Researchers find overactive protein among mouth cancer patients

Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ Author: B.S. Akshaya An overactive protein in mouth cancer encourages tumours to grow fast and scientists claim that the protein will help them to find an effective treatment for the disease. Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered FRMD4A, a protein that is overactive among mouth cancer patients. They claim that just deactivating the protein will help save many lives. A study conducted on mice revealed that when FRMD4A protein is turned on, it helps the cancer cells to group and stick together, but when the protein is deactivated the stickiness of the cell is lost and ultimately it causes cancer cells to die. Scientists have already found some potential drugs that could help them deactivate the protein. “What’s really exciting about this research is that we already have potential drugs that can be used to target this protein or compensate for the effects that it is having,” said Dr Stephen Goldie, researcher at Cancer Research UK, in a statement. “These drugs could offer new options to patients where surgery and chemotherapy have not worked or could be used alongside them. We now need to start trials with these treatments, but we hope this could make a real difference to people with mouth cancer in the future,” he added. Mouth cancer starts anywhere in the oral cavity area like in the cheek lining area, the floor of the mouth, gums or the roof of the mouth (palate). Symptoms of this cancer are chewing problems, mouth sores, speech difficulty, swallowing [...]

2013-07-19T07:41:38-07:00July, 2013|Oral Cancer News|
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Australian research grant targets oral cancer

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: staff Hans Zoellner, BDS, PhD, an associate professor and head of oral pathology at the University of Sydney, has been awarded the 2012 Australian Dental Industry Association (ADIA) Research Grant. The grant supports research into the relationship of malignant cancer cells and those of healthy gingival structural tissue (fibroblasts). The findings of this research originated from earlier work studying aspects of oral cancer and have shed light on other forms of cancer. The grant, funded by ADIA, is awarded each year to the primary applicant for the highest-ranked research project of those considered by the Australian Dental Research Foundation (ADRF). Dr. Zoellner's project, "Characterization of protein and mRNA exchange between malignant cells and fibroblasts," was considered by the ADRF Grant Committee to be ground-breaking research into how cancer cells behave and potentially evade treatment. "We have recently observed that cancer cells exchange cellular material with fibroblasts, and the resulting cancer cell diversity may help cancer cells evade chemotherapy. Separately, from an immune standpoint, it seems likely that the cancer cells receive enough components of fibroblasts so that they are less recognized as foreign, while the fibroblasts now bearing cancer cell components would act as immune decoys," Dr. Zoellner explained in a press release. "In understanding this process, we hope to eventually inhibit the mechanisms through which it occurs and therefore increase the effectiveness of treatments." The Australian Dental Research Foundation is jointly supported by ADIA and the Australian Dental Association for the purpose of sponsoring dental research [...]

2012-12-23T08:14:27-07:00December, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Food preservatives don’t preserve oral cancer

Source: bigkingken.wordpress.com Food preservatives are a common part of everyday life for those Americans who don’t go to extremes to avoid them. Twinkies will be around for thousands of years despite the dissolution of Hostess and I’m pretty sure there’s an unspoiled Big Mac somewhere that’s been hanging out for several decades. Besides grossly keeping the hamburger on the left untarnished for more than a decade, food preservatives might be an untapped resource in the fight against cancer. In short, food preservatives work by killing off any and all microbial life forms that come along to munch on the food before us humans have a chance to send it down to our bellies. Now, if these food preservatives are so effective at killing off unwanted bacteria in our food supplies, could they perhaps also be effective at killing off other unwanted life forms? This is a question being asked by a lot of medical researchers at the moment, with at least one group finding an answer in the affirmative. Recently, researchers at the University of Michigan found that the common food preservative Nisin also does an excellent job of holding off – and even shrinking – the most common and deadly form of oral cancer, squamous cell head and neck cancer (HNSCC). HNSCC is a particularly nasty form of cancer, seeing as it accounts for more than 90 percent of oral cancers yet hasn’t had its mortality rates improved in the past several decades. On the other side, [...]

