Thursday, July 21, 2011
free full access - online presentations - e Health 2011
Note: numerous presentations eg. patient consent, e-records....
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Risk for CRC in Lynch Syndrome May Be Lower Than We Thought: Prevalence of Alterations in DNA Mismatch Repair Genes in Patients With Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer - Medscape Oncology
"Clearly, as we develop more accurate estimates of risks associated with specific mutations, personalized screening methods and intervals will need to be further clarified among those with LS. Although it appears that the overall risk for CRC among those with LS may be lower than previously thought, there are likely to be specific mutations that confer a higher risk and require more intensive screening protocols."
European Journal of Cancer : Primary versus secondary cytoreduction for epithelial ovarian cancer: A paired analysis of tumour pattern and surgical outcome
Conclusions Secondary cytoreduction due to EOC appears to be associated with significantly lower optimal tumour debulking rates compared to primary setting, since the disease tends to recur in patterns less accessible to complete resection such as gastrointestinal serosa, mesentery and upper abdomen. By maximal surgical effort, tumour residuals significantly correlate between primary and secondary cytoreduction. No other predictors of surgical outcome or tumour-pattern could be identified.
Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibition Synergizes with 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine but not 5-Fluorouracil in Ovarian Cancer Cells-abstract
"5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd, floxuridine) have activity in multiple tumors, and both agents undergo intracellular processing to active metabolites that disrupt RNA and DNA metabolism." "These findings underscore differences in the cytotoxic mechanisms of 5-FU and FdUrd and suggest that combining FdUrd and PARP inhibitors may be an innovative therapeutic strategy for ovarian tumors."
abstract - Journal of the Neurological Sciences : Deterioration of anti-Yo-associated paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration
second link (further information): "Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes are a heterogeneous group of neurologic disorders associated with systemic cancer and caused by mechanisms other than metastases, metabolic and nutritional deficits, infections, coagulopathy, or side effects of cancer treatment. Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is an uncommon disorder that can be associated with any cancer; the most commonly associated are lung cancer (particularly small cell lung cancer (SCLC)), gynecologic and breast cancer, and lymphoma (particularly Hodgkin disease) [1]. The neurologic symptoms frequently precede the diagnosis of cancer, sometimes by an interval of years....."cont'd
Proteomic biomarkers in combination with CA 125 for detection of epithelial ovarian cancer using prediagnostic serum samples from the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial
RESULTS:
CA 125 levels were elevated (≥35 U/mL) in 61.5% of 65 patients who had CA 125 data available from samples that were collected <12 months before cancer diagnosis; however, levels of the additional 7 biomarkers were not different between cases and the 3 control groups individually or combined. Two panels that combined CA 125 and the 7 biomarkers failed to improve the sensitivity of CA 125 alone.
CONCLUSIONS:
In contrast to earlier findings from analyzes of postdiagnostically collected sera, the addition of 7 biomarkers to CA 125 did not improve sensitivity for preclinical diagnosis beyond CA 125 alone.Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
abstract: Antibiotic use and risk of gynecological cancers (Saskatchewan database)
OBJECTIVES: Several studies addressed the association between antibiotic use and breast cancer risk. The objective of this study was to assess the association between antibiotic use and risk of cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancer.
Video Guide: How to Use the NCI Clinical Trials Search Form - National Cancer Institute
Video Guide: How to Use the NCI Clinical Trials Search Form
The NCI Clinical Trials Search Form allows you to search a list of more than 8,000 clinical trials now accepting participants. The list includes trials supported by NCI, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and other research organizations. The following two videos show users how to use the form and review the results. For additional guidance, see
Help Using the NCI Clinical Trials Search Form.
(Opinion) Letter of Response: Cancer Test Failure - NYTimes.com (“How Bright Promise in Cancer Testing Fell Apart” )
Letter
Cancer Test Failure
Published: July 12, 2011
To the Editor:
Re “How Bright Promise in Cancer Testing Fell Apart” (front page, July 8):
full free access: Nonpulmonary Outcomes of Asbestos Exposure
" The strongest evidence for reproductive disease due to asbestos is in regard to ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, effects on fertility and the developing fetus are under-studied. The possibility of other asbestos-induced health effects does exist. These include brain-related tumors, blood disorders due to the mutagenic and hemolytic properties of asbestos, and peritoneal fibrosis. It is clear from the literature that the adverse properties of asbestos are not confined to the pulmonary system."
