chemotherapy

Health, India, international, News 18 November 2021

Indian researchers identify Blood-based biomarkers for brain tumours

Blood-based biomarkers for brain tumours identified New Delhi, Nov 18: A study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), along with collaborators, has identified potential blood-based biomarkers to predict disease progression and survival times in those with late-stage brain tumours. The team included researchers from the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE) at IISc, the Mazumdar Shaw Centre for Translational Research and Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation. They analysed tumour and blood samples from individuals with gliomas – tumours that occur in the brain – to identify surface proteins on immune cells in the blood whose levels were closely linked to tumour progression. “Our pilot study suggests that we can potentially use two blood-based biomarkers present on immune cells to identify patients who might not perform well with particular treatment strategies,” says Siddharth Jhunjhunwala, Assistant Professor in BSSE, and senior author of the study. Conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy are often ineffective in treating these tumours. This has prompted a shift to newer techniques like immunotherapy, which involves provoking the immune system of the patient to attack the tumour cells. However, attempts to use some of the standard immunotherapies to treat gliomas have met with limited success. The scientists were trying to address this gap by understanding the immune profile in the tumour microenvironment. The team collected blood and tumour samples from patients with grade three and grade four gliomas and compared the numbers of specific immune cells called monocytes and neutrophils in these samples. The team also looked for differences in the composition of surface proteins on these cells across the two grades of tumours. They found that a certain type of monocytes — the M2 monocytes — were present in larger numbers in the samples from grade four tumours. Previous studies have shown that high numbers of M2 monocytes are associated with a suppression of immune responses, and the new finding could help develop new treatment strategies. “Future studies could focus on developing therapies that reduce the numbers of M2 monocytes in the tumour microenvironment or alter their functionality,” says Jhunjhunwala. The researchers also found that…

Health, India, international, News, United States 1 September 2021

In a common genetic disorder, a blood test reveals when benign tumours turn cancerous

People with an inherited condition known as neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1, often develop non-cancerous, or benign, tumours that grow along nerves. These tumours can sometimes turn into aggressive cancers, but there hasn’t been a good way to determine whether this transformation to cancer has happened. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Cancer Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a blood test that, they believe, could one day offer a highly sensitive and inexpensive approach to detect cancer early in people with NF1. The blood test could also help doctors monitor how well patients are responding to treatment for their cancer. The findings are published in the August 31 issue of PLOS Medicine. NF1 is the most common cancer predisposition syndrome, affecting 1 in 3,000 people worldwide. The condition, caused by a mutation in a gene called NF1, is almost always diagnosed in childhood. Roughly half of the people with NF1 will develop large but benign tumours on nerves, called plexiform neurofibromas. In up to 15% of people with plexiform neurofibromas, these benign tumours turn into an aggressive form of cancer known as malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour or MPNST. Patients with MPNST have a poor prognosis because cancer can quickly spread and often becomes resistant to both chemotherapy and radiation. Among people diagnosed with MPNST, 80% die within five years. “Imagine going through life with a cancer predisposition syndrome like NF1. It’s kind of like a ticking bomb,” said study co-author Jack F. Shern, M.D., a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in NCI’s Pediatric Oncology Branch. “The doctors are going to be watching for cancerous tumours, and you’re going to be watching for them, but you really want to discover that transformation to cancer as early as possible.” Doctors currently use either imaging scans (MRI or PET scan) or biopsies to determine if plexiform neurofibromas have transformed into MPNST. However, biopsy findings aren’t always accurate and the procedure can be extremely painful for patients because the tumours grow along nerves. Imaging tests, meanwhile, are…

