6/3/2005 St. Louis, MO press release (biz.yahoo.com) ADVEXIN® and INGN 225, investigational cancer therapies currently being evaluated in Phase 3 and Phase 2 trials, respectively, by Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN - News), were highlighted today in a special session, titled "The Clinical Trial Data on Ad-p53 Gene Therapy of Cancer" at the American Society of Gene Therapy 8th Annual Meeting (ASGT). Introgen's collaborators, Jack A. Roth, M.D., Chairman and Professor of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Dmitry Gabrilovich, M.D., Associate Professor of Oncology at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center reviewed the data generated to date with these investigational therapies. The special session titled "The Clinical Trial Data on Ad-p53 Gene Therapy of Cancer" was co-chaired by Drs. James S. Norris, Medical University of South Carolina, and Helen E. Heslop, Baylor College of Medicine. Joining Drs. Roth and Gabrilovich was Dr. Yongsong Guan of Sichuan University. "The presented data emphasize the broad potential application of ADVEXIN as a monotherapy and in combination with other treatments in the therapy of numerous cancers in a wide range of clinical settings," said Robert E. Sobol, M.D., senior vice president, Medical and Scientific Affairs at Introgen. "This special session at ASGT also underscores the ongoing interest in the p53 tumor suppressor gene as a novel cancer therapy. With ADVEXIN now in Phase 3 trials, we are closer than ever to realizing the potential of this key tumor suppressor gene in [...]

6/3/2005 London, England Jai A. Dennison Daily News Central (health.dailynewscentral.com) 'We have to remember that screening for oral cancer is a simple, non-invasive procedure, which needs only a five-minute visual inspection of the oral mucosa with lighting, gauze, gloves -- whereas the detection of most solid malignancies in the early asymoptomatic stages almost always requires special, costly and often invasive techniques. Visual screening for oral cancer is easy, effective, cheap and saves lives.' A simple five-minute visual examination of the mouths of individuals at high-risk of oral cancer could prevent around 37,000 worldwide deaths annually from the disease, suggests a study published in this week's issue of The Lancet. In 2002, there were over 270,000 new cases of mouth cancer and around 145,500 deaths worldwide -- two-thirds of which occurred in developing countries. Mouth cancer is the commonest form of cancer and cancer death in men in India. The high-risk in the Indian subcontinent is related to the high prevalence of pan-tobacco chewing in the population. (Pan-tobacco is a combination of betel leaf, lime, areca nut and sun-cured tobacco.) Mortality Down 34% After Nine Years Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, together with Kunnambath Ramadas of the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, India, and colleagues, randomly selected 13 population clusters in the Trivandrum district of Kerala, India, for inclusion in the study. Seven of the clusters were randomized to receive 3 rounds of oral visual screening by trained health workers at three-year intervals, and six [...]

6/2/2005 Evanston, IL press release eMediaWire (www.emediawire.com) One-third of cancer patients abandon chemotherapy prematurely because of the debilitating physical and psychological side effects. "Chemotherapy side effects can devastate a patient's ability to perform every day physical tasks, deplete a patient's nutrient reserves, and severely impact quality of life," explains Penny Block, Executive Director and cofounder of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care and Optimal Health. Often these patients are unable to resume treatment, either as advised by their doctors or their own personal choice. Typically, both can feel like a death sentence, and the patient is left with minimal quality of life. "That is why we created Cancer Rehab, which, not unlike the way cardiac rehab seeks to strengthen patients who have undergone treatment, fortifies patients physically and psychologically, enabling them to continue with an effective treatment program and better quality of life," said Penny. "Cancer Rehab includes clinically sound integrative approaches such as therapeutic nutrition, physical therapy, body work and yoga, mind/spirit and vital living strategies, drug and non-drug pain therapy as needed and agreed upon, and other life-enhancing modalities. Through careful assessment, the Block Center team develops individualized programs that best address the needs of each patient. This provides improved chances to help reclaim one's strength and life quality." As Dr. Keith I. Block, the Center's cofounder and Medical and Scientific Director describes, "What we know is that each chemotherapy treatment wastes select micronutrients with corresponding clinical consequences. For example, Cisplatin depletes the body's magnesium stores. This [...]

6/2/2005 Vienna, Austria press release PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) CEL-SCI Corporation has been issued a new U.S. patent covering its cancer drug, Multikine(R). The patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,896,879, is titled, "A Method Of Pre-Sensitizing Cancer Prior To Treatment With Radiation And/Or Chemotherapy And A Novel Cytokine Mixture." This invention relates to a breakthrough method for pre-sensitizing cancer with Multikine prior to a therapeutic treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or immunotherapy. CEL-SCI's drug Multikine is effective in inducing cancerous cells' entry into the cell cycle phase thereby increasing their vulnerability to chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy. Maximilian de Clara, President of CEL-SCI, said, "This patent should protect one of the largest applications for Multikine, namely its use to increase the success of radiation and chemotherapy, for a long time. Our planned Phase III clinical trial of head and neck cancer patients will administer Multikine therapy as a part of first-line treatment prior to surgery followed by post surgery radiation or concurrent chemoradiotherapy." Multikine is an immunotherapeutic agent consisting of a mixture of naturally occurring cytokines, including interleukins, interferons, chemokines and colony-stimulating factors, currently being developed for treatment of cancer. CEL-SCI Corporation is developing new immune system based treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. The Company has operations in Vienna, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland.

