Sunday, December 6, 2009

plus 4, Potential new 'twist' in breast cancer detection - Science Centric

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plus 4, Potential new 'twist' in breast cancer detection - Science Centric

Potential new 'twist' in breast cancer detection - Science Centric

Posted: 06 Dec 2009 04:09 AM PST

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins publishing in the December issue of Neoplasia have shown that a protein made by a gene called 'Twist' may be the proverbial red flag that can accurately distinguish stem cells that drive aggressive, metastatic breast cancer from other breast cancer cells.

Building on recent work suggesting that it is a relatively rare subgroup of stem cells in breast tumours that drives breast cancer, scientists have surmised that this subgroup of cells must have some very distinctive qualities and characteristics.

In experiments designed to identify those special qualities, the Hopkins team focused on the gene 'Twist' (or TWIST1) - named for its winding shape - because of its known role as the producer of a so-called transcription factor, or protein that switches on or off other genes. Twist is an oncogene, one of many genes we are born with that have the potential to turn normal cells into malignant ones.

'Our experiments show that Twist is a driving force among a lot of other players in causing some forms of breast cancer,' says Venu Raman, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology and oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 'The protein it makes is one of a growing collection of markers that, when present, flag a tumour cell as a breast cancer stem cell.'

Previous stem cell research identified a Twist-promoted process known as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, or EMT, as an important marker denoting the special subgroup of breast cancer stem cells. EMT essentially gets cells to detach from a primary tumour and metastasise. The new Hopkins research shows that the presence of Twist, along with changes in two other biomarkers - CD 24 and CD44 - even without EMT, announces the presence of this critical sub-group of stem cells.

'The conventional thinking is that the EMT is crucial for recognising the breast cancer cell as stem cells, and the potential for metastasis, but our studies show that when Twist shows up in excess or even at all, it can work independently of EMT,' says Farhad Vesuna, Ph.D., an instructor of radiology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 'EMT is not mandatory for identifying a breast cancer stem cell.'

Working with human breast cancer cells transplanted into mice, all of which had the oncogene Twist, the scientists tagged cell surface markers CD24 and CD44 with fluorescent chemicals. Following isolation of the subpopulation containing high CD44 and low CD24 by flow cytometry, they counted 20 of these putative breast cancer stem cells. They then injected these cells into the breast tissue of 12 mice. All developed cancerous tumours.

'Normally, it takes approximately a million cells to grow a xenograft, or transplanted tumour,' Vesuna says. 'And here we're talking just 20 cells. There is something about these cells - something different compared to the whole bulk of the tumour cell - that makes them potent. That's the acid test - if you can take a very small number of purified 'stem cells' and grow a cancerous tumour, this means you have a pure population.'

Previously, the team showed that 65 percent of aggressive breast cancers have more Twist compared to lower-grade breast cancers, and that Twist-expressing cells are more resistant to radiation.

Twist is what scientists refer to as an oncogene, one that if expressed when and where it's not supposed to be expressed, causes oncogenesis or cancer because the molecules and pathways that once regulated it and kept it in check are gone.

This finding - that Twist is integral to the breast cancer stem cell phenotype - has fundamental implications for early detection, treatment and prevention, Raman says. Some cancer treatments may kill ordinary tumour cells while sparing the rare cancer stem cell population, sabotaging treatment efforts. More effective cancer therapies likely require drugs that kill this important stem cell population.

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

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High-Risk Women May Often Avoid Using Tamoxifen - EmpowHer

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 12:33 PM PST

High-Risk Women May Often Avoid Using Tamoxifen

FRIDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Worries about side effects are a major reason why only 6 percent of American women at high risk for breast cancer are willing to take the drug tamoxifen to prevent the disease, a new study finds.

In an effort to inform women about the risks and benefits of tamoxifen, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center created a decision aid, which was tailored to the health history of each of the 632 women in the study.

"That means, when women read this decision aid, they learned about how the drug was likely to affect them given their age, race, breast cancer history and medical history," study author Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a research investigator at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, said in a university news release.

The researchers found that the decision aid helped inform the women about the risks and benefits of tamoxifen, with 63 percent correctly answering at least five of the six questions about the drug and 41 percent getting all six questions right.

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Mayor Daley talks about wife's latest health setback - Southtown Star

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 01:34 AM PST

Throughout a 7 1/2-year battle that has defied the odds against metastatic breast cancer, Maggie Daley has been a tower of strength and an inspiration to women facing similar struggles.

