U.S. study reveals mechanism of lung cancer drug resistance

New research published this week in Nature Medicine indicates that targeted drugs such as gefitinib might more effectively treat non-small cell lung cancer if they could be combined with agents that block certain microRNAs.

The study, led by investigators with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, shows that overexpression of two genes called MET and EGFR causes the deregulation of six microRNAs, and that this deregulation leads to gefitinib resistance.

The findings support the development of agents that restore the levels of these microRNAs. It offers a new strategy for treating non-small cell lung cancer, which is responsible for about 85 percent of the 221,000 lung-cancer cases and 157,000 deaths that occur annually in the United States. It also suggests that measuring the expression levels of certain microRNAs -- those controlled by the MET gene -- might predict which lung-cancer cases are likely to be resistant to gefitinib.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer, and this leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation. Gefitinib selectively inhibits EGFR activation and triggers cancer cells to self-destruct by apoptosis. However, non-small cell lung cancer cells inevitably develop resistance to the drug. The study reveals how this resistance occurs.

"Our findings suggest that gefitinib resistance that is caused by MET overexpression is at least partly due to miRNA deregulation, " says principal investigator Carlo Croce.

Air is thick with smog complaints

The air quality has worsened in the Chinese capital since Wednesday, triggering renewed discontent among residents.

Without rainfall and wind to dispel pollutants, particulate matter has been accumulating in the air. Most monitoring stations measured PM 10 (particulate matter smaller than 10 micrograms) at higher than 300 micrograms a cubic meter.

In southwestern Beijing's Fangshan district, the Liangxiang station recorded 516 micrograms of PM 10 a cubic meter, the highest reading of the day, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.

More than 150 micrograms a cubic meter is considered hazardous to health.

Beijing has been shrouded by heavy smog off and on this winter, and the ongoing air concerns are wearing on residents particularly as they prepare to celebrate the Spring Festival holiday next week.

"I almost got choked by the smog when I stepped out of the office building on Wednesday," said Yang Yanli, 24, an accountant. "The smell is so terrible, as though I'm inhaling chunks of coal, that it has spoiled my holiday mood."

"PM 10 intensity has been particularly high these days," said Wang Qiuxia, a researcher at the Green Beagle, a non-governmental organization based in Beijing.

Unlike the smog that hit mostly the southern part of the capital on Jan 1, the smog in recent days has shrouded the entire city, according to the Beijing environmental protection bureau.

Worse yet, it will linger until Saturday, when the wind will pick up and disperse it, the bureau predicted.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests people stay at home to protect themselves from respiratory and heart problems triggered by heavy smog.

"The intensity of indoor pollutants is 30 to 60 percent lower than those outdoors during a hazy day," said Xu Dongqun, an officer with the environmental bureau. "I suggest people with respiratory problems put off traveling if the smog lingers."

But many people said they had to brave the foul air to travel, especially migrants who are eager to reunite with their families during Spring Festival.

"No one likes to travel when the air is this bad, but do you have any choice when Spring Festival is coming?" asked Feng Xiao, a public servant at China's General Administration of Sport. The 24-year-old plans to travel by train from Beijing to her hometown in East China's Shandong province on Friday.

(Source: China Daily)

China to expand regulation on cosmetic contact lenses

China will regulate the production and sale of cosmetic colored contact lenses by including them in its list of items classified as "medical apparatus."

Some people wear such non-corrective colored contacts to change or enhance eye color for cosmetic and fashion purposes.

As these contacts are not for vision correction and medication purposes, they are currently off limits to the country's medical administration and regulators, said a statement published on the website of the State Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.

However, with the increasingly popular use of cosmetic contacts, safety and quality problems due to the regulation loophole are likely to harm consumers' health, and the administration has decided to expand the current medical regulation on contact lenses to cover cosmetic ones, the statement said.

It explained that the administration will soon issue a notice to ban the manufacture and sale of these contacts without proper registration and licenses.

The statement also warned consumers of the risks of these contacts and suggested they carefully choose and use such products.