Cancer - July 2012 Archives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — July 31, 2012.  A potentially powerful new approach to treating two lethal metastatic cancers — triple negative breast cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer — has been discovered by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. In the online issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, they report that two drugs, romidepsin and decitabine, work cooperatively to activate a potent tumor suppressor gene that is silenced in these cancers. Once the gene, secreted frizzled related protein one or sFRP1, went to work after the drugs were used, the laboratory tumor cells stopped growing and died. Both drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat blood cancer and are being tested individually in numerous solid cancers in which sFRP1 is disabled. This study was the first to test the use of both in these metastatic cancers linked to sFRP1, and the results are very encouraging, says senior investigator John Copland, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic molecular biologist. "We now have the basis for a clinical trial aimed at providing effective therapy for two drug-resistant cancers and perhaps many more tumor types in the future," Dr. Copland says. In addition to breast and kidney cancer, sFRP1 is disabled in colon, ovarian, lung, liver and other tumor types. Dr. Copland and his colleagues earlier discovered that sFRP1 was silenced in certain cancers. This new work demonstrates that its expression can be restored by romidepsin, which is a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and decitabine, a methyltranferase inhibitor. Both are epigenetic drugs, modifying genes in a way that affects whether they are turned on or off. "Individually, each drug did not induce any form of cell death but, together, they killed all of the different cell lines of kidney and triple negative breast cancer that we tested in the laboratory," says lead investigator Simon Cooper, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic molecular biologist who specializes in renal cancer. The two cancers affect up to 80,000 Americans each year and therapies to treat both, especially when they are advanced, have been very limited, says co-author Edith Perez, M.D., deputy director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. "But now, not only do we have a very promising lead on future therapy, but if this combination treatment works as we hope it does, we will have a biomarker to be able to test which patients might benefit the most," she says. "In other words, a biopsy test could identify patients whose tumors had lost sFRP1 function." The approach to finding this potential new treatment strategy is novel, adds oncologist Michael Menefee, M.D., who is also a study co-author.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — July 31, 2012.  Researchers at Mayo Clinic have completed the world's first genome-wide sequencing analysis of peripheral T-cell lymphomas, unlocking the genetic secrets of this poorly understood and highly aggressive cancer of the immune system. Andrew Feldman, M.D., a Mayo Clinic pathologist and Damon Runyun Clinical Investigator, and a team of researchers affiliated with Mayo's Center for Individualized Medicine and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, found 13 genomic abnormalities that were seen in multiple peripheral T-cell lymphomas. Of particular interest, five of these abnormalities relate to production and behavior of the p53 protein — often called the "guardian of the genome" because of the central role it plays in regulating cell life cycles and, therefore, suppressing cancers. The study, entitled "Genome-wide Analysis Reveals Recurrent Structural Abnormalities of TP63 and other p53-related Genes in Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas," is scheduled for early release in the online edition of the journal Blood at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. "Every time I diagnose a peripheral T-cell lymphoma, I know that two out of three patients will succumb to that lymphoma," says Dr. Feldman. "That's a very unsatisfying feeling, and I hope that our research can help change those statistics." Peripheral T-cell lymphomas account for about 12 percent of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and carry remarkably high mortality rates. Fewer than 35 percent of patients live five years beyond diagnosis. New diagnostic biomarkers (chemical or genetic clues in the body's system) and treatments aimed at specific subgroups of peripheral T-cell lymphomas could lead to improved outcomes, says Dr. Feldman. Developing these, however, has been a challenge for several reasons. Lymphomas that look remarkably similar under a microscope may differ substantially in their overall prognoses and responses to treatment. Additionally, scientists and doctors have a relatively poor understanding of how peripheral T-cell lymphomas develop and proliferate. "The most common type of T-cell lymphoma is called 'not otherwise specified.' It's basically a wastebasket diagnosis because we don't understand enough about the specific genetic abnormalities to be able to pinpoint subtypes of T-cell lymphomas that might trigger different treatments by the treating oncologist," says Dr. Feldman. Dr. Feldman's study will be used to improve diagnostic tests and develop targeted treatments for peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

