The FDA was given the okay by their panel of advisors to approve the drug Provenge, an immunotherapy that stimulates the immune system to help fight cancer cells.

The drug is designed for patients with metastatic prostate cancer who stop responding to hormonal therapy. The drug triggers the immune system to recognize a particular protein that is found on about 95 percent of all prostate cancer cells. When the immune system identifies the protein, it attacks the cancer cells.

The drug has shown in two previous trials that it increases survival in patients that have prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.

It's called triple-negative breast cancer and it manifests itself in the lack of expression of two cell surface proteins -- estrogen and progesterone receptors -- and also the protein HER2.

It's a disease that does not typically respond to treatment with standard chemotherapy drugs and therefore, diagnosis can come with a poor prognosis. But a new study out of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston indicates this type of disease is sensitive to the drug cisplatin.

The study, appearing online in the April 19 Journal of Clinical Investigation and in the journal's May print issue, shows that triple-negative breast cancer expresses larger amounts of two proteins, delta-Np63 and TAp73. Delta-Np63 binds to TAp73 and prevents it from killing cancerous cells. Cisplatin does the trick, though, and releases TAp73 from delta-Np63. This causes the cells to die and offers hope for a sometimes hopeless disease.

Theranostics Health LLC is a company that was formed by George Mason University cancer researchers Dr. Lance Liotta and Emanuel Petricoin.

The company plans to tailor cancer treatments to individual patients based on proteomics, the study of proteins. Proteins play a central role in our bodies. Understanding the structure and function of each protein and its complexities of protein interactions can be critical for developing the most effective diagnostic techniques and disease treatments in the future.

Information about protein activity in tumors can allow doctors to choose the best drugs to kill the cancer cells. President and CEO of the company Joseph Reilly said "The physicians will then be provided a new class of information about that patients' individual cancer. This will enable the physician to tailor the therapy based on the individual patients' tumor."

One size fits all for cancer treatment is hopefully on its way out. We need to prescribe the right therapy to the right patient. This will increase treatment success rates and also spare patients unnecessary toxicity from chemotherapy drugs that would be unsuitable for their tumor.

The future cost of producing cancer drugs may have dropped in price with the laying of eggs from genetically-modified chickens.

Roslin Institute scientists have announced the successful creation of five generations of chickens that can lay eggs containing a specific protein needed to manufacture drugs used in the treatment of cancer. The Roslin Institute is the same research facility that cloned the Finn Dorset lamb named Dolly.

According to the BBC News report that states, "the work at Roslin shows it is now possible to use chickens as biofactories," more than one genetically-modified animal is being used as just such a factory for complex proteins needed to produce drugs.

It will be five-to-ten years before the drugs made from the protein of eggs from these genetically-modified chickens can be safely used, if clinical trials show favorable outcomes.

Glioblastoma is the deadliest form of brain cancer, most often striking patients in their 50s and 60s who after diagnosis typically have only 10 to 12 months to live.

Glioblastoma is a shocking diagnosis -- and while the tumors don't tend to spread outside the brain, they resist surgery and return even when half the brain is removed. They also are resistant to most treatment. Clearly, insight into this deadly cancer is a must. Thankfully, a little slice of insight has just emerged.

Armed with findings from experiments in mice, researchers report they've discovered a clue that might help unravel the mystery of glioblastomas.

Studies show that some mice recovered from a human form of brain cancer when given bone morphogenetic proteins that appeared to interfere with the cancer growth process in stem-like cells. This leads researchers to believe the proteins could be used to stop cancer growth and prevent it from recurring.

The research is not ready for prime time, says one of the researchers who maintains there is still a long way to go. Yet the findings are promising -- and they suggest stem cells may play a critical role in tumor formation.

About 17,000 to 18,000 Americans develop brain cancer each year. Half of these patients will be diagnosed with glioblastoma.

Cancer cells sometimes secrete specialized proteins into the bloodstream that serve as indicators of tumor growth. These tumor markers are often distinctly associated with a particular type of cancer. Like prostate cancer.

The most well-known tumor marker today is the PSA -- the prostate-specific antigen. PSA is a highly specific protein that is secreted only by cells of the prostate gland. It is one of the most widely used -- and the only widely accepted -- screening test for cancer.

There's also the tumor marker CA-125, used in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer and in the monitoring of response to treatment for the same disease. There's CEA for colon cancer, CA-19-9 for pancreatic cancer, AFP for liver and testicular cancer, beta-HCG for testicular cancer, and CA 15-3 for breast cancer. And research is under way on newer, more useful tumor markers. This is a good thing -- because some tumor markers are not specific enough or sensitive enough to accurately predict tumor growth.

This is why my oncologist does not recommend I enter the world of tumor markers, despite my status as a breast cancer survivor. He suggests I rely simply on how I feel for monitoring my chances for cancer recurrence. If I experience any worrisome symptoms, he will be the first to wage an all-out assessment of my health. But without symptoms, tumor markers are not likely to help me at all.