Cochrane review: Short versus long duration infusions of paclitaxel for any advanced adenocarcinoma.
OBJECTIVES:
To assess the effectiveness and toxicity of short versus long infusions of paclitaxel for any advanced adenocarcinoma."Adverse events were not comprehensively reported for any of the other comparisons. Outcomes were incompletely documented and QoL outcomes were not reported in any of the trials. The strength of the evidence is weak in this review as it is based on meta analyses of very few trials or single trial analyses and all trials were at moderate risk of bias and two were published in abstract form only."
abstract: A comparison of international breast cancer guidelines - Do the national guidelines differ in treatment recommendations? USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany
(USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany)
CONCLUDING STATEMENT: Considering that the development of guidelines is a very expensive and resource-intensive task the question arises whether the development of national guidelines in numerous countries is worth the effort since the recommendations differ only marginally.
abstract: The association between endometriosis and gynecological cancers and breast cancer: A review of epidemiological data
CONCLUSIONS:
Endometriosis seems to be a precursor of epithelial ovarian cancer, especially clear cell and endometrioid adenocarcinomas. However, current evidence is insufficient to draw any definitive conclusions whether this association represents causality or the sharing of similar risk factors and/or antecedent mechanismsClostridium Difficile Infection Research - Mayo Clinic
Clostridium Difficile Infection
Research
Mayo researchers have studied the effect of a medicine that binds to the C. difficile toxin so that the toxin does not harm the colon. Another study compared a new antibiotic to vancomycin.Mayo Publications
See a list of publications by Mayo Clinic authors about C. difficile on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.Monday, July 11, 2011
ongoing media stories - Three more die in C. difficile outbreak - The Globe and Mail
Note:
irrespective of location, C. difficile is an ongoing and unresolved issue (both hospital/non-hospital acquired) and in particular for cancer patients;
it seems the SARS cases of the past have not impacted the 'lessons-not-learned' category and yet people continue to die due to lapses in policy amongst other issues/concerns, patient safety efforts (eg. handwashing...) still need to be addressed (obviously)
abstract - Cancer Letters : Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma as a Stress-Responsive Cancer: Influence of the Microenvironment on the Carcinogenesis and Cancer Phenotype
Highlights
► Ovarian endometriosis is known to transform into ovarian cancer, but its etiology is not clarified.
► A stressful microenvironment within the endometriotic cyst may lead to cancer development.
► Ovarian clear cell carcinoma has unique gene expressions, which may serve as a molecular marker.
► Carcinogenic microenvironment affects the phenotype, character and gene expression of a cancer.
► We might be able to develop new treatment based on the analysis of the influence of microenvironment.
Targeting Src in Mucinous Ovarian Carcinoma (dasatinib/oxaliplatin)
"Targeting src kinase with combination of dasatinib and oxaliplatin may be an attractive approach in this disease."
ICGC Releases New Genomic Data on Cancer Ahead of Schedule -- TORONTO, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
"...The data include new submissions to the ICGC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) in the United States, which has contributed information on about 10 types of cancer affecting the blood, brain, colon, kidney, lung, ovaries, rectum, and uterus, including data from a study of 500 ovarian cancer patients published in the journal Nature on June 30......
Friday, July 08, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Full text: The relative risk of second primary cancers: a retrospective cohort study
"Within the female cohort, the relative risk of a second cancer was higher for those diagnosed with head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, cervical cancer, uterine cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, lymphoid leukaemia or myeloid leukaemia.
There were no types of cancer for which female survivors had a significantly lower risk of developing a second invasive cancer (see references to male cancers and lower risk) in relation to the general population."
