Tag: cancer
Whole-body MRI more efficient than multiple scans at assessing spread of cancer
For most patients, a cancer diagnosis means some tough times ahead. Standard assessments to determine the best treatment can be time-consuming, adding to the patient’s stress and anxiety. Professor Stuart Taylor, based at the University College London Hospital, wants to see a more widespread use of whole-body MRI scans in cancer patients. He proposes this as a faster and cheaper […]
Towards a quantitative personalised oncology
Dr Heiko Enderling from Moffitt Cancer Center, together with researchers from the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, focus on Mathematical Oncology, and radiotherapy in particular, highlighted by the interconnectivity of metastatic disease through a patient’s immune system. Studies show that different radiation doses induce anti-tumour immunity at different strengths. This prompted the research team to develop […]
Carcinogenesis: When transmission of epigenetic information goes awry
Genes are blueprints that code for proteins and in turn, proteins drive most activities within our cells. But between genes and their protein products is the layer of epigenetics – genes may be expressed differently depending on the heritable, epigenetic features that switch them on and off. Charting new territories in carcinogenesis, Professor Patrick Riley at University College London explores […]
Reduced PSA Prostate Cancer Screening: Life-threatening consequences?
In 2012, the United States Preventive Services Task Force issued a grade D recommendation against PSA-based prostate cancer screening. This is because early diagnosis of low-grade cancers can lead to unnecessary overtreatment and patient suffering. However, many epidemiologists are concerned that this could lead to severe unintended consequences. Dr Thomas E. Ahlering, from the University of California, has further explored these concerns […]
A career in cancer
Dr Bruce Zetter is the Charles Nowiszewski Professor of Cancer Biology at Harvard Medical School. He is known internationally as an expert on cancer biology, diagnosis and treatment. He currently works to find treatments for highly aggressive, metastatic cancers and also serves as an advocate for young scientists and for improved relationships between academia and industry. Dr Bruce Zetter started […]
Controlling magnesium flux: a central role for the PRL-CNNM complex
Magnesium is an essential metal ion for human health. However, its ability to act as a supplementary therapy against disease is a poorly understood area of science. Professor Michel L. Tremblay and his team at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, are looking to change this though, and are currently investigating the role of the newly discovered pathway, PRL-CNNM, in controlling […]
The genomics of cancer
Many cancers are associated with changes to our genetic material, DNA. These may be small, single unit substitutions, large rearrangements such as deletions or duplications of a part of the DNA sequence, or various other forms of mutations. Although the smaller substitutions have been more intensively studied, Dr Lixing Yang, of the University of Chicago, focuses on uncovering changes at […]
Reprogramming the immune system for personalised immunotherapy against cancer
For decades, researchers have strived to understand how the immune system recognises and fights cancer, ultimately aiming to exploit and augment these processes to create more effective cancer therapies. Dr Richard Koya, Associate Professor of Oncology, Associate Director of the Center for Immunotherapy, and Director of the Vector Development & Production Facility at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a prominent […]
Inhibiting cancer stem cell survival in the hostile tumour environment
Wouldn’t it be great if a small non-toxic molecule could be used to treat cancer? By investigating the possibility of using a cancer cell’s own physiology as a weapon against it, Dr Shoukat Dedhar, at the University of British Columbia, is developing a new treatment that could help prevent tumour growth and metastasis. Every two minutes, someone in the UK […]
Computational methods of researching cancer treatments
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms have the potential to bring substantial advances in the fields of research exploring complex diseases and trying to identify effective treatments. Dr Benjamin Haibe-Kains, working at The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, has spent over a decade developing machine learning tools and databases that could help scientists gain a better understanding of […]