Her always emotional husband, Mayor Daley, is not quite so strong. And as Chicagoans well know, he wears his heart on his sleeve.

Today, the mayor talked about his wife's latest setback: radiation treatments for a bone tumor in her right leg that has confined her to a wheelchair.

"Any time you have a health issue, you have setbacks, especially in cancer. [But] Maggie has been a fighter on this issue and Dr. Steve Rosen and all the other doctors and nurses have done a tremendous job," Daley said, his voice choking with emotion.

"She's doing very well. She's having meetings today about afterschool programs. . . . She's had many setbacks. In all families, you have setbacks. But the family comes together [to] be able to defeat any setback in life. . . . Her commitment is to be able to defeat this."

In metastatic breast cancer, cells spread beyond the breast and lymph nodes to other parts of the body.

It wasn't long ago that patients with metastatic breast cancer typically had only a year or two to live.

The mayor was asked today whether he was amazed by his wife's strength and resiliency through the ordeal.

"Maggie's a very kind and very tough person. She comes from a strong family, the Corbitt's. Her mother died when she was younger, and she survived in helping her family. And she's helped our family as well," he said.

Rosen, a Northwestern Memorial Hospital cancer specialist who has overseen Mrs. Daley's care since her diagnosis, could not be reached for comment.

In a statement issued by the mayor's office, Rosen said he ordered Maggie Daley to use a wheelchair to "minimize weight bearing on the leg until the [radiation] therapy is complete."

It's been a tough adjustment for a fiercely independent woman who's used to coming and going as she pleases. But using a wheelchair has also provided the mayor's wife with some insight into the obstacles faced by those with disabilities.

"She'll tell me how people have a difficult time getting around in wheelchairs. . . . Just in and out of a car, things like that. . . That's the other thing people don't realize until you're in a wheelchair," he said.

Fiercely private, Maggie Daley, 66, was secretive about her treatments for the first four years after her diagnosis in June 2002. She broke that silence in April 2006 when she openly marveled at the wonders of science that have kept her alive.

It happened after Mrs. Daley accepted a $1 million grant from Abbott Laboratories that created a science component of her After School Matters program.

"Some of you can imagine my personal respect — enormous respect — and gratitude to our scientists because I stand her as a result of their work. It's phenomenal what . . . has happened over the years," she said.

Afterwards, Maggie Daley shed no light on the nature of her cancer treatments. She would only call herself a "poster child for the good things" happening in medical research in general and cancer research in particular.

The mayor picked up on the "wonders of science" theme in his comments today.

"America has to put more money into medical research. . . . If we don't do it, we fail — not only our parents, but our children and grandchildren," he said.

"We have to put more money into research — whether it's cancer, heart, diabetes, Alzheimer's, autism — all that. . . . In the long run, we're gonna save your son or your daughter or your grandson or great-grandson. To me, it's vitally important."

In April, Mrs. Daley underwent a "biopsy of a bone lesion that has shown subtle changes" in her spine. At the time, experts said it could mean that her breast cancer had spread to the bone, a common occurrence among patients with metastatic breast cancer.

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Cleveland Cavaliers To Wear Pink - WHIO TV

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 06:56 AM PST

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Obama's Aide Scrutinized Amid Salahi Scandal - CBS 11 News

Posted: 06 Dec 2009 12:37 PM PST

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Obama's Aide Scrutinized Amid Salahi Scandal

Desiree Rogers Accused Of Putting Self Into Spotlight Too Often

WASHINGTON (AP) ― She arrived in Washington with more of a splash than any White House social secretary before her, and no wonder: Desiree Rogers had obvious style, wealth, a Harvard MBA, years of corporate experience, and friends at the top, most importantly Barack and Michelle Obama.

She defined her goal as nothing less than bringing life to the Obama presidency. And she pulled off a series of innovative, high-wattage events that seemed to be doing just that. She even got the nation's governors to dance in a conga line.

Enter Tareq and Michaele Salahi.


Now Rogers is under withering scrutiny for her office's role in the infamous security breakdown at the state dinner. A woman with a reputation as a consummate perfectionist is being criticized for dropping the ball — and, by some, for putting her own aggrandizement over her job.

For now, the White House seems firmly on her side, and is protecting her from appearing before a congressional panel. But the turn of events is bewildering to Rogers' friends and associates, who say she's being misunderstood and unfairly targeted, and her accomplishments ignored.

