http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Not all head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) have the same pattern of genomic alterations, but those cancers with certain distinctive patterns could be amenable to specific targeted therapies, according to a researcher who presented the data at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-comprehensive-genomic-analysis-neck-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 08 Apr 2013 08:31:52 EST news284628704 Recently, research using adoptive T-cell immunotherapy in blood cancers have shown success, most notably in the case of a seven-year-old girl whose leukemia went into remission using altered T-cells and a disabled HIV virus. Now, two of the pediatric cancer scientists involved in the T-cell/HIV study will develop a new experimental cancer immunotherapy treatment option for children with high-risk solid tumors based on the same novel approach that uses a patient's own T-cells to attack tumor cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-immunotherapy-children-deadly-solid-tumors.html Cancer Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:44:02 EST news284226231 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have determined that the overexpression of microRNA-155 (miR-155), a short, single strand of ribonucleic acid encoded by the miR-155 host gene, promotes the growth of blood vessels in tumors, tumor inflammation, and metastasis. As a therapeutic target, miR-155 could potentially provide a new avenue of treatment when targeted with drugs to suppress its activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-specific-microrna-tumor-growth-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:09:37 EST news284220569 In a first-of-its-kind experiment using microvesicles generated from mesenchymal bone marrow cells (MSCs) to treat cancer, neurological researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have discovered a novel approach for treatment of tumor. Specifically, the research team found that introducing genetic material produced by MSCs, significantly reduced a particularly resistant form of malignant brain tumor in living lab rats. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-brain-cancer-treatment-genetic-material.html Cancer Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:16:59 EST news284030172 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida have developed a small molecule that inhibits STAT3, a protein that causes cancer. This development could impact the treatment of several tumor types, including breast, lung, prostate and others that depend on STAT3 for survival. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-small-molecule-disrupt-cancer-causing-protein.html Cancer Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:04:10 EST news283493040 During the past 30 years, the number of patients with cancers that originate near the junction of the esophagus and stomach has increased approximately 600 percent in the United States. The first extensive probe of the DNA of these esophageal adenocarcinomas (EACs) has revealed that many share a distinctive mix-up of letters of the genetic code, and found more than 20 mutated genes that had not previously been linked to the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-molecular-signature-rapidly-esophageal-cancer.html Cancer Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:00:08 EST news283334944 Transplants of blood-forming stem cells from umbilical cord blood may be an effective alternative to transplants of matched donor bone marrow stem cells to treat children with a rare, debilitating disease known as Hurler's syndrome (HS), according to results of a study published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-cord-blood-effective-alternative-donor.html Medical research Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:03:12 EST news282477785 Patients with a type of coronary lesion linked with poor prognosis fared significantly better with the stent technique known as double kissing crush than with culotte stenting, according to data from the DKCRUSH-III trial presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-adverse-events-stent-culotte.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:40:04 EST news282216266 Research paves the way for new approaches in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a progressive lung disease that can lead to heart failure within three years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-breathtaking-treatments-fatal-lung-disease.html Medical research Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:05:45 EST news282215135 Neuroblastoma, the most common malignant tumor of early childhood, is frequently associated with the presence of MYCN amplification, a genetic biomarker associated with poor prognosis. Researchers have determined that tumors containing MYCN amplification are sensitive to a new class of drugs, BET bromodomain inhibitors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-biomarker-neuroblastomas-sensitivity-bromodomain-inhibitors.html Cancer Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:32:14 EST news280665121 Curtin University researchers have found that women who breastfeed their babies have significantly reduced rates of ovarian cancer in a study that extends what was known about the beneficial effects of breastfeeding on mothers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-ovarian-cancer-prolonged-lactation.html Cancer Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:18:01 EST news278936257 Melanomas that develop in the eye often are fatal. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have identified a mutated gene in melanoma tumors of the eye that appears to predict a good outcome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-gene-eye-melanomas-linked-good.html Genetics Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:31:13 EST news277572642 Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common paediatric cancer, has been the subject of study in the PhD thesis of ElixabetLópez.In the work entitled New genetic markers for treatment personalization in paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, the UPV/EHU biologist has presented new genetic markers that could improve the classification of risk groups and predict treatment toxicity in the patient.That way it would be possible to achieve better personalisation of the treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-markers-treatment-survival-acute-lymphoblastic.html Cancer Fri, 21 Dec 2012 10:37:07 EST news275308620 Research led by the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has identified a fusion gene responsible for almost 30 percent of a rare subtype of childhood leukemia with an extremely poor prognosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-gene-sequencing-abnormal-rare-childhood.html Cancer Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:39:30 EST news271949948 Breast-feeding reduces the risk for estrogen receptor-negative and progesterone receptor-negative breast cancer, according to a study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Researchers examined the association between reproductive risk factors—such as the number of children a woman delivers, breast-feeding and oral contraceptive use – and found an increased risk for estrogen receptor- and progesterone receptor- (ER/PR) negative breast cancer in women who do not breast-feed. The results also indicated that having three or more children without breast-feeding was associated with an increased risk for ER/PR-negative breast cancer. ER/PR-negative breast cancer often affects younger women and has a poor prognosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-breastfeeding-erpr-negative-breast-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:47:53 EST news269786864 (HealthDay)—For patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), post-discharge mortality rates decreased from 2001 to 2007, according to a study published in the Oct. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-post-discharge-mortality-acute-mi.html Cardiology Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:30:14 EST news269620126 After leukaemia and brain tumours, neuroblastoma is the most common form of cancer to affect children. A thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has studied a DNA method which is now used for all cases of neuroblastoma in Sweden, and which has led to more effective treatment at individual level. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-dna-method-effective-treatment-childhood.html Cancer Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:38:43 EST news269519826 Researchers have discovered a panel of 13 blood proteins that may be effective biomarkers to detect malignant mesothelioma, according to a study published Oct. 3 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Rachel Ostroff from the company SomaLogic, which developed the new test, and colleagues at other institutions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-blood-based-protein-signature-rare-aggressive.html Cancer Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:00:06 EST news268490568 Julio M. Pow-Sang, M.D., chair of Moffitt Cancer Center's Department of Genitourinary Oncology, and colleagues have published two prostate cancer articles in the September issue of JNCCN – The Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The articles review and clarify recent updates made to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's (NCCN) guidelines for the screening and treatment of prostate cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-prostate-cancer-treatment-guidelines.html Cancer Sat, 29 Sep 2012 05:29:21 EST news268115353 In what could be a breakthrough in the treatment of deadly brain tumors, a team of researchers from Barrow Neurological Institute and Arizona State University has discovered that the immune system reacts differently to different types of brain tissue, shedding light on why cancerous brain tumors are so difficult to treat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-breakthrough-immune-brain-tumors.html Cancer Thu, 27 Sep 2012 09:25:28 EST news267956684 September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. With cases on the rise locally, nationally and globally, Dr. David Goldenberg, director of Head and Neck Surgery at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, hopes people will become more mindful of the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-medical-minute-thyroid-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:55:21 EST news267436497 A gene that may possibly belong to an entire new family of oncogenes has been linked by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) to the resistance of breast cancer to a well-regarded and widely used cancer therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-oncogene-future-therapy.html Cancer Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:24:03 EST news266599428 (HealthDay)—For children with metastatic MYCN-nonamplified neuroblastoma (NBL-NA) diagnosed at age 18 months or older, increased expression of tumor-associated inflammatory genes seems to correlate with poor prognosis, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-gene-score-ids-prognosis-metastatic.html Cancer Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:50:02 EST news265483865 (HealthDay) -- Diagnosis of low- or intermediate-grade tumors is associated with significantly better overall survival and disease-free survival in patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the salivary glands, while advanced disease stage and perineural invasion are the most significant indicators of poor prognosis, according to a study published in the Aug. 15 issue of Cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-prognostic-factors-mucoepidermoid-carcinoma.html Cancer Fri, 10 Aug 2012 12:52:52 EST news263821949 Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown how an aggressive form of multiple myeloma resists chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-culprit-chemo-resistance-rare-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:00:03 EST news260448788 A new cancer drug with remarkably few side effects is dramatically improving survival in Hodgkin lymphoma patients who fail other treatments and are nearly out of options. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-drug-survival-hodgkin-lymphoma-patients.html Cancer Wed, 27 Jun 2012 10:44:47 EST news260012675 Researchers at the IMIM (Institut de Recerca Hospital del Mar) have proven that the absence of the 14-3-3 protein sigma in breast cancer cells is directly associated with these cells' capacity to activate the signalling of a protein complex called NF-kB, which is related to tumour progression. The activation of NF-kB in tumours was also identified as the best indicator for relapse in breast cancer patients, compared to other parameters currently used, such as the presence of affected ganglions or the tumour's size and degree. The investigators have also described a group of genes that are activated in breast cancer cells and that are also associated with a poor prognosis in other types of tumours. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-indicator-breast-cancer-relapse.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:28:40 EST news259320513 A substantial proportion of NK/T-cell lymphomas harbor Janus Kinase 3 gene mutations. Patients with these lymphomas might benefit from treatment with a Janus Kinase inhibitor according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-mutations-jak3-gene-subtype-lymphoma.html Cancer Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:06:51 EST news258977203 Researchers at The University of Nottingham have identified three sets of genetic markers that could potentially pave the way for new diagnostic tools for a deadly type of brain tumour that mainly targets children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-genetic-markers-brain-tumor-treatments.html Cancer Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:06:09 EST news258977156 Initial results from an international, investigator-initiated, open label phase III trial were presented at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism. Data indicate that haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) results in better long term survival than conventional treatment for patients with poor prognosis early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-haematopoietic-stem-cell-transplantation-survival.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:41:45 EST news258273688