Sniderman
09-15-2004, 12:57 PM
This just crossed my In-box at the medical magazine I write for. Just as stars and new animal species can be named for whatever the "discoverer" wants them to be named after, so apparently can nerve signalling pathways. The specific one in this news release is called "Sonic hedgehog pathway." Well, it turns out that this particular pathway can be instrumental in cancer treatment, as it's a therapeutic target for metastasis (cancer spread, for the layman).
Check it out:
Report Links Elevated Levels of Hedgehog Signaling to Most Lethal Form of Prostate Cancer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 2004--Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS - News), a therapeutic drug development company, today announced that the current online issue of the scientific journal Nature contains a report demonstrating that abnormally elevated levels of Sonic Hedgehog pathway activity are a distinguishing feature of metastatic cancer when compared to localized cancer in the prostate. Metastatic cancer, the type of cancer that spreads throughout the body, is the most difficult to treat and is the most lethal form of prostate cancer.
The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a major regulatory mechanism within the body that normally controls development and regeneration of certain tissues and organs. Numerous previous reports have linked abnormal activation of the Hedgehog pathway to the growth of solid tumors in several tissues including the prostate, but this report directly demonstrates a linkage between sustained high levels of Hedgehog activity and the propensity of cancer to become metastatic.
Researchers from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland and the USDA Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, authored the report, entitled "Hedgehog Signaling in Prostate Regeneration, Neoplasia and Metastasis." The study examined several prostate cancer cell lines and compared the overall level of Hedgehog signaling with the tendency of those cancer cells to produce metastatic tumors in a preclinical model of prostate cancer.
Dr. Lee Rubin, Curis' Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, commented, "Curis has developed several cancer drug candidates, including small molecules, specifically designed to block abnormal activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway. The ability to manipulate the level of Hedgehog pathway activity may offer a significant advancement in the treatment of prostate cancers with metastatic potential."
According to the National Institutes of Health, prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages and is the most common cause of death from cancer in men over 75 years old. The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 189,000 men in the United States will contract prostate cancer this year and that 30,000 will die of the disease.
I gotta get this item in our next issue. I believe this will be the first time "Sonic the Hedgehog" will appear in a urology/cancer journal. :D
Check it out:
Report Links Elevated Levels of Hedgehog Signaling to Most Lethal Form of Prostate Cancer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 2004--Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS - News), a therapeutic drug development company, today announced that the current online issue of the scientific journal Nature contains a report demonstrating that abnormally elevated levels of Sonic Hedgehog pathway activity are a distinguishing feature of metastatic cancer when compared to localized cancer in the prostate. Metastatic cancer, the type of cancer that spreads throughout the body, is the most difficult to treat and is the most lethal form of prostate cancer.
The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a major regulatory mechanism within the body that normally controls development and regeneration of certain tissues and organs. Numerous previous reports have linked abnormal activation of the Hedgehog pathway to the growth of solid tumors in several tissues including the prostate, but this report directly demonstrates a linkage between sustained high levels of Hedgehog activity and the propensity of cancer to become metastatic.
Researchers from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland and the USDA Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, authored the report, entitled "Hedgehog Signaling in Prostate Regeneration, Neoplasia and Metastasis." The study examined several prostate cancer cell lines and compared the overall level of Hedgehog signaling with the tendency of those cancer cells to produce metastatic tumors in a preclinical model of prostate cancer.
Dr. Lee Rubin, Curis' Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, commented, "Curis has developed several cancer drug candidates, including small molecules, specifically designed to block abnormal activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway. The ability to manipulate the level of Hedgehog pathway activity may offer a significant advancement in the treatment of prostate cancers with metastatic potential."
According to the National Institutes of Health, prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages and is the most common cause of death from cancer in men over 75 years old. The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 189,000 men in the United States will contract prostate cancer this year and that 30,000 will die of the disease.
I gotta get this item in our next issue. I believe this will be the first time "Sonic the Hedgehog" will appear in a urology/cancer journal. :D