11/6/2007 web-based article Liz Savage, Andrea Widener JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2007 99(21):1561 No relationship was found between vitamin D levels and the overall risk of dying from cancer, according to a study published online October 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. However, higher vitamin D levels were associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer death. Several epidemiological studies have supported the hypothesis that that vitamin D can reduce cancer mortality by decreasing cancer incidence or improving survival. Animal and cell studies suggest that vitamin D may reduce tumor growth and induce cancer cell death. Diet and exposure to sunlight are the major sources of vitamin D. D. Michal Freedman, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues analyzed data from the third national Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the relationship between levels of circulating vitamin D in the blood and cancer mortality in a group of 16,818 participants aged 17 and older. After about a decade of follow-up, 536 participants had died of cancer. Cancer mortality was not related to the level of circulating vitamin D for the overall group, nor was it related when the researchers looked at the data by sex, race, or age. But higher levels of vitamin D (80 nmol/L or more) were associated with a 72 percent reduced risk of colorectal cancer mortality, compared with lower levels (less than 50 nmol/L). "To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the [...]

11/5/2007 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Gerald Tatist et al Montreal Gazette (www.canada.com/montrealgazette) As health-care professionals in oncology, we wish to respond to The Gazette's Oct. 29 editorial titled "Attitude in facing cancer: Let each person decide how to face cancer." In 1965, Dr. Franz Alexander wrote: "The fact that the mind rules the body is, in spite of its neglect by biology and medicine, the most fundamental fact which we know about the process of life." Traditionally, medicine has focused primarily on the actual disease, not the person with the disease. Attitude matters not because it might or might not prolong life, but because it makes life worth living. A sense of optimism can help patients cope with the many challenges and ramifications of dealing with this potentially life-threatening illness. A sense of resignation can make illness much more difficult to bear. Left unchecked, despair can also adversely affect compliance with treatment and may even lead to full-blown depression. The editorial referred to the University of Pennsylvania study that followed patients with cancers of the head and neck. It concluded attitude did not affect survival rates. However, when you Google cancer survival and attitude, you will find another study on the role of patients' attitudes in cancers of the head and neck, conducted by McGill University researchers, which describes positive predictive effects of dispositional optimism on survival. So we have one study of many dismissing the value of optimism and another of many supporting the value of optimism. What is important [...]

11/4/2007 Miami, FL MC Biagioli et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, November 15, 2007; 69(4): 1067-73 Purpose: Primary treatment fails in >70% of locally advanced head and neck cancer patients. Salvage therapy has a 30-40% response rate, but few long-term survivors. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) has recently emerged as a new modality for salvage therapy. This retrospective study evaluated our experience using every-other-week IMRT with concurrent chemotherapy. Methods and Materials: Between 2001 and 2006, 41 patients underwent IMRT as repeat RT with concurrent chemotherapy. All but 6 patients received 60 Gy at 2 Gy/fraction. RT was delivered on an alternating week schedule. RESULTS: With a median follow-up time of 14 months, the overall response rate was 75.6%, with a complete response and partial response rate of 58.5% and 17.1%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall survival, disease-free survival, and progression-free survival at 24 months was 48.7%, 48.1%, and 38%, respectively. Patients who underwent surgery as a part of their salvage therapy had a mean estimated survival of 30.9 months compared with 22.8 months for patients who received only chemoradiotherapy (p = 0.126). Grade 3 or 4 acute toxicities occurred in 31.7% of patients, but all had resolved within 2 months of therapy completion. No deaths occurred during treatment, except for 1 patient, who died shortly after discontinuing treatment early because of previously undiagnosed metastatic disease; 6 patients had long-term complications. Conclusions: Concurrent chemotherapy with repeat radiotherapy with IMRT given every other week appears to be both well tolerated and [...]

11/2/2007 San Diego, CA press release PharmaLive (www.medadnews.com) Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Patent Number 7,262,014 to Nventa covering compositions and methods for inducing or enhancing immune responses to a human papillomavirus (HPV) antigen with or without the use of an adjuvant. The Company's CoVal(TM) HPV protein fusions are being developed to treat patients with HPV-related diseases. This new U.S. patent provides for a method of treating a tumor expressing an HPV antigen through the administration of an effective amount of a composition comprised of an HPV antigen joined or fused to a stress protein. This patent provides additional patent exclusivity for HspE7, the Company's investigational therapeutic vaccine, and future HPV fusions through February 2019. Gregory M. McKee, President and Chief Executive Officer at Nventa commented: "The issuance of this patent protecting the use of our HPV CoVal(TM) protein fusions to treat HPV-related diseases strengthens our intellectual property portfolio and, we believe, adds further value to our HspE7 program, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical development." Nventa is developing innovative therapeutics for the treatment of viral infections and cancer, with a focus on diseases caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The Company is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NVN. For more information about Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corporation, please visit the Company's website located at www.nventacorp.com.

