Scientists in the USA were asked in 2006 to give priority treatment to glioblastoma brain tumours and this week the prestigious Nature magazine carried information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network about the identification of key genetic characteristics which could lead to more beneficial targeted therapies. Another group of US scientists also released information in September about the gene sequencing of glioblastomas.

The announcement of the first results of the TCGA’s large scale comprehensive study of glioblastoma brain tumours and this other research could prove vital in dealing with a cancer that has proved very challenging, according to Denis Strangman, Chair of the International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA).

In 2008 approximately 200,000 people worldwide will develop this type of tumour and many of these people or those diagnosed earlier, will die within twelve months of diagnosis. The most lethal type are called glioblastomas.

Brain tumours can strike anyone, US Senator Ted Kennedy and international golfer Seve Ballesteros, being two recent well-known examples.

Denis lost his wife in 2001 to a glioblastoma brain tumour and has been a brain tumour advocate since that time.

The last major international breakthrough came in 2000 when researchers identified the usefulness of the chemotherapy temozolomide, when administered conjointly with radiation therapy and for a period afterwards. That was hailed as the first breakthrough in thirty years.

In order to raise awareness about the nature of this disease the International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA) has organised the Walk Around the World for Brain Tumours and the International Brain Tumour Awareness Week, which takes place during 26 October to 1 November.

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ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) today presented, for the first time, results of studies on its investigational, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor - AP24534 - showing anti-tumor activity in preclinical cancer models. These data were released at the EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) symposium on “Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics” held in Geneva, Switzerland this week.

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UroToday.com - In this article, Dr. Larsson and her colleagues evaluated the role of dairy intake and the formation of bladder cancer.

Intakes of various foods and nutrients could influence the risk of bladder cancer, because most metabolites are excreted through the urinary bladder. With regard to dietary factors, consumption of milk and other dairy foods could potentially reduce the risk of bladder cancer. This study aimed to examine the association between the intake of cultured milk and other dairy foods and the incidence of bladder cancer in a prospective, population-based cohort. 82,002 Swedish women and men who were cancer-free and who completed a 96-item food-frequency questionnaire in 1997 were evaluated. Incident cases of bladder cancer were identified in the Swedish cancer registries. 485 participants were diagnosed with bladder cancer during a mean follow-up of 9.4 years. Total dairy intake was not significantly associated with risk of bladder cancer, however, a statistically significant inverse association was observed for the intake of cultured milk (sour milk and yogurt). The intake of milk or cheese was not associated with bladder cancer risk.

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A gene has been found activated in 70% of prostate cancer tumors, the same gene that has been discovered activated in a majority of breast cancer cases, report scientists at the George Washington University Medical Center led by Dr. Patricia Berg, who discovered and cloned the gene, and Dr. Arnold Schwartz. Berg is Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and directs a laboratory at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and Schwartz is Professor of Pathology and practicing clinician at GWUMC.

In the January, 2009 print issue of Modern Pathology, a journal of the Nature Publishing Group, the team of researchers led by Berg and Schwartz will report that “Significant BP1 immunoreactivity was identified in approximately 70% of prostatic adenocarcinomas, whether the analysis was performed on tissue sections (50 cases) or tissue microarray platforms (123 cases)”. The findings compare to “less than 5%” BP1 activity in normal cells. The researchers conclude that “These findings suggest that BP1 is an important upstream factor in the carcinogenic pathway of prostate cancer and that the expression of BP1 may reflect or directly contribute to tumor progression and/or invasion.”

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Viruses — long regarded solely as disease agents — now are being used in therapies for cancer. Concerns over the safety of these so-called oncolytic viruses stem from their potential to damage healthy tissues. Now Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a way of controlling the viruses behind potential cancer therapeutics. They are engineering the virus’s genetic sequence, using microRNAs to restrict them to specific tissues. The microRNAs destabilize the virus’s genome, making it impossible for the virus to run amok. The discovery is reported in the current issue of Nature Medicine.

“Our findings demonstrate a new tool for molecular medicine that should also help allay concern over the use of viruses as a therapeutic delivery system,” says Stephen Russell, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo physician-scientist and lead author of the study.