2012-11-30T06:02:23-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Food preservative may halt tumor growth

Source: www.foodproductdesign.com The common food preservative nisin may stop or slow squamous cell head and neck cancers, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Medicine. The findings may accelerate new cancer therapies since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) approved nisin as safe for human consumption decades ago. Oral cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and oral squamous cell carcinoma accounts for more than 90% of oral cancers. However, survival rates for oral cancer haven't improved in decades, according to the study. Yvonne Kapila, the study's principal investigator and professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, said antibacterial agents like nisin alter cell properties in bacteria to render it harmless. However, it's only recently that scientists began looking to antibacterial agents like nisin to see if they altered properties in other types of cells, such as cancer cells or cells in tumors. "The poor 5-year survival rates for oral cancer underscore the need to find new therapies for oral cancer," she said. "The use of small antibacterial agents, like nisin, to treat cancer is a new approach that holds great promise. Nisin is a perfect example of this potential because it has been used safely in humans for many years, and now the laboratory studies support its anti-tumor potential." The study, which looked at the use of antimicrobials to fight cancerous tumors, suggests nisin, in part, slows cell proliferation or causes cell death through the activation [...]

2012-11-01T15:17:35-07:00November, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Researchers report early success using saliva to detect oral cancer

Source: www.nih.gov Author: press release Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, reported today taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer. As published in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the scientists found they could measure for elevated levels of four distinct cancer-associated molecules in saliva and distinguish with 91 percent accuracy between healthy people and those diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma. This so-called "proof-of-principle" study marks the first report in the scientific literature that distinct patterns of "messenger RNA" not only are measurable in saliva but can indicate a developing tumor. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is the molecular intermediate between gene and protein, serving as a chemical record that an individual gene has been expressed. According to David Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., a scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry and senior author on the paper, it may be possible with further refinement of the test, possibly by including additional cancer-linked mRNAs, to attain the necessary 99 to 100 percent accuracy of commercial diagnostic tests for oral squamous cell carcinoma, the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Wong noted that currently no biochemical or genetic diagnostic tests are commercially available for oral cancer. He also noted that the RNA patterns in saliva may be informative for other cancers and common diseases. "Saliva is a mirror of our blood," said Wong. "We're now conducting our initial [...]

2012-07-13T18:15:21-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Protein could provide target for new mouth cancer drugs

Source: www.netdoctor.co.uk Author: staff A protein that is overactive in mouth cancer could provide a new target for the development of drugs against the disease, researchers say. Scientists at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute have discovered that a protein called FRMD4A is permanently switched on in cancer. Furthermore, the higher the levels of this protein, the more likely the disease is to spread and come back following treatment. Tests carried out in mice have revealed that by blocking FRMD4A, it may be possible to prevent mouth cancer from growing and spreading. Dr Stephen Goldie, whose findings are published in the journal Cancer Research, said: 'What's really exciting about this research is that we already have potential drugs that can be used to target this protein or compensate for the effects that it is having. 'These drugs could offer new options to patients where surgery and chemotherapy hasn't worked or could be used alongside them.' The research team now plan to carry out clinical trials involving these drugs to see if they work in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma - a particularly aggressive form of mouth cancer. There are various types of mouth cancer which affect more than 5,300 people in the UK each year.

2012-07-03T17:47:55-07:00July, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Electrochemical sensor spots oral cancer

Source: cen.acs.org Author: Erika Gebel Medical Diagnostics: A simple and inexpensive device detects multiple cancer biomarkers When doctors spot cancerous lesions in patients’ mouths, it’s often too late: The disease has already reached a difficult-to-treat stage. As a result, oral cancer has a high death rate. To help doctors catch the disease earlier, researchers have developed a simple, low-cost method to identify multiple oral cancer biomarkers at once (Anal. Chem., DOI: 10.1021/ac301392g). Scientists previously have shown that oral cancer patients have altered levels of several proteins, including vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), in their blood (J. Clin. Pathol., DOI: 10.1136/jcp.2007.047662). Doctors would like to use these biomarkers to diagnose the disease. But James Rusling of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, says that to improve diagnostic accuracy, it’s necessary to detect multiple proteins at once. What’s more, current technology can’t easily measure subtle changes in the low concentrations of these proteins found in patients’ blood. Such tests would require trained technicians and expensive equipment, such as spectrometers, that most clinics don’t have. Rusling and his colleagues, including J. Silvio Gutkind of the National Institutes of Health, wanted to develop a low-cost test doctors could easily use. The team built a device that can measure concentrations of multiple biomarker proteins at once through easy-to-read electrical signals. For each protein they want to detect, the scientists use two antibodies that each bind to a different part of the biomarker. One antibody decorates magnetic microbeads. The team also coats these microbeads [...]

