Cancer Research

The health of the nation could be greatly improved by increasing tobacco taxation, a new report by anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has claimed.

MIT researchers have built the first sensor array that can detect single molecules emitted by a living cell. Their sensor targets hydrogen peroxide and could help scientists learn more about that molecule’s role in cancer.

Hydrogen peroxide has long been known to damage cells and their DNA, but scientists have recently uncovered evidence that points to a more beneficial role: it appears to act as a signaling molecule in a critical cell pathway that stimulates cell growth, among other functions.

When that pathway goes awry, cells can grow out of control and become cancerous, so understanding hydrogen peroxide’s role could lead to new targets for potential cancer drugs, says Michael Strano, MIT associate professor of chemical engineering and leader of the research team. Strano and his colleagues describe their new sensor array, which is made of carbon nanotubes, in the March 7 online edition of Nature Nanotechnology.

Strano’s team is also working on carbon nanotube sensors for other molecules, and within the past year has successfully tested and published sensors for nitric oxide and ATP (the molecule that carries energy within a cell).

“The list of biomolecules that we can now detect very specifically and selectively is growing rapidly,” says Strano, who also points out that the ability to detect and count single molecules sets carbon nanotubes apart from many other nanosensor platforms, including electrochemical, electromechanical cantilevers and surface acoustic wave sensors.

Nanotube array

In the new study, Strano’s team used the carbon nanotube array to study the flux of hydrogen peroxide that occurs when a common growth factor called EGF activates its target, a receptor known as EGFR, which is located on cell surfaces. For the first time, the team showed that hydrogen peroxide levels more than double when EGFR is activated.

EGF and other growth factors induce cells to grow or divide through a complex cascade of reactions inside the cell. It’s still unclear exactly how hydrogen peroxide affects this process, but Strano speculates that it may somehow amplify the EGFR signal, reinforcing the message to the cell. Because hydrogen peroxide is a small molecule that doesn’t diffuse far, the signal would be limited to the cell where it was produced.

The team also found that in skin cancer cells, believed to have overactive EGFR activity, the hydrogen peroxide flux was 10 times greater than in normal cells. Because of that dramatic difference, Strano believes this technology could be useful in building diagnostic devices for some types of cancer.

“You could envision a small handheld device, for example, which your doctor could use to assay tissue in a minimally invasive manner and tell if this pathway is corrupted,” he says.

The sensor consists of a film of carbon nanotubes embedded in collagen. Cells can grow on the collagen surface, and the collagen also attracts and traps hydrogen peroxide released by the cell. When the nanotubes come in contact with the trapped hydrogen peroxide, their fluorescence flickers.  By counting the flickers, one can obtain an accurate count of the incident single molecules.

The new sensor represents “an excellent example of the application of nanotechnology to address fundamental questions in biology,” says Ravi Kane, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Strano points out that this is the first time an array of sensors with single-molecule specificity has ever been demonstrated.  He and his colleagues derived mathematically that such an array could distinguish “near field” molecular generation from that which takes place far from the sensor surface. 

“Arrays of this type have the ability to distinguish, for example, if single molecules are coming from an enzyme located on the cell surface or from deep within the cell,” says Strano.

In future work, researchers in Strano’s lab plan to study different forms of the EGF receptor to better characterize the hydrogen peroxide flux and its role in cell signaling. They have already discovered that molecules of oxygen are consumed to generate the peroxide.

A drug for treating a group of conditions that affect the bone marrow is unlikely to be made available on the NHS in England and Wales after the body which provides independent advice on treatments said that it is unlikely to be cost-effective.

A vaccine against mesothelioma, a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, has shown early promise in its first clinical trial.

This past week, the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT received funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to become a Center for Cancer Systems Biology (CCSB). These centers are part of NCI’s Integrative Cancer Biology Program (ICBP), which is the NCI’s primary effort in cancer systems biology, a field that is rapidly seen as an essential component in the future of cancer research. 

“These centers represent a unique multidisciplinary union of outstanding scientists and clinicians who will work to unravel the complexities of cancer through the novel application of technology and mathematical modeling. Their discoveries and models will be critical to our continued success in understanding and treating this disease,” said Dan Gallahan, program director for the Integrative Cancer Biology Program.  

Douglas Lauffenburger, member of the Koch Institute and head of the Department of Biological Engineering, will be the principal investigator for the new center.

In addition to the funding received by MIT, 10 other outstanding centers nationwide will share NCI’s commitment to this area of research. Selection of MIT as part of NCI’s Integrative Cancer Biology Program underscores and reflects the Institute’s leadership within the community. These new centers and the research that evolves from them should enable scientists to gain a better understanding, and therefore better treatment and prevention, for the disease. 

“This program is part of the next generation of cancer research, in that it will approach the disease from a holistic or comprehensive viewpoint in order to understand how all of the components of the disease fit together,” said John E. Niederhuber, M.D., NCI Director.

This approach to cancer research is made possible by advances in technology and computational modeling. These centers will not only explore new insights in the areas of cancer systems biology, but will generate computational and mathematical models for application in the lab and the clinic. The centers will work closely with all aspects of the research community and rely heavily on data and insight from other prominent NCI efforts.

New guidance has been produced to help GPs identify symptoms of cervical cancer and facilitate early diagnosis of the disease in young women.

The longer older women wait for radiation treatment after undergoing surgery for breast cancer, the greater the chances of the disease coming back, an international team of scientists has warned.

Older women with suspected ovarian cancer are often not referred for investigation as quickly as younger women, new research suggests.

A drug commonly used to prevent and treat bones losing density and becoming brittle known as osteoporosis may also help reduce the risk of breast cancer by one third or more according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer today.

Hundreds of women from across the UK have joined over 20 celebrities to record a unique charity single in aid of Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. The single, due to be released in late April to mark the start of Race for Life - the UK's largest women-only fundraising series, will be sold exclusively by official Race for Life partner Tesco and available to download on iTunes, with proceeds going directly to help beat cancer.

Cancer Research UK scientists have developed a system to identify faulty or missing genes that could prevent specific chemotherapy regimes from working. This opens the doors for targeted breast cancer treatment, according to research published in the Lancet Oncology today.

Experts have urged the European Commission to ensure it focuses on public health when developing policies, rather than succumbing to pressure from the tobacco industry.

Cancer Research UK this week launches a new trial for patients with bowel cancer that has spread to the liver to see whether a new radiotherapy treatment technique is more effective than standard chemotherapy.

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have discovered why some breast cancers are resistant to the commonly used drug tamoxifen, their findings are published in Cancer Research.

A new cancer centre, launched today, puts London at the forefront of cancer research.

Cancer Research UK says that the low levels of cooking fumes found in UK kitchens are unlikely to affect people's risk of cancer, after a study suggested that frying on a gas hob may emit more cancer-causing chemicals than an electric hob.

US scientists have developed a new technique that allows them to track the progression of a person's cancer by uncovering changes in their tumour's genetic material.

Changes in the way that stem cells divide in the gut could lead to cancer, according to a new study funded by the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.

Scottish scientists have shed light on the connection between deprivation and breast cancer survival, confirming that the link is mirrored at a genetic level.

New results from a phase II clinical trial of the prostate cancer drug abiraterone suggest that it may help men with advanced disease who have tried standard treatments.