tamoxifen tagged posts

Cancer cells proliferate despite a myriad of stresses — from oxygen deprivation to chemotherapy — that would kill any ordinary cell. Now, researchers at UC San Francisco have gained insight into how they may be doing this through the downstream activity of a powerful estrogen receptor. The discovery offers clues to overcoming resistance to therapies like tamoxifen that are used in many types of breast cancer.

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) drives more than 70 percent of breast cancers. The new research published Sept...

Tumor cells in the placebo-treated mice grew rapidly. Tamoxifen prevented the tumors from growing. CDB4124 initially caused the tumors to regress, but after 35 days, the tumors began growing again. The combination of tamoxifen and CDB4124 caused tumors to shrink 70 percent by day 60. Credit: The Greene Laboratory

One of the first clues pathologists look for in tissue from a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient is the estrogen receptor. They also look for the presence of progesterone receptors, primarily to confirm that the estrogen receptor is active. In the June 24 issue of Science Advances, however, researchers radically upgrade the significance of the progesterone receptor.

When exposed to estrogens and progestins, these receptor proteins interact with different sets of binding sites i...

Sustained release of melatonin: A novel approach in elevating efficacy of tamoxifen in breast cancer treatment

Tiny bubbles filled with the sleep hormone melatonin can make breast cancer treatment more effective, which means people need a lower dose, giving them less severe side effects. The bubbles, called nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), made tamoxifen stronger and help it kill cancer cells. The authors of the study, from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, say using NLCs packed with melatonin could also help avoid the cancer cells growing resistant to the treatment, so it will remain effective.

More than 224,000 people were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 in the US alone...