Latest tumor Stories

Scientists have devised a method for delivering tumor cell-killing enzymes in a way that protects the enzyme until it can do its work inside the cell. In their study in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers assembled microscopic protein packages that can deliver an enzyme called PEIII to the insides of cells. By attaching a protein called ubiquitin to the enzyme, they were able to protect it from degradation by the cell, allowing the...

Injection of human stem cells into mice with tumors slowed down tumor growth, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), isolated from bone marrow, caused changes in blood vessels supplying the tumor, and it is this modification of blood supply which seems to impact tumor growth. The use of stem cells in treating cancer has been controversial, with some studies finding that stem cells force tumors...

New research reveals how the tumor suppressor p53 is shut down in metastatic melanoma -- and how it can be revived Cancer cells are a problem for the body because they multiply recklessly, refuse to die and blithely metastasize to set up shop in places where they don't belong. One protein that keeps healthy cells from behaving this way is a tumor suppressor named p53. This protein stops potentially precancerous cells from dividing and induces suicide in those that are damaged beyond...

Sequencing of 57 prostate cancer genomes shows cancer gains powerful advantage with abrupt intervals of complex, large scale DNA reshuffling Cancer is typically thought to develop after genes gradually mutate over time, finally overwhelming the ability of a cell to control growth. But a new closer look at genomes in prostate cancer by an international team of researchers reveals that, in fact, genetic mutations occur in abrupt, periodic bursts, causing complex, large scale reshuffling of...

Sweeping study of cancer metabolism identifies hundreds of alterations and potential drug targets to starve tumors A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer. The analysis, conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor's fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building...

Two large, landmark radiotherapy studies have shown that it is possible to treat cervical cancer effectively with high doses specifically adapted to each tumor, and with fewer serious side-effects to the surrounding normal organs. In two presentations today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday) researchers will tell the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) that image-guided brachytherapy is able to deliver very high doses, which prevent the tumor from growing...

Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to reduce the distressing symptoms of dry mouth in patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancers if the radiation dose to a salivary gland (called the submandibular gland) on the opposite side to the tumor is kept to the minimum. The largest study yet to show a correlation between radiation doses to the submandibular glands and their output of saliva was presented today (Saturday) at the 2nd Forum of the European...

A monoclonal antibody targeting a protein known as SFPR2 has been shown by researchers at the University of North Carolina to inhibit tumor growth in pre-clinical models of breast cancer and angiosarcoma. In a paper published in the April 19 issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a team led by Nancy Klauber-DeMore, MD, professor of surgery and a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, used a monoclonal antibody to target SFRP2 expressed in cells from triple-negative breast...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Two landmark radiotherapy studies demonstrating cervical cancer tumors can be effectively treated with specifically-adapted high doses will be presented this weekend at the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO). The studies, which will be presented over the next two days at the conference in Geneva, Switzerland, demonstrate image-guided brachytherapy was able to deliver extremely high doses that...

"Current wisdom says that cells are closed entities that communicate through the secretion of soluble signalling molecules. Recent findings indicate that cells can exchange more complex information – whole packages of genetic material and signalling proteins. This is an entirely new conception of how cells communicate", says Dr Mattias Belting, Professor of Oncology at Lund University and senior consultant in oncology at Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. Exosomes are small...