Stand Up To Cancer

In a landmark ruling, this week federal judge Robert Sweet overturned a company's BRCA1 and BRCA2 cancer gene patents, making the argument that genes cannot legally be patented because they're natural. Thousands of patients have been granted on human genes already, but eliminating them could greatly accelerate biotech innovation, this Forbes article explains: "In the shorter term, gene sequencing will help diagnose rare genetic diseases in people with unexplained symptoms and help oncologists devise personalized cancer treatments."
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/31/gene-patent-myriad-business-healthcare-dna-biotech.html

Does the phrase "circulating tumor cells" sound familiar to you? (Hopefully it does . . . cough cough.) New research reinforces the promise of studying CTCs, whose presence in a patient's bloodstream could act as a tip-off to doctors that their cancer is on the verge of spreading. In a study out of Boston, researchers used a microchip to capture and store images of CTCs; the breakthrough could eventually be used to monitor patients after surgery, or even guide treatment. "We're very interested in these cells because we believe these are the ones that are going to give us the most insight into cancer biology as well as cues to how cancer metastasizes," said lead author Shannon Stott.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10260017

In less cheerful news, research out of Canada indicates that work-related exposure to chemicals and pollutants before a woman hits her mid-30s may greatly increase her risk of getting breast cancer after menopause. In a study of 556 women diagnosed with breast cancer between ages 50 and 75, compared with a control group of 613 breast-cancer-free women of the same age, researchers found a link between breast cancer and occupational exposure to several substances: acrylic fibers, nylon fibers, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are found in petroleum products.
http://www.usnews.com/health/family-health/cancer/articles/2010/04/01/workplace-chemicals-may-boost-breast-cancer-risk.html

I never thought I'd be typing the word "buckyballs" in one of these entries, but there it is: buckyballs. They're soccer-ball-shaped molecular cages that deliver drugs or radioactive particles to attack diseases including cancer; now scientists have found that the buckyballs can put human skin cells into suspended animation, which could lead to new treatments against cancer, Parkinson's and even Alzheimer's. (For extra fun, check out the video at the end of the article, which demonstrates how to make your own model buckyball out of ice cream cones.)
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/buckyballs-could-put-fast-spreading-cancer-cells-suspended-animation

Finally, some food-related news: a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that people who get a lot of Vitamin K may have a lower risk of developing or dying from lung and prostate cancers. It's the first study to look at Vitamin K intake and cancer risk, so more research is definitely needed, but what we know for now is that Vitamin K2, for which meat and cheese are the primary dietary sources, appears to be the cancer-fighter. It's not often that I hear good news about eating cheese, so I'll definitely be following this research as it continues.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62U4VO20100331

That's all for this week, but check back next Thursday for more news you can use!