Article - 20/06/2016 Activation of the innate immune system against metastatic colorectal cancer Researchers from Heidelberg have shown that instead of fighting cancer cells, macrophages of the innate immune system promote the growth of metastases in people with metastatic colorectal cancer. They have also shown that a signal inhibitor used to treat HIV infections reactivates macrophages so that they gain the ability to destroy cancer cells. A clinical phase I study has confirmed the antitumoral effects of this drug.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/activation-of-the-innate-immune-system-against-metastatic-colorectal-cancer
Article - 26/04/2016 Methadone for cancer treatment? Clinical trials are needed to prove the effectiveness of this opioid Claudia Friesen, an oncologist at Ulm University Hospital, has achieved what many scientists dream of: she has made a discovery that has increased existing knowledge, and can be used to help people. People with cancers that are resistant to all conventional therapies who have been given methadone for pain relief in combination with conventional chemo- or radiation therapy, have reported that tumours have shrunk or disappeared completely. Clinical…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/methadone-for-cancer-treatment-clinical-trials-are-needed-to-prove-the-effectiveness-of-this-opioid
Article - 25/04/2016 Pancreatic cancer and its resistance to therapy Pancreatic tumours are among the cancers with the worst prognosis. In many cases they are resistant to treatment. Prof. Dr. Andreas Trumpp and his colleagues from the DKFZ and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine HI-STEM have discovered that the reason why some pancreatic tumours are so resistant to treatment is down to larger quantities of the enzyme CYP3A5 in subtypes of pancreatic cancer. Molecular…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/pancreatic-cancer-and-its-resistance-to-therapy
Medical technology - 14/03/2016 The operating room of the future: minimally invasive and future-oriented intervention techniques Being able to diagnose and treat tumour patients in just a few hours is just one of the many promising goals of the Fraunhofer Project Group for Automation in Medicine and Biotechnology (PAMB). The overall goal of the Intervention and Therapy research group is to take innovative technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions from laboratory development to prototype production for use in clinical trials.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-operating-room-of-the-future-minimally-invasive-and-future-oriented-intervention-techniques
Article - 14/12/2015 Cathepsin L: overcoming stress in tumours Cathepsins are proteases, i.e. enzymes that break down proteins into smaller fragments. They are also involved in the formation of new blood vessels and wound healing. Another thing that cathepsins do is help tumours spread and form metastases in the body. Prof. Dr. Thomas Reinheckel and his team from the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research at the University of Freiburg are studying how this happens. Insights into the role of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cathepsin-l-den-stress-im-tumor-ueberwinden
Article - 20/07/2015 How cells communicate with each other The ability of cells to move around as a cohesive group and communicate with each other plays a major role in many vital processes, including wound healing and embryo development. One cell becomes a lead cell and determines the direction that follower cells take. Researchers led by biophysicist Joachim Spatz from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have successfully decoded the collective movement of cells in the body.…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-cells-communicate-with-each-other
Article - 26/05/2015 Novel effect of B-Raf inhibitors against bowel cancer discovered Colorectal carcinoma is the most frequent type of bowel cancer and the second most common tumour disease in men and women in Germany. A particularly aggressive form occurs when a mutation is present in the proto-oncogene BRAF. As part of the Collaborative Research Centre 850 at the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research at the University of Freiburg, Dr. Ricarda Herr and Dr. Tilman Brummer are trying to find out how a mutated BRAF gene…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/novel-effect-of-b-raf-inhibitors-against-bowel-cancer-discovered
Article - 11/05/2015 Lung cancer: MTSS1 is a putative marker of tumour progression and metastatic disease Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. 90% of all lung cancer cases in men and 80% in women are due to long-term exposure to tobacco smoke. In Germany, around 140 new cases are diagnosed every day, and 50,000 people die of lung cancer every year. PD Dr. Gian Kayser, senior consultant in the Department of Clinical Pathology at Freiburg University Medical Centre,…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/lung-cancer-mtss1-is-a-putative-marker-of-tumour-progression-and-metastatic-disease