6/2/2005 Bethesda, MD Adriana Albini, Douglas M. Noonan Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 97, No. 11, 859-860, June 1, 2005 COX-2 inhibition has been a main target for new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) development. The effectiveness of two COX-2–specific drugs, Vioxx (rofecoxib) from Merck and Celebrex (celecoxib) from Pfizer, in chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, was so highly promoted that they were among the most prescribed drugs in the category; experimental studies also showed promise in other diseases, including cancer (1). Both drugs have recently met criticism. Vioxx was voluntarily pulled off the market in September 2004 by Merck and recently returned with cautions; a threefold higher relative risk of mortality from cardiovascular complications as compared with older non–COX-2–selective NSAIDs was reported (2,3). After optimistic publicity by Pfizer but controversial clinical trial results, the consumer advocate group Public Citizen requested that Celebrex and its close cousin Bextra (valdecoxib) be withdrawn. We suggest that clues to the origin of the cardiovascular side effects come from the area of cancer research, in which COX-2 inhibitors are being tested for chemoprevention (1). Although similar, the two COX enzymes show functional differences. Aspirin, one of the first and most widely used COX inhibitors, largely targets COX-1, whose constitutive enzymatic activity is linked to renal function, gastric mucosal maintenance, stimulation of platelet aggregation, and vasoconstriction. Although occasionally causing gastrointestinal bleeding, aspirin is also associated with a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke; chronic low-dose aspirin use has become a preventive practice [...]

5/31/2005 Tokyo, Japan CNN News (www.cnn.com) Mitsuru Hanada, a legendary former ozeki from one of Japan's most powerful sumo dynasties, died Monday at 55, sumo officials said. Hanada, more commonly known by his title as stablemaster Futagoyama, died at a Tokyo hospital at 5:40 p.m. (0840 GMT), the Japan Sumo Association announced. NHK public broadcaster said the cause was a type of oral cancer. Hanada, during his 16-year career in the ring, came to be known affectionately as the "Prince of Sumo," rising to the sport's second-highest rank of ozeki. He was also the father of the immensely popular brothers, former yokozunas Takanohana and Wakanohana, who dominated the sport in the 1990s. Hanada, who also fought under the ring name of Takanohana, rose to sumo's top makuuchi division at the record early age of 18 under the training of his elder brother, Katsuji, the first Wakanohana and also a grand champion. But he was never able to make it to sumo's top rank of yokozuna despite winning two Emperor's Cups. He retired in 1981 and later became director of the Japan Sumo Association.

5/31/2005 Boston, MA Michael Kunzelman apnews.myway.com Tobacco companies did elaborate research on women to figure out how to hook them on smoking - even toying with the idea of chocolate-flavored cigarettes that would curb appetite, according to a new analysis. Researchers at Harvard University's School of Public Health said they examined more than 7 million documents - some dating back to 1969, others as recent as 2000 - for new details about the industry's efforts to lure more women smokers. Carrie Carpenter, the study's lead author, said companies' research went far beyond a marketing or advertising campaign. "They did so much research in such a sophisticated way," she said. "Women should know how far the tobacco industry went to exploit them." The report, published in the June issue of the journal Addiction, says tobacco companies looked for ways to modify their cigarettes to give women the illusion they could puff their way into a better life. One of the documents, a 1993 internal report from Phillip Morris, extolled the virtues of making a longer, slimmer cigarette that offered the false promise of a "healthier" product. "Most smokers have little notion of their brand's tar and nicotine levels," the report states. "Perception is more important than reality, and in this case the perception is of reduced tobacco consumption." A Phillip Morris spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying the company hasn't had a chance to fully review it. The Harvard researchers spent more than a year sifting through an online [...]

5/31/2005 London, England British Dental Journal (2005); 198, 605. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4812409 Fifty-seven countries have agreed a range of approaches to control oral cancer worldwide. The countries have all committed to the Crete Declaration, a statement on approaches for effective control of oral cancer at a global level. The participants of the 10th International Congress on Oral Cancer which took place in April in Crete, Greece, welcomed the initiative to analyse the evidence on oral cancer and the implications for prevention and public health programmes. They also emphasised that oral health is an integral part of general health and wellbeing and expressed concern about the neglected burden of oral cancer which particularly affects developing countries with low availability of prevention programmes and oral health services. In the declaration, the participants affirmed their commitment to oral health and general health as a basic human right. They resolved to support the work carried out by national and international health authorities, research institutions, non-governmental organisations and civil society for the effective control of oral cancer. They also looked at areas of work that should be strengthened. These included the provision of systematic epidemiological information on prevalences of oral cancer and cancer risks in countries, particularly in the developing world and promotion of research into understanding biological, behavioural and psychosocial factors in oral cancer, emphasising the inter-relationship between oral health and general health.

5/31/2005 Manila, Philippines Christina I. Hermoso The Manila Bulletin Online (www.mb.com.ph) The country joins the rest of the world in today’s observance of World No-Tobacco Day which highlights the ill-effects of tobacco on the body. In the Philippines, statistics showed that 16.5 percent of the population are smokers with women constituting nearly half of the total figure. Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of death. Tobacco claims 4.9 million lives a year, and if the present consumption patterns continue, the number of deaths will increase to 10 million by the year 2020, 70% of which will occur in developing countries. There are an estimated 1.3 billion smokers and half of them (some 650 million people) are expected to die prematurely of a tobacco-related disease. At the current rate, the number of smokers will rise from today’s 1.3 billion to 1.7 billion by 2025. The Philippines Department of Health (DoH), which leads in the observance, has issued a warning on the long-term effects of cigarette smoking. "Chemicals in tobacco smoke include nicotine and tar which get deposited in the bronchi and the lungs. The other harmful chemicals are acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, methane and benzopyrene which are also considered as major contributory factors responsible for smoking-related diseases," said the DoH. "Long-term smoking has been linked to various health problems and has been found to aggravate existing health conditions," the DoH said. Long-term effects of cigarette smoking, according to health authorities, include: 1. Nicotine Addiction. 2. Coronary [...]