10/14/2004 no attribution economist.com There never will be a “cure for cancer”. But a multiplicity of new ideas promise treatments for the multiplicity of diseases that cancer actually is. Going by the numbers, humanity seems to be losing the war on cancer. According to the most recent data from the World Health Organisation, 10m people around the planet were diagnosed with the disease in 2000, and 6m died from it. And these numbers are growing. With an ageing population, the spread of western-style diets, and increasing tobacco consumption, cancer is on the rise around the globe. In America, for example, projections suggest that 40% of those alive today will be diagnosed with some form of cancer at some point in their lives. By 2010, that number will have climbed to 50%. All this is despite the fact that, since then-president Richard Nixon's famous speech in 1971, launching what became known as the war on cancer, America has given nearly $70 billion (in actual, not inflation-adjusted, dollars) to its National Cancer Institute (NCI). And that is not to mention the money spent by drug companies and charities—nor, indeed, the research budgets of other countries. Despite these billions, the rate of death from cancer in the United States has increased from 163 per 100,000 individuals in 1971 to 194 per 100,000 in 2001. By contrast, mortality rates from heart disease and strokes, two other diseases often seen as being associated with affluent styles of living, have fallen (see chart 2). Luckily, these [...]

10/13/2004 C Klein and L T Vassilev British Journal of Cancer (2004) 91, 1415-1419 The tumour suppressor p53 is a transcription factor with powerful antitumour activity that is controlled by its negative regulator MDM2 (mouse double minute 2, also termed HDM2 in humans) through a feedback mechanism. MDM2, which is overproduced in many tumours, binds p53 and inhibits its function by modulating its transcriptional activity and stability. Activation of p53 in tumour cells by inhibiting its physical interaction with MDM2 has been in the focus of cancer drug discovery. However, development of nonpeptidic MDM2 antagonists turned out to be challenging. Recently, the first potent and selective small-molecule antagonists of MDM2, the Nutlins, have been identified. Studies with Nutlins provided in vitro and in vivo proof-of-principle for targeting p53-MDM2 interaction for cancer therapy. Authors: C Klein(1) and L T Vassilev(2) (1)Pharma Research, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Penzberg D-82372, Germany (2)Discovery Oncology, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, NJ 07110, USA

10/12/2004 New Orleans Sunil Singhal, MD et al. U.S. Newswire (usnewswire.com) Surgeons from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadephia, have isolated the genes that are expressed in head and neck cancer as well as those expressed in lung carcinoma in smokers. Armed with this information, the investigators were able to predict precisely if patients with lung masses had developed lung cancer or metastases from another source. In a study of 24 smokers from three different academic medical centers, the scientists made accurate predictions for every patient. The researchers presented their findings at the 2004 annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The research group is making its genetic algorithms available to physicians throughout the world to help them decide whether an individual patient has advanced cancer that spread from the head and neck to the lung, or whether the patient has other metastatic sources that may be treated individually. Sunil Singhal, MD, a fellow in thoracic surgery, explained that smokers have a high risk for developing cancer in the head, neck, mouth, jaw, and lung. It is often difficult to identify the primary source of disease because all cancers related to smoking appear the same in tissue samples under the microscope-as squamous cell carcinoma. "People who have been smoking all their lives often have tumors in the head, in the neck, or in the tongue or jaw where the tobacco has rubbed against the inner lining of the mouth. These patients also often have masses in the chest [...]

10/11/2004 Sun TB, Chen RL, Hsu YH UNDERSEA & HYPERBARIC MEDICINE 31 (2): 251-260 SUM 2004 Discoveries of the beneficial cellular and biochemical effects have strengthened the rationale for the administration of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of osteoradionecrosis (ORN). Malignancies, however, are considered a contraindication for HBO2 because of the possible tumor-promoting effects. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of HBO2 therapy on tumor weight, and to measure the progression of apoptosis and tumor cell proliferating activity in a cultured human oral cancer cell line. Twenty 5-week-old male NODscid mice underwent daily HBO2 of 2.5 atm abs, 90 minutes for 20 treatments. The control group, n = 20, did not undergo HBO2 and tumor weight, apoptosis index, and proliferating activity parameters were compared between the two groups. The results showed no significant differences (p < 0.05) in the whole-body weights, tumor weights, apoptotic index or proliferating activity index between the two groups. By using the apoptosis and proliferating activity assays which were better indicators of tumor cell growth than tumor weight alone, our results suggest that the clinical application of HBO2 does not promote the growth or proliferation of human oral cancer cells.

