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FIRST WORDS
DISCOVERY PAVES THE WAY FOR PERSONALIZED PROSTATE CANCER TREATMENT Dr. John Lewis is unlocking the secret to prostate cancer, having recently led research on the “key” to personalized cancer treatment through screening technology. These keys are biomarkers, he says, that may help identify unique strings of amino acids that recognize a patient’s cancer cells, which could then allow for specialized treatment through targeting just the cancer cells, instead of the surrounding healthy ones too. But each adapted drug needs to be evaluated with clinical trials, cautions Lewis. However, “cancer research and treatment is headed in the direction of personalized medicine, so the approval process may become more streamlined in the future.”
GIVING INFANTS THE BREATH OF LIFE Two Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researchers are turning the ABCs of infant resuscitation on its head. BY ROSS NEITZ
would move around a little bit, and then they would stop and project these little fingers out of the tumour cell.” Those fingers are called invadopodia, and according to Lewis, it’s the first time they have been seen in cancer in a live model. The video evidence shows they are necessary for extravasation, as the entire tumour cell eventually follows the invadopodium out of the bloodstream and into the tissue. “It was one of those eureka moments that you don’t get very often,” says Lewis. “You cherish it as much as you can.” The findings may hold important implications for the future treatment of cancer. Lewis says his work shows the invadopodia can be inhibited pharmaceutically, stopping tumour cells from escaping the bloodstream and blocking the process of extravasation. According to Lewis though, the treatments may only have clinical use in very specific situations. Most often, by the time many cancers are diagnosed, metastasis has already occurred in the body and it’s too late to prevent extravasation. But the U of A scientist says the treatments could be extremely useful if applied during surgical procedures. “There is emerging evidence, and it’s scary evidence, that potentially these procedures can facilitate the spread of [cancer] cells,” explains Lewis. “After surgery some cells may be shed off the tumour and be circulated around the blood stream, and evidence suggests that there is an increased chance that these patients may develop metastatic disease somewhere down the road. So there might be a role for these kinds of treatments during surgery or after a biopsy to prevent metastasis.” Lewis says much more study is needed looking into the components of invadopodia, as well as work to develop targeted drugs that can inhibit it without causing broad side effects for the patient. He believes if there is a chance in the future to cure or block metastasis, fully understanding extravasation is a critical part. A part Lewis hopes his work plays a starring role in. “Hopefully in 20 years, looking back, we’ll appreciate how significant [this discovery] is.” UAM UALBERTAMEDICINE
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or parents, the work being done
by researchers Dr. Po-Yin Cheung and Dr. Georg Schmölzer could not be more meaningful. Cheung and Schmölzer’s efforts are focused on the resuscitation of newborn babies—and their latest findings, being tested in a clinical trial in Edmonton, have already helped save the lives of eight infants. “The first time I saw it, I was excited,” says Schmölzer, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics. “It was the greatest thing.” The life-saving work has re-imagined how to best resuscitate newborns just minutes after their birth. Every year, hundreds of thousands of babies around the world die after resuscitation efforts fail. Finding a way to save them has become a top-10 research priority in Newborn Health of the World Health Organization. According to Cheung, a professor in the departments of pediatrics, pharmacology and surgery, the new resuscitation method he and Schmölzer have pioneered may offer a solution. “In our highly translatable clinical model, the survival rate with this new method is close to 90 per cent, compared with a 35 per cent survival rate using the conventional model.” Resuscitation is needed for about one in