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

New research could provide key to overcoming resistance to HER2 targeted cancer treatments

Scientists have discovered an important new biomarker which could improve HER2 targeted cancer treatments

2014-06-11
(Press-News.org) Dublin, Ireland, June 11th, 2014 – Scientists from the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin have made a significant discovery of a new biomarker which may help overcome resistance to newer and more targeted anti-cancer drugs, such as Herceptin, for HER2 positive cancers. These findings may also help the early identification of patients who will benefit more from these treatments.

The researchers, led by Professor Lorraine O'Driscoll, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Trinity, studied breast cancer cells and their extracellular vesicles (exosomes), which are 'packages' of information released out of cells. They discovered a molecule called Neuromedin U (NmU) which is strongly associated with resistance to the new anti-cancer drugs for HER2 positive cancers. This suggests NmU could be used as a biological marker to indicate the likelihood of responsiveness in a particular patient and may also be very important in the management of resistance to these drugs. The findings have just been published in leading international, peer reviewed journal: Cancer Research, the most frequently cited cancer journal in the world.

About one quarter of breast cancer patients are known as being HER2 positive, where the protein HER2 is found at greater amounts on cancer cells compared to normal cells and which is associated with a poorer prognosis for the patient. A relatively new range of targeted anti-cancer drugs became available in recent years to treat patients with HER2 positive breast cancer and some other cancers such as HER2 positive gastric cancer. The best known one is Herceptin (trastuzumab), but there are other newer drugs in this family, including lapatinib, neratinib, afatinib, pertuzumab, T-DM1.

Speaking about the challenges some patients face with these newer anti-cancer drugs, Professor O'Driscoll said: "Many patients with HER2 positive tumours gain huge benefit from these drugs. Unfortunately, however, some who seem suitable candidates based on a HER2 test, don't gain the maximum intended benefit from these treatments. They may have a natural level of resistance to the treatment which is not detectable with currently available tests, while some other patients respond at first but may then become unresponsive or develop resistance to the treatments."

Professor O'Driscoll continued: "Clinicians urgently need ways of predicting which patients with 'HER2 tumours' are likely to gain real benefit, both to ensure patients are given the optimal treatments and to ensure these very costly drugs are used where they will have the most benefit. Our discovery may offer a new way to predict or identify both innate and acquired resistance, overcome it and potentially block or prevent resistance. This would allow patients to get the full benefit from these particular anti-cancer treatments and help other patients to be more quickly identified and receive the treatment options which are more appropriate for them."

The scientists also found that the levels of NmU outside the cells reflects that within the cells indicating it may be used as an 'extracellular' blood-based marker. This could allow clinicians to access and sample the levels of NmU through a minimally-invasive blood test compared to testing biomarkers within tissues.

They also found that by tweaking NmU's amounts in the cells, they could restore sensitivity to this family of anti-cancer drugs and offer an approach which may help prevent or overcome the serious resistance problem.

The research team conducted other studies which found that blocking NmU also significantly slowed the tumour's growth in the body and they plan to conduct further studies in this area.

The intellectual property has been protected to facilitate the translation of these discoveries to the benefit of patients with two patents pending in Europe and the US. This will be aided by the team's collaboration with the All Ireland Oncology Research Group (ICORG).

INFORMATION: These studies, by Professor Lorraine O'Driscoll and her research group based at School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences/Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, and in collaboration with St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin City University and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, were supported by Science Foundation Ireland as part of Molecular Therapeutics for Cancer Ireland (MTCI), the Marie Keating Foundation and EU FP7 Cooperation in Science & Technology ME-HaD.

The paper is available online here: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2014/05/29/0008-5472.CAN-13-2053.abstract

For media queries contact: Press Officer for the Faculty of Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Yolanda Kennedy, tel:+353-1-8963551; yokenned@tcd.ie


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

International team unearths genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Latin American populations

2014-06-10
In the largest study of its kind published to date, an international team of researchers in Mexico and the United States has discovered a strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes that primarily affects Latin American patients, but is rare elsewhere. The work further characterizes a gene called HNF1A, responsible for a rare, inherited form of diabetes against which a widely available and inexpensive class of drugs is highly effective. The discovery offers important new clues about the population genetics of type 2 diabetes in Latin American populations, and suggests ...

NREL finds up to 6-cent per kilowatt-hour extra value with concentrated solar power

2014-06-10
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) projects would add additional value of 5 or 6 cents per kilowatt hour to utility-scale solar energy in California where 33 percent renewables will be mandated in six years, a new report by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found. The report, "Estimating the Value of Utility-Scale Solar Technologies in California Under a 40% Renewable Portfolio StandardPDF," finds that CSP, with its ability to store energy for several hours or more, helps maintain firm capacity in the hours when the sun is below the horizon. ...

Report reviews estimates of costs and benefits of compliance with renewable portfolio standards

2014-06-10
A new report, prepared by analysts from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), reviews estimates of the costs and benefits of compliance with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in the United States and explores how costs and benefits may evolve over time. "A Survey of State-Level Cost and Benefit Estimates of Renewable Portfolio StandardsPDF," reviews recent estimated RPS costs for most states, but finds that a lack of benefits estimates and methodological differences limit the ability to ...

