First large-scale atlas of cancer metabolism

The role of glycine in cancer cell production has been studied for over 100 years. Researchers at the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital have conducted extensive studies on 60 cancer cell lines. This has resulted in the inaugural large-scale atlas of cancer metabolism. Lead researcher Vamsi Mootha, co-director of the Broad Institute's Metabolism Program and professor at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, states that most studies of metabolism in cancer tend to concentrate on one or perhaps two studies. This atlas thus took "an unbiased approach, looking at all of metabolism." To read more about this study, which appeared in the May 25th issue of Science, click here.

Health Canada endorsed important safety information on XGEVA (denosumab)

Subject: XGEVA® (denosumab) - Risk of severe symptomatic hypocalcemia, including fatal cases. Amgen Canada Inc., in consultation with Health Canada, would like to inform you of new important safety information related to hypocalcemia associated with XGEVA treatment. XGEVA is indicated in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and other solid tumours for reducing the risk of developing skeletal-related events (SREs). XGEVA is not indicated in patients with multiple myeloma. Further information is here.

World Cancer Congress 2012: August 27-30

When international cancer control leaders gather for the UICC World Cancer Congress in Montreal this summer, Canada’s strong contributions across the cancer control spectrum will be in the spotlight. The Congress, which is held every two years, includes plenary sessions with keynote speakers from around the world and presentations relating to the four content areas: prevention and early detection, cancer care and survivorship, palliation and pain control, and systems in cancer control; and a “global village” forum for networking.

IMC-18F1 or ramucirumab DP in combination with capecitabine or capecitabine on previously treated breast cancer patients

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Corporation has posted a new clinical trial studying the effect of the drugs ramucirumab or IMC-18F1, combined with capecitabine or capecitibine monotherapy, on metastatic breast cancer patients. The primary outcome of this trial is progression-free survival, with adverse events, response rate, and overall survival seen as significant secondary outcome measures. As indicated, treatment with this medication "will continue until disease progression, the development of unacceptable toxicity, noncompliance or withdrawal of consent by the patient, or investigator decision" occurs. For more information on this trial, click here.

Robotic-assisted prostate cancer surgery

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and School of Medicine have revealed that robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery for prostate cancer patients is significantly more costly than standard open surgery. This study, considered to be the first to investigate actual direct and indirect surgery costs at a single institution, determined that the robotic-assisted surgery exceeded costs by 62% compared to the standard approach. Further, there appears to be little evidence of long-term improvement in patient outcomes, and the majority of the cost difference has been associated with robotic equipment and supplies. To learn more about this study, click here.

HER-2 peptide-based vaccine: Potential to prevent breast cancer recurrence?

Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Brooke Army Medical Center, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and the Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center in Athens, Greece, have uncovered a new vaccine that indicates possible prevention of breast cancer recurrence. The vaccine in question, HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), has been shown to "elicit a powerful immune response...the ability to improve recurrence rates...and is well tolerated in an adjuvant setting." The findings of this study will be presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), June 1-5 in Chicago. To read more about this vaccine, click here.

European Medicines Agency approves axitinib and pazopanib

The European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has approved axitinib and pazopanib for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and selected subtypes of advanced soft tissue sarcoma. While axitinib should only be administered by a physician with experience in anticancer therapies, the CHMP remains steadfast that the benefit-to-risk ratio for this drug is favourable enough to warrant its recommendation. Pazopanib is proposed as the first line of treatment for patients afflicted with advanced renal cell carcinoma. More information on this study can be found here.

