PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers issue state-of-the-state on genetic-based testing & treatment for breast cancer

2014-03-24
(Press-News.org) (Lebanon, NH, 03/24/2014)- Dartmouth researchers at its Norris Cotton Cancer Center have compiled a review of the role that information gathered through genetic testing plays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The paper entitled "Personalized Therapy for Breast Cancer" was accepted on March 17, 2014, for publication in Clinical Genetics. The paper discusses targeted therapies, new biomarkers, and the quality of commercially available testing methods.

Genomic testing is changing the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. By examining a woman's genes to look for specific mutations or biomarkers, treatment can be personalized to the tumor cell's biology and a woman's genetics.

"A personalized approach increases the precision and success of breast cancer treatment," said Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, director of Molecular Pathology at Norris Cotton Cancer Center and lead author of the paper. "Molecular profiling exposes a tumor's Achilles' heel. We can see what messages the tumor cells are receiving and sending. It is a biological intelligence gathering mission in an attempt to interrupt the disease.

According to Tsongalis large scale genetic testing of breast cancer is not yet part of routine clinical care as it is with lung and colon cancers, even though he and his team run a genetics laboratory for routine cancer care. Genetic testing according to Tsongalis is a powerful weapon in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

With results from the genetic testing of a tumor cell's biology, clinicians categorize breast cancer in ways that allow them to select the most effective treatments. Based on genetic biomarkers, there are three categories of breast cancer:

ER-positive breast cancer needs hormones, such as estrogen to grow. Estrogen fuels cancer cell growth, stops cancer cells from dying, and helps the cells lay down roots to maintain blood supply for tumors. ER-positive cancers are less aggressive and often treated with drugs that are selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM), such as Tamoxifen, Raloxifene, Toremifene and aromatese inhibitors (AIs) such as Letrozole, Anastrozole and Exemestane. SERM drugs block estrogen from telling cancer cells to divide and grow; they have been shown successful in treating as well as preventing ER positive breast cancer. AIs block intake of estrogen in the system and reduce estrogen levels in serum, tissue, and tumor cells. AIs are commonly used in post-menopausal women.

HER2 –positive breast cancer cells contain large amounts of protein that help them grow and multiply. Medications turn off the production of protein to stop tumor growth and kill cancer cells. HER2 treatments include Trastuzumab, Laptinib, Pertuzumab, and Trastuzumab Emtansine.

Triple negative (ER-negative/PR-negative/HER2-negative) breast cancer is the most aggressive type and has the poorest clinical outcome. There is no approved personalized therapy for triple negative, but research has identified six subtypes of tumors. This is the first step in identifying biomarkers that can lead to the development of personalized treatments.

"Genomic testing of breast cancer has expanded our understanding of the disease process and has proven more effective than traditional laboratory tests," said Tsongalis. "At NCCC all of our breast cancer patients are tested for abnormal copies of the HER2 gene using specially designed DNA probes."New biomarkers and the reclassification of cancers based on these biomarkers has led to the development of new, effective treatments that can be personalized to an individual breast cancer patient."

INFORMATION: Tsongalis operates pathology laboratories at Norris Cotton Cancer Center that conduct routine clinical tests for 50 known genetic mutations on several different types of human cancers. His laboratory also conducts genetic analyses for clinical trials.

About Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Norris Cotton Cancer Center combines advanced cancer research at Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine with patient-centered cancer care provided at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock regional locations in Manchester, Nashua, and Keene, NH, and St. Johnsbury, VT, and at 12 partner hospitals throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. It is one of 41 centers nationwide to earn the National Cancer Institute's "Comprehensive Cancer Center" designation. Learn more about Norris Cotton Cancer Center research, programs, and clinical trials online at cancer.dartmouth.edu.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Low parking costs may encourage automobile use

Low parking costs may encourage automobile use
2014-03-24
PHILADELPHIA (March 24, 2014)— The low cost of parking in many American cities may contribute to urban development that relies on automobile use and undercuts planners' efforts to increase public transport, according to a new baseline study of comprehensive public parking costs led by the Drexel University School of Public Health. The article, "Public parking fees and fines: a survey of US cities," is now published online ahead of print in the journal Public Works Management and Policy. It reports on downtown public parking costs after surveying public parking agencies ...

NASA spots Tropical Cyclone Gillian's eye closing

NASA spots Tropical Cyclone Gillians eye closing
2014-03-24
Tropical Cyclone Gillian's eye was starting to "close" or become cloud-filled when NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean on March 23. On March 23, Gillian's maximum sustained winds peaked near 140 knots/161.1 mph/259.3 kph making it a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Fortunately, Gillian pulled away from Indonesia, so all of the regional warnings were canceled on March 23. At 06:45 UTC on March 23, NASA's Aqua satellite flew overhead and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument captured a visible image ...

