Labslink Research News

MU researchers develop radioactive nanoparticles that target cancer cells

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:22:11 PDT

Cancers of all types become most deadly when they metastasize and spread tumors throughout the body. Once cancer has reached this stage, it becomes very difficult for doctors to locate and treat the numerous tumors that can develop.........> Full story

Study identifies possible new acute leukemia marker, treatment target

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:27:12 PDT

A study has identified microRNA-155 as a new independent prognostic marker and treatment target in patients with acute myeloid leukemia that has normal-looking chromosomes under the microscope (that is, cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia, or CN-AML)........> Full story

Personalizing prostate cancer screenings

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:11:09 PDT

With the help of genetics, prostate specific antigen (PSA) screenings may become more accurate and reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine.......> Full story

Molecule treats leukemia by preventing cancer cell repair, Jackson Laboratory scientists report

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:27:10 PDT

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory have identified a molecule that prevents repair of some cancer cells, providing a potential new "genetic chemotherapy" approach to cancer treatment that could significantly reduce side effects and the development of treatment resistance compared with traditional chemotherapy.........> Full story

An important discovery in breast cancer by IRCM researchers

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:08:59 PDT

A team of researchers at the IRCM, led by Dr. Jean-François Côté, made an important discovery in breast cancer, which will published online this week by the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The Montréal scientists identified the DOCK1 protein as a potential target to reduce the progression of metastases in patients suffering from breast cancer, the most common type of cancer in women........> Full story

2-drug combo more effective in treating sarcomas, Moffitt Cancer Center study shows

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:15:16 PDT

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida have found that when given together, a two-drug combination acts synergistically in test animals modeled with sarcoma tumors. They report that the drug combination of MK-1775 and gemcitabine resulted in a 70 percent decrease in the tumor volume when compared to receiving one drug or the other.........> Full story

Researchers find avian virus may be harmful to cancer cells

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:37:57 PDT

A study at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine has identified a chicken-killing virus as a promising treatment for prostate cancer in humans........> Full story

Genetic vulnerability of lung cancer to lay foundation for new drug options

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:27:57 PDT

Physician-researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a vulnerability of certain lung-cancer cells – a specific genetic weakness that can be exploited for new therapies........> Full story

Breakthrough cancer-killing treatment has no side-effects

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:07:47 PDT

Cancer painfully ends more than 500,000 lives in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scientific crusade against cancer recently achieved a victory under the leadership of University of Missouri Curators’ Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s team has developed a new form of radiation therapy that successfully put cancer into remission in mice. This innovative treatment produced none of the harmful side-effects of conventional chemo and radiation cancer therapies. Clinical trials in humans could begin soon after Hawthorne secures funding.......> Full story

3-D scaffolds a new tool to fight cancer

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:59:47 PDT

Porous polymer scaffolds fabricated to support the growth of biological tissue for implantation may hold the potential to greatly accelerate the development of cancer therapeutics. Researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reported this week that three-dimensional scaffolds used to culture Ewing’s sarcoma cells were effective at mimicking the environment in which such tumors develop........> Full story

Telerobotic system designed to treat bladder cancer better

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:56:53 PDT

Although bladder cancer is the sixth most common form of cancer in the U.S. and the most expensive to treat, the basic method that doctors use to treat it hasn’t changed much in more than 70 years.......> Full story

Moffitt Researchers help lead international efforts that find new genetic links to ovarian cancer

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:12:50 PDT

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, including Center Director Thomas A. Sellers, Ph.D., M.P.H., and 17 other co-authors, have discovered four new regions of the genome that influence the risk for developing ovarian cancer, according to two Moffitt-led studies published in the March 27 issue of the journals Nature Genetics and Nature Communications.........> Full story

Certain breast cancers have a trait that could be attacked by new therapies

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:08:00 PDT

More than 100 women per day die from breast cancer in the United States. The odds of developing breast cancer increase for women taking hormone replacement therapy to avoid the effects of menopause. New research by University of Missouri scientist Salman Hyder may lead to treatments for breast cancers associated with taking these synthetic hormones. Hyder, along with an international team, found that hormone-therapy-related breast cancer cells have a physical feature that could be attacked by cancer therapies........> Full story

