The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has made presentations from its 2008 Scientific Retreat available online. The PCF’s annual retreat provides a forum to review advances in prostate cancer research aimed at reducing death and suffering from this prevalent men’s disease. The three-day event was held in October at Incline Village, Nevada, and was attended by 293 of the world’s leading physicians and scientists engaged in prostate cancer research.
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Help the Hospices, the leading charity supporting hospice care throughout the UK, welcomes yeasterday’s (Wednesday 26 November) publication of the first ever National Audit Office report on care at the end of life, the most in-depth study of its kind to look at this issue.

The report follows the publication of the government’s first ever End of Life Care Strategy for England, earlier this year.

The report calls on the government and the NHS to address a number of challenges in the delivery of end of life care, including:

- Tackling the wide variation in the level of primary care trust (PCT) spending on end of life care.

- Developing three-year funding agreements with independent charitable hospices. The report found that 70% of hospices have only one-year funding agreements with their PCTs.

- Improving the skill and competence in end of life and palliative care for all staff working in health and social care services.
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Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB: PVCT), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the first fifty percent (40 of 80) of melanoma subjects have been treated in its Phase 2 clinical trial of PV-10. Evaluation of new subjects continues at the trial’s active centers in Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, as well as at M.D. Anderson, St. Luke’s and the California Pacific Medical Center in the United States. The 40th subject was treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia.

“Enrollment of the fortieth subject represents another significant milestone for Provectus Pharmaceuticals. With fifty percent of the subjects in the Phase 2 melanoma clinical trial already treated, we can continue to gather the data necessary to explore regulatory approval,” said Craig Dees, Ph.D., CEO of Provectus. “With the recent addition of several more centers to the study we expect enrollment of the second half of subjects to continue at an accelerated pace.”

Dees added, “As noted by Professor John Thompson, MD during his presentation at the “Perspectives in Melanoma XII” conference in The Hague, initial safety results from our expanded Phase 2 clinical trial of PV-10 for metastatic melanoma are also consistent with the Phase 1 safety profile. With the opportunity to treat lesions more than once in the Phase 2 study, we expect to improve upon the exceptional response noted in Phase 1. As we gather the results of the Phase 2 findings from these 40 subjects, our clinical trials team and respective regulatory authorities will consult to evaluate the potential for accelerated approval.”
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Two breast cancer clinical trials led by Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center researchers are among 13 selected by a national panel as having the greatest potential to improve treatment and survival.

The Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups (CCCG) recently convened a panel of breast cancer experts who included clinical trials led by Kathy Miller, M.D., and Victoria Champion, R.N., D.N.S., among the 13 promising phase III breast cancer research studies.

The 13 studies were selected from more than 515 active U.S. phase III trials. The IU Simon Cancer Center and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center were the only cancer centers in the nation to have two studies selected.

“We are pleased these two studies have been recognized,” said IU Simon Cancer Center Director Stephen D. Williams, M.D., the HH Gregg Professor of Oncology and associate dean for research at the Indiana University School of Medicine. “At any given time, we have more than 100 clinical studies underway that hold promise for patients at the IU Simon Cancer Center.”

Dr. Miller is the principal investigator of “A Double-Blind Phase III Trial of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide Followed by Paclitaxel with Bevacizumab or Placebo in Patients with Lymph Node Positive and High Risk Lymph Node Negative Breast Cancer” and Dr. Champion leads “Quality of Life in Younger Breast Cancer Survivors.” (See below for specific information on each study.)

The CCCG’s Scientific Leadership Council (SLC) in Breast Cancer outlined its consensus - “Research Priorities in Breast Cancer: Recommendations of the Scientific Leadership Council in Breast Cancer of the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups” - at a meeting of physicians, researchers, patient advocates, government and industry representatives in Dallas Sept. 12-13, and urged physicians to enroll as many of their eligible patients into the trials as possible.
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Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), and Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGNX) announced today that a phase 3 clinical study investigating RELISTOR® (methylnaltrexone bromide) subcutaneous injection to treat opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with chronic, non-cancer pain achieved statistical significance for the primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints. Adverse events observed in this study were similar to those seen in prior studies of subcutaneous RELISTOR.

The positive outcome reported today was from the double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled portion of a phase 3 clinical study.

“Many patients who take prescription opioids to help relieve their non-cancer pain experience opioid-induced constipation, which can disrupt their lives,” says Gary L. Stiles, M.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. “The results of this study suggest that RELISTOR has the potential to help decrease the constipating effects of opioids for this patient population.”

Wyeth and Progenics plan to meet with global regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to review these data and intend to present results from both the double-blind and open-label phases of the study at an upcoming scientific meeting.

