Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia have foundthat a protein associated with other cancers appears to also be important in head and neck cancer, and mayconsequently serve as a good target for new treatments. Thefindings were reported at the AACR Annual Meeting. The researchers found that patients whose tumors had higher levelsof the protein known as Aurora-A had a shorter survival followingsurgery to remove their tumors than patients whose tumors hadnormal levels of the protein. "This finding suggests Aurora A does play a role in the developmentof head and neck cancers," says study author Christian J. Fidler,M.D., chief fellow in medical oncology at Fox Chase. "Consequently,Aurora-A represents another potential target for additionaltherapies." Previous research has associated Aurora-A with other cancer types,such as genitourinary, gastrointestinal, breast and lung cancers . As a result, companies have developed compounds that target thisprotein, now being tested in clinical trials. To test whether head and neck cancer patients might also benefitfrom compounds that target Aurora-A, Fidler and his colleaguesstudied cancer tissue removed from 89 patients at Fox Chase. They found that some did, in fact, contain high levels of Aurora-A,suggesting the protein may have been helping to fuel the disease.Furthermore, after controlling for the size of the primary tumor,half of these patients lived 36 months or less, while those withnormal levels of Aurora-A survived for 92 months. "In patients withhigh levels of Aurora-A, their survival was much worse," saysFidler. Aurora-A is a type of kinase, a group of proteins which play animportant role in cancer and other cellular processes. Morespecifically, Aurora-A helps carry out signals from a protein onthe surface of the cell called EGFR, which help tell the cell togrow or divide. When that process becomes very activated, it cantrigger cancer, says Fidler. To really hit the brakes on this pathway, he says, doctors may wantto test a combination of an inhibitor of Aurora-A and a drugalready on the market that targets EGFR (cetuximab, Erbitux ), after first identifying patients who over-express Aurora-A. "Atsome point, you may see a clinical trial that uses Aurora-Ainhibitors in conjunction with cetuximab," he predicts. "These findings identify another potential target for head and neckcancer therapy, which could potentially change the course of thedisease," says Fidler. I am an expert from dimmableled-lightbulbs.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Led Tube Lights T8 , Led Light Cups, Dimmable E27 Led Bulb,and more.
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