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Melanoma treatment options 1 step closer
October 21, 2009A targeted chemotherapy for the treatment of skin cancer is one step closer, after a team of University of Alberta researchers successfully synthesized a natural substance that shows exceptional potential to specifically treat this often fatal disease.
U of A chemistry professor Dennis Hall said after three years of work, his research team has successfully produced the substance called Palmerolide A.
"The potency of palmerolide is exceptional and melanoma is a very aggressive cancer for which there is almost no chemotherapeutic recourse," said Hall. "Natural substances like palmerolide offer real hope for such treatments.
"Current chemotherapy as an overall strategy is not very effective in treating melanoma. Less than a quarter of patients respond to chemotherapy and it typically only works for less than a year, and it has little to no effect on survival time. Palmerolide A as a targeted therapy may prove to be more effective [for treatment] with less toxicity," said Hall.
"One of the problems with most cancer drugs is the lack of selectivity for cancer cells versus normal cells. Preliminary data for Palmerolide A looks very promising in terms of solving this issue," he said.
"For commercialization, the structure needs to be made more 'drug-like;' smaller and more water-soluble, while preserving the potency," said Hall, who is optimistic that his U of A team is moving forward in the race to develop a treatment for melanoma.
University of Alberta
"Current chemotherapy as an overall strategy is not very effective in treating melanoma. Less than a quarter of patients respond to chemotherapy and it typically only works for less than a year, and it has little to no effect on survival time. Palmerolide A as a targeted therapy may prove to be more effective [for treatment] with less toxicity," said Hall.
"One of the problems with most cancer drugs is the lack of selectivity for cancer cells versus normal cells. Preliminary data for Palmerolide A looks very promising in terms of solving this issue," he said.
"For commercialization, the structure needs to be made more 'drug-like;' smaller and more water-soluble, while preserving the potency," said Hall, who is optimistic that his U of A team is moving forward in the race to develop a treatment for melanoma.
University of Alberta
Melanoma Current Events and Melanoma News RSSLaser therapy can aggravate skin cancer
High irradiances of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) should not be used over melanomas.
Quarter of a million children in England at risk of skin cancer from sunbeds
An estimated quarter of a million 11-17 year olds in England are being put at increased risk of developing malignant melanoma by using sunbeds, warn researchers in a letter to this week's BMJ.
Hundreds of genes distinguish patients likely to survive advanced melanoma
Although the chances of surviving advanced melanoma aren't very good with current therapies, some patients can live for years with cancer that has spread beyond the skin to other organs.
New Notre Dame study provides insights into the molecular basis of tumor cell behavior
A new study by a team of researchers led by Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, sheds light on the molecular basis by which tumor cells modulate their surroundings to favor cancer progression.
Switching immunosuppressants reduces cancer risk in kidney
Switching to a newer type of immunosuppressant drug may reduce the high rate of skin cancer after kidney transplantation, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.
Cancer survivors may not be getting the help they need to stop smoking
More than a quarter of cancer survivors who still smoke have not been advised to quit smoking by their health care providers in the last year, according to a study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Resident physicians seldom trained in skin cancer examination
Many resident physicians are not trained in skin cancer examinations, nor have they ever observed or practiced the procedure.
New findings on the formation of body pigment
The skin's pigment cells can be formed from completely different cells than has hitherto been thought, a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows. The results, which are published in the journal Cell, also mean the discovery of a new kind of stem cell.
Studying cancer in pet dogs to find new treatments for human patients
A team of scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, USA, says that studying pet dogs with cancer could yield valuable information on how to diagnose and treat human cancers.
NEDD9 Protein Supports Growth of Aggressive Breast Cancer
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that a protein called NEDD9 may be required for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to grow. Their findings, based on the study of a mouse model of breast cancer, are presented in a recent issue of Cancer Research, available on-line now.
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