Fox Chase Cancer Center News

WASHINGTON, DC (April 10, 2013)—A common virus known to cause cervical and head and neck cancers may also trigger some cases of lung cancer, according to new research presented by Fox Chase Cancer Center at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Wednesday, April 10.

Examining tissue samples from lung cancer patients, the researchers found that nearly 6% showed signs they may have been driven by a strain of human papillomavirus (HPV) known to cause cancer.

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—A new chemotherapy regimen appears to produce minimal side effects in patients with lung cancer that has not responded to previous therapy, paving the way for additional research to determine if the new regimen also helps shrink tumors, according findings to be presented by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Tuesday, April 9.

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—Head and neck cancers typically begin in squamous cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common type of cancer in the United States, and it is sometimes preceded by the appearance of changes inside the oral cavity called precancerous lesions. The most common type of change is a white patch known as a leukoplakia.

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—A variety of mutations may give rise to breast cancer, but scientists generally assume that it starts off with just a few. That’s because later-stage breast cancers tend to have more mutations—they are more heterogeneous—than early stage cancers. Now, new findings by scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center demonstrate heterogeneity is prevalent even within legions of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the most common, earliest stage non-invasive breast cancer (stage 0).

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—Researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center have found that omega-3 fatty acids and their metabolite products slow or stop the proliferation, or growth in the number of cells, of triple-negative breast cancer cells more effectively than cells from luminal types of the disease. The omega-3s worked against all types of cancerous cells, but the effect was observed to be stronger in triple-negative cell lines, reducing proliferation by as much as 90 percent. The findings will be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Tuesday, April 9.

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—A new preclinical technology enables researchers to quickly determine if a particular treatment is effective against gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), providing a boost to animal research and possibly patient care, according to new findings presented by Fox Chase Cancer Center at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Tuesday, April 9.

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified a host of small molecules critical to metabolism in cells of triple-negative breast cancer—one of the least understood groups of breast cancer. These molecules, called metabolites, include key players in energy regulation and lipid synthesis. They could help pave the way for helping researchers differentiate among different forms of the disease and ultimately point to new targets for treatment.

WASHINGTON, DC (April 8, 2013)—Once considered part of the “junk” of our genome, much of the DNA between protein-coding genes is now known to be transcribed. New findings by scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified several dozen transcripts known as lincRNAs, or long intergenic non-coding RNAs, that are dysregulated in breast cancer.