Mouse study helps explain the paradoxical pro-cancer effects of paclitaxel
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The very same treatment that thwarts breast cancer has a dark side – it can fuel the spread of the disease to the lungs. (more…)
Local chemical signals released by fat cells in the mammary gland appear to provide a crucial link between exposure to unrelenting social stressors early in life, and the subsequent development of breast cancer, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the July 2013 issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
Some forms of stress exposure may be associated with an increased risk of certain types of aggressive breast cancer. But the mechanisms linking the biology of social stress to cancer have been hard to identify. To unravel that mechanism, the researchers looked for differences between mice raised in small groups and those that grow up in an isolated setting—an established model of chronic stress without social supports. (more…)
Work-related stress is not directly linked to the development of colorectal, lung, breast or prostate cancers, but can cause other contributing factors, according to a new study published on bmj.com
Around 90 per cent of cancers are linked to environmental exposures and whilst some exposures are well recognised (such as UV radiation and tobacco smoke), others are not (psychological factors such as stress). (more…)
Drug efficiently targets breast, lung and colon cancer; clinical trials could start within two years.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Legend has it that Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” University of Missouri researchers are doing just that, but instead of building mousetraps, the scientists are targeting cancer drugs. In a new study, MU medicinal chemists have taken an existing drug that is being developed for use in fighting certain types of cancer, added a special structure to it, and created a more potent, efficient weapon against cancer.
“Over the past decade, we have seen an increasing interest in using carboranes in drug design,” said Mark W. Lee Jr., assistant professor of chemistry in College of Arts and Science. “Carboranes are clusters of three elements — boron, carbon and hydrogen. Carboranes don’t fight cancer directly, but they aid in the ability of a drug to bind more tightly to its target, creating a more potent mechanism for destroying the cancer cells.” (more…)
Discovery could help lead to prevention of radical surgery for rare childhood disease
Hemimegalencephaly is a rare but dramatic condition of infancy in which half the brain is malformed and much larger than the other half. Its cause is unknown, but the current treatment is radical: the surgical disconnection and removal of the diseased half of the brain.
In a paper published in the June 24 online issue of the journal Nature Genetics, a team of doctors and scientists says mutations in a trio of genes that help regulate cell size and proliferation are likely culprits in causing the disorder, though perhaps not the only ones.
These mutations, known as de novo somatic mutations, are genetic changes in the cells of the brain. Because they are in non-sex organs, the mutations are not transmitted to the child by either parent. (more…)
Understanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish.
Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health.
The fluorescent fish has shown that oestrogenic chemicals, which are already linked to reproductive problems, impact on more parts of the body than previously thought.
The research by the University of Exeter and UCL (University College London) is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. (more…)
*The search for biomarkers of disease in spit*
It’s a researcher’s dream: a simple, noninvasive test to detect life-threatening cancer, heart disease, or other maladies while they’re still treatable.
A team of University of Minnesota researchers is in hot pursuit of that goal, using one of the simplest means imaginable: testing spit. They’ve discovered that conditions such as breast and oral cancer leak certain proteins into saliva, and if detected, such proteins can be “biomarkers” for the disease. (more…)
In 2005, news first broke that researchers in Scotland found unexpectedly low rates of cancer among diabetics taking metformin, a drug commonly prescribed to patients with Type II diabetes. Many follow-up studies reported similar findings, some suggesting as much as a 50-per-cent reduction in risk. How could this anti-diabetic drug reduce the risk of developing cancer and what were the mechanisms involved?
In a paper published today in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal reported an unexpected finding: they learned that exposure to metformin reduces the cellular mutation rate and the accumulation of DNA damage. It is well known that such mutations are directly involved in carcinogenesis, but lowering cancer risk by inhibiting the mutation rate has never been shown to be feasible. (more…)
