The Cancer Genetics Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine now offers the Cancer Exome Sequencing test, which uses next-generation sequencing to identify acquired changes in the DNA of a patient’s tumor.
“Cancer exome sequencing is poised to change the current paradigm of genetic testing for cancer patients,” said Dr. Federico Monzon, director of molecular pathology at the Cancer Genetics Laboratory at BCM. “Rather than testing a single gene or panel of genes, cancer exome sequencing will provide comprehensive profile of acquired mutations in tumor tissue.”
DNA change due to cancerous tumors
The term exome refers to the portion of the human genome that contains the DNA sequence that directs protein synthesis. These functionally important regions of DNA are referred to as exons. The 22,000 known genes are comprised of approximately 180,000 exons and represent about 3 percent of the genome.
Most errors in DNA sequence that lead to altered protein function in tumors are located in theexons; therefore, exome sequencing is an efficient method for tumor DNA sequence analysis to uncover genetic causes for tumor behavior.
Some of these acquired mutations can be used to predict tumor aggressiveness or determine the likelihood of response/resistance to targeted agents or other forms of cancer therapy.
“We are entering a new era in individualized cancer diagnosis and treatment in which molecular profiling of the cancer as well as the patient will determine the optimal therapeutic approach for a given patient,” said Dr. C. Kent Osborne, director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM.
Research for a cure for cancer is moving at a rapid pace. Labs are thinking outside the box and finding ways to kill cancer cells of one's type of cancer. . Areas of active basic cancer research in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology include tumor cell biology; the use of model systems to discover novel genes involved in carcinogenesis; tumor immunology and immunotherapeutics; and structural biology of protein targets for cancer therapeutics.
Cancer arises by a multi-step involving the accumulation of activating mutations in proto-oncogenes and inactivating mutations in tumor suppressor genes. The process is accelerated by the genetic instability of cancer cells, which is believed to result from passage through “telomere crisis.” Thus, cancer cells may contain many – perhaps hundreds – of genetic changes. One of the challenges we now face is to be able to develop a complete description of the genetic changes that have taken place in each individual tumor, so that therapies can be targeted that are specific for the tumors of each individual patient.
Tumor Genetics-Sloan Kettering
Below is a chart of Tumor Immunology
Prof. Ofer Mandelboim, IMRIC Researcher - General and Tumour Immunology - 1 of 3
Have you ever known of anyone that had tumors removed from their heart? If you haven't it is because it is not very common.
Human heart cancer
health care medicine concept with the inner human organ and red cancer
cells forming tumors spreading in the body as a malignant disease that
needs chemotherapy or heart surgery.
Classification and external resources
Heart cancer is an extremely rare form of cancer that is divided into primary tumors of the heart and secondary tumors of the heart.
Most heart tumors are benign myxomas, fibromas, rhabdomyomas, and hamartomas, although malignant sarcomas (such as angiosarcoma or cardiac sarcoma)
have been known to occur. In a study of 12,487 autopsies performed in
Hong Kong seven cardiac tumors were found, most of which were benign. According to Mayo Clinic: "At Mayo Clinic, on average only one case of heart cancer is seen each year."
Video of a removal of a cardiac tumor.
For more information go to www.mayoclinic.com or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_cancer
A Battelle scientist in was granted with 148,880 to use to test 'radiogel' for killing cancer at the University of Washington. This generous award came from the Life Sciences Discovery Fund which mission is to advance the technology
Radogel has resulted from years of research by scientists for Battelle to develop a radioactive isotope that would be injected in the body and will stay in place. Due to the fact that the injection will stay in place it will deliver a high dose of cancer-killing radiation.
"The technology could be used for solid cancers that cannot be removed
surgically and require high doses of radiation for treatment to be
successful", said Darrell Fisher, a senior scientist at Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, and the recipient of the grant for his research
for Battelle.
The radiogel includes a polymer and microspheres of the medical
isotope yttrium 90 in a water-based solution. The polymer is in liquid
form when it's injected to the cancer site, but quickly turns into a gel
at body temperature and stays in place.
The polymer binds the microspheres in place as the yttrium 90
bombards the cancer with radiation, with little of the radiation
reaching nearby healthy tissue. It has applications for cancers of the
liver, brain, head and neck, kidney and pancreas, and is showing promise
for eye tumors.
The grant will allow clinicians at the UW Department of Radiology to
perform test injections on rabbits, using ultrasound to guide the needle
to liver tumors. The technology has been licensed to Advanced Medical
Isotope of Kennewick to produce and distribute, following an option
between Battelle and AMIC announced last year.
"We expect the radiogel to become a therapeutic agent that provides
physicians with the ability to effectively treat tumors that cannot be
removed surgically or that cannot be treated by any other means," said
Robert Schenter, chief scientific officer for AMIC.
Hopefully , radiogel will prove to be very successful! What do you think about this new radiation technology?
