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

Moffitt researchers develop first genetic test to predict tumor sensitivity to radiation therapy

Radiation sensitivity is dependent on the anatomic location of metastatic disease

2015-07-23
(Press-News.org) TAMPA, Fla. - Recent advances in the understanding of cancer have led to more personalized therapies, such as drugs that target particular proteins and tests that analyze gene expression patterns in tumors to predict a patient's response to therapy. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have contributed to these advances by developing the first test that analyzes the sensitivity of tumors to radiation therapy. They discovered that colon cancer metastases have varying sensitivity to radiation therapy based on their anatomic location.

Researchers from Moffitt previously developed a radiation sensitivity index (RSI) that predicts how sensitive tumors are to radiation based on expression patterns of different genes. In a paper published July 15 in The International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, they used the RSI to determine the radiation sensitivity of 704 metastatic and 1362 primary colon tumors.

They discovered that metastatic colon tumors are more resistant to radiation than primary colon tumors. The researchers also report that radiation sensitivity may be dependent on the anatomic location of the tumor metastasis. This is one of the first research studies to highlight the importance of the location of the metastasis as well as the location of the original primary tumor, in predicting response to radiation therapy. The researchers confirmed some of these findings by analyzing how effective radiation therapy was in 29 colon cancer tumors that metastasized to either the liver or lung. Their findings validated that those patients who had metastatic disease in their lungs had a better response to radiation then patients who had metastatic disease in their liver, as predicted by RSI.

This study suggests that it may be possible to personalize radiation therapy for patients. "Radiation sensitivity index provides the first opportunity to use tumor genetics to guide and optimize the radiation dose that patients receive. The consequences for this can be quite dramatic. We have estimated that up to 15 percent of patients will be candidates for dose optimization," explained senior study author Javier F.Torres-Roca, MD, director of Clinical Research and associate member of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Moffitt.

The medical community has noted Moffitt's contributions to improving cancer care. According to editors of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics who highlighted the study in a commentary, "Radiation sensitivity index is important progress towards personalizing radiation therapy. The results generate important hypotheses that could dramatically influence patient care."

INFORMATION:

The research was made possible through patient samples acquired through Moffitt's Total Cancer Care® Program. Total Cancer Care is a partnership between patients, physicians and researchers. Cancer patients who consent to be a part of the program donate tissue and blood specimens and provide background information to enable physicians and researchers to study cancer development, prevention and treatment. The acquisition of large amounts of data through the Total Cancer Care Program may lead to better cancer therapies that are personalized to each patient.

The research was supported by grants and awards received from the National Institutes of Health (R21CA101355 and R21CA135620), the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the National Functional Genomics Center (170220051), the Bankhead-Coley Foundation (09BB-22), and the DeBartolo Family Personalized Medicine Institute.

About Moffitt Cancer Center Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the top-ranked cancer hospital in the Florida and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the "Best Hospitals" for cancer care since 1999. With more than 4,500 employees, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of nearly $1.6 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Novel algorithm identifies DNA copy-number landscapes in African American colon cancers

2015-07-23
An algorithm dubbed ENVE could be the Google for genetic aberrations -- and it comes from Case Western Reserve. Remember the World Wide Web before the famed search engine? The web offered extraordinary amounts of information, but no consistently reliable way to secure relevant results. Cancer researchers at Case Western Reserve encountered a comparable conundrum when considering reams of data about the body that new technological advances provide -- how could they tell what parts of the information actually offer value. In this instance, the goal was to distinguish ...

Spintronics: Molecules stabilizing magnetism

Spintronics: Molecules stabilizing magnetism
2015-07-23
This news release is available in German. Organic molecules allow producing printable electronics and solar cells with extraordinary properties. In spintronics, too, molecules open up the unexpected possibility of controlling the magnetism of materials and, thus, the spin of the flowing electrons. According to what is reported in Nature Materials by a German-French team of researchers, a thin layer of organic molecules can stabilize the magnetic orientation of a cobalt surface. (DOI: 10.1038/NMAT4361) "This special interaction between organic molecules and metal ...

Reintroduced Channel Islands eagles thrive on a diet of seabirds and fish

Reintroduced Channel Islands eagles thrive on a diet of seabirds and fish
2015-07-23
Reintroducing a species into an area where it has vanished can be a great tool for conservation, but for reintroduction to be successful it's crucial to understand how the habitat has changed in the interim and whether the reintroduced species will be able to thrive in its former home. Extirpated in the 1960s as a result of human activity, Bald Eagles (Haleiaeetus leucocephalus) have been reintroduced to California's Channel Islands over the last 35 years. A study published this week in The Condor: Ornithological Applications examined the diets of these reestablished eagles ...

Social climbing makes the English happier than Americans

2015-07-23
People who grew up in a working class family are more satisfied in later life than those from a higher class background according to new research from The University of Manchester. The study by Dr Bram Vanhoutte and Professor James Nazroo, published in the Journal of Population Ageing, also found that English people who climb the social ladder are more content and happy when they get older than people in the States who are similarly upwardly mobile. The research sought to find out whether social mobility makes people happier in later life while taking into account ...

Investigators developed a tool for more accurate interpretation of biomedical research

2015-07-23
Investigators affiliated with VIB and UGent recently achieved great success with a study involving biomedical research on mouse models. The research group of Prof Peter Vandenabeele (VIB/UGent) recently used tangible examples to demonstrate how the side effects of genetic modification of mice can complicate the interpretation of biomedical research. The team developed a web tool that allows scientists to estimate the impact of this phenomenon more accurately. Their findings were recently published in the medical journal Immunity and received ample attention by a preview ...

Mangroves help protect against sea level rise

2015-07-23
Mangrove forests could play a crucial role in protecting coastal areas from sea level rise caused by climate change, according to new research involving the University of Southampton. A joint study between researchers at the University of Southampton along with colleagues from the Universities of Auckland and Waikato in New Zealand used leading-edge mathematical simulations to study how mangrove forests respond to elevated sea levels. Taking New Zealand mangrove data as the basis of a new modelling system, the team were able to predict what will happen to different types ...

Study: Implicit bias against lesbians, gays decreasing across demographic groups

2015-07-23
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling legalizing marriage between same-sex couples in all 50 states follows on the heels of national polls showing rapid cultural changes in attitudes toward lesbian and gay people. A new University of Virginia study confirms this, showing that not only are Americans' conscious and unconscious biases against lesbian women and gay men decreasing across all demographic groups, but the trend also appears to be accelerating. "Many people have this gut feeling that our culture has changed," said lead researcher Erin Westgate, a doctoral psychology ...

Leading experts prescribe how to make cancer drugs more affordable

2015-07-23
ROCHESTER, MINN. - A group of 118 of the nation's leading cancer experts have drafted a prescription for reducing the high cost of cancer drugs and voiced support for a patient-based grassroots movement demanding action on the issue. Their recommendations and support are outlined in a commentary, co-authored by the group, in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "High cancer drug prices are affecting the care of patients with cancer and our health care system," says lead author Ayalew Tefferi, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic. "The average gross household income in ...

Research suggests retail meat is a potential vehicle for disease-causing Klebsiella

2015-07-23
WASHINGTON, DC (July 23, 2015) -- Chicken, turkey and pork sold in grocery stores harbors disease-causing bacteria known as Klebsiella pneumoniae, according to a new study. The research, which was published online today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that contaminated meat may be an important source of human exposure to Klebsiella.The U.S. food safety system has traditionally focused on a few well-known bacteria like Listeria, Salmonella and Campylobacter, which cause millions of cases of food poisoning every year. The research published today suggests ...

Researchers identify plant cultivation in a 23,000-year-old site in the Galilee

2015-07-22
The Middle East is called the "Cradle of Civilization" because it is where our hunter-gatherer ancestors first established sedentary farming communities. Recently, the traditional dating of humans' first agricultural attempt was shaken up by the discovery of the earliest-known example of plant cultivation in the Levant, 11,000 years earlier than previously accepted. The team of archaeologists, botanists, and ecologists from Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, and Harvard University published their work in the scientific journal Plos One on July ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

[Press-News.org] Moffitt researchers develop first genetic test to predict tumor sensitivity to radiation therapy
Radiation sensitivity is dependent on the anatomic location of metastatic disease