10/11/2004 UK Evening Gazette The summer may be a great time to develop an exercise regime, but winter is the hardest season to maintain it. Personal trainer Matt Roberts, above, who trained the stars on Channel 4's The Games, says a change in exercise in winter can be used to your advantage. "If you don't fancy keeping up your usual outdoor activity during winter, changing to a different activity can be used to your advantage. "If you usually jog, try swimming instead. Different types of exercise mean you can work on different muscles in your body and may, in the short run, mean you burn calories quicker as your body adapts to the new activity. "I think you have to view exercise in winter as being part of a cycle of exercise and getting yourself ready for summer." The number of women suffering with mouth cancer has increased by 48 per cent in nine years according to figures released by Cancer Research UK. The huge increase is thought to be down to the growth of "ladette culture", with smoking and excessive drinking becoming more common among women. Cancer Research revealed the increase in the build up to Mouth Cancer Awareness Week which runs from November 7-13. The number of cases is increasing faster than any other cancer, and kills one person every five hours in the UK. Beware storing your toothbrush in the same pot as the rest of the family, as it could leave you vulnerable to cold and [...]

10/11/2004 Dallas-Fort Worth By Lisa P. White Star-Telegram.com The mood is tense in the conference room where a dozen teen-agers have gathered. Their body language -- eyes downcast, arms crossed, slumped in their seats -- says they don't want to be there. They have no choice. They've been caught. They are among nearly 4,000 Tarrant County teens sent to anti-smoking school in the seven years since the Legislature enacted a tough law that penalizes minors who use tobacco and the retailers who sell it to them. Some of the dozen teens were caught smoking or using smokeless tobacco behind a school. Others did it in a parked car. One even did it in the back of a police cruiser, lighting up after he was caught smoking marijuana. Now, for eight hours over four evenings, they must attend awareness classes at Tarrant County Public Health. The state program is designed to help minors break their tobacco habit before it's too late. Police in Texas can issue citations to people younger than 18 who are caught using, buying or possessing tobacco products. Those who fail to attend the classes and pay a fine of up to $250 can lose their driver's license for six months. Texas is one of 32 states that ban tobacco possession by minors, the American Lung Association says. But there is no consensus in the public health community about whether such laws are a deterrent. A state Health Department study of Texas secondary-school students published in August found [...]

10/11/2004 Malibu, CA National Desk, Health Reporter U.S. Newswire Three-time Emmy winner and cancer survivor, actor Jack Klugman couldn't speak for more than three years after his cancer treatments. Having regained his voice, he's lending it to the Oral Cancer Foundation's effort to educate the public through television PSAs about the need for an annual screening to catch oral cancers in their early, most survivable stages. The public service announcements began airing September 15, and will continue to air in several hundred markets in the United States through the end of the year. Klugman, who is most famous for his television roles portraying compulsive slob Oscar Madison in "The Odd Couple" and medical examiner Quincy in "Quincy, M.E.," recently made his return to television with an appearance as a medical examiner on "Crossing Jordan" and in live theater to rave reviews in the production of "An Evening with Jack Klugman." Klugman returns to the stage again this month at the Falcon Theatre in "Golf With Alan Shepard," directed by Skip Greer; and in the spring will play a movie director in "The Value of Names," to be staged at New York's Queens Theatre in the Park. "When I contacted Jack about doing the PSA for the Oral Cancer Foundation, he responded immediately," said Brian Hill, foundation executive director, and himself a survivor of a late stage oral cancer. "He said, 'I'm your perfect candidate--I'm here today only because my doctors found it and treated it early... let's do it!'" Klugman [...]

