Temperature Dependent Bacteria as a Remedy

A new study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that temperature dependent bacteria may be used in the future. This treatment will be administered to patients by placing bacteria in them. The bacteria will contain medicine that will be pumped into the body based on the temperature of the bacteria. The bacteria will be changed in temperature by use of ultrasound technology. Furthermore, if the individual has a fever this will cause the bacteria to self-destruct and be expelled from the body through defecation. This treatment may be useful in cancer patients because bacteria tend to gravitate toward tumors. This is due to tumors containing less oxygen.

            

This is very interesting and informative. I hope to see more information on this topic in the future. This will be very useful in medicinal technology. Doctors should look more into this technology to treat their patients. 

Antibody Therapy Reduces Cancer Stem Cells in Multiple Myeloma

A team of researchers lead by Dr. Matsui and Dr. Huff conducted a seven month study that involved individuals with multiple myeloma who were receiving Chemotherapy drugs called lenalidomide and dexamethasone. They tested the effect of the antibody MEDI- 551 on these individuals to measure the influence of cancer drugs on stem cells by counting the stem cells in bone marrow and blood samples from the patients. MEDI-551 is an antibody that targets specific protein CD19 which can be found on the surface of multiple myeloma cancer stem cells (Matsui 2016). After the patients received two full treatments with both cancer drugs, the results showed that the number of stem cells from bone marrow doubled. When the patients were treated with MEDI-551 in the third and fourth months of treatment, the stems cells decreased by half in all of the patients, except for one person. In opposition to the patients receiving MEDI-551, the stem cells increased 10 times in the newly diagnosed patients who did not receive antibody treatment but were still administered both cancer drugs. In a majority of the patients, there was a decrease in multiple myeloma cancer cells after 3 treatments of MEDI-551. However, there was an exception of two patients that experienced an increase in their stem cells even after they received the antibody treatment. The researchers were unable to identify the reason as to why this occurred but they plan to conduct more studies to further examine how the antibody treatment works and to determine what other cancer drugs it is compatible with. 

The results from the two methods used in this study were almost identical so the researchers determined that in future studies they would just use the blood sampling method because it is easier to retrieve than bone marrow. Although it will be years from now, I think that the findings from this study in conjunction with findings from future studies can lead to new cancer treatments that have less  damaging side effects and can hopefully replace the two main Chemotherapy drugs lenalidomide and dexamethasone. In these future studies, I would like to see if the antibody treatment is applicable and effective to multiple myeloma cancer patients of all ages, especially for the elderly. Additionally, I think that researchers next mission should be to determine if there is a specific stage of multiple myeloma where the antibody treatment would be most effective. 

Genetic Sequencing Could Potentially Save Children's Lives

    This month an exciting breakthrough was made in a treatment for pediatric cancer! The University of Michigan's Center for Translational Pathology is using a practice called precision oncology along with genetic sequencing to tailor diagnoses and discover new drug treatments. These new treatments will help patients who are no longer benefiting from today’s standard treatments. A study that has been on going since 2012 began to use a new study called Next-Generation DNA Sequencing to identify the source of the cancer and the best way to treat it. Although the study faces some challenges such as decreasing the time it takes to begin treatment, increasing drug trials and the being able to produce more drugs safe for young children.

 This treatment gives great hope to saving more lives. I think this news is very hopeful and exciting however there is more work to be done. With more trials and funding I think this treatment can go far and hopefully help more children fight cancer! For the full article visit here!

Trying to fool cancer

This year, scientists have been attempting to create a medication that will ultimately “fool” cancer cells. It is considered precision medicine and it uses “cancer’s molecular underpinnings to develop drugs that attack the genes or gene products that make up cancer’s factory while sparing normal cells.” There have been many experiments conducted in hopes of finding a way to cure cancer, once and for all.

            The first study is done on 600 patients with one of two bone marrow cancers, myelodysplastic syndromes or acute myeloid leukemia at the Cleveland Clinic.  These cancers are most commonly found in people age 70 to 80 and can be fatal if left untreated.  These cancers cause cells to outgrow and form a mass of cells or remain immature making it nearly impossible to function normally.  Majority of the patients tested developed an average of 10 genetic mutations before the cancers were diagnosed.  The fact that so many mutations were present makes treating cancer that much harder.  There is no medication available to treat that many mutations and only treating a few of them would help the rest of them thrive allowing the treated cancer to regrow.

