Breast Cancer Startup Challenge Inventions and Winners

March 5, 2014, 1:00PM

By Anthony Beal

Posted in: cancer

The Avon Foundation for Women, in partnership with NCI and the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI), have announced the ten winners of a world-wide competition to accelerate the process of bringing emerging breast cancer research technologies to market.

Each team was required to produce a short video explaining and highlighting their ideas.? The videos are from the winners of the Breast Cancer Startup Challenge.? This listing does not constitute NCI’s endorsement of the companies or potential products and does not guarantee a grant of license for any federally-owned technology.

Videos from the winning teams are below.

Challenge #1. Diagnostic from Biopsies with Software Analysis
Category: Diagnostics/Health IT
Lead Inventor: Tom Misteli, PhD, NCI
Winner: University of Cambridge

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Challenge #2 -Immunotherapy Using Modified Self Tumor Cells
Category: Therapeutic
Lead Inventor: Dennis Klinman, M.D., Ph.D., NCI
Winner: Washington University in Saint Louis

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Challenge #3 – Combination of Tissue Reconstruction and Recurrence Prevention
Category: Device/Therapeutic
Lead Inventor: Karen Burg, Ph.D., Clemson University
Winner: Tulane University

Finalist: Clemson University

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Challenge #4 – Human monoclonal Antibody Based Cancer Therapies
Category: Therapeutic, Diagnostic
Lead Inventor: Mitchell Ho, Ph.D., NCI
Winner: Stanford University

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Challenge #5 -Immunotherapy Using Granulysin Activated Monocytes
Category: Therapeutic
Lead Inventor: Alan Krensky, M.D., Northwestern University
Winner: Northwestern University

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Challenge #6 – Anti-cancer Toxin
Category: Therapeutic
Lead Inventor: Nadya Tarasova, Ph.D., NCI
Winner: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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Challenge #7 – Versatile Delivery Method for Cancer Therapeutics
Category: Vaccine or Drug Delivery (Protein or RNA)
Lead Inventors: Stanislaw J Kaczmarczyk, Ph.D. & Deb Chatterjee, Ph.D., NCI
Winner: University of Cambridge

Finalist: Wake Forest University

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Challenge #8 -Genomic Based Diagnostic Assay
Category: Diagnostics and prognostic
Lead Inventor: Steven Libutti, M.D., FACS, NCI
Winner: University of California, Berkeley

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Challenge #9 -Tissue-based Diagnostic Assay
Category: Diagnostic
Lead Inventor: Stephen M. Hewitt, M.D., Ph.D., NCI
Winner: McGill University

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Challenge #10 – Diagnostic Kit for Therapy Benefit Prediction
Category: Diagnostic
Lead Inventor: Sherry Yang, MD., Ph.D., NCI
Winner: Tulane University

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Cancer treatment revolution potential with new drug

A revolution in cancer treatment could soon be underway following a breakthrough that may lead to a dramatic improvement in cancer survival rates.

A new study at the University of Warwick, published today in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, has developed a new drug that can manipulate the body's natural signalling and energy systems, allowing the body to attack and shut down cancerous cells.

Called ZL105, the drug is a compound based on the precious metal iridium. The study has found ZL105 could potentially replace currently used anticancer drugs, which become less effective over time, cause a wide-range of side-effects and damage healthy cells as well as cancerous.

Commenting on the breakthrough, University of Warwick researcher and study co-author Dr Isolda Romero-Canelon said "The energy-producing machinery in cancer cells works to the limit as it attempts to keep up with quick proliferation and invasion. This makes cancer cells susceptible to minor changes in the cell 'power-house'. Our drug pushes cancer cells over the limit causing them to slow and shut down, whilst normal cells can cope with its effects."

Preliminary data indicate that the novel drug may be ten times more effective in treating ovarian, colon, melanoma, renal, and some breast cancers, according to data obtained by the US National Cancer Institute. The researchers now aim to expand the study to cancers that are inherently resistant to existing drugs and to those which have developed resistance after a first round of chemotherapy treatments.

Study co-author Professor Peter J. Sadler said "Existing cancer treatments often become less effective after the first course, as cancer cells learn how they are being attacked. The drug we have developed is a catalyst and is active at low doses. It can attack cancer cells in multiple ways at the same time, so the cancer is less able to adapt to the treatment. This means the new drugs could be much more effective than existing treatments."