Prevention Policies Directory

Recognizing the pivotal role that tobacco control plays in preventing many types of cancer and other chronic diseases, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer supports Canadian tobacco control efforts through a unique online resource — the Prevention Policies Directory. The Directory brings together cancer and chronic disease prevention policies from hundreds of Canadian sources in a searchable online tool. It was created to support public health professionals, academic researchers, and policy specialists as they work to create healthier communities through policy change, for example by developing policies that limit exposure to second-hand smoke in public places. While tobacco control content is an important focus, the Directory also includes Canadian policies — including legislation, regulations, and codes — relating to the other key modifiable risk factors for cancer and related chronic diseases including: nutrition, physical activity, the built environment, alcohol consumption, infectious agents, environmental and occupational exposures, and UV/ionizing radiation. This growing resource currently brings together more than 1,100 documents from nearly 300 sources and is available through the Partnership’s cancer control portal, cancerview.ca. Municipal policies are a new component of the database with 31 communities, including jurisdictions in every province and territory, now being added. Check the Directory here.

World No Tobacco Day - May 31

On May 31, the World Health Organization is marking World No Tobacco Day by bringing attention to the importance of tobacco control in combating the nearly 6 million tobacco-related deaths estimated worldwide each year1. Recognizing the pivotal role that tobacco control plays in preventing many types of cancer and other chronic diseases, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer supports Canadian tobacco control efforts through a unique online resource — the Prevention Policies Directory. This growing resource currently brings together more than 1,100 documents from nearly 300 sources and is available through the Partnership’s cancer control portal, cancerview.ca. Municipal policies are a new component of the database with 31 communities, including jurisdictions in every province and territory, now being added. 1.WHO Global Report: Mortality Attributable to Tobacco, World Health Organization, 2012, page 3.

Canadian kids get failing grade in physical activity: report

Many Canadian kids are failing to make the grade when it comes to reaching physical activity targets, with too few hours devoted to active play and too much free time fixated on TV, computer and game screens. Active Healthy Kids Canada released its annual Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth on Tuesday which paints a grim picture of the activity levels of many Canadian youngsters. The literature supports that exercise accelerates academic performance, and physical activity prevents child obesity. See the full news here.

Medical groups OK lung cancer screening for heavy smokers

The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recommend that patients at greatest risk of developing lung cancer be screened with low-dose CT scans. They base the new guidelines on a review of studies that looked at low-dose CT screening. The American Cancer Society is among the organizations that reviewed the studies, and is developing a full lung cancer screening guideline of its own. In the meantime, ACS guidance says people who think they may be at increased risk should speak with their doctors about the risks and benefits of using low-dose CT scans for the early detection of lung cancer. The review was published online May 20, 2012 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers analyzed 21 studies of low-dose CT screening. See the full story from American Cancer Society.

Safety and tolerability of SOR-C13 in patients with advanced solid tumours

Dr. Toney Illenchuk, of Soricimed Biopharma, Inc. in Hamilton is presently investigating the potential of using the drug SOR-C13 as an intravenous infusion in patients with ovarian cancer, "or other cancers known to over express the TRPV6 calcium channel." Thus, both males and females over the age of 18, diagnosed with a solid tumour cancer of epithelial origin, may be suitable candidates for this trial. As Dr. Illenchuk's team points out, ideal candidates for the study are patients for which "palliative measures do not exist or are no longer effective." More information on the study can be found here.

The BEACON study (breast cancer outcomes with NKTR-102)

The BC Cancer Agency has designed a randomized controlled trial for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The trial seeks to uncover the effects of adding NKTR-102 once every 3 weeks to a patient's existing intravenous chemotherapy regimen. More information on this trial can be found here.

Self-management intervention for breathlessness in lung cancer

Canadian Cancer Trials has released a new pilot study investigating the benefit of daily strategies to manage breathlessness in lung cancer patients. Controlling and/or reducing the intensity of breathless periods can assist with a patient's quality of life. Dr. Doris Howell, principal investigator at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, believes that evaluating self-management strategies for lung cancer patients will help them better cope and understand dyspnea, a condition that becomes progressively worse due to the patient's stage of cancer diagnosis. To learn more about this trial, click here.

Google algorithm being used to find cancer biomarkers

Researchers at the Dresden University of Technology in Germany have adapted Google's searching algorithm to rank the genetic relevance of 20 000 proteins responsible for pancreatic cancer. This study, published by PLoS Computational Biology, reports on the discovery of seven such proteins "that can help assess how aggressive a patient's tumor is and guide the clinician to decide if that patient should receive chemotherapy or not." While this new biomarker dicovery mechanism is an improvement over previously used diagnostic tools, the researchers caution that further testing, as well as greater cooperation with biotech companies is required before a clinical trial on a pancreatic cancer drug can be run. For further information on this study, click here

Drug could attack ‘the root’ of cancer cells: study

A drug used in the past to treat schizophrenia and psychosis also has the ability to kill cancer stem cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed, Canadian researchers announced in a new study published in the journal Cell. The findings have yet to be proven in humans and clinical trials may reveal thioridazine is not effective at treating cancer. But the initial discovery is creating excitement among cancer experts who have been looking for ways to target cancer stem cells. Read the news item here.

Cancer among the elderly: Is research keeping up?

"It has never been more important to find evidence-based treatment strategies for elderly patients." These words, presented at the 31st Conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 31) in Barcelona, lament on the lack of clinical trials, and evidence-based treatment for senior citizens with cancer. While ageism should never play a role in deciding the best course of treatment for a cancer patient, a study from the St. James' Instiute of Oncology at the University of Leeds has shown that this does occur, particular in patients over the age of 70. A stance is therefore needed to balance the right amount of treatment, without under or over-prescribing. To read more about this study, click here

Influence of HPV status on tumor control and survival

A Danish study has unveiled findings that patients with human papilloma virus (HPV)-posive tumors respond better to radiotherapy alone than HPV-negative patients. This is particularly prevalent in head and neck cancer patients; HPV-positive patients who refrain from smoking (or smoke only lightly) respond best to radiotherapy, without additional chemotherapy treatments. Thus, the patients exhibit fewer side effects often associated with chemotherapy sessions. Dr. Pernille Lassen, lead researcher in this study states that "HPV-positive patients with advanced oropharngeal cancer...[often caused by heavy smoking or drinking]...had significantly better control of the tumour at its promary site, disease-specific survival after five years, and overall survival. To read more about this study, click here.

Rates of avoidable deaths reduced, yet significant room for improvement remains

The rate of deaths that could potentially be avoided through timely and effective health care and disease prevention dropped from 373 per 100,000 Canadians in 1979 to 185 per 100,000 Canadians in 2008 according to Health Indicators 2012. The report, available here, presents the most recent data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and Statistics Canada on a broad range of measures. In addition to presenting the most recent indicator results, this report introduces a suite of new acute-care readmission indicators, which will facilitate comprehensive evaluation of readmissions for all patient groups, as well as three new indicators of avoidable mortality. Read the CIHI press release here.

Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's strategic plan

Sustaining Action: Toward a Shared Vision available here outlines the Partnership's strategic and business plans for 2012 to 2017. Strategic priorities and corresponding core enabling functions highlight upcoming work to advance Canada’s cancer strategy and desired outcomes.

Sleep apnea linked to higher risk for cancer

People with sleep apnea have a higher risk of cancer, two new studies have found. In one of the new studies, researchers in Spain followed thousands of patients at sleep clinics and found that those with the most severe forms of sleep apnea had a 65-per-cent greater risk of developing cancer of any kind. The second study, of about 1,500 government workers in Wisconsin, showed that those with the most breathing abnormalities at night had five times the rate of dying from cancer as people without the sleep disorder. Read the Globe and Mail news article here.

First signs of a levelling off in incidence trends in malignant melanoma in younger generations

A paper by scientists of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published in the International Journal of Cancer analysed incidence trends in malignant melanoma worldwide and observed the first signs of a levelling off in younger generations. The paper by Erdmann et al. analysed time trends in 84 population‐based cancer registries in 39 countries to examine how risk patterns changed globally over the period 1953‐2008. Read the IARC news item here.