A peek at my breast cancer tumor markers would likely be hazy, inconclusive, and not all that helpful. Examination of tumor markers can lead to false positives. It can lead to expensive and often unnecessary follow-up testing. It can lead to worry and panic and even alarm if the numbers are not in the hoped-for range.

Although an abnormal tumor marker level may suggest cancer, this alone is typically not enough to diagnose the disease. Measurements of tumor markers are usually combined with other tests, such as a biopsy, to confirm cancer. So what would I do with an abnormal number and nothing suspicious to biopsy? I would worry. I would panic. Perhaps unnecessarily.

My doctor suggests I refrain from a wild cancer chase. And I am happy with his suggestion. Between my own awareness, follow-up oncology appointments, mammograms, annual OB/GYN check-ups, and more, I am confident any health issues that come my way will be detected early -- and can be resolved in good time. I have no need for confusing tumor marker details. Unless they are conclusively recommended, I will survive without them. More important, I will survive without worry.

A type of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) called mantle cell lymphoma accounts for about five to ten percent of all lymphomas. According to an article recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Velcade (bortezobib) is an effective treatment option for patients with mantle cell lymphoma that has stopped responding to prior treatments.

Velcade is an agent known as a proteasome inhibitor. Proteasome inhibitors are drugs that block the action of proteasomes, proteins found in virtually all cells that regulate several aspects of cellular activity. By blocking the activity of proteasomes it can lead to the death of cancer cells. Bortezobib is the first therapeutic proteasome inhibitor to be approved for use in the United States.

Researchers conducted a clinical trial to evaluate Velcade in the treatment of fifteen patients with mantle cell lymphoma that has recurred or progressed following prior therapies. Anticancer responses occurred in 33 percent of patients and after over 13 months follow up, over half the patients were still surviving.

Can a spoonful of sugar treat cancer? No. Actually, the lack therof, might prove a valuable tool in halting the spread of cancer. Leading scientist Dr Robert Falconer is trying to develop new drugs based on the knowledge that there exists on the surface of cancer cells 200 identical simple sugars that make up a long molecule called polysialic acid -- and the more polysialic acid on cancer cells the easier the spread of cancer cells.

And if you are thinking -- well -- that sounds like a rather simplistic explanation of the science behind the research Dr Falconer is involved in regarding the study of sugars on the surface of cancer cells -- you might be right. Then again, according to Dr Falconer, it might be rather simple and yet largely ignored as it has been in preference of research that has focused more on the proteins found on the surface of cancer cells.

The surface of cells carries a complex mixture of proteins and sugars.

The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) thinks Dr Falconer might be on to something, as they are providing funding for three years of additional research into finding new molecules to stop the increased polysialic acid production cancer cells seem to count on before their move beyond the original tumor location.

One of the most important factors in finding a cure for cancer is to figure out what causes our cells to change and become malignant. A study was done by Edinburgh scientists at the University of Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre.

There is an important protein residing in our cells that inhibits cancer. This protein is called p53. Another protein called MDM2 controls the activity of the p53 protein. The study showed that the ratio between the MDM2 and the p53 protein can become unbalanced. This can cause the P53 protein to not perform as it should.

If the cell protein MDM2 can be stopped from interfering with the protein p53 then that is another way that scientists can come up with new therapies to treat cancer. Let's hope for new non-toxic therapies while we are at it!

500 years ago, Ponce De Leon, one of the explorers who sailed with Christopher Columbus, became famous when he set off in search of the fountain of youth. He heard stories about a magical water source that could keep a person young. He didn't find the magical water source, but he did find Florida. Aging, and how to stop the hands of time, are still of interest to scientists today. They are simply a different kind of explorer, who use microscopes instead of ships, in the voyage of their explorations. We are human, and humans want to live long and remain young longer.

Aging increases the risk for cancer. So, in a study of how aging works on a cellular level, scientists are also studying how cancer works on a cellular level. Buck Institute in the USA and the University of Manchester in the UK researchers found a protein that plays a role in aging and is linked to cancer prevention -- in the checkpoint  proteins of the nematode worm. By removing some of the proteins, they could increase the lifespan of the worm by 15 to 30 percent. This could open the door to understanding why some people seem genetically programmed for longevity and also seem to have a greater resistance in the development of cancers.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. Right now there are slightly over two million women living in the U.S. who have been treated for breast cancer.  Maritech is researching new and less expensive ways to detect breast cancer.

Matritech scientists, using a research mass spectrometer, discovered the existence of certain proteins in the blood of breast cancer patients that were generally not present in the blood of women without detectable breast malignancy. Matritech is developing test methods for NMP66 proteins in a proprietary laboratory procedure. Results of the company's testing indicate that NMP66 proteins found in the blood of women with breast cancer may enable physicians to more effectively manage women with or at a risk for breast cancer.