Pee Worried!!!

News Article:
Drug Week Editors (February 11, 2005) “Fragile histidine triad gene inactivation supports bladder cancer formation.”
Primary Article:
Vecchione, A., Sevignani C. , Giarnieri, E. (2004, Novemer 15) Inactivation of the FHIT Gene Favors Bladder Cancer Development. Clinical Cancer Research Vol. 10, 7607-7612
Cited Article:
Ishii, H., Mimori, K., Inoue, H. (2006, December 6) Fhit Modulates the DNA Damage Checkpoint Response. Cancer Research 66, 11287-11292

The cancer being addressed in these articles is bladder cancer. New research being described in the articles is exploring the possibility of a FHIT-based gene therapy for bladder cancer. Researchers have studied and found that the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene inactivation supports bladder cancer formation. They have found that the "FHIT gene located on chromosome 3p14.2 is frequently deleted in human tumors". Researchers studied the effects of "restored Fhit protein expression on cell proliferation, cell kinetics, and tumorigenicity in BALB/c nude mice, with human SW780 Fhit-null transitional carcinoma derived cells". Researchers found that “in-vitro transduction of SW780 Fhit-negative cells with adenoviral-FHIT inhibited cell growth, increased apoptotic cell population, and suppressed subcutaenoustumor growth in nude mice”. Scientist’s findings suggested that the “important role of Fhit in bladder cancer development and support the effort to additionally investigate a FHIT-based gene therapy”.

Both articles discuss the main point of the research. They give the same information but the same details. The news article and primary article both discussed the FHIT gene and its location, the role of FHIT alteration in the development of bladder cancer. Both articles discussed the experiments done to explore the possibility of FHIT gene therapy for bladder cancer.

Although both articles discussed the same points and described the findings of the research, the news article provided the information in a better read. The news article did not provide much of the results and discussion in a scientific read. They did not get specific and go into detail. The primary article stated all the research done and described in detail the findings. Each result had a discussion explaining the results.

My reactions to the articles are positive. Reading about the experiments done and their findings helps me to understand what research is being done on bladder cancer. I trust both sources and do not find any to be misleading. Both sources were informational but the primary article provided more experiments and results than the news article. The questions I have for researchers are: How early on can bladder cancer be detected? and How soon will a FHIT-based gene therapy be available for patients?