Table 4. Relative risk of second primary cancer by type of first primary cancer and time period of first diagnosis, Queensland, 1982-2006
repost (abstract) - Gynecologic Oncology : Ovarian cancer linked to lynch syndrome typically presents as early-onset, non-serous epithelial tumors
Research highlights
► Lynch syndrome-associated
ovarian cancer
develops at early age (mean 48 years) with half of the tumors diagnosed at early stage and an overrepresentation of endometrioid (35%) and clear cell (17%) histologies.► MMR gene mutations affect MSH2 in 49%, MSH6 in 33% and MLH1 in 17% with immunohistochemical loss of MMR protein staining in 92%
Quality of pathology reports for advanced ovarian cancer: Are we missing essential information? : : An audit of 479 pathology reports from the EORTC-GCG 55971/NCIC-CTG OV13 neoadjuvant trial
Conclusion
This audit of
ovarian cancer pathology reports reveals that in a substantial number of reports basic pathologic data are missing, with possible adverse consequences for the quality of cancer care. Specialisation by pathologists and the use of standardised synoptic reports can lead to improved quality of reporting. Further research is needed to better define pre- and post-operative diagnostic criteria for ovarian cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
美洲華人生物科學學會 第十三屆國際學術研討會 - conference - Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America
Note: conference agenda online; appears to be some exceptionally interesting presentations
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Cancer, Fraud, and Bad Biotech! (from former science student....)
Note: see blog's comment section (right hand sidebar - scroll down) and therefore this link
excerpt from website:
FRAUD IS STILL FRAUD AND NO EXCUSE TO STEAL RESEARCH FROM THE PUBLIC!
This is Everyone's Opportunity to Hold Corrupt Businessmen Accountable and Help Make Society Better.
Dear Reader, when I first started this journey I was a student who believed I could contribute to society by discovering science of medical value. I did just that , but to my complete amazement I found myself in trouble with corrupt people...........cont'd
abstract: Sorafenib as a third line therapy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer or primary peritoneal cancer: A phase II study
CONCLUSION: Sorafenib fails to achieve sufficient objective response or sustained disease stabilization as third-line treatment for EOC.
Cancer Society spends more on fundraising than research - Canada - CBC News
Note: consolidated statement
"An Ontario cancer researcher is concerned that the Canadian Cancer Society has proportionally shifted funding away from research and is spending more of its dollars on fundraising and administration costs.
"Most scientists don’t realize that the budget has been going up and up, and donations have been growing, but the budget for research has been shrinking," said Brian Lichty, a researcher at McMaster University who is looking into treating cancer with viruses that kill tumours. "So they are surprised and disappointed when they find out that this is the case, and the trend."
CBC's Marketplace analyzed the Canadian Cancer Society’s financial reports dating back a dozen years. It discovered that each year, as the society raised more dollars, the proportion of money it spent on research dropped dramatically — from 40.3 per cent in 2000 to under 22 per cent in 2011.........."But when Marketplace scrutinized the financial reports, it found that a greater percentage of funds was not being directed toward support, information and advocacy.........cont'd
Monday, July 04, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
abstract: Mechanical bowel preparation does not influence outcomes following colonic cancer resection
CONCLUSION:
Neither postoperative complications nor long-term survival are improved by MBP before colonic cancer surgery.abstract: Outcomes for Patients who Develop Both Breast and Colorectal Cancer
BACKGROUND: Patients diagnosed with both breast and colorectal cancer are not uncommon and will likely be seen more often as the population ages and treatment modalities improve. Survival outcomes for such patients have not been previously reported.
METHODS: The 1988-2007 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data were used to identify women diagnosed with both breast and colorectal cancer. Disease-specific survival rates were compared.
RESULTS: We identified 4,835 women who were diagnosed with both breast and colorectal cancer. Of these, 2,844 (58.8%) were diagnosed with breast cancer first and 1,807 (37.4%) were diagnosed with colorectal cancer first; 184 (3.8%) had synchronous cancers. At 5 years following the second cancer diagnosis, 163 (3.4%) died of breast cancer and 477 (9.9%) died of colorectal cancer (P < 0.05). Comparing primary site groups between years 1 and 5 after the second cancer diagnosis showed that the relative risk of death from breast cancer declined by 46%, though it did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.24), while it significantly increased by 46% for colorectal cancer death (P = 0.0004). These findings persisted regardless of patient age, stage at diagnosis, or breast tumor histology.
CONCLUSION: For women diagnosed with both breast and colorectal cancer, the cumulative risk of death at 5 years following the second cancer diagnosis is 3 times more likely to be due to colorectal cancer than to breast cancer. Colorectal cancer specific mortality increases with time, while breast cancer specific mortality decreases with time. Consideration should be given to these findings when discussing prognosis and making treatment decisions.
