EMA recommends a variation to the terms of marketing authorisation for regorafenib

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending a variation to the terms of the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product regorafenib (Stivarga). Stivarga is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with: 1. metastatic colorectal cancer who have been previously treated with, or are not considered candidates for, available therapies. These include fluoropyrimidine based chemotherapy, an anti VEGF therapy and an anti EGFR therapy; 2. unresectable or metastatic GISTs who progressed on or are intolerant to prior treatment with imatinib and sunitinib. Read more here.

Phase III trial shows improved survival with TAS-102 in metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to standard therapies

The new combination agent TAS-102 is able to improve overall survival compared to placebo in patients whose metastatic colorectal cancer is refractory to standard therapies, researchers said at the ESMO 16th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona. TAS-102 is a novel nucleoside anti-tumour agent consisting of trifluridine (FTD) and tipiracil hydrochloride (TPI). FTD is the active component of TAS-102 and is directly incorporated into cancer DNA, leading to DNA dysfunction. However, when FTD is taken orally it is largely degraded to an inactive form. TPI prevents the degradation of FTD. Read more here.

Phase III trial shows equivalent survival for cetuximab or bevacizumab with combination chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer

For patients with KRAS wild-type untreated colorectal cancer, adding cetuximab or bevacizumab to combination chemotherapy offers equivalent survival, researchers said at the ESMO 16th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona. The CALGB/SWOG 80405 trial studied patients whose tumours were KRAS wild-type at codons 12 and 13. Patients received mFOLFOX6 or FOLFIRI at the discretion of their doctor and were randomised to cetuximab (578 patients) or bevacizumab (559 patients). Read more here.

When is the cost of cancer 'toxic'?

June 20, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A tool to assess "financial toxicity" for cancer patients -- namely, the expense, anxiety and stress of illness-related costs -- has been developed by University of Chicago Medical Center cancer specialists.

The team developed a brief questionnaire after discussions with 150 patients with advanced cancer, according to the study in the July issue of the journal Cancer.

Study mentioned:
Cancer. 2014 Jun 20. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28814. [Epub ahead of print]
The development of a financial toxicity patient-reported outcome in cancer: The COST measure.
de Souza JA1, Yap BJ, Hlubocky FJ, Wroblewski K, Ratain MJ, Cella D, Daugherty CK.

Phase 3 trial of A+AVD versus ABVD as frontline therapy in patients with advanced classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Started in November 2012, updated in June 2014, the trial is recruiting patients in Edmonton, Vancouver and Montreal:

Official Title

A Randomized, Open-label, Phase 3 Trial of A+AVD Versus ABVD as Frontline Therapy in Patients With Advanced Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
Summary:

This open-label, randomized, 2-arm, multicentre, phase 3 study has the primary objective of comparing the modified progression-free survival (mPFS) obtained with brentuximab vedotin (ADCETRIS®) plus AVD (doxorubicin [Adriamycin], vinblastine, and dacarbazine; abbreviated A+AVD) versus that obtained with ABVD (doxorubicin [Adriamycin],bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) for the frontline treatment of advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma(HL)
Trial Description

Primary Outcome:

Modified progression free survival (mPFS) per independent review facility (IRF)

See more details here.

Melanoma and other skin cancers on the rise in Canada Canadian Cancer Society releases 2014 edition of Canadian Cancer Statistics

The 2014 edition of Canadian Cancer Statistics, released May 28 by the Canadian Cancer Society, provides updated estimates of the state of cancer in Canada with a special focus on skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer and one of the fastest rising types of cancer in Canada.

The 2014 statistics publication estimates that 191,300 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Canada this year, not including 76,100 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer. Read Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014.

Trial alert: Safety and efficacy study of Enzalutamide in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

The trial started in December 2013 in Calgary, Toronto, Quebec, Montreal and Greenfield Park, the information was updated in June 2014:

Official Title

A Multinational, Phase 3, Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Efficacy and Safety Study of Enzalutamide in Patients With Nonmetastatic Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer
Summary:

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of enzalutamide in patients with non metastatic prostate cancer.
Trial Description

Primary Outcome:

Metastasis Free Survival (MFS)

See more details here.

