Cancer Research: Investigational immunotherapeutic increased bladder cancer survival ♦ Weekday of surgery affects esophageal cancer surgery prognosis

Weekday of surgery affects esophageal cancer surgery prognosis Patients who undergo surgery for esophageal cancer early in the week – on a Monday or Tuesday – have a higher chance of long-term survival than those who have surgery at the end of the working week,

Global task force tackles problem of untreatable cancers and disease relapse: Non-toxic chemicals in plants and foods may be key Many cancer therapies are highly toxic, and even when they appear to work, a significant percentage of patients will experience a relapse after only a few months.  Typically these relapses result from small subpopulations of mutated cells which are resistant to therapy, and doctors who try to address this problem with combinations of therapies find that therapeutic toxicity typically limits their ability to stop most cancers

Investigational immunotherapeutic increased bladder cancer survival Among patients with metastatic bladder cancer that had progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy, those who received an investigational, personalized peptide cancer vaccine and best-supportive care had extended overall survival compared with those who received best-supportive care alone.

Higher nicotine, carcinogen levels among smokeless tobacco users compared with cigarette users U.S. adults who used only smokeless tobacco products had higher levels of biomarkers of exposure to nicotine and a cancer-causing toxicant -- the tobacco-specific nitrosamine NNK -- compared with those who used only cigarettes

Cancer News: 'Jumping genes' may drive esophageal cancer ♦ Gene therapy advance thwarts brain cancer in rats ♦ Critical genes responsible for brain tumor growth identified

'Jumping genes' may drive esophageal cancer 'Jumping genes' may add to the genetic chaos behind more than three-quarters of esophageal cancer cases, scientists have discovered. 'Jumping genes', called L1 elements, can uproot themselves and move to new areas in the DNA, sometimes accidentally moving into genes that control the cell's growth.

Critical genes responsible for brain tumor growth identified After generating new brain tumor models, scientists have identified the role of a family of genes underlying tumor growth in a wide spectrum of high grade brain tumors.

Gene therapy advance thwarts brain cancer in rats A nanoparticle gene delivery system has been developed by scientists that destroys brain gliomas in a rat model, significantly extending the lives of the treated animals. The nanoparticles are filled with genes for an enzyme that converts a prodrug called ganciclovir into a potent destroyer of the glioma cells.

Study advances potential of tumor genome sequencing and DNA-based blood tests in precision treatment In a genome-sequencing study of pancreatic cancers and blood in 101 patients, scientists say they found at least one-third of the patients' tumors have genetic mutations that may someday help guide precision therapy of their disease. Results of blood tests to detect DNA shed from tumors, they say, also predicted cancer recurrence more than half a year earlier than standard imaging methods.

License for cutting: How intracellular signaling regulates growth factor production Cancer cells need life-essential molecules to proliferate. These so-called growth factors are activated by ectodomain shedding of precursor proteins on the outside of the plasma membrane, mainly carried out by three human cleavage enzymes. A pharmaceutical blocking of these enzymes could hinder cancer from growing but would also inhibit other life-essential processes. Now, researchers have shown that the factor-precursor-producing cells themselves determine if and when cleavage may occur. This is decided by intracellular signaling. Interfering with defined signaling in cells producing cancer growth factors could be developed into a new way of cancer treatment.

Cancer Research: Rabbit virus improves bone marrow transplants ♦ Men are 50 per cent more likely to get esophageal cancer ♦ Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance, insight into cancer

Men are 50 per cent more likely to get esophageal cancer than 30 years ago Esophageal cancer rates in men have increased by 50 per cent since the early 1980s. In women, the increase is much smaller with around 10 per cent more now developing the disease.

Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance, insight into cancer The miniscule and the massive have been bridged in an effort to better understand the mechanisms behind several unique features of fruit fly genes. Some of these genes also shed light on the evolution of pesticide resistance.

Social networking against cancer New research shows how social network analysis can be used to understand and identify the biomarkers in our bodies for diseases, including different types of cancer.

Rabbit virus improves bone marrow transplants, kills some cancer cells For patients with blood cancers such as leukemia and multiple myeloma, a bone marrow transplant can be both curative and perilous. It replenishes marrow lost to disease or chemotherapy but raises the risk that newly transplanted white blood cells will attack the recipient's body. Now researcher have found that a rabbit virus can deliver a one-two punch, killing some kinds of cancer cells while eliminating a common and dangerous complication of bone marrow transplants