UT MD Anderson study shows new approach connecting smokers to quit lines increases smoking cessation treatment enrollment

Self-identified smokers directly connected to a tobacco cessation quit line are 13 times more likely to enroll in a treatment program as compared to smokers who are handed a quit line referral card and encouraged to call on their own, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Vidrine JI, et al. Ask-Advise-Connect: A New Approach to Smoking Treatment Delivery in Health Care Settings. JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Feb 25:1-7. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23440173

Masonic Cancer Center researchers identify genetic variation behind acute myeloid leukemia treatment success

Researchers from the College of Pharmacy and Medical School working within the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, have partnered to identify genetic variations that may help signal which acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients will benefit or not benefit from one of the newest antileukemic agents. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Mortland L, et al. Clinical Significance of CD33 Nonsynonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Pediatric Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated with Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin-Containing Chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Feb 26. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23444229

U-M study challenges notion of using Herceptin only for HER2-positive breast cancer

New research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds that the protein HER2 plays a role even in breast cancers that would traditionally be categorized as HER2-negative – and that the drug Herceptin, which targets HER2, may have an even greater role for treating breast cancer and preventing its spread. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Ithimakin S, et al. HER2 Drives Luminal Breast Cancer Stem Cells in the Absence of HER2 Amplification: Implications for Efficacy of Adjuvant Trastuzumab. Cancer Res. 2013 Feb 26. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23442322

International Innovation - research highlights: IARC

Drs Rolando Herrero, Silvia Franceschi and Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan provide an overview of the work that is being conducted at IARC in an effort to beat cancer and save lives in this edition of International Innovation. Read more here.

2012 cancer estimates for 40 countries and 25 cancer sites

The development of EUCAN estimates was funded by the Cancéropôle Lyon, Auvergne, Rhone-Alps (CLARA), the local authorities of the Rhone Department and the Greater Lyon Area, the European Commission (DG Sanco and DG Research) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The aim of EUCAN is to disseminate country-specific information on cancer burden, which is derived from data collected by the existing cancer registries and from the WHO mortality database. The current 2012 estimates for 40 countries and 25 cancer sites were launched on 4th February 2013. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Ferlay J, et al. Cancer incidence and mortality patterns in Europe: Estimates for 40 countries in 2012. European Journal of Cancer, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 26 February 2013.

European Medicines Agency recommends extending the therapeutic indication of Cervarix

On 21 February 2013, the European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending a variation to the terms of the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product Cervarix. The marketing authorisation holder for this medicinal product is GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. Read more here.

FDA approves T-DM1 for metastatic breast cancer

The USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on 22 February 2013 antibody-drug conjugate, Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine or T-DM1), a new therapy for patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer. Kadcyla is intended for patients who were previously treated with trastuzumab, another anti-HER2 therapy, and taxanes. Read more here.

Translating metastasis-related biomarkers to the clinic

In the perspectives article, published in the Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, a group of researchers led by Dr François-Clément Bidard of the Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Curie and Université Paris Descartes, France discuss some of the potential avenues of research including the use of adequate statistical methods and well-annotated cohorts in biomarker discovery; an objective assessment of the level of evidence provided by each biomarker; the development of robust molecular or cellular surrogates of metastasis in patients; and original designs for clinical trials. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Bidard FC, et al. Translating metastasis-related biomarkers to the clinic-progress and pitfalls. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2013 Feb 5. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23381003

Colon cancer prevention and early detection

Over the past few decades, more people have been surviving colon cancer, and fewer people have been dying from it. This is thanks partly to improvements in colon cancer screening. Screening, the process of looking for cancer or pre-cancer in people who have no symptoms of the disease, can find colon cancer early, before symptoms develop, when it’s easier to treat. Screening can also sometimes find growths called polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Read more here.

Connect to the screening guidelines here.

Study links smoking to breast cancer risk

Researchers at the American Cancer Society have found an increased breast cancer risk among women who smoke, especially those who start smoking before they have their first child. Researchers analyzed data from 73,388 women in the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort. During more than 13 years of follow-up, researchers counted 3,721 cases of invasive breast cancer. The rate of new cases was 24% higher in smokers than in nonsmokers and 13% higher in former smokers than in nonsmokers. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Gaudet M, et al. Active Smoking and Breast Cancer Risk: Original Cohort Data and Meta-analysis. Published early online February 28, 2013 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The obesity-cancer connection, and what we can do about it

"The problem with being overweight or obese, as measured by weight and height, is that it raises our risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. But did you know that being obese can actually increase our risk of getting cancer and may even worsen our chances of surviving after a cancer diagnosis? In fact, the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II showed significant increases in cancer occurrence in people who are the most overweight." Continue reading the American Cancer Society Expert Voices blog here.

More young women being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer

An analysis of breast cancer trends in the US has found that new cases of advanced breast cancer are increasing among women ages 25 to 39. The finding is especially troubling because breast cancer in younger women tends to be more aggressive and has lower survival rates than breast cancer in older women. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Johnson RH, et al. Incidence of Breast Cancer With Distant Involvement Among Women in the United States, 1976 to 2009. JAMA. 2013;309(8):800-805.

U of C grad student uses baker’s yeast to find new ways to fight cancer

Ola Czyz, a Masters student in biological sciences assistant professor Vanina Zaremberg’s lab, has published two papers that outline work into anti-tumor lipids (ATLs), drugs that can combat cancerous cells without hurting healthy ones. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Czyz OA, et al. Alteration of plasma membrane organization by an anticancer lysophosphatidylcholine analogue induces intracellular acidification and internalization of plasma membrane transporters in yeast. J Biol Chem. 2013 Jan 23. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23344949

Study mentioned: Cuesta-Marbán A, et al. Drug uptake, lipid rafts and vesicle trafficking modulate resistance to an anticancer lysophosphatidylcholine analogue in yeast. J Biol Chem. 2013 Jan 18. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23335509

'Choosing Wisely' identifies tests and procedures whose necessity should be questioned or discussed

As part of the Choosing Wisely® initiative of the ABIM Foundation, United States specialty societies representing more than 500,000 physicians developed lists of Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question in recognition of the importance of physician and patient conversations to improve care and eliminate unnecessary tests and procedures. Access the lists here.

Read the list from the American Society of Clinical Oncology here.

Obesity, exercise may affect risk for key type of colon cancer

Obesity increases a person's risk for a certain type of colorectal cancer, while exercise lowers the risk, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from women in the U.S. Nurses' Health Study and men in the Health Professionals Study to determine if there was a link between weight, exercise and the risk for CTNNB1-positive or CTNNB1-negative colorectal cancer. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Morikawa T, et al. Prospective Analysis of Body Mass Index, Physical Activity, and Colorectal Cancer Risk Associated with β-Catenin (CTNNB1) Status. Cancer Research. Published OnlineFirst February 26, 2013.

UNC-led study documents head and neck cancer molecular tumor subtypes

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the seventh most common form of cancer in the United States, but other than an association with the human papillomavirus, no validated molecular profile of the disease has been established. By analyzing data from DNA microarrays, a UNC-led team has completed a study that confirms the presence of four molecular classes of the disease and extends previous results by suggesting that there may be an underlying connection between the molecular classes and observed genomic events, some of which affect known cancer genes. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Walter V, et al. (2013) Molecular Subtypes in Head and Neck Cancer Exhibit Distinct Patterns of Chromosomal Gain and Loss of Canonical Cancer Genes. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56823.

UK Breast Cancer Campaign Tissue Bank - the first biobank to operate a data-return policy

The Breast Cancer Campaign Tissue Bank was set up in 2010 as part of a coalition of four core academic centres of excellence in breast cancer research across the UK; Barts Cancer Institute, London, and the Universities of Dundee, Leeds and Nottingham, in partnership with the National Health Service. The Tissue Bank is the first widely available specialist breast cancer biobank in the UK. To make the best use of the tissues curated by biobanks, researchers require that tissues are accompanied by well-annotated data. It usually includes anonymized information relating to each tissue donor. Read more here.

FDA approves treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Monday approved the use of Stivarga (regorafenib) to treat certain advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). The drug is already approved to treat colon and rectal cancer. The new approval is for GIST that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized) and is no longer responding to other drugs used to treat the disease. Read more here.

Outsmarting breast cancer, one cell at a time

Researchers in Vancouver are looking at how breast cancer cells in patients mutate and evolve over time, which can lead to the disease becoming resistant to treatment. With a $1.25 million grant from the Canadian Cancer Society, Dr Sam Aparicio and his team will answer questions about how breast cancer arises, grows and mutates. Read more here.

