Tweet
• Uses HER2 as a target to selectively deliver toxins to cancer cells.
• Designed to overcome issues of resistance with Herceptin.
PHILADELPHIA — Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may have an alternative therapy when they develop resistance to trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, according to a laboratory finding published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Jacek Capala, Ph.D., D.Sc., an investigator at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues designed, produced and tested HER2-Affitoxin, a novel protein that combines HER2-specific affibody molecules and a modified bacterial toxin, PE38.
“Unlike the current HER2-targeted therapeutics, such as Herceptin, this protein does not interfere with the HER2 signaling pathway but, instead, uses HER2 as a target to deliver a modified form of bacterial toxin specifically to the HER2-positive cancer cells. When cells absorb the toxin, it interferes with protein production and, thereby, kills them,” said Capala.
At least, that is what happened in Capala’s laboratory. After Affitoxin was injected into tumor-bearing mice, even relatively large, aggressive tumors stopped growing and most of them disappeared. The effect was strong enough that Capala believes it warrants a clinical trial.
“Herceptin has revolutionized the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, but a significant number of tumors acquire resistance to the drug,” said Capala. “Affitoxin could offer another therapeutic option for those patients whose tumors no longer respond to Herceptin.”
# # #
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.
Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
aacrnews.wordpress.com
Reiki is an alternative, or complementary, medical practice that channels life force energy to promote health, healing, and well-being and is becoming more popular in Western medical institutions.
If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven’t done much today.~ Mikhail Gorbachev
I have playing around with these Polldadday polls and the question about “which treatment do you think gives you the best chance at cure.” Well the overwhelming response is surgical removal. Well if that is the prevailing opinion, then why all fuss about alternative therapy particularly proton therapy.
Is proton therapy chosen because it is felt to be the very best chance at cure?
Or…could it be that it is that mode of therapy that balances cure vs. risk?
So when you go about evaluating the various forms of therapy for your prostate cancer….”To thine own self be true.” Define exactly what is most important to you and clarify to yourself exactly why you have picked a form of therapy.
Does it mean anything to you that the candidates for proton therapy are in the low/intermediate risk prostate cancer? That one is low risk is based on the prostate biopsy. What if the prostate biopsy doesn’t give the true extent of your disease? Hummmmmmmm!
View This PollMarket Research
Penolope has a question: “Which treatment do you feel will make “lunch meat” out of your cancer?
theprostatedecision.wordpress.com
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have developed a drug selectively kill cancer cells, or for the treatment of liver cancer to open a new window.Related Articles published in the latest issue of "Gut" magazine.
According to the researchers, in vitro and mouse experiments, a chemical drugs they will be wrapped in molecular size as an anticancer agent vesicles, inhibit cancer cell growth was achieved and, ultimately, the purpose of promoting their death.
The films were wrapped in the drug known as C6-ceramide, a metabolite of sphingolipids in the middle, naturally present in the plasma membrane in human cells, with control of cell metabolism, the ability to promote cellular senescence. However, by the human body’s natural ceramide content in cancer cells is too low, and can not play a role in killing. The special nature of the lipid ceramide decided drugs are not as common as can be transported directly to the lesion area. To solve this problem, the researchers came up with the "drug capsule" idea. With nanotechnology, the researchers had put this kind of ceramide molecular size of the protein film, "jacket", this has changed the nature of their compatibility.
Responsible for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine of the project, said Dr. Mark Kester, ceramide treatment itself as an alternative therapy designed to chemotherapy, and its advantages for a specific region can attack cancer cells, kill zone without clear cause damage to healthy cells.
Animal experiments showed that this drug can kill cancer cells without harming normal cells, in mice has been shown to be effective in treating breast cancer and melanoma.When used in combination with commonly used anticancer agents, also found no side effects.
The researchers found that liver cells for experiments, the drug can selectively induce tumor cell death. In experiments with liver cancer in mice, the drug closure provide nutrition for the growth of tumor blood vessels. The lack of nutrients in cells and tissues will produce more ceramide, and ultimately lead to cell death.
Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer world, less than five percent survival rate in patients with advanced, highly hazardous, now more commonly adopted in clinical surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and liver transplantation therapy, but the cure rate is low.
—–
Gut, 2010; DOI: 10.1136/gut.2010.216671
Nanoliposomal ceramide prevents in vivo growth of hepatocellular carcinoma
Hephzibah Rani S Tagaram1, Nicole A DiVittore2, Brian M Barth2, James M Kaiser2, Diego Avella1, Eric T Kimchi1, Yixing Jiang3, Harriet C Isom4, Mark Kester2, Kevin F Staveley-O’Carroll1
Background and objectives Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) affects an increasing number of people worldwide. The poor survival rate of patients with HCC is manifested by an aggressive and metastaticphenotype, as well as a poor response to common therapeutic strategies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of nanoliposomal C6-ceramide as an antineoplastic agent in an in vivo model of human HCC.
