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Caring for Carcinoid Foundation - What is...?

What is...?

The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation (CFCF) offers What is...? to educate the carcinoid community about cutting-edge carcinoid research.

We believe that everyone needs to be well informed about the latest advances in carcinoid research. It will take a team effort to cure carcinoid.

What is the "New Science of Cancer"?
What is the "Connectivity Map"?
What is a mouse model?
What is a cell line?
What is proteomics?

What is the "New Science of Cancer"?

The "New Science of Cancer" is the basis of the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation.

The "New Science of Cancer" is explained by Science, the world's leading journal of original scientific research, global news, and commentary.

These articles and interactive poster appear in Science's special issue, "Cancer Treatment Gets Personal":

"Celebrating a Glass Half-Full"

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Excerpt:

"An examination of the annual statistical data compiled by the American Cancer Society quickly reveals that the rate of mortality from cancer has changed very little over the past 50 years. And, at last check, the annual Race for the Cure is being scheduled well into the future. So why has Science chosen this particular moment to celebrate the cancer research field? In part, it's because targeted cancer therapies, cancer biomarkers, and genomic medicine are in the midst of a transition from hype to clinical reality. ...

We hope that after perusing these articles, readers will come away feeling that in cancer research, the glass is indeed (at least) half-full."

"The New Era in Cancer Research"

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This article is written by Dr. Harold Varmus--winner of the Nobel Prize, former Director of the National Institutes of Health, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Excerpt:

"The conquest of cancer continues to pose great challenges to medical science. The disease is notably complex, affecting nearly every tissue lineage in our bodies and arising from normal cells as a consequence of diverse mutations affecting many genes. It is also widespread and lethal; currently the second most common cause of death in the United States, it is likely to become the most common in the near future. ...

During the past decade, perceptions about this situation have been changing rapidly. Understanding the genetic and biochemical mechanisms by which cancers arise and behave is now widely believed to portend improvements in the way we detect, classify, monitor, and treat these diseases. This message has been driven home, gradually but effectively, by a variety of new and less toxic agents for treating cancers—hormones, antibodies, and enzyme-inhibitory drugs—and, especially, by the dramatic arrival of a near-miraculous drug, imatinib (Gleevec), a 'molecule-specific' agent that induces nearly complete and sustained remissions in nearly all patients in the early stages of chronic myeloid leukemia."

"Cancer Treatment Gets Personal"

View interactive poster

Excerpt:

"One of the major conceptual advances driving the transformation of clinical oncology is the recognition that cancer is largely a genetic disease. Cancer cells display a diverse array of genetic alterations including (as depicted here) gene rearrangements, point mutations, and gene amplifications. ...

Driven by the new findings in the research lab, clinical oncology is poised to enter a new era in which cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment will be guided increasingly by the molecular attributes of the individual patient."

What is the "Connectivity Map"?

Source: Justin Ide/Harvard News Office

Dr. Todd Golub (right), member of our Board of Scientific Advisors, achieved a major advance in cancer research by creating the "Connectivity Map" which launched publicly in September 2006.

These articles describe the Connectivity Map and its significant impact on cutting-edge cancer research:

Broad Institute:
"New genomic tool makes connections between drugs and human disease"

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Excerpt:

"While the ultimate goal of biomedicine is to connect each human disease with drugs that can effectively treat or cure it, the paths toward this goal are often circuitous. The earliest steps, in particular, can be hindered by a lack of basic knowledge about how drugs and diseases work — for example, the biology that underlies a particular disease or the molecules that are targeted by a drug's action. What is needed to accelerate this 'match-making' process is a relatively quick and systematic method for comparing different drugs and diseases based on their biological effects.

Toward this end, a research team led by Broad Institute scientists has developed a new kind of tool that relies on genes to connect diseases with potential drugs to treat them and to predict how new drugs function in cells. Called the 'Connectivity Map,' the new tool and its first uses are described in the September 29 issue of Science and in separate publications in the September 28 immediate early edition of Cancer Cell. The three papers demonstrate the map's ability to accurately predict the molecular actions of novel therapeutic compounds and to suggest ways that existing drugs can be newly applied to treat diseases such as cancer.

'The Connectivity Map works much like a Google search to discover connections among drugs and diseases,' said senior author Todd Golub, the director of the Broad Institute's Cancer program, an investigator at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 'These connections are notoriously difficult to find in part because drugs and diseases are characterized in completely different scientific languages.' ...

