Breakthrough achieved in cancer treatment in 2009

March 2009: A newly identified type of microRNA could tackle aggressive cancers by helping to kill off their cells...

March 2009: A newly identified type of microRNA could tackle aggressive cancers by helping to kill off their cells. 'MicroRNAs are very small, newly-identified RNA elements of the cell, and we've shown that one in particular - microRNA-7 or miR-7, can play a profound role in reversing cancer cell growth,' said Peter Leedman, a professor who led the research team.

June 2009: A breakthrough study conducted by German scientists suggests that blocking a specific type of hormone-like molecule, which is produced by tumours, may help alleviate the pain experienced by cancer patients.

August 2009: A leading researcher Down Under found soil bacteria that can destroy some of the worst cancer-causing substances in the polluted modern urban environment.

August 2009: British scientists made a major breakthrough in search of a cure for breast cancer, and may develop a drug within two years to beat the life threatening disease.

September 2009: An over-expressed protein can convert active but non-invasive breast cancer into a different cell type, and thereby turn it into invasive breast cancer, according to scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Instead of looking at how to stop tumours from forming, the new study found a key molecule that cancer manipulates to spread throughout the body.

September 2009: An over-expressed protein can convert active but non-invasive breast cancer into a different cell type, and thereby turn it into invasive breast cancer, according to scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

October 2009: For the first time ever, scientists at the B.C. Cancer Agency were able to decode all of the three billion letters in the DNA sequence of a metastatic lobular breast cancer tumor, a type of breast cancer which accounts for about 10 percent of all breast cancer cases. The scientists were able to find all the mutations, or 'spelling' mistakes that caused the cancer to spread further.