Friday, July 01, 2011
Detailed 'genetic landscape' of ovarian cancer revealed : Cancer Research UK
Note: nice 'plain english language' article
My Healthy Today: Menopause Study: Flaxseed doesn't reduce women's hot flashes
Dr. Mark Kris, a cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said the flaxseed results are disappointing
"There were so many testimonials that we thought flaxseed was going to work, but a testimonial is not a rigorous clinical trial result, and that's what our patients deserve," he said.
"Even natural products do have side effects," so it's important to test them in studies such as this one, he said.
Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) Co-Pay Relief Patient Center - August 1, 2011 - U.S.
EXCITING CHANGES ARE TAKING PLACE IN THE CO-PAY RELIEF (CPR) PROGRAM!
Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases, is pleased to announce significant improvements to its Co-Pay Relief (CPR) Program beginning on August 1, 2011 that will allow more patients to be served through a new operational model and will provide enhanced service to both providers and patients. The program will also leverage state-of-the-art technology solutions to deliver a high degree of automation and efficiency to program users.
Please Click Here to View a Complete Overview of These New Program Enhancements.Are You Eligible?
The
Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) Co-Pay Relief Program (CPR) currently
assists insured patients who are financially and medically qualified
and are being treated for breast, lung, lymphoma and cutaneous t-cell
lymphoma, prostate, kidney, colon, pancreatic, head/neck cancers,
malignant brain tumor, sarcoma, diabetes, multiple myeloma,
myelodysplastic syndrome (and other pre-leukemia diseases),
osteoporosis, pain, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, selected
autoimmune disorders and CIA/CIN. Thursday, June 30, 2011
TEDMED: video - pediatric vs adult oncologists & survival rates 15-30 year old cancer patients
About this Talk
Bart Kamen talks about why their is a large disparity between pediatric and adult oncologists when it comes to the survival rate of 15-30 year-olds with various cancers .abstract: Cochrane Review - Anticoagulation for the initial treatment of venous thromboembolism in patients with cancer.
BACKGROUND:
Compared to patients without cancer, patients with cancer who receive anticoagulant treatment for venous thromboembolism are more likely to develop recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE).AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:
LMWH (low molecular weight heparin) is possibly superior to UFH (unfractionated heparin) in the initial treatment of VTE in patients with cancer. Additional trials focusing on patient important outcomes will further inform the questions addressed in this review.medical news: Sequence of ovarian genome identifies predominant gene mutations, points to possible treatment
"....While high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma is conventionally considered as one type of cancer having uniform features, "we could divide the tumors into four different groups based on gene expression patterns," said Creighton. "They look like four different cancers."
"We were able to define a set of genes that were associated with worse outcomes versus better outcomes in patients," he said. They applied this gene signature to other sets of data collected about ovarian cancer and found that the profile predicted worse or better outcome there as well.
"These data are all public (blogger's note - refers to the Cancer Genome Atlas)," said Creighton. "They are meant for people to use to find specific genes for research. They could influence a lot of future studies."...cont'd
press release: UCSF-led team decodes evolution of skin and ovarian cancer cells (squamous cell/serous cell)
"They worked with a type of skin cancer known as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, which has among the highest numbers of mutations of any cancer, and also with a common type (blogger's note: assumption - serous cell type) of ovarian cancer."
"Using the new technique, the researchers were able to identify not just the mutations that differentiate two types of human cancer from normal cells, but the actual order in which some of the most key mutations occurred."
...................................................................................................
Temporal Dissection of Tumorigenesis in Primary Cancers
The article, "Temporal Dissection of Tumorigenesis in Primary cancers" is authored by Steffen Durinck, Christine Ho, Nicholas J. Wang, Wilson Liao, Lakshmi R. Jakkula, Eric A. Collisson, Jennifer Pons, Sai-Wing Chan, Ernest T. Lam, Catherine Chu, Kyunghee Park, Sung-woo Hong, Joe S. Hur, Nam Huh, Isaac M. Neuhaus, Siegrid S. Yu, Roy C. Grekin, Theodora M. Mauro, James E. Cleaver, Pui-Yan Kwok, Philip E. LeBoit, Gad Getz, Kristian Cibulskis, Jon C. Aster, Haiyan Huang, Elizabeth Purdom, Jian Li, Lars Bolund, Sarah T. Arron, Joe W. Gray, Paul T. Spellman, and Raymond J. Cho.
