Cancer, Cancer Treatment

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, United States have identified 26 genes that that are frequently mutated in a common and deadly form of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma. Thus the number of genes known to play a role in the deadly disease has doubled.

“Although similar, smaller cancer gene sequencing projects have been reported, our study is the largest to date and provides the statistical power to detect significantly mutated genes,” study co-author Richard Wilson, director of Washington University’s Genome Sequencing Center in St. Louis, said during a Tuesday teleconference.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Common food additives known as phosphates may help lung cancer tumors grow faster, at least in mice, South Korean researchers reported on Monday.

Their tests in mice suggest the additives — found in many soft drinks, baked goods and processed meats and cheese — may also help tumors develop in the first place.

“Our study indicates that increased intake of inorganic phosphates strongly stimulates lung cancer development in mice,” Myung-Haing Cho of Seoul National University, who led the study, said in a statement.

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The findings of a multi-institution team of researchers give key insight into genetic changes that take place in the most common form of lung cancer, lung adenocarcinoma.

Members of the Tumor Sequencing Project (TSP) consortium have successfully identified 26 genes that are frequently mutated in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. These findings more than double the number of genes previously known to be associated with the deadly disease. Beyond identification, the TSP team also detailed key pathways involved in the disease and found patterns of mutation common among different subgroups of lung cancer patients.

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- A huge study funded by the National Institutes of Health triples the number of genes linked to lung cancer and points toward new treatments.

The study analyzed DNA sequences from 623 genes in tumor samples from 188 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer.

The study turned up 26 genes mutated at high frequency in lung cancer tumors. Previously, 10 gene mutations had been linked to lung cancer — and only five of them were known to be mutated at high frequency.

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CHCIAGO, Nov. 17 — For carefully selected Asian patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib (Iressa) significantly improved progression-free survival compared with the standard carboplatin (Paraplatin) and paclitaxel (Taxol), researchers reported here.

The phase III IRESSA-Pan Asia Study (IPASS) included patients who were chemotherapy na?ve, were never smokers or light smokers with a good performance status, an adenocarcinoma histology and Stage IIIb/IV non-small-cell lung cancer. The patients were selected from centers in China, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

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