Cancer Research Blog Carnival #21 – National Cancer Research Month

May 1, 2009 | by

Welcome to the 21st edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival, the monthly blog carnival that discusses what’s new in cancer research and includes posts covering cancer biology, cancer genetics, cancer diagnostics and cancer therapeutics. Concomitant with this edition is the start of National Cancer Research Month.

There’s a revolution occurring on the Web: those “authoritative” articles written on traditional, static websites are being replaced with blogs, wikis and online social networks. In the sphere of health, medicine and information technology, this “real-time Web” consists of many who are professionals in the field; their posts are listed below.
In the digital age, these are the characteristics of new media: recent, relevant, reachable and reliable.

In 2007, the United States Congress declared May National Cancer Research Month. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) secured resolutions to raise awareness of the critical advances in cancer research made by its 27,000 members and cancer researchers worldwide, and its efforts to ensure a secure future for continued progress against a group of diseases which strike one in every two men and one in every three women.

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Today, ten million cancer survivors are alive in America due to advances in cancer research [1]. National Cancer Research Month reminds us that basic, clinical, epidemiological and behavioral research are essential to identifying causes and developing strategies for cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cures.

With that, let’s find out more about what’s happening in cancer research this month.

Gene Expression Can Predict the Survival of Lymphoma Patients

December 5, 2008 | by

ResearchBlogging.orgA study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine identified sets of genes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that influence the effectiveness of chemotherapy [1]. Researchers found that the tumor microenvironment, consisting of non-cancerous immune and structural cells along with tumor cells, has a significant influence on a patient’s response to treatment.

Neurofibromatosis: From Genes to Complications to Treatments

June 12, 2008 | by

The 2008 NF Conference was held last weekend (June 6 — 10) in Bonita Springs, Florida. The preeminent annual meeting provides a forum for basic and clinical neurofibromatosis (NF) investigators to present their research (pronounced noor-oh-fahy-broh-muh-toh-sis). The conference was attended by over 200 researchers from around the world

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This year’s theme — Genes to Complications to Treatments — highlighted the progress being made in NF research and clinical care, as well as the research programs of the Children’s Tumor Foundation. Last year’s NF Conference focused on models, mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

Treating Cancer with Personalized Medicine

September 24, 2007 | by

A Michigan oncologist recently devised a simple experiment to help treat seven patients with advanced, incurable cancer. The experiment used DNA microarray technology to analyze each patient’s tumors for the expression of genes associated with positive response to anti-cancer drugs. The oncologist, Dr. Eric Lester, M.D., then based his drug treatment plans on the results. Four of seven patients are reported to have had a better outcome than expected [1].

microarrayAlthough every cell in the body contains identical genetic material, the same genes are not active in every cell. Tumor cells are no exception. Cancer refers to any one of a large number of diseases characterized by abnormal cell growth and proliferation. Few of these diseases can be treated in the same way, since the genes responsible for a variety of biological processes — DNA duplication, cellular proliferation, cell death — are different from one tumor to the next.