Although the first version of the Connectivity Map is limited mainly to drugs, the same concepts could be applied to almost any aspect of human biology, including diseases, genes and even RNA-based gene inhibitors (RNAi). 'Expanding this initial map to encompass all aspects of human biology would provide a valuable public resource for the scientific community," said Eric Lander, an author of the Science paper and the director of the Broad Institute. 'Such an effort would parallel the sequencing of the human genome, both in its scope and in its potential to accelerate the pace of biomedical research.'"

HealthDay:
"Medical Research Gets High-Powered 'Search Engine'"

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Excerpt:

"It could someday be like Googling for a cure.

A group of U.S. scientists says it has successfully tested a prototype 'Connectivity Map' -- a high-tech computer program that uses unique genetic patterns as 'search words' to link up specific illnesses with the drugs that might treat them.

The achievement has already yielded intriguing insights into cancer and Alzheimer's disease, says a team reporting in the Sept. 29 issue of Science. ...

'It's an electronic library -- it helps you understand what genes are present in disease and how those genes can be affected by various 'perturbations' -- medications or other substances,' explained Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the American Cancer Society. ...

Using the publicly available, online Connectivity Map, scientists worldwide may soon be able to bypass tedious, time-consuming work in the lab and quickly ascertain whether a candidate drug works against a specific illness -- and how.

The Connectivity Map remains in a raw, early form, but it is already yielding key findings. For example, when the researchers plugged in the gene signature for a plant-derived medicinal compound, genudin, they found it to be a 'match' against prostate cancer. Running the map another time, they discovered that a well-known drug, rapamycin, might help overcome drug resistance in patients battling leukemia.

'So, they were actually able to demonstrate some significant possibilities for cancer treatment already as a result of this database,' Lichtenfeld said."

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:
"Scientists use 'universal language' of gene signatures to match cancer and other diseases with potentially effective drugs"

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Excerpt:

"In one of the most ambitious spinoffs of the Human Genome Project, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children's Hospital Boston, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and other collaborating centers have unveiled a new, systematic approach to drug discovery that matches diseases with potential treatments using a universal language based on cells' distinctive gene activity profiles, or 'signatures.' ...

The strategy allows scientists to capture distinctive gene signatures of cancer and other disease cells and compare them with signatures of cells that have been treated with a large number of drugs, both old and new. The more closely the disease signature resembles the signature of a reference cell that has been treated by a particular drug, the greater the odds that the drug will be an effective treatment for that disease. ...

The researchers said that in view of these promising results, they are proposing a large-scale effort – along the lines of the Human Genome Project – to map connections among genes and diseases to accelerate the development of new and improved therapies for a wide range of disorders. Like the data in the current papers, the information garnered in the course of such a project would be freely available to scientists everywhere."

For further information about the Connectivity Map:

What is a mouse model?

Mouse models are essential to cutting-edge cancer research.

The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is aggressively pursuing the development of mouse models for carcinoid.

According to Seung Kim, M.D., Ph.D., one of our funded researchers, accomplishing this goal will provide a significant boost to carcinoid research:

"The study and treatment of human diseases has benefited enormously from the development of animal disease models, but such models are lacking for the classic form of human carcinoid. Thus, we are motivated to create new carcinoid models using the mouse, a laboratory animal for which powerful genetic tools have been developed.
Our strategies for producing carcinoid in mice would allow us to control the timing and location of tumor formation. Creation of these mice should be useful for isolating carcinoid cells, which will facilitate studies of tumor cell genetics and physiology. These cells and the mice should prove valuable for identifying signals that regulate carcinoid growth, and for testing candidate compounds for activity in arresting carcinoid tumors."

These articles define mouse models and explain their role in cutting-edge cancer research:

National Human Genome Research Institute:
"Background on Mouse as a Model Organism"

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Excerpt:

"Over the past century, the mouse has developed into the premier mammalian model system for genetic research. Scientists from a wide range of biomedical fields have gravitated to the mouse because of its close genetic and physiological similarities to humans, as well as the ease with which its genome can be manipulated and analyzed.
Although yeasts, worms and flies are excellent models for studying the cell cycle and many developmental processes, mice are far better tools for probing the immune, endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, skeletal and other complex physiological systems that mammals share. Like humans and many other mammals, mice naturally develop diseases that affect these systems, including cancer."
National Human Genome Research Institute:
"The Mouse Genome And The Measure of Man"

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Excerpt:

"'[The mapping of the mouse genome] is an extraordinary milestone. For the first time we have an opportunity to see ourselves in an evolutionary mirror,' says Eric Lander, Ph.D., Director of the Whitehead/MIT Center for Genome Research. 'The mouse genome represents a very important chapter in evolution's lab notebook. Being able to read this notebook and compare genomic information across species allows us to glean important information about ourselves.'

