targeted therapy – Oral Cancer News

Promising drug that can kill all solid tumor cancers

Source: www.nextbigfuture.com Author: Brian Wang Above – The City of Hope-developed small molecule AOH1996 targets a cancerous variant of the protein PCNA. In its mutated form, PCNA is critical in DNA replication and repair of all expanding tumors. Here we see untreated cancer cells (left) and cancer cells treated with AOH1996 (right) undergoing programmed cell death (violet). (Photo credit: City of Hope) Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, today published a new study explaining how they took a protein once thought to be too challenging for targeted therapy, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and developed a targeted chemotherapy that appears to annihilate all solid tumors in preclinical research. As the scientists continue to investigate the foundational mechanisms that make this cancer-stopping pill work in animal models, they note that there is an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial testing the City of Hope-developed therapeutic in humans. Most targeted therapies focus on a single pathway, which enables wily cancer to mutate and eventually become resistant, said Linda Malkas, Ph.D., professor in City of Hope’s Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics and the M.T. & B.A. Ahmadinia Professor in Molecular Oncology. However, the cancer-killing pill Malkas has been developing over the past two decades, AOH1996, targets a cancerous variant of PCNA, a protein that in its mutated form is critical in DNA replication and repair of all expanding tumors. “PCNA is like a major airline terminal hub containing [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-08-07T13:43:23-07:00August, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

Nivolumab Could Change Head and Neck Cancer Treatment Paradigm

Source: www.Targetedonc.comAuthor: Laura Panjwani "To have an anti–PD-1 agent be proven to improve survival in head and neck cancer in a randomized phase III trial, and the potential for a new FDA approval in the near future is a game changer." - Robert Ferris, MD, PhD With the phase III CheckMate-141 trial being stopped early due to the anti–PD-1 agent nivolumab having met its primary endpoint of overall survival improvement in head and neck cancer, Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, couldn't be more elated. "This is what I've devoted my career to, and it is gratifying to see that really come to pass," said Ferris, professor and chief, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, vice chair for Clinical Operations, associate director for Translational Research, and coleader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, in an exclusive interview with Targeted Oncology. "To have an anti–PD-1 agent be proven to improve survival in head and neck cancer in a randomized phase III trial, and the potential for a new FDA approval in the near future is a game changer. There is now hope for a lot of patients and physicians who have been frustrated by this difficult-to-treat disease. This opens up a whole new class of therapies for this population." Ferris, who acted as cochair/coprimary investigator for the trial alongside Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, Ohio State University, said the trial pitted nivolumab against the investigator’s choice of cetuximab (Erbitux), methotrexate, or docetaxel in patients with platinum-refractory squamous cell carcinoma [...]

Charlotte Parker2016-02-16T09:24:23-07:00February, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Computer scientists may have what it takes to help cure cancer

Source: nytimes.com Author: David Patterson The war against cancer is increasingly moving into cyberspace. Computer scientists may have the best skills to fight cancer in the next decade — and they should be signing up in droves. One reason to enlist: Cancer is so pervasive. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Emperor of All Maladies,” the oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee writes that cancer is a disease of frightening fractions: One-fourth of deaths in the United States are caused by cancer; one-third of women will face cancer in their lifetimes; and so will half of men. As he wrote, “The question is not if we will get this immortal disease, but when.” Dr. Mukherjee noted that surprisingly recently, researchers discovered that cancer is a genetic disease, caused primarily by mutations in our DNA. As well as providing the molecular drivers of cancer, changes to the DNA also cause the diversity within a cancer tumor that makes it so hard to eradicate completely. The hope is that by sequencing the genome of a cancer tumor, doctors will soon be able to prescribe a personalized, targeted therapy to stop a cancer’s growth or to cure it. According to Walter Isaacson’s new biography “Steve Jobs,” a team of medical researchers sequenced the Apple executive’s pancreatic cancer tumor and used that information to decide which drug therapies to use. Since Mr. Jobs’s cancer had already spread, this effort was even more challenging. Each sequencing cost $100,000. Fortunately for the rest of us, the cost of turning [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-12-08T10:17:58-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Targeting Cancer Treatment

