7/10/2007 New Rochelle, NY press release Genetic, Engineering & Biotechnology News (www.genengnews.com) Northwest Biotherapeutics’ (NWBT) reports that it received approval to market DCVax-Brain, a vaccine for the disease, in Switzerland. The company intends to make the product available in the third quarter of 2007. "We are delighted to be the first company to reach the market with a personalized therapeutic vaccine for brain cancers, which carry a very bleak prognosis for patients today,” says Alton Boynton, Ph.D., president and CEO of Northwest Biotherapeutics. “Switzerland is an attractive place to begin commercialization due to its highly respected regulatory oversight and its growing experience with cellular therapies. Switzerland is also increasingly noted for medical tourism, and is easily accessible for many medical tourists.” In clinical trials, both newly diagnosed and recurrent brain cancer patients treated with DCVax-Brain had more than double the survival time of patients who did not receive the therapeutic, according to NWBT. In addition, unlike chemotherapy, the vaccine does not cause any debilitating side effects, the company adds. DCVax products are personalized treatments, made by combining a patient's dendritic cells with cancer biomarkers derived from or displayed by the patient's tumor. The vaccines work by mobilizing the full spectrum of immune response, both innate and adaptive, rather than just single immune agents such as antibodies alone or T cells alone. DCVax-Brain has been granted orphan drug status in the U.S. and the EU. A Phase II pivotal trial is anticipated to conclude around the end of 2008. NWBT’s most [...]

7/8/2007 Beijing, China Arianna Eun Jung Cha Courant.com Every few days, Houston businessman Richard Weissenborn receives injections of a radical new cancer drug at a hospital in Beijing. The treatment aims to check his head and neck cancers by replacing mutant genes with good copies. The treatment is still experimental in the United States, but in China, it was approved for marketing after a few years of testing. The Chinese scientists behind the drug, Gendicine, see it as a milestone in the country's efforts to catch up with the West, proof that China can develop some of the world's most advanced medicine. But a company in the United States says the Chinese drug is basically stolen property, rushed to market with inadequate testing and in violation of patent rights. The dispute is the latest clash between the two countries in the broad field known as intellectual property. China in recent decades has prospered largely because of a talent for copying. The country duplicates goods others created, but figures out how to make them more cheaply. For years, that tactic focused on items like watches, purses and DVDs. But increasingly, China is moving up the value chain, copying such high-value goods and services as architectural techniques, cars and drugs. The dispute over the gene-therapy drug is especially revealing in that scientific innovation is a pillar of American business. If other countries can learn to beat the United States to market with drugs and other technologically advanced goods, that could spell economic [...]

7/8/2007 Lancashire, England staff Lancashire Evening Post (www.lep.co.uk) A devastated wife has revealed how the doctor at the centre of a medical investigation failed to pick up her husband's throat cancer – instead sending him home with mouthwash. Mary Carter, 42, of Holme Slack, Preston, believes her husband Duncan would still be alive today if his cancer had been diagnosed earlier. She condemned health chiefs at Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust for not taking action even though she complained to them about Dr Ghassan Baroudi almost two years ago. The Lancashire Evening Post recently highlighted how Dr Baroudi, a GP at the Ribble Village Surgery in Moor Nook, Preston, had been suspended after a complaint was made about his care of patient Florence Powell who died two years ago. Mary Carter claims her family has also suffered because of Dr Baroudi's failure to spot a serious medical condition. She revealed how, despite repeated visits to Dr Baroudi complaining of throat discomfort, her husband was not referred to a hospital specialist, but was told he was suffering from thrush. It was only when an alert NHS dentist was uneasy about Duncan's symptoms and urgently referred him to hospital that his throat cancer was diagnosed. However, by this stage, the cancer was at an advanced stage and, despite radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the cancer spread to Duncan's lungs and he died in November 2006 aged 57. Mary, who has three children, said: "Duncan first went to see Dr Baroudi about his throat about [...]