"It's extraordinary to see someone's life's work mischaracterized in this way," says John W. Rogers Jr., Desiree's former husband, with whom she remains close. "I just don't understand it. She's working 12-15 hours a day, just trying to do a great job. Desiree has brought excellence to everything she's done in her life."

John Rogers, who spoke in a telephone interview from Chicago, was a guest at the state dinner, and though he admits he's biased, he found it to be "extraordinary — if you watched her work, you saw her attention to detail." Indeed, by virtually all accounts, the social secretary pulled off an elegant evening, a logistically complicated affair for 300-plus guests under a romantic pavilion lined with magnolia branches.

The chef was whisked in from one of New York's top restaurants, and the entertainment was headlined by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson. Rogers herself appeared in a couture dress by Comme des Garcons, befitting her reputation as a fashionista.

But it was another part of her reputation that soon came into question: that of an executive who pays sharp attention to detail. When it emerged that the Salahis had managed to get through security without being on the guest list, blame fell on the Secret Service, which has admitted failures, but also on the social office, which didn't have staff stationed at the checkpoints — a departure from past administrations.

"I mean, come on, even Wal-Mart has a greeter," Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) told Politico.com.

Did Rogers simply think staff was better used elsewhere? She has not spoken since the breach, and the White House has said she won't testify before the congressional panel, citing separation of powers. (It has also conducted its own review, saying it could have done more, and changed its security procedures.)

But criticism of Rogers has gone far beyond security arrangements. Meredith Vieira noted on NBC's "Today" that Rogers had seated herself at the dinner as a guest, and asked guest Valerie Jarrett — a close friend of Rogers — if that was appropriate.

And Maureen Dowd of the New York Times wrote: "Instead of standing outside with a clipboard, eyeballing guests as Anne Hathaway did in 'The Devil Wears Prada,' Desiree was ... the center of her own table of guests, just like the president and first lady."

The notion that a social secretary can't be seated at a state dinner is "ridiculous," says Letitia Baldridge, who served as social secretary under Jacqueline Kennedy.

"I have sat at state dinners and so have many other social secretaries," says Baldridge. "Of course, you're constantly getting up. But I don't begrudge her at all for seating herself at the dinner."

Some have pointed out that social secretaries of the past cast a lower profile than Rogers. But Rogers also has a different job than most — she's a special assistant to the president, too, meaning she works for both the East and West wings of the White House.

She has certainly contributed to some of the attention. Not long after her arrival she appeared in Vogue, dressed in designer fashions, and in Wall Street Journal's magazine.

But it's hardly unusual for an incoming social secretary to be profiled in the media, says historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony of the National First Ladies Library. "They're almost always profiled, whether they cooperate or not," he says.

Interest in Rogers — just as with the first lady she works for — has been intense. When she appeared at a New York cultural event in June, two days after her 50th birthday, she could barely move during a cocktail reception for all the well-wishers eager to meet her and press business cards into her hand.

Social secretaries weren't known for headlining appearances outside Washington, but Rogers told The Associated Press then: "When it comes to arts and culture, we need to be out there. We need to see what people are doing."

She proudly told the crowd she'd already organized 150 events at the White House, among them that governors' dinner. She didn't want the governors to just be sitting the whole time. "So we got Earth, Wind and Fire," Rogers said. "And by the end, they were doing a conga line."

Baldridge, who met briefly with Rogers after she got the job, thinks there's no set model for a social secretary. "Every social secretary is unique in what she brings," Baldridge says. "She is cool, savvy, sophisticated. She's right for this administration."

For John Rogers, the worst part is seeing his former wife presented as someone more interested in glamour than in doing her job.

"Desiree is someone who from the very beginning, when she came to Chicago after business school, has worked in some very unglamorous jobs," he said, speaking of her experience working "in the bowels of AT&T" or working at a gas and utilities company. "She was the person rolling up her sleeves and working side by side with everyone.

"This idea that she's floating above the fray is just the opposite of her life's work."

He added that she had been both toughened and humbled by a breast cancer diagnosis in 2003, about which she has spoken publicly.

In the end, though, all the criticism may be moot, says historian Anthony.

"There are only two people whose opinion ever matters when it comes to a social secretary," says Anthony. "The president, and his wife. Everybody else's opinion is totally irrelevant."

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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