Oncology

Article Abstract:

The development of chemotherapeutic drugs for treating cancer is a mature field of research. It is concerned, to a great degree, with the optimization of techniques that are already in use. Useful cancer treatments have been developed, despite a lack of fundamental understanding of cancer itself. However, the advent of molecular biology is providing unprecedented insights into the nature of cancer. Genes have been found that cause the cancerous transformation of cells, and other genes have been identified that suppress the development of cancer. In the near future, it may be expected that these advances will be translated into actual treatments. For example, one tumor suppressor gene has been found to be located on chromosome 17. The protein synthesized by this gene, called p53, has been found to be defective or absent in some cases of a number of common cancers, including lung cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. In the laboratory, researchers have already artificially returned a healthy tumor suppressor gene to cells of colorectal cancer growing in tissue culture dishes, and the unregulated growth of the colon cancer cells was suppressed. The most important advances in cancer research are likely to be in prevention, rather than cure. A most exciting finding in this area is that retinoic acid, a close relative of vitamin A, can prevent the conversion of some premalignant conditions into cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Reports

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Oncology

Article Abstract:

Molecular technology is being used to uncover instances of genomic imprinting and to discover how they may relate to cancer development. Genomic imprinting refers to how the parental origin of a gene affects the expression of that gene. Loss of genes that regulate tumor suppression is associated with a number of childhood cancers as well as with diabetes, psoriasis and Huntington's chorea. In cases where genetic material is inherited solely from the mother or father, different diseases can develop even if the genetic mutation occurs in the same position on the same chromosome. For example, Angelman syndrome occurs when the mutation is inherited from the father but a mutation at the same site from the mother results in Prader-Willi syndrome. Evidence of genomic imprinting has also been found in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia, though this disease is not characterized by an obvious hereditary component.

Genetic aspects, Cancer genetics

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Oncology

Article Abstract:

Mutations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 are the most common abnormalities detected in many cancers. The polymerase chain reaction can detect the different mutations. A vitamin A derivative, tretinoin, causes breast and other cell types to mature normally. It may prevent tumors of the head and neck, mouth, breast and prostate. Tamoxifen, a synthetic hormone, can prevent recurrent and second primary breast cancers following mastectomy. Gene analysis can detect those at greater risk of developing colorectal cancer. Taxol, derived from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, may be effective in treating ovarian cancer. Since it is expensive, it must be produced synthetically. The first gene-therapy vaccine is now available to immunize patients against some types of advanced melanoma.

Research, Evaluation, Gene therapy, Tumor suppressor genes, Tamoxifen

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