Cancer research, progress, new drugs, etc.

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New prostate cancer drug...

Drug for deadly prostate cancer
Monday, 21 July 2008 - Scientists say a drug to treat aggressive prostate cancer may be the most significant advance in the field for 70 years.

Abiraterone could potentially treat up to 80% of patients with a deadly form of the disease resistant to currently available chemotherapy, they say. The drug works by blocking the hormones which fuel the cancer.

The Institute of Cancer Research hopes a simple pill form will be available in two to three years. "We believe we have made a major step forward in the treatment of end-stage prostate cancer patients" - Dr Johann de Bono, Institute of Cancer Research

An advanced clinical trial involving 1,200 patients around the world is currently under way, with more trials likely later this year. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. It is estimated that up to 10,000 men a year in the UK are diagnosed with the most aggressive - and almost always lethal - form of prostate cancer. It had been assumed that the cancer was driven by sex hormones such as testosterone produced in the testicles. Current treatments work by stopping the testicles from producing testosterone.

New action

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Using Plants to Grow Lymphoma Vaccines
July 21, 2008 -- Scientists 'Grow' Personalized Vaccines in Tobacco Plants for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Patients

Plants may be a powerhouse for researchers making personalized vaccines for patients with follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The basic idea is to use plants as a factory to quickly and inexpensively grow vaccines tailored to each patient's follicular lymphoma. That approach worked and was safe in a small, preliminary test noted in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

They tested their strategy on 16 follicular lymphoma patients, growing their personalized vaccines in tobacco leaves for three to four months. Starting about six months after their last round of chemotherapy, the patients got their vaccine in a monthly shot, delivered to their thigh, every month for six months. Some also got shots of a chemical that boosted their immune response.

The point of the study was to see if the plant plan was practical and safe. It was; no side effects were reported and the plants grew the vaccines without messing them up. More than 70% of the patients had an immune response to their vaccine and 47% had the specific immune response that was sought. But the study wasn't designed to test the effectiveness of the plant plan; further research is needed to see how well those vaccines work. The researchers included A. A. McCormick of Large Scale Biology Corporation in Vacaville, Calif., which made the vaccines.

Source

[waltky]

Granny says, "Take yer vitamins"...

Vitamin C 'slows cancer growth'
Monday, 4 August 2008 - An injection of a high dose of vitamin C may be able to hold back the advance of cancers, US scientists say.

An injection of a high dose of vitamin C may be able to hold back the advance of cancers, US scientists claim. The vitamin may start a destructive chain reaction within the cancer cell, they add. The jab halved the size of brain, ovarian and pancreatic tumours in mice, reported the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. However, Cancer Research UK said other studies suggested large vitamin C doses may interfere with cancer treatment. "This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves cells grown in the lab and mice" - Dr Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK

Earlier research by the team at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland had suggested that the vitamin, also called ascorbate, could kill cancer cells in the laboratory. After these successful tests in mice, they are now suggesting that the treatment be considered for human use at similar levels. The dose they employed - up to four grams per kilo of bodyweight - was far greater than any that could be achieved using diet or vitamin pills, as the digestive system does not absorb more than a fixed amount taken orally.

The mice were bred to have malfunctioning immune systems, then injected with human cancer cells, which as a result, grew quickly into large tumours. The vitamin was then injected into their abdominal cavity. Tumour growth and weight fell by between 41% and 53%, and while in untreated mice, the disease spread rapidly to involve other body parts, no such spread was seen in the vitamin C-treated animals. The researchers wrote: "These pre-clinical data provide the first firm basis for advancing pharmacologic ascorbate in cancer treatment in humans."

Peroxide bomb

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New pancreatic cancer treatment...

Chemoprevention gene therapy offers new hope for pancreatic cancer patients
Washington, August 6,`08 : A new chemoprevention gene therapy (CGT) may be effective in preventing and treating pancreatic cancer, according to a new study.

Conducted by researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, the study shows that combining a dietary agent with a gene-delivered cytokine effectively eliminates human pancreatic cancer cells in mice. Reporting their study in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, the researchers described cytokines as a category of proteins that are secreted into the circulation, and can affect cancer cells at distant sites in the body.

They also revealed that the cytokine used in this study was melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/interleukin-24, known as mda-7/IL-24. The dietary agent perillyl alcohol (POH), found in a variety of plants, was combined with mda-7/IL-24, which is already used in other cancer treatments. The study demonstrated that the CGT approach not only prevented pancreatic cancer growth and progression, but it also effectively killed established tumours, thereby displaying profound chemopreventive and therapeutic activity.

Dr. Paul B. Fisher, principal investigator of the study, said: "Our hypothesis was that certain non-toxic dietary agents that had the ability to promote reactive oxygen species (ROS) would break down pancreatic cancer cell resistance to therapy following administration of mda-7/IL-24 and be safe for human use." He added: "We are very excited at the prospect of this chemoprevention gene therapy as a means of both preventing and treating pancreatic cancer, and it has significant potential to move rapidly into human clinical trials."

