Halaven approved for advanced soft tissue cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Halaven for advanced liposarcoma, a type of soft tissue cancer.  As the first chemotherapy drug shown to improve survival, Halaven was administered to 140 patients with liposarcoma in clinical studies; average survival period was 15.6 months compared to 8.4 months for those who were administered another chemotherapy drug.

To read more about this study, click here.

Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) detailed information for 2012

On October 23, 2015 the Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) published their data on the cancer incidence from all provincial and territorial cancer registries in Canada.

The primary objective of the CCR is to provide a national database of information that can be used to produce standardized and comparable statistics for cancer incidence and survival data for each primary type of cancer. Read more here.

Study finds stool test effective for detecting colon cancer

On January 25, 2016, A new study finds that tests for blood in the stool can consistently detect colon cancer when used on an annual basis, and they are effective even in the second, third and fourth years of screening.

The researchers said these findings suggest that the stool test could be a reasonable screening alternative to colonoscopy -- currently considered the gold standard for colon cancer screening. Read more here.

Patient reported outcomes empower patients to be active partners in their care

Symptoms of a cancer diagnosis are not just physical. Patients often have concerns that affect their health but are seldom talked about with their care teams. The impact of their cancer can also be felt emotionally and mentally, in ways less apparent to physicians. The patient’s perspective is key in such situations.
The Partnership’s Person-Centred Perspective (PCP) program and its Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) Initiative aim to improve the patient experience across the cancer journey, with the goal of all jurisdictions establishing a measurement and reporting cycle for the patient experience by 2017. Read more here.

Rationale for anti-OX40 cancer immunotherapy

In the January 2016 edition of the EJC, authors from the Gustave Roussy Cancer Centre, Villejuif, France present their rationale for anti-OX40 immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer. Lead author, Sandrine Aspelaugh, explains why blocking the OX40 molecule could become an important new approach in immunotherapy in the EJC’s January podcast. Read more here.

Personal care plans tied to better follow-up in breast cancer survivors

On January 15, 2016 a new study finds that personalized care plans may lead to better health outcomes for low-income breast cancer survivors.

Follow-up care for cancer survivors includes managing the long-term side effects of treatment and monitoring for tumor recurrence, among other things. An individualized care plan can help breast cancer survivors follow those recommendations, the researchers said. Read more here.

FDA approves alectinib for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer

On December 11, 2015 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved alectinib (Alecensa®) for some patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations in the ALK gene.

The agency granted an accelerated approval for alectinib for patients whose cancer is no longer responding to the ALK-targeted agent crizotinib (Xalkori®) or who are unable to tolerate further treatment with crizotinib because of side effects. Read more here.

Nerve damage from chemotherapy may affect cancer survivors for years

A new study conducted at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, indicates that peripheral neuropathy, a form of nerve damage, can persist in patients for years after chemotherapy treatment.  In the Oregon study conducted on 463 female cancer survivors, 45% had "symptoms of nerve damage, such as loss of feeling in their hands and feet."  This can cause an increased risk of falls.

Click here to read more about this study, presented on January 16, 2016 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in San Francisco.

Palliative care in critical condition: Canadian Cancer Society

The Canadian Cancer Society released a report on Tuesday January 12th 2016 on the state of care across the country. In its findings, the society said critically ill patients are falling through the cracks of the health care system and improvements are needed to address the patchwork of service that exists. In the absence of national standards, individual jurisdictions are left to develop their own policies, programs and guidelines that result in inconsistent and inadequate palliative care, the report said.

Read more here.

The full report is available from the Canadian Cancer Society website.

Aspirin may decrease death from prostate cancer

A study conduced at the Harvard Medical School in Boston suggests that regular aspirin intake may lower the risk of dying from prostate cancer.  According to lead researcher Dr. Christopher Allard, urologic oncology fellow at Harvard, it is too early to recommend aspirin as a prevention method for lethal prostate cancer, however due to its cardiovascular effects, "regular aspirin intake after prostate cancer diagnosis decreased the risk of prostate cancer death by almost 40%."

Click here to read more about this study, findings of which were presented at the January 4th meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Happy Holidays!

