Cells appearing normal may actually be harbingers of lung cancer

Tissue analysis near tumors holds promise for earlier detection, new treatments

2014-03-07

(Press-News.org) HOUSTON -- Seemingly healthy cells may in fact hide clues that lung cancer will later develop, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The research is published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Examination of gene expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed the area adjacent to tumors is rich with cancer markers. In addition, researchers discovered the previously unknown role of a cancer-promoting gene in the airways of smokers with lung cancer.

"We believe this study has a "double whammy" application," said study lead author Humam Kadara, Ph.D., assistant professor, Translational Molecular Pathology at MD Anderson. "These cancer-associated changes that distinguish the airways of smokers with lung cancer and healthy smokers may help us diagnose lung cancer earlier and develop more effective strategies for treatment."

Field cancerization may yield answers

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates more than 224,000 cases are diagnosed each year, and more than 159,000 people die of the disease. Almost 90 percent of lung cancers are NSCLC.

Symptoms of lung cancer usually don't appear until the disease is advanced and untreatable. Although it's believed to start as pre-cancerous changes in the lung, little is known about those changes that lead to lung cancer.

Field cancerization (FC) is a phenomenon in which large areas of cells are affected by a cancer-causing event, such as smoking. This is the first effort to comprehensively examine gene expression, known as the transcriptome, of the adjacent airway field cancerization in NSCLC.

Previous research, including pioneering work at MD Anderson by this study's senior author Ignacio Wistuba, M.D., and others, has shown normal-appearing tissue close to lung premalignant and cancer lesions may have tumor-associated molecular abnormalities. And it's known cigarette smoke induces widespread cellular changes and premalignant lesions in the lungs of smokers.

Potentially cancer-causing genes discovered

The study included 20 patients with stages I to III NSCLC, including five non-smokers and 15 smokers. Various genetic testing methods were used to examine lung tumors, uninvolved lung tissue and normal-appearing airways located varying distances from the tumors.

Researchers identified 1,661 differentially expressed gene features between tumors and airways compared with normal lung tissue. A subset of these changes was much more prevalent in lung-cancer patients than cancer-free smokers.

In addition, 422 genes, and key cancer-associated signaling pathways, were progressively expressed in airways, with a more intense presence closer to the tumor and tapering at further distances. This gradient site-dependent effect is consistent with NSCLC expression patterns.

Furthermore, higher levels of LAPTM4B, a gene that has been found in liver, lung, breast, ovarian and gastric cancers, were found in airways closer to tumors. It also aids in autophagy, a self-cannibalization mechanism that helps cells survive. LAPTM4B overexpression can cause resistance to certain types of chemotherapy.

"This is the first time the role of this gene in lung cancer has been studied," Kadara said. "It was highly over-expressed in adjacent normal cells, indicating the possibility of future detection and treatment strategies."

Larger studies of other lung cancer subtypes planned

The research group plans to move forward with more-advanced technology and larger populations to investigate field cancerization in other lung cancer subtypes, such as small-cell lung cancer, in smokers and in lung cancers that develop in non-smokers.

"We're just beginning to understand the relevance of airway field cancerization to lung cancer detection and development of treatment and prevention strategies," Kadara said.

INFORMATION: Other MD Anderson researchers included Wistuba, who chairs Translational Molecular Pathology, holds the Anderson Clinical Faculty Chair for Cancer Treatment and Research and has an appointment in Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology; Junya Fujimoto, M.D., Ph.D., Yuho Maki, M.D. Ph.D., Melinda M. Garcia, Chi-Wan Chow, D.V.M., Zuoming Chu and Gabriella Mendoza, of Translational Molecular Pathology; Mohamed Kabbout, Ph.D., and Waun Ki Hong, M.D., of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology; Neda Kalhor, M.D., and Cesar Moran, M.D., of Pathology; Suk-Young Yoo, Ph.D., Li Shen, Jing Wang, Ph.D., and Kevin Coombes, Ph.D., of Bioinformatics.

Also on the team were Adam Gower, Ph.D., and Avrum Spira, M.D., of Computational Medicine at Boston University.

This work was funded in part by grants from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, the Jimmy Lane Hewlett Lung Cancer Research Fund, National Cancer Institute lung cancer SPORE grant (P50 CA70907), Department of Defense grants and MD Anderson's NCI Cancer Center Support grant (CA16672).

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Cells appearing normal may actually be harbingers of lung cancer 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Pre-term birth and asthma

2014-03-07

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston, Massachusetts, in collaboration with investigators at the Maastricht University Medical Centre and Maastricht University School of Public Health in the Netherlands and The University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, have published findings strongly suggesting that preterm birth (prior to 37 weeks gestation) increases the risk of asthma and wheezing disorders during childhood and that the risk of developing these conditions increases as the degree of prematurity increases. The findings are based on a systematic ...