What is an Astrocytoma brain tumor? Astrocytoma tumors are a form of glioma with star-shaped cells. Glioma is is a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine. It is called a glioma because it arises from glial cells. The most common site of gliomas is the brain.
Astrocytoma tumors often grow very slowly or not at all for long periods of time.
Therefore, close observation rather than treatment is possible in some
cases (especially ones associated with neurofibromatosis ). They may occur in many parts of the
brain, but most commonly in the cerebrum. They occur less commonly in
the spinal cord. People of all ages can develop astrocytomas, but they
are more prevalent in adults, particularly middle-aged men. Astrocytomas
in the base of the brain are more prevalent in children or younger
people and account for the majority of children’s brain tumors. In
children, most of these tumors are considered low-grade, while in adults
most are high-grade.
General symptoms of an astrocytoma tumor are
a result of growing pressure inside the skull. These symptoms include
headache, vomiting and mental status changes. Other symptoms, such as
drowsiness, lethargy, obtuseness, personality changes, disordered
conduct and impaired mental faculties show up early in about one out of
every four patients with malignant brain tumors.
In
young children, the growing pressure of an astrocytoma tumor inside the
skull may enlarge the head. Changes (such as swelling) may be observed
in the back of the eye, where the blind spot is. Usually there are no
changes in temperature, blood pressure, pulse or respiratory rates
except just before death. Seizures are more common with meningiomas, slow-growing astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas than with malignant gliomas.
Symptoms
of an astrocytoma tumor vary depending on what part of the brain (or
which glands or nerves) are affected by the tumor. Sometimes the nature
of the seizures can help determine the location of the brain tumor.
Astrocytomas are generally classified (graded) into one of three
types: Low grade astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and
glioblastomas. Low grade astrocytomas account for 10 percent of
astrocytomas. These tumors are typically slow growing and may not
require specific treatment at the time of diagnosis. Many patients with
low grade astrocytomas live for prolonged periods of time after their
diagnosis. However, these tumors often advance into the higher grades
and more rapidly growing forms of brain gliomas. Anaplastic astrocytomas
and glioblastomas are the most aggressive and, unfortunately, the most
common astrocytomas. Glioblastomas are fast growing astrocytomas that
contain areas of dead tumor cells. In adults, glioblastoma occurs most
often in the cerebrum, especially in the frontal and temporal lobes of
the brain.
Diagnosis
A
neurologic evaluation should be conducted if a patient has slowly
increasing signs of mental dysfunction, new seizures, persistent
headaches or evidence of pressure inside the skull, such as vomiting or
swelling or protrusion of the blind spot at the back of the eye.
A
neurologist (a doctor who has received special additional training in
the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the brain, spinal cord and
nerves)performs a complete examination, which may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, a computed.
Treatment Options
Treatment
options include surgery, radiation, radiosurgery, and chemotherapy. The
main goal of surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible
without injuring brain tissue needed for neurological function (such as
the ability to speak, walk, motor skills, etc.). However, high-grade
tumors often have tentacle-like structures that invade surrounding
tissues, making it more difficult to remove the entire tumor. If the
tumor cannot be completely removed, surgery can still reduce or control
tumor size. In most cases, surgeons open the skull through a craniotomy
to best access the tumor site. The goal of radiation therapy is to
selectively kill tumor cells while leaving normal brain tissue unharmed.
In standard external beam radiation therapy, multiple treatments of
standard-dose "fractions" of radiation are applied to the brain. Each
treatment induces damage to both healthy and normal tissue. By the time
the next treatment is given, most of the normal cells have repaired the
damage, but the tumor tissue has not. This process is repeated for a
total of 10 to 30 treatments, depending on the type of tumor. This
additional treatment provides some patients with improved outcomes and
longer survival rates.
Radiosurgery is a treatment method that
uses computerized calculations to focus radiation at the site of the
tumor while minimizing the radiation dose to the surrounding brain.
Radiosurgery may be an adjunct to other treatments, or it may represent
the primary treatment technique for some tumors
Patients
undergoing chemotherapy are administered special drugs designed to kill
tumor cells. Although chemotherapy may improve overall survival in
patients with the most malignant primary brain tumors, it does so in
only about 20 percent of patients. Chemotherapy is often used in young
children instead of radiation, as radiation may have negative effects on
the developing brain. The decision to prescribe this treatment is based
on a patient’s overall health, type of tumor, and extent of the cancer.
Before considering chemotherapy, you should discuss it with your
doctor, as there are many side effects.
Because traditional
treatment modalities are unlikely to result in a prolonged remission of
malignant astrocytomas, researchers are presently investigating a number
of promising new treatments including gene therapy, highly focused
radiation therapy, immunotherapy and novel chemotherapies. A number of
new treatments are being made available on an investigational basis at
centers specializing in brain tumor therapies.
Astrocytoma Explained by Dr. Mark Atlas
For more information: http://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Health-Conditions/Astrocytoma-Brain-Tumors.aspx
