From the September 1 issue of Cancer Research:
Aberrations in the receptor protein dystroglycan may lead to either muscular dystrophy or the development of carcinomas. Whereas several molecular defects in muscle disease have been characterized, little is known about such changes in carcinoma cells. Singh et al. identified multiple post-translational modifications that modulate dystroglycan function in these aberrant cells. Novel defects in carcinoma cells arising in this important cell adhesion molecule are similar to defects recently identified in muscular dystrophies. The research was conducted at the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratories, Berkley, Calif,; the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; and California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, Calif.
Among research findings featured in the September 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research are:
Heat therapy increases the efficacy of tumor treatment with melphalan, an alkylating agent used in cancer therapy for ovarian cancer and certain bone marrow tumors. In rat models for fibrosarcomas, Abdel-Wahab et al. documented that heat treatment with warm water heightened the response of tumors to high doses of melphalan. The effect was synergistic, but not related to heat-promoted increased uptake of the drug. The studies were conducted at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
Two inhibitors of steroid synthesis used to treat hormone-dependent breast cancer in postmenopausal women pack a significant beneficial side effect in laboratory animals. Exemestane and letrozole was shown to significantly prevent bone loss, enhance bone mechanical strength and lower serum cholesterol levels. The inhibitor drugs act by interfering with estrogen synthesis and depleting estrogen concentrations in the blood, according to the study by Goss et al., conducted at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
Included among the articles published in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention:
High dietary cholesterol, and perhaps egg consumption, leads to increased risk for ovarian cancer, while higher intake of total vegetables and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, and supplementation of E, beta-carotene and B-complex vitamins was associated with reduced risk of ovarian cancer according to a study of diets reported by more than 2,500 Canadian women. The research, reported by Pan et al., was conducted by Health Canada; the OMNI Research Group, the University of Ottawa; and the Ottawa Health Research Group, Ottawa, Ontario; and the Canadian Cancer Registries Epidemiology Research Group, a consortium of Canadian.
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Current articles published in the journals of the American Association for Cancer research during the first week of September reflect an array of cutting-edge cancer research discoveries.
For more information, or copies of the manuscripts, please contact Dr. Russell Vanderboom, AACR, vanderboom@aacr.org, or 215-440-9300, Ext. 120.
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research is a professional society of more than 22,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical scientists engaged in all areas of cancer research in the United States and in more than 60 other countries. AACR's mission is to accelerate the prevention and cure of cancer through research, education, communication, and advocacy. Its principal activities include the publication of five major peer-reviewed scientific journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. AACR's Annual Meetings attract more than 15,000 participants who share new and significant discoveries in the cancer field. Specialty meetings, held throughout the year, focus on the latest developments in all areas of cancer research.
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