Tumor

Mouse brain tumors mimic those in human genetic disorder

A recently developed mouse model of braintumors common in the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1)successfully mimics the human condition and provides unique insightinto tumor development, diagnosis and treatment, according toresearchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.After validating their animal model, the team made two importantdiscoveries: New blood vesse...

Researchers add new tool to tumor-treatment arsenal

A new study demonstrates the potential effectiveness of treating tumors by combining agents that damage DNA with a drug that sensitizes cancer cells to these agents. The research, led by George Thomas, PhD, professor at the University of Cincinnati's (UC) Genome Research Institute, and Heidi Lane of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, appears in the March 25, 2005, issue of the jo...

Self-assembled nano-sized probes allow Penn researchers to see tumors through flesh and skin

Nano-sized particles embedded with bright, light-emitting molecules have enabled researchers to visualize a tumor more than one centimeter below the skin surface using only infrared light. A team of chemists, bioengineers and medical researchers based at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota has lodged fluorescent materials called porphyrins within the surface of a polyme...

Pulsating ultrasound enhances gene therapy for tumors

High-intensity focused ultrasound emitted in short pulses is a promising, non-invasive procedure for enhancing gene delivery to cancerous cells without destroying healthy tissue, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is more powerful than standard ultrasound. HIFU can destroy tumors through long and continuous exposures tha...

Scientists identify molecule that regulates well-known tumor suppressor

Scientists have discovered that a molecule called DJ-1 is likely to be involved in the generation of human tumors through negative regulation of the well-known tumor suppressor, PTEN. The research, published in the March issue of Cancer Cell, has important implications for determining the prognosis of some human cancers, and may prove to be a suitable target for cancer therapy. The phospha...

New tumor-suppressor gene discovered

A new tumor-suppressor gene has been discovered by a team of researchers at Penn State, which also has discovered how the gene works with another tumor suppressor to control tissue growth. The team's genetic and biochemical studies will be published in the 11 March 2005 issue of the journal Cell. "This discovery extends our understanding of how tissue growth is controlled both during normal devel...

NSAID drug protects against intestinal tumors in mice, despite poor diet and gene losses

In mouse models of intestinal cancer, use of an anti-inflammatory drug eliminated all of the cancer-causing risks produced by a high-fat Western-style diet - even when several genetic brakes to cancer formation were missing in the animals, say researchers from the Albert Einstein Cancer Center. The investigators, who presented their findings at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Assoc...

Natural tumor suppressor in body discovered by UCSD medical researchers

A natural tumor suppressor that could potentially be turned on in certain cancer cells to prevent the formation of tumors has been discovered by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Located on chromosome 18 and called PH domain Leucine-rich repeat Protein Phosphatase (PHLPP, pronounced "flip"), the tumor suppressor is described in the April 1,...

Unexpected lock and key mechanism found for the assembly of tumor blood vessels

A critical lock and key mechanism that allows the final step in the completion of new blood vessel formation has been identified by a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine team in research that promises to lead to a new way to halt tumor growth by cutting off the tumor blood supply. The research team led by Judith Varner, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at UC...

Double trouble: Cells with duplicate genomes can trigger tumors

Abnormal cell division that yields cells with an extra set of chromosomes can initiate the development of tumors in mice, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown, validating a controversial theory about cancer causation put forth by a scientific visionary nearly 100 years ago. The so-called "double-value" cells are produced by random errors in cell division that occur with u...

Novel regulatory mechanism identified for key tumor suppressor p53

Collaborating scientists from The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and The Vienna Biocenter in Austria have identified a novel mechanism involved in normal repression of the p53 protein, perhaps the single most important molecule for the control of cancer in humans. The new molecular pathway described in the study suggests intriguing approaches to diagnosing or intervening in the progress...

Report calls for improved monoclonal antibodies against solid tumors

A new report by leading experts in monoclonal antibody research for oncology offers a conceptual framework for future research in the design of antibody therapies against solid tumors. Writing in the January 15, 2007 issue of CANCER ( ), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer So...

Missing Receptor Molecule Causes Tumor Growth

A missing receptor molecule contributes to the growth of tumors in human ovaries. This surprisingly evident connection has now been proven by a team at the Medical University of Vienna, who published their data in the science journal Molecular Cancer Research. The team, who is supported by funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF, also discovered the possible genetic reason why the receptor mol...

