http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Sarcomatoid carcinomas of the lung include rare subtypes of poorly differentiated non–small-cell lung carcinomas of high grade and aggressive behavior. The biology of these neoplasms is poorly understood and these tumors are aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The identification of actionable molecular targets for such infrequent and aggressive diseases is critical for design of new clinical trials. Programmed death-1 (PD-1) is a co-inhibitory inducible receptor present on T-cells and macrophages. Tumor cells with increased programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) are believed to escape immunity through activation of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway and suppression of effector-immune responses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-rationale-immunotherapy-sarcomatoid-lung-carcinomas.html Cancer Tue, 28 May 2013 15:28:21 EST news288973694 Researchers at Emory University have identified a protein that stimulates a pair of "orphan receptors" found in the brain, solving a long-standing biological puzzle and possibly leading to future treatments for neurological diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-family-pair-orphan-receptors-brain.html Medical research Tue, 21 May 2013 11:49:55 EST news288355780 (Medical Xpress)—The engineered antibody MPDL3280A, which targets a protein called programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), was safe and effective for several cancers, according to phase I study results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-antibody-safety-efficacy-wide-range.html Cancer Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:50:01 EST news284804550 A newly found understanding of receptor signaling may have revealed a better way to design drugs. A study from Nationwide Children's Hospital suggests that a newly identified group of proteins, alpha arrestins, may play a role in cell signaling that is crucial to new drug development. The study appears in PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-potential-pathway-drug.html Medical research Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:49:51 EST news274366169 (Medical Xpress)—An international team of scientists has discovered the mechanism by which zebrafish can re-grow brain neurons after they have suffered traumatic brain injury, and that this mechanism is associated with inflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-zebrafish-regrow-brains.html Medical research Fri, 09 Nov 2012 05:40:01 EST news271655654 (HealthDay)—Lexatumumab, an agonistic, full human monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor 2, is well tolerated and may lessen certain clinical symptoms in some pediatric patients with solid tumors, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-lexatumumab-tolerated-pediatric-solid-tumors.html Cancer Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:20:01 EST news269620698 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Michigan have determined how the hormone leptin, an important regulator of metabolism and body weight, interacts with a key receptor in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-obesity-drugs-focus.html Medical research Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:28:14 EST news269177288 Dendritic cells (DCs)—workhorses of the immune system—derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) may provide an economical way of generating off-the-shelf therapeutic vaccines against cancers, according to research led by Jieming Zeng and Shu Wang from the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Singapore. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-jump-starting-cheaper-cancer-vaccines.html Immunology Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:04:56 EST news267872682 Treatment with denosumab, a drug targeted against a protein that helps promote bone destruction, decreased the number of tumor giant cells in patients with giant-cell tumor of the bone, and increased new bone formation, according to the results of a phase II study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-denosumab-burden-giant-cell-tumor-bone.html Cancer Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:41:14 EST news267446466 (Medical Xpress)—What kills cancer patients often isn't the primary tumor; it's when the tumor metastasizes—or spreads the cancer to other areas of the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-metastatic-cancer-therapies.html Cancer Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:17:40 EST news266563050 Two clinical trials led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers in collaboration with other medical centers, testing experimental drugs aimed at restoring the immune system's ability to spot and attack cancer, have shown promising early results in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, and kidney cancer. More than 500 patients were treated in the studies of two drugs that target the same immune-suppressive pathway, and the investigators say there is enough evidence to support wider testing in larger groups of patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-cancer-therapy-boosts-immune-ready.html Cancer Sat, 02 Jun 2012 04:12:55 EST news257829141 (HealthDay) -- Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) activate a mechanism involving coupling of FAS/FAS ligand to induce T cell apoptosis and immune tolerance, according to an experimental study published online April 26 in Cell Stem Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-mechanism-idd-benefit-stem-cells.html Medical research Wed, 02 May 2012 15:40:01 EST news255188355 The benefits of breast milk are well known, but why breastfeeding protects against various forms of cancer remains a mystery. A new study in the Journal of Human Lactation found high levels of cancer-fighting TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) in human milk, which might be one source of breast milk's anticancer activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-high-trail-protein-breast-contribute.html Health Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:38:04 EST news254417874 Glioblastoma, a lethal brain cancer, is one of the most resistant to available therapies and patients typically live approximately 15 months. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-pathway-glioblastoma-resistance.html Cancer Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:37:28 EST news246627439 The research team in France has developed an animal model carrying a mutation of the DCC gene. Mice carrying the mutation develop tumours, because this gene can no longer induce the death of the cancer cells. This discovery could lead to the development of a new targeted cancer treatment that aims to reactivate the dying of cancer cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-gene-colorectal-cancers.html Cancer Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:18:47 EST news243083919 Because the incidence of malignant melanoma is rising faster than any other cancer in the U.S., researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Tampa-based Intezyne Technologies, Inc., Western Carolina University and the University of Arizona are working overtime to develop new technologies to aid in both malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy. A tool of great promise comes from the world of nanomedicine – where tiny drug delivery systems are measured in the billionths of meters and are being designed to deliver targeted therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-ways-image-therapeutically-melanoma.html Other Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:10:06 EST news239536215 A new report in Biological Psychiatry suggests that deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Endocannabinoids are substances made by the brain that affect brain function and chemistry in ways that resemble the effects of cannabis derivatives, including marijuana and hashish. These commonly abused drugs are well known to increase appetite, i.e. to cause the "munchies". Thus, it makes sense that deficits in this brain system would be associated with reduced appetite. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-deficits-brain-cannabinoids-contribute-disorders.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:41:53 EST news239276506 A new strategy that takes advantage of ovarian cancer's reliance on folate appears to give relapse patients extra months of life with few side effects, researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-folate-receptors-front-door-ovarian.html Cancer Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:11:47 EST news239019097 An experimental cure for Type 1 diabetes has a nearly 80 percent success rate in curing diabetic mice. The results, to be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston, offer possible hope of curing a disease that affects 3 million Americans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-gene-therapy-reverses-diabetes-mice.html Medical research Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:53:19 EST news226572254 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Bath have resolved a longstanding controversy surrounding an important structure of the immune system that could result in new therapeutic targets for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases as well as the potential to enhance the efficacy of vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-important-immune-complex-year-controversy.html Medical research Wed, 04 May 2011 07:50:04 EST news223711894