Tag Archives: Cancer Research Advancement

New Tao Brush Technique May Find More Female Pelvic Cancers Early

New Tao Brush Technique May Find More Female Pelvic Cancers Early
New Tao Brush Technique May Find More Female Pelvic Cancers Early

Ovarian and uterine cancers are often detected too late for effective treatment. Immuno oncology got a major boost recently with the development of an advanced Pap test that can provide early diagnosis.

Improving Early Detection of Female Pelvic Cancers

Researchers from McGill University and Johns Hopkins University teamed up to work on PapSEEK. This safe and minimally invasive test uses Pap samples from the uterus, cervix and blood to identify common genetic mutations in cancer DNA.

While the standard Pap test collects samples from the cervix, McGill professor Lucy Hopkins suggested that the team collect samples from the uterus as well to increase chances of detecting other types of cancer. They used a method called the Tao brush technique to improve the sensitivity of the test.

Going Beyond Traditional Testing

PapSEEK was tested on samples from more than 1,300 women from different hospital sites in different countries. Just over 600 of the samples were from patients with endometrial or ovarian cancer, while the others were healthy controls.

The researchers were able to detect 81 percent of endometrial cancers and 33 percent of ovarian cancers, with higher rates when the Tao brush technique was implemented. In addition, there were no false-positive results.

According to Gilbert, the Pap smear has reduced the number of cervical cancer deaths, but endometrial and ovarian cancers were going undetected. Gilbert believes that PapSEEK will be a valuable breakthrough, just as the original Pap test was.

Immuno Oncology for Late-Stage Cancers

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New Research: Computer Modeling and New Drugs to Deactivate Metastasized Breast Cancer in the Brain

Computer Modeling and New Drugs to Deactivate Metastasized Breast Cancer in the Brain
Computer Modeling and New Drugs to Deactivate Metastasized Breast Cancer in the Brain

Bringing a new immuno oncology drug to market is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. A team of researchers is trying to expedite the process, using computer modeling to find a drug that treats metastasized breast cancer.

Can One Drug Fight Two Types of Cancer?

Triple negative breast cancer is the most difficult form to treat. Once the cancer metastasizes to the brain, survival time is generally shorter. Scientists at Houston Methodist analyzed thousands of current drugs in search of one that could prevent metastasis.

The team’s efforts paid off when they hit on edelfosine, a drug which is FDA-approved for investigational leukemia treatment. Edelfosine has also been the subject of clinical research for primary brain tumors.

In a study to test the discovery, mice were injected with triple negative breast cancer stem cells obtained from patients. The cancer cells metastasized to the brain, but treatment with edelfosine prevented the cells from further growth.

A “Game-Changer” in Immuno Oncology

Dr. Stephen T. Wong, one of the study’s authors, referred to the concept of repurposing drug compounds to prevent metastatic brain cancer as a “game-changer.” In past research, Wong and his co-workers have discovered other drugs that are being repurposed in clinical trials.

The study’s co-author, Dr. Hong Zhao, said they hope to move edelfosine to a phase II clinical study within the next few years. In addition, scientists want to investigate use of the compound on other forms of cancer.

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Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways
Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

If you think you’ve been hearing the term “immunotherapy” a lot lately, it’s not your imagination. Scientists consider this growing form of cancer treatment to be a game-changer on a par with the polio vaccine and organ transplants.

Researchers Commit to Immunotherapy

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the top-rated health enterprises in the U.S., recently demonstrated their major commitment to immunotherapy research. Earlier this year, they announced plans for a $200 million Immune and Transplant Therapy facility to open in 2020.

UPMC’s newest center will focus on researching treatments to disrupt cancer growth as well as reduce the need for immune-suppressing drugs with transplant patients. Dr. Robert Ferris, director of UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center, referred to the facility as “swinging for the fences.”

How Immunotherapy Works

Immunotherapy cancer treatments fall into one of two categories:

Checkpoint modulator drugs trigger the body’s own immune cells to attack and destroy cancer cells.

– Cell therapies, such as the recently approved CAR-T therapy, involve harvesting a patient’s T-cells and programming them to fight cancer cells, at which point they are reinfused back into the patient’s system.

