Novel precision medicine tool could help personalize cancer treatments

By measuring how vigorously tumor cells turn on “self-destruct” signals when exposed to different cancer drugs, a novel lab test can predict within less than 24 hours which agent is most likely to work against a particular tumor, say researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The scientists say this technique could lead to more reliable and rapid tools for “personalizing” cancer treatments than are now available. Clinical testing has already begun. Read more here.

IU researchers identify pancreatic cancer patients who benefit from personalized treatment

Cancer researchers at Indiana University report that about 15 percent of people with pancreatic cancer may benefit from therapy targeting a newly identified gene signature. Using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas, Murray Korc, M.D., the Myles Brand Professor of Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and colleagues found that a sub-group of pancreatic cancer patients who possess a strong angiogenic gene signature could benefit from personalized therapies that cut off the pathways that feed the cancer's growth. This particular gene signature enables abnormal blood vessels to form in tumors, which feeds the tumor's growth. Read more here.

Inherited gene variation leaves young leukemia patients at risk for peripheral neuropathy

Researchers have identified the first genetic variation that is associated with increased risk and severity of peripheral neuropathy following treatment with a widely used anti-cancer drug. Investigators also found evidence of how it may be possible to protect young leukemia patients without jeopardizing cures. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study involved 321 children and adolescents whose acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment included between 36 and 39 doses of the drug vincristine. Read more here.

Even low-androgen triple-negative breast cancer responds to anti-androgen therapy

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study shows that only about 1 percent of triple-negative breast cancer cells in a tumor must be "androgen-receptor-positive" to show benefit from anti-androgen therapies. There are no FDA-approved targeted therapies for triple-negative breast cancer. Clinical trials currently underway are showing promising preliminary results of anti-androgen-receptor therapies against triple-negative breast cancers expressing a higher percentage of androgen-receptor-positive cells. Read more here.

Disparities in breast cancer care linked to net worth

Household net worth is a major and overlooked factor in adherence to hormonal therapy among breast cancer patients and partially explains racial disparities in quality of care. The findings suggest that physicians, health insurers, and policy makers need to pay more attention to this economic variable to ensure that breast cancer patients receive this potentially life-saving treatment. Read more here.

MD Anderson studies skin cancer patients resistant to leading therapy

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center may have found a way to more accurately predict which patients will likely respond to genomic-based follow-up therapies, by looking at unique “protein patterns” in melanoma patients. “There are patients whose DNA does not reveal how their melanomas became resistant to BRAF inhibitors,” said Lawrence Kwong, Ph.D., instructor in Genomic Medicine at MD Anderson. “So we looked at patterns of changes in 150 proteins which can give clues to the causes of resistance, even when DNA sequencing data is uninformative.” Read more here.

Genomic profiling of cancer of unknown primary site

Genomic profiling of cancer of an unknown primary site (CUP) found at least one clinically relevant genomic alteration in most of the samples tested, an indication of potential to influence and personalise therapy for this type of cancer, which responds poorly to classical chemotherapy, according to a study published online on February 12 by JAMA Oncology. Read more here.

Journalism and cancer-related issues

Journalists stand as a buffer between researchers, clinicians and other experts, and the general audience; they hold the key for the public to understand cancer-related issue by turning experts’ technical language into simple information. ... ecancermedicalscience, the open access cancer journal from the European Institute of Oncology and the OECI (Organisation of European Cancer Institutes), published a few weeks ago an article on “How do medical journalists treat cancer-related issues?”. Considering the wide range of sources cancer patients now have access to, how medical journalists treat cancer-related issues is very important.Read more here.

'Big Bang' model of colon cancer identifies role time plays in tumor-growth dynamics

Natural selection is thought to govern tumor growth, which means that the cells present in a full-grown tumor are the most evolutionarily fit, or likely to survive. But the Big Bang model asserts that when a mutation occurs is more important than its evolutionary fitness in determining its prevalence in a full-grown tumor. Read more here.

New screening tool could speed development of ovarian cancer drugs

University of Chicago Medicine researchers have built a model system that uses multiple cell types from patients to rapidly test compounds that could block the early steps in ovarian cancer metastasis. Their three-dimensional cell-culture system, adapted for high-throughput screening, has enabled them to identify small molecules that can inhibit adhesion and invasion, preventing ovarian cancers from spreading to nearby tissues. Read more here.

One-two punch catches cancer cells in vulnerable state

Timing may be decisive when it comes to overcoming cancer's ability to evade treatment. By hitting breast cancer cells with a targeted therapeutic immediately after chemotherapy, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) were able to target cancer cells during a transitional stage when they were most vulnerable, killing cells and shrinking tumors in the lab and in pre-clinical models. Read more here.

Donor telomere length and survival after hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with severe aplastic anemia

A new NCI study has found that, among patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who received a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) from an unrelated donor, those whose donor white blood cells had longer telomeres had higher survival rates five-years after transplantation than those whose donor white blood cells had shorter telomeres. Read more here.

