Cancer

Cancer genes in mucosal melanoma, a rare and poorly understood subtype of melanoma have been compared in humans, dogs and horses for the first time by scientists. Researchers sequenced the genomes of the same cancer across different species to identify key cancer genes.

A team of scientists have now developed two new methods for rapidly determining T cell targets. The work was done in the laboratory of David Baltimore, Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology and president emeritus.

Scientists have proposed new DNA-based nanomachines that can be used for gene therapy of cancer. This new invention can greatly contribute to making the treatment of oncological diseases more effective and selective.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States and advanced colorectal polyps are a major risk factor.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concluded that aspirin reduces the risk of colorectal cancer by 40 percent as well as recurrence of advanced polyps.

Researchers have used human embryonic stem cells to create a new model system that allows them to study the initiation and progression of small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

MYC, a gene with high cancer-initiating potential, is overexpressed in over 40% of breast cancers.
While MYC programs breast cancer cells to build more macromolecules (anabolic metabolism), it also creates a metabolic vulnerability by making them more sensitive to a type of cell death known as apoptosis. Research Director Juha Klefstrom, PhD, University of Helsinki, Finland, has worked for a long time to exploit this apoptosis-sensitising effect of MYC in the battle against the cancer.

A new method developed by scientists is likely to speed the study of an important biological process called ADP-ribosylation.ADP-ribosylation occurs at high levels in some cancers, and drugs called PARP (ADP-ribose polymerase) inhibitors, which block ADP-ribosylation, comprise one of the most promising new classes of cancer therapy.