en.aazsante.fr

The Largest Portal Of Health And Quality Of Life.

Protein that controls metastasis of cancer is found by scientists

Protein that controls metastasis of cancer is found by scientists

The developments in treatments have brought new ways of facing cancer, and researchers continue to look for other ways to control the disease. Scientists have informed Scientist "Nature" that a cancer protein is able to control the spread of the disease from the skin to other organs and have suggested that blocking it may be an effective treatment to fight against metastasis .

To reach this finding, the researchers performed tests with mice genetically modified to develop human skin cancer. Named Midkine, this melanoma-secreted protein, before being transported to a different part of the mouse's body and initiating tumor formation.

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. This type of cancer is defined by the abnormal and uncontrolled growth of the cells that make up the skin. Any cell that makes up the skin can cause cancer, so there are several types of skin cancer.

According to scientists, in later observations in humans, when Midkine levels in the lymph nodes of skin cancer patients were high, the results tended to be "significantly worse". "At Midkine we find a possible strategy that deserves to be considered for drug development," said Marisol Soengas, of the National Cancer Research Center in Madrid, co-author of the study Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Early diagnosis of melanoma is indispensable, since after it begins to spread, treatment is more aggressive and the patient's prognosis is often unfavorable.

For researchers , long ago melanoma prepares the organs that it intends to occupy, activating the growth of the fluid lymphatic vessels, initially in the primary tumor, following by the lymph nodes around, and so on.

There are still gaps to be filled on the mechanism of dissemination, because removing lymph nodes close to a melanoma does not prevent metastases. "When these tumors are aggressive, they act at a distance much sooner than previously thought," the study authors commented.

Scientists have found that Midkine has moved to the new cancer site regardless of lymphatic vessel formation around of the original tumor. In addition, when it was inhibited in rat tumors, metastasis was also blocked. "These results indicate a paradigm shift in the study of melanoma metastasis," Marisol revealed. However, they do not know whether Midkine is transported through blood, lymph, or both. The hope of researchers is that in the future this protein can be used to produce drugs.

Cancer in numbers

Cancer is the name given to a set of more than 100 diseases that have in common the disordered growth of invading cells tissues and organs and can spread to other regions of the body.

According to the National Cancer Institute (INCA), currently 8.2 million people die each year from cancer worldwide. In Brazil, 576 thousand cases are planned per year. The most incident tumor is non-melanoma skin cancer (182,000 cases), followed by prostate cancer (68,800), breast cancer (57,100), bowel cancer (33,000), and cancer of lung (27,000).


Ministry of Health confirms that Zika Virus can cause Guillain Barré Syndrome

Ministry of Health confirms that Zika Virus can cause Guillain Barré Syndrome

"The Zika virus generally gives a very mild illness that lasts a short time and will be solitary, but in some cases very rare, after some time, one, two or three weeks, the person who had the infection for both the Zika virus and the various other types of viruses and some bacteria may have a neurological problem called Iguiã Barrett's Syndrome, "explains Cláudio Maierovitch, director of the Department of Surveillance of Communicable Diseases Guillain-Barré syndrome is a reaction to infectious agents, such as viruses and bacteria, and has as a symptom muscle weakness and paralysis of the muscles.

(Health)

Vulvoscopy: exam evaluates the presence of candidiasis, HPV and other diseases

Vulvoscopy: exam evaluates the presence of candidiasis, HPV and other diseases

Vulvoscopy is the examination of the vulva, which consists of evaluating the structures, skin and mucous membranes of the female external genital organ. The vulva lies between the pubis (hairs region), the perianal region (near the anus), the folds of the root of the thighs and the entrance of the urethra and vagina.

(Health)