Enzyme Identified That Is An Important Regulator Of Aggressive Breast Cancer Development
7/01/2011
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have identified an enzyme that appears to be a significant regulator of breast cancer development. Called PTPN23, the enzyme is a member of a family called protein tyrosine phosphatases, or PTPs, that plays a fundamental role in switching cell signaling on and off...
A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese. Supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, each study examined the genomes of tens of thousands of people...
Improved Diagnosis Of Myelodysplastic Syndromes Following Discovery Of Genetic Mutations
7/01/2011
For patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), choosing the appropriate treatment depends heavily on the prognosis. Those patients at the highest risk of dying from their disease are typically offered the most aggressive therapies, while patients at lower risk could live several years with MDS, needing only supportive care or other relatively side-effect free treatments...
Prostate Cancer Drug - Provenge - Will Be Covered By Medicare At $93,000
7/01/2011
Provenge, a new therapy for incurable stage prostate cancer with a $93,000 price tag, will be covered by Medicare, officials confirmed yesterday. The medication has been shown to give men whose cancer has not responded to radiation or hormone therapy and has spread through the body an extra four months of life. A Medicare spokesman described Provenge as a "reasonable and necessary" medication...
Linking Smoking To Prostate Cancer -- Linking Fear To Smoking
7/01/2011
Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking causes lung cancer. These statements are common knowledge. A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reveals that men with prostate cancer who smoke have a 61% increased risk of a recurrence of disease after treatment, as well as a 61% increase in death resulting from prostate cancer...
Researchers Identify New Mechanism Used By Cells To Reverse Silenced Genes
7/01/2011
Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have discovered a new mechanism used by cells in the body to turn on silenced genes. This process is critical in preventing the development of cancer - suggesting the possibility of new therapies that might target the specific changes underlying the disease. The findings were published online in the journal Cell...
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found clues to the functioning of an important damage response protein in cells...
"Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)", is one of the most life threatening forms of breast cancer. It is aggressive, least responsive to standard therapy and accounts for 10 to 20 percent of all breast cancers. In a recent breakthrough six distinct subtypes of this cancer have been recognized by scientists from the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center...
A Step Closer To Understanding The Biology Behind Disease-Associated Genetic Variants
7/01/2011
Researchers have developed a new strategy to improve the outcome of genome-wide association (GWA) studies. GWA studies involve rapidly scanning markers across the genomes of many people. By doing this, scientists can look for the association between certain genetic markers or variants within the population, and a particular trait, including disease...
New Information From Fission Yeast Provides Clues For Research On Cancer Treatments
7/01/2011
When a cell divides, the genetic information in the chromosomes must be passed on error-free to the daughter cells. Researchers at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory in Tubingen are studying this process using fission yeast as a model organism...