Mammary Cell News Volume 3.22 | Jun 9 2011

UB Played Major Role in International Study on Drug that Reduces Breast Cancer in High-Risk Women
Researchers announced that the drug exemestane significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer in high-risk, postmenopausal women is the result of an international, randomized double-blind phase III clinical trial. [Press release from the University at Buffalo (UB) discussing online prepublication in the New England Journal of Medicine]

No Tie Between PTEN and Response to Breast Cancer Drug
Contrary to what many oncologists had thought, a tumor suppressor protein known as PTEN does not reduce the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug Herceptin, according to a study. [Press release from Mayo Clinic discussing research presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology]

RXi Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive NeuVax™ (E75) Phase II Efficacy Results After 36 Months of Follow-Up
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced updated data from its Phase II clinical trial of NeuVax™. [Press release from RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation discussing research presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology]

Targeted Therapy Promising For Cancer Patients
Customizing targeted therapies to each tumor’s molecular characteristics, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach by tumor type, may be more effective for some types of cancer, according to research. [Press release from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discussing research presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology]

Breast Cancer Genomic Test Shown to Predict Patient Survival Following Adjuvant Chemotherapy
Nuvera Biosciences announced the results of a blinded validation study on its breast cancer assay for taxane chemotherapy response. [Press release from Nuvera Biosciences discussing research presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

CCL2 Recruits Inflammatory Monocytes to Facilitate Breast-Tumor Metastasis
Scientists defined the origin of the metastasis-associated macrophages by showing that Gr1-positive inflammatory monocytes are preferentially recruited to pulmonary metastases but not to primary mammary tumors in mice. [Nature]

A Function for Cyclin D1 in DNA Repair Uncovered by Protein Interactome Analyses in Human Cancers
To elucidate the molecular functions of cyclin D1 in human cancers, researchers performed a proteomic screen for cyclin D1 protein partners in several types of human tumors. [Nature]

Acidic Nuclear Phosphoprotein 32kDa (ANP32)B-Deficient Mouse Reveals a Hierarchy of ANP32 Importance in Mammalian Development
Investigators reported that ANP32B expression is associated with a poor prognosis in human breast cancer, consistent with the increased levels of Anp32b mRNA present in proliferating wild-type (WT) murine embryonic fibroblasts and stimulated WT B and T lymphocytes. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

High Phosphoantigen Levels in Bisphosphonate-Treated Human Breast Tumors Promote Vγ9Vδ2 T-Cell Chemotaxis and Cytotoxicity In Vivo
In this study scientists investigated the correlation between the anticancer activities of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and the intracellular IPP/ApppI levels in zoledronic acid-treated breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. [Cancer Res]

Tumor Microenvironment-Derived Proteins Dominate the Plasma Proteome Response During Breast Cancer Induction and Progression
Researchers employed a systems biology approach to characterize the plasma proteome response in the inducible HER2/neu mouse model of breast cancer during tumor induction, progression and regression. [Cancer Res]

Autophagy Protects Breast Cancer Cells from Epirubicin-Induced Apoptosis and Facilitates Epirubicin-Resistance Development
The study showed that epirubicin induced autophagy in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. [Autophagy]

Enhanced Metastasis Suppression by Targeting TRAIL Receptor 2 in a Murine Model of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Several metastatic, triple (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2)-negative cancer cell lines were treated with human agonistic monoclonal antibodies targeting TRAIL-R1 (mapatumumab) or TRAIL-R2 (lexatumumab). The effects on cell viability, apoptosis, and caspase-8 activation were determined. [Clin Cancer Res]

The Peptide-Hormone Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Activates cAMP and Inhibits Growth of Breast Cancer Cells
As obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with increased risk of breast cancer, investigators aimed to explore the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 and exendin-4, on breast cancer cells. [Breast Cancer Res Treat]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Exemestane for Breast-Cancer Prevention in Postmenopausal Women
Exemestane significantly reduced invasive breast cancers in postmenopausal women who were at moderately increased risk for breast cancer. [New Engl J Med]

High Independent Prognostic and Predictive Value of Circulating Tumor Cells Compared with Serum Tumor Markers in a Large Prospective Trial in First-Line Chemotherapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients
Circulating tumor cells were counted with CellSearch® at baseline, before cycle 2 and cycle 3 or 4 in 267 metastatic breast cancer patients on first-line chemotherapy with/without targeted therapy. [Ann Oncol]

Risk of Primary Non-Breast Cancer after Female Breast Cancer by Age at Diagnosis
Scientists identified 304,703 women diagnosed with breast cancer during 1943-2006 in the Cancer Registries of Denmark, Norway and Finland. Standardized incidence ratios or relative risks of subsequent non-breast cancer by age at cancer diagnosis were calculated using Poisson regression models adjusted for country, calendar period, length of follow-up and treatment. [Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev]

A Decade Dedicated to Breast Cancer Care Advocacy Garners ASCO Award for Researcher
Benjamin Anderson, M.D. is the 2011 recipient of the Partners in Progress award given by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. [Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Press Release]

APP Pharmaceuticals to Market Letrozole Tablets, USP in the U.S.
Fresenius Kabi Pharmaceuticals Holding, Inc., announced that APP Pharmaceuticals will immediately begin marketing Letrozole Tablets in the U.S., after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval to market the breast cancer treatment medication to Fresenius Kabi Oncology. [APP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release]

University of Maryland Researcher Leads National Study of Novel Approach to Treat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
A multicenter clinical trial led by a researcher at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center will evaluate a new approach to treat triple-negative breast cancer. [University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center Press Release]

Neamati Gets Funding for Breast Cancer Research
USC School of Pharmacy associate professor Nouri Neamati has been granted a two-year, $607,500 Idea Award from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Breast Cancer Research Program for his grant involving the design of GRP78 inhibitors as novel therapeutics for breast cancer. [University of Southern California (USC) Press Release]

FDA: Breast Thermography Not a Substitute for Mammography
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned women not to substitute breast thermography for mammography to screen for breast cancer. [U.S. Food and Drug Administration, United States]

National Institutes of Health (United States)

Food and Drug Administration (United States)

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)

European Medicines Agency (European Union)

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

NEW American Association for Cancer Research: Metabolism and Cancer
October 16-19, 2011
Baltimore, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the mammary cell community.

Chemist (STEMCELL Technologies) 

Research and Development Senior Technologist (STEMCELL Technologies)

Postdoctoral Fellow Position: Transcriptional/Epigenetic Gene Regulation and Breast Cancer/Stem Cell Biology (University of Cincinnati College of Medicine)

Laboratory Project Scientist (University of California, San Diego)

Senior Research Assistant (MD Anderson Cancer Center) 

Post-doctoral Research Fellow (University of Ottawa)

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