"Platinum-based drugs are used in nearly 50% of all chemotherapeutic regimens, exert their activity by damaging DNA and cannot select between cancerous and non-cancerous cells, leading to a wide-range of side-effects from renal failure to neurotoxicity, ototoxicity, nausea and vomiting.

"In contrast, the new iridium-based drug is specifically designed not to attack DNA, but to have a novel mechanism of action, meaning that it could not only dramatically slow down and halt cancer growth, but also significantly reduce the side effects suffered by patients" argues Professor Sadler.

This research could also lead to substantial improvements in cancer survival rates. "Current statistics indicate that one in every three people will develop some kind of cancer during their life time, moreover approximately one woman dies of ovarian cancer every two hours in the UK according to Cancer Research UK .It is clear that a new generation of drugs is necessary to save more lives and our research points to a highly effective way of defeating cancerous cells" said Dr Romero-Canelon.

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Twenty-five percent of breast cancer survivors report financial decline due to treatment

Four years after being treated for breast cancer, a quarter of survivors say they are worse off financially, at least partly because of their treatment, according to a new study led by University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. In addition, 12 percent reported that they still have medical debt from their treatment.

Financial decline varied significantly by race, with Spanish-speaking Latinas most likely to be impacted. Debt was reported more frequently in English-speaking Latinas and Blacks, the study found. Results appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"As oncologists, we are proud of the advances in our ability to cure an increasing proportion of patients diagnosed with breast cancer. But as treatments improve, we must ensure that we do not leave these patients in financial ruin because of our efforts," says study author Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

The researchers surveyed women in Detroit and Los Angeles who had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, based on data obtained from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results population-based registry. Women were surveyed about nine months after diagnosis and again about four years later, with 1,502 women responding to both surveys.

The surveys asked about patients' perceptions of whether they were worse off financially since their diagnosis, and whether that has caused long-term challenges. For example, patients were asked if they had altered their medical care because of financial concerns, by skipping medication or by missing a doctor's appointment or a mammogram. Other questions looked at broader hardships, such as going without health insurance, having utilities turned off or moving out of their home.

Blacks and English-speaking Latinas were more likely than Whites to have experienced one of these issues. Other factors that made a woman more likely to experience these hardships include age under 65, household income under $50,000, part-time work at diagnosis, reduced work hours after diagnosis, lack of substantial prescription drug coverage, breast cancer recurrence, and undergoing chemotherapy.

"These patients are particularly vulnerable to financial distress," Jagsi says. "We need to ensure appropriate communication between patients and their doctors regarding the financial implications of a cancer diagnosis and treatment decisions to help reduce this long-term burden."

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State-of-the-state on genetic-based testing, treatment for breast cancer revealed

Dartmouth researchers at its Norris Cotton Cancer Center have compiled a review of the role that information gathered through genetic testing plays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The paper entitled "Personalized Therapy for Breast Cancer" was accepted on March 17, 2014, for publication in Clinical Genetics. The paper discusses targeted therapies, new biomarkers, and the quality of commercially available testing methods.

Genomic testing is changing the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. By examining a woman's genes to look for specific mutations or biomarkers, treatment can be personalized to the tumor cell's biology and a woman's genetics.

"A personalized approach increases the precision and success of breast cancer treatment," said Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, director of Molecular Pathology at Norris Cotton Cancer Center and lead author of the paper. "Molecular profiling exposes a tumor's Achilles' heel. We can see what messages the tumor cells are receiving and sending. It is a biological intelligence gathering mission in an attempt to interrupt the disease.

According to Tsongalis large scale genetic testing of breast cancer is not yet part of routine clinical care as it is with lung and colon cancers, even though he and his team run a genetics laboratory for routine cancer care. Genetic testing according to Tsongalis is a powerful weapon in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

With results from the genetic testing of a tumor cell's biology, clinicians categorize breast cancer in ways that allow them to select the most effective treatments. Based on genetic biomarkers, there are three categories of breast cancer:

