Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090110702 | Mesothelin Vaccines and Model Systems and Control of Tumors - Mesothelin can be used as an immunotherapeutic target. It induces a cytolytic T cell response. Portions of mesothelin which induce such responses are identified. Vaccines can be either polynucleotide- or polypeptide-based. Carriers for raising a cytolytic T cell response include bacteria and viruses. A mouse model for testing vaccines and other anti-tumor therapeutics and prophylactics comprises a strongly mesothelin-expressing, transformed peritoneal cell line. | 04-30-2009 |
20090165152 | Mesothelin Vaccines and Model Systems - Mesothelin can be used as an immunotherapeutic target. It induces a cytolytic T cell response. Portions of mesothelin which induce such responses are identified. Vaccines can be either polynucleotide- or polypeptide-based. Carriers for raising a cytolytic T cell response include bacteria and viruses. A mouse model for testing vaccines and other anti-tumor therapeutics and prophylactics comprises a strongly mesothelin-expressing, transformed peritoneal cell line. | 06-25-2009 |
20120034318 | DIAGNOSTIC METHOD USING PALB2 - The present invention provides a method for detecting mutations in the PALB2 gene in pancreatic cancer patients and in individuals having a family history of pancreatic cancer. Methods are also provided for diagnosing a predisposition to pancreatic cancer, for predicting a patient's response to pancreatic cancer therapies, and for treating pancreatic cancer, based on presence of a PALB2 mutation or abberant PALB2 gene expression in a patient. | 02-09-2012 |
20120076752 | Mesothelin Vaccines and Model Systems - Mesothelin can be used as an immunotherapeutic target. It induces a cytolytic T cell response. Portions of mesothelin which induce such responses are identified. Vaccines can be either polynucleotide- or polypeptide-based. Carriers for raising a cytolytic T cell response include bacteria and viruses. A mouse model for testing vaccines and other anti-tumor therapeutics and prophylactics comprises a strongly mesothelin-expressing, transformed peritoneal cell line. | 03-29-2012 |
20120115735 | Pathways Underlying Pancreatic Tumorigenesis and an Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer Gene - There are currently few therapeutic options for patients with pancreatic cancers and new insights into the pathogenesis of this lethal disease are urgently needed. To this end, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the genes altered in 24 pancreatic tumors. First, we determined the sequences of 23,781 transcripts, representing 20,583 protein-encoding genes, in DNA from these tumors. Second, we searched for homozygous deletions and amplifications using microarrays querying ˜one million single nucleotide polymorphisms in each sample. Third, we analyzed the transcriptomes of the same samples using SAGE and next-generation sequencing-by-synthesis technologies. We found that pancreatic cancers contain an average of 63 genetic alterations, of which 49 are point mutations, 8 are homozygous deletions, and 6 are amplifications. Further analyses revealed a core set of 12 regulatory processes or pathways that were each genetically altered in 70% to 100% of the samples. The data suggest that dysregulation of this core set of pathways is responsible for the major features of pancreatic tumorigenesis. | 05-10-2012 |
20130157884 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS INVOLVING MIRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS FOR DISTINGUISHING PANCREATIC CYSTS - Embodiments concern methods and compositions for evaluating a pancreatic cyst in a patient based on the expression levels of one or more miRNAs to determine whether the pancreatic cyst is a low or high risk lesion and in further need of treatment such as resection. | 06-20-2013 |
20140045881 | GENES FREQUENTLY ALTERED IN PANCREATIC NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS - Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (PanNETs) are a rare but clinically important form of pancreatic neoplasia. To explore the genetic basis of PanNETs, we determined the exomic sequences of ten non-familial PanNETs and then screened the most commonly mutated genes in 58 additional PanNETs. Remarkably, the most frequently mutated genes specify proteins implicated in chromatin remodeling: 44% of the tumors had somatic inactivating mutations in MEN-1, which encodes menin, a component of a histone methyltransferase complex; and 43% had mutations in genes encoding either of the two subunits of a transcription/chromatin remodeling complex consisting of DAXX (death-domain associated protein) and ATRX (alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked). Clinically, mutations in the MEN1 and DAXX/ATRX genes were associated with better prognosis. We also found mutations in genes in the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway in 14% of the tumors, a finding that could potentially be used to stratify patients for treatment with mTOR inhibitors. | 02-13-2014 |
20140050751 | Mesothelin Vaccines and Model Systems - Mesothelin can be used as an immunotherapeutic target. It induces a cytolytic T cell response. Portions of mesothelin which induce such responses are identified. Vaccines can be either polynucleotide- or polypeptide-based. Carriers for raising a cytolytic T cell response include bacteria and viruses. A mouse model for testing vaccines and other anti-tumor therapeutics and prophylactics comprises a strongly mesothelin-expressing, transformed peritoneal cell line. | 02-20-2014 |
20140179538 | MUTATIONS IN PANCREATIC NEOPLASMS - To help reveal the pathogenesis of these lesions, we purified the DNA from Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN) cyst fluids from 19 patients and searched for mutations in 169 genes commonly altered in human cancers. We identified recurrent mutations at codon 201 of GNAS. We found that GNAS mutations were present in 66% of IPMNs and that either KRAS or GNAS mutations could be identified in 96%. In eight cases, we could investigate invasive adenocarcinomas that developed in association with IPMNs containing GNAS mutations. In seven of these eight cases, the GNAS mutations present in the IPMNs were also found in the invasive lesion. GNAS mutations were not found in other types of cystic neoplasms of the pancreas or in invasive adenocarcinomas not associated with IPMNs. These data suggest that GNAS mutations can inform the diagnosis and management of patients with cystic pancreatic lesions. | 06-26-2014 |
20140323344 | Differential Identification of Pancreatic Cysts - More than 2% of adults harbor a pancreatic cyst, a subset of which progress to invasive lesions with lethal consequences. To assess the genomic landscapes of neoplastic cysts of the pancreas, we determined the exomic sequences of DNA from the neoplastic epithelium of eight surgically resected cysts of each of the major neoplastic cyst types: serous cystadenomas (SCAs), intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) and solid pseudo-papillary neoplasms (SPNs). SPNs are low-grade malignancies, and IPMNs and MCNs, but not SCAs, have the capacity to progress to cancer. We found that SCAs, IPMNs, MCNs, and SPNs contained 10=4.6, 27=12, 16=7.6, and 2.9=2.1 somatic mutations per tumor, respectively. Among the mutations identified, E3 ubiquitin ligase components were of particular note. Four of the eight SCAs contained mutations of VHL, a key component of the VHL ubiquitin ligase complex that has previously been associated both with renal cell carcinomas, SCAs, and other neoplasms. Six of the eight IPMNs and three of the eight MCNs harbored mutations of RNF43, a gene coding for a protein with intrinsic E3 ubiquitin ligase activity that has not previously been found to be genetically altered in any human cancer. The preponderance of inactivating mutations in RNF43 unequivocally establish it as a suppressor of both IPMNs and MCNs. SPNs contained remarkably few genetic alterations, but always contained mutations of CTNNB1, previously demonstrated to inhibit degradation of the encoded protein (β-catenin) by E3 ubiquitin ligases. These results highlight the essential role of ubiquitin ligases in these neoplasms and have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cystic tumors. | 10-30-2014 |