Cancer

Arginine and immunity. Popovic PJ, Zeh HJ 3rd, Ochoa JB. J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6 Suppl 2):1681S-1686S. Review. PMID: 17513447

The combination effects index (CI) analysis confirmed the synergy of clioquinol and clofibrate on inhibiting cancer cell viability. Using inhibitors to block PPARalpha signaling diminished the synergistic cytotoxicity of clioquinol and DHA. These results provide pharmacological evidence that the synergistic anticancer action of clioquinol and DHA is mediated by PPARalpha signaling in human cancer cells. PPARalpha signaling mediates the synergistic cytotoxicity of clioquinol and docosahexaenoic acid in human cancer cells. Tuller ER, Brock AL, Yu H, Lou JR, Benbrook DM, Ding WQ. Biochem Pharmacol. 2009 May 1;77(9):1480-6. Epub 2009 Feb 13. PMID: 19426685

CD40L - a multipotent molecule for tumor therapy. Loskog A, Tötterman TH. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2007 Mar;7(1):23-8. Review. PMID: 17346201

White button mushroom phytochemicals inhibit aromatase activity and breast cancer cell proliferation. Grube BJ, Eng ET, Kao YC, Kwon A, Chen S. J Nutr. 2001 Dec;131(12):3288-93. PMID: 11739882

Anti-aromatase activity of phytochemicals in white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Chen S, Oh SR, Phung S, Hur G, Ye JJ, Kwok SL, Shrode GE, Belury M, Adams LS, Williams D. Cancer Res. 2006 Dec 15;66(24):12026-34. PMID: 17178902 doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-2206

White button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) exhibits antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties and inhibits prostate tumor growth in athymic mice. Adams LS, Phung S, Wu X, Ki L, Chen S. Nutr Cancer. 2008;60(6):744-56. PMID: 19005974

Preoperative treatment with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) increases tumor tissue infiltration of seemingly activated immune cells in colorectal cancer. Lönnroth C, Andersson M, Arvidsson A, Nordgren S, Brevinge H, Lagerstedt K, Lundholm K. Cancer Immun. 2008 Feb 29;8:5. PMID: 18307280 MHC II protein (HLA-DP, -DQ, -DR) levels and infiltration by CD4+ T-helper cells of tumor stroma increased upon NSAID treatment, while CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes increased in both tumor stroma and epithelium. Molecules associated with immunosuppressive T regulatory cells (FOXP3, IL-10) were significantly decreased in indomethacin-exposed tumors. Standard oral administration of NSAID three days preoperatively was enough to increase tumor infiltration by seemingly activated immune cells. These findings agree with previous information that high pr

Multiple roles for CD4+ T cells in anti-tumor immune responses. Kennedy R, Celis E. Immunol Rev. 2008 Apr;222:129-44. Review. PMID: 18363998 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.2008.00616.x

The inflammatory Th 17 subset in immunity against self and non-self antigens. Jin D, Zhang L, Zheng J, Zhao Y. Autoimmunity. 2008 Mar;41(2):154-62. Review. PMID: 18324485 DOI: 10.1080/08916930701776605

Interleukin 2-mediated conversion of ovarian cancer-associated CD4+ regulatory T cells into proinflammatory interleukin 17-producing helper T cells. Leveque L, Deknuydt F, Bioley G, Old LJ, Matsuzaki J, Odunsi K, Ayyoub M, Valmori D. J Immunother. 2009 Feb-Mar;32(2):101-8. PMID: 19238008 doi: 10.1097/CJI.0b013e318195b59e Thus, although the impact of TH17 cells on the evolution of EOC remains to be established, our data suggest that local IL-2 treatment in ovarian cancer may result in the conversion of tumor-associated Treg into TH17 cells, relieve Treg-mediated suppression, and contribute to enhance antitumor immunity.

