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.

Read the full document here.