Cure for skin cancer

The newly discovered drugs combination for skin cancer can help if chemotherapy fails, extending patients’ lives by at least a year. In almost half of kidney cancer patients, by the time the disease is diagnosed it has already spread to other areas of the body due to a lack of symptoms, slashing life expectancy from five years to two. While chemotherapy, which kills both cancer and healthy cells, is used to treat most other advanced cancers, the treatment does not work for most kidney cancers.

The established treatment for the condition is either radiotherapy-which shrinks tumours or tyrosine-kinase inhibitor drugs, including one called sunitinib, which interrupt the blood supply to cancer. However, these only hinder the growth of tumours for four or five months. The drugs, ipilimumab and nivolumab, are already used with remarkable success in the treatment of deadly melanoma skin cancer.

Nivolumab is also used to treat advanced lung tumours. The new trial found that the combination achieved significant kidney tumour shrinkage in 42 per cent of the 425 patients in a trial and reduced the risk of death within two years by 37 per cent. Ipilimumab and nivolumab are immunotherapy drugs that work by enhancing the ability of the body’s immune system cells to attack and destroy cancer. Rather than just putting the cancer into remission for a period, like standard treatments, they appear to carry on working even after treatment has stopped

During the trial, 840 kidney cancer patients were given either sunitinib or the combination immunotherapy. Those on the combination had four infusions of the two drugs at three-weekly intervals. One-fifth of patients experienced severe side effects such as inflammation of the bowel or liver, and had to stop early. The median overall survival rate [the time at which 50 per cent of patients have died after treatment] for sunitinib was 26 months, but for the combination immunotherapy arm, it has still not been reached 36 months on. More than half the patients are still alive.
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Broccoli can prevent colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, A team of researchers in the NUS Medicine lab of Associate Professor Matthew Chang have found a way to turn a humble bacteria and vegetables into a targeted system that seeks out and kills colorectal cancer cells. The study, which was led by Dr Chun-Loong Ho, will be published online today and in the current issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering.

At the heart of this cancer-targeting system is an engineered form of E. coli Nissle, a harmless type of bacteria found in the gut. Using genetic techniques, the team engineered the bacteria into a probiotic that attached to the surface of colorectal cancer cells and secreted an enzyme to convert a substance found in cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli) into a potent anticancer agent.

The idea was for the cancer cells in the vicinity to take up this anticancer agent and be killed. Normal cells cannot do this conversion, nor are they affected by the toxin, thus the system should be targeted only to colorectal cancer cells. True enough, the mixture of engineered probiotics with a broccoli extract or water containing the dietary substance killed more than 95% of colorectal cancer cells in a dish.

 Moreover, the mixture had no effect on cells from other types of cancer such as breast and stomach cancer. Strikingly, the probiotics-veggie combination reduced tumour numbers by 75% in mice with colorectal cancer. Also, the tumours that were detected in these mice were 3 times smaller than those in control mice which were not fed with the mixture.

These probiotics could be used in two ways: as prevention, to clean up the cancer cells remaining after surgical removal of tumours. Colorectal cancer patients may be able to take the probiotics as a dietary supplement along with their broccoli to prevent colorectal cancer or to reduce recurrence after cancer surgery.
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Low testosterone levels reduces the risk of prostate cancer

Men with low testosterone may not develop prostate cancer. Reducing testosterone hormone could reduce the risk of the cancer. Scientists who examined different men discovered that those with the lowest testosterone levels were 20 per cent less likely to get the cancer.

One in eight men will develop prostate cancer, with approximately 46,700 cases a year. But little is known about what causes the disease, unlike most cancers, it does not seem to be linked to obesity, exercise, smoking or alcohol.

Prostate cancer tumours need testosterone to grow, men with lower levels are less likely to get the illness. Reducing the levels of testosterone could unravel ways to diagnose and treat fatal prostate cancers before they can do any harm.
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Lung cancer treatment could affect the heart

Radioactivity of the heart from
radiotherapy of lung cancer treatment is increasing mortality rates. Exposing heart to radiation during treatment of lung cancer may kill the organ.

