Bone Abstracts

Cancer cell growth is dependent on the microenvironmental support. Prostate and mammary cancer (PCa and MCa) cells preferentially metastasize to bone, where they induce either an osteoblastic or osteolytic response. These opposite stromal responses suggest that different types of cancers adopt distinct strategies to hijack the bone marrow/bone stroma for their growth support. However, the molecular cues underlying these divergent responses are largely elusive.<p class="abs...

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer in men and metastatic spread to bone is detected in up to 80% of patients with advanced disease at autopsy. PCa can progress from treatable androgen-dependent stage to castration-resistant stage with distant metastases for which novel therapeutic targets and strategies are urgently needed. Here we identify the cell surface/secreted oncoprotein Cripto as a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic prostate cancer...

Objectives: Osteonecrosis (ON) and decline of bone mineral density (BMD) are serious side effects during and after treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is unknown whether ON and low BMD co-occur in the same patients, and whether these two osteogenic side-effects can mutually influence each other’s development.Methods: BMD and the incidence of symptomatic ON were prospectively assessed in a national cohort of 466 patients wit...

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Like most organisms, we have developed an internal time keeping system that drives daily rhythms in metabolism, physiology and behavior, and allows us to optimally anticipate to the momentum of the day. At the basis of circadian timekeeping lies an intracellular molecular oscillator in which a set of clock genes cyclically regulate their own expression with an approximate (circa) 24-hour (dies) periodicity. The mammalian circadian system consists of a light-entrainable master ...

Introduction: Despite similarities in upfront treatment, impairment of bone mineral density(BMD) varies in long-term adult survivors of childhood cancer (CCS). We studied for the first time whether genetic variation is involved in impairment of BMD in adult long-term CCS.Method: This cross-sectional single-center cohort study included 334 adult CCS (median follow-up time: 15.2 years (range 5.1–39.8); median age at follow-up: 26.1 years (range 18.1&#...

The mammalian circadian clock is tightly controlled by clock genes, which have been shown to regulate up to 20% of the transcriptome in any given tissue. Evidence is accumulating that light-modulation perpetually affects circadian clock performance. In accordance, shift work or chronic jet lag is associated with higher risk of disease later in life, including osteoporosis. In this study, we assessed whether gestational jet lag in mice reduces bone mass postnatally.<p class...

Objectives: Osteopenia is a complication of childhood cancer treatment but it is unknown to which extend this occurs in adult survivors, and which subgroups are at risk. We examined bone mineral density (BMD) and assed the relative importance of potential determinants of low BMD in very long-term adult survivors of childhood cancer.Methods: The single-center cohort study included 410 adult CCSs (median age at diagnosis: 6.6 years (range: 0–17 years)...

Biographical DetailsWim Van HulWim Van Hul is full professor of Molecular biology and genetics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He obtained a bachelor degree in Chemistry from the University of Louvain (Belgium) and a master degree in biochemistry. He obtained his PhD on molecular genetics in 1993 from the University of Antwerp. He started his...

Objectives: Metabolic bone disease is a frequent complication of end-stage renal disease, characterised by a decreased bone mineral density, which can be measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Its validity as a marker for clinical bone disease and increased fracture risk has never been established in adults with pediatric onset of end-stage renal disease (1–3). Adult survivors of pediatric end stage renal disease have very low bone mineral density and small statu...