7/28/2006 Richland, WA press release Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com) A powerful new medical isotope -- Cesium 131(TM) -- is providing a fast and effective treatment option for prostate cancer patients nationwide. Offering significant advantages over other medical isotopes now in use, Cesium-131 represents the first major leap in seed brachytherapy in 20 years. This major advancement in seed brachytherapy will be spotlighted at booth #141 during the 48th Annual Meeting of The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), July 30-August 3, 2006 in Orlando, FL, at the Orange County Convention Center. AAPM (www.aapm.org) is a scientific, educational, and professional organization of more than 6,000 medical physicists. "Brachytherapy has proven to be effective, but the introduction of Cesium-131 takes this treatment option to a new level. Attendees at AAPM will be introduced to a breakthrough option for fast and effective treatment of prostate cancer," said Chairman and CEO Roger Girard. Seed brachytherapy -- where seeds are implanted in and around a cancerous tumor -- is a proven and common treatment for prostate cancer, with 50,000 to 60,000 procedures conducted each year. Clinical data shows that patient outcomes for seed brachytherapy are superior to those for radical prostatectomy, external beam radiation, IMRT, cryotherapy and experimental procedures at far less cost and with a much higher quality of life. Now available in over 50 locations across the United States, Cesium-131 delivers its therapeutic radiation faster than other isotope seeds -- Palladium-103 and Iodine-125 -- and at a reduced risk to patients when [...]

7/28/2006 New York City, NY Dr. Jay Adlersberg wabc tv (abclocal.go.com) There's new information on using heat to kill cancer tumors. The procedure is called Radio Frequency Ablation. It doesn't easily roll of the tip of your tongue, but it is a nonsurgical option for treating early cancer. On Call with Dr. Jay Adlersberg: Louis De Pasquale, accompanied by his wife Diane, is on his way to the radiology treatment suite at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The 73-year-old retired electrician has a small cancerous tumor in his lung. De Pasquale did not want to have surgery so he opted instead for the procedure which will require no cutting, R.F.A., which stands for Radio Frequency Ablation. Louis DePasquale, RFA patient: "It sounded like the way to go. I consulted with my brothers who are doctors and they agreed. Let's go for it. And here I am." Dr. Stephen Solomon, an interventional radiologist, uses high tech imaging machines, a cat scan, and an advanced x-ray machine to put the needles. With these machines, he can see the tumor and the needles directly and in 3-dimensions. Dr. Stephen Solomon, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Ctr.: "We do it in patients with lung cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, and bone cancer. And in many of these cases, what we're doing is we're trying to kill the tumor right where it is rather than have to cut it out." Once he is comfortable with the placing, the energy is turned on for 10 to 30 [...]

7/25/2006 New Haven, CT staff Biocompare (news.biocompare.com) There is a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer in Asia where people smoke heavily, which may be accounted for by high consumption of tea, particularly green tea, according to a review article published by a Yale School of Medicine researcher. "We do not yet have a full explanation for the 'Asian paradox,' which refers to the very low incidence of both heart disease and cancer in Asia, even though consumption of cigarettes is greater than in most other countries," said Bauer Sumpio, M.D., professor and Chief of Vascular Surgery in the Department of Surgery. "But we now have some theories." Sumpio, the lead author of the review in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, said he and his colleagues reviewed more than 100 experimental and clinical studies about green tea in writing the article. He said one theory is that the average 1.2 liters of green tea consumed daily by many people in Asia offers the anti-oxidant protective effects of the polyphenolic EGCG. EGCG may prevent LDL oxidation, which has been shown to play a key role in the pathophysiology of arteriosclerosis. EGCG also reduces the amount of platelet aggregation, regulates lipids, and promotes proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells, which are all factors in reducing cardiovascular disease, he said. Sumpio said other reports show that EGCG prevents growth of certain tumors. Tea, according to studies, also can improve gastrointestinal function, alcohol metabolism, kidney, liver and pancreatic function, [...]

