colon cancers
Scientists in Switzerland have discovered a way to block the growth of human colon cancer cells, preventing the disease from reaching advanced stages and the development of liver metastases.
Johns Hopkins scientists say they have figured out how bacteria that cause diarrhea may also be the culprit in some colon cancers. The investigators say that strains of the common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) dupe immune system cells into permitting runaway colon tissue inflammation, a precursor for malignant growth.
New research led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found a drug target that suggests a potent way to kill colon cancers that resist current drugs aimed at blocking a molecule found on the surface of cells.
CLEVELAND -- A study published in this week's online issue of Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates a unique and highly sensitive method for detecting methylation-associated cancers.
A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials, according to researchers at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Korea.
Bethesda, MD (June 1, 2009) ? Obesity is an independent predictor of inadequate bowel preparation at colonoscopy, and the presence of additional risk factors further increases the likelihood of a poorly cleansed colon, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified many potential new drug targets for cancers long deemed "untouchable" due to the type of genetic mutation they contain. These studies are beginning to reveal new ways of attacking cancer by targeting a largely hidden network of normal genes that cancer cells rely on for survival.
CLEVELAND ? A new study finds that individuals who have low expression of the "Celebrex gene," 15-PGDH, are actually resistant to Celebrex treatment when used to prevent colon cancer.
A West Australian research team has made the world-first discovery a 'pied piper' molecule within blood cells, called Liar, that leads other molecules into the nucleus of the cell, and could offer a key in treating prostate, breast and colon cancers as well as leukemia.
(PHILADELPHIA) An herb recently found to kill pancreatic cancer cells also appears to inhibit development of pancreatic cancer as a result of its anti-inflammatory properties, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. The data were presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. (Abstract #494)
(SEATTLE) - The use of Avastin alone to treat a subgroup of recurrent Grade 3 brain tumors showed it was safe and effective at delaying tumor progression, according to a retrospective study of 22 patients conducted by a researcher at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor gene have been found to cause 85 percent of colon cancers. Now researchers know why. In a new paper, they explain that APC controls the conversion of dietary vitamin A into retinoic acid. If this process is impaired, colon cancer can result. ''For a long time, scientists believed they knew what the APC gene did -- that it regulated cell growth and division -- but now we know we've been missing a big piece of the picture. What we didn't know was that it converts vitamin A into retinoic acid, which is vital for normal colon cell development.''
Researchers have detailed the functioning of an enzyme that is a central component of a signaling pathway important for about 30 percent of cancers. The findings about how the enzyme, called farnesyl transferase (FTase), works could help improve the FTase-inhibiting drugs that pharmaceutical companies are now testing to fight a broad spectrum of cancers.
