For many cancer survivors, tattoos are ‘a badge of honour’

A photo of a woman’s chest tattooed to cover mastectomy scars, which went viral after she posted it on Facebook, has highlighted a growing trend among cancer survivors. More and more are getting inked, not just to beautify surgical sites, but as a badge of honour – a visible reminder that they beat the disease. Read more here.

New occupational carcinogen exposure tool ready for beta-testing

A new tool developed by the CAREX Canada project, called eWORK, is now available for beta-testing. eWORK is a Microsoft Excel-based tool that makes it easy for interested users to explore the CAREX exposure estimates and results in a variety of ways. The tool can be used to answer questions such as: What are the most prevalent carcinogen exposures for workers in the oil and gas industry? How many people are exposed to wood dust in B.C.? And what jobs have particularly high exposures to silica dust in Canada? Link to tool here.

European Medicines Agency publishes report on patient recruitment and geographical location of clinical trials

Almost 62% of the patients in pivotal trials submitted in marketing-authorisation applications (MAAs) to the European Medicines Agency between January 2005 and December 2011 were recruited outside of the European Economic Area and Switzerland, according to an analysis performed by the Agency. The report on clinical trials submitted in MAAs to the European Medicines Agency provides an overview of the distribution of the numbers of patients, investigator sites and pivotal clinical trials included in MAAs submitted to the Agency, as well as the number and location of sites that were inspected. Read more here.

Read the full report, Clinical trials submitted in marketing-authorisation applications to the European Medicines Agency, here.

BBMRI - LPC - A four - year project to help scientists to have better access to large European studies on health

In response to a specific infrastructure call of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission, BBMRI-LPC, a European-wide project involving 30 partners from 17 countries, has received a 8M€ funding to enhance access by academic and industry scientists to the largest European ‘biobanks’. Read more here.

Patients accepting, grateful for Death with Dignity program

Patients and families are accepting of and grateful for a Death with Dignity program established at a comprehensive cancer care center, according to a study published in the the New England Journal of Medicine. Elizabeth Trice Loggers, M.D., Ph.D., from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and colleagues described the implementation of a Death with Dignity program in their comprehensive cancer center. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Loggers ET, et al. Implementing a Death with Dignity program at a comprehensive cancer center. N Engl J Med. 2013 Apr 11;368(15):1417-24. PMID: 23574120

UNC researchers engineer 'protein switch' to dissect role of cancer’s key players

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have “rationally rewired” some of the cell’s smallest components to create proteins that can be switched on or off by command. These “protein switches” can be used to interrogate the inner workings of each cell, helping scientists uncover the molecular mechanisms of human health and disease. In the first application of this approach, the UNC researchers showed how a protein called Src kinase influences the way cells extend and move, a previously unknown role that is consistent with the protein’s ties to tumor progression and metastasis. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Dagliyan O, et al. Rational design of a ligand-controlled protein conformational switch. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Apr 8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23569285

Signature of circulating breast tumor cells that spread to the brain found

Some breast tumor circulating cells in the bloodstream are marked by a constellation of biomarkers that identify them as those destined to seed the brain with a deadly spread of cancer, said researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Zhang L, et al. The Identification and Characterization of Breast Cancer CTCs Competent for Brain Metastasis. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Apr 10;5(180):180ra48. PMID: 23576814

NIH trial shows promising results in treating a lymphoma in young people

Patients with a type of cancer known as primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma who received infusions of chemotherapy, but who did not have radiation therapy to an area of the thorax known as the mediastinum, had excellent outcomes, according to clinical trial results. The results of this single arm trial, which followed 51 patients for a period of up to 14 years, was conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Dunleavy K, et al. Dose-adjusted EPOCH-rituximab therapy in primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. N Engl J Med. 2013 Apr 11;368(15):1408-16. PMID: 23574119

Biomarker subanalysis of the phase III study of regorafenib vs placebo in TKI-refractory metastatic GIST

Researchers using a tool called BEAMing technology, which can detect cancer-driving gene mutations in patients’ blood samples, were able to identify oncogenic mutations associated with distinct responses to therapies used to treat patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), according to data presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington D.C., April 6-10. Read more here.

Effect of duloxetine on pain, function, and quality of life among patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

Among patients with painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, use of the anti-depressant drug duloxetine for 5 weeks resulted in a greater reduction in pain compared with placebo, according to a study in the April 3, 2013 issue of JAMA. Ellen Lavoie Smith, PhD, of the University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, and colleagues within the Cancer and Leukaemia Group B (CALGB/Alliance) conducted a randomized phase III double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial to assess whether duloxetine taken orally once daily decreases the severity of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Lavoie Smith EM, et al. Effect of Duloxetine on Pain, Function, and Quality of Life Among Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Painful Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2013;309(13):1359-1367. PMID: 23549581

Personalised Medicine in sarcoma: molecular subtypes drive treatment

Half of sarcomas show molecular alterations and more than 10 molecular subtypes now allow to be treated with a more personalised or targeted approach. In this short ESMO video, Jean-Yves Blay discusses several histological subtypes of sarcoma where personalised medicine has already become a standard. What is needed is the organization of properly annotated tumour banks; reliable molecular diagnostic strategies in network centres; education of investigators and physicians to understand the crucial importance of biology-driven treatment. Watch the video here.

