8/26/2005 Hampshire, England Fleur Pijpers, Richard Faint & Nish Saini Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 4, 623-624 (2005); Unmet needs across the oncology market remain high, with most traditional therapies representing a trade-off between levels of specificity, efficacy and toxicity. The development of therapeutic cancer vaccines, designed to confer active, specific immunotherapy directed against tumour-associated antigens (TAAs), could be the ideal solution for the successful eradication of some cancers. Cancer vaccines offer the prospect of high specificity, low toxicity and prolonged activity. However, although there is a solid technical and scientific rationale behind the development of vaccines, this theory has yet to be consistently translated into clinical practice and, to date, most cancer vaccines have been associated with high rates of clinical failure. Beyond scientific hurdles, the relative immaturity and lack of precedence in the cancer vaccine market has also brought to light an entirely new spectrum of clinical, regulatory and strategic challenges. Challenges in an unprecedented market From a clinical perspective, cancer vaccines are most likely to complement current oncology therapies rather than serve as replacements. However, some cytotoxics have known immunosuppressive properties, and therefore the optimal scheduling of chemotherapy administration needs to be defined in order to avoid compromising the activity of therapeutic cancer vaccines. The design of clinical trials for cancer vaccines and the regulatory assessment of vaccine technologies raise additional issues: as a result of their mode of action and hypothetical prolonged antitumour activity, the optimal assessment of cancer vaccines might require a shift away from the [...]

8/25/2005 California Allison Bruce Ventura County Star (venturacountystar.com) Amgen started this year with new drug Kepivance, which received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval at the end of 2004. Kepivance is awaiting approval for sale in the European Union. Company spokeswoman Trish Hawkins said the drug is doing well in the U.S. market, where it is approved to treat patients with blood cancers who require a bone marrow transplant. The company is testing the drug for patients with head and neck cancer or a type of lung cancer. Kepivance treats severe oral mucositis, a sometimes debilitating side effect in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Sometimes mouth sores become so severe patients cannot swallow their own saliva, Hawkins said. Amgen said the potential market could be 11,000 patients in the U.S. "It's the first and only therapy approved to treat and reduce severe oral mucositis," she said of Kepivance. "It's the first thing physicians have even had available to help manage mucositis."

8/25/2005 London, England Jan Battles The Times of London (222.timesonline.co.uk) Cancer of the mouth and throat, normally found in elderly male smokers, is emerging at alarming levels in young non-smoking Irish women. A study of patients treated at St James’s hospital in Dublin has found that an increasing number of women under 30, who don’t smoke or drink, are getting the cancer. Researchers do not know what is behind the emergence of the illness in young female non-smokers, but diet may be a factor. They want to investigate whether foodstuffs that have come on the market in the past few decades, including carbonated drinks and chewing gum, could be a cause. Oral and throat cancer is aggressive, and is the sixth most common tumour worldwide. Among those who have died from it are George Harrison, the former Beatle, and John Diamond, a British journalist, who had to have most of his tongue removed after suffering from a tumour. Despite advances in treatment the prognosis remains poor, with little improvement in five-year survival during the past four decades. The death rate associated with it is high as the cancer is often discovered late in its development. The incidence of the disease worldwide has increased since the 1960s. Smoking is the main risk factor, while alcohol consumption also has an influence. The researchers examined medical records of 30 patients under 40 diagnosed with mouth or throat cancer at St James’s hospital in Dublin between 1993 and 2003. They compared them with 100 [...]

8/24/2005 Batlimore, MD Shahnaz Begum et al. Clinical Cancer Research Vol. 11, 5694-5699, August 15, 2005 Purpose: Human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) has been implicated as a causative agent in a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). This study was undertaken to discern the distribution and timing of HPV viral integration during tumorigenesis of the upper respiratory tract. Experimental Design: A tissue array was assembled from a consecutive group of 176 patients with HNSCCs. The array was evaluated by HPV-16 in situ hybridization and p16 immunohistochemistry. Patients with HPV-positive tonsillar cancers who had undergone bilateral tonsillectomies were selected for more complete mapping of viral integration. Results: HPV-16 was detected in 38 of the 176 (22%) cases by in situ hybridization. When stratified by site of origin, HPV-16 was detected in 37 of 45 cancers arising from the oropharynx but in only 1 of 131 tumors arising from nonoropharyngeal sites (82% versus 0.8%, P < 0.00001). P16 expression was associated with the presence of HPV-16: 31 of 38 HPV-positive tumors exhibited p16 expression, whereas only 9 of the 138 HPV-negative tumors were p16-positive (82% versus 6%, P < 0.00001). In the bilateral tonsil sections, hybridization signals were strictly limited to the invasive cancers and associated dysplasias. P16 staining was widely distributed throughout the nonneoplastic crypt epithelium of individuals with and without tonsillar cancer. Conclusions: HPV-16 is strongly associated with carcinomas arising from the oropharynx, and integration is tightly coupled to the neoplastic process. Viral integration does not occur as [...]

