News & Notes

In treatment for leukemia, glimpses of the future

By Gina Kolata
ST. LOUIS — Genetics researchers at Washington University, one of the world’s leading centers for work on the human genome, were devastated. Dr. Lukas Wartman, a young, talented and beloved colleague, had the very cancer he had devoted his career to studying.... New York Times 7/7/12 | Watch video | Charlie Rose interview with John DiPersio, Lukas Wartman and Gina Kolata

Discovery helps show how breast cancer spreads

Working in mouse models of breast cancer and breast tumor samples from patients, Greg Longmore and his colleagues showed that a protein on the surface of tumor cells, called DDR2, binds to collagen and activates a multistep pathway that encourages tumor cells to spread. This finding may explain why women with dense breasts are at increased risk for invasive breast cancer. WU Record 5/5/13 | Nature Cell Biology 5/5/13

Distinct niches in bone marrow nurture blood stem cells

In research that one day could improve the success of stem cell transplants and chemotherapy, Dan Link and co-workers have found that distinct niches exist in bone marrow to nurture different types of blood stem cells. The new findings, in mice, suggest that it may be possible to therapeutically target support cells in a particular niche. WU Record 2/24/13 | Nature 2013;495:227-30

Doctors turn to genetics to search for cancer’s Achilles’ heel

To develop more effective treatments for cancer, doctors are zeroing in on the disease’s genetic drivers. Listen to John DiPersio and Merck’s Gary Gilliland discuss how this may revolutionize the future of cancer treatment. NPR Science Friday 1/11/13

Into adulthood, sickle cell patients rely on ER

Analysis of Medicaid data of more than 3,200 patients with sickle cell disease shows that emergency room visits triple between ages 15 and 24. According to Morey Blinder, who presented this work at the ASH annual meeting in Atlanta, “This study highlights an emerging problem in transitioning pediatric age patients to adulthood and the need to explore new ways to facilitate that process.” WU Record 12/10/12

Existing drugs may help more with breast cancer

DNA sequencing studies by Ron Bose and co-workers indicate that some women with HER2 negative breast cancer may benefit from anti-HER2 drugs even though standard tests don’t indicate they are candidates for the drugs. WU Record 12/7/12 | Cancer Discovery online 12/7/12

ASH awards Tim Ley the 2012 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize

On December 12, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) honored Tim Ley with the 2012 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for his groundbreaking work in the genetic analysis of acute myleoid leukemia that has greatly increased the fundamental knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of this disease. ASH News