Duane Cross
Duane's Recent Articles
Researchers at Rockefeller University have shown that a shift in translation, the process by which cells produce proteins from RNA, may promote skin cancer. In order to function, cells need to turn instructions encoded in their DNA into protein. They do so in two major steps: DNA is transcribed into a molecule called messenger RNA; […]
More than 19.5 million cancer deaths were recorded in the United States from 1980 to 2014. When digging deeper, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found that cancer deaths were “clustered,” with many U.S. counties above the national average. Of note, there were statistically significant increases in cancer mortality […]
A Cancer Research UK-funded study has determined that the combination of two chemotherapy drugs — gemcitabine and capecitabine — should be the new standard of care for pancreatic cancer patients who have had surgery to remove their tumor. The results were published in The Lancet. Twenty-nine percent of patients given the drug combination lived for […]
Cervical cancer is deadlier than previously thought, concluded research published in the journal Cancer. Previous estimates of cervical cancer death rates did not account for women who had their cervixes removed in hysterectomy procedures, which eliminates the risk of developing this cancer. The study used 2002-2012 data from the National Center for Health Statistics and […]
Propranolol, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, is being repurposed for soft tissue sarcoma treatment in Europe. The European Commission recently granted propranolol Orphan Drug Designation, a status assigned to a medicine intended for use against a rare condition. The medicine must fulfill certain criteria for designation as an orphan medicine so that it […]
Sphingolipid Transporter 2 (SPNS2) is a protein-coding gene. A team of researchers at Sanger Institute in Cambridge report that it also led to a three-quarters reduction in tumors spreading to the lungs. [1] “We’ve learned some interesting new biology that we might be able to use — it’s told us this gene is involved in […]
Celebrity can bring attention to a cause — and it can bring unnecessary angst. Many women rushed to get genetic testing for the cancer-causing BRCA mutations after actress Angelina Jolie said in May 2013 that she underwent a double mastectomy based on a positive BRCA test. … It was an unnecessary rush to judgment, concluded […]
A team of cancer researchers at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel in Switzerland has published in Science Advances that specific cancer cells respond to a combination of a diabetes medication and an antihypertensive drug. At higher doses, the antidiabetic drug Metformin, the most widely prescribed drug for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, inhibits the […]
Grail is looking to expand its clinical validation of blood test for early-stage cancer detection through a venture capital investment of $1 billion. In a news release, the company said it will use the proceeds for continued development of its blood-based test for cancer screening, which will require large-scale clinical trials including the previously announced […]