Activated immune cells indicate a favorable prognosis in colorectal cancer
When cytotoxic T cells (“killer cells”) are activated, they produce a protein called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) that helps mediate immune responses. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and Dresden University Hospitals have now linked rising levels of TNF alpha in tumor tissue to increasing numbers of activated killer cells that specifically recognize the tumor and are capable of fighting it. High levels of TNF alpha in a tumor prove to be an independent prognostic indicator for a favorable course of the disease.
Oxidative stress: Alternative utilization of glucose ensures survival of the cell
Oxidative stress in the cell blocks the normal sugar metabolism. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) have now found out that this long known interruption of the normal sugar metabolism under stress conditions is not an uncontrolled disruption. On the contrary, it is vital for the survival of the cells. It is based on a highly specific mechanism that formed early during evolution and can even be found in bacteria. Cancer cells may particularly benefit from this mechanism.
A meager supply from the bone marrow: Macrophages in tissues (mostly) renew themselves
Most cells in the blood arise from stem cells in the bone marrow. Exceptions are macrophages, a type of phagocytic cell that forms part of the immune system. In a collaboration between the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and King’s College in London, scientists have discovered that most macrophages originate in the yolk sac, a type of embryonic tissue. Progenitors of macrophages migrate from the yolk sac to various tissues where they settle and renew themselves. Additional macrophages from the bone marrow are only supplied in the case of inflammations or other pathogenic processes. These findings shed new light on these immune cells, which were discovered 150 years ago, but whose origin and development have been poorly understood. The findings were just published in the journal “Nature”.
Blood vessel lining cells control metastasis
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and from the Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University paved the way for an innovative combination therapy against metastases: They treated mice with a combination of a low-dose metronomic chemotherapy and an antibody against Ang-2, a regulatory protein of the blood vessel lining cells. The treated animals had significantly less metastases in the lungs and in the bone and survived longer than untreated control mice.
The direct way from MRI to radiation treatment
For the first time this year, the Roland Ernst Foundation for Medical Research awards a €5000 prize for interdisciplinary radiological research. The award will be presented to scientists from the Research Program “Imaging and Radiooncology“ of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) for an excellent cross-departmental project.
ERC Starting Grant for Lena Maier-Hein
The European Research Council (ERC) awards “Starting Grants” to support excellent young scientists who are starting an independent science career. Lena Maier-Hein, a computer scientist from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg, has now received the prestigious grant for a multidisciplinary project: She plans to combine computer-navigated minimally invasive surgery with novel, gentle imaging technology based on sound and light. The additional imaging information will help physicians get a clearer picture of diseased tissue.
DKFZ awards Dr. Emil Salzer Prize und Richtzenhain Prize to tumor genetics researchers
The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has awarded the Dr. Emil Salzer Prize to Professor Roland Rad (Munich Technical University), whose research focuses on the basic genetic mechanisms underlying bowel cancer. Tumor genomes are also a focus of Professor Stefan Pfister (DKFZ and Heidelberg University) and Professor Roman Thomas (University of Cologne). The latter two scientists received this year’s sponsorship award from the Walther and Christine Richtzenhain Foundation. The award ceremony took place on December 16, 2014, at the DKFZ.
Specific oxidation regulates cellular functions
Hydrogen peroxide is a dangerous metabolic product that can damage cellular components through oxidation. This, however, is not its only role in the cell, as scientists had assumed for a long time. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered how this small molecule also transmits specific signals in the cell: Enzymes called peroxiredoxins catch the free hydrogen peroxide molecules and use them to specifically oxidize other proteins. Hydrogen peroxide thus regulates, for example, the activity of an inflammation-promoting transcription factor and hence controls important cellular functions.
New Technology Discovers Unknown Risk Genes for Pancreatic Cancer
Cancer is a complex disease of the genes. The reasons why a tumor develops are often unknown. An international team of researchers from the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute has now developed a technique that can identify causes of cancer invisible to genetic sequencing. The technique has uncovered large sets of previously unknown pancreatic cancer genes. It is hoped that this study will boost research into a disease that is still poorly understood and for which five-year survival rates have stood at around 5 per cent for the past four decades.
A yardstick to measure the malignancy of prostate cancer
A protein that influences the epigenetic characteristics of tumor cells is directly linked to the grade of malignancy of prostate cancer. This key discovery has been made by a team of scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the University of Zurich, Hamburg-Eppendorf University Hospital, Heidelberg University, and other institutes in a study of 7,700 samples of tumor tissue. The detection of this biomarker may serve as an indicator of the likelihood that the disease may take an aggressive course, and may thus be helpful in choosing an appropriate treatment. The study was part of the “Early Onset Prostate Cancer” project, supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC).