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

VCU Massey Cancer Center finds new biomarker that predicts breast cancer relapse

2011-05-17
(Press-News.org) Richmond, Va. (May 16, 2011) – Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have discovered a new biomarker related to the body's immune system that can predict a breast cancer patients' risk of cancer recurrence. This breakthrough may lead to new genetic testing that further personalizes breast cancer care.

The study, published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, is the first to use tumor infiltrating immune cells located at the site of the tumor to predict cancer recurrence. Using tissue samples from breast cancer patients, researchers found that a specific, five-gene signature related to tumor infiltrating immune cells can accurately predict relapse-free survival. Currently, there are two main tests used to predict the risk of relapse in breast cancer patients, the Oncotype DX panel and the MammaPrint panel. Both of these tests focus on genes that are mainly expressed by tumor cells.

"We know that the body initiates an immune response when it detects cancer, and immune system cells are usually present at the site of the tumor," says the study's lead researcher, Masoud Manjili, D.V.M., Ph.D. assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at VCU Massey. "Our test differs from currently-used tests by looking for a biological response to the presence of cancer, and not relying on genes expressed by the actual cancer cells."

Tissue specimens were collected from female breast cancer patients and maintained in the VCU Massey Cancer Center Tissue & Data Acquisition and Analysis Core (TDAAC) over the past seven years. "We studied data from 17 patients. Of these patients, we had eight that relapsed within five years and nine that have remained cancer-free up to seven years," says Manjili. The five-gene signature was found to predict relapse in these patients with over 85 percent accuracy.

Manjili and his team will next study tissue samples from a larger patient sample to further validate the findings in this study. They also intend to test their findings in a long-term study of breast cancer patients undergoing treatment.

"Our findings could lead to clinical trials that test whether using immunotherapy prior to conventional treatments in breast cancer patients with a high risk of relapse could prime the patients' immune system, much like a vaccine, to prevent the likelihood of relapse," says Manjili.

INFORMATION:

The full study results can be found online at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/n1g20u30263t1321/.

Manjili collaborated on this study with Maria Libera Ascierto, Ena Wang, M.D., Fancesco M. Marincola, Ph.D., and Yingdong Zhao, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health; and Maciej Kmieciak, Ph.D., Rose Manjili, Michael O. Idowu, M.D., M.P.H., Margaret Grimes, M.D., Catherine Dumur, Ph.D., Viswanathan Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., Xiang-Yang Wang, Ph.D., and Harry D. Bear, M.D., Ph.D., from VCU Massey Cancer Center.

News directors: Broadcast access to VCU Massey Cancer Center experts is available through VideoLink ReadyCam. ReadyCam transmits video and audio via fiber optics through a system that is routed to your newsroom. To schedule a live or taped interview, contact John Wallace, (804) 628-1550.

About VCU Massey Cancer Center

VCU Massey Cancer Center is one of only 66 National Cancer Institute-designated institutions in the country that leads and shapes America's cancer research efforts. Working with all kinds of cancers, the Center conducts basic, translational and clinical cancer research, provides state-of-the-art treatments and clinical trials, and promotes cancer prevention and education. Since 1974, Massey has served as an internationally recognized center of excellence. It has one of the largest offerings of clinical trials in Virginia and serves patients in Richmond and in four satellite locations. Its 1,000 researchers, clinicians and staff members are dedicated to improving the quality of human life by developing and delivering effective means to prevent, control and ultimately to cure cancer. Visit Massey online at www.massey.vcu.edu or call 877-4-MASSEY for more information.

About VCU and the VCU Medical Center

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 32,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Golden Riviera Online Casino Offers New Multi-Player Game

2011-05-17
Golden Riviera Online Casino has just announced the launch of its latest Multi-Player Video Slot game, No Worries. Based on a five-reel, nine-payline single player version of the game, this new adaptation of the game is sure to open up a new dimension of gaming for players. In addition to the rewards that players can win in the base game, gamers can now communicate amongst themselves with the Chat Function and compete for a Jackpot Bonus Prize, which occurs periodically. Multi-Player No Worries is an Aussie themed slot game, offering players an opportunity to interact, ...

Heads or tails?

2011-05-17
Most people don't think worms are cool. But the tiny flatworm that Northwestern University scientist Christian Petersen studies can do something very cool indeed: it can regenerate itself from nearly every imaginable injury, including decapitation. When cut in half, it becomes two worms. This amazing ability of the planarian flatworm to regenerate its entire body from a small wedge of tissue has fascinated scientists since the late 1800s. The worms can regrow any missing cell or tissue -- muscle, neurons, epidermis, eyes, even a new brain. Now Petersen and colleague ...

The incomplete art of brand imagery

The incomplete art of brand imagery
2011-05-17
CHESTNUT HILL, MA (5/16/2011) – The visual power of a brand can be the first breakthrough companies make with their customers. But efforts to artistically manipulate the typeface of a corporate logo can backfire for firms, according to a Boston College researcher. Consumers may perceive companies that use incomplete typeface logos — such as the horizontal baby blue stripes that form the letters IBM — as innovative. However, these firms run the risk of being viewed as untrustworthy, according to a report forthcoming in the July issue of the Journal of Marketing. Henrik ...

Akron, Ohio Adds RingGo Pay by Cell Phone for Parking

2011-05-17
The City of Akron, OH is launching RingGo Pay by Cell Phone service beginning May 17, 2011. In collaboration with Ampco System Parking, Akron's parking operator, the new service is available for all of the city's on street meters and its downtown parking lots. This state-of-the-art system will make paying for parking far more convenient for Akron's residents and visitors. Instead of hunting for quarters or standing in snow-covered streets to insert coins or a credit card in a meter or pay station, drivers simply dial the access phone number from their cell phones -- ...

Sandia Labs unlocks secrets of plague with stunning new imaging techniques

2011-05-17
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a super-resolution microscopy technique that is answering long-held questions about exactly how and why a cell's defenses fail against some invaders, such as plague, while successfully fending off others like E.coli. The approach is revealing never-before-seen detail of the cell membrane, which could open doors to new diagnostic, prevention and treatment techniques. "We're trying to do molecular biology with a microscope, but in order to do that, we must be able to look at things on a molecular ...

Surprising findings from studies of spontaneous brain activity

Surprising findings from studies of spontaneous brain activity
2011-05-17
New Rochelle, NY, May 16, 2011—Ongoing, intrinsic brain activity that is not task-related accounts for the majority of energy used by the human brain. This surprising finding, along with other recent discoveries about the brain and its function, structure, and organization, are described in "The Restless Brain," an Instant Online article in the groundbreaking new neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). "The Restless Brain," seven additional articles from the first issue, and a full ...

Monaco Grand Prix Package to be Won Courtesy of Purple Lounge and RakeTheRake.com

Monaco Grand Prix Package to be Won Courtesy of Purple Lounge and RakeTheRake.com
2011-05-17
To celebrate the launch of RakeTheRake's new website, there are three months of unique promotions to be won. Every week from now until the end of July 2011, there are some truly amazing prizes on offer for online poker players, all generously provided by RakeTheRake and their poker room friends. These special promotions are in addition to the regular $500k+ of monthly promotions. What's more, even players not currently tracked to RakeTheRake can enter! This week there's the chance to win an incredible two day hospitality package to the Monaco Grand Prix in May 2012 thanks ...

Ohio residents: Medical and health research important to state's economy, jobs and incomes

2011-05-17
ROOTSTOWN, Ohio—May 16, 2011—Ohioans broadly support a strong commitment to medical and health research and recognize its direct link to job creation and the state's and the nation's economy, according to a new statewide poll conducted by IBOPE Zogby for Research!America and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). A strong majority of Ohioans (86%) thinks medical and health research is important—42% say very important—to the state's economy. Eight in 10 believe spending money on scientific research is important to Ohio's economy in terms of jobs and incomes. Nine ...

A gene that fights cancer, but causes it too

A gene that fights cancer, but causes it too
2011-05-17
An international team of researchers, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital in China, say a human gene implicated in the development of leukemia also acts to prevent cancer of the liver. Writing in the May 17 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, Gen-Sheng Feng, PhD, UCSD professor of pathology, and colleagues in San Diego, Shanghai and Turin report that an enzyme produced by the human gene PTPN11 appears to help protect hepatocytes (liver cells) from toxic damage and death. Conversely, ...

First Ever Lebanese Olive Trees Enter United States

2011-05-17
Corners of Time, a gourmet Mediterranean online marketplace, announces a first of its kind collaboration between Lebanon and California. In order to insure top quality olive oil and olive oil based products for its customers, Corners of Time has brought Lebanese olive tree cuttings into the United States. They are currently USDA quarantined at Novavine, an expert olive and grape nursery located in Sonoma County. Four thousand years later, Corners of Time is completing the 16th century BC mission of its Lebanese ancestors, those adventurous Phoenician sailors who spread ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas

Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model

Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label

Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year

Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes

Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome

New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away

Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms

Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers

Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity

Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued

Unraveling the power and influence of language

Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice

TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies

Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light

Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription

Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems

Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function

Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire

Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality

Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology

'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds

Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization

New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease

Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility

Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity

[Press-News.org] VCU Massey Cancer Center finds new biomarker that predicts breast cancer relapse