Long-term use of aspirin may reduce risk for pancreatic cancer

Continual use of low-dose or regular-dose aspirin may cut a person’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer in half, a Yale School of Public Health and Yale Cancer Center study has found. Further, the degree of protection may grow the longer one takes the aspirin. The Yale researchers collected data from a Connecticut population study of 362 newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients and a control group of 690 disease-free people. They analyzed associations between risk of pancreatic cancer and past aspirin use. Read more here.

How a thick "sugar coating" on cells may drive aggressive cancers

A research team led by UC San Francisco scientists has shown that cancer-induced structural changes in a sugary coating ensheathing cells can promote mechanical interactions that fuel tumor growth and metastasis. According to Valerie Weaver, professor of surgery and anatomy, and director of UCSF’s Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, the kinetic trap in the bulky glycocalyx of cancer cells could act as a sort of “all or none” switch: integrin binding and activation is generally less likely, but when it occurs it is decisive. Read more here.

International phase III trial shows survival benefit of MM-398 added to standard treatment in post-gemcitabine metastatic pancreatic cancer

Adding the novel MM-398 to standard treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients who have already received gemcitabine improves survival, researchers said at the ESMO 16th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona. “Patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer or pancreatic cancer in general have very limited options,” said study author Andrea Wang-Gillam, assistant professor in the Division of Oncology at Washington University in St. Louis, USA. “These patients just simply don’t do well. This was a positive trial and will provide a new treatment option for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.” Read more here.

Summary Basis of Decision (SBD) for Bosulif

Health Canada has issued a Notice of Compliance under the Notice of Compliance with Conditions (NOC/c) Guidance to Pfizer Canada Inc. for the drug product, Bosulif. Based on Health Canada's review, the benefit/risk profile of Bosulif is favourable for the treatment of chronic, accelerated, or blast phase Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in adult patients with resistance or intolerance to prior tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, and for whom subsequent treatment with imatinib, nilotinib and dasatinib is not clinically appropriate. Read more here.

3-D scans could improve cancer detection

3-D mammograms may be better at finding cancer than regular scans, a large study suggests, although whether that means saving more lives isn’t known. The study involved almost half a million breast scans, with more than one-third of them using relatively new 3-D imaging along with conventional scans. The rest used regular mammograms alone. The 3-D scan combo detected one additional cancer per 1,000 scans, compared with conventional digital mammograms. Read more here.

Youth indoor tanning increases early risk of skin cancer

Dartmouth researchers have found that early exposure to the ultraviolet radiation lamps used for indoor tanning is related to an increased risk of developing basal cell carcinoma (BCC) at a young age. The researchers collected data on 657 participants in the New Hampshire Skin Cancer Study (all under 50) who had newly diagnosed cases of BCC and on 452 controls. The data they collected included the type of indoor tanning device used (sunlamps, tanning beds, or booths), and skin sensitivity to the sun and proportion of time spent outdoors in childhood. A higher proportion of patients with early-onset BCC reported indoor tanning with a tanning lamp compared to controls, and this association was present for all types of indoor tanning devices. Read more here.

UAB study shows how brain tumor cells move and damage tissue, points to possible therapy

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have shed new light on how cells called gliomas migrate in the brain and cause devastating tumors. The findings show that gliomas — malignant glial cells — disrupt normal neural connections and hijack control of blood vessels. The study provides insight into the mechanisms of how glioma cells spread throughout the brain as a devastating form of brain cancer, and potentially offers a tantalizing opportunity for therapy. Read more here.

For cancer patients, new tool predicts financial pain

Along with the distress that comes with a cancer diagnosis and the discomforts of treatment, more patients now have to deal with "financial toxicity," the expense, anxiety and loss of confidence confronting those who face large, unpredictable costs, often compounded by decreased ability to work. In Cancer, a team of University of Chicago cancer specialists describe the first tool — 11 questions, assembled and refined from conversations with more than 150 patients with advanced cancer — to measure a patient's risk for, and ability to tolerate, financial stress. The researchers named their patient-reported outcome measure COST (COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity). Read more here.

A new tool to confront lung cancer

Huntsman Cancer Institute investigators report that misregulation of two genes, sox2 and lkb1, drives squamous cell lung cancer in mice. The discovery uncovers new treatment strategies, and provides a clinically relevant mouse model in which to test them. “This is the most exciting thing we’ve done,” said senior author Trudy Oliver, Ph.D., an assistant professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator. “Now that we have a model it unleashes so many questions we can ask to gain a better understanding of the disease.” Read more here.

