Futurity.org » cancer

Fasting slows spread of cancer

Carl Marziali-USC — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:13:50 +0000

USC (US) — Cancer in animals appears less resilient, judging by a study that found chemotherapy drugs work better when combined with cycles of short, severe fasting.

Even fasting on its own effectively treated a majority of cancers tested in animals, including cancers from human cells.

Some silver is toxic to cancer cells

Richard Ashby-Leeds — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:37:23 +0000

U. LEEDS (UK) — Certain silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the leading chemotherapy drug, without the negative side effects, new research finds.

Results from the study, published in Dalton Transactions, show particular silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the platinum-based drug Cisplatin, which is widely used to treat a range of cancers.

For better mammogram readings, direct the gaze

Diana Lutz-WUSTL — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:33 +0000

WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — A new technique called “subtle gaze direction” could lower the learning curve for reading mammograms, researchers say.

In 2011—to the consternation of many women—a systematic review of randomized clinical trials showed that routine mammography was of little value to younger women at average or low risk of breast cancer.

Walnuts may shrink prostate cancer risk

Dorsey Griffith-UC Davis — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:13:51 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Mice genetically programmed to develop prostate cancer had smaller, slower growing tumors when fed a walnut-rich diet, report researchers.

University of California, Davis scientists, working with colleagues at the USDA Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California, assessed tumor size in mice fed different diets for 9, 18 and 24 weeks.

Use liquid lasers to find cancer genes

Nicole Casal Moore-Michigan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:17:31 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — A new technique could offer a better way to detect the slight genetic mutations that might predispose a person to a particular type of cancer or other diseases.

Researchers at the University of Michigan say using liquid lasers works much better than the current approach, which uses fluorescent dye and other biological molecules to find and bind to mutated DNA strands.

Cell’s mechanical changes nudge cancer

Tim Green-U. Texas — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:22:07 +0000

U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — Mechanical property changes in cells may be responsible for the progression of cancer—a discovery that could pave the way for new ways to predict, treat, and prevent the disease.

To present a unique physics-based perspective, researchers devised a 3-D cancer model that shows that softening of cells and changes in cell binding cause cancerous behavior. These mechanical property changes cause cells to divide uncontrollably—making them less likely to die and resulting in malignant tumor growth.

Sugar in cells marks esophageal cancer

James Devitt-NYU — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:52:14 +0000

NYU (US) — Researchers say it may be possible to detect pre-cancerous cells in the esophagus by identifying changes in the patterns of sugar molecules that line the cells.

The discovery, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, could it much easier to detect and remove these cells before they develop into esophageal cancer—the fifth biggest cause of cancer death in the United Kingdom and the eighth leading cause of cancer deaths for men in the United States, with the number of people diagnosed increasing rapidly.

Hormone signals connect obesity, cancer

Leslie Ridgeway-USC — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:25:42 +0000

USC (US) — A new study finds that a hormone signaling process is a key link between obesity and the development of cancer.

Researchers at the University of Southern California have discovered that a signaling process between a hormone receptor produced by the brain and a hormone produced by fat tissue is a characteristic feature of a variety of tumor-initiating stem cells.

The findings, which surfaced while the researchers were trying to determine what distinguishes cancer stem cells from normal tumor cells, appear in journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

Enzymes may hold key to diseases A-Z

David Orenstein-Brown — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:00:01 +0000

BROWN (US) — Researchers argue that important enzymes—proprotein convertases—are potentially rich targets for developing therapies.

Most people have never heard of proprotein convertases, but the enzymes activate many proteins that are essential for life.

Given time, stem cells may mutate

Diane Squires-Melbourne — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:12:31 +0000

U. MELBOURNE (AUS) / U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — A new study reveals how the genome of 138 stem cell lines of diverse ethnic backgrounds changed when the cells were grown in the laboratory.

Martin Pera, co-author of the paper and chair of stem cell science at the University of Melbourne, says the work “shows clearly that during prolonged culture, stem cells can acquire genetic changes similar to those seen in human cancers.