Category Archives: Transhuman News

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Sep-2014

Contact: Emily Head emily.head@cancer.org.uk 44-203-469-6189 Cancer Research UK @CR_UK

A drug which targets a key gene fault could halt an aggressive womb cancer and shrink tumours, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer*.

The scientists, from the Division of Gynaecologic Oncology at Yale School of Medicine funded by the National Institutes of Health, showed that the drug afatinib not only killed off uterine serous cancer cells after stopping their growth but also caused tumours to shrink.

The drug, a type of personalised medicine, attacks faults in the HER2 gene which lie at the heart of the cancer cells. This stops the disease in its tracks. Drugs which target HER2 are already used to treat breast cancer.

Uterine serous carcinoma is a fast-growing type of womb cancer. It is more likely than other womb cancers to come back after treatment, returning in one in two patients* even if it is caught early.

Although the cancer causes less than one in 10 womb cancers**, it accounts for 40 per cent of all deaths from womb cancer* which is around 800 deaths every year in the UK***.

The researchers looked at uterine serous carcinoma cell lines with normal and increased levels of the HER2 protein to see how afatinib affected the cancer. They found that the drug had a big impact on cancer cells with this gene fault, and could stop them growing and kill them. They also found that the drug shrank the size of uterine serous tumours when given to mice.

Afatinib works by targeting receptors that respond to growth signals. Cancers with high levels of the HER2 protein have too many of these receptors, allowing them to grow out of control. The drug is an example of personalised or tailored treatment, which works by specifically targeting the faulty genes and molecules in an individual's cancer. Afatinib is being tested in clinical trials for a number of cancers including bowel cancer and certain types of lung and breast cancer.

See the article here:
Targeted treatment could halt womb cancer growth

A powerful new technology could be used to manipulate nature by changing a species gene pool through reproduction, and it has scientists proceeding with caution.

The technology is called gene drive by Harvard scientists who say it allows them to edit genes in wild organisms. Dr. Kenneth Oye, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says gene drives are a game changer. Gene drives cheat, they play a game," he explained. "They bias inheritance so the odds of the gene being passed on are raised substantially.

For scientists, the possibilities of the technology are great. Gene drive lets researchers permanently block mosquitoes ability to spread malaria, for example. It can also be used to alter ticks, reducing the spread of Lyme disease.

But its not just malaria -- any disease spread by mosquitos we can combat in this way," said Oye. "So that means dengue, that means yellow fever, that means, potentially closer to home, West Nile Virus.

Because the technology has the potential to alter entire populations on a global scale scientists are proceeding with caution. The Harvard group is calling for public debate on the wisdom and safety of the technology before moving forward.

Ethically I think it's an open and shut case. A slam dunk. That if youre going to be taken actions that potentially affect the world, the world has a little voice in this, said Oye.

For scientists the extent of the risk -- and consequences associated with the technology are unknown. Scientists say that if this tech goes awry, it could mean accidental extinction for entire species, or unpredictable gene re-mutations spreading cross-species.

Kevin Esvelt, lead scientist in the research group, says the technology needs to be used wisely. Yes, we should be concerned. We should come together and discuss this because it has the potential to do a great deal of good, but it could also do harm if we use it unwisely.

But scientists say they have a plan B if something goes wrong. We can release a second drive that will undo that alteration and restore it pretty close to exactly the same sequence as it was originally, said Esvelt. But he warns the fix isnt absolute. Now that doesnt mean that its going to reverse all the potential ecological effects of that original change. But it does mean that we can take precautions.

The technology has even made waves internationally. A United Nations meeting of experts on biological weapons convened to review the benefits and potential implications of gene drive. Dr. Oye, who presented the tech to international delegates gathered in Geneva, said the tech especially piqued the interest of delegations from Malaria-inflicted regions. The reaction at Geneva from the biosecurity experts, these are the hard core folks, was very, very positive, he said.

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Powerful Gene-Mutating Tech Needs More Debate