Hospital food safety measures reduce risk of contaminated hospital food

2014-03-07

A new study found more than 80 percent of raw chicken used in hospitals in food for patients and staff was contaminated with a form of antibiotic resistant bacteria called extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli. While sufficient preparation eliminated the presence of bacteria, poultry meat delivered to hospital kitchens remains a potential point of entry for these dangerous bacteria into the hospital. The study was published in the April issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. "While ...

Emerging multi-drug resistant infections lack standard definition and treatment

2014-03-07

Infection control practices for detecting and treating patients infected with emerging multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) vary significantly between hospitals. A study from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Research Network, a consortium of more than 200 hospitals collaborating on multi-center research projects, found this inconsistency could be contributing to the increase in multidrug-resistant bacteria. The study is published in the April issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. "Differences in definitions and practices ...

Volume of notifiable disease reporting may double with required electronic lab reporting

2014-03-07

INDIANAPOLIS -- Public health departments nationwide are already feeling the strain from budget cuts. But their case report volumes are forecasted to double when federal requirements for automated electronic laboratory reporting of notifiable diseases go into effect next year, according to a new study by researchers from the Regenstrief Institute Inc. and the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Although past studies have noted that volumes increase following the introduction of electronic laboratory ...

Eating red and processed meat -- what do scientists say?

2014-03-07

Oxford, March 6, 2014 -- Recent reports warn about a link between eating red and processed meat and the risk of developing cancer in the gut. These reports have resulted in new nutritional recommendations that advise people to limit their intake of red and processed meats. A recent perspective paper, authored by 23 scientists, published in the latest issue of journal Meat Science underlines the uncertainties in the scientific evidence and points to further research needed to resolve these issues and improve the foundation for future recommendations on the intake of red ...

Urgent need to study the impacts of biomass burning and haze on marine ecosystems

2014-03-07

Researchers are highlighting the urgent need to understand impacts of biomass burning and haze on Southeast Asian marine ecosystems in a paper published in the journal Global Change Biology on 6 March 2014. The scientists also proposed a coordinated response plan for a more effective management of these vital ecosystems. The unprecedented high levels of transboundary haze in Southeast Asia last year prompted Dr Zeehan Jaafar, a lecturer at the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Science, and Dr Tse-Lynn Loh, a postdoctoral ...

After years of improving, rates of youth suicide-related behaviors stopped declining

2014-03-07

TORONTO, March 7, 2014 -- A new study from St. Michael's Hospital found that, after four years of declining, the rates of teenagers coming into Ontario emergency departments with suicide-related behaviours stopped dropping between 2006 and 2010. Suicide-related behaviours are incidents of self-inflicted injuries or self-poisonings. Using data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, the researchers found that from 2002 to 2006, the rates of teenagers coming into Ontario emergency departments with suicide-related behaviours declined by 30 per cent. However, ...

Danish nasal filter looks promising for allergy sufferers

2014-03-07

A small filter the size of a contact lens could possibly make life easier for some of the estimated 500 million people worldwide who suffer from itching, sneezing and a runny nose as soon as the pollen season starts. A clinical study from Aarhus University concludes that a newly developed Danish mini-filter - Rhinix - appears to be significantly more effective against the discomfort of seasonal hay fever than a filterless placebo. The study has just been published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Filter blocks pollen The filter, which is not ...

Epigenetic changes could explain type 2 diabetes

2014-03-07

People with type 2 diabetes have epigenetic changes on their DNA that healthy individuals do not have. This has been shown in a major study by researchers at Lund University. The researchers also found epigenetic changes in a large number of genes that contribute to reduced insulin production. "This shows that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is not only genetic, but also epigenetic", said Charlotte Ling, who led the study. Epigenetic changes occur as a result of factors including environment and lifestyle, and can affect the function of genes. Charlotte Ling ...

Interactive simulator for vehicle drivers

2014-03-07

Simulations are an important development tool in the automobile and utility vehicle industries – they enable engineers to see into the future. The properties of vehicle components, such as how they respond in an accident, their reliability, or their energy efficiency can be investigated using simulations before the first component is manufactured. To continue to maintain the prediction power of the results, however, all of the influences that the vehicle is exposed to later on in actual operation must be taken into account – including those of drivers and operators. Researchers ...

First-of-its-kind analysis of U.S. national data reveals significant disparities in individual well-being as measured by lifespan, education, and income

Cells appearing normal may actually be harbingers of lung cancer

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: