11/8/2005 New York, NY Steven Reinberg Forbes (www.forbes.com) Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help prevent esophageal cancer from developing in patients with Barrett's esophagus, researchers report. Barrett's esophagus is a precancerous condition in which the esophagus changes so that some of its lining is replaced by tissue similar to that normally found in the intestine. People with Barrett's esophagus are 50 times more likely to develop a type of throat cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, the most rapidly increasing cancer in the United States. "We observed that people who had Barrett's esophagus who were taking aspirin and other NSAIDs were about a third less likely to go on to get esophageal cancer, compared with people who never took NSAIDs regularly," said study author Dr. Thomas L. Vaughan, head of the epidemiology program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Besides aspirin, the NSAID group of pain relievers include ibuprofen, naproxen and the Cox-2 painkillers Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex -- of which only Celebrex remains on U.S. drugstore shelves. Reporting in the Nov. 7 online edition of The Lancet Oncology, Vaughan and his colleagues collected data on 350 people diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus. For more than five years, Vaughan's team looked at whether NSAID use correlated with the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma in these patients. They found that people taking NSAIDs were at a 68 percent lower risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma, compared with people who didn't use the drugs. Among people who had taken NSAIDs in the [...]

11/8/2005 Austin, TX staff MedGadget (medgadget.com) Introgen Therapeutics has announced an alliance with Colgate-Palmolive to develop and potentially market oral health care products. The terms of the alliance call for the development of specialized formulations of Introgen's molecular therapies targeted at pre-cancerous conditions of the oral cavity and oral cancer. According to the press release, the research and development activities in the alliance will be conducted by Introgen and will focus on oral formulations of Introgen's molecular therapeutics employing tumor suppressor genes such as p53, mda-7, and FUS1. Introgen has already conducted a phase 1 clinical study using INGN 234, a mouthwash formulation delivering the p53 tumor suppressor for oral cancer prevention in patients diagnosed with leukoplakia, a pre-cancerous condition that can lead to oral cancer. Leukoplakia has an incidence of approximately 3 percent of the adult population. "We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to apply Introgen's molecular agents to develop oral care products with Colgate-Palmolive," stated David G. Nance, Chief Executive Officer of Introgen. "We believe future commercial applications of therapeutic genes will include topical formulations such as those developed for oral use under the alliance with Colgate. The tissues lining the oral cavity may be particularly well suited and accessible targets for molecular therapies that can arrest abnormal cell growth without harming normal cells. We believe that repair of damaged cells and safe elimination of malignant or pre-malignant cells from the mouth could represent important therapies for dentists, oral health professionals and oncology specialists to prevent and treat [...]

11/8/2005 Spain Ricardo Hitt et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 10.1200/JCO.2004.00.1990 Purpose: To compare the antitumor activity and toxicity of the two induction chemotherapy treatments of paclitaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil (FU; PCF) versus standard cisplatin and FU (CF), both followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT), in locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). Patients and Methods: Eligibility criteria included biopsy-proven, previously untreated, stage III or IV locally advanced HNC. Patients received either CF (cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on day 1 plus FU 1 mg/m2 continuous infusion on days 1 through 5) or PCF (paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 on day 1, cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on day 2, and FU 500 mg/m2 continuous infusion on days 2 through 6); both regimens were administered for three cycles every 21 days. Patients with complete response (CR) or partial response of greater than 80% in primary tumor received additional CRT (cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on days 1, 22, and 43 plus 70 Gy). Results: A total of 382 eligible patients were randomly assigned to CF (n = 193) or PCF (n = 189). The CR rate was 14% in the CF arm v 33% in the PCF arm (P < .001). Median time to treatment failure was 12 months in the CF arm compared with 20 months in the PCF arm (log-rank test, P = .006; Tarone-Ware, P = .003). PCF patients had a trend to longer overall survival (OS; 37 months in CF arm v 43 months in PCF arm; log-rank test, P = .06; Tarone-Ware, P = .03). [...]

