(Posted: 04/23/2013) - A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) suggests that an unusual experimental drug can reduce breast-cancer aggressiveness, reverse resistance to the drug fulvestrant and perhaps improve the effectiveness of other breast-cancer drugs. The findings of the laboratory and animal study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggest a new strategy for treating breast cancer, the researchers say.

(Posted: 04/22/2013) - A monoclonal antibody targeting a protein known as SFPR2 has been shown by researchers at the University of North Carolina and its Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to inhibit tumor growth in pre-clinical models of breast cancer and angiosarcoma. In a paper published in the April 19 issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a team used a monoclonal antibody to target SFRP2 expressed in cells from triple-negative breast cancer and the aggressive blood-vessel malignancy angiosarcoma, reducing the rate of tumor growth.

(Posted: 04/22/2013) - A new study from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center demonstrates a significant correlation between poorer performance on neuropsychological tests and memory complaints in post-treatment, early-stage breast cancer patients — particularly those who have undergone combined chemotherapy and radiation.

(Posted: 04/22/2013) - A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer. The analysis, conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (home of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center), also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor’s fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building blocks. The study was published in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology.

(Posted: 04/22/2013) - A new analysis has found that the loss or amplification of particular DNA regions contributes to the development of prostate cancer, and that patients with two of these DNA changes have a high likelihood of dying from the disease. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study from the the Wake Forest School of Medicine (home of the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center) provides valuable information on the genetics of prostate cancer and offers insights into which patients should be treated aggressively.

(Posted: 04/19/2013) - A combination of therapies may prove to be a promising advance for the treatment of anaplastic thyroid cancer based on results of a phase I clinical trial. The collaborative study, published in the April 16 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, reports that combining paclitaxel chemotherapy with an experimental agent known as efatutazone was safe and well tolerated by patients. Organizations participating in the study were: the Mayo Clinic, the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, Eastern Virginia University, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Ohio State University (home to the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center), the University of Oregon Medical Center (home to the Knight Cancer Institute), the University of Colorado School of Medicine (home to the University of Colorado Cancer Center), Emory University Hospital (home of the Winship Cancer Institute), Weill Cornell Medical College, and Japanese pharmaceutical company, Daiichi Sankyo.

(Posted: 04/17/2013) - A new UC San Francisco study has found a clear association between certain genes and the development of lymphedema, a painful and chronic condition that often occurs after breast cancer surgery and some other cancer treatments. The researchers also learned that the risks of developing lymphedema increased significantly for women who had more advanced breast cancer at the time of diagnosis, more lymph nodes removed or a significantly higher body mass index. UC San Francisco is home to the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 04/16/2013) - UCLA researchers and collaborators have developed a potentially more effective treatment for "triple-negative" breast cancer that uses nanoscale, diamond-like particles called nanodiamonds. Nanodiamonds are between 4 and 6 nanometers in diameter and are shaped like tiny soccer balls. Byproducts of conventional mining and refining operations, the particles can form clusters following drug binding and have the ability to precisely deliver cancer drugs to tumors, significantly improving the drugs' desired effect. UCLA is home to the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The research team included contributors from the NanoCarbon Research Institute in Nagano, Japan and UC San Francisco, home of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 04/15/2013) - In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) used a mouse model to identify a novel cell surface marker on mammary gland stem cells. Using that marker, the team was able to assemble a sample of mammary gland stem cells of unprecedented purity. Until now, isolating pure mammary gland stem cells, which are important in mammary gland development as well as breast cancer formation, has posed a challenge.

(Posted: 04/15/2013) - A new, minimally invasive treatment that tears microscopic holes in tumors without harming healthy tissue is a promising treatment for challenging cancers, suggests a preliminary study being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans. The study, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, uses irreversible electroporation (or IRE) as a new way to attack cancer, using microsecond electrical pulses to kill cancer at the cellular level without damaging healthy tissue nearby.