Dear the Grey Horizon Blog Readers:

Apologies for not having been able to post as regularly as in the past, due to the service transition this past 7 months. Thank you for staying with us for over 3 years. We will strive to come back to regular postings starting the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

Time is of the essence in breast cancer: 'Don't delay'

JAMA Oncology. Published online December 10, 2015. Bleicher et al,abstract; Chavez-MacGregor et al, abstract; Editorial

The publications revealed that patients whose treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy was initiated longer than 91 days following surgery experienced the worst overall survival (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.15 - 1.57). In a subgroup analysis, the worst outcomes were seen for patients with TNBC (HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.17 - 2.00). Similar observations were reported for breast cancer–specific survival.

Annual blood test may help prevent deaths from ovarian cancer

A British clinical trial conducted at University College London indicates that an annual blood test screening postmenopausal women for ovarian cancer, could reduce death rates by as much as 20%.  According to lead researcher Dr. Ian Jacobs, ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis, as it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage.  While further research pertaining to this new blood test screening mechanism is required, Dr. Jacobs states that "this is the first time that there has been evidence of a reduction in deaths from ovarian cancer through early detection by screening."

To read more about this study, click here.

Could a scan someday replace lymph node biopsy?

Research being conducted at the Vein Center, University Hospital in Essen, Germany indicates that an audio-visual imaging technique may be a viable alternative to lymph node biopsy for "detecting early signs that melanoma skin cancer has spread."  According to lead study author Dr. Ingo Stoeffels, the current lymph node biopsy via a radioactive tracer indicates that "in most cases, tis approach uncovers no sign of cancer spread while exposing patients to unnecessary risks."

To read more about this study, click here.

Alternative endings: lure of the unproven can prove fatal to cancer patients

Research undertaken at the University of Alberta, and never before publicly reported, indicates that at least 1 in every 100 breast cancer patients reject standard treatment, opting for more alternative therapies.  According to study author Dr. Kurian Joseph, radiation oncologist at the University of Alberta, rejection of "standard care doubles (the) likelihood of death as a result."

To read more about this study, click here 

European Medicines Agency’s review concludes evidence does not support that HPV vaccines cause complex regional pain syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

On 5 November 2015, the European Medicines Agency announced that its Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has completed a detailed scientific review of the evidence surrounding reports of two syndromes, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in young women given human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. These vaccines are given to protect them from cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers and pre-cancerous conditions. This review concluded that the evidence does not support a causal link between the vaccines (Cervarix, Gardasil/Silgard and Gardasil-9) and development of CRPS or POTS. Therefore, there is no reason to change the way the vaccines are used or amend the current product information. Read more here.

Patient-derived tumour xenograft models encyclopedia

Researchers from the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research established 1,075 patient-derived tumour xenograft models (PDXs) with a diverse set of driver mutations. With these PDXs, they performed in vivo compound screens to assess the population responses to 62 treatments across six indications. They demonstrated both the reproducibility and the clinical translatability of this approach by identifying associations between a genotype and drug response, and established mechanisms of resistance. Read more here.

Prostate cancer treatment varies widely in Canada

Low-risk prostate cancer patients in Canada may be opting for treatment with major life-changing side-effects without fully understanding other options, including the choice to forego treatment unless the disease progresses, a new report reveals.
The Prostate Cancer Control in Canada: A System Performance Spotlight Report, produced by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, shows more could be done to help patients understand their disease, treatment options and side effects and to provide patient-centred care.Read more here.

New treatment for melanoma gets FDA approval

A genetically engineered cold sore virus has recently been approved by the FDA has a new treatment for melanoma.  According to Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, this new therapy, known as Imlygic, showed promising results in a study of 436 patients; those injected with Imlygic had a 16% decrease in tumor size compared to those receiving other forms of treatment.

To read more about this study, click here.

IVF users at higher risk of ovarian cancer

A new study from University College in London has stated that women using in vitro fertilization are 33% more likely to develop ovarian cancer.  According to Alastair Sutcliffe of the Institute of Child Health, "compared to other women...of the same age range and time frame...the rates of breast and uterine cancer were no different...as a whole.  However, there was an increased risk of ovarian cancer."  While the London study of more than 250,000 women indicated that the cancer risk was relatively small (15 cases per 10,000 patients), it does lend to further discussions about this procedure.