Some tumours are very close to the heart, higher dose of radiotherapy to this part of the body increases the risk of early death. During radiotherapy, some radiation will hit the heart because it is very close to the lung and this have negative effects on it

Researchers analysed many patients, looking at where in the heart there was radiation and how long the patients survived. They identified that the top of the heart is very sensitive to radiation than the body of the organ.

The researchers carried out a high-resolution, normal-tissue dosimetric analysis, this identify regions in the heart that correlated with poorer survival. The result confirmed that radiation affects the heart.
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Vitamin C can stop the spread of blood cancer

Faulty stem cells in bone marrow often multiply, increasing the growth of fatal tumours. The diseases can lead to anaemia and bleeding as abnormal stem cells multiply in the bone marrow and interfere with blood cell production.

Vitamin C can kill and prevents the spread of the tumours. Vitamin C found in high levels in kale, oranges and peppers could prevents blood cancer but it is impossible to get the required amount through fruits and vegetables in high quantities.

High quantities of vitamin C required for killing the tumours can be given by injecting cancer patients intravenously, the patients can get up to 500 times the amount they would get through eating fruit and vegetables.

Vitamin C prevents the breakdown of glucose, the mitochondria - the strength of the cancer cells are unable to gain vital energy it needs to grow with vitamin C injection.

Researchers discovered that vitamin C suppressed the growth of leukaemia cancer stem cells from human patients implanted into the mice. Combining vitamin C with a cancer drug is more effective in cancer treatment.
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Better cancer treatment

Cancer patients can now have better and safer treatment by the use of less toxic drug for cancer treatment.
 Synthetic lethal interactions could inhibit the growth of tumors in mesenchymal cells, cells that develop into connective tissue such as those found in bones, soft tissues, and the central nervous system.

Presently, chemotherapy is the only available treatment for persistent cancers known as alternative lengthening telomere ALT cancers.
In healthy stem cell reproduction, the enzyme telomerase prevents the shortening of linear DNA ends called telomeres with each replication.

 The enzyme can also be re-activated to promote genetic stability and immortality in many cancer cells. While many cancers that multiple through telomerase re-activation may be treated with therapies other than chemotherapy, ALT cancer cells lack telomerase and few treatment options have been developed to inhibit their proliferation.

 ALT cancer cells account for fifteen percent of cancer cases, these incidences include some of the most deadly cancers like glioblastoma.

Researchers investigated three human genes associated with cancer development: FANCM mutations of which are associated with blood cancers), BRCA1 (mutations of which are commonly found in patients with breast and ovarian cancers), and BLM (mutations of which cause a variety of cancers).

FANCM, known to repair DNA damage where two DNA strands have been incorrectly linked, was removed from cells also deficient of BRCA1 or BLM. As a result, the team found that simultaneous inactivation of BLM and FANCM or of BRCA1 and FANCM resulted in dramatic increases of unrepaired DNA damages, preventing the cancerous cells from further reproducing.

 Their discoveries suggest that if drugs are developed to simultaneously inhibit BLM and FANCM, or BRCA1 and FANCM, they should kill the ALT cancers without posing the same toxic effects as the conventional chemotherapy drugs.
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Early signs of cancer

Scientists have discovered how damage to the cell's genetic material can trigger inflammation. Cancerous cells are similar to other cells at early stage, so that they can be removed as part of the body's natural surveillance systems before tumours form.

A key molecule called cGAS is known to bind DNA, triggering inflammation.
When damage occurs, fragments of DNA can get separated from the nucleus and form structures micronuclei.

 cGAS can penetrate these micronuclei and bind to DNA, creating mechanisms that lead to inflammation. DNA damage is one of the early steps in the development of cancer.

Detection of micronuclei by cGAS could be an important early signal to the human body to detect and remove potentially cancerous cells.