8/24/2005 Vienna, VA press release PRNewswire (prnewswire.com) CEL-SCI CORPORATION announces that it has achieved one of its most significant milestones to date. The Canadian regulatory agency, the Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate, has concurred with the initiation of a global Phase III clinical trial in head and neck cancer patients using CEL-SCI's immunotherapy drug Multikine(R), the Company's lead product. The formal "no objection" letter from the BGTD to the Clinical Trial Application (CTA), which was submitted last month, enables CEL-SCI to initiate the Canadian arm of the Phase III Multikine trial. About 500 patients will be enrolled worldwide in the Phase III trial. The protocol is designed to develop conclusive evidence of the efficacy of Multikine in the treatment of advanced primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (head and neck cancer). A successful outcome from this trial should enable CEL-SCI to apply for a Biologics License to market Multikine for the treatment of this patient population. The trial will test the hypothesis that Multikine treatment administered prior to the current standard therapy for head and neck cancer patients (surgical resection of the tumor and involved lymph nodes followed by radiotherapy or radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy) will enhance the local/regional control of the disease, reduce the rate of disease progression and extend the time of progression free survival in patients with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma. Geert Kersten, Chief Executive Officer of CEL-SCI, said, "Multikine has an anti-tumor mechanism of action that is different from the current cancer therapies [...]

8/24/2005 staff cancerconsultants.com According to two articles published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the addition of the targeted agent Erbitux (cetuximab) to chemotherapy improves anti-cancer responses in patients with advanced head and neck cancer that has stopped responding to standard therapies. Approximately 40,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with head and neck cancer every year. Cancers of the head and neck comprise several types of cancer; these include the nasal cavity and sinuses, oral cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, and other sites throughout the head and neck area. According to the American Cancer Society, 11,000 people died from head and neck cancer in 2004. Standard treatment for head and neck cancer is largely determined by the stage (extent to which the cancer has spread) and by the specific locations within the head or neck area where the cancer has spread. The patient’s overall medical condition is also a deciding factor. Treatment typically consists of radiation therapy, chemotherapy with surgery, or surgery alone. Once head and neck cancer has spread from its site of origin or once the cancer has recurred or stopped responding to standard therapies (refractory), long-term outcomes are generally suboptimal. In fact, there are no standard therapies designated for patients with advanced, refractory head and neck cancer. Furthermore, treatment for head and neck cancer often results in a compromised quality of life. Research and development of new therapeutic approaches that will improve long-term outcomes and quality of life for patients with this disease continues. The epidermal growth [...]

8/20/2005 Pennsylvania Jennifer Learn-Andes TimesLeader.com Group that urges teens to shun tobacco has formed at Hazleton Area, official says. Luzerne County students reported drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco more often than their peers in other parts of the country, a new survey says. Of nearly 4,000 students surveyed in grades 6, 8, and 10, 50 percent said they have used alcohol, 30 percent have smoked and 11 percent have chewed smokeless tobacco. The starkest contrast between local and national figures is found among students in the 10th grade. Roughly 21 percent of surveyed Luzerne County 10th-graders reported using smokeless tobacco, versus 13.8 percent of their peers nationwide. Other key findings: • About 48 percent of county 10th-graders say they have smoked cigarettes compared to 40.7 percent nationally. • About 74 percent of 10th-graders reported using alcohol compared to 64 percent nationally. Binge drinking ranged from 1.8 percent among sixth-graders to 25.7 percent among 10th graders who reported at least one episode in the two weeks prior to participating in the spring 2005 study. Binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks in a row. Officials of the county and human services agencies say they’re chipping away at all three problems. Luzerne County Drug and Alcohol Director Mike Donahue said his drug prevention specialists recently learned how to start “Busted” chapters in northern Luzerne County schools. Teenagers in the program rally together and think up ways to urge their friends and relatives to shun tobacco. “We’re spreading the [...]

