melanoma
Hollow gold nanospheres equipped with a targeting peptide find melanoma cells, penetrate them deeply, and then cook the tumor when bathed with near-infrared light.
For patients with a particularly aggressive form of skin cancer – malignant melanoma – stress, including that which comes from simply hearing that diagnosis, might amplify the progression of their disease.
University of South Florida chemist Bill Baker, who spends much of his time diving in the frigid waters of Antarctica retrieving tunicates, blob-like marine animals, has isolated a compound in tunicate biochemistry that may fight melanoma, a type of skin cancer rising at alarming rates. "Tunicates have proven to be an important source of bioactive natural products," said Baker, who experimented with the tunicate Synioicum adareanum, retrieved from the shallow waters around Anvers Island. "We isolated a natural product in the species and sent it to the National Cancer Institute for testing against 60 different cancer cell lines. NCI conclude the compounded inhibited melanoma, a form of skin cancer that is rising in prevalence."
Few things about growing older are as inevitable and obvious as "going gray," yet scientists have been unable to explain the precise cause of this usually unwelcome transformation. In a report posted today on the Web site of the journal Science, researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston say they have found the cellular cause of graying hair while investigating the origins of malignant melanoma, the potentially deadly skin cancer.
Researchers have discovered that malignant melanoma, the potentially lethal skin cancer, can't grow without a steady supply of a protein that normal cells can do without. The findings suggest that drugs that cut off melanoma cells' supply of the protein, called CDK2, might curb the growth of the dangerous skin cancer in patients, and with relatively low toxicity. In theory, such a drug would leave normal cells unharmed and have many fewer side effects compared to standard chemotherapy.
Mothers reported more sunburns and tanning in the second summer of their children's lives compared to the first summer, according to a new study. According to the report, many of the skin cancers diagnosed in the United States are caused by unprotected and excessive exposure to the sun. Sunburns during childhood are important in the development of melanoma later in life, the article states, and it has been suggested that sun protection habits should begin early in life and be taught as part of routine preventive health care.
Nature can reset the clock in certain types of cancer and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy, reports a research team led by Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch, in collaboration with Lynda Chin from Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The team demonstrated this by successfully cloning mice from an advanced melanoma cell.
Researchers seeking to direct cancer-killing immune cells against the deadliest brain tumors have three new targets that show promise in laboratory studies and in a Phase I patient trial, according to two articles in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.
The antigens, previously associated with several other types of cancer cells, were recently found to be expressed in the most common and aggressive type of malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Researchers have manipulated a human antibody to induce an anti-tumor response in living mice that consistently curbs -- and often cures -- malignant melanoma, one of the most lethal forms of skin cancer and the most common cancer of young adults.
The Mayo Clinic researchers report three innovative discoveries that advance the emerging field of cancer immunotherapy. Cancer immunotherapy refers to scientist-controlled manipulations of the immune system to kill cancer cells without the toxic side effects of chemotherapy or radiation. These findings show that when administered intravenously, the human antibody can still induce immune response -- which suits it for potential therapeutic use as a drug for humans.
The nation's leading cancer organizations report that Americans' risk of getting and dying from cancer continues to decline and survival rates for many cancers continue to improve. The ''Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2001*'' finds overall observed cancer incidence rates dropped 0.5 percent per year from 1991 to 2001, while death rates from all cancers combined dropped 1.1 percent per year from 1993 to 2001. According to the report's authors, the new data reflect progress in prevention, early detection, and treatment; however, not all segments of the U.S. population have benefited equally from the advances.
A new research study sheds light on how cancer cells manage to evade the immune system despite the presence of tumor-specific immune cells. The researchers found that mouse and human melanoma cells secrete galectin-1, which has a negative impact on the survival of T cells, and that inhibition of Gal-1 dramatically reduces tumor formation in mice. The research has exciting implications for future anticancer therapies that may stimulate an effective immune response against tumor cells.
A new analysis of cancer figures in Britain shows that the overall incidence among teenagers and young adults is rising, with the biggest increase among 20 to 24-year-olds, particularly in lymphoma, melanoma and germ cell tumours, including testicular germ cell tumours. Although cancer is still rare in this age group ? around 1,500 cases a year in England ? it is the leading cause of death after accidents.
How well a patient's immune system reacts to his own cancer cells and the schedule by which the vaccine is given are two key factors in the success of a custom-made vaccine created from the cancer cells of patients with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer and fastest growing cancer in the United States. Nearly one-half ? 44 percent ? of malignant melanoma patients enrolled in a clinical trial who received the vaccine following standard surgery lived at least five years ? no small achievement, considering that only about 20 percent live that long with surgery alone.
It's been almost two decades since the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) first asked the public what they know about skin cancer, sunscreens and sun exposure. Despite countless health messages about the dangers of the sun and the alarmingly high rates of skin cancer in the United States, the results of a new AAD survey show that Americans, particularly young individuals, recognize that overexposure to the sun is unhealthy but are still not protecting themselves when outdoors. However, as people age, attitudes towards sun safety begin to change ? not only for themselves but for the children in their care.
A New jersey researcher has discovered a gene responsible for melanoma, the most aggressive form of malignant skin cancer. Melanoma may appear in places that never see sun, spread to other parts of the body and become lethal. This type of cancer is not generally responsive to chemotherapy. Cancer Institute, in the United States the incidence rate of melanoma has more than doubled in the past 20 years.