New trial alert: epirubicin dosage for chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

Researchers at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta are presently recruiting patients for a new trial to determine if "epirubicin dosing based on people's genetic profile" is a better method to calculate chemotherapy dosage versus the traditional means of determining dosage according to a patient's height and weight.

Led by Dr. John Mackey and Dr. Michael Sawyer, female patients with histologically confirmed non-metastatic invasive breast cancer "scheduled to receive at least three cycles of FEC100 in theh adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting" are elligible for participation in this trial. 

 Click here for further information.

"Making cancer drugs less expensive" linking clinical value to price

In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Hagop Kantarjian, Leonard Zwelling, and Tito Fojo offer a perspective on cancer drug prices as well as advice on how to reduce prices. "We believe that the price of cancer drugs is too high. Those already-high prices, which continue to rise rapidly, are an increasingly significant issue in U.S. health-care expenditures." Continue reading here.

European Medicines Agency recommends granting a marketing authorization to Imatinib Actavis for adult patients with Ph+ CML in blast crisis

On 21 February 2013 the European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product Imatinib Actavis intended for the treatment of: Paediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) for whom bone marrow transplantation is not considered as the first line of treatment; Paediatric patients with Ph+ CML in chronic phase after failure of interferon-alpha therapy, or in accelerated phase or blast crisis; Adult patients with Ph+ CML in blast crisis. Read more here.

Webinar: Next generation sequencing in thoracic oncology

This free, educational webinar, which took place on 31 January 2013, was produced by ESMO and Thomson Reuters and focused on the clinical application of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in the thoracic oncology personalised medicine setting. Listen to the recording here.

Ottawa will soon require that tanning beds carry skin-cancer warning labels

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Health Canada will soon require that all tanning beds carry warnings about skin cancer and other potential dangers. The proposed changes come after several provinces moved to prevent the use of tanning beds by young people. Read more here.

Lung screening could prevent 12,000 deaths: study

A new study, published in CANCER, estimated that 8.6 million Americans met the NLST (National Lung Screening Trial) criteria for lung cancer screening in 2010. The NLST included more than 50,000 people aged 55 to 74 who were current or former smokers with at least a 30 pack-year history of smoking. When the researchers combined their estimate with information on lung cancer death rates, they calculated that if all eligible Americans received low-dose CT screening, approximately 12,000 lung cancer deaths would be delayed or prevented each year. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Ma J, et al. Annual Number of Lung Cancer Deaths Potentially Avertable by Screening in the United States. Cancer. Published online first February 25, 2013.

ACS introduces lung cancer screening guidelines

Clinicians should recommend annual lung-cancer screening by means of low-dose computed tomography (CT) for high-risk patients if both provider and patient meet certain conditions, according to the American Cancer Society Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines. Read more here.

Too much sitting linked to chronic health problems

People who spend hours each day without getting up and moving around should take heed: A new study suggests that the more people sit each day, the greater their risk for chronic health problems, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Study mentioned: George ES, et al. Chronic disease and sitting time in middle-aged Australian males: findings from the 45 and Up Study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013 Feb 8;10:20. PMID: 23394382

Blood thinners may boost survival for prostate cancer patients

Men with advanced prostate cancer might live longer when they are taking blood-thinning medication, a small study suggests. Prostate cancer patients who were also taking a blood thinner, usually to stave off a blood clot, had a 39 percent increase in overall survival over men who were not taking these drugs, report researchers from the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore. The findings were presented this month by Caroline Pratz and colleagues at an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Orlando, Fla. Read more here.

Cancer rates vary widely by state, race: CDC report

The latest U.S. cancer statistics find that 1.5 million new cases of invasive cancer were diagnosed among Americans in 2009, with more men than women developing malignancies and blacks at higher risk for cancer than whites. Read more here.

Read the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Invasive Cancer Incidence - United States, 2009 here.

NCCS resources included in eHealth Initiative's Health IT Cancer Resource Guide

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship is pleased to announce that the eHealth Initiative has included three of NCCS’s patient resources in the recently launched Health IT Cancer Resource Guide. The Guide allows cancer survivors, as well as their families, friends and caregivers, to access technology that can help them understand, plan for and cope with cancer care more easily. Read more and access the guide here.