Report calls for new approach to Ontario's breast and colon cancer care

Ontario needs to improve the way it cares for breast and colon cancer patients taking protective chemotherapy, nearly half of whom are making unplanned visits to overburdened emergency rooms, according to a new evaluation of cancer care in Canada’s most populous province. The Cancer System Quality Index, released Tuesday, shows that 46 per cent of colon cancer patients and 43 per cent of breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy after surgery turned to ERs at least once, an outcome that suggests oncologists and family doctors are not doing enough to help patients cope with the toxic side effects of their therapy. Read more here.

Selumetinib in uveal melanoma

In patients with advanced uveal melanoma, treatment with the agent selumetinib, compared with chemotherapy, resulted in an improved cancer progression-free survival time and tumour response rate, but no improvement in overall survival, according to a study in JAMA. The modest improvement in clinical outcomes was accompanied by a high rate of adverse events. Read more here.

Gene expression profiling test expands to assess colon and prostate cancers

The high price of gene expression profiling – and the uneven coverage for it across this country – point to the hard choices ahead for provincial health departments as personalized cancer medicine moves from dream to day-to-day reality in oncologists’ offices and cancer clinics. Health officials always wrestle with what to pay for, but new assays that can tailor treatments for cancer, Canada’s number one killer, are upping the ante. Read more here.

Exercise may help chemotherapy side effects

Dr. Kristin Campbell, lead researcher of the exercise study and an assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia, and colleagues recruited women treated for early-stage breast cancer in advance of a pilot study, presented in early June at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. At the end of the study, women in both the control and exercise groups showed little difference in their neuropsychological test results and self-reported cognitive functioning. However, the brain-imaging tests showed significantly increased activity in the exercise group in brain regions known to support task performance, attention and decision-making, Campbell said. Read more here.

Scientists identify additional challenges in KRAS-driven cancers

Cancers driven by – and dependent on – the potent mutated cancer gene KRAS have an especially poor prognosis, and three decades of scientific attempts have failed to produce drugs that can attack KRAS and halt the tumors’ runaway growth. A renewed assault on the problem is underway, but researchers report they have identified a backup genetic pathway that can enable cancer cells to survive and thrive in the absence of KRAS. If and when it becomes possible to shut down the oncogene in human cancers, the findings suggest, this escape mechanism will have to be blocked as well to kill the tumor cells. Read more here.

UCLA scientists discover how adult stem cell regulation contributes to lung cancer

UCLA researchers led by Dr. Brigitte Gomperts, member of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, have discovered how factors that regulate growth of adult stem cells that regenerate tissue for repair in the lungs can lead to the formation of pre-cancerous lesions. This process is thought to be the first stage in the development of lung cancer. Read more here.

Study finds stronger nicotine dependency associated with higher risk of lung cancer

People who are highly addicted to nicotine -- those who smoke their first cigarette within five minutes after awakening -- are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those who wait for an hour or more to smoke. Researchers at NCI found this simple measure of nicotine dependency improved lung cancer risk prediction beyond standard smoking measures, such as cigarettes per day, age, gender, history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung cancer risk factors. Read more here.

Vaccine 'reprograms' pancreatic cancers to respond to immunotherapy

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed and tested a vaccine that triggered the growth of immune cell nodules within pancreatic tumors, essentially reprogramming these intractable cancers and potentially making them vulnerable to immune-based therapies. In their study described in Cancer Immunology Research, the Johns Hopkins team tested the vaccine in 39 people with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC), the most common form of pancreatic cancer. Read more here.

NIH and NSF collaborate to accelerate biomedical research innovations into the marketplace

A collaboration between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health will give NIH-funded researchers training to help them evaluate their scientific discoveries for commercial potential, with the aim of accelerating biomedical innovations into applied health technologies. I-Corps at NIH is a pilot of the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program specially tailored for biomedical research. Read more here.

Combining treatments boosts some smokers’ ability to quit

Combining two smoking cessation therapies is more effective than using just one for male and highly nicotine-dependent smokers who weren't initially helped by the nicotine patch, according to researchers at Duke Medicine. The findings, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, also support using an adaptive treatment model to determine which smokers are likely to succeed in quitting with nicotine replacement alone before trying additional therapies. Read more here.

