Healthcare industry

Article - 21/02/2011

Hope for more effective brain tumour therapy

Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive type of brain tumour in humans. It has a tendency to recur and it carries a bad prognosis. Intensive research into the molecular reaction chains involved in its pathogenesis has led to promising and effective treatment strategies.

Article - 07/02/2011

The discovery of the individual as business model

The move towards personalised medicine has made considerable progress, in particular in the field of oncology, where it is leading to the close integration of diagnostics and therapy as well as to the development of profitable new business models, some of which have controversial exclusive legal claims.

Article - 29/04/2010

Cancer stem cells arise from tissue stem cells

The Tlx transcription factor induces the transformation of neural stem cells into new nerve cells in the adult brain. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg showed that the overproduction of Tlx and the silencing of the p53 tumour suppressor gene in mice stimulates the development of malignant brain tumours glioblastomas from brain stem cells.

Article - 25/02/2010

Molecular marker for the treatment of lung cancer

Whether the treatment of lung cancer with therapeutic antibodies is successful or not largely depends on the genetic makeup of the tumour. There is a need for reliable biomarkers that can predict patients’ response to treatment.

Article - 25/01/2010

The two sides of a cell

Almost all cells are asymmetric – this is why for example the intestines, the brain and lungs function so well. Tumour diseases show why it is so important for a cell to have two different sides, a “head” and a “foot”. In cancer, genes that are responsible for the correct development of cell polarity are often defective. Dr. Felix Loosli from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology investigates epithelial cells in the retina of the small Japanese…

Press release - 24/11/2009

Three new collaborative research centres in Baden-Württemberg

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is set to establish 17 new collaborative research centres (SFBs) on 1st January 2010. Ten of the new SFBs will focus on life science research projects, and will initially be funded for a period of four years with a total of 78 million euros in funding. One of the SFBs will be established at the University of Freiburg. Six of the 17 new SFBs are SFB/Transregio projects involving researchers from several German…

Article - 10/09/2009

Cadherins – keeping cells together is not their only purpose

If they are absent everything goes wrong. Right from the development of the embryo the cell adhesion molecules of the cadherin superfamily ensure that cells are bound together while they are developing and when they become adult organisms. Cadherins fix tissue in place and give it shape and identity. But this is far from being all that they do. Dr. Dirk Junghans and his team at the Freiburg University Medical Centre have carried out experiments…

Article - 23/07/2009

Making cancer cells commit suicide

They divide and divide, and no natural border can stop them. Tumours such as the Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer that occurs predominantly in teenagers, grow incessantly, making treatment difficult. A few years ago, Prof. Dr. Udo Kontny and his team from the University Hospital in Freiburg discovered a way to stop the growth of this particular tumour by activating a switch on the surface of cells which induces cellular death. Can physicians learn to…

Article - 14/07/2009

Tiny particles are a weapon against tumours

Prostate carcinoma is one of the most common malignant diseases claiming more than 84000 lives per year in the EU and the United States. In cooperation with the University of Constance the Thurgau Biotechnology Institute BITg is working on ways to remove prostate carcinomas and other tumours that are difficult to treat by using tiny particles made of biologically degradable polyester. Prof. Dr. Marcus Groettrup and his team of researchers have…

Article - 29/06/2009

Alternative protein structures and breast cancer

A single protein can have many variants. This variability is achieved by a process known as splicing which can introduce small modifications into the mRNA transcript of a gene. Prof. Dr. Elmar Stickeler from the University Womens Hospital in Freiburg found that some of these splice variants can also induce cancer. Stickeler and his team are investigating how splicing factors change their target molecules and how this leads to breast cancer. This…

Article - 22/06/2009

New method enables the early and reliable detection of metastatic melanoma cells

The presence of lymph node metastases has a considerable effect on the prognosis and therapy of patients with malignant melanomas. Therefore the histopathological examination of what are known as sentinel lymph nodes the first lymph nodes that metastasising cancer cells reach is of great importance. However the examination method has its technical limitations where very small metastases are concerned. Professor Dr. Anja Ulmer a dermatologist at…

Press release - 22/06/2009

New important triggers for the migration of cancer cells

Embryonic cells and metastasising cancer cells are able to migrate and intrude into other tissues. Investigations of frog embryos have now provided scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with the information that a well-known protein, cadherin-11, triggers cell migration. This glycoprotein is also responsible for the defective behaviour of cells that results in prostate cancer and arthritis.