Rural cancer care may be closer than you think

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:17:21 PDT

Research from the University of Iowa suggests that cancer care is more accessible in rural areas than thought, and this increased accessibility should be considered as changes are made in the health care system under the Affordable Care Act........> Full story

Study shows how vitamin E can help prevent cancer

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:03:14 PDT

Researchers have identified an elusive anti-cancer property of vitamin E that has long been presumed to exist, but difficult to find.......> Full story

Bitter melon juice prevents pancreatic cancer in mouse models

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:37:25 PDT

A University of Colorado Cancer study published this week in the journal Carcinogenesis shows that bitter melon juice restricts the ability of pancreatic cancer cells to metabolize glucose, thus cutting the cells’ energy source and eventually killing them.......> Full story

UT Southwestern scientists make mouse model of human cancer, demonstrate cure

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:16:28 PDT

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists report the first successful blocking of tumor development in a genetic mouse model of an incurable human cancer.......> Full story

Study uncovers enzyme's double life, critical role in cancer blood supply

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:20:34 PDT

Studied for decades for their essential role in making proteins within cells, several amino acids known as tRNA synthetases were recently found to have an unexpected – and critical – additional role in cancer metastasis in a study conducted collaboratively in the labs of Karen Lounsbury, Ph.D., University of Vermont professor of pharmacology, and Christopher Francklyn.......> Full story

Groundbreaking UK study shows key enzyme missing from aggressive form of breast cancer

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:19:37 PDT

A groundbreaking new study led by the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center's Dr. Peter Zhou found that triple-negative breast cancer cells are missing a key enzyme that other cancer cells contain — providing insight into potential therapeutic targets to treat the aggressive cancer. Zhou's study is unique in that his lab is the only one in the country to specifically study the metabolic process of triple-negative breast cancer cells........> Full story

Changing shape makes chemotherapy drugs better at targeting cancer cells

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:17:34 PDT

Bioengineering researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara have found that changing the shape of chemotherapy drug nanoparticles from spherical to rod-shaped made them up to 10,000 times more effective at specifically targeting and delivering anti-cancer drugs to breast cancer cells.......> Full story

Sniffing out the side effects of radiotherapy may soon be possible

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:34:38 PDT

Gastrointestinal side effects are commonplace in radiotherapy patients and occasionally severe, yet there is no existing means of predicting which patients will suffer from them. The results of the pilot study, published in the journal Sensors, outline how the use of an electronic nose and a newer technology, FAIMS (Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry) might help identify those at higher risk........> Full story

Mushroom-supplemented soybean extract shows therapeutic promise for advanced prostate cancer

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:36:59 PDT

A natural, nontoxic product called genistein-combined polysaccharide, or GCP, which is commercially available in health stores, could help lengthen the life expectancy of certain prostate cancer patients, UC Davis researchers have found........> Full story

Researchers discover 'Achilles' heel' for lymphoid leukemia

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:38:21 PDT

An international research team coordinated at the IRCM in Montréal found a possible alternative treatment for lymphoid leukemia. Led by Dr. Tarik Möröy, the IRCM’s President and Scientific Director, the team discovered a molecule that represents the disease’s “Achilles’ heel” and could be targeted to develop a new approach that would reduce the adverse effects of current treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The study’s results are being published today in the prestigious scientific journal Cancer Cell.......> Full story

New details on the molecular machinery of cancer

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:34:47 PDT

Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have provided important new details into the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface protein that has been strongly linked to a large number of cancers and is a major target of cancer therapies........> Full story

Hepatic function testing can assist in treatment planning for liver cancer patients

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:48:11 PDT

Monitoring the hepatic function of unresectable liver cancer patients, measured by 99mTc-labeled iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) via single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) prior to and during radiation therapy, provides vital information that could guide more customized treatment plans and reduce risks of liver injury, according to research being presented at the 2013 Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium. This Symposium is sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Radiological Society of North American (RSNA)........> Full story

