6/5/2005 El Dorado, KS Steve Smith El Dorado Times (www.eldoradotimes.com) When Mike Wheeler talks to the audience at Galen Blackmore Stadium Friday evening "cancer clinical trials" will be the three words he will want his audience to particularly remember. Those three words, he says, are the reason he will be able to stand in front of those people. Wheeler, of El Dorado, is chairman of the Butler County Commission. He is also honorary chair of this year's El Dorado Relay for Life event benefitting research and activities of the American Cancer Society. Relay for Life will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and continue until 9 a.m. the following morning. It has now been two years since the Memorial Day time period of 2003 when Wheeler was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer, which for him created a tumor the size of a golfball at the base of his tongue. He'd had trouble breathing, eating and swallowing for about six months prior to his diagnosis, and there had also been a bout with pneumonia in both lungs during that time. Even with the severety of his symptoms, he said, "I thought I'd get over it. I thought maybe it was a sinus infection or a sore throat. "I blew it off; I'm not real big on going to doctors, and I just thought 'well, I'll just ride it out.' "I just never got any better," he said, "so my physician and I finally decided I should go see an ear, nose and [...]

6/4/2005 Norway Jon Sudbo Clin. Med. Res., November 1, 2004; 2(4): 233-242 The rationale for molecular-targeted prevention of oral cancer is strong. Oral cancer is a major global threat to public health with 300,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide on an annual basis. Notably, the great morbidity and mortality rates of this devastating disease have not improved in decades. Oral cancer development is a tobacco-related multistep and multifocal process involving field carcinogenesis and intraepithelial clonal spread. Biomarkers of genomic instability, such as aneuploidy and allelic imbalance, can accurately measure the cancer risk of oral premalignant lesions or intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN). Retinoid-oral IEN studies (e.g., retinoid acid receptor-beta, p53, genetic instability, loss of heterozygosity, and cyclin D1) have advanced the overall understanding of the biology of intraepithelial carcinogenesis and preventive agent molecular mechanisms and targets, important advances for monitoring preventive interventions, assessing cancer risk, and pharmacogenomics. Clinical management of oral IEN varies from watchful waiting to complete resection, although complete resection does not prevent oral cancer in high-risk patients. New approaches, such as interventions with molecular-targeted agents and agent combinations in molecularly defined high-risk oral IEN patients, are urgently needed to reduce the devastating worldwide consequences of oral cancer. Author's Affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway

6/4/2005 Germany H Heibel et al. Mund Kiefer Gesichtschir, May 31, 2005 Introduction: Radiation therapy of the oral and maxillo-facial region increases the risk of an infected osteoradionecrosis (IORN) which is a severe complication. Therefore, perioperative antibiotics for the prophylaxis of ORN is a standard in clinical oncology. The combination therapy of ampicillin and sulbactam (Unacid) promises a good therapeutic and prophylactic outcome. Patients: We compared the concentration of Unacid in bone and blood specimens of 22 irradiated patients. All patients were irradiated with 39.6 Gy prior to surgery. The specimens were obtained during the operation 3 weeks after the end of the radiation therapy. Results: The concentration of ampicillin/sulbactam in the blood was 124.9/64.5 microg/ml. The bone specimens showed a concentration of ampicillin/sulbactam of 5.54/1.21 microg/g. The concentration of the antibiotic in the bone was three to four times lower than in non-irradiated patients. Nevertheless, this concentration exceeds the minimum inhibitory concentration for bacteria in the oral cavity such as streptcoccae (MHK(90)<0.25 microg/ml) or staphylococcae (MHK(90)=0.12-2.0 microg/ml). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest, that Unacid is an effective antibiotic in the prophylaxis of ORN in irradiated patients with head and neck tumors. Authors: H Heibel, M Scheer, T Reuther, M Hahn, R Trittler, H Egle, K Kummerer, and A C Kubler

6/4/2005 Taiwan MoneyPlans Archives (archives.moneyplans.net) The nut of the betel or areca palm tree contains a mild, central nervous system stimulant called arecoline. Chewing the nut on its own or with a mixture of tobacco, lime and betel leaf is a popular habit in Asian countries and among British Asians. While all betel chewers have an increased chance of developing mouth cancer, scientists believe the genetic make-up of a person is likely to influence their susceptibility to the disease. Researchers based in Taiwan looked at variations in a gene that protects cells from damage in male betel chewers. They found that men with mouth cancer often had a different version of a gene than those not affected by the disease. Their findings shed important light on how mouth cancer develops and why some men are more susceptible to the disease than others. Over 153,000 new cases of mouth cancer are diagnosed in Asia each year. It accounts for up to 50 per cent of malignant tumours in some South Asian countries due to the popularity of betel chewing. Researchers based at the National Yang-Ming University in Taiwan looked at variations of a gene called HO-1*(2). The gene helps protect cells from damage by harmful agents such as UV irradiation or hydrogen peroxide. But studies also suggest that the gene may be involved in promoting tumour growth and maintaining cancer cell survival. Scientists think that certain versions of the gene may help prevent disease while other versions may trigger disease. Lead [...]