1. ER-positive breast cancer needs hormones, such as estrogen to grow. Estrogen fuels cancer cell growth, stops cancer cells from dying, and helps the cells lay down roots to maintain blood supply for tumors. ER-positive cancers are less aggressive and often treated with drugs that are selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM), such as Tamoxifen, Raloxifene, Toremifene and aromatese inhibitors (AIs) such as Letrozole, Anastrozole and Exemestane. SERM drugs block estrogen from telling cancer cells to divide and grow; they have been shown successful in treating as well as preventing ER positive breast cancer. AIs block intake of estrogen in the system and reduce estrogen levels in serum, tissue, and tumor cells. AIs are commonly used in post-menopausal women.
2. HER2 -positive breast cancer cells contain large amounts of protein that help them grow and multiply. Medications turn off the production of protein to stop tumor growth and kill cancer cells. HER2 treatments include Trastuzumab, Laptinib, Pertuzumab, and Trastuzumab Emtansine.
3. Triple negative (ER-negative/PR-negative/HER2-negative) breast cancer is the most aggressive type and has the poorest clinical outcome. There is no approved personalized therapy for triple negative, but research has identified six subtypes of tumors. This is the first step in identifying biomarkers that can lead to the development of personalized treatments.

"Genomic testing of breast cancer has expanded our understanding of the disease process and has proven more effective than traditional laboratory tests," said Tsongalis. "At NCCC all of our breast cancer patients are tested for abnormal copies of the HER2 gene using specially designed DNA probes. New biomarkers and the reclassification of cancers based on these biomarkers has led to the development of new, effective treatments that can be personalized to an individual breast cancer patient."

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Plasma tool for destroying cancer cells

Plasma medicine is a new and rapidly developing area of medical technology. Specifically, understanding the interaction of so-called atmospheric pressure plasma jets with biological tissues could help to use them in medical practice.

Under the supervision of Sylwia Ptasinska from the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, USA, Xu Han and colleagues conducted a quantitative and qualitative study of the different types of DNA damage induced by atmospheric pressure plasma exposure, the paper is published inThe European Physical Journal D, as part of a special issue on nanoscale insights into Ion Beam Cancer Therapy. This approach, they hope, could ultimately lead to devising alternative tools for cancer therapy as well as applications in hospital hygiene, dental care, skin diseases, antifungal care, chronic wounds and cosmetics treatments.

To investigate the DNA damage from the so-called non-thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (APPJ), the team adopted a common technique used in biochemistry, called agarose gel electrophoresis. They studied the nature and level of DNA damage by plasma species, so-called reactive radicals, under two different conditions of the helium plasma source with different parameters of electric pulses.

They also identified the effect of water on DNA damage. To do so, they examined the role of reactive radicals involved in DNA damage processes occurring in an aqueous environment. They then compared them to previous results obtained in dry DNA samples.

The next step would involve investigating plasma made from helium mixtures with different molecular ratios of other gases, such as oxygen, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and steam, under different plasma source conditions. The addition of another gas is expected to increase the level of radical species, such as reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, known to produce severe DNA damage. These could, ultimately, help to destroy cancerous tumour cells.

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Biocon to start selling breast cancer drug in India in February

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Biocon Ltd said its generic version of Roche's Herceptin breast cancer treatment would be available to patients in India from the first week of February.

Bangalore-based Biocon jointly developed biosimilar trastuzumab, which received the Indian drug regulator's marketing approval in November, with U.S.-based Mylan Inc.

About 150,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in India, of which 25 percent are eligible for treatment with trastuzumab, Biocon said.

Roche decided not to pursue a patent application for its breast cancer drug Herceptin in India, paving the way for generic drugmakers to produce cheaper copies, known as biosimilars because they are not identical to the original drug.

Global sales for Herceptin were valued at about $6.4 billion in 2012, including about $21 million in India, Biocon said.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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Searching for magic bullet against cancer caused by asbestos: One step closer?

Jan. 17, 2014 — Mesothelioma is a very aggressive cancer associated with asbestos exposure, which is usually diagnosed in an advanced stage. So far no therapeutic strategy has proven effective against this deadly cancer and the prognosis remains very poor with only few exceptions.

In December, the research team of Antonio Giordano, a pathologist, Director and Founder of the Sbarro Health Research Organization in Philadelphia, PA, and Professor of Pathology and Oncology at the University of Siena, Italy, published two separate studies aiming to address the urgent need to identify possible new methods for mesothelioma treatment.

In the first study, published in the scientific journal Cell Cycle, Giordano's researchers tested on mesothelioma cells the effect of two drugs designed to reactivate the p53 protein, one of the most important 'tumor suppressors', which is turned off in most human cancers. "In mesothelioma, although p53 is rarely mutated, it is inactivated by alterations in its pathway," says Francesca Pentimalli of the National Cancer Institute of Naples, Italy, lead author of the study. Both of the drugs used in the study target p53, but with different mechanisms of action. One in particular, called RITA, proved to be very toxic. Specifically, RITA caused mesothelioma cells, and not 'healthy' cells, to undergo apoptosis -- a type of programmed cell death that occurs through the activation of a specific 'cascade' of events.

"The ability of RITA to induce apoptosis is remarkable considering that mesothelioma is very refractory to this process. In fact the most aggressive and rare variant, sarcomatoid mesothelioma, did not respond to the treatment probably because of its intrinsically high levels of molecules acting as inhibitors of this process" says Alfredo Budillon, Head of the Experimental Pharmacology Unit of the National Cancer Institute of Naples and coauthor of the study. "It remains to be seen whether the combination of RITA with other activators of apoptosis can achieve efficacy also against the more aggressive cases."

Furthermore, challenging mesothelioma cells with RITA worked in synergy with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, which is the mainstay of treatment for this disease, suggesting that its use in a clinical setting could possibly help to reduce the required doses and the side effects of chemotherapy, thereby improving patients' quality of life.

The second study, published online in Cancer Biology and Therapy and led by Paola Indovina of the University of Siena and the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Temple University in Philadelphia, was designed along the same lines as the first study. In the second study, the authors tested, for the first time in mesothelioma, a new drug called MK-1775 in combination with cisplatin. MK-1775 is a selective inhibitor of WEE1, a protein that is crucial in activating a 'checkpoint' for the repair of damaged DNA before the cell starts its division process. The rationale for this strategy is based on the fact that many cancer cells, especially those with non-functional p53, rely on WEE1 to stall cell division and allow cells to repair the damage induced by genotoxic agents, such as many chemotherapeutic drugs, including cisplatin. WEE1 inhibition limits the time available for repair and, therefore, sensitizes cancer cells to DNA-damaging agents. Indeed, inhibiting WEE1 with MK-1775 selectively sensitized mesothelioma cells to the genotoxic action of cisplatin by preventing checkpoint activation and forcing the cells to divide despite the damage, thus triggering apoptosis.

"Overall our studies are aimed at identifying promising new molecular therapies against mesothelioma that hold the potential for clinical use in the near future. MK-1775, for example, is already being utilized in clinical trials for other types of tumors in the United States," Giordano concludes.

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Genomic study identifies subgroups of breast cancer with varying sensitivities to treatment

Jan. 17, 2014 — Research led by the Translational Genomics Group at Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona has not only shown that HER2+ breast cancer can be classified into four different subtypes, but also unmasked a subtype showing both a greater response to and increased benefit from chemotherapy and anti-HER2 therapy. Such newly, refined classification of different tumor subtypes will ultimately facilitate more effective treatment tailored to a specific tumor as well as advance targeted therapy against HER2+ breast cancer.

The study led by Aleix Prat, Principal Investigator of VHIO’s Translational Genomics Group, in collaboration with Jose Baselga, Physician-in-Chief of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (USA), has today been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The research centers on the fact that not all HER2+ tumors respond in the same way to anti-HER2 targeted therapy. Although tumors disappear in many patients, others show no response or become resistant to anti-HER2 therapy in combination with chemotherapy. This observation led to this present retrospective study of patients treated in the phase III NOAH clinical trial, with the objective of establishing the genomic differences of both the treatment-sensitive and the treatment-resistant tumors.

Determining the molecular subtype of any breast cancer is fundamental. Until recently, breast cancer had been classified into three groups according to the presence or absence of hormone receptors and the HER2 receptor: hormone-sensitive, HER2+ and triple-negative (when not included in either of these first two groups). Over recent years however, largely thanks to the stunning advancements in genomic technologies, this classification has been finely-tuned and subsequently shown that there are at least four major breast cancer subtypes (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-Like). Last year, this very group of researchers refined the classification of hormone-sensitive tumors by genomics.

In this study, the group focuses on HER2+ disease. HER2+ breast cancer affects 20% of women with breast cancer and is characterized by the presence of a large number of HER2 receptors and increased proliferative activity of the respective tumor cells -- all of which translates in a highly aggressive tumor and the consequent increased risk of relapse and cancer-related death. The development of HER2-targeted therapies, such as Trastuzumab or Lapatinib, has greatly improved the prospects and treatment options for patients suffering from this particular type of cancer. However, HER2+ breast cancer is still considered as a single subgroup and receives a similar kind of treatment overall, despite the fact that not all HER2+ breast cancer patients respond equally to such therapy.

This new study evaluated the response of the different molecular subtypes upon treatment with anti-HER2 therapy. The study reveals that the four genomic subtypes in breast cancer (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-like) are also found in HER2+ breast cancer, and they affect treatment response. "Specifically, we have found that HER2+ tumors in the HER2-enriched subtype have a highly activated HER2 signaling pathway, thereby making them especially sensitive to anti-HER2 targeted therapies such as Trastuzumab. Therefore, among the four defined subtypes, HER2-enriched benefits most from specific anti-HER2 therapy" explains Aleix Prat.

Establishing the genomic and clinical particularities between each of the subtypes may firstly drive more individually tailored treatment strategies, leading in turn to more robust treatment for those who stand to benefit from it. Second, more effectively targeted treatments may also be facilitated for those patients who may benefit from this strategy and thus ultimately receive a more personalized, precise therapy, resulting in better and longer survival. The PAMELA study led by Prat through the support of a Susan G. Komen Foundation grant, involving various Spanish sites coordinated by the SOLTI cooperative research group, will aim to address the latter. The PAMELA study's primary objective is to identify those patients with HER2-positive tumors who can be cured with anti-HER2 biological therapies without the need for chemotherapy.

Cancer genomics: research translated to the clinic

"There is no doubt that gene expression in breast cancer provides us with essential biological information to better determine the diagnosis, treatment, relapse risk and possibilities of survival" says Aleix Prat, "From this moment on, treatment strategies should be based on prior molecular characterization of the tumor, and we must therefore make every effort to ensure accuracy. Genomic tests provide such accuracy and are increasingly being used in daily practice. There really is no other option if we are to continue to combat cancer," he concludes.

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Most women undergoing conservative surgery for vulvar cancer maintain healthy body image and sex life

Jan. 17, 2014 — A new study finds that most women who undergo conservative surgery for vulvar cancer experience little to no long-term disruption to sexuality and body image. Published early online in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the study also reveals factors that can increase women's risk of feeling negative emotions after surgery.

Women diagnosed with vulvar cancer are often treated with surgery that involves the removal of substantial sections of the external genitalia. Because survival rates are extremely high for women with early stages of the disease, it is important to understand the psychosocial issues that women experience following treatment.

Ellen Barlow, RN, of The Royal Hospital for Women in Australia, and her colleagues interviewed 10 women who had previously been treated for early stage vulvar cancer, with a focus on investigating the women's experiences of sexuality and body image.

The researchers found that the majority of women experienced little to no long-term disruption to sexuality and body image following conservative surgery to treat their cancer. Women's sexual satisfaction was affected more by intimacy and relationship status than physical arousal. Women tended to feel negative emotions if they experienced more radical vulvar excision, multiple vulvar procedures, and/or swelling of the lower limbs (a potential complication of surgery). Some women expressed fear of possible removal of their clitoris, and all sexually active women expressed fear of pain on resumption of sexual intercourse.

"The findings indicate surprisingly good outcomes for sexuality and body image in women having conservative surgery for early stage vulvar cancer and support the concept of performing the most conservative vulvar resection consistent with cure of their disease," said Barlow. The authors noted a need for improved communication about sexuality and body image, specifically about resumption of sexual intercourse. They also stressed that women should be counselled on how to prevent or alleviate sexual issues that may arise as a consequence of their treatment.

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Journal Reference:

1. Ellen L. Barlow, Neville F. Hacker, Rafat Hussain, Glenda Parmenter. Sexuality and body image following treatment for early-stage vulvar cancer: a qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2014; DOI: 10.1111/jan.12346

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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New cell mechanisms discovery key to stop the metastasis of breast cancer

Researchers from the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) therapy, not only to block the mechanism discovered cellular mechanism to the rest of the spread of breast cancer (metastatic), body. Research results was published in the online journal cell reports 1/2,.

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New technique targets specific areas of cancer cells with different drugs

Jan. 6, 2014 — Researchers have developed a technique for creating nanoparticles that carry two different cancer-killing drugs into the body and deliver those drugs to separate parts of the cancer cell where they will be most effective. The technique was developed by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"In testing on laboratory mice, our technique resulted in significant improvement in breast cancer tumor reduction as compared to conventional treatment techniques," says Dr. Zhen Gu, senior author of a paper on the research and an assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill.