7/7/2007 staff, based on American Association for Cancer Research Newswise (www.newswise.com) Molecular messages and signals circulating in blood or contained in cells lining the airway can identify early stage cancer, according to research reported at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Scientists looking to apply basic science knowledge to medical practice are developing tests that diagnose, predict or monitor cancer risks, without invasive tissue sampling. Such tests could benefit all, particularly underserved populations, such as the poor, who often wait until symptoms appear before seeing a doctor. A series of quietly exhaled breaths might indicate whether or not a patient is at risk for lung cancer, according to researchers from the New York State Department of Health. Using DNA recovered from exhaled breath, researchers can examine the state of cells that line the lungs, and potentially detect cancer at an early stage, when treatment may be most successful. "Early detection of lung cancer is vital, yet there is no current non-invasive means of identifying cancer in a clinical setting," said Simon Spivack, M.D., M.P.H, research physician in the Human Toxicology & Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory at the New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center. "We have found that exhaled breath contains DNA, we believe from the cells lining the lungs, which may then tell us whether that person is at risk for cancer." Condensed exhaled breath has been used previously to detect small volatile molecules that could indicate both non-malignant and malignant, lung diseases. Dr. [...]

7/5/2007 New York, NY staff Forbes.com Sanofi-Aventis said its Taxotere drug has been accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for filing and assigned priority review status for the treatment of head and neck cancer prior to chemoradiotherapy and surgery. In a statement, Sanofi-Aventis explained FDA grants priority review status to products that, if approved, would be a significant improvement on existing market products. To date, Sanofi said, Taxotere has received a total of seven indications in the US. Taxotere is the fourth best-selling drug for Sanofi-Aventis. It is currently used to treat breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer as well as prostate cancer. At the start of June, the French drugs company also said Japanese regulators will consider on a priority basis the approval of its Taxotere anti-cancer drug for use in prostate cancer.

7/5/2007 Los Angeles, CA Denise Dador abc7.com Dentists might be able to diagnose more than just cavities, in fact going to the dentist could potentially save your life. Leeda Allen's dentist saw holes in her teeth and figured out she had acid reflux, before she even knew there was a problem. "I was shocked. I wouldn't have thought my stomach would have had such an effect," says Allen. Turns out, dentists can do a lot more than check your teeth. "This is about more than a cleaning. We're kind of like detectives or like sleuths," explains Dr. Joseph Kravitz, Dentist. Tooth erosion and a burning or sour taste are symptoms of reflux disease. Type 2 diabetes often results in bright red, bleeding gums and bad breath. An ammonia smell in the mouth is a sign of kidney disease. Accelerated tooth loss can be a sign of osteoporosis. And white spots in gums, a symptom of oral cancer. "Oral cancer is probably the number one thing that we find on patients," says Dr. Kravitz. Inflamed gums, excess cavities and oral infections can be a sign of heart disease. Fiery red gums and wounds that won't heal are a sign of leukemia. And tooth erosion can indicate bulimia. "You notice the upper back of the front teeth are thin and eroded and more yellow because the healthy whiter enamel color is gone off the back of the teeth," explains Dr. Kravitz. It could be sleep apnea if a patient's tongue blocks their [...]

7/4/2007 Houston, TX MD Anderson Cancer Center CancerWise.com Shark cartilage, long rumored to have anti-cancer properties, has shown to be of no value as a therapeutic agent when combined with chemotherapy and radiation in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, researchers say. Significance of results: Results of the trial involving the shark cartilage extract AE-941 (Neovastat) were announced June 2 at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). “This is the first large Phase III randomized trial of shark cartilage as a cancer agent," says Charles Lu, M.D., an associate professor in M. D. Anderson’s Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and the national study's principal investigator. “Clearly, these results demonstrate that AE-941 is not an effective therapeutic agent for lung cancer. So, too, these findings have to cast major skepticism on shark cartilage products that are being sold for profit and have no data to support their efficacy as a cancer-fighting agent.” Research methods: The international Phase III study enrolled 384 patients with newly diagnosed, untreated Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at 53 sites in the United States and in Canada from June 2000 to February 2006. M. D. Anderson enrolled 60 patients in the trial. Study participants received the standard treatment of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In addition, they received four ounces of shark cartilage or a placebo, both in liquid form, each day during and after standard therapy. Primary results: Researchers say the shark cartilage extract studied did [...]