CT texture analysis of tumors may be a valuable biomarker in localized esophageal cancer

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:46:58 PDT

CT texture analysis of primary tumors may be a potential imaging biomarker in localized esophageal cancer following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to research being presented at the 2013 Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium. This Symposium is sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Radiological Society of North American (RSNA).......> Full story

Silibinin, found in milk thistle, protects against UV-induced skin cancer

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:57:26 PDT

A pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center studies published this month show that the milk thistle extract, silibinin, kills skin cells mutated by UVA radiation and protects against damage by UVB radiation – thus protecting against UV-induced skin cancer and photo-aging........> Full story

Tumor cells engineer acidity to drive cell invasion, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers say

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:59:49 PDT

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at Wayne State University School of Medicine investigated the acidity in solid tumors to determine if pH levels play a role in cancer cell invasion in surrounding tissues. They found that an acidic microenvironment can drive cancer cells to spread and propose that neutralizing pH would inhibit further invasion, providing a therapeutic opportunity to slow the progression of cancers.......> Full story

UK study shows abuse may affect cancer-related well-being in female patients

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:55:33 PDT

A new study by University of Kentucky researchers shows evidence that certain forms of abuse negatively influence women cancer patients’ quality of life. Published in the Journal of Women's Health, the research focuses on the effects of intimate partner violence (including physical, sexual, and psychological violence) and childhood sexual abuse and how these forms of abuse affected a woman's levels of depression, perceived stress, and cancer-related wellbeing........> Full story

SNPs associated with breast cancer risk alter binding affinity for pioneer factor FOXA1

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:00:55 PDT

Dartmouth scientists showed that more than half of all the SNPs associated with breast cancer risk are located in distant regions and bound by FOXA1, a protein required for estrogen receptor-α (ER) function according.......> Full story

Planning for bacteria in cancer patients may help hospitals fight infections

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:58:04 PDT

What cancerous conditions lead to what kinds of bacterial infections? If doctors knew, they could predict which patients would likely benefit from pre-treatment with certain kinds of antibiotics. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in this month’s issue of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases shows the answer: E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are especially prevalent in patients with lung and GI cancers, more so for Klebsiella if these patients have been treated previously with aminopenicillins........> Full story

Potential new treatment for gastrointestinal cancers discovered

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:06:58 PDT

Researchers have identified a complex of proteins that promotes the growth of some types of colon and gastric cancers, and shown that medications that block the function of this complex have the potential to be developed into a new treatment for these diseases........> Full story

Mayo Clinic researchers identify enzyme involved in deadly brain tumors

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:02:20 PDT

One of the most common types of brain tumors in adults, glioblastoma multiforme, is one of the most devastating. Even with recent advances in surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, the aggressive and invasive tumors become resistant to treatment, and median survival of patients is only about 15 months. In a study published in Neuro-Oncology, researchers at Mayo Clinic identify an important association between the naturally occurring enzyme Kallikrein 6, also known as KLK6, and the malignant tumors........> Full story

Developed new method to diagnose hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:07:24 PDT

Researchers of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have developed and validated a new method to diagnose hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome based on mass sequencing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The model is based on a genetic and bioinformatic analysis which has been proved very effective. The new protocol has been described in an article published in the European Journal of Human Genetics........> Full story

Researchers identify genetic mutation for rare cancer

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:43:33 PDT

By looking at the entire DNA from this one patient's tumor, researchers have found a genetic anomaly that provides an important clue to improving how this cancer is diagnosed and treated. Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center sequenced the tumor's genome through a new program called MI-ONCOSEQ, which is designed to identify genetic mutations in tumors that might be targeted with new therapies being tested in clinical trials........> Full story

UGA discovery promises to improve drugs used to fight cancer, other diseases

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:42:17 PDT

Even when at rest, the human body is a flurry of activity. Like a microscopic metropolis locked in a state of perpetual rush hour traffic, the trillions of cells that make us who we are work feverishly policing the streets, making repairs, building new structures and delivering important cargo throughout the bustling organic society.......> Full story