Autoinflammatory diseases- when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues can also be an early sign of cancer, this could trigger an inflammatory diseases.
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Reasons for deadly resistance in lung cancer and melanoma

Researchers have discovered why some lung cancer and melanoma develop deadly resistance to targeted therapies.
 Intricate DNA sequencing tests was performed on single cells using genetic models of lung cancer and melanoma.

Lung cancer and melanoma are amongst the hardest to treat of all the cancers because of their capacity to change their genetics and developing resistance to targeted therapies.

 Researchers used animal models from tumours derived from patients and single-cell genomics to develop a hypothetical model of resistance, known as "fitness threshold model," that shows why and how resistance to therapy occurs in lung and melanoma cancer.

Tumours like melanoma and lung cancers can grow back shortly after therapy, but when they do they are made of genetically diverse sub-groups of malignant cell that are resistant to treatment.

The genetic diversity of the lung cancer  and melanoma tumour allow them to adapt to the treatment and resist it. The effect of a given drug with the selection of resistance-causing alterations in DNA, resulting in significant implications for the treatment of cancer patients.

The way the drugs are administered during therapy can have a critical impact on the outcome of the response to treatment; intermittent administration enables simultaneous delivery of multiple targeted therapies while maintaining lower toxicity.
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Dense breast and risk of developing cancer

Women breast can be placed into four categories of breast density.
Mostly fatty: The breasts are made up of mostly fat and contain little fibrous and glandular tissue. This means the mammogram would show anything that is abnormal.

Scattered density: The breasts have quite a bit of fat, but there are a few areas of fibrous and glandular tissue.
Consistent density: The breasts have many areas of fibrous and glandular tissue that are evenly distributed through the breasts. This can make it hard to see small masses in the breast.

Extremely dense: The breasts have a lot of fibrous and glandular tissue. This may make it hard to see a cancer on a mammogram because the cancer can look like normal tissue.

Weight, family history of breast cancer, and having first baby after the age of 30 are some of the risk factors of breast cancer.
Breast density is not based on how your breasts feel during your self examination or your doctor's physical examination.

Mammograms determine the categories of your breasts density. Dense breasts make tumours much harder to detect,
because fat is transparent on a scan, but dense tissue is solid and can make it difficult to see through.

Women who have more dense breast tissue than fat are at risk of developing cancer. Experts said dense tissue makes tumours in the breasts harder to spot on mammograms.

Dense breasts have less fatty tissue and more non-fatty tissue compared to breasts that aren't dense. If you have
dense breasts - maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, limit alcohol intake, eat plant based diet and avoid smoking to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer.

Monthly self examination and yearly examination by your doctor can also help. Digital mammography  is recommended because film mammography may not be effective.

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Facts about cancer

Cancer is a condition where cells in a particular part of the body develop and reproduce uncontrollably. Cells can
experience uncontrolled growth if there are mutations to DNA, and it alters genes involved in cell division.

Cancer occurs when a cell's gene mutations make the cell unable to correct DNA damage. Normal cells in the body follow grow, divide and die.
Cancerous cells can destroy other healthy tissue and organs in the body, cancer can grow in any part of the body.
There are over 220 different types of cancer.

It alters normal cells division to form lumps or masses of tissue known as tumors. Tumors interfere with the digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems, and release hormones that alter proper body functions. Metastasis is multiplication and spread of cancers to other parts of the body to invade and destroy other healthy tissues.

Cancer is considered to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Carcinogens are tobacco, asbestos, arsenic, radiation such as gamma and x-rays, the sun, and compounds in car exhaust fumes are all examples of carcinogens.

 When our bodies are exposed to carcinogens, free radicals are formed that try to steal electrons from other molecules in the body. Theses free radicals damage cells and affect their ability to function normally.

Cancer can be the result of a genetic predisposition that is inherited from family members. It is possible to be born with certain genetic mutations or a fault in a gene that makes one more likely to develop cancer later in life.

African Americans are more likely to die of cancer than people of any other race. Risk of cancer can be reduced by avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol intake, limiting UV ray exposure from the sun and tanning, eating healthy diet, and regular medical check.

