http://www.eurekalert.org The premier website for science news since 1996. A service of AAAS. en-us http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-0.html In its September meeting 2006, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) gave a positive opinion to include the use of docetaxel in combination with the current standard treatment -- cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil -- for the induction treatment of patients with inoperable locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. On October 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its approval to the new treatment as well. Fri, 20 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-0.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-1.html Using an innovative profiling strategy, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have characterized an enzyme that is "highly elevated" in aggressive human tumor cells. When the enzyme, KIAA1363, was inactivated, it impaired tumor growth and migration in both ovarian and breast cancer cells, suggesting that inhibitors of this enzyme may prove valuable in the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Fri, 20 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-1.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-2.html A case-control study of more than 2,300 Italians has found a significant association between high bread consumption and renal cell carcinoma. Eating a lot of pasta and rice may also raise the risk, while eating many vegetables may lower the risk. Fri, 20 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-2.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-3.html Targeted tumor therapy lobs toxic payloads directly into tumors to destroy cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. These missiles, which should unerringly home in on the target and make it implode, consist of lethal payloads guided by small molecules -- known as agonists -- that recognize and then activate specific receptors over-expressed on the surface of tumor cells. A new study shows that it may be better to exploit small molecules that antagonize rather than activate receptors. Thu, 19 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-3.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-4.html Female rats that are apprehensive of new experiences as infants maintain that temperament and die earlier from mammary and pituitary tumors than do their more adventuresome sisters, according to new research by a team based at the University of Chicago. The apprehensive rats were more likely to have irregular reproductive cycles than adventuresome rats, and that disruption could account for hormonal differences linked to the development of cancer earlier, the scholars found. Thu, 19 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-4.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-5.html This release contains summaries, links to PDFs and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published online, October 19, 2006, in the JCI, including: Double trouble for RA patients: PLC-gamma-2 regulates osteoclastogenesis and B cell differentiation; Role for NF-kappa-B in endothelial cell function; CYLD puts a damper on inflammation; Triggering TLR4 can raise resistance to insulin; TLR4 performs a balancing act in the lungs; and Hyperactive osteoclasts cause osteoporosis in neurofibromatosis type 1 patients. Thu, 19 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-5.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-6.html Certain types of brain cancer cells, called cancer stem cells, help brain tumors to buffer themselves against radiation treatment by activating a "repair switch" that enables them to continue to grow unchecked, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-6.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-7.html The cornea stays clear by expressing a soluble form of a receptor that traps factors enabling growth of vision-obstructing blood vessels, researchers say. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-7.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-8.html A new review of studies offers good news and bad news for women faced with the decision about whether to get regular mammograms. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-8.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-9.html The University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine will host the eighth conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) from Thursday, October 19, through Sunday, October 22, 2006, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, 301 E. North Water Street in Chicago. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-9.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-10.html As part of the new Exposure Biology Program, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, today announced $74 million in grant opportunities for the development of new technologies that will improve the measurement of environmental exposures that contribute to human disease. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-10.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-11.html Liverpool is to benefit from a multi-million pound development in cancer services and research activity with the merger of Merseyside's three biggest cancer service providers. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-11.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-12.html Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have found that intra-cellular trafficking is tightly coordinated for maximum flow through cellular compartments, much as vehicles on a crowded road are allowed to pass quickly through a succession of green traffic lights. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-12.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-13.html Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, of the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Balamurali Ambati, of the Medical College of Georgia, have jointly published a paper in the journal Nature detailing major research discoveries in corneal avascularity and angiogenesis. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-13.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-14.html A Canadian oncologist has urged doctors and other health-care professionals to be more aware of the potential risk of suicide among cancer patients and to offer extra support to the most vulnerable and their families. Analysis of 1.3 million American cancer patients (online Annals of Oncology Oct. 19) reveals suicide rate two to two and half times that of general population. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-14.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-15.html Chemicals found in grape seeds significantly inhibited growth of colorectal tumors in both cell cultures and in mice, according to researchers who have already demonstrated the extract's anti-cancer effects in other tumor types. Wed, 18 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-15.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-16.html Three-dimensional computed tomography colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy, is an accurate screening method for colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the November issue of the journal Radiology. In addition, when covered by third-party payers, virtual colonoscopy may entice more people to be screened. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-16.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-17.html Discovery's Edge, Mayo Clinic's online research magazine, highlights stories of leading medical investigators. Many features cover ongoing projects long before they reach the journals. Science writers and medical reporters seeking new story ideas will want to check out the articles, which span a wide range of conditions and feature visuals they can use in their own publications. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-17.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-18.html A clinical trial started five years ago by physicians and nurses from the Institut Clínic of Haematology and Oncology, makes real a program permitting patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplant to recover from their homes, avoiding from three to four weeks of hospitalization. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-18.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-19.html The American Legacy Foundation and Mayo Clinic announced today their first collaboration together, to marry the expertise of the Mayo Clinic's Nicotine Dependence Center and the American Legacy Foundation's public health and marketing acumen to help smokers who want to quit to be successful. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-19.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-20.html Highlights from presentations by University of Southern California researchers at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-20.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-21.html Other highlights in the October 18 JNCI include a study that suggests colorectal cancer surgery guidelines aren't often followed, a study that looks at aspirin takers and colorectal cancer risk, a study that examines a protein called relaxin and anticancer activity, and a study examining an activation pathway for two proteins involved in cancer cell death. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-21.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-22.html Female childhood cancer survivors may face pregnancy problems, including early deliveries and low birth weight children, according to a study in the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-22.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-23.html The bacteria Helicobacter pylori substantially increase the risk of cancer in the lower stomach, but it may decrease the risk of cancer near the junction between the esophagus and the stomach, according to a study in the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This finding may help explain the changing rates and distributions of these cancers in Western countries over the past century. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-23.html http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-24.html Janet V. Cross, assistant professor of pathology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and her colleague Dennis J. Templeton, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the UVa Department of Pathology, have received a $1.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how specific nutrients in healthy vegetables like broccoli work to prevent cancer. Mon, 16 Oct 2006 http://www.onconews.org/news/2006/2006-10-21-24.html