Helping patients navigate new cancer drugs

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:09:40 PDT

As cancer treatment in pill form transforms how care is delivered, a new Michigan State University study underscores the challenges patients face in administering their own chemotherapy outside the supervised environment of a cancer clinic........> Full story

High fiber diet prevents prostate cancer progression

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:26:51 PDT

A high-fiber diet may have the clinical potential to control the progression of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed in early stages of the disease......>Full story

Mayo Clinic: 2-drug combination may slow deadly thyroid cancer

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:55:43 PDT

A combination of the drugs pazopanib and paclitaxel shows promise in slowing anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), according to a Mayo Clinic-led study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.......> Full story

New marker of drug response may speed pace of lung cancer prevention trials

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:52:03 PDT

Testing medicines to prevent lung cancer requires treating many thousands of high-risk individuals and then waiting 5, 10 or 15 years to discover which of them develop cancer and which, if any, experience survival benefit from the treatment........> Full story

PET/CT shows clear advantages over conventional staging for breast cancer patients

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:28:57 PDT

New research published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging offers significant prognostic stratification information at initial staging for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. When compared to conventional imaging, 18F-FDG PET/CT more accurately showed lesions in the chest, abdomen and bones in a single session, changing management for more than 50 percent of the patients in the study.......> Full story

Healthy lifestyle during menopause may decrease breast cancer risk later on

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:13:55 PDT

Obese, postmenopausal women are at greater risk for developing breast cancer and their cancers tend to be more aggressive than those in lean counterparts. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the journal Cancer Research shows how this risk might be prevented.........> Full story

The HER2 paradox: HER2-positive stem cells found in HER2-negative breast cancer

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:03:44 PDT

A multicenter study led by researchers at UC Davis describes new, paradoxical characteristics of the most common type of breast cancer. The findings shed light on how the disease can evade treatment and could improve diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.........> Full story

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"-The case for and against GnRH-agonist for fertility preservation

