The molecular biology of medullary thyroid carcinoma: a model for cancer development and progression
Article Abstract:
The study of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), or cancer of the innermost portion of the thyroid gland, is integral to ongoing research into the molecular abnormalities underlying the cause of cancer and the cellular changes which occur as the cancer progresses. This hereditary cancer appears in different inherited formats, each indirectly caused by chromosomal abnormalities. The research suggests that genetic mechanisms involved in the development of MTC differ from those for other inherited cancers. As the cancer progresses, abnormalities develop in the entire biochemical and physiological makeup (phenotype) of the affected endocrine cell. These abnormalities can be partially corrected in a cell culture through chemical modulation or the insertion of genes which activate cellular signaling processes. The molecular events that regulate endocrine cell differentiation can eventually be more clearly discerned as a result of these studies. Such understanding will enable the specific abnormalities that underlie the first stages and progression of MTC and related cancers to be identified, and as a result new targets for therapeutic intervention can be developed.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
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Nonblack patients with sickle cell disease have African beta gene cluster haplotypes
Article Abstract:
Sickle cell disease, which includes any of the diseases associated with the presence of hemoglobin S (the most common abnormal hemoglobin), such as sickle cell anemia, occurs almost exclusively in blacks. The blood of 18 nonblack patients with various forms of sickle cell disease was studied. The gene structure, chromosomes and demographics of the patients were included in the analysis. A review of the cases indicates, contrary to some reports, that sickle cell disease is not more severe in some nonblack populations. It is recommended, however, that all people with congenital hemolytic anemia (anemia, present from birth, causing the life span of red blood cells to be diminished) be screened for sickle cell disease, regardless of their ethnic background or physical appearance. Failure to consider the disease in nonblack anemic patients can lead to a failure to apply appropriate therapy for life-threatening complications.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
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Comparison of molecular changes in lung cancers in HIV-positive and HIV-indeterminate subjects
Article Abstract:
Alterations in microsatellite DNA appear to be common in HIV patients who have lung cancer. Microsatellite DNA are short sequences DNA that are highly repetitious. Researchers used DNA analysis to identify molecular changes in several chromosome locations that are often deleted in lung cancer in 11 HIV-positive people with lung cancer and 35 HIV-negative people with lung cancer. The frequency of microsatellite DNA alterations was 6 times higher in the HIV patients compared to the HIV-negative patients. Over 90% of the HIV patients had a microsatellite DNA alteration, compared to 48% of the HIV-negative patients.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1998
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