Computer models solve geologic riddle millions of years in the making

2014-03-24
An international team of scientists that included USC's Meghan Miller used computer modeling to reveal, for the first time, how giant swirls form during the collision of tectonic plates – with subduction zones stuttering and recovering after continental fragments slam into them. The team's 3D models suggest a likely answer to a question that has long plagued geologists: why do long, curving mountain chains form along some subduction zones – where two tectonic plates collide, pushing one down into the mantle? Based on the models, the researchers found that parts of the ...

Motor learning: Lining up our sights

2014-03-24
Neurologists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have studied the role of the vestibular system, which controls balance, in optimizing how we direct our gaze. The results could lead to more effective rehabilitation of patients with vestibular or cerebellar dysfunction. When we shift the direction of our gaze, head and eye movements are normally highly coordinated with each other. Indeed, from the many possible combinations of speed and duration for such movements, the brain chooses the one that minimizes the error in reaching the intended line of sight. ...

Glatt Kosher for Passover Seders At Talia's Steakhouse & Bar, A Manhattan Kosher Restaurant - Chol Hamoed and Yom Tov Meals Are Also Available at Talia's During This Popular Jewish Holiday

Glatt Kosher for Passover Seders At Talias Steakhouse & Bar, A Manhattan Kosher Restaurant - Chol Hamoed and Yom Tov Meals Are Also Available at Talias During This Popular Jewish Holiday
2014-03-24
If you are looking for a relaxing and stress-free way to celebrate Passover with your loved ones without spending the whole day in the kitchen, consider what has become a tradition for Passover at the popular New York City Glatt Kosher restaurant, Talia's Steakhouse & Bar, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC. For over eleven years, Talia's Steakhouse & Bar has been serving the kosher community of the NY Metro area. As the premier Glatt kosher establishment in Manhattan, Talia's is proud to announce that, once again, it will conduct four prepaid ...

Leukemia caused by chromosome catastrophe

2014-03-24
Researchers have found that people born with a rare abnormality of their chromosomes have a 2,700-fold increased risk of a rare childhood leukaemia. In this abnormality, two specific chromosomes are fused together but become prone to catastrophic shattering. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, or ALL, is the most common childhood cancer. Scientists previously found that a small subset of ALL patients have repeated sections of chromosome 21 in the genomes of their leukaemia cells. This form of ALL – iAMP21 ALL – requires more intensive treatment than many other types of ALL. ...

Small number of counties leads the way in reducing smoking rates in the US

2014-03-24
SEATTLE — Nationally, smoking rates have decreased since 1996, but the declines have been driven by a relatively small share of counties across the US, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. The study, "Cigarette smoking prevalence in US counties: 1996-2012," was published March 24 in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Population Health Metrics. Total cigarette smoking prevalence – the percentage of the population that smokes – has not decreased significantly in all counties but, because ...

Increased awareness about skin cancer needed for minorities

Increased awareness about skin cancer needed for minorities
2014-03-24
DETROIT – More awareness about skin cancer is needed for minorities because they believe they are at low risk of developing it, says Henry Ford Hospital dermatologist Diane Jackson-Richards, M.D. Research has shown that minorities are diagnosed at a more advanced stage of skin cancer and have lower chances of survival than Caucasians. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer among African Americans and Asian Indians, and the second most common skin cancer in Hispanics, East Asians and Caucasians, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. "We need to intensify ...

Researchers improve performance of III-V nanowire solar cells on graphene

Researchers improve performance of III-V nanowire solar cells on graphene
2014-03-24
Imagine a field of small wires—standing at attention like a tiny field of wheat—gathering the Sun's rays as the first step in solar energy conversion. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have achieved new levels of performance for seed-free and substrate-free arrays of nanowires from class of materials called III-V (three-five) directly on graphene. These compound semiconductors hold particular promise for applications involving light, such as solar cells or lasers. "Over the past two decades, research in the field of semiconductor nanowires ...

NASA sees Tropical Depression 04W's remnants affecting Palawan

NASA sees Tropical Depression 04Ws remnants affecting Palawan
2014-03-24
Tropical Depression 04W formed in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean on March 23 and marched across the southern Philippines. NASA's TRMM satellite spotted moderate rainfall occurring near Palawan the next day from the storm's remnants. Formerly known as System 94W, the tropical low organized into Tropical Depression 04W (TD04W) on Sunday, March 23. TD04W then crossed through the southern and central Philippines on March 22 and 23, moving from east to west through Mindanao and Visayas. At 04:32 UTC/12:32 a.m. EDT the depression had maximum sustained winds near 20 knots/23.0 ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Researchers issue state-of-the-state on genetic-based testing & treatment for breast cancer