Study shows elevated number of cancers in US HIV positive population

In 2010, an estimated 7,760 new cancers were diagnosed among the nearly 900,000 Americans known to be living with HIV infection. According to the first comprehensive study in the United States, approximately half of these cancers (3,920) were in excess of what would be expected if HIV-infected people had the same cancer risk as the general population. Read more here.

Alberta cancer rates continue to trend downwards

The rate at which Albertans are being diagnosed with cancer, or dying from the disease, is continuing to decrease, according to data from Alberta Health Services (AHS). Alberta’s cancer incidence rates have steadily declined by about one per cent annually between 2002 and 2012. Mortality rates have also decreased over the past 20 years, falling by 2.2 per cent annually between 2005 and 2012. “We’re making tremendous progress with cancer control in Alberta,” says Dr. Paul Grundy, Chief Program Officer and Senior Medical Director, CancerControl Alberta, AHS. Read more here.

Calculate your cancer risk with My CancerIQ

Ontarians now have a new digital tool in the fight against cancer, called My CancerIQ. With support from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, My CancerIQ was developed by Cancer Care Ontario to allow men and women to calculate their personalized risk of developing breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer. It takes less than 10 minutes to answer a series of interactive questions that will produce individualized recommendations on how to reduce cancer risks. Read more here.

Canadian Cancer Society welcomes announcement by the Minister of Health on mandatory reporting of drug shortages

“Cancer patients suffer when they can’t access the drugs they need. That’s why drug shortages have been a major priority for the Society, and why we’re pleased to see the Government move on this important issue,” said Gabriel Miller, Director of Public Issues. The Society looks forward to contributing to the details of the mandatory reporting plan, and urges the Minister of Health to take the next steps in proactively managing and anticipating shortages. Read more here.

Cell signaling pathway goes awry in common pediatric brain tumor

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers links a well-known cell communication pathway called Notch to one of the most common -- but overall still rare -- brain tumors found in children. Their study suggests the pathway's involvement with a low-grade brain tumor called pilocytic astrocytoma, or PA. According to Fausto Rodriguez, M.D., associate professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, he and his colleagues made their discovery while comparing the expression of genes -- as measured by the amount of RNA the genes made -- in the Notch pathway between brain tissue from a mix of healthy children and those with PA. Read more here.

Lung passes breast as top female cancer killer in wealthy nations

For the first time, lung cancer has passed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths for women in rich countries. The reason is smoking, which peaked years later for women than it did for men. Lung cancer has been the top cancer killer for men for decades. "We're seeing the deaths now" from lung cancer due to a rise in smoking by women three decades ago, said Lindsey Torre of the American Cancer Society. The society released a report Wednesday, based on new numbers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Read more here.

Read the full report here.

National poll shows cancer strategy a priority for Canadians

Canadians overwhelmingly support a national strategy to reduce the burden of cancer, saying the plan should prioritize providing timely access to cancer treatments, timely and effective access to cancer screening and spreading the use of effective prevention techniques. Read more here.

Queen Elizabeth prize winner: Put pharmacies on chips

The New Scientist published yesterday on its website an interview with Robert Langer, the recent winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Langer pioneered the development of drug-release systems, tissue building and microchip implants. Working with surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital, he developed the first substances that could block the spread of blood vessels in tumours. Read more here.

ESMO press release: Making equal access to cancer treatment a priority

Access to treatment and care is a fundamental right of any patient. Yet despite the fast rate of new agent development, there are still astounding inequalities in the availability of and accessibility to cancer medications across Europe. On World Cancer Day 2015, ESMO confirms its commitment to acknowledging this patient right and highlights our collaborative efforts towards improving access for all. Read more here.

FDA expands approved use of ibrutinib to waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia

On 29 January, 2015 the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the approved use of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to treat patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia. The drug received a breakthrough therapy designation for this use.

Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia is a rare disease. It accounts for 1%–2% of haematological neoplasms with a reported age-adjusted incidence rate of 3.4 per million among males and 1.7 per million among females in the USA and 7.3 and 4.2 per million European standard population. Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia is a disease of the elderly with a median age of 63–68 years with a male predominance. Read more here.

Analysis of key breast cancer genes reveals distinct profiles for African-American, European-American women

Researchers have uncovered new information that may begin to explain why many African-American women are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive, often deadly forms of breast cancer, which strengthens the evidence that increased dietary folate intake may prove to be an effective strategy for reducing risk for the disease in African-American women. In the first large study of its kind, the team, led by Roswell Park Cancer Institute epidemiologists Zhihong Gong, PhD, and Christine Ambrosone, PhD, identified patterns in gene variations associated with breast cancer risk that diverged significantly between African-American women and women of European descent. Read more here.