New report draws attention to urgent need to tackle disparities in cancer care worldwide

A proposal for a new financing model to tackle the major disparities that exist in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of cancer in countries worldwide has been presented at the 2013 European Cancer Congress (ECCO 2013). While much progress has been made against cancer over the last century, a new report brings together evidence that not every patient benefits from it, nor even has the opportunity to benefit. The economics of cancer are daunting and the current model of financing is broken, said Professor Peter Boyle, President of the International Prevention Research Institute (Lyon, France) and Director of the Institute of Global Public Health of the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, United Kingdom and Lyon, France) in a presentation entitled 'The State of Oncology'. Read more here.

Read the ESMO press release here.

‘We won’t have to do those dinosaur trials.’ How new cancer drugs can skip randomized tests

Research that fine-tune treatments to the genetic profile of patients, is fuelling a rethink over how new cancer drugs are tested. The promise: medicines that, in theory at least, can win approval more easily and cheaply. That also raises ethical questions. Read more here.

Focus should shift to bowel-cancer screening from breast and prostate programs, experts say

European governments should divert funds to routine bowel cancer tests from less effective breast and prostate screening programs, scientists said on Saturday, presenting what they called “irrefutable” evidence that bowel screening saves lives. Read more here.

European Medicines Agency recommends a variation to the terms of the marketing authorisation for everolimus

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 everolimus (Votubia). Everolimus (Votubia) is indicated for the treatment of patients aged 3 years and older with subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) who require therapeutic intervention but are not amenable to surgery. Read more here.

European Medicines Agency recommends to extend the indications for ipilimumab

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 ipilimumab (Yervoy). The CHMP adopted a change to the indication, extending the use of the medicine to previously untreated patients. The change adopted is as follows: “YERVOY is indicated for the treatment of advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma in adults." Read more here.

RAS mutations predict a lack of response in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who receive panitumumab–FOLFOX4

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and KRAS mutations in exon 2 do not benefit from anti-EGFR therapy. However, other activating RAS mutations may predict poorer outcome with anti-EGFR therapy. In a prospectively planned retrospective biomarker analysis from the PRIME study, reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dr Jean-Yves Douillard of Institut René Gauducheau, who is currently a Chair of the ESMO Educational Committee, and colleagues, the addition of panitumumab to FOLFOX4 regimen was associated with improved progression-free survival and overall survival in patients without RAS mutations. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Douillard JY, et al. Panitumumab-FOLFOX4 treatment and RAS mutations in colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2013 Sep 12;369(11):1023-34. PMID: 24024839

Fewer weeks of hormone therapy before radiation reduces side effects in intermediate risk PCa

A shorter course of androgen suppression therapy prior to radiation therapy, when compared to a longer course of androgen suppression therapy, yields favorable outcomes and fewer adverse effects for intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients, according to research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 55th Annual Meeting. The study confirmed a disease-specific-survival rate of 95 percent when patients received fewer weeks of neoadjuvant total androgen suppression. Read more here.

Avoiding specific region of brain during whole-brain radiotherapy prevents memory loss

Limiting the amount of radiation absorbed in the hippocampal portion of the brain during whole-brain radiotherapy for brain metastases preserves memory function in patients for up to six months after treatment, according to research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. Read more here.

Sulfasalazine does not reduce diarrhea for patients receiving pelvic radiation therapy

Patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) for cancers in the pelvic region can experience diarrhea, a negative side effect of radiation treatment. Sulfasalazine, an oral tablet used to treat inflammation of the bowels, had been shown in a past trial of 31 patients to decrease diarrhea during pelvic RT. Sulfasalazine does not reduce diarrhea, according to research presented at the American Society of Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. The study also determined that the medication may be associated with a higher risk of diarrhea than placebo. Read more here.

Proton therapy is a cost-effective treatment for pediatric brain tumor patients

Proton therapy, an external beam radiotherapy in which protons deliver precise radiation doses to a tumor and spare healthy organs and tissues, is cost-effective in treating medulloblastomas, fast-growing brain tumors that mainly affect children, when compared to standard photon radiation therapy, according to research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. Read more here.

Adult cancer patients younger than 50 with limited brain mets have improved OS after SRS alone

When treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), that is not combined with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), adult brain cancer patients who were 50 years old and younger were found to have improved survival, according to research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. Younger patients (under 50 years old) were also found to be at no greater risk of new brain metastases developing despite omission of WBRT. Read more here.