Nanoparticles carry cancer-killing drugs into tumor cells

A missing receptor molecule contributes to the growth of tumors in human ovaries. This surprisingly evident connection has now been proven by a team at the Medical University of Vienna, who published their data in the science journal Molecular Cancer Research. The team, who is supported by funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF, also discovered the possible genetic reason why the receptor mol...

New lead reported in tumor angiogenesis

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, have added a key new piece to the puzzle of how tumor cells induce new blood vessels to form and fuel their abnormal growth, a well-known process called angiogenesis. As published in this month's issue of the journal Cancer Cell, the scientists found that i...

Stem Cells Found In Cerebellum; Possible Cell of Origin for Childhood Brain Tumors

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have discovered the presence of stem cells in the cerebellum, a brain region where a deadly type of brain tumor originates. Their findings suggest that such tumors, called medulloblastomas, could arise from stem cells gone awry. The cerebellum is the brain's control center for motor coordination and cognitive function, yet little has been known...

Researchers discover how tumor suppressor gene works

A team of University of Minnesota researchers has discovered how a gene that suppresses the development of melanoma and other human cancers works. The study points the way to treatments based on the function of the gene. The researchers, led by Zigang Dong, director of the university's Hormel Institute in Austin, Minn., have applied for a patent on one such treatment. The work will be published o...

Vaccine targets tumors where they live

Vaccine strategies are being designed to battle cancer, but their use for metastatic melanoma is a challenge. Effective vaccines against established tumors require tumor-reactive T cells to traffic to the sites of the tumors and are locally activated there in order to kill cancer cells. A problem is that the T cells lose their tumor-killing power once they reach the environment surrounding the tu...

Researchers discover new tumor defense system

Researchers have discovered that tumors release fatty acids that interfere with the cells that are trying to kill them. Consequently, strategies that reduce the amount of fatty acids surrounding the tumors may give a boost to anti-cancer therapeutics. The details of these findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Bi...

Breast tumors in mice eradicated using cancer vaccine

Findings could lead to new immune therapy for breast cancer A team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that by using a cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, they can cure mice with established breast tumors. Cancer vaccines, which are more properly described as immunotherapy, work by boosting an immune response against tumor-associated...

Optimizing cell therapy against tumors is a balancing ACT

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) therapy is used to treat patients with metastatic solid tumors. ACT involves the removal of some of the patient's cancer cells, and some of their immune T cells. When the cells are mixed together, specific parts of the cancer cells that stimulate the T cells to cause an immune attack can be identified. The T cells get expanded and re-infused into the patient to mount...

A new link between stem cells and tumors

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Institute of Biomedical Research of the Parc Cient�fic de Barcelona (IRB-PCB) have now added key evidence to claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells. The study, reported this week in the on-line edition of (September 4) shows that if key molecules aren't place...

Prostate cancer uses Wnt signaling proteins to promote growth of bone tumors

Prostate cancer is a cruel disease. Left untreated, prostate cancer cells often metastasize, or spread, to bone where they form fracture-prone tumors that are extremely painful. More than 80 percent of men who die from prostate cancer die with metastatic disease in their bones. But scientists know very little about how migrating prostate cancer cells set up housekeeping in bone tissue and...

New clues to the dark side of a key anti-tumor guardian

Although researchers over recent years have established a foothold in understanding how p53 protects against cancer, the mechanisms by which it might contribute to aging and lifespan are not well studied. In work reported this week, researchers studying p53 function in fruit flies show new evidence that despite the protective role of p53 as a guardian against tumor formation, normal levels of p53...

Chemical compound inhibits tumor growth, size in new mouse study

Penn State food scientists have shown that the amount of health-linked polyphenols present during roasting or baking influences the toasty aroma developed by oats and might be used to limit the generation of off-flavors in oat products. Polyphenols are a large family of naturally occurring plant components that have been associated with a wide variety of health benefits. Flavonoids and so...

Cancer support cells may evolve, fuel tumor growth, study shows

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have demonstrated in a living organism that cancers may cause surrounding supportive cells to evolve and ultimately promote cancer growth. The new research offers what is believed to be the first evidence that mutations within cancer cells can signal surrounding tissue cells to alter their molecular composition in ways that promote tum...

New Therapeutic Target Identified In Inherited Brain Tumor Disorder

With preliminary results from a study in Botswana, Harvard School of Public Health researchers have found that people with HIV-1 subtype C in resource-poor settings, who receive antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, can achieve comparable results to those in the developed world. A fully supported health care delivery system and infrastructure help ensure this success, according to data published in Novem...

Preclinical study of a new brain tumor therapy

Scientists have devised a strategy to treat tumors by selectively targeting and killing the malignant cells. A new preclinical study, published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, has applied the approach to combat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This is the most aggressive form of brain tumour, growing very quickly before symptoms are experienced and killing most patients within a year of d...

Common molecular 'signature' identified in solid tumors

Scientists have discovered that a wide variety of different cancers actually share something in common ?a molecular "signature" made up of tiny bits of genetic material called microRNA (miRNA) that target key cancer genes and promote malignant growth. The finding provides more insight into miRNA as an emerging class of gene regulators and may also pave the way for new approaches in diagno...

'Virus chip' detects new virus in prostate tumors

UCSF and Cleveland Clinic scientists have discovered a new virus in human prostate tumors. The type of virus, closely related to viruses typically found in mice, has never been detected in humans. The virus's link to human disease is still unclear, and more study is needed to determine the relationship between the virus and cancer, if any, the scientists say. The discovery was made with...

Botox could help target resistant tumors for treatment

The cosmetic treatment Botox may have a new use as an adjuvant to cancer therapy, providing an open door for chemotherapy and radiation treatments, according to a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. The study in mice, led by Bernard Gallez, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy at the Université de Louvain in Brussels, Belgium, found that by injecting Botulinum neurot...

Macrophage signaling may affect hormone resistance in prostate tumors

Interaction between prostate cancer cells and immune cells called macrophages may be a source of inflammatory signals capable of impacting the effectiveness of androgen antagonists, the most common and effective treatment for prostate cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Male hormones called androgens are es...

Tumor cells that border normal tissue are told to leave

The thin, single-cell boundary where a tumor meets normal tissue is the most dangerous part of a cancer according to a new study by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers found that tumor cells bordering normal tissue receive signals that tell them to wander away from the tumor, allowing the cancer cells to establish deadly metastatic tumors elsewhere...

Growth factor-promoting angiogenesis expressed in tumor cells and normal neurons

Scientists have discovered that a stem cell factor overexpressed both in brain tumor cells and in neurons following brain injury promotes tumor survival by inducing angiogenesis. The research study, published in the April issue of Cancer Cell, examines the interaction between tumor cells and surrounding tissues and may have substantial significance for design of more effective therapeutics for on...

Little known DNA repair enzyme may be a tumor suppressor gene

Use of the amino acid supplement L-arginine following a heart attack does not improve certain cardiac functions and measurements and may be associated with an increased risk of death, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA. L-arginine is a widely available dietary supplement and is publicized as having benefits for patients with hypertension, angina, heart failure and sexual d...

Protein found to control tumor growth in certain breast cancers

This protein was previously thought to play a role solely in the innate immune system's response to bacterial infection. In the new study, which will be published on-line by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on January 23, researchers showed for the first time that the protein, which is present in epithelial cells of the intestinal tract and lungs...

Proteins stop blood-vessel and tumor growth in mice

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center report in the March issue of Cancer Research that a pair of promising proteins, known as fibulins 3 and 5, slow the growth of cancer tumors in mice by preventing blood vessels from sprouting. The proteins are promising candidates for use in cancer therapy. "Healthy humans produce fibulin proteins, which regulate cell proliferation...

Common molecular 'signature' identified in solid tumors

Scientists have discovered that a wide variety of different cancers actually share something in common ?a molecular "signature" made up of tiny bits of genetic material called microRNA (miRNA) that target key cancer genes and promote malignant growth. The finding provides more insight into miRNA as an emerging class of gene regulators and may also pave the way for new approaches in diagno...

p53, tumor suppression and aging

In the January 1 issue of Genes & Development, Dr. Mary Ellen Perry and colleagues validate the p53 inhibitor, Mdm2, as a promising target for cancer therapies. The p53 tumor suppressor plays a critical role in cancer formation, and many anticancer strategies aim to activate p53 in order to curb tumor formation. Mdm2 is a key inhibitor of p53 and therefore an attractive target to modul...

Weighting cancer drugs to make them hit tumors harder

Scientists have devised a blueprint for boosting anti-cancer drugs' effectiveness and lowering their toxicity by attaching the equivalent of a lead sinker onto the drugs. This extra weight makes the drugs penetrate and accumulate inside tumors more effectively. Chemotherapy drugs often fall short of achieving their full impact because the drugs diffuse in and out of the tumor too rapidly,...