Personalized mRNA vaccines: A new approach in melanoma treatment
A personalized mRNA vaccine to treat melanoma has now reached late-stage trials in the UK. This is just the latest step in improving the cure rate of cancer.
17 hours ago
0
0
A personalized mRNA vaccine to treat melanoma has now reached late-stage trials in the UK. This is just the latest step in improving the cure rate of cancer.
17 hours ago
0
0
The journey of cancer genomic medicine (CGM) began in the 1980s, with the discovery of various genomic and epigenomic alterations in cancer cells from various countries including Japan. This led to the development of molecular ...
23 hours ago
0
0
Researchers at the UAB and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute have confirmed that patients with the presence of NK lymphocytes around tumors have a better response to treatment. This confirms the feasibility of using ...
May 3, 2024
0
16
A new perspective paper explores the current state and future directions of precision medicine in colorectal cancer (CRC). It outlines advancements in molecular testing and their implications for targeted and immunological ...
May 2, 2024
0
0
Researchers at UBC and BC Cancer have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that can accurately predict if a person receiving cancer care will require mental health services during their treatment journey.
May 2, 2024
0
24
In 2016, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) launched the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI) to bring the latest progress in cancer care to rural Maine patients. Now, after successfully expanding access to genome tumor testing ...
May 1, 2024
0
1
For an OB-GYN, one of the worst-case scenarios runs like this: A woman comes in, overjoyed that she is finally pregnant after years of fertility treatments. Then a month later, she finds out she has cancer—news that is ...
May 1, 2024
0
3
In the past, advanced or metastatic cancers were rapidly fatal, however with new treatments people with these cancers can now survive for a long time, sometimes many years. They have unique and complex care needs but because ...
May 1, 2024
0
0
A new study has found that pancreatic cancer cells are different based on their location in the pancreas, providing new information about tumors that could lead to better targeted treatments.
May 1, 2024
0
42
Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the major type of liver cancer, is a leading cause of worldwide cancer-related death. End-stage liver cancer patients have limited treatment options due to the lack of druggable targets, ...
Apr 30, 2024
0
0
Cancer (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits), invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize. Most cancers form a tumor but some, like leukemia, do not. The branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is oncology.
Cancer may affect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most varieties increases with age. Cancer causes about 13% of all human deaths. According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the world during 2007. Cancers can affect all animals.
Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells. These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly acquired through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers are usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome. New aspects of the genetics of cancer pathogenesis, such as DNA methylation, and microRNAs are increasingly recognized as important.
Genetic abnormalities found in cancer typically affect two general classes of genes. Cancer-promoting oncogenes are typically activated in cancer cells, giving those cells new properties, such as hyperactive growth and division, protection against programmed cell death, loss of respect for normal tissue boundaries, and the ability to become established in diverse tissue environments. Tumor suppressor genes are then inactivated in cancer cells, resulting in the loss of normal functions in those cells, such as accurate DNA replication, control over the cell cycle, orientation and adhesion within tissues, and interaction with protective cells of the immune system.
Diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of a tissue biopsy specimen by a pathologist, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptoms or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for different varieties of cancer. There has been significant progress in the development of targeted therapy drugs that act specifically on detectable molecular abnormalities in certain tumors, and which minimize damage to normal cells. The prognosis of cancer patients is most influenced by the type of cancer, as well as the stage, or extent of the disease. In addition, histologic grading and the presence of specific molecular markers can also be useful in establishing prognosis, as well as in determining individual treatments.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA