Archive for March 17th, 2008
[NS]Isotope applications will help in cancer fight
Author: -=M=-Cancer diagnostics and treatment may become more effective in the near future with the help of isotope applications, the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research’s Radiation Application Technology Center (RATC) said yesterday at a press conference.”Cancer has been Taiwan’s leading cause of death for more than 25 years, but by developing new technologies the RATC can help the medical sector reduce incidents of late diagnosis, as well as increase the effects of existing drugs,” the center’s isotope application division associate scientist Luo Tsai-yueh told reporters.
So far the center has achieved preliminary results for both pharmaceuticals and medical equipment such as an early-stage breast cancer scanner set to hit the market by the end of the year.
“Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of female mortality in Taiwan, but most of the deaths are due to late discovery of the disease,” Luo said, adding that first-stage breast cancer prognosis has a near-100 percent survival rate.
“The scanner images with FDG, which is a glucose analog that would be consumed by glucose-hungry cells such as brain or cancer cells,” Luo said.
With the fluorine in the FDG molecule emitting radioactive traces, the substance can be injected into the body to show the distribution of cancer cells on a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, even at their early stage, Luo said.
The new breast cancer scanner has two other strong appeals compared with its predecessors, Luo said.
“With Taiwanese culture in mind, the scanner is compact and mobile so that it can tour community centers and help women who are too shy to visit hospitals to get regular checkups,” Luo said.
“Also, the machines are significantly cheaper than traditional models. We are not targeting the VIP market. We want everyone to be able to reap the benefits,” she said.
The center is also working on target therapy drugs for cancer, conjugating monoclonal antibodies with therapeutic radioisotopes, Luo said.
“Currently monoclonal antibodies are one of the most commonly used drugs to battle cancer. By using radioisotopes, the drug works more effectively because the body’s natural antibodies are not combating the tumor cells on their own. Radiation emitted by the radioisotopes carried by the compound also have curing effects,” she said.
The compound had achieved preliminary success in rats and will enter clinical trials soon, she said.
read comments (0)[NS] Scientists find ‘master’ breast cancer gene
Author: -=M=- PARIS (AFP) — Geneticists have identified a super gene which causes breast cancer to metastasize, the deadly process by which the disease spreads to other organs.
Described by the U.S. researchers as a “”master regulator,”" the SATB1 gene alters the behavior of at least 1,000 other genes within tumor cells, said the study, published in the British journal Nature.
When over-activated it makes cancer cells proliferate, and when neutralized the gene stops the cells from dividing and migrating, the study reported.
“”SATB1 will be a remarkable target for cancer therapy,”" lead scientist Termumi Kohwi-Shigematsu of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, told AFP.
The findings could not only pave the way to diagnostic tools that show the likelihood of the disease spreading, she said, but to drugs that could prevent or treat metastasis in breast cancer as well.
Up to now, it was impossible to predict whether cancer cells in a tumor were destined to invade neighboring tissue, travel through the blood system and form secondary tumors elsewhere in the body.
But the SATB1 protein is just such a marker. A tumor in which it is activated “”is destined to metastasize,”" said Kohwi-Shigematsu.
Metastasis is the overwhelming cause of death in patients with solid tumors. Less than 10 percent of women with metastatic breast cancer survive beyond a decade, and just over a quarter make it past five years.
SATB1’s normal role in organizing other genes — especially related to T-cells that play a critical role in the immune system — was already well known, thanks in part to pioneering research by Kohwi-Shigematsu in the 1990s.
The gene had also been identified in breast tumors.
But the new study is the first to establish that “”SATB1 is both necessary and sufficient for breast cancer cells to become metastatic,”" she said.
In experiments on mice, Kohwi-Shigematsu and colleagues “”knocked down”", or deactivated, the SATB1 gene by removing certain RNAs in the tumor cells upon which the gene depends for multiplying.
Messenger RNAs are tiny strings of nucleotides — the basic building blocks of DNA — that ferry the blueprints for constructing proteins from DNA genes to the cell’s ribosomes, the factories where proteins are made.
The results, compared to control mice also infected with human metastatic breast cancer cells, were dramatic.
Between 125 and 160 metastatic nodules formed in each lung of all the control mice. But in the rodents in which SATB1 was suppressed, the number was between zero and five.
Translating the study’s findings into an effective treatment for cancer would require targeting only the tumors in which the SATB1 gene has become overly active.
A drug that blocked the gene throughout the body would compromise its critical — and normal — role in activating the immune system.
Kohwi-Shigematsu is working on a means for delivering an inhibitor via microscopic nanocapsules, and said trials on humans could start within a couple of years. Prognostic tools could be available within a year.
Kohwi-Shigematsu’s research is part of a new wave of cancer studies focusing on the genetic origins of the disease.
Scientists have come to realize, she said, that there are gene expression patterns called prognosis signatures, genetic profiles found across primary tumors that have metastatic potential.
