1/8/2005 Pittsburgh Jennifer Bails Science Magazine as reported by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review A team of University of Pittsburgh researchers has discovered that too much of a single protein can cause a cascade of calamitous changes in a cell leading to the formation of cancerous tumors. The findings published in today's issue of Science, a prestigious peer-review journal, could help scientists develop cancer treatments that are safer and more effective than chemotherapy, said Susanne Gollin, one of the paper's authors. "The more we understand about tumor cells and how they misbehave compared to normal cells, the more we can target our research to developing potential cancer therapies," said Gollin, a human geneticist at Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health. Gollin collaborated with Pitt biologists Nicholas Quintyne and William Saunders. They found that too much of a protein called nuclear mitotic assembly protein -- or NuMA -- disrupts cell division by interfering with a second protein called dyenin. Large amounts of dyenin help make up the mitotic spindle, an assembly of fibers and proteins used to ensure that new cells are allotted the proper number of chromosomes. Before a healthy cell divides, it duplicates its chromosomes. These chromosomes are then evenly separated by the spindle so the two new cells have equal amounts of genetic material. Normal cells have mitotic spindles with two ends, or poles, with structures at either end called centrosomes that help direct cell division. But cancer cells often have extra centrosomes, which can lead to defective spindles with too [...]

1/6/2005 Louise Fong et al. Journal of the National Cancer Institute (vol 97, no 1, pp40-50) The mineral zinc may help prevent oesophageal and oral cancers in people at high risk, suggests research on rats. A team from the Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia found that rats that are deficient in dietary zinc experience increased expression of COX-2 in the oesophagus and tongue, an effect that is accompanied by a hyperplastic phenotype in these areas that is likely relevant to cancer development. Oesophageal and tongue cancers have previously been associated with dietary zinc deficiency, and these cancers often overexpress COX-2, a characteristic known to contribute to carcinogenesis. Louise Fong and colleagues report in today’s issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (vol 97, no 1, pp40-50) that COX-2 overexpression accompanies hyperplasia in zinc-deficient rats. Treating the rats with zinc or a COX-2 inhibitor reduced COX-2 overexpression and reversed the hyperplasia found in the oesophagus.

1/6/2005 Reuben Lotan Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 97, No. 1, 3-4, January 5, 2005 Retinol (the prototypic vitamin A) and its metabolites called retinoids play important physiologic roles in embryonal development, vision, maintenance of epithelial differentiation, immune functions, and reproduction (1). Many of these functions are mediated by retinol metabolites such as all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) (2). ATRA modulates gene expression by means of nuclear receptors that are members of the steroid hormone gene superfamily. These receptors, retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), appear in at least three subtypes, designated alpha, beta, and delta. The receptors function as ligand-activated heterodimeric DNA-binding transcription enhancing factors and regulate the transcription of various genes, which play important roles during development and in adult tissues. Abberant expression and function of specific retinoid receptors, primarily RAR, have been associated with cancer development and progression (3,4). However, recent studies have highlighted additional mechanisms for abrogation of retinoid signaling in carcinogenesis. These involve abnormalities located upstream of retinoic acid and its nuclear receptors. These defects interfere with retinol storage and its metabolism to retinoic acid and result in a localized retinoid deficiency. Interestingly, we have suggested that decreased levels of RAR may be, at least in part, caused by local vitamin A deficiency (5). Dietary retinol is stored in the liver in specialized cells and delivered to various target tissues via a retinol-binding protein (6). However, retinol is also stored in various extra-hepatic tissues including breast epithelial cells. Retinyl esters are the [...]

1/6/2005 Lexington, KY staff Lexington NBC Affiliate (lex18.com) If you made a New Year's resolution to stop smoking or lose weight this year, you're not alone. Those are two of the most popular resolutions, and may have benefits that never occurred to you. Both of them can help cut your risk of cancer, but they're not the only ones. Here are the top five cancer-curbing resolutions for 2005. If you vow to quit smoking this year, you'll be doing your body a huge favor. It's the number one way to cut your risk for cancer, and we're not just talking about lung cancer. "Bladder cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer -- they're all associated with cigarette smoking," said Electra Paskett, Ph.D., of Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital. Exercise is another way to cut your cancer risk. Vigorous exercise can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by up to 50 percent, and breast cancer by as much as 30 percent. It's a resolution with profound personal meaning for Jessica Bayles. "After my mother passed away of cancer, from then on I knew. From this point on I have to get serious about it. I have to make sure I exercise, have to make sure I eat right," said Bayles. Which brings us to number three in our top five -- eating right, including four to six helping of fruits and vegetables a day. "If we all did that, we could expect there to be a 20 to [...]

