Queen’s University Belfast makes significant cancer breakthrough

 

A major breakthrough by scientists at Queen’s University Belfast could lead to more effective treatments for throat and cervical cancer. The discovery could see the development of new therapies, which would target the non-cancerous cells surrounding a tumour, as well as treating the tumour itself.

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Moffitt Cancer Center researchers develop and test new anti-cancer vaccine

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have developed and tested in mice a synthetic vaccine and found it effective in killing human papillomavirus-derived cancer, a virus linked to cervical cancers among others. The research was published in a recent issue of Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy.

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New radiation therapy reduces treatment of gynecologic cancers from 5 weeks to 3 days

About 71,500 women in the United States are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center have developed a more effective way to treat gynecologic cancers, shortening radiation treatment time from five weeks to three days. The method will be published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) on April 17.

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A breakthrough in understanding the biology and treatment of ovarian cancer

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered that the presence and integrity of the opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr), which mediates the inhibitory action of opioid growth factor (OGF) on cell proliferation, is a key to understanding the progression and treatment of human ovarian cancer. Transplantation of human ovarian cancer cells that were molecularly engineered to have a reduced expression of OGFr, into immunocompromised mice resulted in ovarian tumors that grew rapidly. This discovery, reported in the February 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, provides fresh new insights into the pathogenesis and therapy of a lethal cancer that is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in the USA, and has a death rate that is unchanged for over 75 years.

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Traitorous immune cells promote sudden ovarian cancer progression

Aggressive ovarian tumors begin as malignant cells kept in check by the immune system until, suddenly and unpredictably, they explode into metastatic cancer. New findings from scientists at The Wistar Institute demonstrate that ovarian tumors don’t necessarily break “free” of the immune system, rather dendritic cells of the immune system seem to actively support the tumor’s escape. The researchers show that it might be possible to restore the immune system by targeting a patient’s own dendritic cells.

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Targeted therapy extends progression-free survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer

—Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new phase 3 clinical trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) showed that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment. The results of the trial appear in the December 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Scientists develop vaccine that successfully attacks breast cancer in mice

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona (http://www.mayoclinic.org/arizona/) and the University of Georgia (UGA) have developed a vaccine that dramatically reduces tumors in a mouse model that mimics 90 percent of human breast and pancreatic cancer cases — including those that are resistant to common treatments.

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Fewer than 3 doses of cervical cancer vaccine effective

Fewer than three doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix may be just as effective as the standard three-dose regimen when it comes to preventive measures against cervical cancer, according to a new study published September 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Mayo Clinic receives FDA approval for ovarian and breast cancer vaccines

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic has received investigational new drug approval (http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/InvestigationalNewDrugINDorDeviceExemptionIDEProcess/default.htm) from the Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/) for two new cancer vaccines that mobilize the body’s defense mechanisms to destroy malignant cells. The vaccines are among the first aimed at preventing cancer recurrence. The approval clears the way for Phase I clinical trials with women treated for ovarian or breast cancer.

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Penn study finds more effective approach against ‘Achilles’ heel’ of ovarian cancer

PHILADELPHIA – In a recent issue of Cancer Research, Daniel J. Powell, Jr., PhD, a research assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, showed for the first time that engineered human T cells can eradicate deadly human ovarian cancer in immune-deficient mice. Ovarian cancer is the most lethal reproductive cancer for women, with one-fifth of women diagnosed with advanced disease surviving five years. Nearly all ovarian cancers (90%) are characterized by their expression of a distinct cell-surface protein called alpha-folate receptor, which can be a target for engineered T cells.

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