Chemoprevention gene therapy offers new hope for pancreatic cancer patients

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New oral cancer sensor...

Spit Sensor Spots Oral Cancer
Aug. 7, 2008 - An Ultrasensitive Optical Protein Sensor Analyzes Saliva

For the first time, an optical sensor, developed by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), can measure proteins in saliva that are linked to oral cancer. The device is highly sensitive, allowing doctors and dentists to detect the disease early, when patient survival rates are high.

The researchers are currently working with the National Institute of Health (NIH) to push the technology to clinical tests so that it can be developed into a device that can be used in dentists' offices. Chih-Ming Ho, a scientist at UCLA and principal investigator for the sensor, says that it is a versatile instrument and can be used to detect other disease-specific biomarkers.

When oral cancer is identified in its early stages, patient survival rate is almost 90 percent, compared with 50 percent when the disease is advanced, says Carter Van Waes, chief of head and neck surgery at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 35,310 new cases of oral cancer in the United States in 2008. Early forms are hard to detect just by visual examination of the mouth, says Van Waes, so physicians either have to perform a biopsy--remove tissue for testing--or analyze proteins in blood.

More ABC News: Spit Sensor Spots Oral Cancer

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Scorpion Venom May Help Treat Brain Cancer...

Scorpion Venom: Next Brain Cancer Weapon?
Aug. 11, 2008 - Chemical May One Day Be Used to Seek Out, 'Paint' Brain Tumors

The sting of the Giant Yellow Israeli Scorpion packs a painful punch. Its venom contains a potent cocktail of neurotoxins that places an animal or human victim in excruciating agony. It's not the first place most would think to look for a weapon against cancer. But doctors and researchers report that a particular component within this dangerous mix may be able to seek out brain tumor cells. And one researcher, as reported by ABC affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle, hope that doctors will one day be able to use this property to "paint" tumors for a surgeons to see.

"Right now it is difficult for a surgeon to be able to distinguish a brain tumor from the normal brain tissue around it," says Dr. James Olson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He says that this situation often presents today's brain surgeon with an unenviable decision: choose either to cut aggressively, potentially damaging healthy brain tissue, or cut conservatively and run the risk of leaving tumor cells behind.

Enter T-601, the synthetic version of a chemical first found in the scorpion's sting. Neurobiologist Harold Sontheimer of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who was the first to explore the medical potential of this chemical, found that it was able to pass into the brain unobstructed. That's a feat for most chemicals, as the membrane that separates the brain from the bloodstream (known as the blood-brain barrier) is notoriously impermeable.

For the scorpion, this property if its venom ensures a quick kill of its unfortunate prey. But subtract the poisonous components from the venom, and you have a perfect vehicle for penetrating the brain. What's more, researchers have found that this chemical seeks out and binds to brain tumor cells. Olson says these properties make T-601 a perfect candidate for helping doctors distinguish the borders of brain tumors.

More ABC News: Scorpion Venom: Next Brain Cancer Weapon?

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Radiation helps some...

Radiation can zap cancer that has spread
Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 WASHINGTON - Therapy stopped tumors in 21 percent of patients for up to 2 years

Precisely targeted radiation therapy can eradicate tumors that have spread to other parts of the body, offering more months or years of life to patients who have no other options, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

They said new radiation techniques can attack metastases — tumors that have spread — one by one. Experiments in 29 patients showed the radiation stopped all the tumors in six, or 21 percent, of the patients, for anywhere between 10 months and more than two years.

"This was proof of principle in patients who had failed the standard therapies and had few, if any, remaining options," said Dr. Ralph Weichselbaum of the University of Chicago Medical Center, who led the study.

Treatment doesn't always work

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How colorectal cancer passes between generations...

Gene 'clue' to colorectal cancer
Thursday, 14 August 2008 - A gene difference in up to a third of patients with colorectal cancer could help solve how it passes between generations, scientists say.

The gene variant, which has a direct link to cell growth in the colon, raises the risk of the disease by half, say the US scientists. Their findings, published in the journal Science, move experts closer to genetic testing for bowel cancer risk. Cancer Research UK said the findings needed to be verified by other studies.

There are approximately 36,000 cases of this cancer in the UK every year, and delays in diagnosis contribute to a death rate of almost 50%. "If confirmed in larger studies, this finding brings us another step closer towards unravelling the inherited risk of bowel cancer" - Dr Lara Bennett, Cancer Research UK

The disease is thought to be partly due to genetics and partly due to lifestyle, diet and other factors. The genetic variation was first discovered and linked to colon cancer back in 1999 by scientists at Northwestern University. The latest research, conducted jointly with Ohio State University, analysed samples from 138 colon cancer patients and over 100 apparently healthy "control" volunteers.

Differences in the activity of the gene were noted in one-third of the colon cancer patients, but only three of the healthy volunteers. Dr Boris Pasche, from Northwestern University, said: "This probably accounts for more colorectal cancer than all the other gene mutations discovered so far - the reasonable expectation is that this will save some lives." Ohio State University researcher Albert de la Chapelle said that finding the mutation in a patient should prompt checks on their relatives for signs of the disease.

