dna methylation
Biomarker test shows promise for melanoma diagnosis
Chapel Hill, NC — A new study shows that a test of biomarkers for DNA methylation is technically feasible and could aid in earlier, more precise diagnosis of melanoma.
In a paper that appeared online last week in the journal Pigment Cell & Mel…
New risk factor for developing breast cancer
An Australian research team from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland has identified a new risk factor for developing breast cancer. This has been published online in the journal Cancer Pr…
New test measures DNA methylation levels to predict colon cancer
PHILADELPHIA — An investigational DNA methylation test could alter the screening landscape for colorectal cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research special conference on Colorectal Cancer: Biology to Ther…
Study reveals cancer-linked epigenetic effects of smoking
For the first time, UK scientists have reported direct evidence that taking up smoking results in epigenetic changes associated with the development of cancer.
The results were reported at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical On…
Mechanism behind demethylation pinpointed in APC gene mutants
Salt Lake City, September 17, 2010 — Colon cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States and causes more than 50,000 deaths each year. It has been known for some time that mutations in the APC gene occur in more than 85 percent of al…
Does the impact of psychological trauma cross generations?
Philadelphia, PA, 8 September, 2010 – In groups with high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as the survivors of the Nazi Death Camps, the adjustment problems of their children, the so-called “Second Generation”, have received atten…
Oral drug turns on silenced genes, turns off cancer
Oral administration of a drug that inhibits a process known as DNA methylation results in a reduction in the size of malignant tumors in mice, according to a team of researchers led by scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. The drug, called zebularine, accomplishes its tumor-whittling by turning on tumor suppressor genes that have been turned off by methylation.