2012-06-22T21:11:32-07:00June, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Head and neck cancer protein identified

Source: www.dailyrx.com Author: Travis Giddings Different kinds of cancer have different characteristics on a cellular level, and these unique proteins can be used to monitor the cancer's progress or serve as a target for the pharmaceutical version of a smart bomb. The protein Aurora-A is known to be involved in several cancers and clinical trials are currently underway that target Aurora-A as a way to specifically attack cancer cells without any collateral damage. A recent study began initially as an investigation into whether Aurora-A was a suitable drug target in head and neck cancer, but the results were more ominous. Researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center presenting at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting announced the results of their investigation into the Aurora-A protein. They found that not only is the protein found in cancers of the head and neck, but higher levels of the protein were correlated with a much worse prognosis than cancer patients with normal levels. Patients with high levels of the protein survived less than 36 months on average, while patients with levels closer to normal had a longer timeframe, closer to 92 months. "This finding suggests Aurora A does play a role in the development of head and neck cancers," said Christian J. Fidler, MD, the study author. "Consequently, Aurora-A represents another potential target for additional therapies." Given the poor prognosis of high Aurora-A cancer patients, researchers now hope to begin a clinical trial combining Aurora-A inhibitors with other cancer drugs such [...]

2012-04-25T06:46:03-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|
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Blood filter to be tested on cancer patients

Source: www.signonsandiego.com Author: Keith Darcé A Santa Monica research center will test an experimental therapeutic filtering device being developed by Aethlon Medical on blood taken from cancer patients, the San Diego company said Wednesday. The study will target exosomes, bubbles of protein and RNA molecules excreted by cancerous cells that can block immune system cells from fighting the illness. By removing exosomes from circulating blood, Aethlon officials hope their device will improve the body's ability to fight cancer and the effectiveness of treatments such as chemotherapy. Blood taken from 25 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, sarcoma, and head and neck cancer will be circulated through the Hemopurifier device. In clinical use, blood would be filltered directly from the patient and returned to the body in a similar way to kidney dialysis. However, in the newly announced pre-clinical trial blood will not be returned to patients, Aethlon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Joyce said. "if we validate that our Hemopurifier is efficient in capturing exosomes, its possible that we could transition towards a human treatment study to evaluate exosome clearance from the entire circulatory system," he said. The test will be conducted by the Sarcoma Oncology Center, a nonprofit independent research institute focused on cancer therapy development. "This clinical histological study is a critical validation step in Aethlon's Hemopurifier strategy for cancer," said Dr. Sant Chawla, the trial's chief investigator. "The concept of 'subtractive therapy', eliminating a major mechanism of tumor progression and resistance to drugs, [...]

2011-08-27T18:04:11-07:00August, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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Researchers find protein that could help predict head and neck cancer

Source: www.medindia.net Author: Sheela Philomena Researchers have identified a protein that could pave way to predict the spread of head and neck cancer nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study by Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers found the protein could also serve as part of a treatment strategy to stop the spread of the disease. Though uncommon in the United States, NPC is one of the most common malignant tumours in southern China and Southeast Asia with incidence rates nearly 25 times that of most of the rest of the world. VARI researchers worked with scientists in Singapore, China, and the United States on the study. "This study does not just report another molecular marker for metastasis of nasopharyngeal cancer, these investigators have revealed an important process related to this molecule," Wei Zhang, Ph.D., Professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, explained. "Characterization of this process will open diverse opportunities for effective inhibition of this novel target for cancer metastasis," Zhang said. NPC is the most common cancer originating in the nasopharynx area of the throat and has the highest metastasis rate among head and neck cancers. By the time patients are diagnosed, the disease has usually spread to lymph nodes or distant organs such as the liver. Working together with physicians and scientists at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in China, VARI researchers found that the protein serglycin is a marker of metastasis for NPC. Higher levels of serglycin correlated with an unfavourable prognosis and the increased likelihood that cancer would [...]

2011-06-18T11:30:33-07:00June, 2011|Oral Cancer News|
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