“”And now we have identified the protein master regulator for metastatis,”" she said.
But the most basic question remains to be answered, she added. “”What turns SATB1 on during the course of breast cancer progression? We just don’t know.”"
According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women worldwide are diagnosed each year with breast cancer, and nearly half-a-million succumb to the disease.
[NS]Studies offer new insights on breast cancer risk
Author: -=M=-A new study found that women whose breast cancer came back after treatment had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood as did women who remained cancer-free. The study was published in the March Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Assn. for Cancer Research.The finding suggests that high levels of estrogen contribute to an increased risk of cancer recurrence, just as they lead to the initial development of breast cancer, said the study’s lead author, Cheryl L. Rock, PhD, a professor in the Dept. of Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
A second study found that several risks of long-term use of combination estrogen plus progestin therapy in healthy women — including breast cancer risk — persisted for at least a few years after stopping the drugs. The study, based on data collected for the Women’s Health Initiative, was in the March 5 Journal of the American Medical Association. While risk for heart disease dropped quickly after stopping medication, risk for breast cancer, stroke and blood clots remained high.
[NS]Survivors: ‘There’s life after breast cancer’
Author: -=M=-When Todd found out through her husband that Betsy had gotten diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 she felt overwhelmed. A year later, Todd was also diagnosed with breast cancer.
“No one was talking about it then. Unless you had a friend or a neighbor, you were really alone,” Todd said. “After I was diagnosed, Betsy and I kept running to each other at the grocery store. It was so helpful just talking to each other we thought we had to do something here for other women.”
Their first meeting was at Todd’s house and had three attendees including both Todd and Johnson. Today, as many as 25 people attend the monthly meetings.
“After the first meeting, I felt as though the burden was lifted,” Todd said. “There’s a quote that says, ‘a burden shared is halved and a joy shared is doubled.’ I truly feel this way, especially when it comes to breast cancer.”
The duo said when you hear you have breast cancer, it feels as though the world is crashing down on you and the support group is a safe place to come for help.
“We are so careful about protecting our families that it makes us reluctant to express our fears and concerns,” Todd said. “It’s exhausting to put on a happy face all the time.”
“The group is a safe, confidential place where you can say anything and you don’t have to explain yourself,” Johnson said.
They both said they felt vulnerable and intimidated to ask questions when they were diagnosed.
“The patient is the most important part of the cancer team,” Johnson added. “The patient needs to participate as part of the process. Everyone needs an advocate and sometimes that advocate is yourself. In our group, we offer education and if we don’t have the answer to a question, we can find it.”
“You need fortification about not being powerless,” Todd said. “There’s a huge fear of the unknown and there’s also a sense of pride going through it and surviving. We’re here to tell you we made it and you can too.”
While “Just for Us” is a support network to help women through the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, Todd and Johnson said they take care of the serious stuff but have a lot of fun too.
“We’ve developed friendships,” Todd said. “There’s more to it than breast cancer. We have fun and we laugh as much as we cry. There was one night when a large group of us went to Vivio’s in Indian River for dinner. The waitress asked what group we were from and Betsy said that we were a ladies motorcycle group.”
“She actually believed us until she heard us talking,” added Johnson. “She had a relative with breast cancer and actually joined our conversation. At first she thought we were having way too much fun to be breast cancer survivors.”
In addition to monthly meetings, the group has a special dinner every year. One year was particularly memorable for both of them.
“One year we decided to have a potluck and didn’t tell anyone what to bring,” Johnson said. “Everyone brought desserts. It was the best dinner ever.”
“It was the perfect excuse — you couldn’t be rude and not eat someone else’s dessert,” laughed Todd.
Although the two laugh a lot, they are very serious when it comes to urging women to be responsible for their health and to be aggressive with their health care.
“Early detection is the name of the game,” Todd said.
“We’ve lost a lot of good friends over the years but we have kept a lot too,” Johnson added.
For more information on “Just for Us” contact Margo Todd at 347-8443 or Betsy Johnson at 347-5136.
Mar 17 2008 by Ben Rossington, Liverpool Echo
1,000 pink Everton shirts help battle against breast cancer
1,000 pink Everton shirts help battle against breast cancer
EVERTON fans can be tickled pink from today as the club does its bit to help battle breast cancer.
A limited edition run of 1,000 pink replica shirts went on sale to raise money for the fight against the disease.
Available from the megastore at Goodison Park, the Pyramid Centre in Birkenhead and the club website, the shirts were the brainchild of Everton’s head of public relations, Ian Ross.
He said: “We have had three or four women here hit by breast cancer, so it is something very close to our hearts.
“We hope every other Premier League club will follow suit and help us raise a massive amount for this very worthy cause.
“I’m sure these shirts will fly off the shelves because they will be a collector’s item and help save lives.”
The Everton first team squad posed in the pink shirts last year and raised more than £10,000.
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