"Cancer cells can develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs, but are less likely to develop resistance when multiple drugs are delivered simultaneously," Gu says. "However, different drugs target different parts of the cancer cell. For example, the protein drug TRAIL is most effective against the cell membrane, while doxorubicin (Dox) is most effective when delivered to the nucleus. We've come up with a sequential and site-specific delivery technique that first delivers TRAIL to cancer cell membranes and then penetrates the membrane to deliver Dox to the nucleus."

Gu's research team developed nanoparticles with an outer shell made of hyaluronic acid (HA) woven together with TRAIL. The HA interacts with receptors on cancer cell membranes, which "grab" the nanoparticle. Enzymes in the cancer cell environment break down the HA, releasing TRAIL onto the cell membrane and ultimately triggering cell death.

When the HA shell breaks down, it also reveals the core of the nanoparticle, which is made of Dox that is embedded with peptides that allow the core to penetrate into the cancer cell. The cancer cell encases the core in a protective bubble called an endosome, but the peptides on the core cause the endosome to begin breaking apart. This spills the Dox into the cell where it can penetrate the nucleus and trigger cell death.

"We designed this drug delivery vehicle using a 'programmed' strategy," says Tianyue Jiang, a lead author in Dr. Gu's lab. "Different drugs can be released at the right time in their right places," adds Dr. Ran Mo, a postdoctoral researcher in Gu's lab and the other lead author.

"This research is our first proof of concept, and we will continue to optimize the technique to make it even more efficient," Gu says. "The early results are very promising, and we think this could be scaled up for large-scale manufacturing."

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Online colorectal cancer risk calculator

Jan. 3, 2014 — Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have developed a new tool called CRC-PRO that allows physicians to quickly and accurately predict an individual's risk of colorectal cancer, as published in the current edition of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

CRC-PRO, or Colorectal Cancer Predicted Risk Online, is designed to help both patients and physicians determine when screening for colorectal cancer is appropriate. Current guidelines recommend patients are screened at the age of 50. However, with this new tool, physicians will be better able to identify who is truly at risk and when screenings for patients are necessary.

To develop the calculator, the researchers -- led by Brian Wells, M.D., Ph.D., of the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences in Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute -- analyzed data on over 180,000 patients from a longitudinal study conducted at the University of Hawaii. Patients were followed for up to 11.5 years to determine which factors were highly associated with the development of colorectal cancer.

"Creating a risk calculator that includes multiple risk factors offers clinicians a means to more accurately predict risk than the simple age-based cutoffs currently used in clinical practice," said Dr. Wells. "Clinicians could decide to screen high-risk patients earlier than age 50, while delaying or foregoing screening in low-risk individuals. "

Wells and his colleagues hope that their new, user-friendly calculator will help improve the efficiency of colorectal cancer screenings. They also believe prediction tools like this can help lower healthcare costs by cutting down on unnecessary testing.

The Multiethnic Cohort Study comprised a diverse ethnic population. Previously, most research in this area has been performed predominately in Caucasians. Because cancer risk differs drastically in different racial groups, the researchers felt that an ethnically diverse population would more accurately reflect true cancer risk.

"The development of risk prediction calculators like the CRC-PRO is vital for improving medical decision-making," said Michael Kattan, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences in Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute. "Tools like this represent another step toward personalized medicine that will ultimately improve efficiency, outcomes and patient care."

Kattan and his research team are involved in the creation of numerous risk prediction tools, including heart disease and cancers of the breast, prostate and thyroid, that are available at http://rcalc.ccf.org. He is currently working on software that will integrate these tools for automatic calculation in the Electronic Health Record to make this process easier for physicians.

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Experimental Treatment for Rare Soft-Tissue Cancer Shows Promise in Mice

Study looked at method for blocking key growth protein in malignant nerve sheath tumors

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Tongue cancer strikes surgery chemotherapy

Less significantly more patients with tongue carcinoma underwent the first University of Michigan comprehensive cancer started their course of patients with chemotherapy treatment according to new research from the Center for study of. You elected a little better help the single administration of Larynx Cancer, chemotherapy patients chemotherapy or radiation and surgery for which patients it must determine the Protocol. Laryngeal cancer pioneer and widely research U M in, this approach leads to patient survival and functional outcomes. However, describes the JAMA society of Otorhinolaryngology Head and neck surgery displayed in this new study, a clear error.

