Workers involved in Gulf oil spill cleanup show hematological and hepatic abnormalities
9/19/2013
A new study reports that workers exposed to crude oil and dispersants used during the Gulf oil spill cleanup display significantly altered blood profiles, liver enzymes, and somatic symptoms compared to an unexposed control group. Investigators found that platelet counts were significantly decreased in the exposed group, while both hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were notably increased...
Discovery of potent tumor-suppressor in lung cancer
9/19/2013
New research shows that microRNA-486 is a potent tumor-suppressor molecule in lung cancer, and that the it helps regulate the proliferation and migration of lung-cancer cells, and the induction of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in those cells. The preclinical study was led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G...
Scientists improve popular chemotherapy drug
9/19/2013
Scientists have discovered a way to make significant improvements to a popular cancer cell-killing drug called vinblastine, according to a study published in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters...
Extremely potent and improved new derivatives of successful anticancer drug
9/19/2013
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to make dramatic improvements to the cancer cell-killing power of vinblastine, one of the most successful chemotherapy drugs of the past few decades. The team's modified versions of vinblastine showed 10 to 200 times greater potency than the clinical drug...
Cancer growth in mice slowed by depletion of 'traitor' immune cells
9/19/2013
When a person has cancer, some of the cells in his or her body have changed and are growing uncontrollably. Most cancer drugs try to treat the disease by killing those fast-growing cells, but another approach called immunotherapy tries to stimulate a person's own immune system to attack the cancer itself...
Out of control mucus-regulating protein receptors in uterine and pancreatic cancers
9/19/2013
A "vicious cycle" produces mucus that protects uterine and pancreatic cancer cells and promotes their proliferation, according to researchers at Rice University. The researchers offer hope for a therapeutic solution. They found that protein receptors on the surface of cancer cells go into overdrive to stimulate the production of MUC1, a glycoprotein that forms mucin, aka mucus...
Immune marker predicts transplant success and improves selection of bone marrow donors
9/19/2013
The risk of death following bone marrow transplantation can be reduced about 60 percent using a new technique to identify bone marrow donors who make the most potent cancer-fighting immune cells, according to research from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The research builds on an earlier St...
Sickle cell pain improved by arginine therapy
9/19/2013
Arginine therapy may be a safe and inexpensive treatment for acute pain episodes in patients with sickle cell disease, according to results of a recent clinical study. The study was the first randomized placebo-controlled study to demonstrate benefits of arginine therapy in children with sickle cell disease hospitalized for severe pain...
Unusual combination therapy shows promise for preventing prostate cancer, UPCI researchers find
9/18/2013
Combining a compound from broccoli with an antimalarial drug prevents prostate cancer in mice, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) researchers discovered. The National Cancer Institute-funded research will be published in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research...
Researchers identify new target for melanoma treatment
9/18/2013
Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have announced the discovery that a gene encoding an enzyme, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1), plays an essential role in the development and progression of melanoma. The finding offers a new approach to treating this life-threatening disease. The team of researchers, led by Ze'ev Ronai, Ph.D...