Cancer Treatment Research

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Cancer Treatment Research

• The picture to the right is a picture of a
  cancerous cell. As you can see, the nucleus is
  much larger than it is supposed to be. Also, the
  organelles are misshapen.

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Study Microbeams have big impact on cancer cells
Tuesday, December 2, 2003 Posted 1214 PM EST
(1714 GMT)  LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Scientis
ts testing the effects of microbeams have
discovered that targeting just a few cells with
the futuristic beams can cause massive
destruction to other diseased cells.
Scientists at Britain's Cancer Research UK
charity have dubbed it the "bystander effect"
because the cancer cells zapped by the microbeams
not only die but send out suicide signals to
other abnormal cells, telling them to self
destruct. "We used to assume that the only way
to kill cancer cells with radiotherapy was to hit
every one of the cells in the tumor with a fatal
dose of radiation," said Dr. Kevin Prise, of the
charity's Gray Cancer Institute in southern
England, on Tuesday. "Now we're finding that it'
s possible to hit just a handful of cells with
much lower doses and let the cells' natural
suicide machinery do the rest," he added in a
statement. The findings could have important imp
lications for improving the effectiveness of
radiotherapy for cancer sufferers because hitting
just one cell with the microbeam, which launches
streams of helium ions a thousandth of a
millimeter wide, has an effect on so many other
cells.
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Continued Study Microbeams have big impact on
cancer cells
Prise and his colleagues, who reported their
findings in the journal Cancer Research, tested
microbeams in the laboratory on brain cancer
cells that were highly resistant to conventional
radiotherapy. Although they targeted the beam at
a single cell, it had an impact and triggered a
significant proportion of other cells to commit
suicide in a process known as apoptosis.
Cancer develops when abnormal cells do not self
destruct but continue dividing and form tumors.
"If we could enhance the bystander effect within
tumors, we could develop much more effective
systems of radiotherapy, perhaps using lower
doses to reduce side effects," Prise added.
"But of course it also means that even very low
doses of radiation may be doing more damage to
normal cells than we'd thought, so we'll have to
look for ways of protecting healthy tissue more
effectively." An estimated 50 percent o
f patients diagnosed with cancer would benefit
from radiotherapy, which kills cancerous cells
with tight beams or radiation aimed at specific
areas of the body.
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Continued Study Microbeams have big impact on
cancer cells
The scientists said the bystander effect is
linked to a molecule called nitric oxide which
plays a role in cell suicide. Nitric oxide seems
to be important in sending out suicide signals in
cells when they are hit by radiation.
"Making sure that there are high amounts of the
molecule produced within tumors may be essential
to optimize the bystander effect and improve
treatments," Prise said. "We also think
the mechanisms involved in the bystander effect
might be different in healthy and cancerous
tissue, so it might be possible to develop drugs
that protect normal tissue from radiotherapy
while leaving cancer cells more vulnerable," he
added.
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Summary Study Microbeams have big impact on
cancer cells
In London, England, a new cancer treatment has
been developed that could eventually be the best
radiotherapy treatment option for many people. It
uses a tight beam of radiation targeted at a few
cells in a tumor. Then, before the targeted cells
perish, the cancerous cell sends out a suicide
signal to the other cells, causing them to
self-destruct. This process, referred to as
apoptosis, makes killing the cancerous cells much
easier with a smaller dosage of radiation, and
most importantly, fewer adverse side effects.
Nitric oxide is a chemical in the cells that
cause the self-destruct signals. While the part
this chemical plays in it is unknown, this
knowledge could lead to a more efficient cancer
treatment. Because of the process, the treatment
has become known as the bystander effect. The
last problem however, is if this would be causing
damage to healthy cells. Scientist think that the
mechanisms that cause the bystander effect are
different in cancerous cells than in health ones.
Therefore, they could develop a way to protect
the healthy ones.
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5 Ws and the Implications Study Microbeams
have big impact on cancer cells
Who Scientists What Discovered a new way of
treating cancer with microbeams of radiation
When An article on it was released on December
2, 2003. Where London, England Why To make c
ancer treatment easier, physically and
financially, on patients Implications It can im
prove the effectiveness of radiotherapy for
cancer sufferers They can use lower doses,
which, in turn, would reduce the negative side
effects
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New cancer treatment
Last Updated Monday, 24 November, 2003, 1509
GMT A new treatment to stop a certain type of ca
ncer developing is being pioneered by a surgeon
in Gloucestershire. Medication is given to peopl
e with cancer of the gullet, which makes the
cancerous cells sensitive to light.
They can then be destroyed without the need to
have a major operation. Gloucester is the main c
entre of four in the UK to carry out this
procedure. The surgeon involved, Professor Hugh
Barr, said "The light floods in to the area of
the oesophagus, where it kills the unpleasant
cells. "In fact the death will occur a few hours
later and the patient will heal soon
afterwards." The only alternative to the treatme
nt would be to remove the oesophagus, a
technically-difficult operation which carries a
10 risk of death. If it is shown to be effectiv
e, it is expected that the treatment will be
adopted more widely.
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Summary New cancer treatment
In Gloucestershire, UK, a new treatment for
cancer of the gullet is being developed.
Medication is given to the patient to affect the
cancerous cells and weaken them. It also makes
them sensitive to light. Then, after the medicine
has taken effect, the doctors are able to kill
the cells without a major operation. They do this
by shining a light into the area around the
esophagus. Then the cancerous cells are
destroyed. With cancer of this kind, the only
other alternative would be to remove the
esophagus. This operation has a very high death
risk of 10. It also requires great doctors to
perform the technically-difficult operation.
Patients who have undergone such treatment take a
long time to heal, opposite of the quick healing
after the new type of treatment. Professor Hugh