New release of EPIC website

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study is one of the largest cohort studies in the world, with more than half a million (521 000) participants recruited across 10 European countries and followed for almost 15 years. EPIC was designed to investigate the relationships between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and environmental factors, and the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. EPIC investigators are active in all fields of epidemiology, and important contributions have been made in nutritional epidemiology using biomarker analysis and questionnaire information, as well as genetic and lifestyle investigations. Visit the website here.

Half of teen smokers go for flavoured products, up risk of getting hooked: study

Among Canadian teens who report using tobacco, more than half are opting for products infused with such flavours as bubble-gum, cherry or watermelon, a study has found. The University of Waterloo study is based on the 2010-2011 Youth Smoking Survey of Grade 9-12 students from across Canada. Lead author Leia Minaker, a postdoctoral fellow at the university’s Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, said the tobacco industry promotes cigarettes, cigarillos and smokeless tobacco with a variety of flavours and glitzy packaging to attract young people to the addictive products. Read more here.

Heparin derivative suppresses neuroblastoma tumor growth

Researchers at Duke Medicine have identified a new strategy for treating neuroblastoma using a modified version of heparin, a century-old injectable drug that thins the blood to prevent clots from forming. The study, conducted in mice, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found that when heparin is altered to remove its blood-thinning properties, it can suppress and shrink neuroblastoma tumors without causing severe bleeding. Read more here.

Study compares survival for treatments of uncommon eye cancer

In patients with advanced uveal melanoma, treatment with the agent selumetinib, compared with chemotherapy, resulted in an improved cancer progression-free survival time and tumor response rate, but no improvement in overall survival, according to a study in JAMA. The modest improvement in clinical outcomes was accompanied by a high rate of adverse events. Read more here.

Summary Basis of Decision (SBD) for Giotrif

Health Canada has issued a Notice of Compliance to Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. for the drug product, Giotrif. Based on Health Canada's review, the benefit/risk profile of Giotrif is favourable as monotherapy for the treatment of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor-naïve patients with metastatic (including cytologically proven pleural effusion) adenocarcinoma of the lung with activating EGFR mutation(s). Read more here.

Sedentary behavior increases the risk of certain cancers

To assess the relationship between TV viewing time, recreational sitting time, occupational sitting time, and total sitting time with the risk of various cancers, Daniela Schmid, PhD and Dr Michael Leitzmann of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Germany, conducted a meta-analysis of 43 observational studies, including over 4 million individuals and 68,936 cancer cases. When the highest levels of sedentary behavior were compared to the lowest, the researchers found a statistically significant higher risk for three types of cancer—colon, endometrial, and lung. Read more here.

Physicians urge World Health Organization to regulate e-cigarettes

A group of 129 physicians, epidemiologists and others from 31 countries sent an open letter to the World Health Organization on Monday urging the United Nations agency to hold firm in what seems to be its intention to impose strict regulations on electronic cigarettes. The letter was a response to one sent last month by 53 other experts who urged the WHO to go easy on e-cigarettes, which the advocates called “part of the solution” in the fight against smoking. Read more here.

End-of-life care: a national dialogue

In the first half of 2014, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in partnership with Maclean’s magazine hosted a series of town hall meetings in all regions of Canada for the public on end-of-life care issues. The national dialogue focused on three main issues: advance care directives, palliative care, and euthanasia and physician-assisted dying. The main aim of the consultation process was to seek input from Canadians on their perceptions and views about the status of end-of-life care in Canada. Read the full report here.

Ontario’s High Risk Breast Screening Program is showing positive results

The Journal of Clinical Oncology has published a study on the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) High Risk Screening Program. The study evaluated the first year of the program, which launched in 2011 as an expansion of the OBSP. The results of the study show that the program is working as planned and is helping detect breast cancer in women who are considered to be at high risk for developing the disease. Read more here.

Lung-MAP launches: first precision medicine trial from National Clinical Trials Network

Lung-MAP is a multi-drug, multi-arm, biomarker-driven clinical trial for patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma represents about a quarter of all lung cancer diagnoses, but there are currently few treatment options beyond surgery for the disease. The trial will use genomic profiling to match patients to one of several different investigational treatments that are designed to target the genomic alterations found to be driving the growth of their cancer. This innovative approach to clinical testing should both improve access to promising drugs for patients and ease the significant recruitment and infrastructure burdens on researchers involved in traditional clinical trials. Read more here.