There is an increase in the number of possible cancer-causing mutations in our DNA as we get older. Some viruses like human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and C and E, Human immunodeficiency virus and any disease that suppresses the immune system increases the risk of developing cancer.

There is an increase in the number of possible cancer-causing mutations in our DNA as we get older. Some viruses like human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and C and E, Human immunodeficiency virus and any disease that suppresses the immune system increases the risk of developing cancer.

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Diet rich in sugar multiply cancer in the body

A sugar rich diet may be fuelling various forms of cancer, tumours thrive off sugar, using it as energy to mutate and spread across the body.

Now scientists have shown one type of cancer - which can be found in the lungs, head and neck, oesophagus and cervix - has more of a sweet tooth than others.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) was more dependent on sugar to grow,
This form of the disease used higher levels of a protein that carries glucose to cells to enable them to multiply.

Excessive sugar consumption can leads to diabetes and cancer, because some cancers dependent on sugar to grow.
Without a sufficient supply of the sugar, cells in the body can not function properly.

Cancer Research UK make clear that cancerous cells aren't just dependent on sugar for their growth, as they rely on amino acids and fats also.

The new findings came after researchers looked into the differences between two major subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer - adenocarcinoma (ADC) and SqCC.

About one quarter of all lung cancers are SqCC, which has been difficult to treat with targeted therapies.
The study first tapped into The Cancer Genome Atlas, which maps information about 33 types of cancer gathered from more than 11,000 patients.

Based on that data, it found a protein responsible for transporting glucose into cells was present in significantly higher levels in lung SqCC than in lung ADC.

The protein, called glucose transporter 1, or GLUT1, takes up glucose into cells, where the sugar provides a fundamental energy source and fuels cell metabolism.
GLUT1 is also necessary for normal cell function.

New treatment for ovarian cancer

The cancer of the ovaries is one of the most common types of cancer in women. It affects women after menopause.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer include feeling constantly bloated, discomfort in stomach, feeling full quickly when eating, and frequent urination.

The study authors used an experimental drug called birinapant, in addition to the usual carboplatin, in mice with ovarian cancer tumours, and discovered it could boost survival.

The researchers enlisted birinapant - it deregrades proteins called cIAPs, which prevent cell death after chemotherapy - to make the chemotherapy drug more effective against ovarian cancer tumours.

Solution to skin cancer

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, the three types of skin cancer: malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) - are mainly caused by UV exposure through the sun.

However, a new drug which is normally used to treat high blood pressure, may protect against sun induced cell damage. Western University of Health
Sciences in the US found the drug, carvedilol, for sun cancer treatment.

It stopped cancer-causing DNA damage and cell death produced by ultraviolet-B (UVB) rays. The drug decreased the  severity and number of tumours developing in mice and also delayed skin tumour formation more than sun cream.

According to Cancer Research UK, sunburn is a sign the DNA in your skin cells has been damaged by too much UV radiation. Exposure to painful sunburn
 just once every two years, can increase your risk of melanoma skin cancer.

You can prevent sunburn by wearing clothes that cover every part of your body and application of suncream with an SPF above 30 and five star UVA rating more than 20 minutes before going outside.

How to target blood vessels to improve cancer Immunotherapy

The aims of cancer immunotherapy is to empower patients immune system T cells to recognize and attack cancer.

Tumors used several methods to fight back immune system attack, like producing blood vessels that hinder arrival of T cells.

Scientists are now reprogramming the tumor blood vessels to treat different types of cancers.

Tumor blood vessels provide oxygen and nutrients to the growing cancer cells,  scientists  used AZV to block the actions of two proteins: VEGFA and ANGPTZ to starve the tumor.

AzV regress and normalized the tumor blood vessels and facilitated the arrival of activated T cells.

Anti-angiogenic drugs like ANGPTZ inhibitors have strong effect on tumor and initiative anti-tumor immune responses.