Cancers Change: New Biopsies Reveal Surprising Differences Between Primary and Metastatic Breast Cancers
March 29, 2009
When a woman is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, she rarely undergoes a new biopsy, despite the knowledge in the scientific community that most cancers undergo molecular changes over the course of the disease. Treatment decisions are based on the results of the original biopsy of the primary tumor. However, this course of action may now change in light of a recent study published in the Annals of Oncology on March 18, 2009.

Finding Gene Fusions in Haystacks of Cancer Transcripts
January 22, 2009
Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical Center have recently devised a new method to uncover dangerous "gene fusions" that can lead to cancer. The identification of these new genetic errors may lead to new targeted cancer treatments.

Watching Drugs in Action
January 6, 2009
Why does chemotherapy succeed in some patients, yet fail in other patients? Even within a patient, why does chemotherapy kill some cancer cells, yet spare others? What if scientists could peer directly into cells to see what effects a drug was having? A recent article published in the journal Science shows how this can be done.