To read more about this study, click here

Vitamin D and calcium may not prevent colon cancer

A new clinical trial conducted at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine in New Hampshire, and recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that "neither calcium nor vitamin D, taken alone or together after precancerous colon polyps were removed significantly reduced the risk of new polyps developing." While study co-author Elizabeth Barry, assistant professor of epidemiology and community family medicine at Dartmouth, states that this particular trial studied low doses of calcium and vitamin D taken over a period of 3-5 years, she does caution against the thought that taking calcium or vitamin D will automatically reduce one's risk of developing colon cancer.

To read more about this study, click here 

Local researcher explores how breast cancer cells spread to bone

Carrie Shemanko, an associate professor of integrative cell biology in the Faculty of Science, is conducting extensive research on what happens when breast cancer spreads to the bone. The research shows that certain signaling pathways for normal breast development are likely misused by cancer cells, giving them certain advantages that normal cells keep under tight regulation.

More from UToday.

AACR releases 2015 cancer progress report: Transforming lives through precision medicine

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has released its fifth Cancer Progress Report, a comprehensive summary of the current status of cancer research and treatment. Read more here.

European Medicines Agency recommends granting marketing authorisation for cinacalcet mylan

On 24 September 2015, the European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product cinacalcet (Cinacalcet Mylan), intended for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism and reduction of hypercalcaemia in patients with parathyroid carcinoma. Read more here

Height may be linked to increased cancer risk

A new study of 5 million Swedish men and women purports a link between cancer risk and height.  According to Susan Gapstur of the American Cancer Society, "height may be a reflection of early age exposures...since adult height is a reflection of genetics and what you are exposed to while yo are growing up."  However, Gapstur cautioned that height alone does not indicate a definite risk of developing cancer; there are a number of factors at play.

To read more about this study, click here.

Signs of brain tumor may show in blood years before diagnosis

A new study indicates that changes in immune function may occur in brain tumors for as long as 5 years before the cancer is detected.  Following an analysis of blood samples collected over 40 years in Norway, researchers determined that "cytokines are activated during an allergy-related immune response...[and] have been linked to reduced risk for glioma [brain tumors]."

To read more about this study, click here.  

Could a laser skin test someday replace biopsy to spot melanoma?

Researchers at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom have developed a new "non-invasive test that can spot melanoma skin cancer without a biopsy."  According to lead researcher Aneta Stefanovska, the test was conducted via a laser that was able to detect slight variations in blood flow in a lesion, thus differentiating melanoma from a non-cancerous mole.  While further research is needed, melanoma experts are optimistic that this new skin test will reduce the need for invasive biopsies.

To read more about this study, click here.

Hairy cell leukaemia: ESMO clinical practice guidelines

Hairy cell leukaemia accounts for 2% of adult leukaemia, and occurs more often in men than in women. The new ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline provides up-to-date information on the management of hairy cell leukaemia, including recommendations for diagnosis and staging, as well as detailed treatment sections referring to the latest studies and reviews. Read more here.

New trial alert: Screening of Alberta asbestos exposed workers for lung cancer and Mesothelioma

A recent trial, sponsored by the University of Calgary is looking at a combined lung cancer and mesothelioma screening program for 200 asbestos-exposed workers in Alberta.  Presently in the recruiting phase, inclusion criteria for the trial includes an age range of 50-80 years, exposure to asbestos for a minimum of one year and at least 10 years prior to entry in the study, while exclusion factors pertain to individuals with severe heart or lung disease, among other factors.

To read more about this trial, listed on clinical trials.gov, click here.

Yo-yo dieting won't raise cancer risk

A new study conducted by the American Cancer Society indicates that weight cycling, perhaps more commonly known as yo-yo dieting, featuring "repeated episodes of weight loss followed by weight gain", does not cause an increased risk of cancer.  According to Victoria Stevens, strategic director of laboratory services at the American Cancer Society, this study is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive regarding this issue.

Click here to read more.