Miracle Anti Cancer Molecule JQ1 Found To Also Protect and Treat Heart Failure

A protein molecule previously known to have anti-cancer properties have recently been discovered to also be able to treat and protect against heart failure.

JQ1, initially developed as a male contraceptive drug, has shown potential to treat cancer and even HIV. It does this by inhibiting cells from behaving abnormally (as shown on the embedded video).

JQ1 attacks by targeting the BRD4 cancer-causing gene. Studies show that for specific blood and lung cancers like myeloma and leukemia, JQ1 mitigates the early growth of the cancerous cells.

The same researchers have also recently discovered that JQ1 also inhibits the growth of bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins. BET proteins are responsible in activating genes that contribute to heart failure.

Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Treatment of Cancer Discussed In Interventional Radiology Gathering

Preliminary studies on the safe benefits of using irreversible electroporation (IRE) in treating cancer are being discussed by doctors and scientists at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans.

Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) is a technique used to teat soft tissue tumors in hard to access areas of the body such as the liver, lung, pancreas, and prostate.

Using electrical energy to target cancerous tumors at the cellular level, irreverssible electroporation is one of the safest options for patients whose tumors may be located in compromised areas such as those near blood vessels or hard to reach organs such as the pancreas.

Electrical pulses are used to break open the cellular walls of the tumor causing the cancer cells to die. IRE does not produce any extreme temperatures (hot or cold) but utitlizes the generated electrical field making it safer. It also selectively damage particular cells leaving other healthy cells intact and undamaged. Irreversible electroporation is a viable option in the treatment of complicated cancer conditions such as liver cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer without any major complications.

IRE has been successfully used in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancer and is now in its early stages as a treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Possible Treatment of Leukemia Using Monoclonal Antibodies To Target and Destroy Leukemia Cells

Leukemia Cells

Researchers have identified an antibody that specifically targets and destroys leukemia cells while ignoring normal blood cells.

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. The disease causes an abnormal increase of white blood cells and causes abnormalities in the blood, the bone marrow and the lymphoid system.

Leukemia starts in the bone marrow where blood cells are produced.

The abnormal white blood cells grow faster than normal cells and does not stop growing. Over time, these leukemia cells start to crowd out the normal blood cells which results in complications such as anemia (a decrease in the number of red blood cells), bleeding, and infections. Leukemia cells can also spread to the lymph nodes or other organs and cause swelling or pain.

10% of leukemia affect newly born babies known as Infant Leukemia.

On a related note, another possible treatment for leukemia has been discovered. Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers modified an anti-body cell with a virus that enabled it to also target and kill leukemia cells. In a clinical trial, a patient was found to be free of leukemia cells after only eight days of treatment (see embedded video).

Using 5 ALA Fluorescence in Surgical Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme

The University of California San Francisco describes the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence to aid in visualizing tumor cells and differentiating them from other brain tissue during the surgical treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme.

5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA) makes brain tumor cells glow hot pink when illuminated with a special blue light incorporated into an operating microscope during surgery. The light helps to identify and remove tumor cells in a process called Fluorescent Guided Resection (FGR).

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most common and also the deadliest of brain cancers around. This form of cancer is very aggressive and a patient diagnosed with GBM has one to two years to live.

The cancerous tumor, called a glioma, starts in the brain or the spine. These gliomas are graded I to IV depending on how advanced the disease is. A Grade I GBM is the least advanced and offers the best prognosis. A Grade IV GBM is considered the most advanced and the hardest to treat.

Gliomas are groups of tumors that arise from the glia. Glias are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis. They form myelin (a protective layer of cells), and provide support and protection for neurons in the brain within the central nervous system (CNS).

Non-Chemotherapy Treatment of Lymphoma Through HDL Cholesterol Deprivation and Nanoparticles

Lymphatic System

Researchers have discovered a new treatment for lymphoma that does not include drugs or chemotherapy. Researchers at Northwestern Medicine® found that by depriving the lymphoma cell its source of food, which is HDL cholesterol, it will end up starving to death.

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic or lymph system.

The lymphatic system, a major part of the immune system, is a network of organs, lymph nodes, lymph ducts, and lymph vessels in the body. It moves lymph from tissues to the bloodstream. It filters the blood and help form immunity in children.

Lymph is a clear watery fluid that carries oxygen and other nutrients to cellular tissues in the body. It also contains white blood cells that attack harmful bacteria and fight infections.

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes (a type of white blood cells). Lymphocytes become abnormal start behaving erratically. These affected lymphocytes may start to multiply faster or live longer than usual (lymphocytes die after an infection has been eradicated).

Because the lymph system circulates around the whole body, lymphoma happens in multiple locations in the body unlike other cancers where it is isolated in one location or organ.

Typically, lymphoma presents as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage of the disease

There are two major types of lymphoma; Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's. These 2 types of lymphomas behave, spread, and respond to treatment differently.

Treating Cancer With Killer T Cells Produced From Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS)

Japanese researchers at Riken have successfully created cells that will specifically attack cancer cells. These Killer T cells or lymphocytes were developed from induced pluripotent stem cells.

Stem Cells

Stem cells are cells that can differentiate (transform) into other type of cells, usually a higher form such as tissues and organs. There are specialized stem cells such as heart stem cells or blood stem cells that differentiates into specific type of cells.

Stem cells that can differentiate into other type of cells are called pluripotent stem cells. These are usually found in human embryos and what is generally known to the public as stem cells.