It appears in the July 2011 issue of the journal Cancer Discovery. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-11-0028
"Ovarian cancers generally show more complex karyotypic abnormalities than do cSCCs (13)."
"We sought to validate our observations in an additional
cancer type. Recently, full genomic sequence and copy number
changes were determined for 10 ovarian serous adenocarcinomas
by The Cancer Genome Atlas Project. Ovarian
cancers generally show more complex karyotypic abnormalities
than do cSCCs (13). In the 3 samples with a clear, informative
CN-LOH event at 17p, we again found solid evidence
for complete loss of TP53 as the earliest event (Fig. 1D). These
initial events in ovarian tumorigenesis could not have been
determined through sequencing of precursor lesions and invasive cancers (1, 14), as the asymptomatic nature of early
disease precludes tissue collection."
recent blog stats as a FYI : Ovarian Cancer and Us
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Cancer Genome Atlas completes detailed ovarian cancer analysis - GenOmics
also: A more detailed press release on the study will be available from the National Institutes of Health at http://nih.gov/news/.
Cochrane Collaboration Review:Evaluation of follow-up strategies for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer following completion of primary treatment
Plain language summary
Evaluation of follow-up strategies for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer following completion of primary treatment
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer and seventh commonest cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Traditionally, many patients who have been treated for cancer undergo long-term follow up in hospitals. Whilst there may be other benefits from follow up, it has been suggested that the use of routine review may not result in women with this disease living longer given that recurrent ovarian cancer is incurable.
We set out to review the evidence for different types of follow up of women who have completed treatment for the commonest type (epithelial, that is coming from the surface of the ovary) of ovarian cancer. Only one good quality (blogger's note: Rustin trial) randomised (toss of a coin to choose which group) trial was found which could give any evidence on what to do. This trial suggested no increase in length of life from early treatment with chemotherapy for women with recurrence that was identified by a tumour marker (CA125) blood test compared to waiting to give treatment when women developed symptoms from their cancer.
We conclude that the very limited evidence suggests that there may be no benefit from early detection by the blood test and subsequent early chemotherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer. Also, the women having early chemotherapy treatment of their relapsed cancer may have led to a decreased quality of life for these women compared to the group who were treated when they noticed symptoms.
Randomised controlled trials are needed to compare different types of follow up, looking at quality of life and anxiety outcomes. If new treatments become available for relapsed ovarian cancer, the methods of follow up may need re-assessing to see if earlier intervention improves survival or other outcomes.
New drugs hope for those with 'resistant' cancers - media - Prof Hani Gabra/UK
"But now scientists at the charity Ovarian Cancer Action have discovered the reason why their cancers apparently develop this resistance. Rather than the cancers developing immunity, they found that minute traces of cancers that were always resistant to platinum therapy were there from the beginning. This discovery has helped them identify four or five different molecular "targets" that could be the focus of new drugs, said Prof Hani Gabra, director of the charity's research centre. He said: "These cancers look like they are platinum-resistant, but in fact they were there from the outset and they were never touched by the drugs." .....cont'd
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Abstract/full free access: Symptom Interpretation and Health Care Seeking In Ovarian Cancer
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
(abstract) Conclusions
Diagnostic delay in ovarian cancer seems far from being exclusively a medical problem, as the delay proved to be influenced by organisational, cultural, and social factors, too. Initiatives facilitating the diagnostic process and research concerning the selection of individuals for further investigation are indicated. The way in which the women interpreted their symptoms was influenced by their personal experiences, their cultural, and their social background. This became crucial to the diagnostic process. These issues need to be explored through further research on women's experiences during the diagnostic process.
June 3rd: Personalized Therapy Benefits Late-Stage Cancer Patients in Clinical Trial - Cancerwise | Cancer blog from MD Anderson Cancer Center
"Researchers analyzed tumors of 1,144 patients with metastatic or inoperable cancer. Their median age was 58, and the median number of prior treatments was four. Of these, 460 had one or more gene defects targetable by available approved or experimental drugs."
abstract- Gynecologic Oncology : Polymorphisms in the CASP8 gene and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer
Research highlights
► Three variants in CASP8 gene decreased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).