Press release - 10/06/2009

6.56 million euros for first full-body PET-MRI prototype

The Joint Science Conference in Bonn has announced that the University of Tübingen will receive 6.56 million euros for the purchase of an entirely new multimodal full-body tomography system for the diagnosis of cancer. The new full-body PET-MRI combines positron emission tomography PET with magnetic resonance imaging MRI in one device.

Article - 11/05/2009

Metastasis-inducing cancer stem cells

Just a small subpopulation of cancer cells namely metastasis-inducing cancer stem cells MICs is potentially responsible for the formation of distant malignant tumour metastases. The characterisation of MICs and the clarification of mechanisms that lead to their reactivation from a dormant state opens up new strategies for the development of new effective therapies against metastasising tumours.

Article - 20/04/2009

Non-invasive laser technology for the treatment of malignant tumours

The Department of Thoracic Surgery at Constance Hospital has since March 2009 been using an innovative laser scalpel for removing metastases of malignant tumours from the lung. This will open up numerous new possibilities which at the moment are unfortunately not fully exploited at all hospitals due to lack of knowledge.

Article - 20/04/2009

Biomarkers for the identification of metastases

Prof. Dr. Heike Allgayer a surgeon and molecular biologist from Heidelberg is investigating the molecular processes of the formation of tumour metastases. A major objective of her research is to find specific biomarkers that enable the early identification of metastases and to monitor the outcome of therapy. She has already received numerous prizes for her achievements.

Article - 07/04/2009

All-rounders that export cancer

Migrating stem cells have been the focus of attention for some years now opening up potential new strategies for cancer research and therapy. Professor Dr. Thomas Brabletz and his team at the University Medical Centre in Freiburg are working on these stem cells that have an ability to generate new tumours anywhere in the body.

Article - 18/02/2009

Dormant stem cells can be awakened with interferon alpha

With a number of new papers published in renowned scientific journals Prof. Dr. Andreas Trumpp has been able to further cement his outstanding reputation as one of the world leaders in stem cell research. Trumpp who has been professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology at the German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ since summer 2008 also became head of the newly founded Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine…

At present active immunotherapy seems to produce the best results in the treatment of cancer. The Tübingen-based biotech company CureVac is now hoping to achieve a breakthrough in cancer therapy with a worldwide unique vaccine. The first clinical trials have recently commenced.

Protein kinases are a major focus of modern cancer research. Since it has become known that these enzymes play a role in the development of tumours, researchers around the world are concentrating on finding drugs to inhibit overactive protein kinases and prevent cancer cells from growing. One of these active substances is currently being tested at the Tumour Biology Centre in Freiburg as part of a worldwide phase III clinical trial.

The European Research Council is to fund a project at the University Hospital of Freiburg on the development of ultra fast magnetic resonance imaging for applications in the fields of neurology the neurosciences and oncology.

Scientists of the Division of Theoretical Bioinformatics at the German Cancer Research Center DKFZ in Heidelberg have simulated on the computer how cells decide whether or not to migrate. The method forges new paths in cancer medicine.

In future small bubbles will allow the identification of pathological alterations at a very early stage. Molecular imaging methods developed by Bracco Imaging S.p.A. use a new ultrasound contrast agent. The German subsidiary of the company Bracco Imaging Deutschland GmbH based in Constance develops and sells contrast agents.

Cancer cells are dangerous foodies. They metabolise far greater amounts of sugar than healthy cells. Nuclear medicine experts make use of cancer cells craving for sugar since the advent of modern positron emission tomography PET. This has led to an improvement in the quality of cancer treatment.

Professor Peter Öhlschläger established his major scientific interests very early on. During his degree thesis at the German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ in Heidelberg the immunologist succeeded in combining his two major interests namely virology and cancer. Öhlschläger is now junior professor at the University of Constance and mainly deals with the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines.