A head-to-head comparison of pazopanib versus sunitinib in the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

The randomised, open label, phase III COMPARZ (Comparing the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Pazopanib vs. Sunitinib) trial was a head-to-head comparison of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of pazopanib versus sunitinib in treatment-naive patients with clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma with measurable disease. Pazopanib demonstrated non-inferiority to sunitinib and shows a more favourable safety profile and improved patient reported quality of life domains. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Motzer RJ, et al. Pazopanib versus sunitinib in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2013 Aug 22;369(8):722-31. PMID: 23964934

Young women who drink alcohol daily may face higher breast cancer risk

Young women who drink alcohol every day may be raising significantly their risk of breast cancer, according to U.S. research published Wednesday. Each alcoholic drink a woman takes daily from when her menstrual periods start until her first full-term pregnancy ups her lifetime risk of breast cancer by 13 per cent, said the study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings were based on a survey of 91,005 mothers in a major U.S. health study from 1989 to 2009. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Liu Y, et al. Alcohol Intake Between Menarche and First Pregnancy: A Prospective Study of Breast Cancer Risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. First published online: August 28, 2013.

Words affect treatment choice

New research indicates that when ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is described as a high-risk condition, women make different treatment choices to some extent than when it is described as "noninvasive breast cancer." When the word "cancer" was not used, 65% of the study participants choose nonsurgical management of the condition. Read more here.

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Article mentioned: Omer ZB, et al. Impact of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Terminology on Patient Treatment Preferences. JAMA Intern Med. Published online August 26, 2013.

FDA grants marketing approval for VALCHLOR gel for treatment of early stage CTCL

Ceptaris Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, specialty pharmaceutical company, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for the orphan drug VALCHLOR™ (mechlorethamine) gel for the topical treatment of stage IA and IB mycosis fungoides-type cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who have received prior skin-directed therapy. Read more here.

Study finds genomic differences in types of cervical cancer

A new study has revealed marked differences in the genomic terrain of the two most common types of cervical cancer, suggesting that patients might benefit from therapies geared to each type’s molecular idiosyncrasies. The study, published by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), is the first to compare the spectrum of cancer-related gene mutations in the two main subtypes of cervical cancer – adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Wright AA, et al. Oncogenic mutations in cervical cancer. Cancer. Article first published online: 23 AUG 2013.

NIH study links Hodgkin lymphoma treatment to possible risk of stomach cancer

Hodgkin lymphoma survivors who received certain radiation and chemotherapy regimens were at increased risk of subsequently developing stomach cancer, according to a study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute. To better understand the relationship between Hodgkin lymphoma treatments and subsequent stomach cancer risk, Lindsay M. Morton, Ph.D., NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, and her colleagues analyzed data from the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the United States and Canada. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Morton LM, et al. Stomach cancer risk after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. J Clin Oncol. Published online before print August 26, 2013.

Updated ESMO breast cancer guidelines now available

The ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) are intended to provide the user with a set of recommendations for the best standards of cancer care, based on the findings of evidence-based medicine. The latest enhanced and revised set of ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines on Breast Cancer cover both primary and locally recurrent/metastatic breast cancer and include information on staging and diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. There is also a specific guideline focussing on BRCA in breast cancer. Read more and access the guidelines here.

ALK rearrangement in ALK-positive NSCLC reflected in circulating tumour cells

A group of researchers from the Institut Gustave Roissy, Villejuif, France, led by Dr Françoise Farace has evaluated whether circulating tumour cells (CTCs) might represent a non-invasive source of tumour material in NSCLC. The researchers isolated CTCs from 32 patients with metastatic NSCLC, 18 of whom had ALK-positive tumours. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Pailler E, et al. Detection of circulating tumor cells harboring a unique ALK rearrangement in ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2013 Jun 20;31(18):2273-81. PMID: 23669222

New hope for early detection of ovarian cancer

A new study conducted at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston indicates that a blood test in combination with an ultrasound exam can lead to earlier detection of ovarian cancer.  As there is currently no reliable screening test to detect ovarian cancer, this study, which ran over 11 years and involved 4,000 women, has been deemed "accurate at ruling out...harmful false alarms in postmenopausal women", false positive results requiring invasive surgery which can cause further harm. 

Presently, a substantially larger study involving 200,000 women is taking place in the U.K, final results of which are expected by 2015. 

To read more, click here

Study mentioned: Lu K, et al. A 2-stage ovarian cancer screening strategy using the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA) identifies early-stage incident cancers and demonstrates high positive predictive value.  Cancer 2013 Aug 26; [Online first]

How red hair may increase melanoma risk

A person’s skin pigment is influenced by the melanocortin-1 (MC1R) gene receptor. For the population’s 1 to 2 percent of redheads, a mutation in MC1R accounts for their red hair color and typical light skin. Now researchers from Harvard Medical School have discovered that the same MC1R mutation responsible for the red-hair phenotype also promotes an important cancer-causing pathway. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Cao J, et al. MC1R Is a Potent Regulator of PTEN after UV Exposure in Melanocytes. Molecular Cell 2013; 51(4): 409-422.

Drug used for blood cancers may stop spread of breast cancer cells, Mayo Clinic finds

A drug used to treat blood cancers may also stop the spread of invasive breast cancer, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have discovered. Their study, published online in Breast Cancer Research, found that in the lab and in animals, the drug decitabine turns on a gene coding for protein kinase D1 (PRKD1) that halts the ability of cancer cells to separate from a tumor and spread to distant organs. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Borges S, et al. Pharmacologic reversion of epigenetic silencing of the PRKD1 promoter blocks breast tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Breast Cancer Research 2013, 15:R66.

Canada’s cancer research community to convene in November 2013 at Canadian Cancer Research Conference

This fall, Canada’s cancer research community will come together in Toronto to showcase recent innovations in cancer research and share ideas that will help shape the future of cancer discovery and care. The 2013 Canadian Cancer Research Conference, to be held November 3-6 and hosted by the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance, is Canada’s only conference devoted to the continuum of cancer research from discovery to palliation. It is targeted to professionals who work in cancer research, whether in the lab, the clinic or in policy. This year, special sessions will be held for trainees and new principal investigators. As well, a community forum for the general public will take place on Sunday, November 3. Read more here.

Better Together: Annual Highlights 2012/13 presents recent achievements of Canada’s cancer strategy

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is pleased to present Better Together: Annual Highlights 2012/13, which showcases selected achievements in the Partnership’s recent work with partners throughout the cancer community. As the first year of the Partnership’s second five-year mandate, 2012/13 was our first year delivering against a new strategic plan that will further our coordinated long-term efforts to improve cancer outcomes for Canadians. Read more here.

Brain cancer survival improved following FDA approval of bevacizumab

"There has been a great deal of debate about the effectiveness of bevacizumab in treating patients with glioblastoma," says Derek Johnson, M.D., a neuro-oncologist at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and lead author of a new population-based study. "Our study found that, at the population level, treatment strategies involving bevacizumab prolonged survival in patients with progressive glioblastoma." Read more here.

Study mentioned: Johnson DR, et al. Glioblastoma survival in the United States improved after Food and Drug Administration approval of bevacizumab: A population-based analysis. Cancer. 2013 Jul 18. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23868553

Pazopanib shows better quality-of-life in advanced kidney cancer

Two oral targeted drugs approved for metastatic kidney cancer worked equally well, but one proved superior in tolerability, according to results of a large international clinical trial led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Pazopanib (Votrient) and sunitinib (Sutent), both recently approved as first-line treatments for advanced renal cell cancer, had similar benefits in delaying progression of the disease, but the safety profile and many measures of quality of life favored pazopanib, suggesting a potential shift in standard of care in metastatic kidney cancer. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Motzer RJ, et al. Pazopanib versus Sunitinib in Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med 2013; 369:722-731.

Brushing, flossing could cut risk of HPV infection: study

A new study suggests there could be a link between poor dental health and infection with a key cancer-causing virus. Research published this week found that people who poor oral health, including gum disease and lost teeth, were more likely to be have oral infections of HPV, or human papillomavirus. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Bui TC, et al. Examining the Association between Oral Health and Oral HPV Infection. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2013 Aug 21. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23966202

BIT's 7th Annual World Cancer Congress, 2014

BIT's 7th World Cancer Congress (WCC-2014) will be held at Nanjing, China, May 16-18, 2014. Over the last six years, WCC has been a destination for researchers, specialists, clinicians and entrepreneurs to update milestone breaking research from all cancer research disciplines including anti-cancer medicine development, and to encourage these researchers to interact and forge new collaborations. WCC-2014 is keeping the momentum to enhance the further communication among government organizations, universities, institutes, and enterprises to push forward the development of medicine and biotechnology in China and beyond. Read more here.

Access the conference website here.

Study sees risk of childhood cancer among those with specific birth defects

Children with certain types of major birth defects not caused by chromosome abnormalities are at increased risk for childhood cancer, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from Arizona, Iowa and Utah and found that children born with eye defects, cleft palate, some heart and kidney defects, and a condition in which the head is smaller than normal (microcephaly) were two times more likely to develop cancer before age 15 than children without these birth defects. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Botto LD, et al. Cancer risk in children and adolescents with birth defects: a population-based cohort study. PLoS One. 2013 Jul 17;8(7):e69077. PMID: 23874873

GTx reports results for enobosarm POWER trials for the prevention and treatment of muscle wasting in patients with NSCLC

GTx, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTXI) has announced results of its two Phase 3 enobosarm clinical trials, the POWER trials, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving chemotherapy. The Company announced that the clinical trials failed to meet the overall criteria for the co-primary responder endpoints of lean body mass and physical function as agreed upon with the United States Food and Drug Administration; the responder endpoints showed mixed results (for POWER1 and POWER2, p values at Day 84 for LBM were 0.036 and 0.113, respectively; p values at Day 84 for SCP were 0.315 and 0.289, respectively). Read more here.

A brief look: Cancer genomic medicine at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology®

A few highly provocative abstracts presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology® demonstrate how a shift toward more molecular-targeted therapies is changing the paradigm of cancer medicine. Although these abstracts may not have been the most unique or important molecular studies presented at the meeting, they clearly emphasize the scope and complexity of this rapidly evolving arena. Read more here.

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Ontario Institute of Cancer Research and Cancer Care Ontario Knowledge Translation Network announce the 2013 request for proposals

Funds are available from the Knowledge Translation Research Network (KT‐Net) of the Health Services Research (HSR) Program for projects that address important knowledge translation aspects relevant to the clinical priority areas defined in OICR’s 2010 to 2015 strategic plan (outlined below). Total funding available for the 2013 competition is at least $150,000. It is anticipated that 1 or 2 teams will be funded under this initiative. Read more here.

Expert highlights from the inaugural NCCN guideline for penile cancer

Dr Philippe Spiess, an associate member in the Department of Genitourinary Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center, presents highlights from the inaugural NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for penile cancer. In his article, Dr Spiess focuses on four areas, but primarily on treatment strategies for primary penile tumours and management of regional lymph nodes, while the recommendations regarding general surveillance strategies and guidelines for recurrent and metastatic disease are briefly explored. Read more here.

Article mentioned: Spiess PE. New treatment guidelines for penile cancer. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2013 May;11(5 Suppl):659-62. PMID: 23704237

Cancer-surgery complications rise while death risk drops

Upon analysis of data from 2.5 million cancer patients having undergone major cancer surgery in the U.S. between 1999-2009, researchers have noted that while fewer patients are dying from operations, complications from these surgeries is rising.  According to study co-author Dr. Jesse Sammon, urologist at Henry Ford Hospital, post-surgery complications include blood clots, infections, respiratory failure and pressure ulcers.  Dr. Sammon thus cautions that "just because physicians have been increasingly effective at managing these adverse events once they occur does not obviate the fact that there's still a lot of room for improvement in reducing the actual occurrence of these adverse events in the first place."

To read more about this study, click here

Study mentioned: Sukumar S., et al. National trends in hospital-acquired preventable adverse events after major cancer surgery in the USA. NMJ Open. 2013 Jun 26; 3(6). PMID 23804313

ZELBORAF (vemurafenib) - Risk of progression of certain types of cancer and risk of serious rash

Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada), in collaboration with Health Canada, would like to inform you of important new safety information associated with ZELBORAF regarding the risk of malignancy progression as well as the risk of Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS Syndrome). ZELBORAF is indicated as a monotherapy for the treatment of proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase B-Raf V600 mutation-positive unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Read more here.

Device aims for early detection of cancer cells by identifying their sound

A Toronto-based researcher is working on a potential way of detecting cancer early, even before symptoms occur, by using a custom microscope to detect the sound of cancerous cells in the bloodstream. Dr. Michael Kolios from Ryerson University told CTV's Canada AM that the microscope uses ultrasound technology, but with a "little bit of a twist." By combining ultrasound and laser technology, the laser is fired on drops of a patient's blood to help produce sounds. Read more here.

New MR analysis technique reveals brain tumor response to anti-angiogenesis therapy

A new way of analyzing data acquired in MR imaging appears to be able to identify whether or not tumors are responding to anti-angiogenesis therapy, information that can help physicians determine the most appropriate treatments and discontinue ones that are ineffective. In their report, investigators from the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital, describe how their technique, called vessel architectural imaging, was able to identify changes in brain tumor blood vessels within days of the initiation of anti-angiogenesis therapy. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Emblem KE, et al. Vessel architectural imaging identifies cancer patient responders to anti-angiogenic therapy. Nature Medicine. Published online 18 August 2013.

Dialing back treg cell function boosts the body's cancer-fighting immune activity

By carefully adjusting the function of crucial immune cells, scientists may have developed a completely new type of cancer immunotherapy—harnessing the body's immune system to attack tumors. To accomplish this, they had to thread a needle in immune function, shrinking tumors without triggering unwanted autoimmune responses. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Liu Y, et al. Inhibition of p300 impairs Foxp3+ T regulatory cell function and promotes antitumor immunity. Nature Medicine. Published online 18 August 2013.

Experts call for more support for tumour biomarker tests

Despite advances in tumour biology research, few tumour biomarker tests have been adopted as standard clinical practice. This lack of reliable biomarker tests stems from undervaluation, inconsistent regulatory standards and reimbursement, as well as insufficient investment in research and development, scrutiny of biomarker publications by journals, and evidence of analytical validity and clinical utility wrote USA researchers in a commentary published in the Science Translational Medicine. Read more here.

Article mentioned: Hayes DF, et al. Breaking a vicious cycle. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Jul 31;5(196):196cm6. PMID: 23903752

Quebec looks to Australia as it mulls stricter cigarette packaging rules

A National Assembly committee in Quebec is hearing from prominent speakers as it considers an update to the Quebec Tobacco Act. The Coalition québécoise pour le contrôle du tabac (the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control) has invited former Australian attorney-general Nicola Roxon to speak about the Australian experience. Read more here.

Targeting aggressive prostate cancer

A team of researchers has identified a key mechanism behind aggressive prostate cancer. Published in Nature, the study shows that two long non-coding RNAs (PRNCR1 and PCGEM1) activate androgen receptors, circumventing androgen-deprivation therapy. In their active state, these receptors turn on genes that spur growth and metastasis, making these cancers highly treatment-resistant. The study illustrates how prostate cancer can thrive, even when deprived of hormones, and provides tempting targets for new therapies. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Yang L, et al. lncRNA-dependent mechanisms of androgen-receptor-regulated gene activation programs. Nature. 2013 Aug 14. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23945587