BreakThrough Digest Medical News |
- Potential new treatment target identified for melanoma skin cancer
- A nonantibiotic approach for treating urinary tract infections
- Golden age of prostate cancer treatment hailed as fourth drug in 2 years extends life
- Millions suffering from mild cognitive impairment
| Potential new treatment target identified for melanoma skin cancer Posted: 14 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT New research from Western University, Canada, has identified a potential new target for the treatment of melanoma, the deadliest of all skin cancers. Silvia Penuela and Dale Laird discovered a new channel-forming protein called Pannexin (Panx1) that is expressed in normal levels on the surface of healthy skin cells. But when found, in melanoma, Panx1 is over-produced to a pathological level. The researchers also discovered that if you reduce it or knock it down, the cell becomes more normal. The research is published in the August 17th issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Malignant melanoma only accounts for four per cent of all skin cancers and yet, it’s responsible for 79% of skin cancer-related deaths. The World Health Organization says there are 200-thousand cases of melanoma diagnosed each year and 65 thousand melanoma-related deaths (2000 statistics). “We think this over-production of Panx1, enables the melanoma to become very aggressive. The cells have these extra Panx1 channels and they can leave the primary tumor and invade other tissues,” explains Laird, a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Canada Research Chair in Gap Junctions and Disease. “And when you find a protein that is highly up-regulated in a disease cell such as a melanoma, the question becomes, is there therapeutic value in targeting a drug to that protein to reduce its production or block its function. Would that be an effective treatment?” “We now want to correlate our discovery to patient samples using the human melanoma bank through our collaboration with Dr. Muriel Brackstone and other clinicians at the London Health Sciences Centre, to see if this is a cancer marker,” says Penuela, a Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Laird lab. “So if a melanoma lesion has a lot of this protein, it might be a tool for prognosis, in saying this is more advanced, or going to be highly metastatic. And because it’s on the skin, it would be more accessible for treatment.” Penuela suggests potential treatment might be in the form of a topical medication to use on melanoma lesions. The scientists also worked with David Litchfield and John Lewis and their teams at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and the London Regional Cancer Program on this research. It was funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The Laird laboratory recently received a $200,000 Innovation Grant from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute to further its studies on Panx1. Contact: Kathy Wallis |
| A nonantibiotic approach for treating urinary tract infections Posted: 14 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT
The latest episode in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS’) award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series describes a potential new approach for treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) which affect millions of people annually without traditional antibiotics. Because it involves non-antibiotic compounds, the approach would not contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or “superbugs.”
Based on a report by Beat Ernst, Ph.D., and colleagues in ACS’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, the new podcast is available without charge at iTunes and from www.acs.org/globalchallenges. In the podcast, Ernst explains that antibiotics are the mainstay treatment for UTIs. Bacteria, however, are developing resistance to common antibiotics, with the emergence of superbugs that shrug off some of the most powerful new antibiotics. Thus, the scientists decided to try a new approach developing substances that target bacteria virulence factors, inhibiting them from sticking to the inside of the urinary bladder. Hence, microbes are not able to launch an infection. In addition, this new class of antimicrobials is expected to have a reduced potential for the emergence of resistant microbes. The scientists describe the development of anti-adhesion molecules that specifically interfere with the attachment of bacteria to human bladder cells. The most potent of the substances prevented a UTI from developing in mice (stand-ins for humans in this kind of experiment) for more than eight hours. In the in vivo treatment study, a very low dose reduced the amount of bacteria in the bladder of the animals by almost 10,000 times, which is comparable to the standard antibiotic treatment with ciprofloxacin. ### Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions is a series of podcasts describing some of the 21st century’s most daunting problems, and how cutting-edge research in chemistry matters in the quest for solutions. Global Challenges is the centerpiece in an alliance on sustainability between ACS and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Global Challenges is a sweeping panorama of global challenges that includes dilemmas such as providing a hungry and thirsty world with ample supplies of safe food and clean water, developing alternatives to petroleum to fuel society, preserving the environment and ensuring a sustainable future for our children and improving human health. For more entertaining, informative science videos and podcasts from the ACS Office of Public Affairs, view Prized Science, Spellbound, Science Elements and Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. Contact: Michael Bernstein |
| Golden age of prostate cancer treatment hailed as fourth drug in 2 years extends life Posted: 14 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT The head of one of the UK’s leading cancer research organisations has hailed a golden age in prostate cancer drug discovery as for the fourth time in two years results are published finding a new drug can significantly extend life.