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. [...]

6/3/2007 Lisle, IL Ben Wasserman foodconsumer.org Dentists need more training to properly screen oral cancer and provide risk assessment and counseling, suggests a study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry. The study found more than 92 percent of dentists in Illinois performed oral cancer examinations for their patients, but many were not performing the procedures thoroughly or at optimum intervals. Some dentists had no thorough understanding of oral cancer and were not doing all they should be doing to detect oral cancers, said Charles LeHew of the UIC Cancer Center's Center for Population Health and Health Disparities and the Institute for Health Research and Policy. Researchers surveyed more than 500 dentists in 19 counties in Illinois using a 38-item questionnaire for their knowledge of oral cancer prevention and early detection. And more than 60 percent responded to the survey. The results show that the majority of dentists correctly identified squamous cell carcinoma, the most common oral cancer. They also knew the most common sites for oral cancer and the most common type of early lesions. But many could not answer those questions correctly. Further, dentists lacked knowledge needed for risk assessment and counseling. Many did not know age is an important factor for oral cancer and some did not know tobacco and alcohol are two most important factors. The majority had received continuing education. But training in risk counseling was rare. Oral or pharyngeal cancer will be [...]

6/3/2007 Sacremento, CA Dorsey Griffith Sacramento Bee (www.sacbee.com) A developing health science aims to prevent disease by focusing on mouth bacteria You might be surprised to learn that the microscopic bugs around your teeth that cause gum disease may also contribute to tongue cancer, medical researchers recently reported. Such a link would not, however, shock the legions of oral health professionals paid to clean teeth and gums, restore teeth and scare patients into flossing daily. Mounting evidence linking gum disease and other physical ailments is bucking the long-held notion that the mouth and body should be treated as separate entities by different kinds of doctors. "For a long time, dentists really saw themselves as drilling and filling and didn't look at the ecological causes of oral health and how important it is in our total well-being," said Jennifer Holtzman, associate professor at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. "Dentists are now finding themselves in the position of being able to prevent tooth decay and really take a lead role in helping people manage their own health." Scientists already have associated periodontal disease with heart disease, diabetes, respiratory illness and several pregnancy-related problems including infertility, preeclampsia, and premature and low-birth weight babies. The science is young and inconclusive, however. What's not yet known is whether diseased gums actually cause or contribute to other illnesses, and whether prevention of periodontal disease -- through regular exams, cleaning and good oral hygiene -- could actually prevent or lessen the effects of other [...]

6/2/2007 San Francisco, CA press release BusinessWire.com Results from a new national survey reveal that the majority (97%) of oral mucositis (OM) sufferers believe there is little or no awareness among the general public of oral mucositis, one of the most common and debilitating complications of cancer treatment. The low level of public awareness may be explained by a perceived lack of effective treatments and information about OM – a problem cited by 85% of the survey respondents. The survey was supported by Cytogen Corporation, which recently licensed and introduced CAPHOSOL®, an advanced electrolyte solution indicated as an adjunct to standard oral care in treating OM caused by radiation or high dose chemotherapy, in the U.S. The survey, which involved 427 past and present OM sufferers prior to Cytogen’s introduction of CAPHOSOL, also shed light on the difficulties faced by those living with OM, an inflammation of mucous membranes in the mouth that commonly affects patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Only half (52%) of the survey participants reported having received a formal OM diagnosis, and 25% were unable to obtain any treatment that relieved their OM symptoms. The survey results also indicated that OM negatively affects quality of life in an overwhelming majority (90%) of respondents. “Oral mucositis is one of the most common, debilitating and painful side effects of cancer therapy, and the compelling results of this survey underscore the significant unmet medical need among cancer patients, caregivers and physicians,” said Michael D. Becker, president and CEO [...]

6/1/2007 Evergreen, VA staff PhysOrg.com (www.physorg.com) Professor Andy Trotti, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA and colleagues assessed deficiencies in established methods for summarizing adverse events, and devised their new method. The new system, named TAME, places traditional adverse-event data into three concise risk domains: short term toxicity (T), adverse long term effects (A) and mortality risk (M), which are calculated for each treatment program to generate an end-result (E) summary index. The authors say: “This is an entirely new concept in risk assessment. It was specifically designed for the evaluation of cancer treatments. Traditional safety reporting methods were designed for low-risk non-cancer treatments, and are simply overwhelmed by the amount of toxicity data generated in cancer treatment programs. Thus, a new way to look at risk that is more relevant to oncology is needed.” Despite being in the early stages of development, TAME has managed to identify differences of up to 500% in acute toxicity burden between certain cancer treatments. Established methods only detected a 170% difference in short term effects between those treatments. Established summary methods were also found to disregard a large amount of important information, and only permit comparing rates of each type of side effect (in cancer treatments there are dozens of types), whereas TAME includes all types of severe side effects, and considers their relative frequency, using a concise scoring system. However there was little difference between TAME and established methods in detecting the variation of risk in [...]