Dr. Bin Chen

Dr. Bin Chen, an ACH molecular geneticist, led the research team and believes their findings are a breakthrough in understanding the formation of RMS cells and how they might be treated more effectively.The results of their work were published today in the medical journal, Cancer Research, and will be presented this weekend to the Children's Oncology Group Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In a series of research studies on RMS, ACH scientists focused on three genetic "switches" that control the development of normal and malignant skeletal muscle cells.They discovered that RMS cells, unlike normal cells, contain over-methylated genes that cause the cells to grow uncontrollably.
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Dr. Chen believes the results of her work could also apply to other types of soft-tissue sarcoma, which is one of the leading types of cancer found in children.

The research at ACH is the first step in a long process for approving new treatments for use in humans.The results must now be replicated by other scientists and tested in laboratory animals before demethylating agents can be used in laboratory animals or in clinical trials.

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Bin Chen, Ph.D., FACMGGeneticist/Health ScientistCenters for Disease Control and Prevention4770 Buford Highway, MSG-23Atlanta, GA 30341U.S.A.Phone: +770.488.8086Fax: +770.488.8278

The group led by Dr. Bin Chen , a molecular geneticist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences , researched rhabdomyosarcoma , the most common soft-tissue cancer in children.Each year , the disease affects about 250 children in the United States , a few of them in Arkansas.It is rare in adults.

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When Chen and her colleagues treated cancer cells in the laboratory with a demethylizing agent , p21 was reactivated , and the cells stopped dividing.Because p21 plays a role in other types of cancer , Chen said , it is highly likely that the findings could prove to be useful on some of those.Current cancer treatments prevent cells from growing , but they do so unselectively.As a result , they kill healthy cells and cause a host of side effects such as hair loss and nausea.

Dr Bin Chen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States