11/8/2005 Chapel Hill, NC staff Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com) A highly powerful scanner combining two state-of-the-art technologies might detect the spread of head and neck cancer more accurately than other imaging. Researchers say combining computed tomography and positron emission tomography might be more effective than other widely used imaging examinations. The findings are based on research conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, "PET/CT is very helpful in determining where we should pinpoint our biopsies for recurrent disease," said Dr. Carol Shores, assistant professor of otolaryngology at UNC and the report's senior author. "We can pick up cancer where we thought none existed. "The new scans are so precise that, in some cases, cancer had been detected that probably would not have been through any other noninvasive imaging exam," she added The study is detailed in the July issue of medical journal The Laryngoscope.

11/7/2005 New York, NY Andrew Pollack New York Times (www.nytimes.com) Brush your teeth and rinse with gene therapy. That could be the future of oral health care as envisioned by Colgate-Palmolive and Introgen Therapeutics, an Austin, Tex., biotechnology company. The companies announced an alliance Friday to incorporate gene therapy - an exotic, experimental and so far largely unsuccessful form of medicine - into mouthwashes, gels and similar products to treat and prevent oral cancers. Gene therapy involves putting genes into cells in the body, often to replace native genes that are malfunctioning. The technique has rarely worked in the 15 years it has been tried, largely because of the difficulty of getting enough functioning genes into cells. Introgen's method puts so-called tumor suppressor genes into cancerous cells to stop the growth of tumors. The company's most advanced drug, which is in late-stage clinical trials, is a treatment for head and neck cancer that it hopes will be the first gene therapy approved in the United States. In that treatment, viruses containing the desired gene are injected directly into tumors. Working with Colgate, Introgen will try to put the tumor suppressor genes into an oral product to treat leukoplakia, a precancerous condition characterized by lesions on the cheeks, gums or tongue. In some cases the lesions turn cancerous, usually after many years. Dr. Robert E. Sobol, Introgen's senior vice president for medical and scientific affairs, said an initial product would probably be a prescription drug that would require approval by the [...]

11/7/2005 Thriuvananthapuram, India John Mary The Peninsula (www.thepeninsulaqatar.com) The Regional Cancer Centre at Thriuvananthapuram, whose studies suggest that a 5-minute oral cancer screening can check about 40,000 deaths worldwide, is launching clinical trials to test the efficacy of turmeric in preventing oral cancers. Oncologist K Ramadas at the RCC said that although turmeric was widely believed to be a broad spectrum anti-cancer agent, there have been very few studies to establish its therapeutic efficacy in treating pre-cancer lesions. The RCC and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) will be funded by the Federal Department of Biotechnology in initiating multi-centric clinical trails at RCC, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, and Tata Hospital, Mumbai, over the next three years. Trials are intended to check out the preventive action of curcumin on white patches in the mouth (leuokplakia) that can turn cancerous. RGCB director Dr Radhakrishna Pillai, one of the two principal investigators of the project, said laboratory studies and studies on animals had been encouraging. Dr Ramadas said the major handicap experienced so far in anti-cancer treatment had been the low absorption rate of curcumin. Only a minuscule fraction of curcumin passed through the liver. The bulk of it would get metabolised in the liver, leaving little to reach the tumour site. Hence, the focus of the clinical trails would be to try using curcumin lozenges and patches to treat lesions. Turmeric holds a high place in ayurvedic medicine as a "cleanser of the body" and today science is finding [...]

11/7/2005 Washington, DC staff Wall Street Journal Online (online.wsj.com) The 10 million cancer survivors in the U.S. require customized follow-up for years that too few now receive, says a major study that calls for oncologists to create a "survivorship plan" to guide every patient's future health care. Half of all men and one-third of women in the U.S. will develop cancer in their lifetimes. Thanks to advances in early detection and treatment, the number who survive has more than tripled over the past three decades. When active treatment ends, these people's special needs may be just beginning, said the study, released Monday. Yet, the legacy of physical, psychological and social consequences has largely been ignored by doctors, researchers, even patient-advocacy groups, leaving survivors too often unaware of simmering health risks or struggling to manage them on their own, said the report by the Institute of Medicine. "Successful cancer care doesn't end when patients walk out the door after completion of their initial treatments," said Sheldon Greenfield of the University of California, Irvine, who led the study for the institute, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Yet, "you fall off a cliff when your treatment ends," said report co-author Ellen Stovall, president of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, who speaks from personal experience as a two-time survivor. Busy oncologists' priority is to treat patients and they may have little time for the survivor, while physicians who don't specialize in cancer care may not know what special needs survivors [...]

