Controlling spine metastases with tumor 'separation surgery' and high-dose stereotactic radiosurgery
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/23/2013) - Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have found that tumor "separation surgery" followed by high-dose hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or high-dose single-fraction SRS is safe and effective in controlling spinal metastases regardless of the radiosensitivity of the particular tumor type that has invaded the spine.

Dartmouth researchers take novel approach to fighting treatment-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/23/2013) - In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine described a novel approach to killing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells without harming normal cells, an approach that could help fight off the disease in patients who have developed resistance to standard treatment. Dartmouth is home to the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Men at 'high' skeletal risk prior to prostate cancer hormone therapy likely to have more fractures after treatment
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/22/2013) - In what is believed to be the first study to describe the impact on men with a "high" risk of bone fracture who are receiving long-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer, new research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey shows this population to have a higher fracture incidence following treatment completion. The findings, published in the latest online version of BJU International, also show that men who experienced a fracture had a 1.38-fold higher mortality risk than those who did not.

St. Jude-led study finds new genetic defects in high-risk childhood leukemia subtypes
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/22/2013) - Research led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists has identified a possible lead in treatment of two childhood leukemia subtypes known for their dramatic loss of chromosomes and poor treatment outcomes. The findings also provide the first evidence of the genetic basis for this high-risk leukemia, which is known as hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). St. Jude researchers led the study in collaboration with investigators from the Children’s Oncology Group, the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research. The study's whole genome sequencing was done in conjunction with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project.

Large multicenter study sequences genes of neuroblastoma
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/22/2013) - An extensive genomic study of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma reinforces the challenges in treating the most aggressive forms of this disease. Contrary to expectations, the scientists found relatively few recurrent gene mutations—mutations that would suggest new targets for neuroblastoma treatment. Instead, say the researchers, they have now refocused on how neuroblastoma tumors evolve in response to medicine and other factors. The study included participants from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (home of the Abramson Cancer Center), the Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the University of British Columbia.

UNC researchers use luminescent mice to track cancer and aging in real-time
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/18/2013) - In a study published in the January 18 issue of Cell, researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new method to visualize aging and tumor growth in mice using a gene closely linked to these processes.

UCSD study illuminates how cells know when it’s time to eat themselves
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/18/2013) - Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a molecular mechanism regulating autophagy, a fundamental stress response used by cells to help ensure their survival in adverse conditions. The researchers report that an enzyme called AMPK, typically involved in sensing and modulating energy use in cells, also regulates autophagic enzymes. Failure of normal autophagy has been associated with accumulated cell damage and aging.

UCSD study finds a developmental drug targets hard-to-teach leukemia stem cells responsible for relapses
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/18/2013) - Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered that hard-to-reach, drug-resistant leukemia stem cells (LSCs) that overexpress multiple pro-survival protein forms are sensitive – and thus vulnerable – to a novel cancer stem cell-targeting drug currently under development. The findings, published in the January 17 online issue of Cell Stem Cell, open the possibility that diseases like chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and some solid tumor cancers might – in combination with other therapies – be more effectively treated with this drug, and with a lower chance of relapse.

SPARC reduces inflammation, bladder cancer development and metastasis
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/17/2013) - A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that the protein SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine) acts much like an anti-inflammatory drug, attempting to heal tissues inflamed by tumors. Likewise, cancers – for example, bladder cancer in this study – have developed ways to turn off the production of SPARC, thus allowing growth and metastasis, especially to the lung where bladder cancer is frequently fatal.

Johns Hopkins study finds surgical-site infections may increase risk of deadly blood clots after colorectal surgery
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 01/17/2013) - Despite receiving blood thinners and other clot prevention treatment, some patients still develop potentially lethal blood clots in the first month after their operations anyway, especially if they developed a surgical-site infection while in the hospital, according to results of a study at Johns Hopkins, home to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. The research, described in a report published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, found that patients who experience a surgical-site infection after their abdominal surgery are four times more likely than infection-free patients to develop a deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs, or its more deadly cousin, a pulmonary embolism (PE) in the lungs.