Small molecule unlocks key prostate cancer survival tactic

A paper published by the Public Library of Science identifies a microRNA called miR-125b as a potential target for treatments designed to stop the proliferation of prostate cancer cells, particularly in patients who have developed a late-stage form of the disease resistant to androgen deprivation therapy. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Amir S, et al. (2013) Oncomir miR-125b Suppresses p14ARF to Modulate p53-Dependent and p53-Independent Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer. PLoS ONE 8(4): e61064.

Certain breast cancer patients may benefit from combined HER-2 targeted treatment without chemotherapy

In a report that appears in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers have shown that a subset of breast cancer patients who have tumors overexpressing a protein called the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2 positive) may benefit from a combination of targeted treatments that zero in on the breast cancer cells themselves. That could enable some women to avoid the "sledgehammer" of typical chemotherapy drugs that kill normal and tumor cells alike and avoid triggering resistance in tumor cells. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Rimawi MF, et al. Multicenter Phase II Study of Neoadjuvant Lapatinib and Trastuzumab With Hormonal Therapy and Without Chemotherapy in Patients With Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Overexpressing Breast Cancer: TBCRC 006. J Clin Oncol. 2013 Apr 8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23569315

Study shows certain lymphoma patients can avoid radiation

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute and Stanford University have found that patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma can be treated successfully without radiation. The 51 patients in the study received a therapy regimen called dose-adjusted EPOCH-R, a combination of several chemotherapy drugs and the immunotherapy drug rituximab. All but 2 of the patients achieved a complete remission with this drug regimen, which means all signs and symptoms of the cancer disappeared in response to treatment. The other 2 achieved a complete remission after receiving radiation. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Kieron Dunleavy K, et al. Dose-Adjusted EPOCH-Rituximab Therapy in Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma. N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1408-1416.

ACS report: Changing behaviors to reduce cancer risk remains challenging

A new report from the American Cancer Society says much of the suffering and death from cancer could be prevented by a more coordinated effort to change individual health behaviors. The report, Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2013 (CPED), emphasizes that individual health behaviors are strongly influenced by social, economic, and legislative factors. Read more here.

Read the CPED report here.

Researchers pairing antiviral, chemotherapy drugs to fight leukemia

Researchers from the University of Montreal and a Canadian pharmaceutical company are launching a clinical trial that aims to treat a form of leukemia by combining a common antiviral drug and standard chemotherapy drugs. After promising results from a 2009 trial that treated 11 acute myeloid leukemia patients with the common antiviral drug Ribavirin, Dr. Katherine Borden was preparing to start a second clinical trial that combined Ribavirin with low doses of standard chemotherapy drugs. Read more here.

New Mayo software identifies and stratifies risk posed by lung nodules

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Mayo Clinic has developed a new software tool to noninvasively characterize pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a common type of cancerous nodule in the lungs. Results from a pilot study of the computer-aided nodule assessment and risk yield (CANARY) are published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Maldonado F, et al. Noninvasive Characterization of the Histopathologic Features of Pulmonary Nodules of the Lung Adenocarcinoma Spectrum using Computer-Aided Nodule Assessment and Risk Yield (CANARY)-A Pilot Study. J Thorac Oncol. 2013 Apr;8(4):452-460. PMID: 23486265

New brain cancer treatment may be more effective, less toxic

A Phase 2 clinical trial testing a new protocol for treating a relatively rare form of brain cancer, primary CNS lymphoma, may change the standard of care for this disease, according to doctors at UC San Francisco who led the research. Described in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the trial involved 44 patients who were given a combination of high-dose chemotherapy with immune therapy, rather than the standard combination of chemotherapy with a technique known as whole-brain radiotherapy. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Rubenstein JL, et al. Intensive Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Primary CNS Lymphoma: CALGB 50202 (Alliance 50202). J Clin Oncol. 2013 Apr 8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23569323

A tumor suppressor is identified as an inhibitor of inflammatory pathways

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute have found that a protein, FBXW7, which acts as a tumor suppressor, is also important for the reduction in strength of inflammatory pathways. This study is the first to describe how FBXW7 acts in cancer cells as well as in cells of the immune system to attenuate inflammatory signaling, which is accomplished by reducing the levels of C/EBPdelta, a protein that regulates the expression of many genes. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Balamurugan K, et al. FBXW7α attenuates inflammatory signalling by downregulating C/EBPδ and its target gene Tlr4. Nature Communications. 4: 1662. Published online 09 April 2013 .

Relationship between tumour biomarkers and efficacy in EMILIA trial identified women most likely to benefit from T-DM1

Patients in all biomarker subgroups in the EMILIA study had longer progression-free survival and overall survival with T-DM1 vs lapatinib plus capecitabine. In a biomarker subanalysis, patients with tumours expressing high HER2 mRNA levels derived even greater overall survival benefit from T-DM1. Lapatinib plus capecitabine-treated patients with PIK3CA mutations had worse outcomes than those with wild type PIK3CA. T-DM1-treated patients with PIK3CA mutations had a similar treatment benefit as those without, suggesting that the unique mechanism of action of T-DM1 may overcome PIK3CA mutation resistance. The findings were presented by Dr José Baselga, physician-in-chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, USA, at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. Read more here.

New CMA data: medicine growing fast, changing fast

New data from the CMA's Canadian Collaborative Centre for Physician Resources (C3PR) indicate that Canada has a lot more physicians than it did a decade ago, and a lot more of them are women. Women claim their highest proportions in gynecologic oncology (69.2%), medical genetics (59.6%) and geriatric medicine (55.6%). Read more here.

Access the full Statistical information on Canadian physicians from the Canadian Medical Association Website here.

New clues on how exercise may reduce breast cancer risk

While regular exercise has long been associated with lower breast cancer risk for post-menopausal women, a new Polish breast cancer study emphasizes the importance of physical activity on hormone levels.  Dr. Cher Dallal, cancer prevention fellow at the U.S. National Cancer Institute explains that the Polish study, evaluating 540 women between the ages of 40 and 74 who wore an accelerometer for seven days, indicates that "increased overall activity appears to increase the metabolism of estrogen", lowering hormone levels and potentially reducing breast cancer risk.

Click here to read more about this study, which was presented on April 9, 2013 at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Washington, D.C.  

Chemotherapy still king in lung cancer

In this short video highlighting topics from the 13th annual Targeted Therapies in Lung Cancer meeting, Dr. Mark Kris underscores the value of chemotherapy in lung cancer patients, including those receiving targeted therapies. Watch the Medscape video here.

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Cancer immunotherapy in children: How does it differ from approaches in adults?

More often than not, cancer immunotherapies that work in adults are used in modified ways in children. Seldom are new therapies developed just for children, primarily because of the small number of pediatric patients relative to the adult cancer patient population. In 2013 there will be an estimated 11,630 cases of cancer diagnosed in children 14 and younger compared to over 1.6 million cases diagnosed in adults. Read more here.

Prostate cancer screenings offer limited benefits and ‘substantial harms,’ says doctors group

The American College of Physicians (ACP) became the latest group to ask doctors to be clear about the limited benefits and “substantial harms” of prostate cancer screening before offering their male patients a prostate-specific antigen test. The ACP’s guidance statement, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also explicitly recommends against screening men younger than 50, older than 69 or with less than 10 to 15 years to live. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Qaseem A, et al. Screening for Prostate Cancer: A Guidance Statement From the Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. Published online first 9 April 2013.

16-year-old wants to smash cancer with 'nanobullets'

A 16-year-old Alberta high school student has taken top prize in this year's Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada contest with his research into an experimental therapy that uses nanoparticles to kill cancer cells. Arjun Nair, a Grade 11 student at Webber Academy in Calgary, was awarded the $5,000 honour Tuesday by a panel of Canadian scientists at the National Research Council's headquarters in Ottawa. Read more here.

Experimental vaccine for ovarian cancer

Researchers at the Ovarian Cancer Research Centre in the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine have unveiled a new vaccine for treating ovarian cancer.  Although rare (it is believed that only 1.38% of females will be afflicted), ovarian cancer is usually not diagnosed until stage 3 or 4.  Lana Kandalaft, lead author in this study explains that this new treatment uses a personalized vaccine to instruct a patient's immune system to fight the tumor.  "Each patient's tumor is unique like a fingerprint...we're trying to rewire the immune system to target the tumor." 

Click here to read more about this study, presented on April 6th at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Comprehensive genomic analysis of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is a heterogeneous tumour which displays distinctive patterns of somatic alteration potentially amenable to molecularly targeted therapies. The researchers document for the first time using the Cancer Genome Atlas data, the role of an oncogenic virus in the human cancer genome. The results were presented by Dr David Hayes on behalf of the Cancer Genome Atlas at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. Read more here.

Scientists find new gene markers for cancer risk

A huge international effort involving more than 100 institutions and genetic tests on 200,000 people has uncovered dozens of signposts in DNA that can help reveal further a person's risk for breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, scientists have reported. The new results were released in 13 reports in Nature Genetics, PLOS Genetics and other journals. They come from a collaboration involving more than 130 institutions in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Read more here.

Guide for lung cancer gene tests published

All patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma should undergo testing for EGFR and ALK mutations to determine their eligibility for targeted therapies, according to a jointly developed guideline from three organizations. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Lindeman NI, et al. Molecular Testing Guideline for Selection of Lung Cancer Patients for EGFR and ALK Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: Guideline from the College of American Pathologists, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and Association for Molecular Pathology. J Thorac Oncol. 2013 Apr 2. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23552377