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine today shows the drug enzalutamide can significantly extend life and improve quality of life in men with advanced prostate cancer ? in findings that could further widen the treatment options for men with the disease. The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and its partner hospital The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust jointly led the new Phase III trial of enzalutamide and the Phase III trials of two other drugs, cabazitaxel and abiraterone. Abiraterone was also discovered at The Institute of Cancer Research and was recently made available on the NHS. A further drug sipuleucel-T has also been shown to extend life in the two-year period. Professor Alan Ashworth, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), said cancer research in the UK was finally delivering new treatment options for men with advanced prostate cancer after a long period where the options were limited. Professor Ashworth said: “Advanced prostate cancer is extremely difficult to treat, and it’s taken a massive coordinated effort to finally bring new drugs into the pipeline, after decades where there were no options once old-style hormone treatment stopped working. “What we’re seeing now is an unprecedented period of success for prostate cancer research, with four new drugs shown to extend life in major clinical trials in just two years, and several others showing promise. It truly is a golden age for prostate cancer drug discovery and development.” Professor Martin Gore, medical director of The Royal Marsden Hospital, said: “We are delighted with the recent progress that has been made in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer and to see the impact this is having on our patients, many of whom are living longer with a better quality of life as the result of these new drugs.” Enzalutamide, a new type of hormone treatment, was assessed in 1,199 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer that had previously received chemotherapy, in a multinational, randomised placebo-controlled trial sponsored by pharmaceutical companies Medivation and Astellas. Median survival with enzalutamide was 18.4 months, compared with 13.6 months for men receiving a placebo. Around 43 per cent of men taking enzalutamide as part of the AFFIRM trial reported an improved quality of life, compared with 18 per cent of men taking a placebo. In November last year, the trial’s Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommended that the trial be stopped early and men who received the placebo be offered enzalutamide. The Phase III trial was jointly led by Professor Johann de Bono, head of the Drug Development Unit at the ICR and The Royal Marsden. ### Media Contact: ICR Science Communications Manager Jane Bunce on 0207 153 5106 or 07 721 747 900 Notes to editors:
Standard treatment for men with advanced, castration-resistant prostate cancer is the chemotherapeutic drug docetaxel (Taxotere), which was approved in 2004. In 2010, the results of a Phase III trial showed the drug sipuleucel-T (Provenge) could also extend life for patients who are no longer responding to docetaxel, leading to the drug’s approval in the US. Cabazitazel followed later in 2010, abiraterone in 2011 and enzalutamide today. Cabazitaxel and abiraterone are available in the UK. An interim analysis of a Phase III trial that the ICR and The Royal Marsden are co-leading for the drug radium-233 choloride (Alpharadin) has also shown an increase in overall survival compared to a placebo, although the final analysis has not yet been published. The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes. Scientists and clinicians at the ICR are working every day to make a real impact on cancer patients’ lives. Through its unique partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital and ‘bench-to-bedside’ approach, the ICR is able to create and deliver results in a way that other institutions cannot. Together the two organisations are rated in the top four cancer centres globally. The ICR has an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. It provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer, laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today it leads the world at isolating cancer-related genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment. The Cancer Therapeutics Unit and Drug Development Unit at the ICR and The Royal Marsden were recently honoured with the 2012 American Association for Cancer Research Team Science Award for the “tremendous impact” of their preclinical and clinical studies. As a college of the University of London, the ICR provides postgraduate higher education of international distinction. It has charitable status and relies on support from partner organisations, charities and the general public. The ICR’s mission is to make the discoveries that defeat cancer. For more information visit www.icr.ac.uk The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Marsden opened its doors in 1851 as the world’s first hospital dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education. Today, together with its academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), it is the largest and most comprehensive cancer centre in Europe treating over 44,000 patients every year. It is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for groundbreaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies. The Royal Marsden also provides community services in the London boroughs of Sutton and Merton and in June 2010, along with the ICR, the Trust launched a new academic partnership with Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Middlesex. Since 2004, the hospital’s charity, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, has helped raise over £50 million to build theatres, diagnostic centres, and drug development units. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in 2007, following a long royal connection with the hospital. For more information, visit www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk Contact: Jane Bunce |
| Millions suffering from mild cognitive impairment Posted: 13 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT
At least one in ten adults over the age of 65 suffers from Mild Cognitive Impairment, or MCI. This condition, a state between the normal decline in cognition associated with aging and the more precipitous drop caused by a deadly dementia like Alzheimer’s disease, has only recently begun to be studied; first identified by the Mayo Clinic in 1999, it was only given an official diagnostic code in late 2006. As a result, despite its prevalence ? and its seriousness: it’s often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, one of the top ten causes of death in the United States ? MCI remains almost entirely unknown to the public.
Three noted psychologists are now taking one of the first steps toward filling in this gap. LIVING WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: A Guide to Maximizing Brain Health and Reducing Risk of Dementia is the first book to be published on MCI for the general reader. Specifically written for individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), for their family members, and for the health care professionals with whom they navigate their journey with MCI, the book provides up-to-date, scientifically substantiated knowledge about what MCI is, how it affects people, and how to take a proactive approach to health and wellbeing for living with the condition; the renowned British clinical psychologist Linda Clare describes it as “An invaluable resource for anyone living with MCI or wanting to understand more about this little-known and poorly-understood, but widespread, condition.” Nicole D. Anderson is Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, in Toronto. ### paperback | August 9th, 2012 | 240 pages | $19.95 | 9780199858552 Contact: Owen Keiter |
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