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:42:22 PDT

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"-The case for and against GnRH-agonist for fertility preservation.
Zeev Blumenfeld, Reproductive Endocrinology, OB/GYN, Rambam Health Care campus, Technion-Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
Summary: Decreased secretion of the pituitary gonadotropins, by decreasing gonadal function, may possibly protect against the sterilizing effects of chemotherapy. Although previous suggestions have been made claiming that primordial germ cells fare better than germ cells that are part of an active cell cycle, this hypothesis has not been seriously tested clinically, until recently. A prospective randomized study has found that GnRH-a protected the ovary against cyclophosphamide-induced damage in Rhesus monkeys by significantly decreasing the number of follicles lost during the chemotherapeutic insult. A long-term follow-up of 240 children, 15 years of age or younger, treated for Hodgkin lymphoma [HL] showed azoospermia in 83% of the boys, whereas only 13% of the girls suffered POF. Since ovarian function was preserved in most long-term survivors who were treated prepubertally for lymphoma, but only in about half of similarly treated adult patients, it was clinically logical and therefore tempting to create a temporary prepubertal milieu in women in the reproductive age before and during the chemotherapeutic insult. We have administered a monthly depot IM injection of GnRH- agonistic analogue to more than 250 young patients exposed to gonadotoxic chemotherapy for malignant or non-malignant diseases, after informed consent, starting before chemotherapy for up to six months, in parallel and until the end of chemotherapeutic treatment. Less than 7% developed irreversible hypergonadotropic amenorrhea. The remaining patients (>93%) resumed cyclic ovarian function, and 53 patients spontaneously conceived 78 times, and were delivered of 63 healthy neonates. These patients were compared to a control group of over 130 patients of comparable age (15-40), who were similarly treated with chemotherapy without the GnRH-a adjuvant. Neither the age, nor the diagnoses, ratio between HD or non-Hodgkin lymphoma differed between the two groups. Similar doses of radiotherapy exposure and ratios of patients treated by radiotherapy in addition to chemotherapy were experienced by the two groups. Moreover, the cumulative doses of each chemotherapeutic agent and the mean or median radiotherapy exposure did not differ between the groups. Our and others’ results support the effectiveness of GnRH-a administration also to patients receiving cyclophosphamide pulses for SLE and other autoimmune diseases. Recently we have experienced the first worldwide reported case of spontaneous successful deliveries of THREE healthy neonates after TWO repeated BMT's, concurrently treated with GnRH-a during the gonadotoxic chemotherapy. How can we possibly explain the beneficial effect of the GnRH-a for minimizing the gonadotoxic effect of chemotherapy, in particular that of alkylating agents? Several explanations may be put forward: I. The hypogonadotropic state generated by the GnRH a simulates the prepubertal hormonal milieu. One can conceivably hypothesize that the alkylating agents may bring about an increased rate of destruction/apoptosis of the non-resting follicles, and subsequently a decrease in the secretion of sex steroids and inhibins produced by these follicles, at different stages of maturation and differentiation. The resultant decrease in sex-steroids (estrogen, progesterone, and androgens) and inhibins’ secretion will decrease their plasma concentrations and subsequently the negative feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitary, resulting in an increase in FSH secretion. The increased FSH secretion may bring about an increased recruitment of preantral follicles to enter the differentiational one way of maturation, being furthermore exposed to the gonadotoxic effect of the alkylating agents, ending in an increased, exponential rate of follicular apoptosis and degeneration. This vicious cycle may be interrupted by the GnRH-a administration through its ability to prevent the increase in FSH concentrations. II. Another possible explanatory mechanism to the beneficial effect of GnRH-a on decreasing the chemotherapy-associated gonadotoxicity is the decrease in the utero-ovarian perfusion due to the hypoestrogenic state, generated by the pituitary- gonadal desensitization . High estrogen concentrations significantly increased ovarian perfusion and the vessel endothelial area, in a rat model of ovarian hyperstimulation, and this effect was significantly and dose-dependently inhibited by administration of GnRH-a. The decreased utero-ovarian perfusion induced by the GnRH-a, may result in a decreased total cumulative exposure of the ovaries to the chemotherapeutic agents as compared to a “control”patient, in a normoestrogenic milieu, thus resulting in decreased gonadotoxicity. III. It has been shown that not only rodents but also primate and human gonads contain GnRH-receptors. In an ovarian carcinoma cell line, GnRH-I and –II receptors’ activation may result in decreased apoptosis. Whether the GnRH-a effect is direct on the oocyte cumulus complex, or on the granulosa cell, or possibly on another ovarian compartment in addition to its possible hypogonadotropic effect, is an open question of significant scientific interest. Most recently, a proof of a direct effect of GnRH-a, independent of the hypogonadotropic milieu, has been provided by Imai et al, who have shown a direct, in-vitro protection from the doxorubicin induced granulosa cell damage, by a GnRH-a. IV. Another possibility is that the GnRH-a may up regulate an intragonadal anti-apoptotic molecule such as sphingosine-1-phosphate (S-1-P). S1P has been shown to prevent chemotherapy induced gonadotoxicity both in-vivo and in-vitro. Whether the GnRH-a adjuvant cotreatment positive effect is direct or possibly associated with an intraovarian increase in S-1-P is a question of tremendous scientific interest and clinical impact. It obviously awaits further investigation......> Full story

“MET” the challenge in non-small cell lung cancer: EGFR crosstalk and the rationale for combinational targeted therapy

