| Natural medicine found in black raspberries found to effectively kill ...
A naturally occurring antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables selectively kills leukemia cells without harming healthy cells, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published their findings online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The findings promise an effective, nontoxic approach to treating leukemia.
"Current treatments for leukemia, such as chemotherapy and radiation, often damage healthy cells and tissues and can produce unwanted side effects for many years afterward. So, there is an intensive search for more targeted therapies for leukemia worldwide," said corresponding author Xiao-Ming Yin, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Yin and his co-workers isolated a naturally modified anthocyanidin, known as cyanidin-3-rutinoside or C-3-R, from black raspberries and observed its effects on human leukemia and lymphoma cell cultures.
Study: Nanodiamonds deliver chemo drugs
EVANSTON, Ill., Oct. 15 A U.S. study suggests nanodiamonds are effective at delivering chemotherapy drugs to cells without the side effects seen with current drug delivery agents.
The Northwestern University study is said to be the first to demonstrate the use of nanodiamonds -- a new class of nanomaterials -- in biomedicine. In addition to delivering cancer drugs, researchers said the model could be used for other applications, such as fighting tuberculosis or viral infections.
Materials currently used for drug delivery can cause inflammation, a serious complication that can predispose a patient to cancer, block the activity of cancer drugs and promote tumor growth.
"There are a lot of materials that can deliver drugs well but we need to look at what happens after drug delivery," said Northwestern Assistant Professor Dean Ho, who led the study.
Nausea during chemo may be worse with psychological problems
In spite of antiemetics, postchemotherapy side effects continue to be common and may affect compliance to cancer treatment. Among the known factors associated with increased symptom severity are: younger age, treatment toxicity, expected severity, and distress, but little is still known about the role of other factors. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of individual differences related to sensory perception for posttreatment side effects. Hundred and twenty-five women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer completed measures of absorption, autonomic perception, somatosensory amplification, trait anxiety, and expected severity at baseline. Pretreatment distress and posttreatment nausea, vomiting, and fatigue were assessed at the 1st, 4th, 6th and last cycles of chemotherapy.
Cell Therapeutics reports new drug data
ATLANTA --Biopharmaceutical company Cell Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday its investigational combination therapy to treat aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showed patients using the therapy experienced fewer severe side effects when compared with a standard therapy. At the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics reported preliminary data from its mid/late-stage study comparing newly diagnosed patients on the standard treatment with those on its investigational regimen. Both regimens include chemotherapy, steroids and other drugs. The standard regimen, also known as CHOP-R, includes a drug called doxorubicin, a type of antibiotic used in cancer chemotherapy. Cell's regimen replaces doxorubicin with pixantrone, which is designed to reduce the potential for severe heart-related side effects.
Marijuana Compound May Stop Breast Cancer From Spreading, Study Says
"Right now we have a limited range of options in treating aggressive forms of cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Sean D. McAllister, a cancer researcher at CPMCRI, in a news release. "Those treatments, such as chemotherapy, can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients. This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects." The researchers tested CBD to inhibit the activity of a gene called Id-1, which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells throughout the body, away from the original tumor site. "We know that Id-1 is a key regulator of the spread of breast cancer," said Dr. Pierre-Yves Desprez, a cancer researcher at CPMCRI and the senior author of the study, in a news release.
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