Article: Clare Collins, 412-624-2607, collcx@upmc.edu
Editorial: Roya Navqi, 213-241-7163, maqvi@coh.org
Study Examines How IL-12 May Work in Neuroblastoma
Interleukin 12 (IL-12), a molecule that helps mediate the immune response, may induce tumor regression in neuroblastomas, according to a new study.
Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. Patients with neuroblastoma have a poor prognosis, and doctors continue to research novel therapies and strategies for treatment.
Jon M. Wigginton, M.D., and Tahira Khan, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues studied the effects of the immune response regulator IL-12 on neuroblastoma tumors in mice. Eight (80%) of 10 mice treated with IL-12 experienced complete tumor regression compared with 10% of mice treated with a control substance. Based on this and other key findings of their study, they suggest that IL-12 acts on neuroblastoma by inhibiting the activity of a protein that prevents apoptosis called Akt.
Contact: NCI Press Officers, National Cancer Institute, 301 496-6641, ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov
Labeling System May Help Track Virus-Based Cancer Therapy
A new study suggests that a unique labeling system could be used to monitor the effects of oncolytic adenoviruses, viruses that are engineered to target cancer cells, replicate within them, and cause cancer cells to die.
Although many studies have investigated the use of oncolytic adenoviruses for cancer therapy, very few approaches have been successful. Part of the problem with further developing this treatment approach is that it is very difficult to determine whether the virus has reached the target tumor cells.
David T. Curiel, M.D., Ph.D., and Masato Yamamoto, M.D., Ph.D., of the Univ
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Contact: Ariel Whitworth
jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
31-Jan-2006