11/3/2005 New York, NY staff cancerconsultants.com Levels of the albumin-binding protein known as SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic Rich in Cysteine) are highly associated with the response of head and neck cancer to treatment with Abraxane™ (albumin-bound paclitaxel), according to study results presented at the 23rd annual Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium in New York. Head and neck cancers originate in the throat, larynx (voice box), pharynx, salivary glands, or oral cavity (lip, mouth, tongue). Most head and neck cancers involve squamous cells, which line the mouth, throat, and other structures. Abraxane is a new form of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel. Abraxane is bound to albumin, a type of protein normally found in the human body. This form of paclitaxel delivers high concentrations of the active ingredient into the cancer cells and, compared to its original form, reduces the frequency of side effects. Abraxane has demonstrated significant activity in various cancers, including cancers of the head and neck. Abraxane is moving forward through clinical trials as safety and efficacy data mature. An important area of research that is receiving increasing attention is individualized treatment; the emphasis of this research is on identifying and defining specific “markers” associated with different outcomes among patients who share the same clinical diagnosis. One potential predictor of treatment response in patients treated with Abraxane is SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic Rich in Cysteine). SPARC is a protein that is secreted by many cancers and may play a role in the accumulation of albumin and albumin-targeted agents within a tumor. [...]

11/2/2005 Bethesda, MD Leslie Harris O'Hanlon Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 97, No. 21, 1563-1564, November 2, 2005 Dozens of epidemiologic studies in the last several decades have shown an association between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. Now, laboratory studies are beginning to tease out the molecular mechanisms that may be at work. Chronic alcohol consumption increases risk for cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Alcohol is also associated with an increased risk of breast, colon, and liver cancer. Although many theories abound to explain the alcohol–cancer connection, alcohol metabolism is emerging as one of the main culprits. Alcohol is broken down primarily in the liver by two enzymes. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) converts ethanol into acetaldehyde, which collects in the blood, saliva, gastric juice, and large intestines. Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) then converts acetaldehyde into acetate, which is metabolized by tissues outside the liver. In cell cultures and animal models, acetaldehyde is toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic. A recent study by researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that acetaldehyde can interact with polyamines—small molecules essential for cell division—to trigger a series of events that eventually lead to damaged DNA. When acetaldehyde was mixed with polyamines in a test tube, it was converted into crotonaldehyde (CrA), an environmental pollutant that has been shown to cause cancer in animals. This chemical in turn reacted with DNA, generating an abnormal, mutagenic DNA base called a Cr–PdG adduct. [...]

10/31/2005 Washington, DC Rob Stein Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has set up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots aggressively to prevent thousands of malignancies and social conservatives who say immunizing teenagers could encourage sexual activity. Although the vaccine will not become available until next year at the earliest, activists on both sides have begun maneuvering to influence how widely the immunizations will be employed. Groups working to reduce the toll of the cancer are eagerly awaiting the vaccine and want it to become part of the standard roster of shots that children, especially girls, receive just before puberty. Because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted virus, many conservatives oppose making it mandatory, citing fears that it could send a subtle message condoning sexual activity before marriage. Several leading groups that promote abstinence are meeting this week to formulate official policies on the vaccine. In the hopes of heading off a confrontation, officials from the companies developing the shots -- Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline -- have been meeting with advocacy groups to try to assuage their concerns. The jockeying reflects the growing influence that social conservatives, who had long felt overlooked by Washington, have gained on a broad spectrum of policy issues under the Bush administration. In this case, a former member of the conservative group Focus on the Family serves on the federal panel that is playing a pivotal role in deciding how the vaccine is [...]