Scientists find gene that inhibits pancreas cancer spread

[Political Junky]

AFP: Scientists find gene that inhibits pancreas cancer spread

PARIS — Scientists have identified a gene that slows the spread of pancreatic cancer tumours, paving the way for targeted treatment of one of the deadliest forms of the disease, said a paper published Sunday.
After discovering the gene dubbed USP9X at work in a study of pancreatic cancer in mice, the international research team found it also played a role in humans.
"We looked in human tumour specimens and we found that it was missing in a fraction of patients -- the patients that did very poorly ... the people who died the fastest," researcher David Tuveson told AFP.
"Patients that had a low level of the gene expressed ... they died very quickly after their operation and the patients who at the end of their life had lots of metastasis (spreading of the cancer), they had also a very low level of this protein."
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[waltky]

Hope for diabetics & pancreatic cancer patients...

Artificial Pancreas Shows Promise in Humans
June 15, 2012 - The most common form of diabetes, type 2, occurs when the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin, which regulates sugar in the blood. The excess sugar can affect the heart and blood vessels, eyes and other organs.

Human clinical trials of an advanced artificial pancreas look promising, according to researchers, who hope the device will help insulin-dependent diabetics avoid some of the devastating complications that go along with the disease. For years, researchers have worked to develop a computerized, artificial pancreas, one that continuously measures blood sugar levels and transmits that information electronically to an insulin pump which automatically delivers the correct dose of the hormone. A large, landmark study by the National Institutes of Health showed that keeping blood glucose levels in a very narrow range can minimize or delay diabetic complications. But constant blood sugar monitoring is exhausting, and even the most diligent diabetics are at risk for serious and life-threatening complications, including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and limb amputations.

The toll diabetes takes on the body is the result of the pancreas' inability to produce insulin, the hormone that ferries glucose from food to cells. Because insulin is necessary for survival, diabetics must give themselves artificial insulin, either by injection or via an insulin pump. But it is often a guessing game: over time, too much insulin results in the dreaded complications, while too little insulin can lead to coma and death. Henry Anhalt, director of the artificial pancreas program at Animas Corporation, which developed the Hypoglycemia-Hyperglycemia Minimizer (HHM), says the artificial pancreas requires very little input from the patient. Currently, there are continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps, which operate independently of each other. Consequently, Anhalt says, they require diabetics to interpret blood sugar readings from the monitor, calculate how many carbohydrates to consume, and then program how much insulin the pump should deliver. "So let's now imagine a scenario where there is a mathematical formula that filters those glucose values through it and then makes the decisions, and commands the pump to change those insulin infusions, removing the burden from the patient to have to always be making those decisions."

Researchers tested the HHM in a group of 13 Type 1 diabetics over a 24-hour period, using a laptop to run a mathematical "filter" tailored to each patient. Anhalt says the device could eventually be operated from a smartphone, or a device integrated into the insulin pump itself. The computer anticipated when blood sugar levels would rise above or below set limits, then increased, decreased, suspended and/or resumed the infusion of insulin accordingly.

Aaron Kowalski oversees the artificial pancreas project for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He says the HHM worked especially well at regulating blood-sugar levels overnight, the riskiest time for diabetics since they might sleep through dangerous drops in their insulin levels or wake up feeling sick because blood glucose levels are too low. "The artificial pancreas we believe, and the research has shown over the last few years, could significantly improve glucose control by having a computer make some of these diabetes decisions instead of the person with diabetes and, incredibly importantly, ease some of the burden," Kowalski says. Animas Corporation unveiled its artificial pancreas system at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association this week.

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[waltky]

Gene mutations cause cancer...

Gene Study Uncovers Origins of Many Common Cancers
August 14, 2013 — Researchers in Britain have set out the first comprehensive map of mutational processes behind the development of tumors — work that should in future lead to better ways to treat and prevent a wide range of cancers.

In a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, researchers who analyzed more than 7,000 genomes, or genetic codes, of common forms of cancer uncovered 21 so-called "signatures" of processes that mutate DNA. "[This] is an important step to discovering the processes that drive cancer formation," said Serena Nik-Zainal of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute who worked on the research. "Through detailed analysis, we can start to use the overwhelming amounts of information buried deep in the DNA of cancers to our advantage in terms of understanding how and why cancers arise." All cancers are caused by mutations in DNA occurring in cells of the body during someone's lifetime.

Scientists are clear about some things, such as that chemicals in tobacco smoke cause mutations in lung cells that lead to lung cancers, or that ultraviolet light triggers mutations in skin cells that lead to skin cancers. But they have yet to figure out the biological processes that cause mutations behind most common cancers. "We're beginning to know quite a lot about what the consequences of those mutations are. But actually we have a really rudimentary understanding of what is causing the mutations in the first place," said Mike Stratton, the Sanger Institute's director and the lead researcher on this study. "And after all, the things that are causing those mutations are the causes of cancer."

Lab officer cuts DNA fragment under UV light from an agarose gel for DNA sequencing as part of research to determine genetic mutation in a blood cancer patient

The team analyzed the genetic codes of 7,042 cases of cancer in people from around the world, covering 30 different types of the disease, to see if they could find patterns, or signatures, of mutational processes. They discovered that all the cancers contained two or more signatures — a finding that shows the variety of processes that work together when a cancer develops. They also found that different cancers have different numbers of mutational processes. While two mutational processes underlie the development of ovarian cancer, there are six behind the development of liver cancer, the researchers said. And some signatures are found in multiple cancer types, while others are only found in one type. Out of the 30 cancers, 25 had signatures from mutational processes linked to aging.

In a suggestion of what might be behind many common cancers, the team also discovered that a family of enzymes called APOBECs, known to mutate DNA, was linked to more than half of the cancer types studied. APOBECs can be activated when the body is responding to a viral infection. The researchers said it may be that the resulting “signatures” are collateral damage on the human genome caused by the enzymes acting to protect cells from viruses. Stratton described the results as like uncovering the "archeological traces" of the many mutational processes that lead to most cancers. "This compendium of mutational signatures and the consequent insights into the mutational processes underlying them has profound implications for the understanding of cancer."

Gene Study Uncovers Origins of Many Common Cancers