Scientists have recently discovered a method to convert an adult stem cell (whose differentiation is limited to certain types of tissues/organs) into a pluripotent stem cell. These are called Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPS). iPS cells are special in that it circumvents the controversy on harvesting stem cells from human embryos.

Killer T Cells

White blood cells or leukocytes are cells used by the immune system in attacking foreign and harmful cells. A subgroup of leukocytes are lymphocytes or killer t-cells.

Killer T cells are responsible for identifying and attacking infected cells. But when it comes to cancer cells, killer t-cells are not as efficient in weeding out these harmful cells. For one, some cancer cells have a property that prevents if from being attacked by killer t-cells. Another is that, lymphocytes have a short life span that proves ineffective in a prolonged fight.

Fungi Produces Nanoparticles That Can Help Fight Cancer Cells

Researchers have discovered that nanoparticles produced by the fungi, Arthrobotrys oligospora, can stimulate the body's immune system and kill cancer cells. This may lead to the development of bio-engineered nanostructures that can be used to treat cancer and other biomedical functions.

Arthrobotrys oligospora is a fungus that feeds on roundworms. A. oligospora uses rings that form on it long, branching filamentous structure called a hyphae. These rings on the hyphae trap the roundworm which then grows into the roundworm to digest it.

There are 71 species of the Arthrobotrys genus which are all predatory fungi.

These fungi are considered carnivorous and can be found in various surfaces or substrates such as compost, decomposing wood and animal droppings. The traps used of the A. oligospora are made up of adhesive networks, adhesive knobs, and constricting rings.

Shear Thinning Hydrogels Developed For Cancer Treatment

Graphic: Christine Daniloff

Gels that can be injected into the body, carrying drugs or cells that regenerate damaged tissue, hold promise for treating many types of disease, including cancer. However, these injectable gels don’t always maintain their solid structure once inside the body.

MIT chemical engineers have now designed an injectable gel that responds to the body’s high temperature by forming a reinforcing network that makes the gel much more durable, allowing it to function over a longer period of time.

The research team, led by Bradley Olsen, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, described the new gels in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Functional Materials. Lead author of the paper is Matthew Glassman, a graduate student in Olsen’s lab. Jacqueline Chan, a former visiting student at MIT, is also an author.

MIT News: Understanding Tumor Metastasis, Cancer, And Cellular Adhesion

A microscopic image of cancer cells adhering to a spot coated with molecules found in the extracellular matrix.
Image: Nathan Reticker-Flynn

Cancer researchers at MIT are focusing their attention on how tumor metastasis occurs. Metastasis is the spread of the tumor to other parts of the body and is the primary reason for ninety percent of all cancer deaths. Their findings are published in the October issue of Nature Communications.

When a tumor metastasize, cancerous cells detach from the primary tumor and spread to other organs through the blood stream. The team of researchers headed by Sangeeta Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, are studying how the anchoring process works within the tumor.

“As cancer cells become more metastatic, there can be a loss of adhesion to normal tissue structures. Then, as they become more aggressive, they gain the ability to stick to, and grow on, molecules that are not normally found in healthy tissues but are found in sites of tumor metastases,” says Bhatia, who is also a member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. “If we can prevent them from growing at these new sites, we may be able to interfere with metastatic disease.”

Cells bind itself to a tissue surface or extracellular matrix because of cell adhesion. The extracellular matrix is a structural support system that holds cells in place and also regulates its behavior. On the surface of the matrix are cell adhesion molecules such as the protein Integrin that anchor the cells in place. Integrins can communicate with the cellular matrix both ways, meaning it can send signals from the matrix environment to the matrix and vice-versa.

The scientists tested eight hundred different protein pairs to find out how the cells will bind to them. They noticed that one pair of extracellular matrix molecules that metastatic tumors stuck to especially well was fibronectin and galectin-3, both made of proteins that contain or bind to sugars. Integrin works especially well with fibronectin.

Debate Focuses On Use Of Aspirin In Prevention And Treatment Colorectal Cancer

Aspirin is a very popular drug that is used as a pain killer, anti-inflammatory, and even in managing heart disease through its blood thinning properties.

Now, evidence suggests that it can also be used to treat and manage colon cancer.

A study by the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital has shown that colon cancer patients who took 325 milligrams (mg) of aspirin twice a week lowered the risk of dying from colon cancer by 30% compard to those who did not take aspirin.

Patients who were part of the test had an average of eleven years after the cancer has been detected.

Doctors believe that aspirin works in treating colon cancer by blocking an enzyme called COX-2 which is expressed in the cancer tumor. 66% of colorectal cancer produces the COX-2 enzyme.

A long term study by the same group also has shown that for men who have had at least 6 years of regular aspirin use helped in the prevention of colon cancer. Aspirin use for maximum effect was fourteen pills a week or two pills a day.

Doctors warn that despite the positive effects of aspirin, it also comes with risk. Apsirin can cause bleeding in the stomach, intestines and in the brain. Patients who are considering aspirin as part of their therapy or diet should first consult a doctor.

Should aspirin be used to prevent cancer?

Aspirin, the everyday drug taken by countless people around the world to ward off pain and reduce their risk of developing heart disease, may have a new trick up its sleeve –-preventing cancer.

A growing body of evidence suggests that taking aspirin may reduce an individual's chances of developing colorectal cancer and perhaps other malignancies, but whether that evidence is strong enough to outweigh the risks of prescribing it to millions of healthy people is the subject of debate.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2012 Congress in Vienna, both sides of that debate are being aired in front of an audience of experts in one of the meeting's popular Controversy sessions.