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View the Table of Contents for the June 15 issue of Cancer Research.
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The MUC1 oncoprotein is overexpressed in ~ 90% of human breast cancers, making it a potential therapeutic target; however, effective agents against MUC1 have yet to be identified. Raina and colleagues have identified a MUC1 inhibitor that directly blocks oligomerization, and thereby function, of the transforming MUC1-C subunit. The MUC1 inhibitor selectively confers death of breast carcinoma cells overexpressing MUC1 and, in multiple breast tumor xenograft models, induces complete regression with no recurrence occurring after treatment is stopped. These findings demonstrate that inhibition of MUC1-C can be effective in the treatment of human breast tumor xenografts in nude mice.
Novak et al. Page 5251 The temporal changes of DNA during human carcinogenesis are not completely understood. Using an isogenic human mammary epithelial cell model system of malignant progression, Novak and colleagues show that DNA methylation changes occur early during transformation, in a stepwise manner coincident with overcoming defined proliferation barriers to cell immortalization. A majority of the hundreds of early changes are also seen in breast cancer cells, thereby providing a bank of epigenetic biomarkers that may prove valuable in breast cancer risk assessment. DNA methylation changes in the HOXA gene cluster are illustrative, with many changes occurring prior to malignant transformation. The results presented in this study support an epigenetic progenitor model of cancer.
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