July 30, 2007, 10:12 PM CT

Two drugs work better together against kidney cancer

A combination of two drugs works better than either drug alone for patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer, as per a pilot study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.

We observed that by combining a drug that enlists the immune systems help in combating cancer with one that cuts off a tumors blood supply, we could substantially increase patients response rates to therapy, said Jared Gollob, M.D., an oncologist at Duke and lead investigator on the study.

The scientists published their findings in the August 1, 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Interferon alpha, an immunotherapy agent that boosts the bodys own abilities to fight off infections and tumors, has been used for several decades to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma. But kidney tumors only respond to interferon alpha about 5 percent to 10 percent of the time, Gollob said.

The second drug, sorafenib, which is sold as Nexavar, is a member of a promising class of drugs known as anti-angiogenics, which work by choking a tumors blood supply and thereby restricting its growth. But sorafenib causes substantial tumor shrinkage in only 5 percent to 10 percent of kidney cancer patients, Gollob said. Even in these patients, it can slow the progression of the disease but does not offer a cure......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 29, 2007, 9:39 PM CT

Risk genes for multiple sclerosis uncovered

A large-scale genomic study has uncovered new genetic variations linked to multiple sclerosis (MS), findings that suggest a possible link between MS and other autoimmune diseases. The study, led by an international consortium of clinical researchers and genomics experts, is the first comprehensive study investigating the genetic basis of MS. Findings are reported in the July 29 online edition of the New England Journal (NEJM).

MS, a disease of the central nervous system whose symptoms range from mild muscle weakness to partial or complete paralysis, is widely considered an autoimmune disease, one that arises from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. This collusion of events leads the body to attack and destroy the insulation along nerve fibers. This study, which analyzed genomic information from 12,360 people, confirmed that immune system genes are altered in people diagnosed with MS, and pointed to potential mechanisms of the disease.

The scientists gathered 931 sets of DNA samples from MS patients and their parents. They analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that is, small differences in DNA sequence that represent the most common genetic variations between individuals, and looked for variations that were more usually inherited by people with MS in comparison to samples from people without the disease. To double-check the findings, they performed a second analysis of other sets of families, individual cases of MS, and a control group. In the end, all the samples were combined for a final analysis of more than 12,000 subjects......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 23, 2007, 6:45 PM CT

Childhood sun exposure may lower risk of MS

People who spent more time in the sun as children may have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) than people who had less sun exposure during childhood, as per a research studyreported in the July 24, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, scientists surveyed 79 pairs of identical twins with the same genetic risk for MS in which only one twin had MS. The twins were asked to specify whether they or their twin spent more time outdoors during hot days, cold days, and summer, and which one spent more time sun tanning, going to the beach and playing team sports as a child.

The study found the twin with MS spent less time in the sun as a child than the twin who did not have MS. Depending on the activity, the twin who spent more hours outdoors had a 25 to 57 percent reduced risk of developing MS. For example, the risk of developing MS was 49 percent lower for twins who spent more time sun tanning than their siblings.

Sun exposure appears to have a protective effect against MS, said study authors Talat Islam, MBBS, PhD, and Thomas Mack, MD, MPH, with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Exposure to ultra violet rays may induce protection against MS by alternative mechanisms, either directly by altering the cellular immune response or indirectly by producing immunoactive vitamin D......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 23, 2007, 5:44 PM CT

Adult survivors of childhood leukemia

Overcoming pediatric cancer may only mark the beginning of a young survivors lifelong battle to stay healthy. While survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) face an increased risk of developing serious health complications as a result of their cancer therapy, for a variety of reasons a number of avoid simple exercise and healthy changes in lifestyle that could reverse the damage, as per a team of scientists based at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Adult survivors of childhood ALL are less physically active than the general U.S. population, the team reports in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Furthermore, adult survivors of ALL who received cranial radiotherapy (CRT), or whole brain radiation, as children reported the lowest activity among all adults, suggesting that the type of treatment administered to a child may impair his or her physical activity in the future.

To protect adult childhood cancer survivors from a future of disease, scientists say patients should work with health care providers to develop plans for healthier and more active lifestyles.

Research shows that physical activity can undo risk caused by therapy, said senior author Kevin C. Oeffinger, M.D., from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N.Y. Small, incremental steps can make a big difference in improving health outcomes......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 18, 2007, 9:38 PM CT

Elevated Leukaemia Rates Near Nuclear Facilities

Leukaemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities, but no clear explanation exists to explain the rise, as per a research review reported in the recent issue of European Journal of Cancer Care.

Scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina carried out a sophisticated meta-analysis of 17 research papers covering 136 nuclear sites in the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Gera number of, Japan and Spain.

They observed that death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 per cent, depending on their proximity to nuclear facilities, and by two to 18 per cent in children and young people up to the age of 25.

Incidence rates were increased by 14 to 21 per cent in zero to nine year olds and seven to ten percent in zero to 25 year-olds.

Childhood leukaemia is a rare disease and nuclear sites are usually found in rural areas, which means that sample sizes tend to be small says lead author Dr Peter J Baker.

The advantage of carrying out a meta-analysis is that it enables us to draw together many studies that have employed common methods and draw wider conclusions.

Eight separate analyses were performed including unadjusted, random and fixed effect models and the figures they produced showed considerable consistency......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 15, 2007, 9:30 PM CT

On target

In an upcoming Genes & Development paper, Dr. Christopher Counter and his colleagues at the Duke University Medical Center have identified IL6 as a new target in the battle against Ras-induced cancers.