USC scientists ID protein that regulates cellular trafficking, potential for anti-cancer therapy

Molecular microbiologists at the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered intricate regulatory mechanisms within the cell that could lead to novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Their findings, which have long-standing significance in the basic understanding of cell biology, appear in the journal Nature Cell Biology. Read more here.

Study mentioned: He S, et al. PtdIns(3)P-bound UVRAG coordinates Golgi-ER retrograde and Atg9 transport by differential interactions with the ER tether and the beclin 1 complex. Nat Cell Biol. 2013 Sep 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24056303

Mayo Clinic researchers identify biomarker for smoker's lung cancer

Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that a specific protein pair may be a successful prognostic biomarker for identifying smoking-related lung cancers. The protein — ASCL1 — is associated with increased expression of the RET oncogene, a particular cancer-causing gene called RET. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Kosari F, et al. ASCL1 and RET expression defines a clinically relevant subgroup of lung adenocarcinoma characterized by neuroendocrine differentiation. Oncogene. 2013 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24037524

Functional disability high among newly diagnosed older breast cancer patients

Many older women with newly diagnosed breast cancer have difficulty accomplishing daily tasks, and African-Americans seem to be disproportionately affected. Those are the findings of a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that many breast cancer patients could benefit from receiving therapy to improve their physical function. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Owusu C, et al. Racial disparities in functional disability among older women with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic breast cancer. Cancer. Article first published online: 23 SEP 2013.

Research looks at effects of childhood cancer on parents' relationship

The University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing's Nancy Moules has received funding from the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta for her study on the ways in which a child’s cancer experience, both during and after treatment, may affect the parents’ relationship. The aim is to shed light on how health-care professionals may better serve children with cancer by supporting the child’s parents and their relationship. Read more here.

Finding fertility after childhood cancer

For children with cancer, chemotherapy and radiation treatments are a double-edged sword. Many who live through cancer struggle to conceive once they reach adulthood. Clinical infertility, the failure to conceive after a year of trying, is particularly common among adults who received pelvic radiation and a class of chemotherapy drugs called alkylating agents. Read more here.

American Association for Cancer Research cancer progress report 2013: Continued advances made against cancer, sustained research funding needed

Significant progress has been made against cancer due to the dedicated work of researchers throughout the biomedical research enterprise, according to the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR) Cancer Progress Report 2013, released last week. Cancer research efforts have spurred the translation of scientific discoveries into new and better ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat cancer. These advances are contributing to the rise in the number of people who are surviving longer and living fuller lives after their cancer diagnoses. Read more here.

Gene test shows promise for identifying aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers from Columbia University have identified 3 genes they used to predict whether prostate cancer in men with low-risk disease would stay low-risk, or become more of a threat. The researchers analyzed prostate biopsy specimens from 43 men who were followed for at least 10 years through active surveillance (with no immediate treatment). All the men had been diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, but in 14 of them the cancer eventually started to grow or become more aggressive. All 14 were correctly identified by the gene test. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Irshad S, et al. A molecular signature predictive of indolent prostate cancer. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Sep 11;5(202):202ra122. PMID: 24027026

European Medicines Agency recommends granting a marketing authorisation for radium-223 chloride

The European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product radium-223 chloride (Xofigo), 1000 kBq/mL, solution for injection, intended for the treatment of adults with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastases. Read more here.

European Medicines Agency recommends granting a marketing authorisation for trastuzumab emtansine

The European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), 100 mg and 160 mg, powder for concentrate for solution for infusion intended for the treatment of adult patients with HER2-positive, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who previously received trastuzumab and a taxane, separately or in combination. Read more here.

Clinical tool accurately classifies benign and malignant nodules on lung scans of smokers

A Terry Fox Research Institute-led study has developed a new clinical risk calculator software that accurately classifies, nine out of ten times, which nodules are benign and malignant on an initial lung computed tomography scan among individuals at high risk for lung cancer. The findings are expected to have immediate clinical impact worldwide among health professionals who currently diagnose and treat individuals at risk for or who are diagnosed with lung cancer, and provide new evidence for developing and improving lung-cancer screening programs. Read more here.

