PR-USA - Immunovaccine Reports Positive Interim Data from Phase I Clinical Trial of DPX-0907 in Patients With Ovarian Cancer

"....The ongoing Phase I clinical trial of DPX-0907 is an open-label, dose-escalating evaluation of the vaccine's safety and tolerability in patients with advanced breast, ovarian or prostate cancer. Immunovaccine developed DPX-0907 with seven peptide antigens designed to target multiple cancer pathways.
Enrollment in the study has been completed. This preliminary evaluation examined vaccine responses in the first fifteen patients enrolled in the study; three with breast cancer, five with ovarian cancer and seven with prostate cancer. Immunovaccine will perform a more detailed analysis of samples collected from all patients by Q3 2011. Patients received three injections (0.25 mL or 1 mL) of the active immune therapy DPX-0907........"

press release: Experimental drug (NVP-BEZ235) inhibits cell signaling pathway and slows ovarian cancer growth

Note: in research

The study, performed on cells lines and mouse models, appears in the April 15, 2011 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

article - included comments:

'The experimental drug is being tested as a single agent at the Jonsson Cancer Center in human clinical trials against other solid tumors. Researchers involved with those studies have said early results are encouraging.
"This is clearly a promising agent with activity in humans," said Dr. John Glaspy, a professor of hematology/oncology and a Jonsson Cancer Center scientist involved with the studies. "We are still assessing its tolerability in patients."
Dorigo said he hopes to initiate a clinical trial for women with ovarian cancer that tests the combination of NVP-BEZ235 with platinum chemotherapy, as he believes that the combination might be more effective than each drug alone."

Annual Report Card on Cancer in Canada(TM) reveals canadians fighting cancer on two fronts: the disease and the system

Annual Report Card on Cancer in Canada(TM) reveals canadians fighting cancer on two fronts: the disease and the system Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada Provides New Insights into Current Cancer Landscape
Toronto, April 13, 2011 - The Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada (CACC) reveals in its 2010-2011 Report Card on Cancer in Canada that the current roadmap for cancer care in this country presents patients with numerous unnecessary barriers to accessing the care and support they need, from prevention programs, to timely diagnostics and access to treatment. At a time when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable, too often Canadian cancer patients are forced to fight not only their disease, but the healthcare system as whole, making an already complex and challenging journey even harder.....

For more information, or to view and download the 2010-2011 Report Card on Cancer in Canada, visit the CACC's website at www.canceradvocacy.ca.

Medical errors in the USA: human or systemic? : The Lancet

Medical errors in the USA: human or systemic? : The Lancet

Cochrane Review: abstract - Ultra-radical (extensive) surgery versus standard surgery for the primary cytoreduction of advanced epithelial ovarian can

Note:  this blogger participated as a consumer reviewer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer among women and the leading cause of death in women with gynaecological malignancies. Opinions differ regarding the role of ultra-radical (extensive) cytoreductive surgery in ovarian cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness and morbidity associated with ultra-radical/extensive surgery in the management of advanced stage ovarian cancer.


MAIN RESULTS: One non-randomised study met our inclusion criteria. It analysed retrospective data for 194 women with stage IIIC advanced epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent either ultra-radical (extensive) or standard surgery and reported disease specific overall survival and perioperative mortality. Multivariate analysis, adjusted for prognostic factors, identified better disease specific survival among women receiving ultra-radical surgery, although this was not statistically significant (Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40 to 1.04). In a subset of 144 women with carcinomatosis, those who underwent ultra-radical surgery had significantly better disease specific survival than women who underwent standard surgery (adjusted HR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.98). Progression-free survival and quality of life (QoL) were not reported and adverse events were incompletely documented. The study was at high risk of bias.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found only low quality evidence comparing ultra-radical and standard surgery in women with advanced ovarian cancer and carcinomatosis. The evidence suggested that ultra-radical surgery may result in better survival. It was unclear whether there were any differences in progression-free survival, QoL and morbidity between the two groups. The cost-effectiveness of this intervention has not been investigated. We are, therefore, unable to reach definite conclusions about the relative benefits and adverse effects of the two types of surgery.In order to determine the role of ultra-radical surgery in the management of advanced stage ovarian cancer, a sufficiently powered randomised controlled trial comparing ultra-radical and standard surgery or well-designed non-randomised studies would be required.

Empathy - ASCO Connection -Physician BlogView - ASCO Connection Blogs - Robert Miller, MD

Note: physician blog regarding NY Times article and empathy. (Many oncologists have probably been following Dr. Peter Bach’s moving and beautifully written series, recently concluded in the New York Times)


......Hearing the patient’s voice directly without health provider filtering is a small step toward minimizing traditional barriers to empathy. And I would have to believe that appreciating the psychosocial aspects of the patient’s cancer experience is the area that needs the most work for providers. I know that for my own practice and interactions with patients, I am probably decent at understanding physical toxicities – not that I can’t do a better job any given day. But I am sure I do far less well at understanding the true impact their cancer has on the things that I don’t see, like what happens when they go home and try to deal with the pressures of child care, trying to function at work while battling treatment-related fatigue, and agonizing over the financial impact of their cancer on their daily lives........