'Smarter' Anaysis Of Individual Cells With New Genomic Sequencing Method
7/24/2012
Only by viewing a Seurat painting at close range can you appreciate the hidden complexities of pointillism - small, distinct dots of pure color applied in patterns to form an image from a distance. Similarly, biologists and geneticists have long sought to analyze profiles of genes at the single cell level but technology limitations have only allowed a view from afar until now...
Despite guidelines recommending screening for depression in cancer patients, it's been unclear whether interventions designed to treat this depression are effective. A study* by the University of Colorado Cancer Center and other institutions, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, changes that...
Imagine millions of cancer cells organized in thousands of small divots. Hit these cells with drugs and when some cells die, you have a candidate for a cancer drug. But a review published in the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery argues that these 2D models in fact offer very little information about a potential drug's effects in the body and may often give researchers misleading results...
Understanding Of Cancer Improved With The Help Of Stem Cell Research
7/24/2012
An international team of researchers led by renowned stem cell scientist Professor Martin Pera has discovered a novel marker that plays an important role in our understanding of how cancer develops in the liver, pancreas and oesophagus...
Pancreatic Cancer Risk May Be Reduced By High Dietary Antioxidant Intake
7/23/2012
Individuals can significantly reduce their risk of developing pancreatic cancer by increasing their dietary intake of the antioxidant vitamins C, E, and selenium, say researchers who are leading the Norfolk arm of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study...
Localized Prostate Cancer: Removal No Better Than Observation, Study
7/23/2012
A large study that followed men across the US diagnosed with localized prostate cancer for over 10 years found they lived just as long whether they had surgery to remove the prostate or underwent observation. The researchers say their findings support observation over surgery for men with localized prostate cancer, especially if it is low-risk...
Afinitor (Everolimus) Combo For Breast Cancer Approved By FDA
7/23/2012
The FDA has approved Afinitor (everolimus) in combination with Aromasin (exemestane) for the treatment of some postmenopausal females with advanced hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative breast cancer...
Genetic Mutations Identified That Cause Common Childhood Brain Tumors
7/23/2012
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have identified several gene mutations responsible for the most common childhood brain tumor, called medulloblastoma, adding evidence to the theory that the diagnosis is a group of genetically distinct cancers with different prognoses...
Melanoma-Driving Genetic Changes Caused By Sun Damage
7/23/2012
It's been a burning question in melanoma research: Tumor cells are full of ultraviolet (UV)-induced genetic damage caused by sunlight exposure, but which mutations drive this cancer? None have been conclusively tied to melanoma. The sheer abundance of these passenger mutations has obscured the search for genetic driver mutations that actually matter in melanoma development and progression...
Testing IDO Inhibitors As A Treatment For Cancer: Preclinical Data Support Ongoing Clinical Trials
7/23/2012
Inhibitors of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) are being assessed in clinical trials as a potential treatment for recurrent or refractory solid tumors...