  Mayo Clinic earned the No. 3 overall spot on the U.S. News & World Report annual America’s “Best Hospitals” list, making the top 10 in 15 of the ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — July 17, 2012.  Mayo Clinic ranked near the top of the 23rd U.S. News & World Report annual America's Best Hospital list, earning the No. 3 overall spot on its "Best Hospitals" list. Mayo Clinic in Rochester also was rated best in the nation in three clinical areas — gynecology, diabetes and endocrinology, and gastroenterology. Hospitals included in the U.S. News Honor Roll, such as Mayo Clinic, are part of an elite group recognized for "breadth of excellence," according to the magazine. To make the magazine's "Honor Roll," a medical center must rank at or near the top in at least six of 16 specialties. Mayo Clinic made the top 10 in 15 of the 16 specialties. The rankings were announced today on U.S. News & World Report's website. Print editions will be on newsstands starting Aug. 30. Mayo Clinic in Rochester ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in eight of the 12 specialties measured based on reputation, services and volumes, safety and clinical outcomes. The eight specialties are: Gynecology (1) Diabetes and endocrinology (1) Gastroenterology (1) Nephrology (2) Neurology (2) Cardiology (2) Pulmonology (2) Orthopedics (2) Mayo Clinic also took honors in urology (3), cancer (4), rheumatology (4), otolaryngology (6), rehabilitation (6), geriatrics (7), psychiatry (7), and ophthalmology (14). New this year are state and regional rankings. Mayo Clinic took the No. 1 spot in Minnesota, ranked No. 2 in Arizona and in the Phoenix metro area, and landed in the No. 17 overall spot in Florida and ranked No. 4 among top hospitals in the Jacksonville area. Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., received regional recognition as high performing in specialties including cancer, gastroenterology, geriatrics, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, and urology. Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Ariz., received national recognition in geriatrics (24) and nephrology (34). In addition, Mayo Clinic in Arizona was recognized as regionally high performing in cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, rheumatology, and urology. "More than any other health care organizations, Mayo Clinic's model of care is defined by teamwork, with a group of experts focusing their expertise on one patient at a time. U.S. News is an important ranking that patients and Mayo Clinic take seriously," says John Noseworthy, M.D., Mayo Clinic's president and CEO. "We are honored by this recognition, and we remain focused on our primary mission: putting the needs of our patients first and creating for them the best possible, most trusted and affordable model of health care for the future."

Note: Funding information at the end of the news release has been updated. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — July 10, 2012.  Cellular change thought to happen only in late-stage cancers to help tumors spread also occurs in early-stage lung cancer as a way to bypass growth controls, say researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The finding, reported in the July 11 issue of Science Translational Medicine, represents a new understanding of the extent of transformation that lung cancer — and likely many other tumor types — undergo early in disease development, the scientists say. They add that the discovery also points to a potential strategy to halt this process, known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition, or EMT. "Our study points to EMT as a key step in lung cancer progression during the earliest stages of cancer development," says lead investigator and cancer biologist Derek Radisky, Ph.D. "Normal cells recognize when they are dividing too rapidly, and turn on programs that block inappropriate cell division. Here we found that early-stage lung cancer cells switch on EMT in order to bypass these controls," he says. The discovery could offer a new way to prevent progression to late-stage lung cancer, possibly by inhibiting a particular molecule from functioning, Dr. Radisky says. Because EMT is a well-recognized late-stage transition that occurs in all sorts of solid tumors, the researchers say they believe that the same early-stage use of EMT they found in lung cancer is likely occurring in other cancers. EMT is a biological process used in embryonic development to allow body development, which requires the ability of cells and tissues to morph from one type to another, and develop in an orchestrated fashion. Late-stage cancer uses EMT to change tumor cells into a form that can migrate through blood. "The gaps in our knowledge of lung cancer have not allowed us to develop more effective targeted therapies," Dr. Radisky says. "This study offers us great new clues for a new approach to treating lung and possibly other cancers as early as possible."

ROCHESTER, Minnesota - 8 de julio de 2012.  La administración de dosis altas de la planta ginseng americano (Panax quinquefolius) durante el transcurso de más ...

High doses of the herb American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over two months reduced cancer-related fatigue in patients more effectively than a placebo. Mayo Clinic researchers ...