Cancer Research Lab

The expression of microRNAs in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is closely associated with disease prognosis and cytogenetics, according to a study by American and Italian researchers published online in the January 10th issue of Blood. The study also found that a small subset of microRNAs (miRNAs) correlates with AML survival.

MiRNAs are small (19-25 nucleotides long), non-coding RNAs that down-regulate gene expression. Their expression has been linked over the past 5 years or so to hematopoiesis and to cancer in both humans and mice.

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Chewing gum beginning the day after radical cystectomy with urinary diversion hastens the return of bowel motility by about half a day, researchers report.

“We currently start patients (chewing gum) on the day after surgery, chewing one stick three times per day,” Dr. Raj S. Pruthi said. “The outcome, a return of bowel function, was faster in the gum-chewing group, perhaps due to reflexes in our body, such as orogastric and orocolic reflexes, that may stimulate gastrointestinal activity with chewing.”

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Nexavar (sorafenib), used to treat kidney cancer, has shown promise in treating a small number of people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Nexavar (Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals) dramatically reduced the percentage of circulating leukemia cells in 16 subjects with a mutation in the FLT3 gene, which occurs in about one third of AML patients.

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The highly attenuated modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) induces an antibody response as robust as that induced by the conventional smallpox vaccine Dryvax, scientists report in the January Journal of Virology.

Because it has been attenuated through passage in chicken embryo fibroblasts, MVA replicates poorly in nonavian cells. Its safety profile indicates that it may be a useful alternative to Dryvax for immunocompromised individuals, individuals with atopic dermatitis, children, and pregnant women, for whom Dryvax is contraindicated. It is also being considered for immunization prior to Dryvax administration to reduce Dryvax reactogenicity.

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A nerve-sparing approach to radical prostatectomy shortens the period until continence is regained and improves long-term continence rates, new research shows.

Previous studies demonstrated that preservation of the neurovascular bundle can improve post-operative potency rates, but whether nerve-sparing surgery improves incontinence was unclear, senior author Dr. Craig D. Zippe, from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and colleagues note in the December issue of Urology.

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Transgene therapy with hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1a is well tolerated in patients with critical limb ischemia, according to the results of a phase I study reported in the February 19th early online issue of Circulation.

HIF-1a has the potential to normalize intracellular oxygen levels by increasing the synthesis of multiple proangiogenic cytokines and genes that facilitate survival of ischemic tissue, the authors explain.

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Carbohydrate intake, glycemic index, and glycemic load are not associated with the incidence of endometrial cancer, according to findings published in the March issue of the International Journal of Cancer. However, among overweight women with low physical activity, high carbohydrate intake and high glycemic load may increase the risk of this disease.

“Evidence is accumulating that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are involved in the etiology of endometrial cancer,” Dr. Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, write. “Obesity, physical inactivity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus are all associated with insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and endometrial cancer.”

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The presence of one or more hairs in a pigmented lesion does not guarantee that it is benign, according to a report in the March Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

“The presence of hair in a pigmented lesion should not automatically mean that the lesion under investigation is benign,” Dr. Ashfaq A. Marghoob from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York said. “One needs to evaluate the primary morphology of the lesion in question and base one’s decision on that.”

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Younger age at menopause is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis report.

Bladder cancer is common in the U.S., representing about 6% of all new cancer cases among men and 2% among women, Anna E. Prizment and colleagues report in the March issue the International Journal of Cancer. “Established risk factors for bladder cancers include age, gender, smoking and chemical carcinogens.”

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Switzerland’s Roche Holding AG said on Friday its Xeloda drug had been approved in Europe for the treatment of advanced stomach cancer.

Xeloda was approved for first-line use in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, Roche said in a statement.

The approval had been expected after Xeloda — which is already approved for other conditions — was recommended for stomach cancer last month by a panel of European experts.

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