http://www.fhcrc.org The latest science from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center en Copyright 2008 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/08/04/YMCA_exercise.html SEATTLE -- Aug. 4, 2008 -- Puget Sound-area cancer survivors have access to a new strength-and-fitness program designed specifically for them thanks to a partnership between the YMCA of Greater Seattle and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The 10-week program, Exercise and Thrive, is available free to adults who have completed cancer treatment, regardless of where they were treated. ... August 4, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/07/28/micro_rna.html SEATTLE -- July 28, 2008 -- Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered that microRNAs -- molecular workhorses that regulate gene expression -- are released by cancer cells and circulate in the blood, which gives them the potential to become a new class of biomarkers to detect cancer at its earliest stages. Muneesh Tewari, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues describe their findings in the July 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ... July 28, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/07/17/genvar-grant.html SEATTLE -- July 17, 2008 -- Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have received a $7.6 million, four-year grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute to better understand the genetic and biological roots of common diseases. The Hutchinson Center is one of four U.S. research institutes to receive grants totaling about $31 million toward this effort. The Hutchinson Center project, led by biostatistician and principal investigator Charles Kooperberg, Ph.D., and epidemiologist and co-principal investigator Ulrike "Riki" Peters, Ph.D., both of the Center's Public Health Sciences Division, will study how specific genetic variants influence the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other common conditions, from obesity to dementia. Mining more than a decade of data from the Women's Health Initiative, an ethnically and socio-economically diverse study population involving nearly 162,000 postmenopausal women nationwide, Kooperberg and colleagues will look also at how previously identified genetic variants are related to biological and physical characteristics associated with disease risk, such as weight, cholesterol and blood-sugar levels, and bone density. The scientists also will examine how lifestyle factors, such as diet, medications and smoking, may interact with genetic factors to influence health outcomes. For example, if a person follows a low-fat diet high in fruits and vegetables, would that lessen or negate the disease risk associated with a specific genetic variant? "Through previous genome-wide association studies we know there are common genetic variants in the population that are associated with a moderate increase in the risk of various diseases. Now we want to know how environmental exposures and lifestyle factors, such as diet or smoking, influence disease risk in people with these genetic variants," Peters said. Another goal of the study is to examine the pathways by which these genetic variants influence disease. "We hope to learn more about the mechanisms by looking at the associations between these genetic variations and intermediate biomarkers of disease, such as cholesterol levels as a marker for heart disease and bone density as a marker for hip fractures," she said. To this end, the researchers will aim to genotype blood samples from 58,000 WHI study participants to investigate up to 100 known disease-specific genetic variants. "Information generated from this study will be critical to determine the health impact of any given genetic variant and to prioritize them for intervention studies aimed to reduce their associated risk," Kooperberg said. "These findings may also provide valuable insights into disease pathways and mechanisms, and identify targets for disease screening, prevention and treatment." The Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division houses the Clinical Coordinating Center for the Women's Health Initiative, one of the most definitive, far-reaching studies of postmenopausal women's health ever undertaken in the United States. Enrollment began in 1993 and participants will be followed at least until 2010. The study examines the prevalence and risk factors for a number of diseases common in aging women, as well as the effects of various interventions, from low-fat diets and hormone therapy to calcium and vitamin D supplementation. "We are extremely grateful for the study participants who have provided a wealth of biological data that will permit us to link genetic variants to relevant intermediate biomarkers that will potentially provide important clues to the biological basis of the disease," Kooperberg said. Also collaborating on the project, in addition Kooperberg, Peters and colleagues from the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center, are investigators from the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Ohio State University and the University of Pittsburgh. ... July 17, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/07/17/basketoflight.html SEATTLE -- July 17, 2008 -- It may seem a contradiction, but the new, landmark architectural sculpture at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center should strike observers as both monumental and delicate. That's according to its creator, architectural sculptor Ed Carpenter, whose installation team just put finishing touches on this 60-foot-tall glass-and-metal piece called "Vessel." ... July 17, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/07/08/FH_labs.html SEATTLE -- July 8, 2008 -- About 30 science teachers from Washington -- plus two from Singapore and one from Australia -- are spending part of their vacation at "summer school," working beside scientists in research laboratories at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and several other partner sites throughout Seattle. The summer workshop, which runs July 14-30, will host teachers from nearly 20 communities throughout the state and abroad. ... July 8, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/07/01/hibernation_on_demand.html SEATTLE -- July 1, 2008 -- For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the administration of minute amounts of inhaled or intravenous hydrogen sulfide, or H2S -- the molecule that gives rotten eggs their sulfurous stench -- significantly improves survival from extreme blood loss in rats. ... July 1, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/06/23/symptom_screening.html SEATTLE -- June 23, 2008 -- Women's reports of persistent, recent-onset symptoms linked to ovarian cancer -- abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and abdominal bloating -- when combined with the CA125 blood test may improve the early detection of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published online today in CANCER. ... June 23, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/06/18/T_cells.html SEATTLE -- June 18, 2008 -- Researchers describe the first successful use of a human patient's cloned infection-fighting T cells as the sole therapy to put an advanced solid-tumor cancer into long-term remission. A team led by Cassian Yee, M.D., an associate member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, reports these findings in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. ... June 18, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/06/09/pancreatic_biomarkers.html SEATTLE -- June 9, 2008 -- A multicenter team of researchers has identified a panel of proteins linked to early development of pancreatic cancer in mice that applies also to early stages of the disease in humans -- a breakthrough that brings scientists a significant step closer to developing a blood test to detect the disease early, when cure rates are highest. ... June 9, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/06/01/androgen_deprevation.html SEATTLE -- June 1, 2008 -- For the past 70 years the treatment of choice for advanced, metastatic prostate cancer has been androgen-deprivation therapy. That is, the suppression of circulating testosterone -- the hormone that fuels prostate-cancer growth -- via surgical castration (orchiectomy) or medical castration with testosterone-blocking drugs. While such therapy buys time for patients, it is not a cure, as inevitably the cancer becomes resistant to the androgen deprivation and continues to grow. ... June 1, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/05/15/reverse_evolution.html SEATTLE -- May 15, 2008 -- Evolution is supposed to inch forward over eons, but sometimes, at least in the case of a little fish called the threespine stickleback, the process can go in relative warp-speed reverse, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and published online ahead of print in the May 20 issue of Current Biology (Cell Press). ... May 15, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/05/08/chefs_dinner.html SEATTLE -- May 8, 2008 -- Local ingredients, exotic spice blends and a chef's first effort at homemade prosciutto highlight the six-course menu at the annual Premier Chefs Dinner, to be held 5 p.m. Sunday, May 18 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle to benefit Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. ... May 8, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/05/02/prostate_biomarkers.html SEATTLE -- May 2, 2008 -- Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have a lead role in a new public/private partnership to create the first systematic surveillance program of men with prostate cancer to look for biological clues to help determine when to wait and when to treat the disease. The project was announced by the Canary Foundation and the National Cancer Institute. ... May 2, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/05/01/prostate_insulin.html SEATTLE -- May 1, 2008 -- Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results especially if a major tumor suppressor gene -- p53 -- is already compromised, according to new research by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. ... May 1, 2008 http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/05/01/uvillage_shop.html SEATTLE -- May 1, 2008 -- "Shop to Make a Difference," the University Village event that offers shoppers 20 percent off purchases at favorite stores and restaurants, celebrates its fifth year and an ever-growing list of retailers May 16-18. The event benefits Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. ... May 1, 2008