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

Aspirin may delay growth of asbestos-related cancer

Findings reported by University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers could eventually improve survival for patients with an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the chest wall

2015-07-07
(Press-News.org) HONOLULU - Aspirin may inhibit the growth of mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly asbestos-related cancer, University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers have found.

The finding could eventually give doctors and patients a potential new tool to fight against this devastating disease, which kills about 3,200 people a year nationwide, and advance knowledge of how to fight other cancers.

The study published in Cell Death and Disease showed that aspirin slows down the growth of mesothelioma by blocking the carcinogenic effects of the inflammatory molecule, High-Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1). Researchers believe the molecule directly promotes mesothelioma growth.

"HMGB1 is an inflammatory molecule that plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of malignant mesothelioma. Inhibiting HMGB1 dramatically reduced malignant mesothelioma growth in mice and significantly improved survival of treated animals," said Dr. Haining Yang, PhD, an associate professor in the Thoracic Oncology Program at the UH Cancer Center.

Aspirin is mostly used as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which is absorbed by the stomach and upper intestine. Working with collaborators, Dr. Yang and Dr. Michele Carbone, MD, PhD, director of the UH Cancer Center's Thoracic Oncology Program, found that at least some of the so far unknown anti-tumor activity of aspirin is through preventing HMBG1 activity.

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive and often deadly cancer that can result from exposure to asbestos and asbestos-like fibers such as erionite. The prolonged presence of asbestos fibers lodged in the organ lining initiates a vicious cycle of chronic cell death and chronic inflammation that, over a period of many years, can lead to mesothelioma.

The researchers theorized that people at high risk of developing mesothelioma could take aspirin as a way to prevent or delay the growth of the cancer, and thus increase their chances of survival. Such individuals would include people occupationally exposed to asbestos, or people who live in areas high in naturally occurring asbestos-like fibers. They also encourage future studies to uncover the precise mechanism by which aspirin blocks HMGB1.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Engineers give invisibility cloaks a slimmer design

Engineers give invisibility cloaks a slimmer design
2015-07-07
Researchers have developed a new design for a cloaking device that overcomes some of the limitations of existing "invisibility cloaks." In a new study, electrical engineers at the University of California, San Diego have designed a cloaking device that is both thin and does not alter the brightness of light around a hidden object. The technology behind this cloak will have more applications than invisibility, such as concentrating solar energy and increasing signal speed in optical communications. "Invisibility may seem like magic at first, but its underlying concepts ...

Optical 'dog's nose' may hold key to breath analysis

2015-07-07
University of Adelaide researchers are developing a laser system for fast, non-invasive, onsite breath analysis for disease, potentially enabling screening for a range of diseases including diabetes, infections and various cancers in the future. The researchers have developed an instrument they equate to an "optical dog's nose" which uses a special laser to measure the molecular content of a sample of gas. "Rather than sniffing out a variety of smells as a dog would, the laser system uses light to "sense" the range of molecules that are present in the sample," says ...

New research: Rubber expansion threatens biodiversity and livelihoods

New research: Rubber expansion threatens biodiversity and livelihoods
2015-07-07
KUNMING, 7 July 2015 - Increasing amounts of environmentally valuable and protected land are being cleared for rubber plantations that are economically unsustainable, new research suggests. More widespread monitoring is vital to design policy that protects livelihoods and environments. The research was recently published in Global Environmental Change and constitutes a joint effort by scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) East and Central Asia office, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the University of Singapore and the ...

A cool way to form 2-D conducting polymers using ice

2015-07-07
A piece of deep frozen ice and electronic gadgets may seem to have little connection (except that they are both 'cool' to have on you), but ice could now play a role in opening a new era in the electronic industry where conducting polymers, simply put plastics with electrical properties, are in great demand for practical applications. Chemists at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea, have discovered an innovative method to form two-dimensional polyaniline (PANI) nanosheets using ice as a hard template. The product, called PANI-ICE, is reported ...

Superconductor could be realized in a broken Lorenz invariant theory

2015-07-07
Today theoretical physicists are facing the difficulty that General Relativity is not (pertubatively) renormalizable, and find that it is very hard to construct the quantum theory of gravity with LI. A possible solution is to break the LI in the ultraviolet (UV) region, so that the theory is renormalizable and unitary. However, the invariance should be recovered in the infrared (IR), so that all of the gravitational experiments in the IR can be satisfied. According to this idea, Horava proposed a Horava-Lifshitz (HL) gravity without LI [P. Horava, Phys. Rev. D 79 (2009) ...

