Cancer Research Breakthroughs Archives - NFCR

Cancer Research Breakthroughs

Better Understanding of Enzyme Mutation Process Provides Hope for New Pathways to Treatment

Why do protein enzymes cluster together? Few people have bothered to ask this question. Still, a dedicated group of researchers recently embarked on a journey to find the answer. What they found could change many facets of health and healthcare.  The research team, including NFCR-funded senior author Dr. Paul Schimmel, undertook…...

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Thunder God Vine: A Powerful Discovery for Pancreatic Cancer Patients

With a name as powerful as Thunder God Vine comes great responsibility – and National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR)-funded researcher Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff has proven that this medicinal plant is up for the challenge.  Dr. Von Hoff is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on pancreatic cancer.  He…...

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Controlling the Uncontrollable: HER2 Breast Cancer

It’s that time of year when pink ribbons begin appearing everywhere – from shopfronts to social media. These ribbons are known to be Breast Cancer Awareness ribbons. It’s no coincidence that pink ribbons are the most easily recognized as breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In fact, one…...

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Propelling the Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, making up approximately 95% of the diagnoses. Though pancreatic cancer – in general – is relatively rare, experts expect to see pancreatic cancer rise to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States by 2030. The general five-year survival…...

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Breakthrough: Single-Cell Sequencing

Genomics, the branch of molecular biology concerned with the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of an individual’s genes, is already revolutionizing the way medicine treats cancer. Like many sciences, genomics has “niches;” single-cell genomics is a rapidly developing field, and current technologies can assay a single cell’s gene expression, DNA…...

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Albert Szent-Györgyi’s discovery of vitamin C

In a world of ever-changing fad diets, it can be difficult to pinpoint what exactly constitutes as proper nutrition. Luckily, there are some basic nutrition tips that everyone can agree on. It’s no secret that fruits and vegetables are the key to a well-balanced diet, regardless of the current fad.…...

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Breakthrough: Dr. César Milstein And The MAbs

They are called “mAbs,” short for monoclonal antibodies, and they are a big deal in oncology. One of the immune systems most elegant soldiers, mAbs are formed by B cells, a type of white blood cell produced in the spleen, in response to specific foreign invaders (real and perceived) known…...

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At Its Root

Chaos can be surprisingly orderly. While cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth, that growth is, nevertheless, the result of a very particular cascade of events, from carcinogen exposure to genetic mutations. Interfere with that cascade, and cancer can be ground to a halt, or even killed off. The efforts…...

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Ancient Wisdom, Modern Cure

“Chinese traditional medicine” (TCM) is a cultural catch-all term for a series of practices including herbal medicine, diet, acupuncture, massage and exercise (like tai chi) whose combined history stretches back over four thousand years. Western science acknowledges the benefits of some forms of TCM — acupuncture and Chinese massage techniques,…...

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