“This phase 3 clinical study of RELISTOR subcutaneous injection showed statistically significant improvements in the occurrence of bowel movements in patients with opioid-induced constipation who have chronic, non-cancer pain,” says Paul J. Maddon, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Chief Science Officer and Founder of Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Study Background

In the double-blind phase of this study, in which RELISTOR or placebo were administered subcutaneously for four weeks, the endpoints included the proportion of RELISTOR injections resulting in bowel movements within four hours and the evaluation of the number of bowel movements per week. This study was conducted at 80 centers in North America, and enrolled 469 patients with an established history of OIC and chronic pain, such as back pain, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, and osteoarthritis, among other types of non-cancer pain. The study consisted of an initial four-week, double-blind phase followed by an eight-week, open-label phase. The open-label portion of the study has recently been completed and an analysis is pending.  Read the rest of this entry »

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended erlotinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, as an alternative to docetaxel as a second-line treatment option for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) provided the manufacturer (Roche) supplies erlotinib at a discounted and equivalent price to docetaxel. A Special Report in The Lancet Oncology published early Online reports on the evidence considered during this final approval process.
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A drug that is activated by light can be a quick, simple, and cheap treatment for tens of thousands of patients with skin cancer in Sweden alone. Researcher Leif Eriksson’s team at rebro University in Sweden has now received about SEK 4 million from government research financiers, the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova, to further develop and commercialize the method.

The new drug that the rebro researchers have developed is based on the use of photo-dynamic therapy in cancer treatment. In short, this is a drug that after reorganization in the cell is activated by light, which in turn leads to chemical reactions that effectively kills cancer cells.

With this method, a majority of the some 30,000 new cases of skin cancer discovered each year in Sweden alone could be treated quickly, simply, and cost effectively. This is also true for pre-stages of skin cancer, so-called actinic keratosis.
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A report by The Audit Office informs that most people in the United Kingdom are dying in hospital - even though the majority would prefer to die at home.

The Audit Office explains that of the half-a-million people who die each year in England, over 66% are over the age of 75. Most deaths take place in an acute hospital, usually after a period of chronic illness, such as cancer, stroke, heart disease, neurological disease, dementia or heart disease.

Whether a patient gets his/her wish - dying at home - depends greatly on age, geographical location and most significantly, his/her condition, the report states.

The aim of ‘end of life care’ is to support the patient who is approaching the end of his/her life as well as possible. A large number and a wide range of staff are involved in end of life care - doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and social workers. According to the report, the exact number of people involved in this type of care is unknown.

Within the area of end of life care is palliative care. Palliative care is delivered by health and social care staff who are specialized in pain management as well as other symptoms - they also provide psychological, social and spiritual support.

The report stresses that the provision of end of life care services has become progressively more complex. As people are living longer, the incidence of frailty and multiple conditions in elderly patients grows. Consequently, those who are nearing death need a combination of health and social care services provided in the community, hospitals, care homes, and/or hospices. Family members, volunteers, and close friends also provide care.

In 2006-2007 PCTs (primary care trusts) spent approximately £245 million in England on specialist palliative care services. According to the Department of Health, the total annual overall cost of end of life care to the National Health Service (NHS) and social care services is measured in billions of pounds. The report estimates that the yearly cost to the NHS and social care services of providing care for cancer patients alone during their last 12 months of life is £1.8 billion (27% of deaths).

According to the report, the Department of Health accepts that end of life care within the NHS and social care services has not had the priority it should have - the Department emphasises that over recent years it has been working on addressing this.

Following a two-year consultation, the Department of Health published its End of Life Care Strategy, aimed at improving the provision of care for all adults who are approaching the end of their lives - this includes support for their loved ones and carers. The End of Life Care Strategy focuses on:

– better provision of community services by, e.g. making rapid response community nursing services available everywhere 24 hours a day seven days a week, and improving coordination of care between local authorities and PCTs;

– equipping health and social care staff at all levels with the necessary skills to communicate with, and deliver care to people approaching the end of life, and their carers; and
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The Stowers Institute’s Rong Li Lab has published findings that shed light on the ability of cells to adapt to disruptions to their basic division machineries - findings that may help explain how cancer cells elude the body’s natural defense mechanisms or chemotherapy treatment. The work was published in the November 26 issue of Cell.  Read the rest of this entry »

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) heralds the recent news of a decline in U.S. cancer deaths and incidence rates, with colorectal cancer among the top three cancers with significant declines. ASGE, representing the specialists in colorectal cancer screening, is excited by the report showing that colorectal cancer deaths among men and women dropped 4.3 percent per year between 2002 and 2005. The incidence rate for colorectal cancer (the rate at which new cancers are diagnosed) dropped 2.8 percent per year among men and dropped 2.2 percent per year among women between 1998 and 2005.
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