Health, India, News 1 September 2020

#Healh: Breast cancer treatment takes a big leap forward

Cancer news India | Cancer care in India | Health news New Delhi, Sep 01 (India Science Wire): Breast-cancer is the most common cancer in women in India. An estimated one in twenty-eight women is likely to develop breast cancer during her lifetime. In urban areas, one in twenty-two women is likely to develop breast cancer during her lifetime as compared to rural areas where one in sixty women develops breast cancer in her lifetime. Earlier research had demonstrated that breast cancer patients had reduced production of a protein in the body called Estrogen-related receptor beta (ERRβ), that resulted in proliferation or rapid division of breast cancer cells and their migration to other parts of the body, and that if the protein can be overexpressed in breast cancer patients, it can result in an improved prognosis and prolonged relapse-free survival. However, it was so far not known as to how and why the production of ERRβ protein was reduced in breast cancer patients. A new study by the cancer research group at the Department of Biotechnology’s Institute of Life Sciences (DBT-ILS) has resolved the mystery and promises to pave the way for developing better drugs for breast cancer. The researchers have unravelled the molecular mechanism for the phenomenon. It is found that the ERRβ protein is a key substrate of the SCF complex and deregulated activation of the SCF complex due to the NEDDylation of Cullin subunits of the SCF complex, targets ERRβ for degradation in breast cancer. Consequently, the team led by Dr. Sandip K Mishra has demonstrated that a molecule called MLN4924 can restore the expression of the ERRβ protein and help reduce cell proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells. The study has also demonstrated that restoration of ERRβ expression in breast cancer with the help of MLN4924, promotes the production of two important tumour suppressors p21 and E-cadherin, involved in the arrest of cell proliferation and migration. Breast cancer is the predominant cause of cancer deaths in underdeveloped countries, representing 14.3% of all cancer deaths. In 2018, 1,62,468 new cases and 87,090 deaths were reported for…

Health, India, international, News, United States 11 May 2020

MRI technique could reduce need for radiation in measuring tumor response to chemotherapy

New Delhi, 11th May 2020 : Whole body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW MRI) may aid in the assessment of cancer treatment response in children and youth at much lower levels of radiation than current approaches, suggests a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health an institute affiliated with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USA). The results appear in Radiology. Researchers compared DW MRI, which measures the density of tumors by tracking the movement of water molecules in tissue, to an established technique, fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET). FDG PET is typically used with computed tomography (CT) scans and measures tumor metabolism after an injection of radioactive glucose. Both techniques showed significant agreement in tracking tumor response to therapy, raising the possibility that DW MRI might one day be used in place of CT scanning, either together with FDG PET or alone, without the need to inject radioactive glucose. This new approach could reduce radiation exposure by 80% for combined FDG PET/DW MRI and fully eliminate radiation exposure for tumors that can be evaluated with DW MRI only. “Advances in pediatric cancer treatment have led to more survivors, but radiation exposure from current imaging techniques raises the risk of new cancers later in life,” said George P. Giacoia, M.D., of the Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which provided funding for the study. “These initial results on DW MRI are promising, but they need to be confirmed by additional studies.” In the current study, 56 children and youth (ages 6 to 22 years old) completed 112 DW MRI and FDG PET scans. Participants had either lymphoma (cancer that begins in the lymphatic system) or sarcoma (cancer that starts in bone, muscles and other soft tissues). The authors explained that the study included only two tumor types because pediatric cancers are rare. They added, however, that they believe their study encompasses the largest number of PET/MRI scans obtained in a pediatric population to date. Researchers simultaneously performed the…

Health, India, international, News, United States 18 March 2020

If you have cancer, are you at higher risk of getting COVID-19?

According to an Emergency Resources on Corona virus of National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services : – “Some types of cancer and treatments such as chemotherapy can weaken your immune system and may increase your risk of any infection, including with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. During chemotherapy, there will be times in your treatment cycle when you are at increased risk of infection. Adults and children with serious chronic health conditions, including cancer, are at higher risk of developing more serious complications from contagious illnesses such as COVID-19.” If you have cancer, how can you protect yourself? According to an Emergency Resources on Coronavirus of National Cancer Institute : – “There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19 or specific treatment for it. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus. Precautions for avoiding COVID-19 are the same as for other contagious respiratory illnesses, such as influenza (flu). The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyday preventive measures to help prevent the spread of respiratory infections, including: Avoid large social gatherings and close contact with people who are sick Avoid unnecessary person-to-person contact, such as handshakes Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; and before and after coming in contact with others Get a flu vaccine CDC recommends additional actions to help keep people at high risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19 healthy in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in your community, including: Stay home as much as possible Make sure you have access to several weeks of medication and supplies in case you need to stay home for prolonged periods of time When you do go out in public, avoid crowds Avoid cruise ship travel and nonessential air travel” Emergency Resources on Coronavirus of National Cancer Institute suggests, if you receive cancer treatment at a medical facility….

Health, India, international, News 24 September 2019

Scientists find a new way to fight cancer

p53 is one of the most well studied proteins in cancer biology. Like all proteins, its levels and activity are tightly controlled andthey go through cycles of birth-existence-death: the protein is synthesised, it does its function and then it is degraded.

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