Because the mouse carries virtually the same set of genes as the human but can be used in laboratory research, this information will allow scientists to experimentally test and learn more about the function of human genes, leading to better understanding of human disease and improved treatments and cures."
University of California Davis:
"The Mouse in Science: Cancer Research"

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Excerpt:

"Mice have been used in cancer research since 1894.
... They possess a surprising genetic similarity to humans. These features, combined with a rapid rate of reproduction, make mice the mammal of choice for fine-tuned genetic manipulation.
... A specific trait, such as a predisposition to develop a particular type of tumor, can be introduced into a mouse strain by injecting into the embryo an oncogene, a gene that causes cancer. Transgenic mice permit the study of cancer in specific tissues, including initial tumor development.

The purpose of cancer research is to understand tumor initiation and growth. This information helps researchers develop treatments, and eventually cures, for cancer."

What is a cell line?

Cell lines are essential to cutting-edge cancer research.

The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is aggressively pursuing the development of cell lines for carcinoid.

According to Lee Ellis, M.D., one of our funded researchers, accomplishing this goal will provide a significant boost to carcinoid research:

"Utilizing a newly established cell line (there are only 2 in the world), we will determine proteins that mediate tumor growth by standard molecular biologic techniques. Identification of molecular targets will allow for the rapid development of new therapies."

The National Cancer Institute defines a cell line as: "Cells of a single type taken from an animal or human and grown in the laboratory."

This article explains the role of cell lines in cutting-edge cancer research:

Science:
"Cell Signaling in Cancer Research"

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Excerpt:

"The key, though, to fighting cancer through better therapeutics depends on a better understanding of the basic biology of this disease.
No matter what causes cancer, though, it involves cell signaling at some level. Alan Barge, Vice President of Clinical Oncology at AstraZeneca, says, 'All cancer cells derive an advantage because they either dysregulate, upregulate, or disinhibit pathways that give these cells a proliferate advantage.' He adds, 'Signaling is mechanistically involved in any growth advantage.'
... To study cancer, investigators need the right materials—to either watch the normal progression of a tumor or to expose it to potential therapeutics and examine the effects on its growth. This type of work often involves cell culture and specific cancer cell lines."

What is proteomics?

Proteomics is essential to cutting-edge cancer research.

The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is aggressively pursuing proteomic research for carcinoid.

Daniel Chung, M.D., one of our funded researchers, is the pioneer of proteomic research for carcinoid. Dr. Chung is determining whether there are unique protein expression patterns in gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors that can provide novel insights into disease pathogenesis. No proteomic research has ever before been attempted for carcinoid, so Dr. Chung is blazing a new trail.

These articles define proteomics and explain its role in cutting-edge cancer research:

National Cancer Institute:
"Proteomics and Cancer"

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Excerpt:

"The term 'proteome' was first coined in 1994, and refers to all the proteins in a cell, tissue, or organism. Proteomics refers to the study of the proteome. Because proteins are involved in almost all biological activities, the proteome is a rich source of biological information.

... In the future, scientists expect that by combining both the genomic and proteomic data, they will be able to create a mathematical model of the molecular pathways in cells. With these models, researchers will be able to predict previously unknown interactions and verify the predictions experimentally. Novel proteins, cellular functions, and pathways will also be discovered. It is hoped that understanding the connections between cellular pathways will greatly reduce the suffering and loss of life due to cancer."

Mayo Clinic:
"The Promise of Proteomics"

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Excerpt:

"In the book of life, the chapter titles may be made of genes—but the story itself is written in proteins. The study of the array of proteins expressed by a given cell or tissue at a specific time is called proteomics.

... It's a field so promising that researchers around the world are rushing to build sophisticated proteomics centers to systematically study proteins. In proteomics, researchers see potential for reaching a better understanding of disease, developing new targeted drugs, and tailoring therapies to a patient's individual needs.

... Think about it this way: a frog egg, a tadpole and an adult frog all have the same number of genes. But both form and function in these three distinct life phases are different. Why? It's not the genes. They remain constant. The difference lies in which proteins are being expressed at different phases of development. It's all in protein expression—folds and functions. These folds and functions are difficult to observe, identify, predict and interpret.

Yet understanding this—how proteins fold; how they function and how they interact with other molecules in the body; how they are modified; when, where, how and why they are expressed—appears to hold the key for creating new approaches to diagnosing and treating human disease, and designing new drugs to treat disease."