Scientists have discovered two genes that appear responsible for one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma multiforme rapidly invades the normal brain, producing inoperable tumours, but scientists have not understood why it is so aggressive.
The latest study, by a Columbia University team, published in Nature, pinpoints two genes.
The researchers say that the findings raise hopes of developing a treatment for the cancer.
The genes – C/EPB and Stat3 – are active in about 60% of glioblastoma patients.
They appear to work in tandem to turn on many other genes that make brain cells cancerous.
The brain
Patients in the study whose tumours showed evidence of both genes being active died within 140 weeks of diagnosis.
In contrast, half of patients without activity from these genes were alive after that time.
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December 27th, 2009 at 4:08 am
Scientists have shown how a family of “limpet-like” proteins play a crucial role in repairing the DNA damage which can lead to cancer.
They hope the finding could pave the way for a new type of drug which could help kill cancer cells, and promote production of healthy replacements.
The proteins seem to have a remarkable ability to zero in on damaged areas.
The breakthrough, uncovered independently by two teams, appears in the journal Nature.
The family of Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) proteins track down sites in the body where DNA damage has occurred.
They attach themselves to normal proteins, and guide them in to fix the genetic faults.
Using this method, the proteins are even able to repair double strand DNA breaks – the most severe type of DNA damage.
When their work is done, the proteins detach themselves and move on.
February 19th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
A SIMPLE blood test that could change the way cancer is treated has been unveiled by scientists.
It will allow patients to be placed on the most successful treatments immediately and they will be tailor-made so each victim receives the best and most effective care.
The test will also provide an early warning if tumours return, allowing doctors to put cancer sufferers back on the most effective treatments much earlier than would otherwise have been possible.
Faster and more focused treatment for cancer has long been seen as the “holy grail” of research because it is recognised to be the best way of boosting the chances of beating the disease.
Last night, experts in cancer research described the work as “a big step forward” and “exciting”.
They said it would herald a new era in what is known as “personalised medicine”, where patients have their treatment matched to their genes.
Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, said: “This is another exciting step down the road towards personalised cancer medicine.
“If this can be done for other types of cancer like bowel, breast and prostate, it will help us to bring new treatments to patients better and faster than ever.”
The latest test, presented at a conference in San Diego, California, is based on genes.
Scientists have recently been able to create complex maps of the genes found in cancer cells.
Just as every person differs in their genes, so do the genes that make their cancers.
March 7th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
SCIENTISTS believe they have made a major breakthrough in cancer treatment after cracking the “code” behind the disease.
They have discovered the body’s immune system can kill cancer cells within a window occurring every 12 to 14 days.
By giving low-dose treatment at exactly the right time, researchers believe they have, against the odds, succeeded in halting the spread of advanced cancer.
Professor Michael Quinn has led the trial in patients with advanced ovarian cancer and suggests it could signal the most exciting development since the introduction of chemotherapy in the Fifties.
While he points out that it is still a theory, he said: “This is astonishing and could infl uence the treatment of all solid tumours in the future. We hope it will revolutionise the treatment of cancer.” Professor Quinn and his team reviewed 63 papers involving more than 1,200 patients since 2000.
They discovered that sufferers had about a 1-in-12 chance of responding to chemotherapy. During further studies they found the body has a fortnightly immune cycle during which it “switches on and off”.
When the immune system turns off, it releases “inhibitory cells” which prevent it fighting disease, including cancer.