Article - 26/01/2015 A biomarker as indicator for the likelihood of developing aggressive prostate cancer Overexpression of the protein BAZ2A, which leads to alterations in epigenetic patterns, increases the malignant properties of tumour cells, including their mobility and their ability to form metastases. The findings of a team of researchers from Heidelberg, Zurich and Hamburg may have led to the discovery of an urgently needed prognostic biomarker that would make it possible to differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from the less malignant…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-biomarker-as-indicator-for-the-likelihood-of-developing-aggressive-prostate-cancer
Article - 25/08/2014 Frederik Wenz - radiologist sets milestone with new surgical technique for the treatment of bone metastases Can painful bone metastases be treated in a targeted and quick way? Can metastases that are potentially present in the liver and kidneys be adequately treated at the same time as bone metastases? These are the questions that Professor Dr. med. Frederik Wenz from the University Medical Center Mannheim asked himself before going on to develop an innovative surgical technique. After a long development period, this technique is now recognized as an…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/frederik-wenz-radiologist-sets-milestone-with-new-surgical-technique-for-the-treatment-of-bone-metas
Press release - 15/07/2014 amcure Receives EUR 5 Million Funding for the Development of New Tumour Therapeutic Agents amcure GmbH, a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has closed a Series A financing deal amounting to a total of EUR 5 million. The funding comes from a consortium headed by LBBW Venture Capital, with participations from KfW, MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Wuerttemberg, S-Kap Beteiligungen Pforzheim, BioM AG as well as private investors. The company also receives subsidies from the German Ministry of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/amcure-receives-eur-5-million-funding-for-the-development-of-new-tumour-therapeutic-agents
Article - 26/03/2014 CeloNova is taking off CeloNova BioSciences is a global medical device company whose core technology is currently mainly used for interventional cardiology (stents) and tumour embolisation (selective occlusion of tumour arteries) products. The company has been expanding since 2010. CeloNova products are currently available in 52 countries and there are plans to place them on the Asian market in 2014 and further increase company turnover.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/celonova-is-taking-off
Dossier - 15/10/2013 Adult stem cells – hope for regenerative therapies Adult stem cells have the lifelong ability to generate new specialised cells. They secure the continuous replenishment of cells therefore enabling the constant replacement of dying cells with new ones. Progress in the characterisation isolation and specific differentiation of adult stem cells over recent years raises hopes for the future use of the cells in the therapy of degenerative diseases. Knowledge about adult stem cells also has the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/adult-stem-cells-hope-for-regenerative-therapies
Article - 04/07/2013 Experimental evidence of stem cells for metastasis For the first time, scientists from Heidelberg have characterised cancer cells that initiate metastasis in the blood of breast cancer patients using an in-vivo xenograft mouse model. These cells have the properties of cancer stem cells and are characterised by three surface molecules that can be used as biomarkers for disease progression. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/experimental-evidence-of-stem-cells-for-metastasis
Article - 08/04/2013 The first major cell migration It is of crucial importance that cells stick tightly together where their function requires them to do so for example in organs such as the heart and the liver to name but two examples. However it is equally crucial that cells start to migrate at some stage during embryonic development in order to form such organs. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Driever from the Institute of Biology I at the University of Freiburg and his team have elucidated the molecular…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-first-major-cell-migration
Article - 04/02/2013 G protein-coupled receptors and their importance for research and development Brian Kobilka and Robert Lefkowitz were awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking discoveries of the inner workings of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These transmembrane receptors play a key role in the processing of odours and the recognition of hormones. The work of the two American scientists has had an impact on many researchers around the world. In the following interview, Professor Dr. Daniel Legler, head of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/g-protein-coupled-receptors-and-their-importance-for-research-and-development