7/25/2006 Australia Alice Bergin EurekaStreet (www.eurekastreet.com.au) The Federal Government has fired up its anti-smoking campaign with new national regulations forcing tobacco companies to include large colour photos of diseased and cancerous body parts on cigarette packs. Previous anti-smoking warnings have proven to be impotent against the ‘evil’ and vicious cycle of nicotine addiction and it seems smokers’ attempts to kick the habit would continue to be futile without these other more strident warnings and bans planned to come into force state by state. So instead of the tamer text warnings that have become so ubiquitous, smokers are seeing a range of photographs of lung disease cases, tongue cancers and even a dissected brain. As of 1 March 2006, it has been obligatory for these warnings to cover 30 per cent of the front and 90 per cent of the back of the box. The graphics are meant to leave no doubt about what medical experts already know – that smoking kills. These new regulations are part of a series of recent changes that include the implementation of a nationwide policy of smoke-free pubs as well as other enclosed public spaces. Tobacco smoking is a serious public health problem. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 17 per cent of Australians aged older than 14 years smoke daily. That’s about 3.4 million people. These people make up our beloved families, friends, neighbours and work colleagues. They commit themselves to a life plagued by lung and heart disease and potentially [...]

7/25/2006 London, England staff British Dental Journal (2006); 201, 75. doi: 10.1038 Surgeons from the Mayo Clinic (USA) claim they have developed a promising new process for mandible reconstruction following removal of oral cancer. The new method, which the investigators tested in rabbits, used distraction osteogenesis after tumor removal surgery to restore the missing portion of a patient's jaw. With distraction osteogenesis, the surgeon made a cut at one of the remaining ends of the patient's jawbone. As the break healed, the first phase of growth, soft tissue, appeared. The surgeon then stretched the pliable soft tissue under the tension of a device to fill in the gap in the patient's jaw. Within 24 hours of completing the stretching process, physicians started administering radiation therapy to the mandible to decrease the likelihood of cancer recurrence. As the soft tissue healed, it hardened into bone. The investigators found that the radiation therapy, which they had suspected could interrupt the bone consolidation prior to the study, had no ill effects on the bone's healing. “Patients with large oral tumors should have radiation therapy after surgery to decrease the chances of cancer recurrence,” says Dr Daniel Price, M.D., Mayo Clinic ear, nose and throat surgery resident and lead study investigator. “Radiation needs to be completed 13 to 14 weeks after the patient's cancer diagnosis to achieve maximum effect. As these patients require mandible reconstruction after tumor removal, we wanted to find a way to get both the radiation and the reconstruction done quickly [...]

7/24/2006 Miami, FL staff Biocompare (news.biocompare.com) While it is established that nicotine by itself is not carcinogenic, researchers have now shown that nicotine promotes cell proliferation and the progression of tumors already initiated by tobacco carcinogens. In a study by Srikumar Chellappan and colleagues from the University of South Florida appearing online on July 20 in advance of print publication in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the authors show that the presence of receptors that bind nicotine, known as nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), on bronchial cells as well as lung cancer cells are key to nicotine-induced cell proliferation of lung cancer cells. nAChRs function mainly in the neuronal system, however recent studies have shown their expression and function in non-neuronal systems as well. In the current study, the authors show that stimulation of human non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) as well as cells lining the air passages of the lung (known as bronchial cells) with a physiological concentration of nicotine leads to robust cell proliferation that is dependent on nAChRs. Furthermore, nicotine appears to activate the major components of the cell proliferation cycle in a manner very reminiscent of growth factors. Specifically, nicotine stimulation leads to the binding of Raf-1 to Rb, activation of cyclin-dependent kinases, phosphorylation of Rb, and recruitment of E2F1 to proliferative promoters. Previous studies had shown that interfering with the interaction of Rb and Raf-1 prevented cell growth and tumor growth. In the current study the same appears to be true for [...]

7/24/2006 Chicago, IL Joel B. Epstein, DMD, MSD et al. Anesth Analg 2006;103:465-470 This research expands on our prior study, in which we assessed pain reduction after topical doxepin rinse in patients with oral mucositis resulting from cancer and cancer therapy. We continued to enroll patients with painful oral mucositis attributable solely to cancer therapy and performed further analysis on the duration of pain reduction. Fifty-one patients with oral mucositis were enrolled. Mucositis was scored and oral pain was assessed with a visual analog scale before doxepin oral rinse (5 mg/mL) and at regular intervals up to 4 h after rinsing. Of those who reported pain reduction, 95% did so within 15 min of rinsing with doxepin. In the total sample, the average patient reported a 70% maximum decrease in pain (P < 0.0001). Recurrence of pain was slow and at the conclusion of the study 19 patients (37%) still reported a reduction from baseline pain. With this censored data we used Cox-proportional hazards to determine what variables best explained longer duration of pain reduction. Our final model determined that more severe baseline pain, worse mucosal erythema score, or a larger relative maximum reduction in pain were all associated with a slower rate of pain recurrence after oral rinsing (all P < 0.01). Authors: Joel B. Epstein, DMD, MSD*, Joshua D. Epstein, MA, Matthew S. Epstein, BS, Hal Oien, DDS, and Edmond L. Truelove, DDS, MSD¶ Authors' affiliations: From the *Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, [...]

