Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Access : Hospitalisation for venous thromboembolism in cancer patients and the general population: a population-based cohort study (abstract)
Conclusions:
Risk of VTE is higher among cancer patients than in the general population. Predictors of VTE include recency of cancer diagnosis, cancer site, stage and the type of cancer-directed treatment.
In vitro cytotoxicity of combinations of dichloroacetate (DCA) with anticancer platinum compounds
Note: in research, full paper is free to view - click on 'pdf'
Purpose: Dichloroacetate (DCA) inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), and thus promotes glucose oxidation over glycolysis and induces apoptotic death of tumor cells. The present study investigated the potential of DCA to increase the antitumor effects of platinum-based compounds against a panel of permanent cell lines, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC), ovarian cancer, and Ewing’s sarcoma in vitro.
Methods: DCA at a concentration of 10 mM was combined with cisplatin, carboplatin, satraplatin, the satraplatin metabolite JM118, oxaliplatin, oxoplatin, and picoplatin, and the cytotoxic activity was evaluated in proliferation tests employing a panel of different cell lines. Additionally, cells were pretreated with DCA and then exposed to the platinum drugs and etoposide, or incubated with cisplatin or etoposide followed by application of DCA, respectively.
Results: DCA 10 mM significantly increased the cytotoxicity of the platinum-based drugs carboplatin, satraplatin, JM118, and oxoplatin, but not cisplatin, picoplatin, and oxaliplatin in vitro. Preincubation of cell lines with DCA 10 mM for three days reduced the antiproliferative activity of platinum-based agents in sequential application, but exposure of cells pretreated with cisplatin or etoposide to DCA resulted in minor sensitization. The inhibitory effect of DCA showed no correlation with sensitization to the platinum compounds.
Conclusion: DCA alone in a concentration that shows low antiproliferative activity is capable of increasing the cytotoxicity of selected platinum compounds upon coincubation, and such combinations may be interesting for clinical application in tumors like SCLC, Ewing’s sarcoma, and ovarian cancer refractory to cisplatin chemotherapy as standard care. The mechanism of this synergistic effect of DCA in combination with specific platinum species remains to be investigated.
abstract: 6-thioguanine selectively kills BRCA2-defective tumors and overcomes PARP inhibitor resistance
"...Altogether, our data show that 6TG efficiently kills BRCA2-defective tumors and suggest that 6TG may be effective in the treatment of advanced tumors that have developed resistance to PARP inhibitors or platinum-based chemotherapy."
Cancergazing? CA125 and post-treatment surveillanc... [Soc Sci Med. 2010] - PubMed result
Soc Sci Med. 2010 Aug 26
Cancergazing? CA125 and post-treatment surveillance in advanced ovarian cancer.
Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract
Post-treatment surveillance of advanced ovarian cancer involves regular testing of asymptomatic patients using the CA125 test. This practice is based on a rationale that is not supported by evidence from clinical trials. This paper aims to stimulate critical reflection concerning the effect of investigative tests on clinical decisions and interactions, and the experience of illness, particularly in the context of advanced malignant disease. Drawing on the idea of the "medical gaze", and building on previous health communication research, we present an analysis of in-depth interviews and psychometric tests collected in a prospective study of 20 Australian women with advanced ovarian cancer conducted between 2006 and 2009. We describe the demands placed on patients by the use of the CA125 test, some hazards it creates for decision-making, and some of the test's subjective benefits. It is widely believed that the CA125 test generates anxiety among patients, and the proposed solution is to educate women more about the test. We found no evidence that anxiety was a problem requiring a response over and above existing services. We conclude that the current debate is simplistic and limited. Focussing on patient anxiety does not account for other important effects of post-treatment surveillance, and educating patients about the test is unlikely to mitigate anxiety because testing is part of a wider process by which patients become aware of a disease that - once it has relapsed - will certainly kill them in the near future.Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer: What kind of evidence is needed to convince US gynaecological oncologists? Vergote I, Amant F, L
Note: Dr Vergote is one of Europe's top gynecologic cancer researchers; journal correspondence=pay-per-view ($$$)
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer: What kind of evidence is needed to convince US gynaecological oncologists?
Vergote I, Amant F, Leunen K.
The Wistar Institute has appointed ovarian cancer researcher José R. Conejo-Garcia, M.D., Ph.D., as associate professor in the Institute’s Immunology Program. | Medical Education
"....Conejo-Garcia’s laboratory program explores an innovative approach to fighting ovarian cancer by exploiting the tumor’s reliance on its “microenvironment,” the collection of neighboring, healthy cells that nourish the tumor and enable it to thrive. In particular, he has developed a “Trojan Horse” method that reprograms white blood cells within the microenvironment – which otherwise have the effect of preventing the spontaneous anti-tumor activity of the immune system – so that they activate immune cells to attack the ovarian tumor...."
Preferred Imaging installs Naviscan Positron Emission Mammography scanner in new Plano facility (PEM)
" PEM (Positron Emission Mammography) scanners are high-resolution breast PET systems that show the location as well as the metabolic phase of a lesion. The metabolic view assists physicians in making the optimal patient care decision by providing an unprecedented ability to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions, what researchers term “specificity.”"
Breast cancer classification algorithm to identify 20 gene signature developed using Microsoft Excel
"....The 10 most highly ranked genes predictive of poor prognosis and those 10 genes most highly predictive of good prognosis established a 20-gene expression based predictor, which was found to perform as well as two other models in the validation group. According to Hassell, "Our algorithm produces prediction models with comparable accuracy to other feature selection techniques while having generally better accessibility and useability for biological research scientists. We've begun using our algorithm to generate gene expression based prediction models of breast cancer cell sensitivity to commonly used anti-cancer therapies"....cont'd
Study finds non-hormonal therapies can relieve hot flashes in women with breast cancer
Note:
per the media headline, this was not actually a 'study' but a Cochrane Collaboration review of pertinent studies, the Cochrane Collaboration does not perform studies but conducts reviews
Cancer Newsline - CA-125 Change Over Time Shows Promise for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer - MD Anderson Cancer Center
CA-125 Change Over Time Shows Promise for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
Cancer Newsline
Guest(s): Karen Lu, M.D., Robert Bast, M.D.
Patient Experience Defined by The Beryl Institute -- press release
Result: (definition)
"Patient Experience -- The sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization's culture, that influence patient perceptions across a continuum of care."
EvidenceUpdates - Bevacizumab (Avastin) increases risk for severe proteinuria in cancer patients including professional commentaries
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