Activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in surgical margins of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a predictor of recurrence and patients with minimal residual disease may benefit from adjuvant therapy with temsirolimus, an mTOR inhibitor. »
03/10/10

A large proportion of breast cancers expresses the estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and are dependent on estrogens for their proliferation and survival. The tumor suppressor TP53 encodes the p53 protein, an important mediator of the anti−proliferative and apoptotic effects of several treatments used for breast cancer. A significant proportions of breast tumors (20−30%) carry mutations in TP53 gene and these mutations are associated with poor survival and poor response to several types of chemotherapeutic treatments. »
03/11/10

Trastuzumab is a FDA−approved drug that has shown clinical efficacy against HER2+ breast cancers and is commonly used in combination with other chemotherapeutics. However, many patients are innately resistant to trastuzumab, or will develop resistance during treatment. Alternative treatments are needed for trastuzumab−resistant patients. Here, we investigate gold nanoparticle−mediated photothermal therapies as a potential alternative treatment for chemotherapy−resistant cancers. »
03/10/10

New drugs with anti−tumor activity, also able to modify the expression of selected molecules, are under evaluation in breast cancer which is becoming resistant to conventional treatment, or in metastatic disease. The sodium−iodide symporter (NIS), which mediates iodide uptake into thyroid cells, and is the molecular basis of radioiodine imaging and therapy in thyroid cancer, is also expressed in a large portion of breast tumors. »
03/09/10

Fareston (toremifene) and tamoxifen, both selective estrogen receptor modulators, are therapeutically equivalent treatments for metastatic breast cancer. We hypothesized that toremifene as compared with tamoxifen given as adjuvant therapy for early stage breast cancer would result in equivalent survival with an improved side effect profile, therefore, providing superior therapeutic efficacy. »
03/05/10

The constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is frequently detected in most types of human cancer where it plays important roles in survival, drug resistance, angiogenesis, and other functions. Targeting constitutive STAT3 signaling is thus an attractive therapeutic approach for these cancers. We have recently developed novel small−molecule STAT3 inhibitors, known as FLLL31 and FLLL32, which are derived from curcumin (the primary bioactive compound of turmeric). »
03/09/10

Two important, related pathways are involved in cancer growth: the insulin/insulin−like growth factor−1 (IGF1) signaling pathway, which is activated when nutrients are available, and the adenosine mono−phosphate−activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway, activated when cells are starved for carbohydrates. »
03/09/10

In this study, we investigated the regulation of FOXM1 expression by estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and its role in hormonal therapy and endocrine resistance. FOXM1 protein and mRNA expression was regulated by ER−ligands, including estrogen, tamoxifen (OHT) and fulvestrant (ICI182780; ICI) in breast carcinoma cell lines. Depletion of ERalpha by RNA interference (RNAi) in MCF−7 cells downregulated FOXM1 expression. »
03/08/10

Cigarette smoking is the major cause for lung cancer, but genetic factors also affect susceptibility. We studied families that included multiple relatives affected by lung cancer. Results from linkage analysis showed strong evidence that a region of chromosome 6q affects lung cancer risk. To characterize the effects that this region of chromosome 6q region has on lung cancer risk, we identified a haplotype that segregated with lung cancer. »
03/09/10

Although the relation between red and processed meat intake and colorectal cancer has been reported in several epidemiologic studies, very few investigated the potential mechanisms. This study examined multiple potential mechanisms in a large U.S. prospective cohort with a detailed questionnaire on meat type and meat cooking methods linked to databases for estimating intake of mutagens formed in meats cooked at high temperatures (heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), heme iron, nitrate, and nitrite. »
03/09/10