Benefits of trastuzumab for advanced breast cancer outweigh the risk of harm

In women with HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer, treatment with trastuzumab is associated with prolonged survival but also increases the risk of developing heart problems, a new systematic review shows. However, the review concludes that more women benefit from use of trastuzumab than are harmed. The review focuses on treatment for women with advanced stage breast cancer who have tested HER2-positive. Read more here.

Dr. Patricia Ganz talks about common cancer survivorship issues

A recent episode of Take Care, a health care-focused radio show, featured an interview with Dr. Patricia Ganz, a medical oncologist and director of the UCLA LIVESTRONG Cancer Survivorship Center of Excellence. In the interview, Dr. Ganz describes a number of issues that can plague cancer survivors after active treatment has ended, including fatigue, depression, chemo brain, sexual dysfunction, and guilt. Read more here.

Listen to the episode of Take Care here.

Medical research safeguarded in Europe

The European Society for Medical Oncology has welcomed the adoption of the Clinical Trials Regulation by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, which enters into force this week. The new clinical trial framework acknowledges the importance of using data stored for a clinical trial beyond the end of the study itself, for research purposes. Practically speaking, the Regulation states that when a patient gives his/her consent for a clinical trial, he/she can easily give a one-time consent for data to be used beyond the trial, for the purpose of medical research, still with the possibility to withdraw it at any time. Read more here.

Tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer reversed when drug paired with anti-malaria agent

The inexpensive anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) reverses resistance to tamoxifen, a widely used breast cancer drug, in mice. Investigators from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center say adding HCQ to tamoxifen could provide a new treatment option for some women with advanced, postmenopausal estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. The ER+ subtype accounts for an estimated 70 percent of all breast cancers. While many of these women are treated with tamoxifen, which blocks estrogen from fueling the tumor, 50 percent of these cancers will either not respond or will become resistant to tamoxifen over time. Read more here.

Broad Institute, MGH researchers chart cellular complexity of brain tumors

Cellular makeup of glioblastoma more diverse than previously thought

Scientists from the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have conducted a first-of-its-kind study that characterizes the cellular diversity within glioblastoma tumors from patients. The study, which looked at the expression of thousands of genes in individual cells from patient tumors, revealed that the cellular makeup of each tumor is more heterogeneous than previously suspected. The findings, which appear online in Science Express, will help guide future investigations into potential treatments for this devastating disease. Read more here.

Childhood cancer survivors hospitalized frequently years after cancer treatment

Survivors of childhood cancers were hospitalized more often and for longer durations because of blood disorders and other problems, many years after cancer treatment was completed, compared with the general population, according to a recent study. "Our findings demonstrate that childhood cancer survivors face ongoing problems that can lead to hospitalization, even for those who are decades past their original cancer diagnosis. This can negatively impact their quality of life," said Anne C. Kirchhoff, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Huntsman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Read more here.

Medical Costs and Productivity Losses of Cancer Survivors — United States, 2008–2011

The number of persons in the United States with a history of cancer has increased from 3 million in 1971 to approximately 13.4 million in 2012, representing 4.6% of the population. To estimate annual medical costs and productivity losses among male and female cancer survivors and persons without a cancer history, CDC, along with other organizations, analyzed data from the 2008–2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Read more here.

Hair dyes linked to cancer-causing compounds

The World Health Organization considers hairdressing work probably carcinogenic, since hairdressers tend to be at higher risk for bladder cancer. Researchers studied nearly 300 hairdressers, 32 personal dye users and 60 non-dye users for comparison. New results could help narrow down specifically where the cancer-causing agents are coming from. Read more here.

Resistance to lung cancer targeted therapy can be reversed, study suggests

Up to 40 percent of lung cancer patients do not respond to a targeted therapy designed to block tumor growth — a puzzling clinical setback that researchers have long tried to solve. Now, scientists at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute have discovered why that intrinsic resistance occurs — and they pinpoint a drug they say could potentially reverse it. Read more here.

