Wee1 inhibitor to treat ovarian cancer

 A new study conducted at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto reports on a randomized phase II trial indicating that the addition of the Wee1 inhibitor adavosertib to gemcitabone "reduced the risk of disease progression and death in women with recurrent, platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian cancer."  The trial, conducted on 99 women between 2014-2018 showed a median overall survival increase of 4.2 months (11.4 vs. 7.2 months) in patients that were administered Wee1. 

To read more about this trial, click here. 

share to facebook

share to twitter

share to linkedin

email article

COVID vaccines open door for cancer treatments

Two current covid-19 vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech  utilized an active ingredient, mana "to train the body's immune system to respond to infection."  According to Drew Weissman, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, it is possible to customize mRNA vaccines to an individual patient's cancer, which could be the "tip of the iceberg for RNA therapies." 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Canadian program to deploy cancer testing during XOVID-19 reaches key milestones

 Canexia Health, a Canadian cancer genomic program, has announced a new partnership with Project ACTT (Access to Cancer Testing & Treatment in Response to COVID-19), thus increasing the speed of cancer testing for targeted treatment "during the pandemic through a minimally invasive circulating tumor DNA test...as an alternative to some surgical tissue biopsies for patients with advanced lung, breast, or colorectal cancer."  

Since launching in July 2020, more than 800 Canadian cancer patients have been tested via Project ACTT, with the program expanding to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.  Further, 11% of samples received are from rural and remote areas where patients did not have access to urban academic research hospitals. 

To read more about this program, click here. 

Surgery could boost survival for women With advanced breast cancers

 A new study conducted at the Penn State Cancer Institute in Hershey, Pennsylvania, purports that "women with advanced breast cancer who undergo surgery to remove the tumor after chemotherapy or another type of systemic treatment may live longer than those who don't have surgery." Study author Dr. Daleela Dodge further explains that the surgery for metastatic breast cancer patients should be considered as a plausible alternative to systematic treatment, which is currently the standard of care offered to these patients. 

To read more about this study, click here. 

SOURCES: Daleela Dodge, MD, associate professor, surgery, Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, Pa.; Stephanie Bernik, MD, chief, breast service, Mount Sinai West Medical Center, New York City, and associate professor, surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City; Annals of Surgical Oncology, Oct. 30, 2020