Friday, March 30, 2012
Broad-Novartis Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia - CCLE
Broad-Novartis Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia
Broad-Novartis Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE)
The Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) project is a collaboration between the Broad Institute, and the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and its Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation to conduct a detailed genetic and pharmacologic characterization of a large panel of human cancer models, to develop integrated computational analyses that link distinct pharmacologic vulnerabilities to genomic patterns and to translate cell line integrative genomics into cancer patient stratification. The CCLE provides public access analysis and visualization of DNA copy number, mRNA expression and mutation data for about 1000 cell lines.Please be aware that the CCLE is still an ongoing project and the associated data are not final nor complete. The CCLE website will also be subject to frequent changes and improvements. Please visit regularly!
This project is funded by Novartis.
News / Events
Mar 28, 2012: Due to the publication of the paper the CCLE
portal is experiencing very heavy load. Please be patient if the server
is slow in responding or try again later
Mar 1, 2012: Mutation data for 1651 genes across 909 cell lines are now available.
Cancerwise: Obesity and Cancer Risk: Our Expert Weighs In
Obesity and Cancer Risk: Our Expert Weighs In: By Jennifer Montgomery, MD Anderson Staff Writer
A new report shows that cancer death rates are still on the decline in the United States, but increasing obesity remains a concern.
The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, released March 28, notes that for more than three decades, too much weight, too little exercise and unhealthy eating habits have been second only to tobacco as preventable causes of disease and death.
Since the 1960s, the report says, tobacco use has declined by one-third, but obesity rates have doubled. According to the report, 2 in 3 adults and 1 in 3 kids are overweight or obese, which places them at risk for not only heart disease and diabetes, but also cancer. After reviewing more than 7,000 studies, the report's researchers have identified six cancers associated with being overweight or obese:
- Esophageal adenocarcinoma
- Colon and rectal cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Endometrial cancer
- Breast cancer among postmenopausal women
The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer looks at U.S. cancer numbers from 1975 and 2008. It's a collaboration of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.
Additional highlights from the report:
- Death rates from all cancers combined for men, women and children continued to decline in the United States between 2004 and 2008.
- New cancer diagnoses among men fell an average of 0.6% per year over the same period.
- New cancer diagnoses among women declined 0.5% per year from 1998 through 2006, but rates leveled off from 2006 through 2008.
- For the second consecutive year, mortality rates for lung cancer have decreased among women. Lung cancer death rates in men have been decreasing since the early 1990s.
- Breast cancer incidence rates among women declined from 1999 through 2004 and plateaued from 2004 through 2008.
- Colorectal cancer incidence rates decreased among men and women from 1999 through 2008.
- Incidence rates of some cancers, including pancreas, kidney, thyroid, liver and melanoma, increased from 1999 through 2008.
- Among racial and ethnic groups, the highest cancer incidence rates between 2004 and 2008 were among black men and white women. Cancer death rates from 2004 through 2008 were highest among black men and black women, but these groups showed the largest declines between 1999 and 2008, compared with other racial groups.
- Among children age 19 or younger, cancer incidence rates increased 0.6% per year from 2004 through 2008, while death rates decreased 1.3% per year during the same period.
science daily: New breast cancer susceptibility gene (brca)
New breast cancer susceptibility gene
"....XRCC2 may also provide a new target for chemotherapy. "A type of drug called a PARP inhibitor appears to kill tumor cells that have gene mutations in a particular DNA repair pathway. XRCC2 is in this pathway, as are BRCA1 and BRCA2. It's reasonably likely that a breast cancer patient who has a mutation in XRCC2 will respond well to treatment with PARP inhibitors," said Tavtigian......."
abstract: Histology and prevalence of ovarian tumours in postmenopausal women: Is follow-up required in all cases?, Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Histology and prevalence of ovarian tumours in postmenopausal women: Is follow-up required in all cases? Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Informa Healthcare
The objective of this study was to determine if follow-up is required for all ovarian tumours incidentally diagnosed in postmenopausal women, by studying the prevalence and histology of ovarian
tumours in postmenopausal women undergoing hysterectomy. The
histopathology of adnexa in 100 consecutive postmenopausal women who
underwent an abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
for various indications, was reviewed. A total of 200 adnexa were
examined. Ovarian
pathology was found in 62/200 (31%). Of these 34/62 (53%) were
unilocular cystic tumours, 9/62 (15%) were multilocular tumours, 11/62
(18%) were solid tumours and 8/62 (11%) were uni or multilocular with
solid elements. The prevalence of borderline tumours was 4% and that of
malignant tumours was 5%. All tumours < 2 cm were found to be benign.