11/2/2007 Los Angeles, CA press release PharmaLive (www.medadnews.com) ImClone Systems Incorporated, a leader in the development and commercialization of novel cancer therapeutics, today announced that the 1000th patient has been enrolled in the independent national registry of patients with head and neck cancer known as LORHAN (Longitudinal Oncology Registry of Head And Neck carcinoma). The announcement was made in conjunction with the Company's sponsorship of and participation in the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology (ASTRO) 49th Annual Meeting, which is being held this week in Los Angeles. Radiation therapy is a core treatment option for patients with head and neck cancer. The LORHAN Registry was established in October 2005 to better understand treatment practices for Head and Neck Cancer patients by providing insight into national treatment trends and outcomes. LORHAN is the only longitudinal registry of its kind in the U.S. and since its launch less than two years ago, 95 sites have joined the Registry, including many major U.S. cancer treatment centers. LORHAN is guided by a prestigious advisory board chaired by Dr. K. Kian Ang, of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, that includes: Walter Curran, M.D., Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; Paul Harari, M.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison; Barbara Murphy, M.D., Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center; Stuart Wong, M.D., Medical College of Wisconsin; Amy Chen, M.D., Emory University; and Adam Garden, M.D., M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The program is being supported by ImClone Systems Incorporated and implemented by MedNet Solutions, Inc. of Minnetonka, Minnesota. LORHAN is non-drug specific and collects [...]

11/2/2007 web-based article staff ScienceDaily.com A new report published recently by the World Cancer Research Fund will show how much our diet needs to change if we are to reduce the risk of cancer. In the British Medical Journal, Professor Tim Key from the Cancer Research UK unit at the University of Oxford discusses what would be needed to achieve the report's goals. The report concludes that obesity increases the risk of cancer of the oesophagus, colorectum, pancreas, breast, endometrium, and kidney. Its goal is for the average body mass index of the population to be between 21 and 23. Yet, mean body mass index in adults in the UK is now about 27 and has not fallen into the target range since the 1940s, says Professor Key. Enormous efforts by individuals, society, and government will therefore be needed to reverse the current trend. The report also shows that alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colorectum, and breast and also causes cirrhosis, which predisposes to liver cancer. It recommends much lower drinking limits than currently advised in Britain, so a substantial shift in drinking habits would be needed to achieve these goals. Evidence for a protective effect of fruit and vegetables is less convincing. Nevertheless, the report recommends that people should eat at least five portions of vegetables and fruits each day. To meet this individual recommendation, the average consumption in the population would need to be about 7.5 portions a day. The average [...]

11/1/2007 web-based article staff google-sina.com Researchers have found a marker on head and neck tumor cells that indicates which cells are capable of fueling the cancer’s growth. The finding is the first evidence of cancer stem cells in head and neck tumors. Cancer stem cells are the small number of cancer cells that replicate to drive tumor growth. Researchers believe current cancer treatments sometimes fail because they are not attacking the cancer stem cells. By identifying the stem cells, researchers can then develop drugs to target and kill these cells. "Our treatment results for head and neck cancer are not as good as we would?like them to be. A lot of people still die of head and neck cancer. This finding will impact our understanding of head and neck cancer, and we hope it will lead to treatments that will be more effective," says study author Mark Prince, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology at the University of Michigan Medical School and section chief of otolaryngology at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Results of the study appear in the Jan. 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center and Stanford University School of Medicine took tumor samples from patients undergoing surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, including cancers of the tongue, larynx, throat and sinus. Cells from the samples were separated based on whether they expressed a marker on their surface called CD44. The sorted cells were then [...]

10/31/2007 Rochester, MN staff MayoClinic.com Get the facts about chewing tobacco. It's more harmful and addictive than you might think. You can call it what you want — smokeless tobacco, spit tobacco, snus, chew, snuff, pinch, plug or dip — but don't call it harmless. If you're considering making the switch from cigarettes to chewing tobacco because you think the smokeless version of tobacco won't hurt you, be forewarned — chewing tobacco also causes serious health problems. Find out why chewing tobacco is not a healthy option. Chewing tobacco: Just one form of smokeless tobacco Smokeless tobacco products consist of tobacco or a tobacco blend that's chewed, inhaled or sucked on rather than smoked. It's available in three main forms: - Chewing tobacco. This type of smokeless tobacco comes in loose leaf, plugs or twists. As the name suggests, it's chewed. - Snuff. This product is available dry or moist, in loose leaf or in pouches that look like small tea bags. A pinch of snuff may be placed between the cheek and the gum or inhaled into the nostrils. - Betel quid. A product of India, Africa and Asia, betel quid is produced commercially or made at home. It consists of a dried paste that often includes tobacco, areca nuts, catechu, and scent or flavoring. Catechu is a plant-based product used to treat diarrhea and sometimes used for birth control in some parts of the world. Areca nuts are a plant-based product often used as a recreational drug. Betel [...]

10/31/2007 Orlando, FL Kate McHugh, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent www.ivanhoe.com Head and neck cancers affect more than 40,000 people in the United States every year and more than 500,000 worldwide. When caught early, the prognosis is promising, but survival rates decrease as the disease advances. Now, two treatment therapies are making a big difference in the survival of patients suffering from advanced head and neck cancers. Standard initial treatment for advanced head and neck cancers is chemotherapy. Two new studies show promising results with treatments following chemo. “I think that patients get very scared when they get this diagnosis, frightened and anxious. I think they should recognize that we are now clearly above the 50-percent [survival] level -- quite a bit above it,” Marshall Posner, M.D., medical director of the Head and Neck Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told Ivanhoe. In a recent study out of Europe, researchers found a combination therapy treatment, known as TPF -- adding docetaxel to the standard PF therapy (cisplatin and fluorouracil) -- improved survival outcomes by 27 percent in patients with an unresectable cancer -- tumors that cannot be removed. “What the European trial demonstrates is that TPF is a reasonable therapy for patients with an unresectable disease and promotes an improvement in survival,” said Dr. Posner, the lead author of another new study, which reveals using the TPF therapy after chemotherapy and following with chemoradiotherapy -- a combination of chemotherapy with radiation therapy -- gives patients a 30-percent reduction in [...]