Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Mechanisms of Tumor Growth

Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center have identified an inherent feature of stem and progenitor cells that may promote initiation and progression of malignant tumors.

As per a research findings published in the recent issue of Cancer Cell, the team showed that stem and progenitor cells are susceptible to a specific error during cell division that can result in severe chromosomal defects. This susceptibility may explain how a tumor-initiating cell, also known as a cancer stem cell, arises from a normal cell. It may also explain how a cancer stem cell acquires additional mutations that increase tumor malignancy.

According to Timothy Bestor, Ph.D., and Marc Damelin, Ph.D., of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, understanding the nature of cancer stem cells could result in new therapies that specifically target those cells, which are thought to be the driving force of tumor progression.

The process of cell division is closely monitored by the cell, because a mistake can result in a cancer-causing chromosome abnormalities. Typically during cell division, cells monitor quality control with a series of checkpoints. One such checkpoint confirms that the cell's chromosomes have been disentangled before they are to be pulled apart in mitosis, to ensure that the chromosomes will be separated appropriately.

The Columbia scientists found, however, that stem and progenitor cells are deficient in this checkpoint and will divide even if the chromosomes are entangled. All three cell types tested by the scientists - mouse embryonic stem cells, mouse neural progenitor cells, and human bone marrow progenitor cells - attempted cell division with entangled chromosomes. The scientists think it likely that cancer stem cells, which closely resemble normal stem cells, have the same deficiency.

"The failure to untangle before dividing undoubtedly will lead to chromosomal defects," said Dr. Bestor, professor of genetics and development and the study's principal investigator. "Surviving cells may end up with too a number of chromosomes, they may lose chromosomes, or some chromosomes may get rearranged." These same types of chromosomal defects are the hallmark of cancer cells, and there are chromosomal abnormalities in all types of cancer.

"We may have found how a stem cell without any pre-existing mutation can become a cancer stem cell," said Dr. Damelin, a CUMC postdoctoral fellow of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and the lead author on the study.

The research also points to potential obstacles involved with stem cell therapies. In the lab, stem cells are pushed to divide a number of times more than they normally would divide in an organism. The more stem cells divide, the more likely they are to acquire abnormal chromosome constitutions. Further research will be necessary to understand and address these risks.

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders in health care and includes the dedicated work of a number of physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center scientists are leading the discovery of novel therapies and advances to address a wide range of health conditions. http://www.cumc.columbia.edu.


Source: Columbia University Medical Center

Did you know?
Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center have identified an inherent feature of stem and progenitor cells that may promote initiation and progression of malignant tumors. As per a research findings published in the recent issue of Cancer Cell, the team showed that stem and progenitor cells are susceptible to a specific error during cell division that can result in severe chromosomal defects. This susceptibility may explain how a tumor-initiating cell, also known as a cancer stem cell, arises from a normal cell. It may also explain how a cancer stem cell acquires additional mutations that increase tumor malignancy.