An international research team led by scientists in the Center for Genetic Epidemiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has singled out mutations in 11 genes that are associated with aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
These findings come from the largest-scale prostate cancer study ever exploring the exome—that is, the key sections of the genetic code that contain the instructions to make proteins. The scientists analyzed samples from about 17,500 prostate cancer patients.
Today, oncologists customize care for certain individuals with aggressive prostate cancer with help from genetic tests. The results can inform treatment, as one class of targeted therapies has proved effective against some inherited prostate cancers. Test findings also can lead to genetic screening among patients’ family members, so they have the chance to take measures that reduce risk and to work with their doctors to be more vigilant in early detection.
The types of cancer that occur in children often are different from those in adults. Childhood cancers usually are not linked to lifestyle or environmental risk factors, as is often the case in adults. Nonetheless, cancer is the second-leading cause of death in children 1 to 14 years old, according to the American Cancer Society. Nearly 10,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2023, and about 1,000 children are expected to die of the disease.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to learn about three of the most common types of cancer in children: acute lymphocytic leukemia, neuroblastoma and pediatric brain tumors.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It’s the most common type of cancer in children, and treatments result in a good chance for a cure. Acute lymphocytic leukemia also can occur in adults, though the chance of a cure is greatly reduced.
‘They’re not announcing like, ‘We have created a model that does a particular thing.’ Instead, they’re saying ‘We are planning to create a resource that is going to be available for biologists to create new models,’ Carpenter said.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the couple’s LLC, told The Register that they plan to have their product running by 2024. The company also declined to tell the Register how much it’ll have to spend to make its product.
It could be a hefty bill, considering that the computer parts it wants to use are in high demand and low supply, The Register reported.
Pediatric specialists at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford are implementing innovative uses for immersive virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to advance patient care and improve the patient experience.
Through the hospital’s CHARIOT program, Packard Children’s is one of the only hospitals in the world to have VR available on every unit to help engage and distract patients undergoing a range of hospital procedures. Within the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center, three unique VR projects are influencing medical education for congenital heart defects, preparing patients for procedures and aiding surgeons in the operating room. And for patients and providers looking to learn more about some of the therapies offered within our Fetal and Pregnancy Health Program, a new VR simulation helps them understand the treatments at a much closer level.
Discovering And Developing Medicines To Keep You Biologically Young — Dr. Marco Quarta, Ph.D. — Co-Founder and CEO, Rubedo Life Sciences; CEO, Phaedon Institute.
Dr. Marco Quarta, Ph.D. is Co-Founder and CEO of Rubedo Life Sciences (https://www.rubedolife.com/), a biopharmaceutical company developing a broad portfolio of innovative therapies engineered to target cells which drive chronic age-related diseases. The company’s proprietary ALEMBIC™ drug discovery platform has engineered novel first-in-class small molecules designed to selectively target senescent cells, which play a key role in the progression of pulmonary, dermatological, oncological, neurodegenerative, fibrotic and other chronic disorders.
Dr. Quarta received his doctorate degree in Biotechnology from the University of Bologna and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Padua. He completed a post-doc in Aging and Stem cell Biology in the lab of Prof. Thomas Rando at Stanford University and continued his work at Stanford directing a research team at the Center for Tissue Regeneration, Repair, and Restoration at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. While there, he established a translational program in regenerative medicine. He has over 35 publications and patents in the field of aging, stem cells, regenerative medicine, and rejuvenation.
Dr. Quarta also co-founded Wetware Concepts, Young European Biotech Network (YEBN), and Turn Biotechnology, and served as an executive board member of the European Federation of Biotechnologies. He currently sits on the advisory board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Calpoly Bridge program, and the advisory board at the Center for Healthcare Innovation. He is a member of the Paul F Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Studies at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious institutions supporting the science of aging.
Dr. Quarta also serves as CEO and President for the Board of Directors of The Phaedon Institute (https://www.phaedon.institute/), a think-tank organization that operates with the mission of supporting and enabling effective and sustainable growth in the field of aging and longevity sciences.
Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, is an effective treatment option, yet many patients do not respond to it. Thus, cancer researchers are seeking new ways to optimize immunotherapy so that it is more effective for more people.
Now, Salk Institute scientists have found that manipulating an early step in energy production in mitochondria—the cell’s powerhouses—reduces melanoma tumor growth and enhances the immune response in mice.
The study, published in Science on September 21, 2023, revealed that when electrons take one of two initial routes through mitochondria, genes and proteins become activated that are needed for immune cells to recognize and kill tumor cells.
What does it take to bring life-changing medical robotic devices to reality? This is a question Dr. Gregory Fischer, founder and CEO of AiM Medical Robotics, explored in his keynote “From Concept to Commercialization: It’s not Brain Surgery, or is it?” at BIOMEDevice Boston, MA. As a researcher, professor, and lead investigator supported by federal government grants, director of a state-funded medtech accelerator, and founder of multiple medical device companies, Fischer has a unique perspective on conceptualizing, refining, and commercializing medical devices, as well as the challenges that come with each step.
Focusing on neurosurgery, he highlighted specific challenges clinicians face during procedures including an inability to leverage real-time intraoperative MR imaging for precision — surgeons must transfer a patient mid-surgery to an MRI in a separate room and sometimes even a separate building within the hospital complex — resulting in inefficient workflow and interruptions in sterility and anesthesia during transfers. Additionally, he mentioned limited compatibility with various MRI scanners, and an increased risk of human errors because of complex manual processes.
Integrating robotic assistance, he said, enhances the reachable target area and improves dexterity and precision of motion during such difficult procedures such as neurosurgery, adds enhanced feedback and virtual fixtures, reduces procedure time, and avoids ergonomic issues. An increase in intervention accuracy through inherent integration with image guidance tools, and improved diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes are also advantages of robotic assistance, according to Fischer.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The most common type of childhood cancer is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), a blood and bone marrow cancer that creates immature white blood cells that can’t perform their typical functions. Because of this, the disease worsens quickly.
Most likely to occur in early childhood, ALL is more common in boys than girls, according to the American Cancer Society. Children younger than five are at highest risk for developing ALL.
Asmaa Ferdjallah, M.D., a Mayo Clinic pediatric hematologist and oncologist, treats children of all ages with ALL. Here’s what she wants families to know about this disease:
Inflammation is generally a good response that occurs in the body when infected with a foreign pathogen. The infected area gets hot and swollen from immune cell infiltration to kill the pathogen. As soon as the pathogen is killed, the body sends signals to reduce inflammation and bring the body back to baseline or homeostasis. This acute inflammation is necessary, but when inflammation is prolonged or chronic, it can have devastating effects.
Cytokines are small proteins released by cells that help direct function and communicate between one another. During inflammation many different cytokines are released to signal immune cells to come and kill the pathogen. Additionally, once the immune cells get there, they also release cytokines to get more immune cells to the sight of infection. There becomes a positive feedback loop until the pathogen is killed, in which the cells then send anti-inflammatory cytokines to regulate the immune system. In chronic inflammation the release of inflammatory cytokines is sustained and leads to a “cytokine storm”. A “cytokine storm” is a phrase used to describe millions of different cytokines in an area with inflammatory functions. A “cytokine storm” usually leads to cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which makes a person sick. CRS can result in many different symptoms including, but not limited to, fever, fatigue, headache, and rash. In extreme cases, it can result in infection and even death.
