs my build and not tear down blood vessels

Researchers have thought that one way to foil a tumor from generating blood vessels to feed its growth a process called angiogenesis was by creating drugs aimed at stopping a key vessel growth-promoting protein. But now the opposite seems to be true.

Scientists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla have found evidence that blocking that protein target, called VEGF, or vascular endothelial growth factor, doesn't really halt the process at all. Instead, cutting levels of VEGF in a tumor actually props up existing blood vessels, making them stronger and more normal, and in some cases the tumors larger. But as a result, the tumor is more vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy drugs.

In a paper appearing online November 9, 2008 in the journal Nature, David Cheresh, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of pathology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and his co-workers mimicked the action of anti-angiogenesis drugs by genetically reducing VEGF levels in mouse tumors and inflammatory cells in various cancers, including pancreas cancer. They also used drugs to inhibit VEGF receptor activity. In every case, blood vessels were made normal again.

The scientists say the findings provide an explanation for recent evidence showing that anti-angiogenesis drugs such as Avastin can be much more effective when combined with chemotherapy. The results may lead to better therapy strategies for a variety of cancers......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

November 4, 2008, 9:58 PM CT

How Body Determines Optimal Amount of Germ-Fighting B Cells

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine can now explain how the body determines whether there are enough mature B-cells in the blood stream at any one time. These are the cells that produce antibodies against germs to fight infections.

"There is a steady state number of B cells that is considered normal for humans," says senior author Michael P. Cancro, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. "We observed that molecular crosstalk between two receptors on the surface of B cells balances the need to have enough B cells to make good immune responses, while at the same time guarding against autoimmunity".

The B-cell crosstalk paper appeared online this week in Nature Immunology. This and other work from the Cancro lab has important implications for transplantation science and battling autoimmune diseases.

Cancro, first author Jason E. Stadanlick, a PhD student in the Cancro lab, and others observed that when more of a protein called BLyS, which binds to a receptor on B-cell surfaces is circulating, more mature B cells can be kept alive. By adding more BLyS to the system, the "brakes" governing how a number of immature B cells are allowed to become mature B cells are relaxed. Conversely, the body guards against autoimmune diseases such as lupus by preventing the survival of B cells via the other receptor in this equation......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

October 29, 2008, 10:09 PM CT

Candidate markers for gastric cancer

The sequencing of the human genome has opened the door for proteomics by providing a sequence-based framework for mining proteomes. As a result, there is intense interest in applying proteomics to foster a better understanding of cancer processes, develop new biomarkers for diagnosis and early detection of cancer. Gastric carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and is the most common cause of cancer-related death in China. The main barrier for improving survival rate is short of useful marker for early diagnosis.

A research article would be published on October 7, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Professor Liu from Ruijin Hospital of China isolated and identified differentially expressed proteins between cancer and normal tissues of gastric cancer by 2-DE and MALDI-TOF-MS.

Total proteins were isolated from tumor and normal tissues and then separated by 2-DE. Differentially expressed proteins were isolated and identified by MALDI-TOF or MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS. Twenty three differentially expressed proteins were found between tumor and normal tissues of gastric cancer, among these fifteen proteins were identified. These differential proteins will be candidate markers for gastric cancer. It may be useful for diagnosis, therapy target and prognosis......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

September 24, 2008, 6:19 PM CT

A diagnosis marker for digestive system cancer

Growing evidence suggests that accumulation of multiple alterations such as activation of proto-oncogenes and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes is responsible for the development and progression of digestive system cancer. Genetic instability of oncogenes such as microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) is probably linked to mutations in genes responsible for tumor-genesis, and they play important roles in tumor clinical pathology. The studies of MSI and LOH of digestive system cancer have been focused on genetic instability of P53, P16 and FHIT, but few studies were seen in gene nm23H1.

A research article would be published on September 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Prof. Li from Institute of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University used polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) to analyze MSI and LOH of nm23H1 gene, and immunohistochemistry was employed to check the expression of nm23H1 protein. As various researches regarded nm23H1 as metastasis-associated genes in various tumors, the article further investigated the relationship of nm23H1 genetic instability and its clinical pathological behaviors in Chinese with digestive system cancer......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

September 22, 2008, 10:37 PM CT

Cancer patients experience increased risk of learning and memory problems

Boston Cancer patients with tumors that have spread to the brain (brain metastases) who undergo stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and whole brain radiation have more than double the risk of developing learning and memory problems, in comparison to those who only have stereotactic radiosurgery, as per a randomized study presented September 22, 2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting in Boston.

"Results of this study show that initial stereotactic radiosurgery alone, coupled with close observation, could become the standard of care for patients newly diagnosed with brain metastases to best preserve their neurocognitive function," Eric L. Chang, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said. "Results of this study could change the practice of how brain metastases are managed in the United States".

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a specialized type of external beam radiation treatment that pinpoints high doses of radiation directly on the cancer in a shorter amount of time than traditional therapys (one day, instead of several weeks). Whole brain radiation treatment treats the visible lumps of the cancer and the invisible tumor deposits that are so small they may not be seen on even a sensitive imaging test. Therefore, the entire brain is treated to try to stop the spread of the tumors......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

September 18, 2008, 10:46 PM CT

How to treat gastroesophageal adenocarcinom patients?

Gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas have a poor prognosis. However, numerous randomized clinical trials (RCT) have reviewed, and continue to evaluate, the survival benefit of various therapy regimens. Surgery remains standard care for early stage esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. However, RCTs have also shown a survival benefit linked to chemotherapy and chemoradiation. Few studies have examined community-based patterns of care for these cancers. A study of esophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma patients diagnosed between 1996 and 1999 observed that chemoradiation without surgery was most frequent treatment, eventhough patients given chemoradiation followed by surgery had better survival in comparison to chemoradiation alone. Research suggests community-based use of therapy and the observed survival of patients in the community can vary depending on clinical and non-clinical factors.

A research study would be published on 28 May 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology investigates therapys received and factors that influence the receipt of therapy in gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

The study findings indicate the relatively low use of RCT-approved therapys in US community-based practice despite their demonstrated survival benefits. Investigators report lower mortality among patients with esophageal and stomach adenocarcinoma who received chemotherapy and significant disparities in terms of age in therapy receipt. The findings indicate that US community physicians take an individualized approach in treating adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastric cardia, and stomach; differentiating gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma as two distinct entities (i.e., esophageal and stomach) and use different therapy strategies and chemotherapeutic agents for each, while patients with gastric cardia adenocarcinoma are treated with a mixture of agents employed for the other two anatomic sites. The study concludes that improvements in community-based therapy of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma will require better differentiation of therapys by anatomic sites and more extensive incorporation of those therapys proven effective in clinical trials......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source