Barr is leading the new treatment. He works at
one of the 4 hospitals in the UK performing this
treatment.
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5 Ws and Implications New cancer treatment
Who Professor Hugh Barr What helped discover
a new cancer treatment in the UK
When an article on it was released at the end
of November Where Gloucestershire, UK Why to
find a less invasive treatment fro cancer of the
gullet Implications If the treatment is shown t
o be effective, it will be adopted more widely.
Because of the simplicity of the
treatment, this may be less expensive than the
alternative, surgery to remove the cancerous
cells. This is a much safer treatment for
cancer of the gullet. Surgery to remove the
esophagus has a 10 risk of death.
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Scientists confect new cancer treatment
By Adam MarcusHealthScoutNews Reporter
January 30, 2002 1259 PM Opening the prospect f
or a novel frontier in cancer treatment, a new
study says snipping sugars that fringe the
outside of cells can either promote or retard
tumor growth. The finding hinges on enzymes whos
e job it is to cut sugar chains that make up the
extracellular matrix, the fuzzy tutu ringing the
cell wall that helps it interact with its
chemical environment. "Virtually all cells expres
s these sugars, and they are known to play a
fundamental role in how they process signals from
the outside," said Ram Sasisekharan, a
bioengineer at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and a co-author of the study. As a
result, he said, targeting sugars as a way to
control cancer is likely to be viable for almost
every form of the disease.
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Continued Scientist confect new cancer treatment
Moreover, matrix sugars double as the identity
cards for cells and thus help give tissues their
uniqueness. So a therapy that leverages these
molecules would be highly specific and might
avoid the system-wide toxicity that plagues most
current cancer treatments. A report on the
findings appears in the Jan. 22, 2002, issue of
the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. Sugars are the least understood member
of the triumvirate of information-bearing
molecules in the body, a group that also includes
DNA, which carries genes, and proteins, which do
a cell's heavy lifting. Whereas DNA has four
basic building blocks and proteins have 20 (the
amino acids), sugars have at least 32, giving
them the ability to combine into a numbingly vast
catalog of structures that help dictate their
function. It's no wonder, therefore, that
scientists "know very little about sugars,"
Sasisekharan said. What is clear, though, is that
sugars in the extracellular matrix are a cell's
eyes and ears. By virtue of their structure, they
provide a means for signaling molecules to do
their job. Viruses and other pathogens have
learned to exploit this structural identity by
homing in on specific sugar targets.
One matrix sugar is heparan sulfate-like
glycosaminoglycans, which the researchers
describe as a "molecular sponge" that collects
various signaling chemicals, including growth
factors, that float its way.
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Continued Scientist confect new cancer treatment
In the latest study, Sasisekharan and his
colleagues sought to learn whether they could
change the growth properties of various mouse
tumor cells by altering the structure of HSGAG.
To do so, they dosed the cells with two forms of
a family of enzymes called heparinases, Hep I and
Hep III, that cut the sugar at different places.
The addition of Hep I to cancerous tissue,
specifically melanoma and lung and prostate
tumors, encouraged growth. But Hep III markedly
retarded the formation of tumors, the researchers
say, stalling them by as much as 85 percent with
only a little of the enzyme. It also blocked the
spread of cancer cells to other sites. "We used a
fairly low amount to get that much inhibition.
That was pretty surprising to us," Sasisekharan
said. Intriguingly, the researchers found that wh
en they injected the mice with the corresponding
sugar fragments they had the same effect as the
whole enzyme. "This raises the exciting
possibility of using fragments as a potential
therapeutic drug," Sasisekharan said.
Phil Robbins, a cell biologist at Boston
University who is familiar with the new study,
called it "very nice work" that's worthy of
pursuing. However, Robbins said the researchers c
ertainly haven't found a cure for cancer, because
they were able only to slow its progression. On
the other hand, he adds, the researchers do point
the way to a "new paradigm" in cancer treatment
that might one day prove valuable.
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This is the microbeam in action. As you can see,
it almost looks as if the cell is burning up.
This is a deformed cancerous cell. As you can
see, it has lumps and indentations, a sign of a
cancerous cell.
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Math Cancer treatments could be brought up f
or discussion in math through equtions. Scientist
who study how to treat cancer first have to know
how it forms, spreads, and how quickly these
things occur. If there is an equation with
different variables such as the type of cancer,
the number of cells already cancerous, and
location, it would be easier to find where and
how high of al dosage to treat in. Another way
cancer could be discussed in math is through the
microbeam treatment. They need too know how many
molecules of helium ions to insert with the
microbeam to kill the tumor. The scientists also
want to use the lowest dosage possible to reduce
the patients side effects. All these things use
math through equations and ratios.
Science Cancer treatments can be discussed i
n science through ethics. Should animals be used
in experiment of cancer treatments? The answer to
this question is an oppinion. Right now, the
over-ruling decision is yes, but animal rights
activists all over the world are protesting this
cruelty. Another aspect is the actual research
and microscope work. Scientists have to
experiment different theories and use the
Scientific Method over and over again. They have
to know how to analyze what they see in a
cancerous cell and think of ways to reverse this.
All theese things can be discusxsed in advacnced
science classes and in lower levels.
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Works Cited
New Cancer Treatment. (2003, November 24).
Retrieved December 15, 2003 from
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/323225
4.stm Scientists Confect New Cancer Treatments.
(2002, January 30). Retrieved December 14, 2003,
from ketv-tvhealth.ip2m.com/index.cfm?PageTypeA
rticleItemActionShowItemItem_ID49477Site_Cat_
ID2 Study Microbeams Have Big Impact on Cance
r Cells. (2003, December 2). Retrieved December
14, 2003, from www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/
12/02/cancer.microbeams.reut/index.html