6/28/2007 web-based article staff Foodconsumer.org Increased intake of food rich in dietary vitamin C or ascorbic acid, but not supplementary vitamin C may drastically cut the risk of mouth cancer, an epidemiologic study has found. Oral cancer results in a higher rate of death, about 50 percent of the cases, than breast, skin or cervical cancer because of delayed diagnosis. But the study by Nancy Nairi Maserejian from Harvard School of Public Health suggests that high intake of dietary vitamin C may reduce the risk of oral cancer by nearly 50 percent. In the study, researchers went through data from 42,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study to examine associations between incidence of cancer and a number of major nutrients such as vitamin C, A or carotenoids. The information was updated every two to four years. During the study, 207 oral pre-malignant lesions were documented. With various confounding factors considered, the researchers found no significant association between reduced risk and higher total intake of vitamin C, vitamin A or carotenoids. Dietary vitamin C, however, was associated with a reduced risk of lesions although the link was not found with the vitamin from supplements. Risk reductions were also found for carotenoids, beta-cryptoxanthin and alpha-carotene, but not for beta-carotene, lycopene or lutein/zeaxanthin intakes. Increased intake of vitamin E was linked with a higher risk of oral cancer, particularly among smokers who were taking supplements. It is not clear why vitamin C supplements were not associated with reduced risk of oral cancer. [...]

6/26/2007 Munster, IN John Doherty Nwi.com Time was when smokeless tobacco was fashionable and every house had a fancy spittoon. Now it's something that most guys would prefer the women in their lives didn't know about. Yes, it is primarily a male habit. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, 92 percent of users are male. However, oral cancer won't discriminate in favor of the 600,000 women using nationwide. Still, when most people think chewing tobacco, they don't think about one gender or another. They think about one sport: baseball. A number of collegiate baseball players who chew tobacco were contacted by The Times for this story. Not one would agree to be interviewed -- even anonymously. However, a longtime youth baseball coach was more than happy to come forward. Not because he chews. He doesn't and never did. It's due to what he sees during his daytime job. Jay Platt is an oral surgeon. And about once a month, a young man who chews tobacco will come into his office. "He's concerned that he has a white patch on his cheek or gum and he's afraid it's cancer," Platt said. "We biopsy it and most times it isn't." One would think that would be enough to scare someone straight. However, they invariably tell Platt, "I can't quit," because they're addicted. According to the National Cancer Institute, smokeless tobacco users absorb 2-to-3 times more addictive nicotine into their bloodstream than smokers do. While nicotine doesn't cause cancer, there are more than [...]

6/25/2007 New York, NY Stacie Crozier American Dental Association (ada.org) The recipe called for months of planning, hard work by dedicated volunteers and a vision to raise oral cancer awareness. The pièce de résistance was the 2nd annual Oral Cancer Walk sponsored by the Student National Dental Association at New York University College of Dentistry April 14 in Harlem. Following a "cookbook" plan developed after its event last year, the SNDA raised nearly $32,000 for the Oral Cancer Foundation and attracted more than 500 walkers—up from $20,000 and 300 walkers last year. But just as important, the SNDA's recipe for success included partnerships among volunteer dental students, faculty, dental hygiene students, cancer survivors and health groups and other partners who all worked together for months to stage the 4-mile walk. "So many people wanted to get involved and they were so excited about it," said Jocelyn Jeffries, event chair. "Making the event a success is all about the team. The team was fantastic. I was just an incidental player." One of the event's featured speakers and top fundraisers was Dr. Jerry Wilck, a dentist in Langhorne, Pa., and an oral cancer survivor. "I was happy to participate and raise money for a cause that is close to my heart," said Dr. Wilck. "Two years ago, I had noticed an ulcer in my mouth and it hadn't been painful. I'm not sure how long it was there before I realized it wasn't going away. I thought maybe it was caused by [...]