Melanoma, cancer of the melanin-producing cells typically found in skin, is very difficult to treat and often fatal. Patients tend to respond to therapies that shut down a pro-cell growth pathway by activating a bypass pathway. PLX4032 is a promising experimental new cancer drug in phase III clinical trials for treatment of melanoma. [...]
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Bisphosphonates and breast cancer
A recent article in the British Journal of Cancer indicated that women taking bisphosphonates prescribed for osteoporosis had about a 30% reduction in breast cancer occurrence. Bisphosphonates have a core molecular structure similar to a naturally occurring compound, pyrophosphate, essentially a diphosphate moiety. However, in a bisphosphonate, a carbon atom replaces an oxygen atom [...]
Cancer genomes
Two reports in the journal Nature represented the determination of the entire DNA sequence in a type of lung cancer tumor cell and in a melanoma tumor cell, respectively.
Tamoxifen, breast cancer, E-cadherin and metastasis
A recent report in Breast Cancer Research attempted to explain, at least partially, why some breast cancer patients have a higher incidence of recurrence of breast cancer than others.
New lung cancer genes
A recent report implicated two genes in lung cancer.
Predicting melanoma outcome
Melanoma is often detected on the outer skin prior to metastasis, in which case the prognosis is good. However, melanoma detected in the lymph nodes, termed stage III melanoma, has the probability of spreading, usually leading to death within five years. About 30% of patients with lymph node melanoma surpass the five year survival rate, [...]