Source: Medical News Today Cancer treatment is depending more and more today on specific factors of a patient's tumor, including gene mutations, or proteins that are commonly typical of certain cancer cells, rather than focusing on where in the body the cancer started. Before, treatment was based on finding where in the body the cancer originated, such as the breast or lung. Targeted therapy is all about the cancer's genes, tissue environment that contributes the tumor's growth and survival, and its proteins. Nowadays, cancer therapy is designed to interfere with a signal that tells the cancer cells not to die or tells it to divide, while before, chemotherapies had the goal of interfering with cancer cells as division was already underway, when the cells were dividing into new ones. The human body is made of various types of cells, including skin cells, brain cells, or blood cells. Each one has a specific function. Cancer occurs when healthy cells change and start growing out of control; they eventually form a tumor - a mass. A benign tumor is noncancerous, whereas a malignant one is cancerous, it can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells either divide too quickly or do not die when they should do Specific genetic mutations within a cell change the way it behaves. When the genes that control cell division mutate (change), they can multiply too quickly; the cell has become cancerous. Cells are genetically programmed to die, when the specific genes that tell the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-06-13T09:47:33-07:00June, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

UC cancer drug trials offer lone hope

Source: news.cincinnati.com Author: Peggy O'Farrell Two years ago this month, Pam Cain learned the bump on her tongue was really cancer. Last year, she learned the "bump" had spread to both lungs. "Last November, I was given two years if I only did chemo," she said. So she underwent radiation therapy. But the lesions on her lungs stayed put, and the cancer spread to one hip. So far, three chemotherapy combinations failed to kill her cancer. Now Cain, 32, of Union is hoping an experimental targeted therapy will knock out her cancer. She was the second patient in the United States to receive the experimental drug, and one of about five patients now enrolled in four clinical trials for new cancer therapies at the University of Cincinnati. The phase 1 trials are part of UC's effort to raise its profile for cancer treatment and research. Phase 1 trials are the earliest stage of testing new medications or medical devices on humans. They're designed to determine if a new treatment is safe, not whether it works. For patients like Cain, who have run out of tried-and-true options, it means being able to get cutting-edge treatments close to home. "This way, I didn't have to leave my kids," she said. "I didn't have to travel. I didn't have to go someplace where I didn't know anybody. And financially, it would have hurt." For the researchers and physicians who conduct the trials, it's an opportunity to help find the next wonder drug. Olivier [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2010-11-07T09:41:21-07:00November, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

National Comprehensive Cancer Network receives research grant to evaluate pralatrexate in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies

Source; au.sys-con.com Author: PRNewswire press release The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has been awarded a research grant from Allos Therapeutics, Inc. to support clinical studies of pralatrexate (FOLOTYN(TM), Allos Therapeutics, Inc.) in the treatment of select hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Pralatrexate was recently approved by the FDA to treat patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that is relatively uncommon, but particularly aggressive. Clinical trials supported by this grant will focus on evaluating innovative single agent and combination studies of pralatrexate in Burkitt's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, specific indolent lymphomas, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer, prostate cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, and colorectal cancer. "NCCN is committed to enhancing cancer care by evaluating new agents such as pralatrexate to determine their full potential in treating several types of cancer," says William T. McGivney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. "Through this research grant from Allos Therapeutics, Inc., we are pleased to provide NCCN Member Institutions with an opportunity to take part in innovative cancer research with the hope that their work will ultimately benefit patients with cancer." Pralatrexate is a chemotherapy drug classified as an antifolate that works by interfering with the ability of cancer cells to divide, resulting in cell death. It is a targeted therapy that is designed to accumulate preferentially in cancer cells. "Our collaboration represents a unique opportunity to benefit from the research expertise of NCCN and the NCCN Member Institutions, as we explore the potential of investigator initiated clinical studies [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-11T09:03:52-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Merck Serono launches Erbitux in 1st-line treatment of head and neck cancer in Europe

