Research Briefs

Breakthrough Cream Battles Skin Cancer            
In a recent article published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, UAB dermatology professor Mohammad Athar, Ph.D., revealed that a skin cream he created may repair DNA damaged by the sun, signifying a major breakthrough in the fight against skin cancer.            

First used on mouse models, the cream reduced skin cancer growth by restoring p53 proteins, a tumor-suppressing gene. Mutations in these proteins are also found in many other cancers, including breast and pancreatic. Most skin cancers are caused by exposure to ultraviolet light from either natural or artificial sunlight, and Dr. Athar hopes that one day the cream will be included in sunscreen as an active cancer-fighting ingredient. He plans to conduct phase I and II clinical trials at UAB soon, as well as investigate the compound’s use against other cancers.

Ovarian Cancer Risk Reduced            
Researchers assess that birth control pills containing estrogen have prevented some 200,000 cases of ovarian cancer, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. Results showed that women who had taken oral contraceptives were 27 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer. Even more significant were the long-term effects. For every five years of use, the risk decreased by 20 percent—and by 29 percent in the first 10 years after terminating the use of the pills.            

Although oral contraceptives reduced the long-term risk of ovarian cancer, risks for some side effects increased. Therefore, researchers do not recommend that women use oral contraceptives as a preventive measure against ovarian cancer, but to consider the reduction of risk when discussing contraceptive choice.

Cancer Treatments, Death Rates Improve for Children            
Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among children and adolescents, with many of those cases attributed to leukemia. Recent reports from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, however, reveal that cancer deaths among children are declining.            

Once adjusted for population growth, reports conclude that in 2004 there were 27.3 cancer deaths per million children and adolescents, compared to 34.2 deaths in 1990. These declining rates were the same for all demographic groups, and much of the credit goes to improvements in treatments.  

Are Cancer Death Rates Stabilizing?            
Overall cancer death rates have dropped 1 percent a year since 1990 and 2 percent in 2003-04, allowing the total number of cancer deaths to fall below the rate for the first time since 1930. Yet the rate rose to 1 percent in 2005, with 5,400 more deaths reported, according to the American Cancer Society.            

With the nation’s growing population, the stabilizing numbers do not surprise many experts. Some officials suggest that cancer screenings are not as effective as in the past, while others are concerned that many people are not getting screened because of health insurance issues.            

Cancer rates are still declining, however, with more than half a million cancer deaths being avoided since 1990. The American Cancer Society attributes this drop to a decrease in smoking, earlier detection and improved treatments.

Discovery from the Deep            
For more than 20 years, UAB marine biologists have been diving into the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica—and what they have discovered in those icy waters could impact cancer research.            

Led by “Chuck and Jim”—UAB biologists Charles Amsler, Ph.D., and James McClintock, Ph.D.—the research team includes graduate students and other research assistants. Together with colleagues from the University of South Florida, the group specifically studies benthic, or bottom-dwelling, organisms such as seaweeds and sponges on the ocean floor.            

The team has been investigating the chemical ecology of these organisms and has found certain defense mechanisms that might prove helpful in fighting cancer. Some of the defenses—such as the creation of chemicals that make the organism taste bad—enable benthic creatures to avoid predators. Chemicals including carbon and nitrogen also help the organisms grow faster and move more quickly.            

“There’s an evolutionary trade-off between maintaining defenses and trying to outgrow or outproduce predators,” says Dr. Amsler. “In the big picture, much of our work focuses on trying to understand those trade-offs.”            

The chemical defenses produced by benthic organisms are a rich source of potential new medications, says Dr. McClintock; as a result, UAB’s Antarctic program now includes underwater missions for drug discovery. He and his team recently discovered an exciting chemical compound in sea squirts that, in early tests, has shown to be extremely powerful against melanoma.            

The National Cancer Institute will soon conduct further tests on the compound. In the meantime, Dr. Amsler and his UAB team returned to Antarctica this year for a five-month research stint. “As scientists studying basic questions about ecology, we find it very rewarding to know that our work may have a positive impact on humanity by helping find a new drug to fight cancer,” says Dr. McClintock.