7/24/2006 Charleston, SC S ElOjeimy et al Cancer Gene Therapy (2006) 13, 739–745. doi:10.1038/sj.cgt.7700951 In this study, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of Fas ligand (FasL) gene therapy for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Three head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines (SCC-1, SCC-12, and SCC-14a) were treated with the Fas agonist CH-11, a monoclonal antibody to the Fas receptor, or with a replication-incompetent adenovirus (AdGFPFasL) expressing a modified murine Fas ligand gene fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). A replication-incompetent adenovirus containing the GFP gene alone was used as a control for viral transduction toxicity (AdGFP). Cell death was quantified using a tetrazolium-based (MTS) assay. Cells were analyzed by flow cytometry to determine the expression of adenoviral and Fas receptors on the surface of the cells. Our results showed that the head and neck cancer cell lines are resistant to cell death induction when treated with the anti-Fas monoclonal antibody CH-11. This resistance can be overcome with AdGFPFasL, which was able to induce cell death in all three cell lines. Apoptosis induction was demonstrated using Western blotting by evaluating poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and caspase 9 cleavages. In addition, intratumoral injections of AdGFPFasL into SCC-14a xenografts induced significant growth suppression of tumors, indicating that FasL gene therapy may provide a new efficient therapeutic modality for HNSCC that is worthy of a clinical trial. Authors: S ElOjeimy1,3, J C McKillop1,3, A M El-Zawahry1, D H Holman1, X Liu1, D A Schwartz1, T A Day2, [...]

7/21/2006 New York, NY press release PRNewswire (www.prnewswire.com) BioSciences Inc., a company engaged in the acquisition, development and commercialization of oncology and acute care products, today reported that India's Drug Controller General has granted marketing approval to nimotuzumab, an anti-EGFr monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of head & neck cancer. Biocon Biopharmaceuticals Ltd, a joint venture between Biocon and CIMAB SA (Havana, Cuba), has rights to the drug from CIMAB for the Indian subcontinent. "While our license for nimotuzumab does not extend to India, this approval is an important validation of the safety and efficacy of the drug. In addition, a significant amount of additional clinical data in head & neck cancer will be now generated in India as nimotuzumab is commercialized," said David Allan, Chairman and CEO of YM BioSciences. "YM has been advised that in the trials undertaken by Biocon Biopharmaceuticals Ltd to gain approval for nimotuzumab no cases were observed of the severe rash commonly produced by similar agents with the same target, consistent with previous study results. The absence of this debilitating side-effect should prove a key differentiator for nimotuzumab in the marketplace." Nimotuzumab is currently in a Phase IIl trial in Europe in combination with radiation for the treatment of pediatric pontine glioma. YM BioSciences and CIMYM BioSciences Inc. are preparing to file for authorization to conduct a trial in North America in pediatric pontine glioma. In addition, YM is developing nimotuzumab for non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer and proposes to pursue the [...]

7/21/2006 Iowa City, IA Angela Meng Iowa City Press Citizen (www.press-citizen.com) Health experts worry about rise of fruity flavors Every time a new flavor of smokeless tobacco comes out, Matt Walters, 26, is curious to see what it tastes like. "People may not like Skoal straight, but now they have apple, cherry and jolly rancher flavors, and they taste a lot better than plain or original tobacco," the North Liberty resident said. "The tobacco industry is doing a good job of getting people to try chew." Although statistics have shown a decrease in smokeless tobacco use, some think an increase is in the near future. "I think it may well increase now for two reasons: the increasing movement to smoke-free environments and the great interest of the large tobacco companies in smokeless tobacco," said Christopher Squier, University of Iowa associate dean of the College of Dentistry and a member of the Dows Institute for Dental Research at UI. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, use of chewing tobacco, snuff or dip by middle school and high school students in the United States decreased from 11.4 percent in 1995 to 8 percent in 2005. In Iowa, usage decreased from 12.8 percent in 1997 to 7.9 percent in 2005. However, health experts say the tobacco industry is promoting smokeless tobacco in ways that will soon escalate use. "The tobacco industry is starting this 'harm reduction' theme -- which is a great market," Squier said. "They market [...]