Tag Archives: Cancer Treatment

The Connection Between Tumors and Blood Vessels

Stop Cancer
Stop Cancer

The medical community has long believed that cancer cells support their growth by generating blood vessels. A recent study suggests that blood vessels may actually begin the cycle of tumor development.

“Hijacking” Blood Vessels for Tumor Development

According to cancer biologist Dr. Lan Ko, one of the authors of the study, the team found evidence that blood vessels can create tumors. In turn, the cancer cells then produce blood vessels to further sustain their growth.

Researchers focused on GT198, a gene generally found in low levels within the body. It has a natural ability to repair DNA and regulate stem cells, but in mutated form it creates cancer cells.

Pericytes, found in the outer layer of blood vessels, resemble stem cells in the way they can form different types of tissue. During the study, researchers found abnormally high levels of GT198 in pericytes supporting a number of human tumors.

Even more surprising was that the GT198 was located in the pericytes’ cytoplasm instead of the nucleus. This enabled malignant pericytes to multiply into cancer cells and detach from blood vessels to promote spread of the tumors.

Application for Cancer Treatment

As Dr. Ko explained, these results indicate that GT198 is a viable target for immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Further testing will explore use of existing cancer drugs and development of new ones.

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What is Recurrent Cancer – What Do I Need to Know?

What Do I Need to Know?
What Do I Need to Know?

Have you ever heard stories about patients undergoing immunotherapy for cancer and experiencing no recurrence? Here’s what you need to know about recurrent cancer and what it means in terms of your overall health.

When Cancer Comes Back

Recurrence refers to cancer that returns after treatment has been completed. It originates with cancer cells that remained after the first course of treatment but were too small to show up in post-treatment testing.

Recurrent cancer is the same form as the original tumor, as opposed to a new type of cancer that may develop in patients who have a history of tumors. The latter is known as second primary cancer.

Types of Recurrent Cancer

Cancer recurs in three different ways:

• Local recurrence is in the same general area as the original tumor.

• Regional recurrence describes cancer that has grown into lymph nodes or other tissues near the original cancer.

• Distant recurrence is when cancer has spread to organs or other tissues far from the original site.

Another term that describes distant recurrence is metastatic cancer. Regardless of where the cancer has spread, it’s still the same type as the original tumor.

Testing and Treatment

Your doctor will likely repeat many of the same tests that resulted in the first diagnosis. These tests provide information to help determine the appropriate course of treatment.

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How the Presence of Estrogen Protects Women from Gastric Inflammation Leading to Cancer

Advanced Cancer Research
Advanced Cancer Research

In the past, scientists have attributed gender discrepancies in cancer rates to lifestyle differences. Recent evidence strongly indicates that the cause may actually lie in biological differences instead.

This theory was bolstered by the results of an MIT study involving male mice infected with H. pylori, a bacterium that can lead to gastric cancer. More than 50 percent of people around the globe are infected with H. pylori, and while many remain asymptomatic, gastric cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

How Gastric Cancer Develops

H. pylori infections are controlled by the body’s immune system, but a common side effect is gastritis, which is an inflammation of the stomach. The result is conditions that lead to the development of gastric cancer.

Studies have indicated that estrogen can protect women from gastritis, lowering their gastric cancer risk. Conversely, Tamoxifen and other drugs that block estrogen have been linked to higher risk of gastric cancer in women.

Testing the Theory

The mice in the MIT study were treated with estrogen, Tamoxifen or both. None of them developed cancer despite a prior history of gastritis, suggesting that Tamoxifen in the stomach may mimic rather than block estrogen. In the untreated control group, 40 percent of the mice developed gastric cancer.

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Scientists Uncover a Key Step in Lung Cancer Progression Which May Lead to New Treatments

Advanced Cancer Research
Advanced Cancer Research

Approximately 40 percent of lung cancer cases in the United States involve an aggressive form called adenocarcinoma. Researchers recently identified a vital step in this cancer’s development that could be the key to successful early cancer treatment.

The Path from Benign to Malignant

Lung adenocarcinoma gets its name from adenomas, which are a form of benign tumors. Scientists believe that lung adenocarcinomas begin as adenomas that transition to the more aggressive type.

A team of researchers at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research set out to study the process behind the change from benign to malignant. According to lead author Tuomas Tammela, at some point the tumor cells begin acting like stem cells, allowing for rapid reproduction.

Flipping the Switch

Wnt is a signaling pathway that maintains cells in a stem cell-like state. The team focused on the activity of this pathway in a group of mice programmed to develop lung adenomas that were likely to progress to adenocarcinomas.

While they found that the Wnt pathway was not active in the adenomas, about five to 10 percent of the cells turned it on during the transition. When the mice received cancer treatment that interfered with the Wnt proteins, tumor growth was halted and the mice lived 50 percent longer.

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Built to Spread, Cancer May Change Genome to Proliferate More Easily

Stop Cancer
Stop Cancer

Researchers already know that cancer cells are often able to evade detection by the body’s disease-fighting immune system. A recent study shows they may also streamline their genomes for faster replication.

The good news? This information can be used to predict whether a tumor will be vulnerable to DNA-damaging immunotherapy for cancer.

What Is Ribosomal DNA?

Ribosomal DNA, which is present in both healthy and cancerous cells, is the key. This DNA carries the code for ribosomes, which produce the proteins that are responsible for many cell functions.

Copies of these DNA sequences are subject to constant expansion and contraction. A research team at the Stowers Institute, led by Jennifer L. Gerton, Ph.D., set out to show that cancer cells would select for expansion for more rapid proliferation.

A Surprising Discovery

Amazingly, after examining DNA in normal and cancer cells in both humans and mice, the team discovered that the cancer cells held fewer copies of ribosomal DNA. Despite this fact, the cells were able to efficiently make more ribosomal RNA and synthesize more protein.

Dr. Gerton theorizes that less DNA to copy enables faster replication. The side effect of this downsizing is a greater sensitivity to DNA damage, which Dr. Gerton’s team demonstrated by treating the cancer cells with four different DNA-damaging drugs.

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Identification of Specific T Cell Presence May Boost Lung Cancer Immunotherapy Treatment Success

New Cancer Research on T Cells
New Cancer Research on T-Cells for Lung Cancer

While immunotherapy for cancer has been a breakthrough for more effective treatment, the challenge is determining which patients will receive the most benefit. A joint US-UK study recently made a discovery that could help solve the problem for lung cancer patients.

Fighting Lung Cancer with T-Cells

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton and La Jolla (CA) Institute for Allergy and Immunology. The team focused on lung cancer, which is the most common cause of cancer deaths in both countries.

Findings showed that lung cancer patients with larger quantities of tissue-resident memory T-cells in their tumors had a 34 percent greater chance of survival. In addition to serving as protection for the patient, these T-cells produce molecules that attack and destroy cancer cells.

This process corresponds nicely with immunotherapy for cancer, which works by boosting the body’s own natural defense mechanisms against disease. Testing lung cancer patients for levels of tissue-resident memory T-cells can provide an indication of the likelihood that they will benefit from immunotherapy.

Understanding the Role of the Immune System and Immunotherapy

Dr. Justine Alford of Cancer Research UK spoke about the importance of such studies to gain insight into the interaction between cancer cells, the immune system and immunotherapy. She adds that research could lead to more personalized treatments for patients with lung cancer and other forms that are difficult to treat.

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