Cell growth

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Neuroblastoma discovery...

Childhood nerve cancer gene found
August 25, 2008 - RESEARCHERS have identified the hereditary gene mutations behind a deadly form of childhood cancer, opening the way to genetic tests in high-risk families, according to a study released today.

The same wayward gene has been previously linked to lymphoma and lung cancer in adults, so afflicted children could benefit from experimental drugs designed to suppress its activity, the study said. "This very important discovery not only helps us understand the genetic roots of this terrible disease, but also has led to dramatically new ideas for curative therapy," said lead researcher John Maris, head of the Centre for Childhood Cancer Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Neuroblastoma attacks the nervous system. While fairly rare, it accounts for 7 per cent of all childhood cancers, and 15 per cent of non-adult cancer deaths. The disease has long puzzled scientists because of its highly variable outcomes: some forms strike infants but then recede without treatment, while other variants, especially in older children, can be relentlessly aggressive.

"This discovery enables us to offer the first genetic tests to families affected by the inherited form of this disease," said Yael Mosse, lead author and a pediatric oncologist at Children's Hospital. "Because there are already drugs in development that target the same gene in adult cancers, we can soon begin testing those drugs in children with neuroblastoma", she said.

More Childhood nerve cancer gene found | NEWS.com.au

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Blocking cancer growth...

Hopes raised for block on cancer
Sunday, 31 August 2008 - Scientists say they have taken a big step towards blocking a chemical vital to the growth of many cancers.

They have unpicked the structure of telomerase, an enzyme which, when active, helps keep cells in an "immortal" state. The chemical is at work in more than nine out of ten types of tumour. Researchers from Philadelphia's Wistar Institute, writing in the journal Nature, say their efforts could lead to drugs which switch it off. All cells in the body have a natural clock - the telomeres - which shorten every time the cell divides. "The idea is that you could convert immortal cancer cells back into mortal ones by blocking telomerase in this way"- Professor Rob Newbold, Brunel University

After a fixed number of divisions in most cells, the telomeres are reduced to a certain length, and the cell cannot continue dividing. This change is responsible for changes within the ageing body, as cell division slows down. Some cells, such as stem cells within the embryo, use the chemical telomerase to maintain telomere length. Many tumours have hijacked the telomerase system to fuel their uninhibited growth. The Wistar team has found a new way to map the structure of the most active part of the chemical.

'Few side effects'

Dr Emmanuel Skordalakes said that this detailed picture would help provide molecular targets for drugs. "Telomerase is an ideal target for chemotherapy because it is active in almost all human tumours, but inactive in most normal cells. "That means that a drug that deactivates telomerase would likely work against all cancers, with few side effects."

Professor Rob Newbold, from Brunel University in Uxbridge, said it was a "very important" achievement. "Telomerase controls the evolution of cancers - and is a key characteristic of human cancer cells. "The idea is that you could convert immortal cancer cells back into mortal ones by blocking telomerase in this way. "Having discovered the structure now, it will certainly help the development of drugs."

BBC NEWS | Health | Hopes raised for block on cancer

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Leukemia discovery...

New gene clues for leukaemia, obesity
September 01, 2008 - DOCTORS say they have uncovered genetic flaws that separately boost the risk of a common form of leukaemia and bowel disease in children and may also influence obesity and fertility.

The work is reported in three different studies, published by the journals, Nature Genetics and Nature Medicine. The team, led by Richard Houlston of Britain's Institute of Cancer Research found six genetic variants that increase vulnerability to chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), which accounts for roughly a quarter of all leukaemia cases. The variants occur in genes that play a role in the proliferation of so-called B cells, a type of white blood produced in the bone marrow. Individually, these variants each contribute to a modest increase in the risk of CLL, but a person with all six faces an eight-fold increase.

Meanwhile, investigators in the United States found that a gene switched on by leptin - a hormone that tells the brain when the body has sufficient nutrition - is involved in appetite disorder and infertility. The discovery was found in the brain of mice, but there were likely to be strong similarities in humans, the authors said. "This gene is crucial to the daisy chain of signals that run between body fat and brain," said lead researcher Marc Montminy of the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology. "It likely plays a pivotal role in how much we, as humans, eat and whether we have offspring."

Variations of the gene, called TORC1, could play a part in obesity and infertility, as they could send the wrong signals to the brain as to whether food is needed and whether the body has sufficient energy stores for reproduction. A third study, entailing a trawl through the genetic code of thousands of people, netted two new genes involved in childhood inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a painful condition that includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Genomics - as genetic analysis is called - is one of the most eagerly explored frontiers of medicine today. Finding genes that cause or amplify a disease opens up pathways for diagnostic tools to help identify people at risk from the ailment. It also, more distantly, opens up avenues for potential drugs to block or reverse the gene's malfunction.

New gene clues for leukaemia, obesity | NEWS.com.au