The next step in this research is to determine where the mutations start and which one they start with. But it is possible that these starter mutations are found in both cancerous and noncancerous cells so attempting to kill them could wreak havoc within the patients.  A drug was administered to patients that would hopefully improve their blood count and attack the mutations in cancerous cells.  But for some patients, the mutation had nothing to do with causing the cancer.  Despite everything, the road to curing cancer has had massive improvements but nothing is curative.  And although many new forms of treatment have come into play, the older techniques are not a thing of the past.

Cancer has always been a topic of interest for me just because of how unpredictable it is.  It is a brilliant idea that scientists and researchers are continuing to try to find new ways to treat cancer in hopes of one day curing it for good.  Chemotherapy and modern medicine are good cancer treatments but they do not always work so the continued research for a drug that could pinpoint the mutations and destroy them at the source could only help pave the way to a cancer free world.

Copper: The Newest Treatment in Cancer Research

A newly conducted study at the Bielefeld University suggests that a compound containing copper may be the new cancer treatment and preventive used in patients. The copper compound has recently been found to kill and stop the cancer cells from spreading faster then the common drug cisplatin used today. The cisplatin is used in chemotherapy to attack the DNA in the cancer cell but the drug also has many side effects. The newly formed copper compound however works by binding with the cancer cells phosphates and changes the DNA of the cell so it is no longer able to function as it did.

Overall, I believe this was a very interesting article. Cancer is a horrible disease and I believe that anything if something natural, like copper, can be used then it should instead of harsh chemicals used in chemotherapy. Although much more research needs to be conducted before patients are treated with the copper compound, I believe it is one step further in the right direction to combat the horrible disease that effects millions each year.

Found at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150302071134.htm

Red Wine can cause cancer… and help prevent cancer?

Alcohol has been known to be a cause of cancer in the neck and head.  The relationship of alcohol and cancer became more prominent after the study of Faconi anemia.  Faconi anemia is a disease affecting 1 in 350,000 babies and is characterized by the inability to repair tangles of DNA known as “crosslinks.”  Cancer caused by Facoin anemia and alcohol-caused cancer, share the same mechanism of partially metabolized alcohol.  When alcohol is metabolized, it is converted into acetyl aldehyde before being converted to aldehyde dehydrogenase.  Acetyl aldehyde is a carcinogen and produces DNA cross links.  Though acetyl aldehyde is converted into aldehyde dehydrogenase, it still affects the body.  Because red wine is an alcohol, it has the potential to cause cancer.

While red wine has the potential to cause cancer, it is reported to have the fewest incidences of alcohol-caused cancer.  According to Robert Sclafani (PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center), red wine is able to block the cancer-causing effect of alcohol.  The reason red wine is able to block the effects is due to resveratrol, which is found in grape skins and eliminates cells with DNA damage.  In short alcohol can damage cells, giving them the potential to become cancerous, and resveratrol removes damaged cells.   However, if an individual was to still drink in excess it will still cause cancer.

I think the most interesting part of this article, is not the irony of red wine, but the potential of resveratrol.  It not only can help with killing potential cancer cells, it also has the ability to prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and prevents blood clots.  I think it will be very interesting to see what medical professionals and scientist create with resveratrol and how it will help with cancer in the future.

Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286470.php 

Related Article: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281 

New Gene Variants Identified for Prostate Cancer

Recently, an international team of scientists has identified a significant number of new genetic variants that are linked to an increased risk of getting prostate cancer. With these 23 newfound gene variants, the total number of common gene variants linked to prostate cancer is now at 100. Ros Eeles, a professor or oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, elaborated by announcing "We know that there are a few major genes that are rare and significantly affect prostate cancer risk, but what we are now learning is that there are many other common genetic variants that individually have only a small effect on risk, but collectively can be very important."