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GPC Biotech AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: GPC, NASDAQ: GPCB) today reported that pre-clinical data on RGB-286638, the Company’s multi-targeted protein kinase inhibitor, were presented at the 20th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Geneva, Switzerland in a poster entitled, “RGB-286638 is a novel multi-targeted protein kinase inhibitor with activity in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) models,” (Abstract #578). The data presented demonstrate that the RGB-286638 small molecule has potent activity against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in in vivo models that are resistant to imatinib (Gleevec®) and to dasatinib (Sprycel®), the current standards of care for treating this form of cancer. Additionally, RGB-286638 has been shown in vitro to be active against a number of families of protein kinases that are important for the proliferation of cancer cells. RGB-286638 is expected to enter Phase 1 clinical testing this year.

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Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSS) announced a presentation of updated interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial demonstrating that the Company’s lead product candidate, voreloxin, shows promising efficacy and safety as a single agent in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer remains an unmet medical need with high recurrence rates, and the majority of patients ultimately become resistant to platinum-based therapies. These data show encouraging durable anti-tumor activity in the 48 mg/m2 cohort, as measured by partial and complete responses, and preliminary progression-free survival (PFS). Voreloxin has been generally well tolerated at dose levels of 48 mg/m2 and 60 mg/m2.

“Voreloxin continues to demonstrate promising clinical activity in a vastly underserved patient population,” said William McGuire, M.D., Medical Director of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Cancer Institute at Franklin Square and principal investigator for the Phase 2 clinical trial. “I am encouraged by the preliminary data from the 48 mg/m2 cohort. When compared to other commercially available drugs that are used in the platinum-resistant setting, voreloxin has a similar response rate and a reasonable toxicity profile.”

“The preliminary data from the 60 mg/m2 cohort suggests activity similar to that of the 48 mg/m2 cohort. This is expected since the weekly dose intensity is approximately the same. We are encouraged by the pace of enrollment in the 75 mg/m2 cohort and anticipate initial response and safety data from this cohort in the spring of next year,” said Dr. Mary Bolton, Vice President, Clinical Development at Sunesis.

The ongoing Phase 2 trial is an open-label, multi-center study of voreloxin as a single agent in recurrent ovarian cancer patients who have platinum-resistant disease, defined as progression within six months of completing platinum-based chemotherapy or progression while on platinum-based therapy. To date, over 120 patients have enrolled in the trial, with enrollment completed in the 48 mg/m2 cohort dosed every three weeks and the 60 mg/m2 cohort dosed every four weeks. In the 48 mg/m2 cohort, of the 65 women evaluable for best response using GOG-RECIST criteria, two patients had a complete response, five patients had partial responses and 46 patients achieved stable disease. Thirty patients (46%) achieved disease control, defined as stable disease for 90 days or more or a complete or partial response. The preliminary median PFS was 82 days, or 11.7 weeks, at the 48 mg/m2 dose. Six patients remain on study in this dose cohort.

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The number of prostate cancer cases is increasing rapidly. Fortunately not all these tumours need to be operated - some are slow growing or indolent.

The question remains: how do we reliably establish which tumour is aggressive and which is not?

The answer may well be given by the PCA3 (Prostate Cancer Gene 3) test, a breakthrough in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The genetic test was developed in the laboratory of the Radboud University in Nijmegen (NL) by a team headed by Professor Jack Schalken.

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Van Andel Institute (VAI) researchers have found that when chromosomes “stick” together during the cell division process, an outcome known as somatic chromosome pairing, the result in two types of kidney cancer is disruption of a gene critical for cellular response to changes in oxygen levels. Somatic chromosome pairing may be present in other tumor types as well.

“We found that somatic chromosome pairing affects how genes are expressed in cells just like so many other factors that cause cancer by affecting gene expression,” said VAI Scientific Investigator Kyle Furge, Ph.D., whose laboratory published the findings. “This suggests that researchers should not only look at abnormalities in the number and structure of chromosomes in relation to cancer, but the spatial dynamics of chromosomes as well. It’s something new to consider when finding the molecular causes of cancer and looking for drug targets.”

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According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cancer killer in the country, with over 37,000 new cases expected and more than 34,000 deaths by year’s end. In New Jersey alone, an estimated 1,000 deaths are expected this year due to the disease. The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is making experts available to discuss the risks and treatment and prevention options surrounding pancreatic cancer during this National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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