breast cancer tagged posts

Metformin

In one study (abstract 1569), the first to examine the effect of metformin on survival rates for breast cancer patients, researchers examined clinical outcomes for 1,215 patients who were diagnosed and underwent surgical treatment for breast cancer between 1997 and 2013. 97 patients examined reported using metformin before their diagnosis, and 97 reported use of the drug after diagnosis.

Results of the study showed that patients who used metformin before being diagnosed with breast cancer were more than 2X likely to die than patients who never used the drug, while patients who began using metformin after their cancer diagnosis were almost 50% more likely to survive than non-users.

“While use of the drug may have a survival benefit for some breast cancer patients, those who develo...

The new active ingredient consists of DARPins (red and orange) bend the HER2 receptors (blue) so no more growth signal is transmitted into the cell interior (below the cell membrane in yellow). Credit: © UZH

An active substance that kills the cancer cells very effectively without harming healthy cells has now been developed. In Switzerland alone, >5,700 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and almost 1,400 of those affected die of the disease. In many very invasive forms of breast cancer, the cells have too much of the receptor HER2 on their surface. This leads to uncontrolled growth of the cells. Various antibodies such as trastuzumab and pertuzumab, which recognize the HER2 receptor, have been used in breast cancer therapy for many years now...

Gold nano particle molecule delivers curcumin to cancer cells

Shows promise for breast cancer Rx, the protein/polymer-gold nanoparticle composite, besides being easy to synthesize, can load up with cytoxotic drugs, carry them to malignant cells, and unload them where they can do the most damage with the least amount of harm to the patient.

The hybrid molecule enhances small-molecule loading, sustained release, and increased uptake in breast cancer cells. A/Prof Montclare explained that these abilities make the P-GNP vehicle unique among hybrids. “The protein component has been exclusively developed in our lab; no one else has made such constructs,” she said...

Inhibition of transcriptional interference with siRNA. The top panel depicts how GNG12-AS1 modulates the expression of the active DIRAS3 allele through transcriptional interference. GNG12-AS1 may act as a rheostat for DIRAS3 transcription rate. The lower panel depicts how exogenous siRNA molecules in a complex with AGO2 can bind to both the TSS and GNG12-AS1 to inhibit Pol II, and block further transcription initiation and elongation of GNG12-AS1. As a result of transcriptional silencing of GNG12-AS1, transcriptional interference is reduced leading to increased transcription of DIRAS3.

Supposed non-coding DNA, found in between genes, plays a role in suppressing cancer, according to new research by Universities of Bath and Cambridge...