Article - 29/10/2012 Friederike J. Gruhl – biology is not always enough Researchers are usually only able to explore the development and growth of tumours with animal models. This is because many human cells lose their typical characteristics once outside the body. Friederike J. Gruhl from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT is working to create a biomimetic environment in Petri dishes in which prostate cells thrive and can be manipulated to become tumours for example - if required. The three-dimensional…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/friederike-j-gruhl-biology-is-not-always-enough
Article - 22/10/2012 syneed imaging: precise visualisation of functional tissue properties Functional medical imaging modalities are of great significance in modern medical diagnostics. Existing ways of diagnosing diseases are now being expanded with the arrival of the innovative parameter imaging method. syneed imaging uses proprietary highly sensitive software for the analysis of dynamic image data. This software complements standard methods such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging and increases the significance of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/syneed-imaging-precise-visualisation-of-functional-tissue-properties
Press release - 20/09/2012 Discus throw with cancer signals The Wnt signaling protein plays an important part in embryonic development and also in the development of diseases such as cancer. It has been unknown until now just how Wnt is carried from cell to cell. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University have now discovered that the protein is shipped on small discus-shaped vesicles called exosomes. The researchers are now investigating whether…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/discus-throw-with-cancer-signals
Article - 27/08/2012 Cardiac or intestinal progenitor cells? What controls the fate of pluripotent stem cells? Cell fate decisions are made in the early mouse embryo when it is nothing more than a spherical mass of cells. A molecule known as eomesodermin determines whether pluripotent stem cells become cardiac or intestinal progenitor cells. Dr. Sebastian Arnold and his research group at the Freiburg University Medical Centre have recently discovered why one single molecule can have a twofold effect. These findings provide Arnold and his team with greater…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cardiac-or-intestinal-progenitor-cells-what-controls-the-fate-of-pluripotent-stem-cells
Article - 02/07/2012 amcure GmbH is working on a new compound against pancreatic cancer amcure GmbH has identified a new compound with a new efficacy profile against pancreatic cancer. Animal experiments have shown promising results: the drug candidate successfully prevents tumour growth and destroys existing metastases. The company, which was spun out from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2011, is now working on its first financing round and is looking for new investors. At the same time it is carefully planning its…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/amcure-gmbh-is-working-on-a-new-compound-against-pancreatic-cancer
Article - 26/03/2012 Cancer therapy targets secretory pathways Secretion is a fundamental cellular process. Defects in the secretory pathway have been associated with certain genetic diseases in which the maturation of proteins is disturbed. Non-genetic diseases such as metabolic disorders and cancer have also been linked to a defective secretory pathway. Dr. Hesso Farhan from the University of Konstanz and the Biotechnology Institute Thurgau BITg is investigating possible ways to counteract the development…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cancer-therapy-targets-secretory-pathways
Article - 13/02/2012 Almut Köhler – cadherin-mediated cell adhesion and dispersion Cadherins ensure that cells within tissues are bound together. However this is only one side of the coin. Dr. Almut Köhler from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT and her group of researchers are investigating a cadherin type that is even able to actively promote cell migration in developing frog brains and tumour tissue.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/almut-koehler-cadherin-mediated-cell-adhesion-and-dispersion
Press release - 20/12/2011 No brakes on breast cancer cells Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have discovered a tiny RNA molecule, called miR-520, which at once blocks two important pathways in the development of cancer in cells. In estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, the production of this microRNA is often reduced and this is correlated with malignant behavior of tumor cells. The DKFZ team has found out that tumors with low levels of miR-520 have a particularly strong tendency…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/no-brakes-on-breast-cancer-cells
Article - 24/10/2011 Cadherins and Wnt signals – cell adhesion or growth and dispersion? The proteins of the cadherin family form a kind of molecular zip that binds cells closely together thereby preventing cancer cells from migrating for example. Prof. Dr. Doris Wedlich and her team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT were involved in the discovery that cadherins are not only involved in cell adhesion but also have other functions.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cadherins-and-wnt-signals-cell-adhesion-or-growth-and-dispersion