8/20/2005 Hong Kong, China staff China View (www.chinaview.com) The University of Hong Kong announced Thursday a study result that ultrasonic scissors can achieve better surgical outcome than traditional tongue tumor treatments. The Faculty of Medicine of the university has successfully performed glossectomy, the surgical removal of tongue, with the use of the ultrasonic scissors in 14 patients since January 2004. Satisfactory results were obtained while the patients had nearly zero blood loss and none of them developed post-operative complication. The operation results were recently published in an international medical journal "Head and Neck" in August 2005. According to information given by the university, conventional surgical methods for the removal of tongue tumor utilize knife, scissors, diathermy or laser. Those methods can cause severe burn to the wound, resulting in more post-operative pain, inflammation, speech, swelling and potential wound healing problems. Statistics from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority showed that there are about 130 new tongue cancer patients every year. Carcinoma of tongue is more common in men than in women and is associated with chronic consumption of tobacco and alcohol, betel nut chewing and irradiation. Early symptoms include persistently painful tongue ulcer, white or red discoloration.

8/11/2005 Watsonville, CA staff PRNewswire (www.prnewswire.com) Strawberries may be the most effective of the five most commonly consumed berries at inducing cancer cell death, according to a recent study conducted at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. The center recently tested extracts of six berries -- strawberries, raspberries, black raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries -- to determine their ability to induce apoptosis, a process that enhances the death of cancer cells. In one phase of the study, all of the berry extracts exhibited anti-proliferative effects and did so in a dose-dependent manner. The strongest strawberry effects were seen against two types of oral cancer cells and one type of colon cancer cells. A second phase of the experiment measured their ability to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) against a cyclooxygenase (COX)-II expressing enzyme colon cancer cell. The results showed that the berries were potent inducers of apoptosis in the human colon cancer cells. Navindra Seeram, Ph.D., presented the findings of this study at the International Berry Health Benefits Symposium, June 13-14, 2005. Strawberries account for 75% of the fresh berry volume sold at retail, followed by blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and cranberries, in descending order. Strawberries and other berries contain high levels of the phytochemicals that are believed to be responsible for the protective effects of diets high in fruits and vegetables against chronic illnesses such as cancer, inflammation, heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases. The investigators concluded that more in vivo studies are warranted to investigate the impact of berry phytochemicals [...]

8/10/2005 Germany S. Rohde et al. American Journal of Neuroradiology 26:1804-1809, August 2005 Background and Purpose: Patients with cancer of the oral cavity often present with advanced tumor stages, distant metastasis, or severe comorbidities, which render radical surgery infeasible. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response rate, technical feasibility, and safety of intra-arterial (IA) chemotherapy as palliative treatment in this situation. Methods: From November 1997 to December 2003, 64 patients with histologically proven oral squamous cell carcinoma, classified as inoperable, received IA high-dose chemotherapy with cisplatin as a palliative treatment at our institution. To minimize toxic side effects, sodium thiosulfat was given intravenously. Twenty-eight percent of the patients were female; average age was 61.5 years. Clinical staging of primary tumors was TNM (tumor, nodules, metastases) stage IV in 89%, stage III in 6.3% and stage II in 4.7%. After local chemotherapy, additional radiation of the tumor area or radiochemotherapy was performed in 33 patients. Results: There were no major catheter-related complications or severe side effects of IA chemotherapy. After the first cycle, 10% percent of the patients had complete remission (CR), 35% had partial response (PR), and 43.3% presented with stable disease. Mean follow-up interval was 11 ± 12.9 months. Forty-five patients died after a mean period of 7.6 ± 7.0 months (median, 5.1 months). The overall 1- and 2-year survival rates were 29.5% and 18%, respectively. There was a trend toward longer survival in patients who received subsequent radiation or radiochemotherapy after IA chemotherapy. Conclusion: IA [...]