Researchers are taking a new approach to measuring the repetitive DNA at the end of chromosomes. Understanding the nature of this repetitive DNA may help open new windows to understanding mechanisms fueling cancer.

Genome sequencing data once regarded as junk is now being used to gain important clues to help understand disease. The latest example comes from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – Washington University…

A study published in the January 20 advance online edition of the scientific journal Nature Geneticsfinds new genetic defects in high-risk childhood leukemia subtypes with chromosomal loss.[1] This research confirms evidence that some patients have an inherited cancer syndrome

The researchers, led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists, identified a possible lead in…

A study published in the January 20 advance online edition of the scientific journal Nature Geneticsfinds new genetic defects in high-risk childhood leukemia subtypes with chromosomal loss.[1] This research confirms evidence that some patients have an inherited cancer syndrome

The researchers, led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists, identified a possible lead in…

Whole genome sequencing — spelling out all 3 billion letters in the human genome — “is an obvious and powerful method for advancing our understanding of pancreatic cancer,” according to a new study from TGen, Mayo Clinic and Scottsdale Healthcare published today.

The Translational Genomics Research Institute/TGen demonstrated that the use of WGS “represents a compelling solution to obtaining detailed molecular information on tumor biopsies in order to provide guidance for…

Early in July, the European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product decitabine (Dacogen®), Janssen-Cilag), 50 mg, powder for concentrate for solution for infusion, intended for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia…

In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physician-scientists atUniversity Hospitals Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are studying a promising new non-invasive technology for colon cancer screening. The four-year study is recruiting patients to compare the effectiveness of stool DNA (SDNA) testing with colonoscopy for detecting large colon polyps.…

Scientists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute have demonstrated that entinostat (Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a class I benzamide histone deacetylase inhibitor also known as SNDX-275 and MS-275, has novel immunomodulatory properties that contribute to the enhanced activity of cancer immunotherapies in models of renal and prostate cancer.



Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are key enzymes that alter the…

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have solved the three-dimensional structure of a newly discovered type of gene-targeting protein that has shown to be useful as a DNA-targeting molecule for gene correction, gene therapy and gene modification. The findings are published online in Science Expresson January 5,…

Using data from the largest clinical trial to date to assess the use of hydroxyurea in pediatric patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA), researchers have provided further evidence that the therapy likely does not cause long-term genetic damage (known as genotoxicity) in young patients with SCA.



To assess whether hydroxyurea potentially causes genotoxic effects in infants with SCA, researchers analyzed patient data from the Pediatric Hydroxyurea Phase III…

Researchers have shown how estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen, the only approved hormonal therapy for premenopausal patients with this type of breast cancer. They also found that introducing a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor in hormone therapy treatment can overcome resistance to hormonal therapy.



“We always thought that resistance was primarily an inborn or genetic effect,” said Pamela N. Munster, M.D.,…

Challenging a half-century-old theory about why chemotherapy agents target cancer, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have devised a test that can predict how effective the drugs will be by determining whether a patient’s tumor cells are already “primed” for death.



In a study published online by the journal Science on October 27, 2011…

For the first time, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute have found strikingly high levels of a bacterium in colorectal cancers. The researchers believe that the bacterium may contribute to the disease and could potentially be a key to diagnosing, preventing, and treating it.



In a study published online in the…

Researchers have determined that a combination of P16 immunohistochemistry and DNA qPCR to test for viral E6 can accurately determine the oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), a form of head and neck cancer, which derive from HPV16, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a…