Harvard-M.I.T. collaborate on genome research to cure cancer

[Guest guest]

August 13, 2009 by Wade.

" Chemotherapy agents may kill off 99 percent of cells in a tumor, but the stem

cells that remain can make the cancer recur, the theory holds, or spread to

other tissues to cause new cancers. Stem cells, unlike mature cells, can

constantly renew themselves and are thought to be the source of cancers when,

through mutations in their DNA, they throw off their natural restraints.

" A practical test of this theory has been difficult because cancer stem cells

are hard to recognize and have proved elusive targets. But a team at the Broad

Institute, a Harvard-M.I.T. collaborative for genomics research, has devised a

way of screening for drugs that attack cancer stem cells but leave ordinary

cells unharmed. Cancer stem cells are hard to maintain in sufficient numbers,

but the Broad Institute team devised a genetic manipulation to keep breast

cancer stem cells trapped in the stem cell state. "

This and further information on nonstem cancer cells in a tumor can be found at

this web site:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/health/research/14cancer.html?_r=1

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July 8, 2009 by Wade:

" An antibiotic, rapamycin is already in use for suppressing the immune system in

transplant patients and for treating certain cancers. Rapamycin treatment had

the remarkable effect of extending life even though it was not started in the

right dose until the mice had lived 600 days — equivalent to a person at age 60.

Most interventions that prolong life in mice, including a very low-calorie diet,

need to be started early in life to show any effect.

" A test of two doses of resveratrol, the ingredient of red wine that is thought

to mimic the effects of caloric restriction on longevity. The results have not

been published, but Christoph Westphal, chief executive of Sirtris, a company

exploring the health effects of resveratrol and similar chemicals, said the

tests “are seeing quite modest effects of resveratrol.”

The above is quoted in part from this published article in NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/health/research/09aging.html

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June 28, 2009 by Wade in NY Times

" A new method of attacking cancer cells, developed by researchers in Australia,

has proved surprisingly effective in animal tests. The method is intended to

sidestep two major drawbacks of standard chemotherapy: the treatment’s lack of

specificity and the fact that cancer cells often develop resistance.

" H. Friend, head of cancer research at Merck until early this year, said

he had been following EnGeneIC’s work for more than a year, and praised the

company for trying a method that others had written off without trying. “I

consider the approach is remarkable and more than intriguing,” said Dr. Friend,

who is now at Sage Bionetworks in Seattle. But he warned that cancer cells are

very versatile and can “evolve around any pressure you put on them,” so that no

single approach is likely to afford a cure.

" The EnGeneIC method uses minicells to deliver a variety of agents to tumor

cells, including both anticancer toxins and mechanisms for suppressing the genes

that make tumors resistant to toxins. The minicells are generated from mutant

bacteria which, each time they divide, pinch off small bubbles of cell membrane.

The minicells can be loaded with chemicals and coated with antibodies that

direct them toward tumor cells. "

For general information, content has been abbreviated and copied from the

following website: For full disclosure, read entire article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/health/research/29drug.html

FYI,

Lottie Duthu