New models of drug-resistant breast cancer hint at better treatments

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that human breast tumors transplanted into mice are excellent models of metastatic cancer and could be valuable tools in the search for better treatments. According to new research, these transplanted tumors maintain the genetic errors that caused the original cancer, even though they are growing in mice. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Li S, et al. Endocrine-Therapy-Resistant ESR1 Variants Revealed by Genomic Characterization of Breast-Cancer-Derived Xenografts. Cell Reports. Published online 19 September 2013.

Sanford-Burnham researchers identify new target for melanoma treatment

Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) today announced the discovery that a gene encoding an enzyme, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1), plays an essential role in the development and progression of melanoma. The finding offers a new approach to treating this life-threatening disease. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Scortegagna M, et al. Genetic inactivation or pharmacological inhibition of Pdk1 delays development and inhibits metastasis of BrafV600E::Pten-/- melanoma. Oncogene. 2013 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24037523

Researchers identify mechanisms that oversee the development of a pro-tumor network

Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute have uncovered a new pathway by which cancer cells, such as in breast cancer, stimulate the expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, a blood cell population known to interfere with the body’s anti-tumor response. The findings, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, shed new light on the pathological events that fuel tumor growth and could lead to the development of new therapies to hinder it. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Waight JD, et al. Myeloid-derived suppressor cell development is regulated by a STAT/IRF-8 axis. J Clin Invest. Published online September 16, 2013.

Study in mice finds decreased glucose metabolism increases immune potential

Regulating glucose metabolism in immune cells may extend and enhance their ability to fight cancer and infection, according to a new mouse model study by NCI investigators. Investigating the mechanism of glucose metabolism in CD8+ T cells, whose role is to destroy virally infected cells or tumor cells, the scientists found that varying levels of glucose acted as a metabolic regulator in whether or not the cells became more specialized. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Sukumar M, et al. Inhibiting glycolytic metabolism enhances CD8+ T cell memory and antitumor function. J Clin Invest. Published online September 16, 2013.

New approach subtypes cancers by shared genetic effects

Cancer tumors almost never share the exact same genetic mutations, a fact that has confounded scientific efforts to better categorize cancer types and develop more targeted, effective treatments. In a recently published paper, researchers at the University of California, San Diego propose a new approach called network-based stratification, which identifies cancer subtypes not by the singular mutations of individual patients, but by how those mutations affect shared genetic networks or systems. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Hofree M, et al. Network-based stratification of tumor mutations. Nat Methods. 2013 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24037242

Young Adult Cancer Canada launches new website

This week, Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC) launched a new website, aimed at providing greater awareness regarding cancer survivor stories, news, and programs offered by this organization.  With a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, complete with a monthly e-newsletter, Up to Here, the YACC continues its mission of "building a community of young adults diagnosed with cancer that provides information, support, skills, and opportunity." 

To view the new YACC website, click here.

Obese cancer patients are being undosed, untreated

Video: Obese people are less likely to survive cancer, and one reason may be a surprising inequality: The overweight are undertreated in chemo. Now there's a push to "right-size" cancer care. Watch video here.

Guideline mentioned: Griggs J. et al. Appropriate Chemotherapy Dosing for Obese Adult Patients With Cancer: ASCO Practice Guideline. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 30, Issue 13 (May), 2012: 1553-1561.

Women with breast cancer may overestimate secondary risks in other breast

Young women with breast cancer often overestimate both their chance of developing cancer in the other breast and how much removal of that breast is likely to protect them, a new U.S. study suggests.

In a survey of women diagnosed with cancer in one breast between ages 26 and 40 who chose to have a double mastectomy, almost all said a desire to extend their life was a very important part of the decision. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Rosenberg S. et al. Perceptions, Knowledge, and Satisfaction With Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Among Young Women With Breast Cancer: A Cross-sectional Survey. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2013 Sep;159(6):373-381. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-159-6-201309170-00003.

Researchers look for ways to reduce side-effects of cancer therapy on kids

A University of Calgary researcher is part of a national project trying to determine if genetic variations make some children more susceptible to the harmful side-effects of medications including Cisplatin. About half of all adverse reactions are thought to be caused by genetic differences. “Pinpointing a genetic basis for adverse reactions to some of these medications would equip physicians with important information,” says Dr. David Johnson, the pediatrician leading the Calgary arm of the project. “Screening tests could one day tell us which children are more likely to experience harmful side-effects, and doctors could then adjust dosages or try different medications or treatment,” he says. Read more here.