Now, a clinical trial to find out whether testing for genetic variants in men can successfully pick up the disease early and help direct targeted interventions for patients will shortly be conducted. After studying over 87,000 men of European, African, Japanese and Latino heritage, the team of scientists found 16 new genetic indicators associated with prostate cancer risk in European men. Additionally, they identified 7 genetic indicators in men of mixed heritage. To this end, the researchers feel that they can now explain 33 percent of the inherited origins in European men.

http://www.secretsofthefed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/prostate-cancer-symptoms.jpg 

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to investigate if these findings can improve on prostate cancer screening test, particularly if genetic testing can help diagnose more men at risk for aggressive forms of the cancer. Dr. Matthew Hobbs, deputy director of research at Prostate Cancer UK said in a news release “The results of this study could take us a step closer to targeted screening by allowing us to identify those most at risk of the disease based on the genes that they possess.”

Identifying these new genetic variants is a huge step forward in finding a treatment or even a cure for prostate cancer. Hopefully, with this newfound more researchers and scientists will get involved and use the information to further their knowledge of this cancer. Overall, it is great to see that we are advancing in areas that can allow people with this cancer to identify it earlier on and try to treat it before it becomes too aggressive.

Article Link: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2014/09/15/new-gene-variants-for-prostate-cancer-identified

Finding Clues in Genes of 'Exceptional Responders'

        Grace Silva pictured above of Dartmouth, Massachusetts was diagnosed in 2010 with anaplastic thyroid cancer following symptoms of a swollen neck and throat at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Most patients die within months of finding out they have this type of cancer. Her doctor attempted to treat her with antibiotics but was not successful. Her thyroid gland was removed along with the tumor, and after chemotherapy and radiation treatments the cancer kept coming back. Dana-Farber Institute began studying a drug called everolimus in thyroid cancer due to studies of success in labs with mice. This drug was successful with Mrs. Silva, shrinking her tumors and disappearing for about a year and a half. 

       Researchers sequenced her tumor's genes, finding a mutation that made her cancer dependent on mTOR, and everolimus is able to oppress the production of that protein. Her tumors did begin to grow again and a second genetic analysis found a second mutation in the mTOR gene was allowing the cancer evade the drug and grow. Mrs. Silva is now receiving an experimental drug to take over the mutation's effect and stop cancer growth. Researchers can now just look for that mutation to help other patients because it is seen in hundred of other cancer types. 

      Cancer doctors are using 'exceptional responders' by testing them with a drug a doctor truly feels could work without really knowing if it will and in some cases this person responds positively. Studies are now being done to do this with gene sequencing. In one study at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center a woman was treated with everolimus with bladder cancer. Her cancer was spreading rapidly and was told she had about a year to live. This drug caused her tumors to vanish. A variety of studies have been done to find these responders, which opens many doors for curing cancer.  

    This article really intrigued me, considering cancer is among a large portion of humans in the United States alone. A relative of a good friend of mine has just recently been diagnosed with liver cancer and my heart sank. I believe it is so important that research is done to help these victims and stop them from suffering. This may not be the cure for all cancer, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/health/in-genes-of-exceptional-responders-clues-to-fighting-disease.html?ref=science

Related Article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2482/13/S2/S44

Chemotherapy with nanobubbles more effective in killing cancer cells

Researchers may how found a new treatment for cancer cells, and it is not what you would think. "Plasmonic nanobubbles" are now being experimented with by the researches at Rice University, as well as the University of Texas and other cancer centers. These "bubbles" originate from converting laser energy with light-harvested nanoparticles. They consist of air and water vapor, and are being injected into cancer cells to test for a new possible treatment of single-celled cancer. If this approach is successful and with further testing, it will avoid the killing of healthy cells, which normally happens during chemotherapy sessions.



Researchers have found that chemotherapy combined with nanobubbles are 30 times more deadly to cancer cells than treatment of today. Not only is this treatment more effective, but the required dose is less than 10% of the original clinical dose. Nanobubbles work by forming underneathe cancer cells, and as they burst, drugs are released into the open holes of the cancer cells. This specific treatment has not yet been tested on animals and will need to provide many more experiments, however a study has been done on zebra fish in which exploding nanobubbles did not harm surrounding healthy tissue.