Cancer Research Journal » Eye Cancer

Researchers Identify Cell Responsible for Retinoblastoma

Lisa — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:00:04 +0000

A study conducted at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital has identified mature nerve cells which can cause retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer that normally strikes children under three years of age.

The St Jude research team, led by Michael Dyer, PhD, arrived at their discovery by testing different populations of mice whose retinas lacked one or more of the Rb family of genes. Their microscopic and biochemical studies proved that when a mouse retina had reduced Rb-related function, fully differentiated cells could aggressively multiply, form tumors, and spread.

Until this discovery, scientists generally believed that fully matured nerves known as horizontal interneurons could not multiply like immature, undifferentiated cells.

While this finding is undoubtedly important for retinoblastoma research, it also has important implications for scientists involved in stem cell studies and investigations into neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. As the report’s senior author explained,

“For the past 100 years, it’s been ingrained among scientists that differentiated mature nerves are so elaborate that they can’t divide, and if they try to divide, they undergo apoptosis. There was no exception to this rule until now. This is the first time that anyone has shown that under certain conditions, a fully mature and differentiated nerve can undergo cell division and multiply.”

Michael A. Dyer, PhD
Department of Developmental Neurobiology
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Results of the research are published in the Oct 19, 2007, edition of the journal Cell.

Source: St Jude Children’s Research Hospital News

Tags: NIH; NARSAD; ALSAC; Pew Scholar; University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis; University of Memphis ; leukocoria; Research to Prevent Blindness; Pearle Vision Foundation; The International Retinal Research Foundation; The Whitehall Foundation

Duke’s Drug Combo Could Treat a Resistant Melanoma

Lisa — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:05:22 +0000

Researchers at Duke University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center have come up with a drug combination which may provide an effective treatment option for metastatic uveal melanoma, a rare and therapy-resistant form of cancer that originates in the colored part of the eye and spreads to other organs.

The team’s promising drug duo consists of decitabine and interferon gamma which, when used together, appear to cause cancer cell death. Pre-clinical study results using human cell lines from uveal melanoma patients indicated decitabine activated a specific gene known as S100A2 increasing the cancer’s sensitivity to interferon gamma, an immunity boosting protein.

Currently, uveal melanoma can be treated with radiation or removal of the eye if it is detected early enough but, it’s often unresponsive to chemotherapy or other standard treatment regimens once it spreads. After that occurs, a patient’s life expectancy averages six to ten months according to Jared Gollob, MD, a medical oncologist and lead investigator at Duke.

Metastatic uveal melanoma strikes between five and ten thousand Americans each year. Unlike more common forms of melanoma which affect the skin, no proven risk factors or effective treatment options have been identified for the disease.

Findings from this study are published in the September 1, 2007, issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Source: DukeMed News

Related Video: An Alternative Treatment for Eye Cancer from UW Health

Spanish Link: El melanoma intraocular from NCI

Tags: ocular melanoma; rare cancers; Catherine Sciambi; enucleation; Duke University Health System; ophthalmology; Dacogen

Pacific Northwest Prepares for First Proton Therapy Center

Lisa — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 13:11:53 +0000

The Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) has announced plans to open a 22 million dollar Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBRT) treatment facility which will be the first one of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

PBRT is designed to target tumors that are in close proximity to critical body structures. It is currently used to treat cancers of the brain, breast, esophagus, eye, prostate, spine, head and neck, but it is not available in many regions. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 20 PBRT centers are in operation around the world and only a few of those facilities are located in the United States.

Executives from SCI have already contracted with Still River Systems of Littleton, Massachusetts, to purchase their latest generation of PBRT equipment, marketed under the trade name Clinatron 250. Partnership plans are also underway with other suburban Seattle hospitals, including the Providence Everett Medical Center, to give future cancer patients and healthcare providers improved access to the new–and expensive–technology. According to Cal Knight, Swedish’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,

“There is no need for multiple institutions to invest in duplicate medical technology if we can share it effectively for the benefit of all patients in the Pacific Northwest.”

Still River Systems, Inc, is still in the process of obtaining marketing clearance for the Clinatron 250 from the US Food and Drug Administration, but SCI executives are optimistic and have tentatively projected a December 2010 target date to begin patient treatments with the new PBRT system.

Source: Swedish Cancer Institute

Tags: radiology; Puget Sound; Washington; CMS, Inc; radiosurgery

Five Year Old Eye Cancer Survivor Excels At Golf

dc — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:31:23 +0000

CBS News offers this story about five-year-old eye cancer survivor Kyle Lograsso and his special talent for golf.

YouTube Enclosure

The HBO series Real Sports also ran a story on Kyle this month.

Tags: retinoblastoma

Avastin Improves Prognosis for Patients with Radiation Retinopathy

Lisa — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:15:05 +0000

According to a two-year study published in the June 2007 edition of Archives of Ophthamology, many patients facing the prospect of blindness due to radiation retinopathy may get to keep their sight longer by using a localized treatment of the well known cancer drug Avastin. Dr Paul T. Finger, Director of Ocular Tumor Services at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and lead author of the study stated, “This is a major breakthrough for cancer patients who are treated with radiation therapy and commonly develop radiation retinopathy.” Until this discovery, eye cancer patients who experienced macular radiation retinopathy as a result of receiving radiation therapy had no effective course of treatment available to them. In an earlier study published in The American Journal of Ophthamology, Dr Finger showed Avastin had similiar results in patients with radiation optic neuropathy.

Source: Medical News Today