Source: www.medadnews.com Author: press release Today leading oncology specialists and media gathered at the Antwerp University Hospital to mark the European launch of Erbitux® (cetuximab) for the 1st-line treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), following European Commission approval to extend the use of the targeted therapy. Erbitux was previously approved for use in combination with radiotherapy for locally advanced SCCHN. The approval of Erbitux in this new indication was granted in November 2008 and based primarily upon the results of the EXTREMEa study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in September 2008. The EXTREME study established that adding Erbitux to platinum-based chemotherapy significantly prolonged median overall and progression-free survival, and also significantly increased response rate.1 The principal investigator of the EXTREME trial, Professor Jan Vermorken from the Antwerp University Hospital, a world renowned center of excellence in oncology research and treatment said: “We are pleased to be hosting the international launch of Erbitux in this notoriously difficult to treat cancer type. This is the first treatment regimen in 30 years to show a survival benefit and denotes a significant milestone in the advancement of treatment for head and neck cancer.” The EXTREME study demonstrated that patients treated with Erbitux plus chemotherapy experienced the following improvements, compared to chemotherapy alone:1 • Median overall survival increase of nearly 3 months (10.1 vs. 7.4 months; p=0.04), equating to a 20% reduction in the risk of death (HR: 0.80) during the study [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-01-24T08:51:35-07:00January, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

FDA accepts priority review for new indication of Erbitux – update

Source: www.rttnews.com Author: staff Imclone Systems Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. announced that the supplemental biological license application seeking expanded approval of Erbitux for first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck has been accepted for priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Priority review implies that the FDA will review the application in six months. Erbitux is marketed by ImClone and Bristol-Myers Squibb in the U.S. and by German drug and chemical maker Merck KGaA outside the U.S. Bristol-Myers holds 61% of the North American sales rights to Erbitux, while Merck KGaA owns 90% of the drug's international distribution rights. Under the existing agreement with Bristol-Myers, ImClone receives a distribution fee based on a flat rate of 39% of net sales of Erbitux in North America. The companies had sought expanded approval for Erbitux based on data from the randomized Phase 3 EXTREME (ERBITUX in first-line Treatment of REcurrent or MEtastatic head and neck cancer) study1 investigating the efficacy of Erbitux in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. According to the study, which was conducted by Merck KGaA, Erbitux, in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, resulted in a statistically significant improvement in median overall survival time compared with chemotherapy alone. If approved, metastatic squamous cell carcinoma will be the third U.S. indication for Erbitux in head and neck cancer. Erbitux was initially approved to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-11-06T19:54:40-07:00November, 2008|Oral Cancer News|

Merck Serono’s Erbitux nominated for International Prix Galien Award – transforming head and neck cancer treatment

Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com Author: staff Merck Serono's Erbitux® is one of the finalists for the prestigious International Prix Galien Award for excellence in pharmaceutical development and innovation due to its role in transforming the treatment of head and neck cancer. Erbitux is the first and only targeted therapy approved for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and works in a completely different way to conventional chemotherapies. Through its targeted mode of action, Erbitux blocks the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is expressed in more than 90% of SCCHN tumors1 and is directly related to a poor prognosis for patients. The efficacy and tolerability of this novel drug have been shown in clinical trials2 - the latest of which, EXTREMEa, demonstrated the first significant advance in 30 years for the treatment of recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN. 3 "We are very pleased that Erbitux has been short-listed for arguably the most prestigious award in our industry," said Dr Wolfgang Wein, Executive Vice President, Oncology, Merck Serono. "This recognizes not only the outstanding clinical excellence of Erbitux but also the significant breakthrough that the drug offers patients with head and neck cancer, which is so difficult to treat. Merck Serono is passionate about advancing research across a range of oncology indications and improving the treatments available to cancer patients." Erbitux is licensed in locally-advanced SCCHN on the basis of data demonstrating that in combination with radiotherapy it achieved locoregional control for more than two years, almost 20 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-10-15T06:32:49-07:00October, 2008|Oral Cancer News|