cancer tagged posts

Dr. Axel Kallies, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Credit: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Researchers have uncovered the genes responsible for the way the body fights infection at the point of ‘invasion’. Hobit and Blimp1 have been found and these transcription factors control a universal molecular program responsible for placing immune cells at the ‘front lines’ of the body to fight infection and cancer. The presence of these organ-residing cells, which differ strikingly from their counterparts circulating in the blood stream, is key to local protection against viruses and bacteria.

Identifying how immune cells remain in the part of the body where they are needed most was critical to developing better ways to protect us from infections such as malaria or HIV...

•Lipoprotein cholesterol supports tumor growth •Tumors increase VLDL/LDL levels •Ces3/TGH deficiency attenuates tumor-induced hyperlipidemia via inhibition of PCSK9 •Tumor growth was suppressed in Ces3/Tgh−/− mice

Several studies have recognized a link between obesity and cancer. Richard Lehner, professor of Pediatrics and investigator at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has taken his research further to understand how tumour cells grow through scavenging very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and what mechanisms can be used to reduce the malignant cells’ growth.

The data gathered from their experiments suggest a feed-forward loop, in which tumours not only use lipids as “building blocks” to grow, but they can regulat...

Ultrasensitive Antibody Detection by Agglutination-PCR (ADAP)

A new technique is thousands of times more sensitive than current techniques in lab experiments, and it is now being put to test in real-world clinical trials. Tagging antibodies or related biomarkers involves designing a molecule that the biomarker will bind to, and which is adorned with an identifying “flag.” Through immunoassays, researchers can isolate that flag, and the biomarker bound to it, to provide a proxy measurement of the disease.

The new technique, developed in the lab of Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi, augments this standard procedure with powerful DNA screening technology...

Clockwise from top left: A tumor (blue arrows) is heated with ultrasound (red dashed line); heat map of tumor during treatment; PET scan shows nanoparticles in surviving tumor margin; bright contrast agent shows area damaged by heat. Credit: Andrew Wong/UC Davis

Thermal ablation with magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a noninvasive technique for treating fibroids and cancer. New research from UC Davis shows that combining the technique with chemotherapy can allow complete destruction of tumors in mice. MRgFUS combines an ultrasound beam that heats and destroys tissue with a magnetic resonance imaging to guide the beam and monitor the effects of treatment...