6/8/2007 London, England staff Economist.com Drugs directed at precise molecular targets are helping cancer patients live longer. They have yet, however, to fulfil all expectations. Researchers have been promising a revolution in cancer treatment for a long time. More effective and less toxic drugs are expected to replace old-fashioned chemotherapies. The approach is called targeted molecular medicine and the idea is to substitute the blunderbuss of chemotherapy with the sharp-shooting of a chemical that interrupts a single molecular pathway—one that is crucial for the survival of cancer cells, but not normal cells. The problem is that this pathway will vary from cancer to cancer. You therefore have to find out which pathway is crucial in a cancer before you can make the drug. And once armed with the drug, you have to devise tests that reveal what type of cancer someone has, in order to find out whether the drug will work in his case. Even then, there is no guarantee it will work well—as three large clinical trials unveiled at this week's meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, in Chicago, sadly demonstrate. It is not that any of the trials failed, exactly: all added weeks or months to the lives of those taking the new therapies. It is rather that physicians were hoping for years of extra life. There are useful lessons to be learned from these trials. Unfortunately, the main one is that molecular medicine is harder than it looks. The tumours treated in the three [...]

6/8/2007 web-based article staff eMaxHealth.com The American Cancer Society yesterday issued four principles that define meaningful health insurance and highlight major problems in the health care system that are impeding progress against cancer and other major diseases. The four principles of quality health insurance will guide the Society and its sister advocacy organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN), in efforts to improve access to quality care for those with cancer. The principles, which were released at a Capitol Hill briefing, state that health insurance should be: * Adequate - Access is timely and coverage offers the full range of evidence-based health care services, including prevention and early detection and supportive needs, including acute treatment with access to clinical trials, chronic disease management and palliative care. * Affordable - Total costs are not excessive and are based on the patient's ability to pay for health insurance. * Available - Health Insurance Coverage is available regardless of health status or claims history, and it is renewable and continuous. * Administratively simple - Health Insurance Benefits, financial liability, billing procedures and processes for filing claims are easy to understand, and consumers are able to compare plans when making choices about health insurance. "Forty-six million Americans lack health insurance today, and millions of others have coverage that is inadequate when facing cancer or another major health crisis," said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN. "Merely having insurance may not be enough during a health crisis you may be insured, [...]

6/8/2007 Houston, TX press release BusinessWire.com poCell, Inc. presented the results of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago and ApoCell at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held in Chicago in early June. The study showed that ApoCell’s advanced pharmacodynamic biomarker assay technology provides reliable predictive data of clinical response. This study showed the benefit of treating aggressive head and neck cancer patients with a combination of targeted molecular drugs. Cancer treatment is evolving from the use of highly toxic systemic compounds to targeted molecular drugs that are safer and faster acting because they aim only at cancer cell structures and their bio-mechanisms. Pharmacodynamics is an evolving field that encompasses the study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs, the mechanisms of drug action and the relationship between drug concentration and biological effect. ApoCell has developed an analytical tool, the PDx Index™ (Pharmaco-Diagnostic Index), which indicates the likelihood of whether a targeted therapy will elicit a clinical response. The predictive index in this study was derived by comparing the biochemical state of a cancer cell receptor that is critical to the process of angiogenesis or vascularization of tumors. This PDx Index™ of patients with head and neck cancer showed a direct correlation between the drug regimen and patient response. This new technology is applicable to predicting the clinical outcome of most molecular targeted cancer drugs. Dr. Darren Davis, ApoCell’s President and CEO comments, “We have developed the PDx Index™ [...]