Dr. Sandip Patel of the University of California San Diego called immunotherapy a “paradigm shift” in cancer treatment. According to Patel, when immunotherapy is effective, it can lead to a patient’s cancer going into remission for years.

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Huntington’s Disease Produced Molecules Are Fatal to Cancer Cells

Huntington's Disease Produced Molecules Are Fatal to Cancer Cells
Huntington’s Disease Produced Molecules Are Fatal to Cancer Cells

Could a clue to more effective cancer treatment be found in the biochemistry of another illness? Scientists are hopeful that the gene behind Huntington’s disease could be fatal to cancer cells without harming healthy ones.

What Is Huntington’s Disease?

Huntington’s disease is a genetically inherited condition that destroys nerve cells in the brain. There is currently treatment but no cure for the disorder, which causes a slowly progressive decline in both cognitive and physical abilities.

The faulty gene that triggers Huntington’s disease contains an excessive number of repeats of a certain sequence of nucleotides, which form the building blocks of DNA and RNA. These sequences create small interfering RNAs, which are molecules that attack specific genes crucial for cell survival.

“Assassin Molecules”

Brain cells in particular are vulnerable to the cell death caused by small interfering RNAs. Cancer cells are also highly susceptible, which is thought to be the reason why Huntington’s disease patients have such a low incidence of cancer.

A research team at Northwestern University tested these so-called “assassin molecules” on human and mouse cancer cells, including brain, breast, colon and ovarian, that were grown in a laboratory. The small interfering RNAs killed all cancer cells from both humans and mice.

Researchers were encouraged that the treatment also showed no toxicity to healthy cells. Further testing is underway to find a more targeted form of delivery.

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Specialized DNA Nanobots Close Cancer Tumor’s Blood Supply

Specialized DNA Nanobots Close Cancer Tumor's Blood Supply
Specialized DNA Nanobots Close Cancer Tumor’s Blood Supply

Robotics has made quite a splash in manufacturing and industrial applications, and now it’s on the brink of a breakthrough in a completely different arena. Future cancer treatment options may include an army of tiny tumor-fighting nanobots.

Biochemistry Meets Industrial Technology

The concept is in the preliminary stages, so real-life use is still far off on the horizon. Scientists are encouraged by the results of a study that was recently published in Nature Biotechnology.

Researchers conducted the test on a group of mice with human breast cancer tumors. Specially engineered DNA nanobots containing a payload of thrombin, an enzyme that causes blood to clot, were then injected intravenously into the affected mice.

Once inside, the nanobots delivered the thrombin directly to tumor-associated blood vessels, where they induced intravascular thrombosis. As a result, cancer cells were deprived of their blood supply and ultimately died off.

Sparing Healthy Cells

While scientists welcome any advancement in cancer treatment, one particular aspect of DNA nanobots is especially promising. During testing on the mice, the nanobots focused exclusively on cancer cells. There was no damage to healthy cells, unlike results often found in traditional cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.

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Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results

Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results
Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results

Early detection improves the chances of successful cancer treatment, so recent news of a “liquid biopsy” has encouraged the medical community. Unfortunately, the test is showing unacceptable levels of accuracy, leaving the procedure a long way from any real-world applications.

Controlled vs. Real World Conditions

CancerSEEK uses a blood sample for a battery of tests to measure tumor biomarkers and identify cancer-associated DNA mutations. During clinical studies, researchers obtained some promising results.

By the team’s own admission, the conditions were optimized to facilitate detection of cancer. Even so, most of the cancers detected were late-stage while the goal of screening was to find cancer in the early stages.

Accuracy problems in less-controlled environments became more clear in a 2017 study involving 40 prostate cancer patients who underwent liquid biopsies to fine-tune their therapy programs. Each sample was sent to two different labs with similar technology, but the results differed for more than half of the patients.

Are Liquid Biopsies the Answer?

Researchers are also questioning the full value of a positive result. While the test may detect the presence of cancer, it gives no clues as to the location of the tumor, unlike traditional screenings such as mammograms and CT scans.

Scientists will no doubt continue to study the science behind liquid biopsies, as detection of circulating tumor DNA can have other applications. The question remains whether liquid biopsies have a viable future as useful cancer screening.

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