Can Apoptosis Proteins Predict Survival in Early Colon Cancer?
John Reed, MD, PhD, is the President and CEO of the Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA, where he leads a team of some 40 researchers who are examining diagnostic testing methods aimed at pinpointing the likelihood of cancer relapse among patients with early-stage breast, colon or prostate cancer. Dr. Reed will present the status of their research during his presentation entitled, “Can Apoptosis Proteins Predict Survival in Early Colon Cancer?,” at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC), being held July 20-24, 2003 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA. More than 16,000 attendees are expected. Background and Research When tumors arise, they often develop defects in the machinery that controls the lifespan and death of cells (the apoptosis machinery). These tumors also exhibit certain behaviors that make them resistant to cell death mechanisms. In the event a normal cell emanating from either the breast, color or prostate detaches,
