Cancer Research

Concentrated chemicals derived from green tea dramatically boosted production of a group of key detoxification enzymes in people with low levels of these beneficial proteins, according to researchers at Arizona Cancer Center. These findings, published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that a green tea concentrate might help some people strengthen their metabolic defense against toxins capable of causing cancer. In a study of 42 people, the concentrate − composed of chemicals known as…

It may not be inhaled into the lungs, but smokeless tobacco exposes users to some of the same potent carcinogens as cigarettes. In the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center report that users of smokeless tobacco are exposed to higher amounts of tobacco-specific nitrosamines -- molecules that are known to be carcinogenic -- than smokers. Smokeless tobacco, also known as oral snuff, is a variant on chewing tobacco that users suck on by slipping it…

“Terra Firma -- A Journey from Migrant Farm Labor to Neurosurgery” chronicles Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Alfredo Quinones’ amazing journey from illegal immigrant, migrant farm worker to prominent Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon and brain cancer researcher. The compelling story will appear in the August 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Quinones’ remarkable odyssey began at a small family-owned gas station in a poor rural Mexican town. With more faith in his abilities than in his opportunities in his village, Quinones entered the United States illegally with almost no money or…

The long-term risk of suicide is tripled for women who have undergone cosmetic breast implant surgery, according to a new study led by Loren Lipworth, Sc.D., of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Md, and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn. This long-term study further confirms the link between breast implants and a strikingly high risk of suicide and other related causes of death. The increased suicide risk, together with a similar increase in deaths from alcohol or drug dependence, suggests that plastic surgeons should consider mental health…

An intense form of ultrasound that shakes a tumor until its cells start to leak can trigger an “alarm” that enlists immune defenses against the cancerous invasion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. The new findings from animal experiments suggest that once activated by the ultrasound, the immune system might even seek and destroy cancer cells, including those that have spread through the bloodstream to lurk in other parts of the body. This high-intensity focused ultrasound, or HIFU, is in use or testing in China, Europe and the United…

As more people become fat, fat becomes more acceptable - even normal - and the definition of 'obesity' gets pushed further out. Today, fat is the new 'normal', according to Florida State University Assistant Professor of Economics Frank Heiland and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Economist Mary Burke, who are the co-authors of a paper published in the academic journal Economic Inquiry that argues that the ballooning weight of the population has fed even more collective weight gain as our perception of what is considered a normal body size has changed. “This is a social force that we are trying…

Green tea could hold promise as a new treatment for skin disorders such as psoriasis and dandruff, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. Researchers studied an animal model for inflammatory skin diseases, which are often characterized by patches of dry, red, flaky skin caused by the inflammation and overproduction of skin cells. Those treated with green tea showed slower growth of skin cells and the presence of a gene that regulates the cells’ life cycles. “Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker because the growth of skin cells is out of control,” says Dr.…

In the past ten years, researchers in genome stability have observed that many kinds of cancer are associated with areas where human chromosomes break. They have hypothesized – but never proven – that slow or altered replication led to the chromosomes breaking. In a Tufts University study, two molecular biologists have used yeast artificial chromosomes to prove the hypothesis. They have found a highly flexible DNA sequence that increases fragility and stalls replication, which then causes the chromosome to break. Catherine Freudenreich, associate professor of biology at Tufts University, and…

Cancer causing mutations occur in our bodies every day – but luckily, we have specific genes that recognize these malignant events and keep cells from growing out of control. Only a few of these genes – called tumor suppressors – are currently known. Now scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have added to the list another powerful tumor suppressor, a gene called LKB1. Their research indicates that this gene is mutated in almost a quarter of all human lung cancers. In mice, these mutations result in tumors that are more…

Scientists at the Institute for Stem Cell Research, of the University of Edinburgh show that mouse embryonic stem cells need the protein FGF4 to become competent to be converted into specialized cell types, such as brain or muscle cells. These findings add to the growing body of knowledge that researchers all over the world are using to direct embryonic stem cells to become specific specialised cells – a fundamental requirement for using lab-grown cells to model disease, test the effects of new drugs and, potentially, treat disease and injury. Embryonic stem cells have the unique ability to…