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:41:22 PDT

“MET” the challenge in non-small cell lung cancer: EGFR crosstalk and the rationale for combinational targeted therapy.
Yu-Wen Zhang, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Summary: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of death among all human cancers. The receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play important roles in NSCLC development and progression, and are attractive targets for cancer intervention. The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor MET is one of the RTKs that are frequently activated in NSCLC either by overexpression, amplification or mutation. MET is often co-expressed with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and its amplification is one of the resistance mechanisms for escaping EGFR-targeted therapy. Previously, we have shown that MET small molecule kinase inhibitor SGX523 synergizes with EGFR inhibitor erlotinib to suppress tumor growth of a NSCLC cell line harboring a MET mutation. To gain further insight into how such combination may benefit NSCLC therapy, we investigated the effects of SGX523 and erlotinib on signal transduction and growth of NSCLC cell lines with different cellular contexts. Overexpressed or amplified MET cross-activated EGFR via hetero-receptor interaction, whereas SGX523 effectively inhibited MET-dependent EGFR cross-activation. When the ligands HGF and EGF were present, only SGX523 and erlotinib combination achieved maximal inhibition on downstream signaling activation and on cell proliferation in vitro. In vivo, SGX523 and erlotinib combination strengthened anticancer activity in a cellular context-dependent manner by enhancing suppression of cell proliferation with or without inducing apoptosis in the xenograft tumors, whereas SGX523 alone achieved near complete regression of MET-addicted tumors. These data provide a good rationale for dual blocking of MET and EGFR to treat NSCLC, even though MET inhibitor alone might be effective against MET-addicted tumors........> View Presentation

Updates in diagnosis and management of bone tumors in children

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:40:27 PDT

Updates in diagnosis and management of bone tumors in children.
Youssef AL-Tonbary, Mansoura University Children Hospital, Egypt.
Summary: Primary bone cancers are the fourth commonest malignancy affecting teenagers. The average annual incidence rate is 8.7 per million children and adolescents younger than 20 years,making about 6% of childhood and adolescent cancers. Osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma are the two types of malignant bone cancer that predominate in children and adolescents representing about 56% and 34% of bone cancers respectively. Their incidence is higher in males than in females and the peak incidence is during the second decade of life. Osteosarcoma can occur in any bone. It most often occurs near the metaphyseal growth plates of the long bones of the extremities. The most common sites are the femur(42%),the tibia(19%) and the humerus (10%). In contrast, Ewing sarcoma commonly occur in the trunkal skeleton (the pelvis,the scapula, vertebral column, ribs and clavicle). In long bones, it tends to arise from the diaphysis rather than the metaphysis. Updates in diagnosis include diagnostic imaging as plain radiography, computed tomography ( C T), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear medicine as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and PET/ CT which allow evaluation of the entire patient in one setting. Tissue biopsy should be performed to confirm the radiographic diagnosis before the initiation of treatment. Open biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of a bone tumor. At the molecular level, osteosarcoma is a puzzle of genetic alterations. The application of comparative genomic hybridization to osteosarcoma tissue has disclosed different chromosomal abnormalities, including gains of chromosome 1p, 2p, 3q, 5q, 5p and 6p and losses of 14q, 15q and 16p. Regions of chromosome 21 were absent in 63% of pediatric osteosarcomas. In Ewing sarcoma, the t (11;22)(q24;q12) translocation is detected in approximately 85% of cases. Treatment of bone tumors requires a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Recently biologically based approaches to treatment were tried as the EWS-ETS family fusion, RNA helicase A, Insulin-like growth factors and type 1 receptor, Rapamycin and analogues and Fenretinide. Also biological reconstruction by autograft and allograft can be used. All updates in diagnosis and treatment of childhood bone tumors will be discussed in addition to a brief summary of the experience of Hematology/Oncology Unit of Mansoura University Children Hospital-Egypt in diagnosis and treatment of these tumors in the last 5 years. View Presentation

Proteomic Analysis of the Cervicovaginal Fluid Leads to Identification of Biomarkers for Cervix Cancer