10/11/2004 Amaral TMP, da Silva Freire AR, Carvalho AL, Pinto CAL, Kowalski LP Oral Oncology 40 (8): 780-786 Sep 2004 The incidence of occult neck metastasis in early stage tumours of the tongue and floor of the mouth varies from 20% to 30%, and the survival rates in 5 years from 73% to 97%. This study analyzes the rates of occult metastasis and prognostic factors for clinical stages I and II squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and floor of the mouth. The records of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and floor of the mouth, without prior treatment and treated by surgery between 1965 and 1998 were reviewed. All cases were re-staged and the surgical specimens were reviewed. This study included 193 patients, 145 men (75.1%), with ages ranging from 29 to 89 years old (mean, 60 years). The tumour site was the tongue in 132 cases (68.4%), the floor of the mouth in 45 (23.3%) and both in 16 (8.3%). With regard to stage, 85 cases were at clinical stage I (44.0%) and 108, clinical stage II (56.0%). One hundred and seventeen patients (60.6%) were submitted to a neck dissection and 27 (23.1%) had metastasic lymph nodes (pN+). The only factor associated with the presence of occult metastasis for all patients was the presence of muscular infiltration (p = 0.020); for tongue tumours the presence of vascular embotization (p = 0.043) and the presence of desmoplastic reaction (p = 0.050); for floor of the mouth tumours [...]

10/11/2004 A Sparano, G Weinstein, A Chalian, M Yodul, and R Weber Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, October 1, 2004; 131(4): 472-6 Objectives The elective dissection of cervical lymph nodes from patients with early oral tongue cancer and a clinically negative neck (T1/T2N0), remains an unsettled issue that continues to be investigated. This study examines clinical and histopathologic factors through univariate and multivariate analysis to correlate the risk of neck micrometastasis in patients with T1/T2N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue. Study design and methods The clinical files and histologic sections of tumor from 45 clinically determined N0 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The factors examined include degree of tumor cell differentiation, T1/T2 staging, presence of perineural invasion, presence of angiolymphatic invasion, type of invasion front, depth of muscle invasion, and tumor thickness. Results Independent correlates of positive occult neck metastasis included greater tumor thickness ( P = 0.01), greater depth of muscle invasion ( P = 0.01), T2 stage ( P = 0.01), poorly differentiated tumors ( P = 0.007), infiltrating-type invasion front ( P = 0.03), presence of perineural invasion ( P = 0.001), and presence of angiolymphatic invasion ( P = 0.005). The final multivariate model for estimation of an increased probability of occult neck disease included greater tumor thickness, presence of perineural invasion, infiltrating-type invasion front, poorly differentiated tumors, and T2 stage. Conclusions The clinical and histopathologic factors studied herein permit greater selectivity and more informed decision-making than does presurgical evaluation, when addressing elective neck treatment for [...]

10/10/2004 New Haven, Conn Press Release CuraGen Corporation Clinical data to be presented in December at the 46th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN - News) announced today that clinical data from Phase I will be presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) taking place December 4th - 7th, 2004 in San Diego, California. "We are very pleased with the progress we have achieved with CG53135 for oral mucositis and look forward to sharing the results of our Phase I program at ASH," stated William Hahne, M.D., Vice President of Clinical Development at CuraGen. "The clinical data we have obtained has sparked the interest of several investigators who are eager to work with us in Phase II, and we are in the process of making the necessary preparations to transition the program later this year." In Phase I, the safety, tolerability and potential activity of CG53135 were explored in two studies involving different populations at risk for oral mucositis: patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancies and patients receiving chemotherapy for metastatic gastrointestinal cancers. Both studies explored the effect of a single dose of CG53135 administered intravenously. Data from both studies will be published as part of the meeting proceedings. The bone marrow transplant study data will be disclosed as a poster at the meeting. "We look forward to exploring the ability of a single dose of CG53135 to prevent oral mucositis in a double-blind, randomized, placebo [...]