Diagnostic Potential of MicroRNAs in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Scientists have identified four potential biomarkers that may help resolve the difficult differential diagnosis between malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and non-malignant pleural tissue with reactive mesothelial proliferations (RMPs). This is a frequent differential diagnostic problem in pleural biopsy samples taken from patients with clinical suspicion of MPM. The ability to make more accurate diagnoses earlier may facilitate improved patient outcomes. This new study appears in theJournal of Molecular Diagnostics.Read more here

Lifetime cancer risk from heart imaging low for most children, but rises with more complex tests

Children with heart disease are exposed to low levels of radiation during X-rays, which do not significantly raise their lifetime cancer risk. However, children who undergo repeated complex imaging tests that deliver higher doses of radiation may have a slightly increased lifetime risk of cancer, according to researchers at Duke Medicine. The findings, published in Circulation, represent the largest study of cumulative radiation doses in children with heart disease and associated predictions of lifetime cancer risk. Read more here.

Longer telomeres linked to risk of brain cancer

New genomic research led by UC San Francisco scientists reveals that two common gene variants that lead to longer telomeres, the caps on chromosome ends thought by many scientists to confer health by protecting cells from aging, also significantly increase the risk of developing the deadly brain cancers known as gliomas. Read more here.

Guidelines address long-term needs of prostate cancer survivors

New American Cancer Society Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care guidelines outline posttreatment clinical follow-up care for the myriad of long-term and late effects prostate cancer survivors may face. The guidelines are designed to promote optimal health and quality of life for the posttreatment prostate cancer survivor by facilitating the delivery of comprehensive posttreatment care by primary care clinicians. Read more here.

ESMO survey sheds light on common clinical practice for incompletely resected lung cancer

A landmark survey of more than 700 specialists provides crucial real-world insight into the treatments most oncologists choose for lung cancer patients whose tumour has been incompletely resected, an expert from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) says. Researchers led by Raffaele Califano of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK, surveyed 768 oncologists from 41 European countries about the treatments they offered patients who had “R1 resected” non-small-cell lung cancer. Of the respondents, 91.4% prescribed chemotherapy, mostly cisplatin/vinorelbine or cisplatin/gemcitabine. Read more here.

Phase III study strengthens support of Ibrutinib as second-line therapy for CLL and SLL

Topic: Haematologic malignancies / Anticancer agents & Biologic therapy

In a head-to-head comparison of two drugs for the treatment of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), ibrutinib statistically significantly outperformed ofatumumab as a second-line therapy, according to a multicentre interim study published in the OnLine First edition of the New England Journal of Medicine on 31 May 2014.

Ibrutinib is the first drug designed to target Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a protein essential for CLL-cell survival and proliferation. In patients with CLL or SLL, a short duration of response to therapy or adverse cytogenetic abnormalities are associated with a poor outcome.

Read the news here.

Studies mentioned:
Byrd JC, Brown JR, O’Brien S, et al. Ibrutinib versus Ofatumumab in Previously Treated Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia. NEJM 2014; OnLine First May 31, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1400376

Woyach JA, Furman RR, Liu T-M, et al. Resistance Mechanisms for the Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Ibrutinib. NEJM 2014; OnLine First May 28. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1400029

Nutrition and physical activity to prevent ovarian cancer: examining the evidence

To keep evidence current and updated into the future, WCRF (World Cancer Research Fund)/AICR (American Institute for Cancer Research) is undertaking the Continuous Update Project (CUP), in collaboration with Imperial College London. The project is an on-going review of food, nutrition, physical activity, body fatness, and cancer research.

In this updated report on the prevention of ovarian cancer, the CUP Panel concluded: 1. The evidence that developmental factors leading to greater linear growth (marked by adult attained height) are a cause of ovarian cancer is convincing; 2. Greater body fatness (which the Panel interprets to be marked by body mass index (BMI)) is probably a cause of ovarian cancer; 3. The evidence suggesting that lactation protects against ovarian cancer is limited.

Read the full CUP report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Ovarian Cancer 2014, here.

The PRECAMA study

The PRECAMA study is a large, multicentre case-control study in Latin America that aims to advance the prevention and management of breast cancer in countries in epidemiological transition in Latin America through a better understanding of the molecular, pathological, and risk factor patterns. Women recruited to the study will be asked to complete questionnaires on lifestyle, diet, and environmental factors, and to provide blood and urine specimens that will be used for research purposes. Tumour samples will also be collected to identify molecular breast cancer subtypes by immunohistochemical analyses, so that targeted analyses can be performed of genetic factors related to disease susceptibility and prognosis. Read more here.