6/3/2005 St. Louis, MO press release (biz.yahoo.com) ADVEXIN® and INGN 225, investigational cancer therapies currently being evaluated in Phase 3 and Phase 2 trials, respectively, by Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN - News), were highlighted today in a special session, titled "The Clinical Trial Data on Ad-p53 Gene Therapy of Cancer" at the American Society of Gene Therapy 8th Annual Meeting (ASGT). Introgen's collaborators, Jack A. Roth, M.D., Chairman and Professor of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Dmitry Gabrilovich, M.D., Associate Professor of Oncology at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center reviewed the data generated to date with these investigational therapies. The special session titled "The Clinical Trial Data on Ad-p53 Gene Therapy of Cancer" was co-chaired by Drs. James S. Norris, Medical University of South Carolina, and Helen E. Heslop, Baylor College of Medicine. Joining Drs. Roth and Gabrilovich was Dr. Yongsong Guan of Sichuan University. "The presented data emphasize the broad potential application of ADVEXIN as a monotherapy and in combination with other treatments in the therapy of numerous cancers in a wide range of clinical settings," said Robert E. Sobol, M.D., senior vice president, Medical and Scientific Affairs at Introgen. "This special session at ASGT also underscores the ongoing interest in the p53 tumor suppressor gene as a novel cancer therapy. With ADVEXIN now in Phase 3 trials, we are closer than ever to realizing the potential of this key tumor suppressor gene in [...]

6/3/2005 London, England Jai A. Dennison Daily News Central (health.dailynewscentral.com) 'We have to remember that screening for oral cancer is a simple, non-invasive procedure, which needs only a five-minute visual inspection of the oral mucosa with lighting, gauze, gloves -- whereas the detection of most solid malignancies in the early asymoptomatic stages almost always requires special, costly and often invasive techniques. Visual screening for oral cancer is easy, effective, cheap and saves lives.' A simple five-minute visual examination of the mouths of individuals at high-risk of oral cancer could prevent around 37,000 worldwide deaths annually from the disease, suggests a study published in this week's issue of The Lancet. In 2002, there were over 270,000 new cases of mouth cancer and around 145,500 deaths worldwide -- two-thirds of which occurred in developing countries. Mouth cancer is the commonest form of cancer and cancer death in men in India. The high-risk in the Indian subcontinent is related to the high prevalence of pan-tobacco chewing in the population. (Pan-tobacco is a combination of betel leaf, lime, areca nut and sun-cured tobacco.) Mortality Down 34% After Nine Years Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, together with Kunnambath Ramadas of the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, India, and colleagues, randomly selected 13 population clusters in the Trivandrum district of Kerala, India, for inclusion in the study. Seven of the clusters were randomized to receive 3 rounds of oral visual screening by trained health workers at three-year intervals, and six [...]

6/2/2005 Evanston, IL press release eMediaWire (www.emediawire.com) One-third of cancer patients abandon chemotherapy prematurely because of the debilitating physical and psychological side effects. "Chemotherapy side effects can devastate a patient's ability to perform every day physical tasks, deplete a patient's nutrient reserves, and severely impact quality of life," explains Penny Block, Executive Director and cofounder of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care and Optimal Health. Often these patients are unable to resume treatment, either as advised by their doctors or their own personal choice. Typically, both can feel like a death sentence, and the patient is left with minimal quality of life. "That is why we created Cancer Rehab, which, not unlike the way cardiac rehab seeks to strengthen patients who have undergone treatment, fortifies patients physically and psychologically, enabling them to continue with an effective treatment program and better quality of life," said Penny. "Cancer Rehab includes clinically sound integrative approaches such as therapeutic nutrition, physical therapy, body work and yoga, mind/spirit and vital living strategies, drug and non-drug pain therapy as needed and agreed upon, and other life-enhancing modalities. Through careful assessment, the Block Center team develops individualized programs that best address the needs of each patient. This provides improved chances to help reclaim one's strength and life quality." As Dr. Keith I. Block, the Center's cofounder and Medical and Scientific Director describes, "What we know is that each chemotherapy treatment wastes select micronutrients with corresponding clinical consequences. For example, Cisplatin depletes the body's magnesium stores. This [...]

6/2/2005 Vienna, Austria press release PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) CEL-SCI Corporation has been issued a new U.S. patent covering its cancer drug, Multikine(R). The patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,896,879, is titled, "A Method Of Pre-Sensitizing Cancer Prior To Treatment With Radiation And/Or Chemotherapy And A Novel Cytokine Mixture." This invention relates to a breakthrough method for pre-sensitizing cancer with Multikine prior to a therapeutic treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or immunotherapy. CEL-SCI's drug Multikine is effective in inducing cancerous cells' entry into the cell cycle phase thereby increasing their vulnerability to chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy. Maximilian de Clara, President of CEL-SCI, said, "This patent should protect one of the largest applications for Multikine, namely its use to increase the success of radiation and chemotherapy, for a long time. Our planned Phase III clinical trial of head and neck cancer patients will administer Multikine therapy as a part of first-line treatment prior to surgery followed by post surgery radiation or concurrent chemoradiotherapy." Multikine is an immunotherapeutic agent consisting of a mixture of naturally occurring cytokines, including interleukins, interferons, chemokines and colony-stimulating factors, currently being developed for treatment of cancer. CEL-SCI Corporation is developing new immune system based treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. The Company has operations in Vienna, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland.