New Mesothelioma Immunogene Clinical Trial Set to Launch
For more than a decade, pulmonologist Dr. Dan Sterman has believed immunotherapy would become the catalyst for major advancements in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Today, he is closer than ever to proving that point.
Sterman, director of pulmonary medicine at New York University, soon will help launch a multicenter clinical trial involving a powerful immunogene therapy combination that may change the way this deadly asbestos-related cancer is viewed.
“I believe that immunotherapy will become the fourth pillar of treatment for mesothelioma (joining chemotherapy, radiation and surgery),” Sterma...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 22, 2016 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tim Povtak Tags: Research & Clinical Trials Source Type: news
[Research Article] Activation of PKA leads to mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition and loss of tumor-initiating ability
This study provides proof-of-principle for inducing an MET as differentiation therapy for TICs and uncovers a role for PKA in enforcing and maintaining the epithelial state.
Authors: Diwakar R. Pattabiraman, Brian Bierie, Katharina Isabelle Kober, Prathapan Thiru, Jordan A. Krall, Christina Zill, Ferenc Reinhardt, Wai Leong Tam, Robert A. Weinberg (Source: ScienceNOW)
Source: ScienceNOW - March 3, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Diwakar R. Pattabiraman Source Type: news
Does Ovarian Cancer Occur in Young Women?
Although epithelial ovarian cancer is infrequent in women under 40 years of age, it can and does occur in young women. (Source: About.com Ovarian Cancer)
Source: About.com Ovarian Cancer - February 24, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: health Source Type: news
SpectraScience picks up optical imaging company Oncoscope
SpectraScience said today it acquired the assets of optical imaging system company Oncoscope for an undisclosed amount.
Durham, N.C.-based Oncoscope developed a proprietary optical imaging system designed for the minimally invasive detection of pre-cancerous epithelial tissues using scattered white light, with a target indication for Barrett’s Esophagus.
“The Oncoscope technology is the perfect complement to ours. SpectraScience’s Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy measures concentration of specific biomarkers in epithelial tissues. The strength of Oncoscope’s technology is its focus on enlar...
Source: Mass Device - February 23, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Fink Densford Tags: Business/Financial News Diagnostics Optical/Ophthalmic Oncoscope Inc. SpectraScience Inc. Source Type: news
New genetic risk factor for ovarian cancer identified
ConclusionThis study was designed to assess whether a mutation that shortens the BARD1, BRIP1, NBN and PALB2 genes is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer in women of European origin.The cause of ovarian cancer is not known, but certain factors are known to increase risk, including age, the number of eggs the ovaries release, and whether someone in your family has had ovarian or breast cancer in the past. Genetic mutations are thought to be the cause of 10% of ovarian cancers. Screening is only available for women who are at a high risk of developing the condition because of a strong family history or inheri...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 21, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news
SEER Study: Surgery Still Extends Mesothelioma Survival
Aggressive surgery at a specialty center could more than double the survival period of a patient diagnosed today with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Surgery may buy precious time.
Although oncologists and patients often advise and opt against it, surgery remains an effective tool that significantly extends lives, according to an analysis of 14,228 mesothelioma patients across the U.S. The sample of patients is among the largest in similar studies.
"There are limitations to the data, but people just do better with surgery," thoracic surgeon Andrea Wolf, of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, told Asbestos...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 20, 2016 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tim Povtak Tags: Research & Clinical Trials Source Type: news
The Role of WT1 in Embryonic Development and Normal Organ Homeostasis
The Wilms’ tumor suppressor gene 1 (Wt1) is critically involved in a number of developmental processes in vertebrates, including cell differentiation, control of the epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype, proliferation, and apoptosis. Wt1 proteins act as transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators, in mRNA splicing and in protein–protein interactions. Furthermore, Wt1 is involved in adult tissue homeostasis, kidney function, and cancer. For these reasons, Wt1 function has been extensively studied in a number of animal models to establish its spatiotemporal expression pattern and the developmental fate of the...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Cancer Research - December 31, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
Clinical Aspects of WT1 and the Kidney
For more than 30 years, WT1 mutations have been associated with complex developmental syndromes involving the kidney. Acting as a transcription factor, WT1 is expressed throughout the nephron and controls the reciprocal interactions and phenotypic changes required for normal renal development. In the adult, WT1 expression remains extremely high in the renal podocyte, and at a lower level in the parietal epithelial cells. Wt1-null mice are unable to form kidneys [1]. Unsurprisingly, WT1 mutations lead to significant abnormalities of the renal and genitourinary tract, causing a number of human diseases including syndromes su...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Cancer Research - December 31, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
SMART Approach Is Advancing Mesothelioma Survival Rates
Accelerated high-dose radiation just before extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery — a reversal of the traditional order at most U.S. specialty centers — continues to produce impressive results for pleural mesothelioma patients in Toronto.
Specialists at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto General Hospital estimated the median overall survival and disease-free survival at 51 and 47 months, respectively, for patients with the most common subtype of the disease.
Surgeon Marc de Perrot presented the findings of an ongoing study earlier this year at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in Seattle. ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - December 14, 2015 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tim Povtak Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news
Carcinomatosis: General Information & Treatment Methods
Carcinomatosis is commonly taken to mean there are multiple secondaries in multiple sites. Strictly, it should be used only for epithelial cancers or carcinomas and not sarcomas or lymphomas, yet has been extended to include all types of cancer which have spread. The word is now used to describe conditions with more limited spread, such as the following. (Source: Disabled World)
Source: Disabled World - November 30, 2015 Category: Disability Tags: Cancer and Tumors Source Type: news
Researchers find experimental drug can help fight debilitating side effect of ovarian cancer
Women who have ovarian cancer often develop a condition called ascites, which is a buildup of fluids in the abdomen. The most common treatment for ascites is puncturing the abdomen and manually draining the fluid, which is painful and risky and must be repeated every few weeks.
UCLA researchers have found that a drug that inhibits a receptor called the Colony-Stimulating-Factor-1 Receptor, or CSF1R, reduces ascites with minimal side effects. This inhibition therapy targets not cancer cells but macrophages, a special type of immune cell, in order to prevent them from helping the cancer take root in the abdomen.
In effect,...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - November 17, 2015 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Immunohistochemical Stains in Epithelial Lesions of the BreastImmunohistochemical Stains in Epithelial Lesions of the Breast
Learn more about how IHC stains help guide the differential diagnosis of challenging epithelial lesions of the breast. Cancer Control: Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - September 29, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Hematology-Oncology Journal Article Source Type: news
HRT safe and perhaps beneficial in women treated for ovarian cancer, major trial shows
(Institute of Cancer Research) Women with the commonest type of ovarian cancer can safely take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and it could have a beneficial effect on their survival, a long-term clinical trial reports. The 24-year, phase III international trial provides the strongest evidence yet that women with epithelial ovarian cancer -- which accounts for 80-90 per cent of cases -- can safely take HRT during or after their treatment. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - September 28, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
Modified CAR T cells can preferentially target cancer cells, spare normal cells
Engineering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to lower their affinity for the protein epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) made the cells preferentially recognize and eliminate tumor cells that have high amounts of EGFR while sparing normal cells that have lower amounts of the protein, according to a preclinical study. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - September 1, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
Modified CAR T cells can preferentially target cancer cells and spare normal cells
(American Association for Cancer Research) Engineering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to lower their affinity for the protein epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) made the cells preferentially recognize and eliminate tumor cells that have high amounts of EGFR while sparing normal cells that have lower amounts of the protein, according to a preclinical study. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - September 1, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