6/5/2007 Chicago, IL press release BusinessWire (home.businesswire.com) Abnormal p53 Predicts Increased Tumor Responses and Survival Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. and the Company’s clinical collaborators today reported updated Phase 2 data demonstrating a significant correlation between abnormal p53, tumor responses and increased survival following ADVEXIN® therapy in patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The data (Abstract #6057) were presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. Tumor responses were assessed in 112 patients with recurrent head and neck cancer who received ADVEXIN. Overall, the percentages of patients with tumor responses defined by reductions in bi-dimensional tumor area on CT scan of 50 percent, 25 percent, 10 percent or stable disease for more than 2 treatment cycles were 6 percent, 7 percent, 12 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Median survival for these responder populations were 41, 17, 15 and 10 months, respectively. There was a statistically significant increase in median survival for each of the responder populations compared to the 6 month median survival of the non-responders (p < 0.0016). “The 41 month median duration of survival for the patients with a 50 percent or greater reduction in tumor size is very impressive and significantly greater than the six month median survival of non-responders that is typical for patients with recurrent tumors,” said John Nemunaitis, M.D., Medical Director, Mary Crowley Medical Research Center. “Our findings are also consistent with a growing body of data that even smaller reductions in tumor size [...]

6/5/2007 Toronto, Ontario, Canada staff Unitersity Health Network (www.uhn.ca) Researchers at the Ontario Cancer Institute at Princess Margaret Hospital have successfully proven that cancer cells alone can be killed by a new cancer drug that is triggered by a laser light, a process known as photodynamic therapy (PDT). In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Dr. Gang Zheng, Senior Scientist - Division of Biophysics and Bioimaging, Joey and Toby Tanenbaum/Brazilian Ball Chair for Prostate Cancer Research - Ontario Cancer Institute, Associate Professor, Medical Biophysics - University of Toronto, and Dr. Brian Wilson, Head - Division of Biophysics and Imaging - Ontario Cancer Institute, Professor - Department of Medical Biophysics - University of Toronto, describe the PDT process that they have collaborated on over three years. The collaboration began before Dr. Zheng was recruited to OCI from the University of Pennsylvania in August 2006. Their paper describes how these new photosensitizer drugs can only be activated by light once they have been localized in the target tumour cells. For the first time Zheng and Wilson have demonstrated that tumour cells can be selectively attacked using a PDT. When the light activates this new drug, it then works to produce a reactive form of oxygen, which destroys only the cells that have been marked by the cancer-fighting drug, thereby sparing other normal healthy neighbouring cells. “The process really is about controlling the drug’s ability to produce this reactive form of oxygen, explains Dr. Zheng. [...]

6/5/2007 London, UK staff Channel 4 News (www.channel4.com) Researchers hope the discovery will lead to new treatments for the disease. Study leader Professor Michael Clarke, from Stanford University in California, said: "This work will enable us to better understand how to identify these cells, and to do molecular studies to find potential new therapies." Prof Clarke was the first to find cancer stem cells in a solid tumour - in this case breast cancer - in 2003. Other cancer stem cells have also been found in head and neck and pancreatic tumours. Cancer stem cells act as well springs, constantly dividing to produce new tumour cells. They are thought to be the main reason why some cancers return after apparently successful treatment. Although chemotherapy might kill the bulk of tumour cells, any stem cells that remain will allow the cancer to resurface or spread. Treatments that target cancer stem cells would allow the cancer to be eradicated entirely. Dr Irving Weissman, director of Stanford's Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, said: "We have brought together a team of scientists and clinicians who will help find the weak points in cancer, devise new immune and molecular diagnostics and therapeutics, test them in mice that carry the cancer stem cells and, hopefully, in a few years begin to test them in our patients." Identifying the bowel cancer stem cells has highlighted the importance of a protein called CD44. Scientists found it dotting the surface of breast and head and neck [...]

6/5/2007 Dublin, Ireland Omega Research HighWirePress (highwire.stanford.edu) Purpose: In this randomized, phase III study, quality of life (QoL) was assessed in patients with locoregionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) after high-dose radiotherapy alone or in combination with cetuximab. Patients and Methods: Patients with stage III or IV nonmetastatic and measurable squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx were eligible. QoL was assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and EORTC QLQ Head and Neck Cancer-Specific Module at baseline, week 4, and at months 4, 8, and 12 postbaseline. Results: In this study, one of the largest conducted in a population of patients with locoregionally advanced SCCHN, 424 patients received radiotherapy alone (213 patients) or radiotherapy plus cetuximab (211 patients). Radiotherapy/cetuximab significantly improved locoregional control (P = .005) and overall survival (P = .03) compared with radiotherapy alone, without significantly increasing radiotherapy-associated adverse events. The current analysis focused on the impact of cetuximab on the QoL. Compliance with completion of QoL questionnaires was high in both arms. QoL worsened during treatment and improved after cessation of treatment, reaching baseline levels at 12 months. There were no significant differences in QoL scores between the treatment arms. This was particularly notable for global health status/QoL, social functioning, social eating, and social contact. Pretreatment global health status/QoL was identified as a significant prognostic variable in these patients. Conclusion: The addition of cetuximab to radiotherapy significantly improved [...]

