Category: Cancer

Choice of growth medium depends on the mammalian cell type and stage of cancer

September 15, 2023

In general, students in the life sciences and biomedical research would think the DMEM medium is appropriate for most cell types. Indeed, that is true for most general applications. However, if you are asking more nuanced questions that require recapitulation of certain cellular phenotype or physiology, then modifications to DMEM or using some exquisite growth … More Choice of growth medium depends on the mammalian cell type and stage of cancer

Cluster circulating tumour cells express high abundance of adhesion molecules and may express an aggressive cancer phenotype

July 26, 2023

Circulating tumour cells (CTC) are known to seed cancer metastasis in distant organs and tissues away from the site of the primary tumour. More recently, CTCs clusters are under investigation for their more aggressive cancer phenotype. Given that CTCs clusters are clusters of cancer cells that expresses high abundance of cell adhesion molecules, these cells … More Cluster circulating tumour cells express high abundance of adhesion molecules and may express an aggressive cancer phenotype

Moving away from the paradigm of collective cell migration in seeding cancer metastasis

January 5, 2023

Cancer metastasis is the phenomenon of cancer cells moving away from the primary tumour to another distant location to seed a secondary tumour. Epidemiological evidence has indicated that cancer metastasis is the main cause of cancer mortality and poor prognosis. Currently, collective cell migration is the dominant perspective in our conceptualisation of how cancer metastasis … More Moving away from the paradigm of collective cell migration in seeding cancer metastasis

Availability of tissue remains a significant challenge in cancer diagnostics

April 9, 2022

Cancer research has achieved significant advances in the past several decades, moving from understanding that cancer is a genetic disease to developing molecular diagnostics that could enable precision medicine. However, we still remain far from the ideals of using sophisticated diagnostics tools to develop a precise, targeted treatment plan that could realise precision medicine in … More Availability of tissue remains a significant challenge in cancer diagnostics

Utility of single cell RNA-sequencing depends on the biological question asked

April 20, 2021

Understanding differential gene expression at the single cell level offers a unique view into cellular transcriptional dynamics as well as stochasticity of gene expression at the population level. Single cell RNA-sequencing has emerged as the de facto tool for understanding differential gene expression in cells. However, when should we probe differential gene expression at the … More Utility of single cell RNA-sequencing depends on the biological question asked

Participation from host cells in tumour formation processes emerges as a new paradigm in cancer research

April 13, 2021

Success of cancer metastasis is commonly thought to be due to intrinsic factors in cancer cells that led to greater growth potential and survivability characteristics in the harsh environment outside of the immediate vicinity of the primary tumour. Such factors include the ability to survive the shear stress in blood flow during migratory travel from … More Participation from host cells in tumour formation processes emerges as a new paradigm in cancer research

Seeding efficiency of cancer metastasis is low

March 15, 2021

Tumour release cancer cells that subsequently migrate to the bloodstream, from which cancer cells are dispersed throughout the body and may seed secondary tumours at distant sites. But, what is the efficiency in which released cancer cells could seed secondary tumours in metastasis? The answer is the efficiency in which cancer cells could seed metastatic … More Seeding efficiency of cancer metastasis is low

Reactivation of tumour suppressor as cancer therapy

March 11, 2021

Tumour suppressors are frequently downregulated in cancer cells. However, their importance to prevent cells from entering cell senescence meant that tumour suppressor proteins remain circulating in cancer cells, albeit at lower concentrations. This came about due to haploinsufficiency of the tumour suppressor resulting from monoallelic loss, aberrant subcellular localisation, and post-translational modifications in human cancers. … More Reactivation of tumour suppressor as cancer therapy

Tumour co-opt existing blood vessels to avoid anti-angiogenic drug treatment

March 1, 2021

Tumour grow and proliferate, and this process requires nutrients and a means to remove metabolic waste products. Typically, tumour cells induce the formation of new blood vessels to supply the tumour with nutrients and provide a means for removing metabolic waste. However, there are types of tumour that do not induce the formation of new … More Tumour co-opt existing blood vessels to avoid anti-angiogenic drug treatment

Tumour heterogeneity underpins differing responses of patients to chemotherapeutic drugs

February 15, 2021

Tumours are polyclonal and are embedded with heterogeneity in cell types, genetic content, and gene expression. Hence, each tumour is different even if the same organ is affected by carcinogenesis in different patients. This constitutes the main reason accounting for observed differing responses of different patients suffering from the same type of cancer to the … More Tumour heterogeneity underpins differing responses of patients to chemotherapeutic drugs