European advocacy and support groups working with patients who have some of the rarest cancers have agreed to form a collaborative association.

Sarcoma Patients EuroNet (SPAEN) will start work in January 2009 with the aim of extending information services, patient support and advocacy so that patients across the whole of Europe can benefit. Five leading patient groups in Germany, France and the UK are the founding members of SPAEN, and membership of the association is open to patient groups anywhere in Europe who work with sarcoma patients.
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The link between the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test and the detection of prostate cancer is well-established. In new findings released publicly for the first time today, Australian and New Zealand researchers have demonstrated how two serial measures of PSA can be used to accurately predict a patient’s prognosis when prostate cancer returns after attempted cure.

Survival can vary enormously among patients whose prostate cancer returns after curative treatments (such as surgery or radiotherapy). Some men can live for many years without the need for treatment however others will have very limited survival in spite of immediate intervention. Up to now, doctors have not been able to predict survival in these men and therefore have not been able to identify those who would benefit from participating in trials of new therapies. Nor have they known which men are able to avoid treatment for many years and therefore not risk the side effects that these treatments commonly cause.
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In the November 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Kenneth Dorshkind and colleagues at the David Geffen School of Medicine (UCLA) have identified two genes - p16(Ink4a) and Arf - that sensitize lymphoid progenitor cells to the effects of aging, and confer resistance to leukemogenesis.

Hematopoiesis (the development of blood cells) entails two main pathways: myelopoiesis (the formation of the red and white myeloid cells) and lymphopoiesis (the formation of B- and T-cells). While myelopoiesis remains constant throughout life, lymphopoiesis declines with age.
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Teens continue to put themselves at unnecessary risk of skin cancer by spending excessive time in the sun and forgetting to protect themselves, according to new Cancer Council research.

Findings from the Cancer Council’s National Sun Protection Survey released today show teens spend an average of two hours (1hr 51mins) in the sun during peak UV, with almost a third who get sunburnt saying they “forgot” to protect themselves.
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Cytopia Limited (ASX:CYT) has commenced dosing patients in its Phase Ib/II study of CYT997, the company’s novel vascular-disrupting anticancer agent, to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive brain cancer.

The GBM clinical trial is the company’s first Phase II efficacy study in highly vascular, solid tumour indications and the first time CYT997 is being investigated in a tumour of the central nervous system.

GBM is currently treated by surgical resection, and/or radiation and chemotherapy. Despite these treatments, the condition recurs in most patients resulting in significantly limited life expectancy. GBM tumours are highly vascular, rendering them potentially susceptible to destruction by an anti-vascular agent such as CYT997.
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A new piece of medical technology unveiled at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will help improve the success rates of radiotherapy cancer treatments. The new clinical electron linear accelerator (linac) will help ensure patients are treated with accurate doses of radiation.

Radiotherapy treats cancer, by using ionising radiation such as high-energy X-rays or electron beams, to destroy cancer cells. Every hospital needs to ensure that its radiotherapy equipment is stable and accurate because delivering correct radiation doses is critical. If the dose is too low, the cancer may continue to grow. If it is too high, healthy tissue could be damaged.

NPL’s new clinical linac’s ability to provide highly stable beams and accurate doses will enable calibrations with smaller uncertainties. This will allow hospitals to deliver more accurate, and more effective, radiation doses to cancer patients.

The new facility helps the UK respond to a recent report from the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG) which states that the UK has a huge gap between the number of people treated with radiotherapy and optimal treatment levels. The number of people treated is increasing by 100,000 per year but this is still far short of the number of treatments required. The aging population means that more people than ever will require radiotherapy treatment in the future and a 91% increase in activity is needed by 2016 to hit targets.
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Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has been chosen to co-ordinate the national programme for the training of existing consultants in advanced keyhole surgery for the treatment of bowel cancer.

The Department of Health has appointed Consultant General Surgeon, Mr Mark Coleman as the National Clinical Lead for the Laparoscopic Colorectal Cancer Surgery Training Programme. Mr Coleman will head a co-ordinating centre based at Plymouth Hospitals, which will be responsible for managing 12 centres nationwide to deliver the training.
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Propelled by advances in molecular biology, the treatment of colorectal cancer is on the verge of dramatic change and a promising future as innovative vaccines will replace chemotherapy. According to a new report from Kalorama Information, “Cancer Vaccines: Market Forecasts, New Developments and Pipeline Analysis,” this market, lead by OncoVAX, is poised for unprecedented growth, creating countless opportunities for market participants.

More than 1.2 million cases of colon cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year with more than 529,000 deaths, which displays a considerable medical need. In the United States colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer, accounting for approximately 50,000 deaths and about 20% of all deaths from cancer.
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The following is a summary of efforts and grants that seek to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium: The American Cancer Society has awarded the consortium with a five-year, $627,000 grant to develop projects that use art, such as storytelling and dance, to educate Alaska Natives on cancer awareness, detection and treatment, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Currently, village elders receive two hours of cancer education, according to Melany Cueva of ANTHC, who will lead the effort. She said the project will seek to engage the Alaska Native community using indigenous ways of understanding and will seek out “pathways to communicate cancer understanding in culturally appropriate ways.” In January, Cueva will hold discussions with medical professionals, community members and cancer survivors to begin the project (Dunham, Anchorage Daily News, 11/7).
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SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) today announced that the Company and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have reached agreement on the design of a phase 3 registration trial for thymalfasin as a potential treatment for stage IV melanoma.

Based on the FDA’s review, the agency agrees that the design and planned analysis of SciClone’s study adequately addresses the objectives necessary to support a regulatory submission.

“Patients suffering from stage IV melanoma have very few treatment options available. Based on the positive data from an earlier phase 2 trial, thymalfasin could provide new treatment modalities for this high unmet medical need,” said Israel Rios, MD, SciClone’s Chief Medical Officer. “The FDA’s acceptance of our phase 3 protocol for thymalfasin for the treatment of stage IV melanoma, the most advanced form of skin cancer, is a critical step in the advancement of this clinical program. We are now able to chart the best course going forward, which may include bringing on a development partner.”
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