All unilocular cysts < 5 cm were benign. In conclusion, a vast
majority of ovarian tumours in this group of women were benign. It may be reasonable not to follow-up women with unilocular ovarian tumours < 5 cm who have a normal CA125.
Efficacy of an Educational Material on Second Primary Cancer Screening Practice for Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of an Educational Material on Second Primary Cancer Screening Practice for Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial:
Conclusion
While the educational material was effective for increasing knowledge of SPC screening, it did not promote cancer screening practice among cancer survivors. More effective interventions are needed to increase SPC screening rates in this population.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrial.gov NCT00948337
Cancer Connect: Decoding Annie Parker - 2012 film (breast, ovarian, BRCA...)
Decoding Annie Parker:
A cancer survivor’s personal mission to educate others about genetic testing brings her story to the big screen.
The film is produced by Dorado Media and Capital and Media House Capital and initially will be presented at international film festivals before it is broadly distributed. For more information visit www.doradomedia.com.
When Anne Parker was diagnosed with first breast and, later, ovarian cancer, she knew in her heart that, as she says, “there was something more than ‘bad luck’ involved” in her diagnoses. Having lost both her mother and her sister to the disease, she had grown up in the shadow of cancer, convinced that her family shared a deadly link. As she confronted her own diagnoses, her search for answers about the role the disease played in her family became, in her words, “all-consuming and obsessive.”
In 1998 Anne underwent genetic testing and discovered that she carries the BRCA1 genetic mutation. Armed with what she considered invaluable information about the role of genetics in predicting cancer risk, she felt compelled to share her story and educate other families about the value of genetic testing. “I wanted to write about the advantages of being tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations with the hope it would inspire women who have a family history of breast cancer to be tested,” Anne says.
Propelled by the memory of her mother and sister, Anne began to write about her experiences, embarking on a project that, she hoped, would culminate in a book that could serve as a resource for families struggling with the decision about whether to undergo genetic testing. But in November 2008, a twist of fate sent Anne’s story on a different path when she was introduced to Steven Bernstein, who was looking for a new project. That initial meeting set the wheels in motion for Anne’s story to move beyond the page to the big screen: a film adaptation of her story, titled Decoding Annie Parker, will be released in late 2012.
Michael Moss, MD (who co-wrote the screenplay for the movie with Steven Bernstein and Adam Bernstein), was drawn to Anne’s story. Their script melded her personal journey with the scientific story of geneticist Mary-Claire King’s work to discover the BRCA1 and 2 genetic mutations. The result, Dr. Moss says, is a film that follows both Anne’s story, as she loses her mother and sister and confronts her own diagnosis, and also that of Dr. King, who is working to prove a genetic link to high rates of breast cancer incidence among some family members. Throughout, Dr. Moss says, the strength and the perseverance of both women shine through as they “seek to prove something that runs counter to prevailing opinion: King faces a lack of support from the medical establishment in obtaining adequate funding for her research, while Anne’s own search for answers is dismissed as pointless obsession.”
“It has been surreal,” Anne says, of the process of watching her story transformed into a screenplay and brought to life on-screen. Exposing her and her family’s story in such a public way wasn’t an easy decision, but the opportunity to inform so many people about issues related to genetic testing was too powerful to ignore. Her surviving family members, who have all been faced with the decision about whether to undergo genetic testing, stood behind her. “My family understands firsthand the emotional impact of loss,” Anne says, “and that the more people know about the genetic mutation, and about where to turn for information, the less anxious and fearful they will be.”
Steven Bernstein, who in addition to serving as one of the film’s producers is making his directorial debut with Decoding Annie Parker, says that Anne’s experience presented a unique opportunity to share a powerful story that will be relevant for a wide audience. “The film is about a great many things—as much about what sustains us as about what makes us ill,” he says, noting that it provides valuable insight into early-detection topics.
Executive producer Johnathan Brownlee agrees that the film provides an opportunity to educate the audience and says that the script is unique in another sense too: “The story has two female lead characters, which is a rarity in film today.”