7/4/2007 Chicago, IL Karamouzis et al. JAMA (http://jama.ama-assn.org/) Context: Malignancies arising from the aerodigestive epithelium, including lung, head and neck, and esophageal carcinomas, are the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Given the biological importance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in cancer development and progression, EGFR inhibitors have emerged as promising novel therapies. Objectives: To summarize the current status of EGFR inhibitors in aerodigestive carcinomas (ADCs), highlight ongoing research designed to optimize their therapeutic effectiveness, and consider the future role of these agents. Evidence Acquisition: Systematic MEDLINE search of English-language literature (1966-April 2007) performed using the terms EGFR, EGFR inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, and EGFR predictive factors. Quality assessment of selected studies included clinical pertinence, with an emphasis on controlled study design, publication in peer-reviewed journals, adequate number of enrolled patients, objectivity of measurements, and techniques used to minimize bias. Evidence Synthesis: The role of EGFR in ADC pathogenesis has been extensively studied, and multiple EGFR inhibition strategies are under evaluation. Erlotinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor used as a single agent, and cetuximab, an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody used in combination with radiation, have conferred survival benefit in 1 trial of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (median survival, 6.7 vs 4.7 months; hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.87; P < .001) and in 1 trial of patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (median survival, 49 vs 29.3 months; hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% [...]

6/3/2007 web-based article staff RawStory.com US cancer specialists issued an urgent appeal this weekend for more budget allocations for cancer research, which have been decreasing in the country for four years threatening to delay introduction of new treatments. "Cancer research is in a serious crisis," said Doctor Robert Ozols, chairman of the Communication Committee at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which opened its 43rd annual meeting here Friday. The forum, which will continue until June 5, has brought together more than 25,000 researchers. Other ASCO officials and representatives of the scientific community, including National Cancer Institute Director John Niederhuber, called on Congress to increase the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by about seven percent as early as next year and beyond. The NIH is the biggest public medical research organization in the world. In recent decades, significant US federal funds have allowed researchers to make significant progress in the fight against this disease, which is the second leading killer on the planet after cardiovascular diseases, doctors pointed out. As a result of this progress, two-thirds of people diagnosed with cancer remain alive five years after their diagnosis, compared with 50 percent in 1975, they stressed. In addition, the total number of cancer deaths has begun to decline for the first time in 70 years, according to statistics from the American Cancer Society presented by some of the researchers. Today there are 10 million American cancer survivors, compared with 3.7 million 30 years ago. Recent advances in [...]

6/3/2007 New York, NY staff Forbes.com Advances in treating lung and head/neck cancers could have immediate implications for patients, new research suggests. Three studies detailing the findings were presented at a press conference Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, in Chicago. These types of cancer are notoriously difficult to treat, and have extremely low survival rates. Lung cancer is currently the number one cancer killer in the world. Head and neck cancers rank sixth, with 500,000 new cases and 300,000 deaths worldwide each year. Progress, particularly with lung cancer, comes in small increments. "These are two very difficult-to-treat cancers," said Dr. Roy S. Herbst, moderator of the press conference and a professor of medicine and cancer biology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. One study found, for the first time, that giving Avastin (bevacizumab) to patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, along with the chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and gemcitabine, slowed the growth of the cancer by up to 25 percent. The data confirms earlier results. "This cancer is very hard to treat. There have been some advances, but we have reached a treatment plateau and we need more agents which may help us to offer better treatment to patients," said study author Dr. Christian Manegold, a professor of medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. "We were able to confirm that Avastin adds efficacy to standard chemotherapy and provides hope for patients suffering from a deadly disease." The U.S. [...]