Biopeer

New laser method facilitates screening of cancerous moles under skin surface

Researchers from the Center for Molecular and Biomedical Imaging at Duke University have discovered a non-surgical, laser-based system for detecting the chemical and structural changes beneath the skin's surface of cancerous moles. The system can capture three-dimensional images and, unlike previous laser methods, analyze changes in both melanin and hemoglobin. Researchers used highly-controlled laser pulses to stimulate the normally dark melanin and hemoglobin to emit light. The new imaging technology analyzes the interaction between two simultaneously pulsating laser beams, each emitting a different color of light. This technique was designed to protect the skin from overheating by allowing the laser to pulse for only femtoseconds – a thousand-trillionths of a second – at a time. “This is the first approach that can target molecules like hemoglobin and melanin and get microscopic resolution images the equivalent of what a doctor would see if he or she were able to slice down to that particular point,” said Warren S. Warren, director of Duke's new Center for Molecular and Biomedical Imaging.

Scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have come up with a chemotherapy cocktail of two drugs – paclitaxel and carboplatin – for treating metastatic melanoma. Blood vessels are known to fuel tumor growth, so the researchers at the Mayo Clinic used an agent in the drug cocktail – bevacizumab – which they claim obstructed the growth of a substance that excites the formation of new blood vessels. The results from a clinical trial evaluating the efficiency of the drug cocktail showed delayed tumor growth by six months. “The clinical benefit may be small, but in the world of melanoma where there is very little progress, this is certainly a strong indication that the combination of chemotherapy with an anti-angiogenic agent may be a valid treatment strategy for these patients,” said Domingo Perez, the study's lead.

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New non-invasive biopsy to detect skin cancer

Researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are exploring non-invasive ways to detect skin cancer painlessly and more effectively. Conventional skin care therapy scars the skin surface, as the therapy involves a biopsy of suspicious moles over the skin, giving way to a second surgery to inhibit cancerous growth. The researchers claim that the latest imaging technology – ‘Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy’ – can uses painless laser beam to scan skin cells beneath the surface. Confocal scanning laser microscopy is under research to give sure shot results in detecting irregularly shaped cancer cells and confirm the existence of the same without a biopsy.

A study published in the journal ‘Public Library of Science-Medicine’, by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, California, reveals that the immune system in melanoma patients does not respond to a molecule called interferon, which plays a key role in revitalizing the immune system. The researchers feel that a treatment exposing melanoma patients to interferon for a longer time could boost immune system. There are possibilities of the treatment giving way to further studies based on development of vaccines. “Identification of this interferon response disruption may boost efforts to develop vaccines for different types of cancer,” said researchers at Stanford.

A Scottish company – Lumicure – has come-up with a new bandage for treating skin cancer in a painless way. The bandage is an improvisation of photodynamic theory, as it incorporates aminolevulinic acid and low-powered organic light-emitting diode embedded in a small adhesive device. Aminolevulinic acid apparently acts as a photosensitive cream when comes in contact with the cancer abrasions on the skin and further interacts with cancerous cells when exposed to sunlight. However, painless the therapy might be, it takes longer time than traditional photodynamic theory, and hence, it stands doubtful in treating advanced forms of skin cancer.

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Aspirin may help in fending off cancer

Aspirin, the world’s most common painkiller already found to be effective in reducing the risk of heart disease, may also help ward off cancer in Barrett’s esophagus and lower the incidence of skin cancer.

According to a study published in The Lancet Oncology, use of Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) appears to reduce the risk of neoplastic progression in patients with Barrett’s esophagus.

Taking cue from previous studies, which suggest that NSAIDs prevent the development of colorectal cancer, epidemiologist Thomas Vaughan and his team at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center anticipated that these drugs may play a similar role in lowering the risk of esophageal cancer.

To test this theory, they prospectively followed 350 Barrett’s patients for a median time of 65.5 months. Eighty-six per cent of the patients were men and 78 per cent were 55 or older. At baseline, 145 patients never used NSAIDs, 104 used NSAIDs for five years or less, 98 used NSAIDs for more than five years. After the study period, the cumulative incidence of esophageal cancer was 14.3 per cent among never users, 9.7 per cent among former users, and 6.6 per cent among current users. These findings persisted after adjustment for other risk factors, such as age, gender, smoking history and BMI.

In another study undertaken by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, researchers have found that regular intake of NSAIDS such as Aspirin could offer increased protection against skin cancer and sunspots. They noticed that Aspirin-type drugs shut down an enzyme known as Cyclo-oxygenase (Cox) that allows some types of skin cancer to develop.

While the two studies hold out much promise, clinical trials need to be undertaken to effectively prove their efficacy. Only then can NSAID be recommended for protection against esophageal cancer and skin cancer.

Digoxin altered to treat cancer

Researchers have discovered a means of altering digoxin, a drug commonly used to treat heart disease, so that it effectively targets cancer. Digoxin is based on digitalis extract, a cardio-active or cardiotonic drug that is derived from foxgloves, a plant that grows like a weed in Canada, the US and the UK. Digitalis extract has been used in the treatment of heart conditions since 1775.

The exciting news is that scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a technique of "manipulating the sugars that power the drug". This technique could be used with other types of drugs including antibiotics and antivirals.

Another key point is that this process could "help make natural products more appealing to the pharmaceutical industry."

Curry spice may help combat skin cancer

The cure for skin cancer could be standing right there on your kitchen shelf! Recently concluded research reveals that curcumin, the pungent yellow spice found in curry powder and turmeric, may help block the development of melanoma and other cancers. The study, to be published in the August 15 issue of the journal Cancer, found that it didn't matter how much curcumin was used; the benefits occurred with short, highly concentrated exposure to the spice as well as with long-term, low concentrations.

The University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center Department, led by researcher Razelle Kurzrock, conducted this study. The study demonstrates how curcumin stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and pushes the cancer cells to commit suicide. The team exposed three batches of melanoma cells to different doses of curcumin and at different times. It was found that curcumin not only stopped further growth of melanoma cells but it also caused ‘apoptosis’—a process where the cancer cells would self-destruct.

Bharat Aggarwal, top researcher at the Cancer Center Department, explains that the spice closes down a key biological pathway needed for the development of some cancers. It does this by shutting down nuclear factor-kappa B, a powerful protein known to promote an abnormal inflammatory response that leads to a variety of disorders, including arthritis and cancer. The team is planning to continue the ‘melanoma-curcumin’ experiment on animals in the near future and later carry out clinical trials.

The study is the latest to suggest that curcumin has potent anti-cancer powers. Curcumin has previously been proven useful in treating breast and pancreatic cancers, as well as multiple myeloma. Last month, the same team had found that curcumin halted the growth of breast cancer and prevented it from spreading to the mice’s lungs.