Cancer - June 2015 Archives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Clinicians testing the drug dasatinib, approved for several blood cancers, had hoped it would slow the aggressive growth of the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma; however, clinical trials to date have not found any benefit. Researchers at Mayo Clinic, who conducted one of those clinical trials, believe they know why dasatinib failed — and what to do about it. In the online issue of Molecular Oncology, investigators report finding that dasatinib inhibits proteins that promote cancer growth as expected but also suppresses proteins that protect against cancer. The findings suggest that pretesting patient glioblastoma biopsies will help identify who may respond well to dasatinib and who should avoid using the drug, says the study’s senior author, Panos Z. Anastasiadis, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at Mayo Clinic in Florida. MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Punsky, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 904-953-0746, punsky.kevin@mayo.edu

Functional foods give a boost to your wellness Can what's on your plate help your health and prevent illness? See what researchers are learning ...

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 23,000 new cases of brain cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. last year. Of those, about one-third were ...

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 23,000 new cases of brain cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. last year. Of those, about one-third were gliomas ...

Mayo Clinic invites public to discover more about individualized medicine Precision medicine. Personalized medicine. Individualized medicine. What do these terms mean? Find out at a ...

Arizonans will receive benefit from recently FDA-approved precision medicine clinical trial to fight a deadly form of melanoma PHOENIX, Ariz. — Mayo Clinic and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) are helping launch a national clinical trial that will apply the latest in precision medicine to treat advanced melanoma skin cancer. The study leverages advances in genomics, informatics, and health information technology, yielding more precise medical treatments for patients with this devastating disease. Mayo Clinic is the only clinical site in Arizona to offer this new treatment, sponsored by Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) and the Melanoma Research Alliance. These clinical trials are the culmination of nearly four years of research under an SU2C Melanoma Dream Team grant. Metastatic melanoma is a type of cancer that has spread from the skin to other parts of the body, most frequently the lungs, muscles, brain, and liver. Metastatic melanoma is responsible for more than 9,000 deaths a year in the United States, so there remains an urgent need for new treatment options. For interviews with Dr. Aleksandar Sekulic and Dr. Alan Bryce or a patient with metastatic melanoma, contact Julie Janovsky-Mason, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs at (480) 301-6173; Janovsky-Mason.Julie@mayo.edu. For interviews with Dr. Trent, please contact: Steve Yozwiak, TGen Senior Science Writer at 602-343-8704; syozwiak@tgen.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcJPXISDxkM SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — An international research team led by Mayo Clinic oncologists has found a new way to identify and possibly stop the progression of many late-stage cancers, including bladder, blood, bone, brain, lung and kidney. The precision medicine study appears online in Oncogene and focuses on kidney cancer and its metastases. Recent studies of the same epigenomic fingerprint in other cancers suggest a common pathway that could help improve the diagnosis and treatment of advanced disease across a wide variety of cancer types. “If you think of late-stage cancer as a runaway car, most of our drugs take a shot at a tire here and there, but sometimes they miss and often they can’t stop it entirely,” says Thai Ho, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic oncologist and lead author of the study. “We believe we have identified a mechanism that seizes the cancer’s biological engine and could potentially stop it in its tracks.” The new approach zeroes in on an epigenomic fingerprint in metastatic disease, in which the body often misinterprets a healthy genetic blueprint, producing toxic cells that run afoul of the body’s normal functions. MEDIA CONTACT: Sam Smith, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu.

Fertility ... the ability to make a baby ... is affected by a host of factors. From diet and stress ... to age and genetics ...

Mayo Clinic Women's Health Clinic provides focus on cancer survivorship    Ladies, do you have questions about menopause, sexual health and more? See how ...

Malignant mesothelioma, cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen, is relatively rare but often fatal. The 5-year survival rate is between just 5 ...

In this Mayo Clinic Radio Health Minute, we hear from Dr. John Cheville about a study which looked as some similarities between some breast and bladder ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The molecular makeup of brain tumors can be used to sort patients with gliomas into five categories, each with different clinical features and outcomes, researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of California San Francisco have shown. The finding could change the methods that physicians rely on to determine prognosis and treatment options. Previously, they relied on how patients’ tumors look under the microscope. The study is published online in the  New England Journal of Medicine. “Our findings are going to weigh heavily on the future classification of brain tumors. The time of classifying these tumors solely according to histology as astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma or mixed oligoastrocytoma could be a thing of the past,” says lead study author Daniel H. Lachance, M.D., a neuro oncologist at Mayo Clinic. “This molecular data helps us better classify glioma patients, so we can begin to understand who needs to be treated more aggressively and who might be able to avoid unnecessary therapies.” http://youtu.be/76YHqUxXZVs