T-helper/T-regulator lymphocyte ratio as a new immunobiological index to quantify the anticancer immune status in cancer patients. Brivio F, Fumagalli L, Parolini D, Messina G, Rovelli F, Rescaldani R, Vigore L, Vezzo R, Vaghi M, Di Bella S, Lissoni P. In Vivo. 2008 Sep-Oct;22(5):647-50. PMID: 18853761 RESULTS: The mean TH/TR ratio observed in patients with metasytases was significantly lower with respect to that found in both patients without metastases and controls. On the contrary, the absolute mean number of T-reg cells was higher in patients with metastases than in those without, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The evaluation of T-reg cells in terms of their proportion with respect to T-helper cell total number seems to be more appropriate than the simple measurement of their absolute count, in order to quantify cancer-related immunosuppression. Thus, the TH/TR ratio could represent a useful biological marker to explore the immune status of cancer patients.

Cancer immunology is the study of interactions between the immune system and cancer cells (also called tumors or malignancies). It is also a growing field of research that aims to discover innovative cancer immunotherapies to treat and retard progression of this disease. The immune response, including the recognition of cancer-specific antigens is of particular interest in this field as knowledge gained drives the development of new vaccines and antibody therapies. For instance in 2007, Ohtani published a paper finding tumour infiltrating lymphocytes to be quite significant in human colorectal cancer.[1] The host was given a better chance at survival if the cancer tissue showed infiltration of inflammatory cells, in particular lymphocytic reactions. The results yielded suggest some extent of anti-tumour immunity is present in colorectal cancers in humans.

Maté: a risk factor for oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Goldenberg D. Oral Oncol. 2002 Oct;38(7):646-9. Review. PMID: 12167417

The beverage maté: a risk factor for cancer of the head and neck. Goldenberg D, Golz A, Joachims HZ. Head Neck. 2003 Jul;25(7):595-601. Review. PMID: 12808663 DOI: 10.1002/hed.10288

Scientists have developed the first "personalised" drug shown to be effective against advanced melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer which is on the rise in Britain. Warnings about the risks of melanoma were heightened this weekend as the fine weather drew thousands to sunbathe outdoors, putting them at increased risk. "Binge tanning", where sunbathers allow their skin to burn in their eagerness to get a tan, is a key cause of the cancer. Melanoma, which starts as a blemish or change to a mole on the skin, is treatable in its early stages but once it has spread to other organs such as the lungs and liver there are no treatment options. Patients with melanoma that has spread usually die within months

What if we didn't try to cure cancer, but simply kept tumors from growing too big? That's what radiologist Robert Gatenby of the Moffitt Cancer Center proposes this week in the journal Nature. Gatenby argues that high doses of powerful chemotherapies wreak havoc on a patient's immune system and foster the rapid regrowth of chemoresistant cancers that doctors have no hope of fighting.  So instead of curing cancer, he suggests doctors aim to stabilize the tumor at a tolerable size. In practice, this would mean that doctors identify a target size for an individual tumor that gives the patient the best quality of life.  Then, they will regularly monitor the tumor's growth with medical imaging equipment like a PET/CT scanner (see photo), and regulate doses of anticancer drugs to maintain it at a precise volume.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Restricting carbohydrates, regardless of weight loss, appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors, according to an animal study being published this week by researchers in the Duke Prostate Center. "Previous work here and elsewhere has shown that a diet light in carbohydrates could slow tumor growth, but the animals in those studies also lost weight, and because we know that weight loss can restrict the amount of energy feeding tumors, we weren't able to tell just how big an impact the pure carbohydrate restriction was having, until now," said Stephen Freedland, M.D., a urologist in the Duke Prostate Center and lead investigator on this study. The researchers believe that insulin and insulin-like growth factor contribute to the growth and proliferation of prostate cancer, and that a diet devoid of carbohydrates lowers serum insulin levels in the bodies of the mice, thereby slowing tumor growth, Freedland said.

BioVex Inc, a company developing new generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, announced that updated survival data from its Phase II study in metastatic melanoma will be presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, taking place from May 29, 2009 - June 2, 2009 in Orlando, F

BioVex Inc, a company developing next generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, announced that the results from a Phase I/II combination study in previously untreated patients with head and neck cancer will be presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which will take place May 29, 2009 - June 2, 2009 in Orlando, FL.