NIH study finds increases in risk of certain leukemias related to treatment
NCI Press Release
(Posted: 02/14/2013) - A new study describes the pattern of risk for chemotherapy-related acute myeloid leukemia among adult cancer survivors over the past three decades who have previously been treated with chemotherapy for other cancers. These patterns coincide with major shifts in treatment practices. In particular, the study found that the risk of treatment-related AML among patients treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma has increased steadily during the last few decades.

Leukemia, the first and second time around
NCI Featured News Story
(Posted: 02/14/2013) - Sometimes rising or falling trends in cancer rates can mask more complicated scientific aspects of the disease. Consider a relatively rare form of leukemia known as AML that predominantly affects middle-age and elderly adults. Based on data from NCI and others recently released in the Annual Report to the Nation, an estimated 14,000 people will develop AML in the United States in 2013, and an estimated 10,000 people will die from it.

Drug shown to reverse radioiodine resistance in some advanced thyroid cancers
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/14/2013) - The experimental drug selumetinib may allow some patients with advanced thyroid cancer to overcome resistance to radioiodine (RAI), the most effective therapy for the disease, according to new research from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Researchers discover biological diversity in triple-negative breast cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/14/2013) - Triple-negative breast cancers are more biologically diverse than previously believed and classification should be expanded to reflect this heterogeneity, according to a study from the University of North Carolina led by researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with scientists from the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain.

Burkitt lymphoma risk after transplantation highlighted
MedwireNews
(Posted: 02/13/2013) - Solid organ transplant recipients have a significant risk for developing Burkitt lymphoma (BL), US researchers have found. Transplant recipients in the USA are 23 times more likely to develop BL than members of the general population, with an incidence of 10.8 cases per 100,000 person-years, say Sam Mbulaiteye, NCI, and co-authors.

Deep genomic analysis identifies a micro RNA opponent for ovarian cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/12/2013) - Researchers led by MD Anderson Cancer Center employed an extensive analysis of genomic information to identify a new, high-risk cohort of ovarian cancer patients, characterize their tumors, find a potential treatment and test it in mouse models of the disease. The exhaustive analysis that led to micro RNA 506 (miR-506) as a potential therapeutic candidate for advanced or metastatic ovarian cancer is the cover article in the Feb. 11 edition of Cancer Cell.

Values and techniques shape decisions about PSA screening
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/12/2013) - An international team of scientists led by the University of North Carolina (home to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center) has published a study evaluating different ways of helping men consider their values about PSA screening. They report that the decision-making process was influenced by the format in which information was presented. The team described PSA screening decision options in terms of four key attributes: effect on prostate cancer mortality, risk of biopsy, risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer and risk of becoming impotent or incontinent as a result of treatment.

Mouse model of clear cell sarcoma improves understanding of rare, deadly cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/12/2013) - Geneticists led by University of Utah scientists have engineered mice that develop clear cell sarcoma (CCS), a significant step in better understanding how this rare and deadly soft tissue cancer arises. The mouse model also can potentially speed the development of drugs to target genes that must be activated for the cancer to form. The study included researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Stanford University.

Hepatic function testing can assist in treatment planning for liver cancer patients
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/11/2013) - Monitoring the hepatic function of unresectable liver cancer patients, measured by 99mTc-labeled iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) via single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) prior to and during radiation therapy, provides vital information that could guide more customized treatment plans and reduce risks of liver injury, according to University of Michigan research being presented at the 2013 Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium. The University of Michigan is home to the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

DAI provides potential imaging biomarker to indicate brain tumor response to radiation therapy
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 02/11/2013) - Diffusion abnormality index (DAI) shows promise as an imaging biomarker to measure brain tumor response to radiation therapy, according to University of Michigan research being presented at the 2013 Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium. The study included 20 patients who had brain metastases and were treated with whole brain radiotherapy. The University of Michigan is home to the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.