1/5/2005 Jacksonville, FL Kerry Sullivan - editor First Coast News Whether you are wearing one because it looks cool, or because you have been touched by someone with cancer, wristbands, like the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet by Lance Armstrong are becoming more popular than ever on the first coast. From the Avenues Mall to the soccer fields at Jacksonville University, everyone is wearing them. For Freshman Courtney Eppleman, her "Livestrong" wristband is in honor of her grandfather who died of throat cancer last year. "If I can save one life by wearing it, then I feel good," says Eppleman. Eppleman is one of dozens of ladies on the team who wears her wristband proudly. Their coach, Chris Kouns, got them started with a kickout cancer match when he took the head coaching job last year. They haven't taken them off since. "My father is a cancer survivor so it meant a lot to me to do this. They had a kickout cancer match up north where I came from, but not down here," Kouns says. While the yellow "Livestrong" wristbands seem to be the most popular, another color is getting all the attention on the first coast. "I don't take mine off," Patty Gruelle says. Gruelle is a breast cancer survivor two times around. The "Livestrong" wristband was the inspiration behind her latest project, pink "Carpe Diem" breast cancer wristbands. Gruelle teamed up with the Donna Hicken foundation to seize the day and support the disease. She says it's so important [...]

1/4/2005 Vienna, VA press release PR Newswire CEL-SCI CORPORATION (Amex: CVM) has submitted a Phase III clinical trial protocol to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for the use of its investigational immunotherapy drug Multikine(R) in the treatment of advanced primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Additional information in support of and to provide the rationale for the Phase III trial (final reports of clinical trials conducted with Multikine to date and manufacturing and testing information) was included with this submission. The protocol was designed in consultation with a group of recognized experts in the field of head & neck cancer therapy to develop the conclusive evidence of the safety and efficacy of Multikine in the treatment of advanced primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that would be required to license the product. The Company plans to meet with the FDA to discuss the proposed Phase III clinical trial over the next several months and obtain the agency's approval to initiate the study. Geert Kersten, Chief Executive Officer of CEL-SCI said, "We believe that Multikine has the ability to improve the success rate of first line therapy in head & neck cancer and this protocol is designed to prove our belief." Head and neck cancer is an aggressive cancer that affects about 500,000 people per annum worldwide. Multikine is an immunotherapeutic agent consisting of a mixture of naturally occurring cytokines including interleukins, interferons, chemokines and colony-stimulating factors. Multikine has completed several Phase II clinical trials [...]

1/4/2005 Sheldon Sax Oral Cancer Foundation The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the New Jersey Dental School are undertaking a clinical trial of green tea and its relationship to oral precancers. If you live in New Jersey and would like to participate in the clinical trial, you should contact your dentist about eligibility or telephone 1-866-654-9898. Here is the text of the original announcement: Help us find out by joining a study being conducted at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center dedicated to cancer research, prevention, treatment and education in cooperation with the New Jersey Dental School. Mouth Cancer is the most common cancer in the head and neck region of the body and is often fatal. Mild or moderate dysplasia, which may appear as white or grey patches, is a potentially pre-cancerous condition in the mouth. A clinical trial is underway to see the effects of green tea on these white or grey patches. If you have been diagnosed with mild or moderate dysplasia or have white or grey patches in your mouth, talk to your dentist or contact The Cancer Institute of New Jersey to determine your eligibility for this study. If eligible, you will be asked to consume lozenges 8 times a day for 12 weeks and your participation will last for 24 weeks. If interested in participating, please call 1-866-654-9898. Original Source: The Cancer Institute of New Jersey

1/1/2005 Press & Dakotan, Yankton Daily Quitting tobacco is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions, but the key to success is to create a quit plan that includes planning for tough situations, dealing with withdrawal, and getting support from others. Chewers and dippers can now create their own effective quit plans at the ChewFree.com Web site. Sponsored by the National Center Institute, ChewFree.com is a free, self-help quitting program offered as part of a research study by Oregon Research Institute. "Many people mistakenly believe that they can quit with will power alone," says Dr. Herb Severson of Oregon Research Institute, the project director. "Our research has shown, however, that chewers and dippers can by most successful if they take the time to make a plan. ChewFree.com provides those interested in quitting with the tools they need." More than 6 million Americans use smokeless tobacco products regularly, contributing to as many as 9,000 U.S. cancer deaths each year. The ChewFree.com quitting program addresses the special difficulties faced by chew and snuff users, who have fewer quitting resources than do smokers. All participants will have access to a web site containing information and quitting resources that have already helped thousands of chewers to quit. Participants are asked to complete research questionnaires on-line to help evaluate the program. For more information or to enroll in the quitting program, log on to www.chewfree.com. Facts About Smokeless Tobacco -- South Dakota Smokeless tobacco use is widespread, especially among young men. More than five [...]