Crescendo Bioscience to present multiple studies at 2014 EULAR Meeting

2014-06-10
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 10, 2014 – Crescendo Bioscience, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), today announced that Vectra® DA data will be featured in eight posters at the 2014 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Meeting, June 11-14, 2014, in Paris, France. Vectra DA is a quantitative, objective multi-biomarker test to measure disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Vectra DA test offers insight into the biological processes that drive disease activity to help rheumatologists manage RA and improve ...

AP-NORC releases new analysis on Californians' experiences with long-term care

2014-06-10
Chicago, June 10, 2014—The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released an issue brief containing results of a survey on long-term care in California. With a particular focus on demographics, the issue brief provides new data on how Californians are, or are not, planning for long-term care and their views on the role of family. This information is vital as policymakers are currently grappling with how to plan for and finance high-quality long-term care in the United States. "This issue brief takes a focused look at long-term care attitudes and ...

Fermentation of cocoa beans requires precise collaboration among 2 bacteria, and yeast

2014-06-10
Good chocolate is among the world's most beloved foods, which is why scientists are seeking to improve the product, and enhance the world's pleasure. A team of researchers from Germany and Switzerland—the heartland of fine chocolate—have embarked upon a quest to better understand natural cocoa fermentation and have published findings ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "Our studies have unraveled the metabolism of the rather unexplored acetic acid bacteria in the complex fermentation environment," says corresponding author Christoph Wittmann ...

Violent crimes could be prevented if felony charges were reduced less often, study finds

2014-06-10
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A UC Davis study comparing violent misdemeanor convictions with their original criminal charges has found that subsequent violent crimes could be prevented if criminal charges were reduced less often during plea bargaining. The small, preliminary study, posted online June 9 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, re-analyzed data on 787 individuals under age 35 who had violent misdemeanor convictions and purchased handguns in California in 1989 or 1990. The goal was to assess the impact of reduced criminal charges on gun purchases and subsequent ...

Telehealth improves forensic examinations for sexual abuse

2014-06-10
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Researchers at UC Davis and other facilities have shown that telehealth consultations for clinicians at rural hospitals improve their ability to provide forensic examinations for sexual abuse. Published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, the study showed that clinicians with access to expert UC Davis nurses provided more thorough and nuanced exams, improving their ability to gather evidence and to make an accurate diagnosis. "Providing telehealth support really improves the quality of these forensic exams," said first author Sheridan Miyamoto, ...

NYU and UCSF researchers develop a framework for monitoring oral cancer

2014-06-10
Each year, approximately 22,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer. The five-year survival rate of 40% in the U.S. is one of the lowest of the major cancers, and it has not improved in the past 40 years. More people die each year in the U.S. from oral cancer than from melanoma, cervical, or ovarian cancer. Worldwide, the incidence of oral cancer is increasing, particularly among young people and women, with an estimated 350,000 – 400,000 new cases diagnosed each year. "The major risk factors, tobacco and alcohol use, alone cannot explain the changes in incidence, ...

Dangerous, underpaid work for the undocumented

2014-06-10
ITHACA, N.Y. – Illegal immigrants don't hold the most dangerous jobs in America. That kind of work pays a decent wage for the risk to life and limb, and undocumented workers are barred from those jobs. Yet there is plenty of hazard, risk and occupational injury for the uncounted millions of illegal immigrants doing the "merely dangerous" work no one else wants – without a pay premium from employers who take advantage of that labor pool, a Cornell University – Penn State University study reveals. "Undocumented Mexicans receive effectively no wage premium for working ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet for October 2025

Three science and technology leaders elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Jump Trading CSO Kevin Bowers elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Former Inscripta CEO Sri Kosaraju elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Citadel’s Jordan Chetty elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

McGill research flags Montreal snow dump, inactive landfills as major methane polluters

A lightweight and rapid bidirectional search algorithm

Eighty-five years of big tree history available in one place for the first time

MIT invents human brain model with six major cell types to enable personalized disease research, drug discovery

Health and economic air quality co-benefits of stringent climate policies

How immune cells deliver their deadly cargo

How the brain becomes a better listener: How focus enhances sound processing

Processed fats found in margarines unlikely to affect heart health

Scientists discover how leukemia cells evade treatment

Sandra Shi MD, MPH, named 2025 STAT Wunderkind

Treating liver disease with microscopic nanoparticles

Chemicals might be hitching a ride on nanoplastics to enter your skin

Pregnant patients with preexisting high cholesterol may have elevated CV risk

UC stroke experts discuss current and future use of AI tools in research and treatment

The Southern Ocean’s low-salinity water locked away CO2 for decades, but...

OHSU researchers develop functional eggs from human skin cells

Most users cannot identify AI bias, even in training data

Hurricane outages: Analysis details the where, and who, of increased future power cuts

Craters on surface of melanoma cells found to serve as sites for tumor killing

Research Spotlight: Mapping overlooked challenges in stroke recovery

Geographic and temporal patterns of screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in the US

Cannabis laws and opioid use among commercially insured patients with cancer diagnoses

Research Spotlight: Surprising gene mutation in brain’s immune cells linked to increased Alzheimer’s risk

Missing molecule may explain Down syndrome

Donor diabetes and 1-year Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty success rate

[Press-News.org] New research could provide key to overcoming resistance to HER2 targeted cancer treatments
Scientists have discovered an important new biomarker which could improve HER2 targeted cancer treatments