Methods The growth-arresting and pro-apoptotic properties of nanoliposomal C6-ceramide were first evaluated in vitro in human SK-HEP-1 cells by assessing cellular viability, caspase 3/7 activity, annexin-V expression, DNA fragmentation, cell cycle distribution and AKT phosphorylation. SK-HEP-1 cells were then engrafted subcutaneously into athymic nude mice and nanoliposomal C6-ceramide was administered by tail vein injection. Tumour size was monitored over time, followed by excision of tumours to evaluate tumour vascularisation, proliferation, apoptosis and cellular signalling.
Results Nanoliposomal C6-ceramide, but not ghost (no ceramide) nanoliposomes, induced apoptotic cell death of SK-HEP-1 cells in vitro, concomitant with an accumulation of cells in the G2 phase of the cell cycle and decreased phosphorylation of AKT. Systemic administration of nanoliposomal C6-ceramide to mice engrafted with SK-HEP-1 tumours reduced tumour vascularisation and proliferation, induced tumour cell apoptosis, decreased phosphorylation of AKT and ultimately blocked tumour growth.
Conclusions These studies show that nanoliposomal ceramide is an efficacious antineoplastic agent for the treatment of in vitro and in vivo models of human HCC.
Incoming search terms for the article:herpes cureNanoliposomal delivery of ceramide prevents growth of hepatocellular carcinomaNature Nanoliposomal delivery of ceramide prevents growth of hepatocellular carcinoma www.2n2u.com
Alternative therapy may not be so alternative as it becomes more integrated with conventional medicine. Gwen Wyatt is a psychologist and counselor from Michigan State University who researches cancer care, pain management, quality of life and alternative therapies, as well as end of life care. She is currently organizing a study that will look at acupressure, and if it can help relieve chronic fatigue in survivors of breast cancer.
Eighty-two percent of patients feel chronically exhausted within five years of a breast cancer diagnosis. This may be because chemotherapy and radiotherapy destroy the immune system so those recovering from cancer also have to recover their immune function.
“There are more than two million breast cancer survivors today, and persistent cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms,” said Wyatt, who is a professor with the College of Nursing. “It is associated with decreased quality of life, poor sleep quality and depression.”
Three hundred breast cancer survivors who have been clear of cancer for at least a year and who are suffering from chronic fatigue will be studied. They will be divided into three groups. Group one will receive relaxation acupressure, group two will receive stimulating acupressure and group three will receive standard care.
What is acupressure?
Acupressure is based on an ancient form of medicine developed over 5,000 years ago in Asia. It is believed that there are energy points in the body called meridians and that if any of these energy points get blocked, illness occurs. By pressing on the energy point the blockage can be released. It works on the same principle as acupuncture, where tiny needles are inserted at different energy points, but acupressure is less invasive.
Other medical research has shown acupressure to be beneficial to patients. For instance, one study found that it helped improve fatigue in end stage renal disease patients. The researchers wrote "Post-hoc tests revealed that patients in the acupressure group were significantly having lower scores of fatigue than patients in the control group. Follow-up tests indicated there were significant differences between the acupressure group and the control group and between the sham group and control group. The study provided an alternative method for health care providers to managing ESRD patients with fatigue."
Another study found that acupuncture improved chemotherapy-related fatigue.
"There was a 36% improvement in fatigue levels in the acupuncture group, while the acupressure group improved by 19% and the sham acupressure by 0.6%. Acupuncture shows great potential in the management of cancer-related fatigue. As a randomised trial with acupuncture is feasible and preliminary data shows significant improvements," the researchers wrote.
Wyatt said a pilot study has shown that self-administered acupressure can improve chronic fatigue in 70 percent of cancer survivors.
“There are few treatment options for persistent cancer-related fatigue, and these costly treatments often require a trained practitioner or have unacceptable side effects; on the other hand, self-administered acupressure is non-toxic, inexpensive and requires minimal instruction. It appears to be a promising treatment for persistent fatigue," Wyatt said.
“Improving quality of life is a research priority at the College of Nursing. If a patient has to live with breast cancer, then the health care community needs to ensure that patient has the highest quality of life possible during treatment and aftercare.”
Sources: Michigan State University School of Nursing.
Complement Ther Med. 2007 Dec;15(4):228-37. Epub 2006 Nov 13
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011. pii: 142913. Epub 2010 Sep 2
Int J Nurs Stud. 2004 Jan;41(1):99-106
Joanna is a freelance health writer for The Mother magazine and Suite 101 with a column on infertility, http://infertility.suite101.com/. She is author of the book, 'Breast Milk: A Natural Immunisation,' and co-author of an educational resource on disabled parenting, in addition to running a charity for people damaged by vaccines or medical mistakes. feedproxy.google.com
...Read On
You can link to this article on your web site using following code:
Website Code:
Forum Code:
Comments
We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial or highly amusing. If your comments are excessively self-promotional (use your real name, no keywords please), obnoxious, or even worse, boring, you will be banned from commenting. Your comment must be related to the post. Please do not comment on how great or wonderful the post is. All comments are moderated and, if approved, will display in less than 24 hours.