Docetaxel/ramucirumab in the second-line treatment of stage IV NSCLC

A randomised, double-blind, phase III REVEL study demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival for ramucirumab plus docetaxel vs. docetaxel in patients with stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer as a second-line treatment after platinum-based therapy. Benefits were similar in patients with non-squamous and squamous tumours and no unexpected adverse events were identified, according to a presentation by Dr Maurice Perol of the Léon-Bérard Cancer Centre, Lyon, France at American Society of Clinical Oncology 2014 Annual Meeting. Read more here.

Women with metastatic breast cancer could safely receive bisphosphonates less frequently

Women with metastatic breast cancer to the bone may receive bisphosphonates less often after the first year of monthly administration. With that change in practice, patients with breast cancer and bone metastasis may also reduce their risk of serious side effects, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The research was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2014 Annual Meeting (30 May-3 June, Chicago, USA) by Prof. Gabriel Hortobagyi. Read more here.

New test predicts if breast cancer will spread

A test that counts the number of locations in tumor specimens where tumor cells may invade blood vessels predicted the risk of distant spread, or metastasis, for the most common type of breast cancer. "Tests assessing metastatic risk can help doctors identify which patients should receive aggressive therapy and which patients should be spared," said Thomas Rohan, M.D., Ph.D., the lead and corresponding author of the study and professor and chair of epidemiology & population health at Einstein and Montefiore. Read more here.

Screening has prevented half a million colorectal cancers

An estimated half a million cancers were prevented by colorectal cancer screening in the United States from 1976 to 2009, report researchers from the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale Cancer Center. Their study appears in the journal Cancer. During this more than 30-year time span, as increasing numbers of men and women underwent cancer screening tests — including fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopies, and colonoscopies — colorectal cancer rates declined significantly, the researchers found. Read more here.

Reduced kidney function associated with higher risk of renal and urothelial cancer

Researchers who investigated the level of kidney function and subsequent cancer risk in more than one million adults have found that reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) — a key measure of reduced kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD) — is an independent risk factor for renal and urothelial cancer but not other cancer types. Read more here.

New treatment option for young women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer

A drug used for treating breast cancer, known as exemestane, is more effective than a common breast cancer prevention drug, tamoxifen, in preventing breast cancer recurrence in young women who also receive post-surgical treatment to suppress ovarian function. The findings from this trial were in women who had a form of early breast cancer that was sensitive to hormonal treatment. The combined results of the TEXT (Tamoxifen and Exemestane Trial) and SOFT (Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial) were presented at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago (late breaking abstract #1) and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more here.

Clinical trial analysis suggests drug combination may be highly effective in recurrent ovarian cancer

Significant improvement with the use of a combination drug therapy for recurrent ovarian cancer was reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago (late breaking abstract #5500). This is the first ovarian cancer study to use a combination of drugs that could be taken orally. The drugs were tested in a phase I combination study followed by a randomized phase 2 trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Read more here.

Treatment helps young women preserve their fertility during breast cancer chemotherapy

Researchers have found that young women with breast cancer were able to better preserve their fertility during cancer treatments by using hormone-blocking drug injections that put them into temporary menopause. The results announced at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago are from the Prevention of Early Menopause Study (POEMS), a clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (ASCO late breaking abstract #505). Women receiving the injections were only about one-third as likely to experience ovarian failure, a common long-term toxicity of chemotherapy treatments, and were more than twice as likely to have a normal pregnancy after their cancer treatment compared to women in the trial who did not receive the injections. Read more here.

Scientists discover potential new target for cancer immunotherapy

Scientists have found a way to target elusive cells that suppress immune response, depleting them with peptides that spare other important cells and shrink tumors in preclinical experiments. “We’ve known about these cells blocking immune response for a decade, but haven’t been able to shut them down for lack of an identified target,” said the paper’s senior author, Larry Kwak, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Lymphoma/Myeloma and director of the Center for Cancer Immunology Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Read more here.

Gene mutation found for aggressive form of pancreatic cancer

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a mutated gene common to adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) tumors – the first known unique molecular signature for this rare, but particularly virulent, form of pancreatic cancer. They report that ASC pancreatic tumors have somatic or non-heritable mutations in the UPF1 gene, which is involved in a highly conserved RNA degradation pathway called nonsense-mediated RNA decay or NMD. Read more here.