Ras is a key intracellular messenger protein that directs, among other things, cell growth and proliferation. Over-expression of the Ras oncogene, or of its growth-promoting pathway, is an integral step in the development of many human cancers, especially pancreatic and lung cancer. Unfortunately, though, attempts to target Ras for inhibition in a clinical setting have proved unsuccessful.

"We knew Ras was really important for cancer, but time after time it defied attempts to be inhibited in the clinic. So we decided, why not go after something that you can make a drug against that Ras activates"" explains Dr. Counter. Dr. Counter and his colleagues sought to identify other proteins that are secreted when Ras is activated, and evaluate them as potential therapeutic candidates. One factor, in particular, is receiving a lot attention.

Interleukin-6 (IL6) is an inflammatory cytokine (growth factor) that stimulates the immune system in response to injury. Dr. Counters team has demonstrated that Ras induces the secretion of IL6 in many different cell types. The researchers then showed that IL6 promotes tumorigenesis by encouraging new blood vessel growth......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 10, 2007, 5:06 AM CT

More Lethal Subtype Of AML

A new study shows that the activity of a particular gene can identify people who have a more lethal form of acute myeloid leukemia, singling out those patients who should receive more intense therapy.

The gene, called ERG (for ETS-related gene), has also been linked to chronic leukemia and to breast and prostate cancer.

The findings apply to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with leukemia cells that have normal-looking chromosomes, a feature that occurs in about half of AML patients.

Among these patients, those with leukemia cells showing high ERG activity are almost six times more likely to relapse or die within five years than are patients with low ERG expression following standard therapy.

The Cancer and Leukemia Group B study was initiated by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and their findings were published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"Our study shows that high ERG activity predicts a poor prognosis in these patients, even when other molecular markers are taken into consideration," says first author Guido Marcucci, associate professor of internal medicine and an AML specialist at Ohio State's James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

"The findings mean that these patients require a stem-cell transplant or other aggressive therapy, and that patients with low ERG activity can be treated using standard therapy"......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 8, 2007, 10:15 PM CT

Hormone inhibitor for hard-to-treat prostate cancer

For patients with prostate cancer whose tumors have continued to grow despite medical or surgical castration, a new drug candidate that inhibits production of male hormones anywhere in the body is showing promise in early trials.

Two poster presentations at the ESMO Conference Lugano this week show that the drug, called abiraterone, reduced levels of prostate specific antigen, a marker of cancer activity, and shrank tumors in patients in whom hormone treatment had stopped working and also in patients who had previously been treated with chemotherapy.

Male hormones such as testosterone are produced mainly in the testes, but are also produced by the adrenal gland and elsewhere in the body. These hormones can stimulate prostate cancer cells to grow, so the first therapy option for all men with prostate cancer that has spread, is to use chemical suppressants or surgery to inhibit testicular synthesis of male hormones. However, this therapy does not block the production of male hormones elsewhere in the body. Abiraterone, a drug that is taken orally, inhibits an enzyme called CYP450c17, which is critical to the production of the male hormones not only in the testes, but also at other sources.

Dr. Alison Reid from The Institute of Cancer Research and Dr. Gerhardt Attard from The Institute and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London described two ongoing Phase II trials of the drug in men with advanced prostate cancer......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 3, 2007, 5:02 AM CT

Rethinking Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine Trials

Ongoing therapeutic cancer vaccine trials have yet to show evidence of vaccines spurring a patients immune system to shrink tumors -- yet patients who receive these vaccines in trials tend to live longer and respond better to subsequent therapy. In the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, a team of National Cancer Institute scientists asks a fundamental question: are we looking at cancer vaccine trials the wrong way".

In a review of five prostate cancer vaccine trials, NCI scientists offer evidence that patients who receive vaccines may respond better to subsequent chemotherapy or hormone therapy. The specific results or endpoints of these clinical trials, however, were not the long term survival of patients, but rather the degree to which the vaccine caused tumors to shrink. As per the researchers, since they didnt achieve their primary endpoints, these vaccines may be abandoned as dead-ends, despite their real therapeutic value in terms of prolonging patient survival.

Clinical data are providing evidence that patients are living longer following vaccination, de-spite the fact that trials do not show the vaccines can induce the immune system into shrinking tumors, said Jeffrey Schlom, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology at the National Cancer Institute. The data suggests that the scientific community and regulatory committees ought to rethink the design of clinical vaccine trials and our current approach to measuring the effectiveness of a cancer vaccine......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source

July 2, 2007, 10:04 PM CT

How Cancer Evades The Immune System

One of the fundamental traits of a tumor how it avoids the immune system might become its greatest vulnerability, according to researchers from the University of Southern California. Their findings, demonstrated in human breast and colorectal cancers, indicate that a technique for determining a tumors immune signature, could be useful for diagnosing and treating specific cancers.

In the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, the researchers describe a means for determining which genes have been altered in a tumor to allow it to evade the bodys natural defenses. In time, the researchers believe such analysis could become a standard practice in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The implication is that once you know the mechanism by which tumors evade the immune system, you can match that tumor to available therapies, said senior author Alan L.Epstein, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Pathology at USCs Keck School of Medicine. First, we find the genetic changes that allow a tumor to defeat the immune system, then we can apply therapies that compensate for these genetic alterations.

According to Epstein, tumors are notorious for demonstrating a broad array of genetic and biological variations. Their differences vary widely between cancer types, even between subcategories within a particular type of cancer. However, while the genetic variations that comprise an immune signature are complex, the researchers discovered that a small subset of genes is integral in explaining immunological behavior......... Posted by: Jessica      Read more         Source