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Recurrent ovarian cancer "" corresponds to the decitabine and reprogramming after cancer vaccines.

Chemotherapy and cancer vaccines administered prior to treatment with the drug decitabine is Journal of the American Association for cancer research, cancer immunology, Research Institute at Roswell Park cancer published was obtained for women with recurrent ovarian cancer is suggested to provide a treatment option for patients with this disease combination vaccine research Institute, this new clinical effects.

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Costs for complications from cancer surgical care extremely high

Jan. 6, 2014 — Although complications from surgical care for cancer patients may seem infrequent, the costs associated with such outcomes are extremely high, according to researchers from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their findings were reported in the Dec. 30 online edition of the journal Cancer.

The authors' findings come against the backdrop of rising cancer care costs in the United States, which were estimated at $124.6 billion in 2010 and could rise by 66 percent to $207 billion by 2020.

"It is widely known that outcomes after cancer surgery vary widely, depending on interactions between patient, tumor, neoadjuvant therapy and provider factors," said Marah Short, a senior research analyst for the Baker Institute's Health Policy Forum. "An area of cancer care that has received little attention is the influence of complications on medical outcomes and costs of care. In our study, we found consistently higher costs associated with cancer surgery complications. Improved patient outcomes and substantial health care savings could be achieved by targeting these complicating factors for quality improvement."

Short co-authored the article with Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at the Baker Institute, a professor of economics at Rice and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and Thomas Aloia, an associate professor in the MD Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Surgical Oncology. The authors' findings come against the backdrop of rising cancer care costs in the United States, which were estimated at $124.6 billion in 2010 and could rise by 66 percent to $207 billion by 2020.

In cancer treatment, unlike many benign conditions, there tends to be a higher threshold of tolerance for complications, the authors said. In addition, the direct cause of complications is more difficult to determine as there are complex interactions between patient, tumor, multimodality therapy and provider factors that contribute to adverse outcomes.

In their study, the authors used the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Patient Safety Indicators' (PSIs) definitions to identify patient safety-related complications in Medicare claims data. PSIs are a set of transparent outcome measures that provide information on potential in-hospital complications and adverse events after surgeries, procedures and childbirth. They analyzed hospital and inpatient physician claims from all 50 U.S. states for the years 2005 through 2009 for six cancer resections: colectomy, rectal resection, pulmonary lobectomy, pneumonectomy, esophagectomy and pancreatic resection.

They found overall PSI rates for complications arising from the six procedures ranged from a low of 0.01 percent for postoperative hip fracture to a high of 2.58 percent for respiratory failure. Rates of postoperative respiratory failure, death among inpatients with serious treatable complications, postoperative thromboembolism and accidental puncture/laceration were more than 1 percent for all six cancer operations. Several PSIs -- including decubitus ulcer, postoperative thromboembolism and death among surgical inpatients with serious treatable complications -- raised hospitalization costs by more than 20 percent for most types of cancer surgery. Postoperative respiratory failure resulted in a cost increase of more than 50 percent for all cancer resections.

"These data indicate that even in the complex cancer care environment, in which many controllable and uncontrollable variables may contribute to complications, improvements in patient safety indicators are highly likely to reduce costs," Short said. "We may not have identified all of the complication measures that are important determinants of surgeon and hospital costs. However, because we know so little about the links between provider volume, care processes, complications and costs, this analysis represents an important first step in examining these relations."

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Scientists make advance in cancer research

Jan. 3, 2014 — A protein that has been at the center of cancer drug design for the last 20 years should not be given up on according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The most advanced version of αvβ3-integrin antagonists failed clinical trials to treat aggressive forms of brain cancer.

But research published today in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation Research shows that targeting the protein in question could still be vital in stopping the growth of tumors. Not least because the drugs targeting it cause minimal side effects compared to other drugs -- which can cause bleeding in the gut and high blood pressure.

tumors must recruit their own blood supply to grow beyond a very small size. The research team studied the cells that line blood vessels (endothelial cells) in mice, and in particular the role of a widely expressed protein called beta3-integrin.