New perturbative method of solving the gravitational N-body problem in general relativity

2015-07-07
Recent experiments have successfully tested Einstein's general theory of relativity in a variety of ways and to remarkable precision. These experiments included spacecraft Doppler tracking, planetary radar ranging, lunar and satellite laser ranging, as well as a number of dedicated gravitational experiments in space and many ground based efforts. How can computational models keep up with the ever improving accuracy of these missions? Finding a solution to the Einstein's gravitational field equations in the case of an unperturbed one-body problem is quite a simple task. ...

An improved age for Earth's latest magnetic field reversal using radiometric dating

An improved age for Earths latest magnetic field reversal using radiometric dating
2015-07-07
This news release is available in Japanese. The Earth's magnetic field periodically reverses such that the north magnetic pole becomes the south magnetic pole. The latest reversal is called by geologists the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (MBB), and occurred approximately 780,000 years ago. The MBB is extremely important for calibrating the ages of rocks and the timing of events that occurred in the geological past; however, the exact age of this event has been imprecise because of uncertainties in the dating methods that have been used. A team of researchers based in ...

Mitochondrial metagenomics: How '-omics' is saving wild bees

2015-07-07
July 6, 2015, Shenzhen, China-- Mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) database demonstrated its great value on detecting wild bees in UK farms via mitochondrial metagenomics pipeline, a new approach developed by scientists from the China National Genebank (CNGB), BGI-Shenzhen. The study published today in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution shows that, with mitogenome references, collecting wild bees, extracting their mixed DNA, and directly reading the DNA of the resultant 'bee soup' could finally make large-scale bee monitoring programmes feasible. This new research ...

Energiewende in the Alps: Switzerland's transition away from nuclear

2015-07-07
Chicago (July 7, 2015)- Switzerland has a long history of trying to be as self-sufficient and energy independent as possible. Although its energy supply system has served it well in the past, the country is now looking to turn away from its reliance on nuclear power and seeks to compensate for the energy lost from hydropower as a result of climate change. In the latest issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, Dominic Notter of Empa discusses how the country aims to address this transition, finding a new supply mix that combines energy conservation, ...

UC Davis researchers find key mechanism that causes neuropathic pain

2015-07-07
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified a key mechanism in neuropathic pain. The discovery could eventually benefit millions of patients with chronic pain from trauma, diabetes, shingles, multiple sclerosis or other conditions that cause nerve damage. A biological process called endoplasmic reticulum stress, or ER stress, is the significant driver of neuropathic pain, said lead researchers Bora Inceoglu of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Ahmed Bettaieb, Department of Nutrition. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Key nervous system components shown to influence gastrointestinal tumour growth

A food tax shift could save lives – without a price hike in the average shopping basket

Development of new candidate agent for lethal and severe cutaneous drug reaction

Teenagers and young adults who use cannabis have a higher risk of progressing to regular tobacco use

Baltic countries lead the way in supporting media freedom internationally, according to new index

New center aims to make the future of trauma survivors brighter

Research-backed defense of DEI programs published today

From sewage to super soil: Dual breakthrough in phosphorus recycling unveiled by Chinese research teams

Sustainable use of woody biochar boosts soil carbon and crop yields in pepper fields

Smart hormone technologies could help sugarcane survive droughts and floods

Updated CPR guidelines released for pediatric and neonatal emergency care and resuscitation

Psilocybin plus mindfulness shows promise for healthcare worker depression

New study documents functional extinction of two critically endangered coral species following record heatwave in Florida

UC Irvine researchers find new Alzheimer’s mechanism linked to brain inflammation

Ancient stone tools trace Paleolithic Pacific migration

New ‘molecular dam’ stops energy leaks in nanocrystals

Hidden toxins in e-cigarette fluids may harm lung cells

Ancient Mediterranean origin of the “London Underground Mosquito”

Functional extinction of Florida’s reef-building corals following the 2023 marine heatwave

Duck-billed dinosaur “mummies” preserve fleshy hide and hooves in thin layers of clay

Fatty winter snacks may trick the body into packing on the pounds

Hitchhiking DNA picked up by gene, saves a species from extinction

Cellarity publishes framework for discovery of cell state-correcting medicines in Science

Peatlands’ ‘huge reservoir’ of carbon at risk of release

Dinosaurs in New Mexico thrived until the very end, study shows

Miniscule wave machine opens big scientific doors

Sanger Institute: Origins of the ‘London Underground mosquito’ uncovered, shedding light on West Nile virus transmission

Global study reveals tempo of invasive species‘ impacts

Study uncovers origins of urban human-biting mosquito, sheds light on uptick in West Nile virus spillover from birds to humans

It’s not the pain, it’s the mindset: How attitude outweighs pain

[Press-News.org] Aspirin may delay growth of asbestos-related cancer
Findings reported by University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers could eventually improve survival for patients with an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the chest wall