Combo therapies tested to overcome drug resistance in melanoma patients
About 50 to 60 percent of patients with melanoma have a mutation in the BRAF gene that drives the growth of their cancer. Most of these patients respond well to two novel agents being studied in...
View ArticleBRAF addiction of thyroid cancers makes them therapeutically vulnerable
Papillary carcinoma is the most common form of thyroid cancer. Approximately one quarter of these carcinomas have mutations in the BRAF gene. The prevalence of such mutations is even greater in...
View ArticleStudy uncovers mechanism by which melanoma drug accelerates secondary skin...
Patients with metastatic melanoma taking the recently approved drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf) responded well to the twice daily pill, but some of them developed a different, secondary skin cancer. Now,...
View ArticleScientists uncover mechanism for melanoma drug resistance
Cancer is tough to kill and has many ways of evading the drugs used by oncologists to try and eliminate it.
View ArticleSecond mutation in BRAF-mutated melanoma doesn't contribute to resistance
A second mutation found in the tumors of patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma does not contribute to resistance to BRAF inhibitor drugs, a finding that runs counter to what scientists...
View ArticleRNA regulator of melanoma could be a new target for cancer therapy
Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, estimated by the National Cancer Institute to afflict more than 70,000 people in the United States annually and the incidence rate continues to rise. In...
View ArticleDabrafenib shrinks melanoma brain metastases in phase I clinical trial
An experimental drug targeting a common mutation in melanoma successfully shrank tumors that spread to the brain in nine out of 10 patients in part of an international phase I clinical trial report in...
View ArticleResearch shows promising treatments against skin cancer
Two new experimental treatments against advanced melanoma have shown promise in keeping the deadly skin cancer at bay, according to research presented in the United States on Monday.
View ArticleASCO: Trametinib improves survival in metastatic melanoma
(HealthDay) -- For patients with metastatic melanoma with activating mutations in serine-threonine protein kinase B-RAF (BRAF), treatment with the oral selective MEK inhibitor trametinib is associated...
View ArticleUncommon BRAF mutation in melanoma sensitive to MEK inhibitor drug therapy
An uncommon mutation of the BRAF gene in melanoma patients has been found to respond to MEK inhibitor drugs, providing a rationale for routine screening and therapy in melanoma patients who harbor the...
View ArticleStudy offers clues to cause of kids' brain tumors
(Medical Xpress)—Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.
View ArticleKRAS and BRAF mutation screening in metastatic colorectal cancer costly in...
Researchers report that screening for KRAS and BRAF mutations can reduce the cost of anti-EGFR treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer but with a very small reduction in overall survival according...
View ArticleIndication of considerable added benefit of vemurafenib in advanced melanoma
Vemurafenib has been approved since February 2012 for the treatment of certain groups of adults with advanced melanoma. The drug offers major advantages in terms of survival, but also causes major side...
View ArticleNew mutations driving malignant melanoma discovered
Two new mutations that collectively occur in 71 percent of malignant melanoma tumors have been discovered in what scientists call the "dark matter" of the cancer genome, where cancer-related mutations...
View ArticleTGen professor discusses benefits of whole genome sequencing in study of...
The scientific benefits of whole genome sequencing at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will be presented at the 14th International Myeloma Workshop, April 3-7 at the Kyoto...
View ArticlePreclinical study indicates potential for novel inhibitor to overcome drug...
A new class of investigational medicines may help to treat patients with cancers driven by mutations in genes such as BRAF or KRAS/NRAS, including those patients who have become resistant to therapies...
View ArticleIntermittent treatment with vemurafenib may prevent lethal drug resistance in...
Vemurafenib-resistant tumors in patients with melanoma showed reduced growth after cessation of treatment, and in animal models, drug resistance was prevented by intermittent treatment, according to...
View ArticleNew factor to control oncogene-induced senescence
An article published on the journal Nature describes the major role that Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) —an enzyme of cellular energy metabolism— plays in the regulation of the cellular senescence...
View ArticleSome patients with treatment-resistant colorectal cancers may have a new option
A subset of colorectal cancers responds to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) therapies, but develops resistance within months. Among cancers that develop resistance to anti-EGFR...
View ArticleGene mutation may have effect on benefit of aspirin use for colorectal cancer
In two large studies, the association between aspirin use and risk of colorectal cancer was affected by mutation of the gene BRAF, with regular aspirin use associated with a lower risk of...
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