Treating nerves tumors

The international team of researchers analyzed complete screens of genes and genetic material in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs), and discsovered unknown genetic information about the disease. Researchers show a gene called Lats1/2 suppresses cancer, and losing the gene's expression reprograms cells so they rapidly expand and become cancerous.

Loss of Lats1/2 also causes other genes in the HIPPO signaling pathway (which controls tissue growth) to become hyperactive. These hyperactive genes and their associated proteins (TAZ and YAP) then work with the protein TEAD1 to activate molecular cancer programs that form MPNSTs.

When researchers disrupted overactive TAZ-YAP in mice bred to lack Lats1/2, they also blocked signaling from PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor receptor), which supports tissue growth. These steps reduced the size and number of MPNSTs in the mice. They also inhibited the growth of human MPNST cells in laboratory cultures.

MPNST's develop in what are called Schwann cells. These cells form the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath functions as a protective insulation around peripheral nerves, which connect the brain and spinal cord to extremities and organs and promote transmission of nerve impulses. About half of MPNSTs are linked to mutation of the NF1 gene, which causes a condition called Neurofibromatosis 1.

The other half of MPNSTs have no known genetic origins, and a small proportion of cases can be caused by radiotherapy given to people for cancer treatment. The NF1 gene normally helps control a balanced rate of cell growth. When it mutates, it can cause brown spots on a person or benign tumors along peripheral nerves.

In some cases, NF1 mutation can lead to cases of runaway cell growth, creating very large and sometimes medically problematic plexiform tumors which can turn into MPNSTs. MPNSTs are biologically aggressive tumors and resistant to treatments like chemo and radiation therapy. They're also known for high relapse rates and poor prognosis, often leading to death.
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Cell phone radiation linked to cancer

Cell phone radiation could pose a risk of certain cancers, the preliminary findings of two new major studies from the National Institutes Health suggest. Six percent of male rats exposed to the same kind of radiation our cell phones emit - though in much larger quantities - developed a type of cancer called a schwannoma in their hearts.

Smartphones and other wireless devices put out small amounts of low frequency microwave radiation when they connect networks and transmit information. This energy is not nearly as strong as ultraviolet radiation or X-ray energy, but the new studies add to the mounting evidence that even microwave radiation, in high doses, can pose some health risks.

The NTP researchers exposed rats and mice to high levels of radiation over the course of 18 hours each day, alternating 10-minute exposures with 10-minute periods without exposures. Radiation surges when cell phones are trying to connect to faint network signals or transmit large amounts of information.

Stop sleeping with your cell phone: Anything closer than arm's length could cause cancer and infertility, health officials warn. Experts warn that it is these inconsistent exposures that make the devices risky. There were 'statistically significant' differences in the incidence of heart schwannoma tumors in rats.

Schwannomas develop from peripheral nervous cells, called Schwann cells. They develop inside the sheath that covers nerves, wrapping and interfering with nerves themselves. In humans, these tumors are usually benign. These noncancerous schwannomas are most common in the vestibular nerve that connects the brain and the ear.

Malignant schwannomas can start anywhere, but seem to be most common in the leg, arm or lower back, sometimes causing a bump, pain, muscle weakness or tingling. Though they are not common in human hearts, cardiac tissue is a good target for cell phone radiation. Microwave radiation works by heating water. Muscle tissue - like the heart - is 75 percent water, while fat, for example, is only about 10 percent water.

That means that muscular tissues are especially affected by cell phone radiation, which may explain why the nerve tumors were most likely to form in a highly muscular organ. Counter-intuitively, bigger animals are more sensitive to radiation. The higher rate of tumors in males 'was probably due to the fact that male rats simply absorb more radiation than females as a function of the size of the animal.

Cancer risks for mice were negligible, and female rats that were pregnant - and therefore larger - were also more sensitive to radiation. The levels of microwave radiation the animals were exposed to were much higher than we encounter from human cell phones, humans are, larger than rats. It is also worth note that radiation exposures in the study would still comply with federal regulations on heat microwave heat generated by cell phones, and still there were increased risks of at least one cancer for rats.
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