For Anne, seeing her story reach so many is a “powerful privilege.” She hopes that the movie will both entertain and provoke discussions that will lead to early detection and cancer prevention. “It is my wish to arm people in a high-risk family with information that could help them either dodge the cancer bullet or at least have it diagnosed in early stages before it spreads.”
Decoding Annie Parker
Scheduled for release in late 2012, Decoding Annie Parker features an ensemble cast that includes Helen Hunt as Mary-Claire King; Samantha Morton as Annie Parker; Aaron Paul as Annie’s first husband, Paul; Alice Eve as Annie’s friend, Louise; Marley Shelton as Annie’s sister, Joan; Rashida Jones as Annie’s friend, Kim; Corey Stoll as a doctor and friend, Sean; Bradley Whitford as Annie’s second husband, Marshall; and Bob Gunton as a physician, Dr. Benton.
The film is produced by Dorado Media and Capital and Media House Capital and initially will be presented at international film festivals before it is broadly distributed. For more information visit www.doradomedia.com.
open access: PLoS ONE: March 29th Integrated Analyses of microRNAs Demonstrate Their Widespread Influence on Gene Expression in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma
PLoS ONE: Integrated Analyses of microRNAs Demonstrate Their Widespread Influence on Gene Expression in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma
Background
The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Network recently comprehensively catalogued the molecular aberrations in 487 high-grade serous ovarian cancers, with much remaining to be elucidated regarding the microRNAs (miRNAs). Here, using TCGA ovarian data, we surveyed the miRNAs, in the context of their predicted gene targets.Conclusions
This study establishes miRNAs as having a widespread impact on gene expression programs in ovarian cancer, further strengthening our understanding of miRNA biology as it applies to human cancer. As with gene transcripts, miRNAs exhibit high diversity reflecting the genomic heterogeneity within a clinically homogeneous disease population. Putative miRNA:mRNA interactions, as identified using integrative analysis, can be validated. TCGA data are a valuable resource for the identification of novel tumor suppressive miRNAs in ovarian as well as other cancers.abstract: Serum HE4 levels are less frequently elevated than CA125 in women with benign gynecologic disorders
Serum HE4 levels are less frequently elevated than CA125 in women with benign gynecologic disorders: Publication year: 2012
Objective
The human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is a novel biomarker for ovarian cancer. This study measured the HE4 and CA125 levels in women with benign gynecological disorders.
Study Design
Sera were obtained from women prior to surgery for a pelvic mass and HE4 and CA125 levels were determined. The proportions of patients with elevated biomarker levels were compared.
Results
There were 1042 women with benign disease. HE4 levels were less often elevated than CA125 (8% vs 29%) . A marked difference was observed in patients with endometriosis in which HE4 was elevated in 3% of patients and CA125 in 67% . Serous ovarian tumors were associated with elevated levels of HE4 in 8% of patients and CA125 in 20%; uterine fibroids in 8% vs 26% ; dermoids in 1% vs 21% ; and inflammatory disease in 10% vs 37% .
Conclusion
HE4 is elevated less frequently than CA125 in benign disease, particularly in premenopausal patients.
Medpage SGO news: :Combo Promising for Resistant Ovarian Cancer - in Meeting Coverage, SGO from MedPage Today
Medical News:Combo Promising for Resistant Ovarian Cancer - in Meeting Coverage, SGO from MedPage Today
"....The between-group difference increased to 4 months in the subgroup of patients whose lesions had imaging-confirmed folate-receptor expression.
Overall survival did not differ between the groups, due in part to an unusually prolonged survival in the control arm, R. Wendel Naumann, MD, said here at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting.
"This is the first clinical trial that has shown a benefit in progression-free survival over standardized therapy in a randomized trial in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, and we think it's pretty exciting," said Naumann, of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.
"We know that EC20 scanning identifies patients who will benefit most from the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and vintafolide, as well as those who will not benefit. It appears that patients in whom all lesions are folate-receptor positive benefit the most from this combination."
A phase III randomized trial of PLD plus vintafolide has already begun, he added.............
Action Points
- This study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
- Note that a compound which binds with high affinity to the folate receptor, which is expressed on the majority of epithelial ovarian cancers, and releases a cytotoxic component significantly increased progression-free survival in this phase two study.
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