USPSTF recommendation against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has released a new report recommending against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer (grade D recommendation). This recommendation applies to men in the general U.S. population, regardless of age and does not include the use of the PSA test for surveillance after diagnosis or treatment of prostate cancer. Read the full Globe and Mail news article here.

Two new Health Canada guidance documents about bioavailability

Bioavailability is an important attribute of formulations of drugs used for systemic effects. It is defined as the rate and extent of drug entry into the systemic circulation. Health Canada has released two guidance documents, entitled Conduct and Analysis of Comparative Bioavailability Studies and Comparative Bioavailability Standards: Formulations used for Systemic Effects.

Cancer practice guidelines status report update: all cancers

In March 2012 Capacity Enhancement Program of the Cancer Guidelines Advisory Group released a CPG status report update. Since 2008 the CEP has conducted regular updates to the SAGE Directory. In March 2011, SAGE comprised of 1158 English language clinical practice guidelines published between 2003 and 2010. An update of the database completed in March 2012 identified an additional 789 guidelines publsihed between 2010 and January 2012. The focus of this report is to provide an analysis of the new guideline data (2010 to 2012) by summarizing the demographic characteristics, development methods, scope and content, and quality of CPGs. Overall analyses were also performed for comparative purposes and to provide an overview of the entire body of cancer control guidelines. To view all guidelines available from SAGE, please click here.

First genomic study of bile duct cancer

Researchers at the National Cancer Center in Singapore and the National Science and Technology Developmentment Agency in Thailand have identified new genes which frequently mutate in bile duct cancers. By understanding the cause of this cancer, particularly its development, new treatment options can be introduced. Afflicting 10 - 25% of all liver cancers worldwide, bile duct cancer is largely preventable; one of its primary causes is the consumption of raw fish. Upon studying the molecular properties of bile duct cancer, researchers have uncovered similarities to those patients afflicted with liver and pancreatic cancers. While this study is seen as only a first step in seeking to determine the underlying causes of this particular form of cancer, it does provide hope in better understanding how the tumours originate and develop. To read more about this study, click here.

RNA regulator of melanoma: New target for cancer therapy

A new study released by Genome Research has identified a RNA regulator that could result in new therapy for melanoma. Lead researchers Drs. Ross Flockhart and Paul Khavari from Stanford University have demonstrated the ability of RNA to be sequenced in a manner that more easily identifies melanoma progression. The researcher's believe that this method will lead to "a better understanding of how tumors evade drugs, and how previously unknown players...could be new targets for treatment." To learn more about this study, click here..

Cancer System Quality Index (CSQI) 2012

Cancer Quality Council of Ontario has released the 8th annual update of the Cancer System Quality Index (CSQI). The CSQI "reports on 32 evidence-based quality measures covering every aspect of cancer control, from cancer prevention to end-of-life care." It serves as a key indicator on quality of cancer care, along with providing indications of where performance improvements are needed. To view the webcast of the CSQI 2012 launch event, along with additional information about the CSQI itself, click here.

10 ways to reduce cancer risk

"Nearly half of today's North American men and one-third of women will develop cancer." This startling statistic appeared in a number of newspapers over the past couple of days. However, Dr. John Swartzberg and Dr. Jeffery Wolf from the University of California have released a list of the top 10 lifestyle changes that can reduce the risk of 65% of cancers. To see the complete list of recommendations, click here

Research raises hope of earlier breast cancer detection

Scientists have mapped the complete genetic codes of 21 breast cancers and created a catalogue of the mutations that accumulate in breast cells, raising hopes that the disease may be able to be spotted earlier and treated more effectively in the future. The research untangles the genetic history of how cancer evolves, allowing scientists to identify mutational patterns that fuel the growth of breast tumours, and start to work out the processes behind them. Read the complete news story here.