Discovery could pave way to new treatment for rare jaw tumor

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified the mutations underlying a rare, understudied type of jaw tumor called ameloblastoma. In a paper published online May 25 in Nature Genetics, the researchers identify mutations in two genes that are associated with 80 percent of ameloblastoma cases. Read more here.

Expanded health coverage may improve cancer outcomes in young adults, study suggests

Young adults who lack health care insurance are more likely to be diagnosed in advanced stages of cancer and have a higher risk of death, according to a study from Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) and Harvard Medical School. “We found that patients who have insurance coverage do better on every measure,” said first author Ayal Aizer, MD, MHS, of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. Read more here.

DREAM project crowdsources answer to cancer cell drug sensitivities

A study published June 1 in the journal Nature Biotechnology describes the results of an open challenge to predict which breast cancer cell lines will respond to which drugs, based only on the sum of cells’ genomic data. The winning entry, from the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, was 78 percent accurate in identifying sensitive versus resistant cell lines, and was one of 44 algorithms submitted by groups from around the world. Read more here.

European Medicines Agency adopted a change to an indication for eribulin

The European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending a variation to the terms of the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product eribulin (Halaven). Halaven is indicated for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after at least one chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced disease. Read more here.

Duke researchers identify new brain cancer mutation that will aid drug development

A collaborative effort between Duke Medicine researchers and neurosurgeons and scientists in China has produced new genetic insights into a rare and deadly form of childhood and young adult brain cancer called brainstemglioma. The researchers identified a genetic mutation in the tumor cells that plays a role in both the growth and the death of a cell. Additionally, the mutation to the newly identified gene may also contribute to the tumor’s resistance to radiation.

Click here to read the full press release.

Study mentioned:
Nat Genet. 2014 Jun 1. doi: 10.1038/ng.2995. [Epub ahead of print]
Exome sequencing identifies somatic gain-of-function PPM1D mutations in brainstem gliomas.

Dartmouth researchers find that a mutation to BRCA2 gene can double the risk of lung cancer in smokers

New research by an international group of scientists confirms a vulnerability to lung cancer can be inherited and implicates the BRCA2 gene as harboring one of the involved genetic mutations.

Click here to read the full press release.

Study mentioned:
Nat Genet. 2014 Jun 1. doi: 10.1038/ng.3002. [Epub ahead of print]
Rare variants of large effect in BRCA2 and CHEK2 affect risk of lung cancer.

Tamoxifen for 10 Years an option: ASCO Guideline Update

Women with stage I to III hormone receptor–positive breast cancer should consider taking tamoxifen for 10 years, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) says in a clinical practice guideline focused update.

The guideline, Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy for Women with Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Focused Update, was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on May 27. It replaces ASCO's 2010 guideline update.

Breath test may spot lung cancer

A new breathalyzer has been developed to both detect and assess various stages of lung cancer, providing an accurate detection in four out of five cases. According to study author Dr. Nir Peled, an oncologist at the Davidoff Cancer Center in Israel, "cancer cells not only have a different and unique smell or signature, you can even discriminate between subtypes and determine disease burden." The breathalyzer can be plugged directly into a computer's USB port, and could prove to be a low-cost first step to weed out people who definitely do not have lung cancer, lowering the cost of lung cancer screening. To read more about this study, presented on June 1, 2014 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, click here.

New drug may boost survival for advanced prostate cancer patients

A new clinical trial conducted at the Knight Cancer Center at Oregon Health and Science University indicates that the drug enzalutamide "blocks male hormone activity [and] can improve survival and delay the need for chemotherapy" in men with advanced prostate cancer. According to senior study author Dr. Tomasz Beer, men who received enzalutamide on a daily basis started chemotherapy 17 months later than those who received a placebo. To learn more about this study, presented on June 1, 2014 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, click here.

New report estimates nearly 19 million cancer survivors in the U.S. by 2024

The number of cancer survivors in the United States, currently estimated to be 14.5 million, will grow to almost 19 million by 2024, according to an updated report by the American Cancer Society. The second edition of Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Facts & Figures, 2014-2015 and an accompanying journal article published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians find that even though cancer incidence rates have been decreasing for ten years, the number of cancer survivors is growing. This is the result of increases in cancer diagnoses driven by the aging and growth of the population, as well as the fact that people are living longer with cancer because of earlier cancer detection and more effective treatments. Read more here.

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