Microwave thermotherapy

Image at left shows process of detecting and destroying an enemy missile using MIT targeted radar. Microwave energy is fixed on a missile while simultaneously nullifying enemy jammers. On right, microwave energy is aimed at a cancerous tumor with a deep focused beam while simultaneously nullifying any energy that would overheat surrounding healthy tissue.
Image courtesy of Lincoln Laboratory

Treating cancer with heat is not a new idea, but researchers were having trouble using it to treat tumors deep within the body.

The microwaves in the new technique heat--and kill--cells containing high amounts of water and ions, or electrically charged atoms. Cancer cells typically have a high content of both, while healthy breast tissue contains much less. The outpatient procedure uses a single tiny needle probe to sense and measure parameters during treatment. Side effects appear to be minimal.

In this study tumors shrunk by approximately 50 percent more in women treated with both the MIT technique and chemotherapy, versus women treated with chemotherapy alone.

The results of both clinical studies will be presented at the 17th Annual National Interdisciplinary Breast Center Conference in Las Vegas, from Feb. 25-28.

Another, larger clinical study for patients with large breast cancer tumors is expected to begin later this year at six institutions in the United States and Canada.

Other potential clinical studies for treating recurrent breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ and benign breast lesions with the MIT thermotherapy treatment, as well as its use to enhance anti-estrogen therapy for breast cancer prevention, are also described in the book.

Read More: Breast Cancer Treatment by Focused Microwave Thermotherapy
(Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007)
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Foxp3

This schematic represents the researchers' strategy to identify where Foxp3 physically interacts with the genome in T cells. The background is a microarray where the red probes reveal regions of DNA where Foxp3 is bound.
(Image: Tom DiCesare)
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The immune system is a defense network that guards the body from invaders.
Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis occur when the immune system fails to regulate itself. But researchers have not known precisely where the molecular breakdowns responsible for such failures occur.

Now, a team of scientists from the Whitehead Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a key set of genes that lie at the core of autoimmune disease, findings that may help scientists develop new methods for manipulating immune system activity.

A group of white blood cells called T cells are the frontline soldiers of immune defense, engaging invading pathogens head on. These T cells are commanded by a second group of cells called regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells prevent biological "friendly fire" by ensuring that the T cells do not attack the body's own tissues. Failure of the regulatory T cells to control the frontline fighters leads to autoimmune disease.

Regulatory T cells are themselves controlled by a master gene regulator called Foxp3. Master gene regulators bind to specific genes and control their level of activity, which in turn affects the behavior of cells.

In fact, when Foxp3 stops functioning, the body can no longer produce working regulatory T cells. When this happens, the frontline T cells damage multiple organs and cause symptoms of type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease. However, until now, scientists have barely understood how Foxp3 controls regulatory T cells because they knew almost nothing about the actual genes under Foxp3's purview.

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