(Press-News.org) Acute myeloid leukemia, a common leukemia in adults, is characterized by aberrant proliferation of cancerous bone marrow cells. Activating mutations in a protein receptor known as FLT3 receptor are among the most prevalent mutations observed in acute myeloid leukemias. FLT3 mutants are thought to activate several signaling pathways that contribute to cancer development. Dr. Daniel Tenen and colleagues from Harvard University in Boston discovered a new pathway activated by FLT3 mutation. Their results show that cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), a critical regulator of cell division is activated in FLT3 mutated leukemias, leading to the activation of downstream gene transcription. Most importantly, they demonstrate that inhibiting CDK1 activity promotes differentiation of cells from patient-derived peripheral blood samples. As clinical trials with CDK1 inhibitors are ongoing, their data strongly suggest that therapies targeting the CDK1 pathway may be efficacious for acute myeloid leukemias with FLT3 mutation, especially in patients resistant to FLT3 inhibitor therapies.
### TITLE:
Targeting CDK1 promotes FLT3-activated acute myeloid leukemia differentiation through C/EBPα
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Daniel Tenen
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
Phone: 617-735-2235; Fax: 617-735-2222; E-mail: dtenen@bidmc.harvard.edu
A new target in acute myeloid leukemia
2012-07-17
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Updated AHA/ACCF guidelines for unstable angina include newest blood-thinning drug
2012-07-17
Ticagrelor, a blood-thinning drug approved by the FDA in 2011, should be considered along with older blood thinners clopidogrel and prasugrel for treating patients who are experiencing chest pain or some heart attacks, according to joint updated guidelines issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the American College of Cardiology (ACCF) Foundation.
The "focused update" on unstable angina (chest pain) or a specific kind of heart attack known as non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is published in Circulation: Journal ...
Frail, older adults with high blood pressure may have lower risk of mortality
2012-07-17
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study suggests that higher blood pressure is associated with lower mortality in extremely frail, elderly adults.
The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association's (JAMA) Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at a nationally representative group of 2,340 adults ages 65 and older. The researchers found that lower blood pressure protected healthier, robust older adults but the same may not be true for their more frail counterparts.
Lead author Michelle Odden, a public health epidemiologist at Oregon State University, ...
Study examines patient experience at safety-net hospitals
2012-07-17
CHICAGO – A study suggests that safety-net hospitals (SNHs), which typically care for poor patients, performed more poorly than other hospitals on nearly every measure of patient experience and that could have financial consequences as hospital payments are connected to performance, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
Value-based purchasing (VBP), a program run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), now ties part of each hospital's payments to its performance on a set of quality measures. ...
Gold nanoparticles could treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy
2012-07-17
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Currently, large doses of chemotherapy are required when treating certain forms of cancer, resulting in toxic side effects. The chemicals enter the body and work to destroy or shrink the tumor, but also harm vital organs and drastically affect bodily functions. Now, University of Missouri scientists have found a more efficient way of targeting prostate tumors by using gold nanoparticles and a compound found in tea leaves. This new treatment would require doses that are thousands of times smaller than chemotherapy and do not travel through the body inflicting ...
Pioneering self-contained 'smart village' offers world model for rural poverty relief
2012-07-17
An innovative, high-tech "smart village" built in Malaysia provides a potential global template for addressing rural poverty in a sustainable environment, say international experts meeting in California's Silicon Valley.
Rimbunan Kaseh, a model community built north-east of Kuala Lumpur, consists of 100 affordable homes, high-tech educational, training and recreational facilities, and a creative, closed-loop agricultural system designed to provide both food and supplementary income for villagers.
Malaysian Dato' Tan Say Jim detailed the project Monday at a special meeting ...
Study examines health-care expenditures after bariatric surgery
2012-07-17
CHICAGO – A study suggests bariatric surgery to treat obesity was not associated with reduced health care expenditures three years after the procedure in a group of predominantly older men, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery, a JAMA Network publication.
Bariatric surgery is the most effective way to induce weight loss in the severely obese. As demand for the procedure has increased, the numbers of nonwhite, older and male patients with a greater prevalence of obesity-related diseases have increased, although the related health care expenditure ...
Study suggests racial disparities may exist in larynx preservation therapy for cancer
2012-07-17
CHICAGO – A study of laryngeal (voice box) cancers suggests that racial disparities may exist with black patients less likely to undergo larynx preservation than white patients, according to a report published by Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, a JAMA Network publication.
Annually about 12,000 cases of laryngeal cancer are diagnosed in the United States, and the standard of care historically has been total laryngectomy (removal of the voice box) followed by radiation for locally advanced cancer. However, studies have now resulted in widespread acceptance ...
Study finds increases in restrictions on indoor tanning in several countries
2012-07-17
CHICAGO – Restrictions on indoor tanning, which studies suggest is linked to skin cancer, appear to have increased in several countries since 2003, according to a study published Online First by Archives of Dermatology, a JAMA Network publication.
The number of countries with nationwide indoor tanning legislation restricting young people 18 years or younger increased from two countries (France and Brazil) in 2003 to 11 countries in 2011. The 11 countries were France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Belgium, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Brazil, according ...
New study reveals racial disparities in voice box-preserving cancer treatment
2012-07-17
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —A new epidemiological study led by UC Davis researchers reveals significant racial disparities in the use of non-surgical larynx-preservation therapy for locally advanced laryngeal cancer.
A review of medical records between 1991 and 2008 from across the country reveals that over 80 percent of white patients received radiation treatment combined with chemotherapy that preserves the larynx, or voice box. Only 74.5 percent of African American patients received this same treatment, with the remainder undergoing surgery that removed the larynx altogether, ...
Open for business: Open access journals reaching the same scientific impact as subscription journals
2012-07-17
BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine is pleased to be able to add scientific rigour to the debate about open access research, by publishing an article which compares the scientific impact of open access with traditional subscription publishing and has found that both of these publishing business models produce high quality peer reviewed articles.
The debate about who should pay for scientific publishing is of continuing importance to the scientific community but also to the general public who not only often pay for the research though charitable contributions, ...