Dr Stephen Robinson, from UEA's school of Biological Sciences, said: "This protein has been the focus of drug design over the last two decades because its expression is vastly increased in endothelial cells during blood vessel recruitment.

"The most advanced of these drugs, however, has recently failed a phase III clinical trial to treat an aggressive form of brain cancer. In line with other clinical work, patients respond to treatment for a short while but then their cancers escape the treatment.

"This research helps to explain why these very promising drugs aren't meeting with the success that was anticipated and it suggests a way forward -- how to make them work better.

"We have shown how tumors continue to grow despite treatment which should block blood vessel recruitment. They modulate how they are recruiting their blood vessels by using a different pathway from the one that is being targeted. We have identified some molecular changes in endothelial cells that occur with long-term inhibition of beta3-integrin that might help the cells escape the beta3-integrin blockade.

"Our research also shows that timing is critical when targeting the protein beta3-integrin.

"Importantly, these findings have re-established the expression of beta3-integrin as a valid clinical target when treating cancer. Efforts must now be re-focused to either develop new drugs to target beta3-integrin, or figure out how to more effectively use the drugs that already exist."

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When experience fewer side effects from breast cancer patients with anti-cancer drugs receive acupuncture treatment

University of Maryland greenebaum cancer new analysis by researchers from the Center for real and fake acupuncture treatment was found to reduce the side effects of the medications commonly used to treat breast cancer. In published early online cancer peer review journal of the American Cancer Society may help to improve clinical cancer patient care. The results also have beneficial effects such as real acupuncture, do raise the question of Sham acupuncture is truly inert.

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New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis

Jan. 2, 2014 — Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis), as well as a therapy which blocks that mechanism. The research results were published online in the journal Cell Reports on January 2.

"Genetic mutations do not drive this mechanism," said Alana Welm, PhD, senior author of the study, associate professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences, and an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute. "Instead, it's improper regulation of when genes turn on and off." The new discovery focuses on a protein called RON kinase (RON), which signals some areas of tumor cell DNA to become active. Normally, RON operates mostly during embryonic development and is not highly expressed in healthy adults. But in about 50 percent of breast cancer cases, RON becomes re-expressed and reprograms genes responsible for metastasis, making them active.

"If there's an entire program in the tumor cell that's important for metastasis, blocking one small part of that program, for example, the action of a single gene, will probably not be an effective strategy," said Welm. "But if you could find a way to turn off the entire program, you're more likely to have the desired effect. We found that inhibiting RON turns off the entire metastasis program in these tumor cells.

"No one has ever described a specific pathway driving this kind of reprogramming in metastasis, much less a way to therapeutically block it,' Welm added. "Also, RON has not previously been known to be involved in reprogramming gene expression."

Future work will include investigating the potential of detecting the RON-dependent program in tumor cells as a way to identify patients that are more likely to develop metastases and as a predictor of therapeutic response to drugs that inhibit RON.

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Research proposes alternative therapy against lung cancer

Jan. 6, 2014 — Research from the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) informs that besides smoking, there are other factors associated to the development of lung cancer such as the smoke from burning lumber and coal, as well as pollutant particles.

"It has been considered that the upturn in cases of lung cancer is possibly related to this particles," explains Patricia Gorocica from the INER, who, alongside her research team, has been working in an alternative therapy to boost the immune system of patients with this disease.

The specialist adds that since several years ago is known that the immune system has all the mechanism to watch and destroy tumor cells as they develop, but sometimes this mechanisms are not effective for reasons associated to the tumor or alterations of the patients organism.

Based in this principle, research at INER is directed to regulate the immune system against tumors. The tumor that can be more easily eliminated are the ones that express specific antigens.

Patricia Gorocica, chief of the Department of Biochemical Research at INER, details that with current technology is possible to manipulate the immune response against tumors. "We are developing at the lab a system of cell activation from the patient's own blood so it can eliminate its tumors."

This is a starting research, but it could be consolidated as an alternative therapy for the patients with lung cancer. The labor is being done with the support of the institutes of Biotechnology and Chemistry of the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM), hoping that others will add to the cause, since this research requires a multi-disciplinary team for succeeding.

Gorocica adds that manipulating the immune system could be a new complementary therapy to chemo and radiotherapy usually used for treating lung cancer.

The research at INER is mainly focused in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that has the most alterations in its tumor cells. It usually affects people of various ages, accentuated in people over 40, but has been known to affect the 20-something population.

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