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:39:20 PDT

Proteomic Analysis of the Cervicovaginal Fluid Leads to Identification of Biomarkers for Cervix Cancer.
Xaveer Van Ostade, Laboratory of Proteinscience, Proteomics and Epigenetic Signaling (PPES), Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp Antwerp, Belgium.
Summary: Cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) is composed of secretions originating from organs that are part of the female genital tract, including vagina, cervix, endometrium and ovaries. It therefore contains a wealth of information concerning the status of these organs. Cervix cancer is caused by an infection of the cervix with an oncogenic form of human papillomavirus (mostly HPV 16 and 18). Today several screening methods exist, but each has its own disadvantages. Moreover, HPV vaccination so far does not protect for 100% and reaches only part of the female population. All these factors emphasize the need for specific and sensitive biomarkers for cervix cancer. Six CVF samples from healthy women and six samples from precancerous women were run over a 2D-LC-MS/MS proteomics platform and quantified by spectral counting. After comparison, we identified one protein that was present and absent in all CVF samples originating from precancerous and healthy women, respectively (‘qualitative biomarker’). Moreover, we also found four proteins that showed a marked up- or downregulation in one of the two conditions (at least 3-fold; ‘quantitative’ biomarker). ELISA experiments on 2x9 samples from other healthy and precancerous women confirmed a clear difference in average concentration of the above mentioned ‘qualitative’ biomarker. Some samples originating from woman infected with HPV types, associated with genital warts, also showed an augmented concentration of this protein. Several ELISA experiments on a series of samples from the same individual (longitudinal) showing progressive infection or clearing are ongoing. Possible applications such as combination with current screening techniques and/or development of a self-diagnosis test could be considered. View Presentation

Modeling of tumor growth and immune system interactions: Role of growth model

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:38:18 PDT

Modeling of tumor growth and immune system interactions: Role of growth model.
Wayne Eby, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Cameron University, Lawton, OK 73505, USA.
Summary: We present our recent investigations in mathematical modeling of the interaction of tumor growth and the innate immune response. Extensive research has been done in this direction by a number of researchers, each representing the tumor-immune dynamics by a system of differential equations. The new perspective we offer is a closer investigation of the model used to represent the rate of growth of the tumor. We focus primarily on two new models, where the first are the hyperbolastic models H1 to H3 introduced in (Theor. Biol. and Med. Model., 2, 2005: 14) and applied to tumor growth in (BMC Cancer, 10 2010: 509). In addition we consider the recently introduced T-model, capable of representing biphasic growth. View Presentation

New Biologically Supported Models of Carcinogenesis Involving Hereditary and Non-Hereditary Cancer Cases

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:37:22 PDT

New Biologically Supported Models of Carcinogenesis Involving Hereditary and Non-Hereditary Cancer Cases.
Wai-Yuan Tan1 and Hong Zhou2, 1, Department of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Memphis, USA. and 2, Arkansas State University, USA.
Summary: Many human cancers cluster among family members. These cancers include both pediatric cancers and adult cancers. Important examples of human pediatric cancers include retinoblastoma (child eye cancer), hepatoblastoma (child liver cancer), Wilms tumors (child kidney cancer) and medulloblastoma (child brain tumor). Examples of adult cancers involving hereditary cancer cases include human eye cancer (uveal melanoma), renal cancer (adult kidney cancer), cutaneous melanoma (skin melanoma), and colon cancer, among others. In this paper, we present some new models to incorporate this aspect of human cancers. We will propose new innovative approaches and methods to analyze this type of stochastic models of carcinogenesis. We will use adult human eye cancer (uveal melanoma) as an example to illustrate how to develop this type of stochastic models of carcinogenesis. View Presentation

MicroRNA Biomarkers for Carcinogen Exposure

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:36:27 PDT

MicroRNA Biomarkers for Carcinogen Exposure.
Tao Chen, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas, USA.
Summary: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression and control cellular mechanisms. To investigate the potential miRNA biomarkers for chemical carcinogen exposure, we determined miRNA expression profiles from tissues of mice and rats treated with different carcinogens. Generally, a large number of miRNAs in carcinogenic target tissues were significantly altered by treatment of carcinogens while there were only a few of miRNAs that were changed in the non-target tissues or samples treated with non-carcinogen. Most of these miRNAs altered by carcinogen exposures are involved in cancer-related functions like DNA repair, cell apoptosis and cell growth. Our time-course study using one dose treatment of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) indicated that miRNA could be changed in a few days and the number of differentially expressed miRNAs reached a peak one week after the exposure. In vitro study showed that miR-34a was upregulated after exposure to ENU. Our results demonstrate that most of the altered miRNAs are oncogenic miRNAs and alteration of their expressions may be early indicators of carcinogenic insulation. Thus, these miRNAs can become potential biomarkers for exposure of carcinogens and early indication of carcinogenesis. View Presentation