► A reduced risk of EOC was significantly associated with the del-C-T haplotype of those 3 SNPs.
► A notable later age at onset of EOC was associated with rs3834129 of CASP8 gene.
HRT Post Oophorectomy Adds No Breast Cancer Risk : Internal Medicine News
"....The PROSE database was developed by 20 centers in the United States and Europe who identified and prospectively followed women with a deleterious BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. For the study, the investigators focused on those who at ascertainment had at least one ovary, no prior breast or ovarian cancer, no prior bilateral mastectomy, and at least 6 months of follow-up. ...."
abstract- Gynecologic Oncology : Comparison of candidate serologic markers for type I and type II ovarian cancer
Objective
To examine the value of individual and combinations of ovarian cancer associated blood biomarkers for the discrimination between plasma of patients with type I or II ovarian cancer and disease-free volunteers.Research highlights
► We compared 14 biomarkers to discriminate the plasma samples of healthy volunteers and ovarian cancer patients.► Autoantibodies to p53 and NY-ESO-1 were present in plasma of type II but not type I ovarian cancer patients.
► Combining p53 AAbs with CA125 significantly improved discrimination of plasma of type II cancer patients from that of healthy volunteers.
ongoing: Research Study in Patients With Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
Purpose
RATIONALE: Analyzing tissue samples from patients in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about cancer.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze tissue samples from patients with ovarian cancer in the laboratory.
| Condition | Intervention |
|---|---|
| Ovarian Cancer | Genetic: comparative genomic hybridization Genetic: cytogenetic analysis Genetic: gene rearrangement analysis Genetic: microarray analysis Genetic: mutation analysis Genetic: polymerase chain reaction |
phase 11 - Evaluation of TRC105 in the Treatment of Recurrent Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, or Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov (not yet recruiting)
Biological: Chimeric monoclonal antibody (TRC105) to CD105
10 mg/kg weekly by intravenous administration on Days 1, 8, 15 and 22 of each 28-day cycle
Other Names:
- TRC105
- NSC#754227
Abstract/full free access: BRCA in the Ashkenazi Population: Are Current Testing Guidelines Too Exclusive?
(The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production)
Abstract:
The BRCA1/2 genes account for a significant portion of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers and they are especially prevalent in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Women who have a mutation can prevent breast and ovarian cancer with surgical intervention. We describe an Ashkenazi Jewish patient who illustrates that current testing criteria are too restrictive, particularly for this population of patients. The patient's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33; however, she was not a mutation carrier. Based on practice guidelines, the patient was not recommended genetic testing. She subsequently underwent direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing and discovered that she was a mutation carrier. This case demonstrates the need for clinicians to be aware of the higher prevalence of BRCA mutations in the Ashkenazi population. It also exemplifies the need to involve medical professionals, including genetic counselors, in the dissemination of DNA test results.
NBOCC News - June 2011 - National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)
In this issue...
- A reflection on National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre's achievement
- Cancer Australia and National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre amalgamate
- Not just a woman's disease: Information about breast cancer in men
- New clinical practice guidelines on use of bisphosphonates in advanced breast cancer
- GP online learning on cancer screening
- Understanding ductal carcinoma in situ resource
- New Clinical Update: Ovarian Cancer
Monday, June 27, 2011
(2nd article) FDA Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products > Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs) In Chronic Kidney Disease: Drug Safety Communication - Modified Dosing Recommendations
Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs) In Chronic Kidney Disease: Drug Safety Communication - Modified Dosing Recommendations
Epoetin alfa (marketed as Epogen and Procrit) and darbepoetin alfa (marketed as Aranesp)
Response Rates | 2010 National Physician Survey Canada
| Response Rates |
Contact mode
| |
| Completion mode |
Paper
|
Email
|
| Paper |
17.5%%
|
2.6%
|
| Online |
2.0%
|
14.8%
|
| Subtotal Survey Respondents |
19.5%
|
17.4%
|
| Did not respond |
80.5%
|
82.6%
|
| Total |
100%
|
100%
|
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Managing pain effectively : The Lancet (full free access)
"Management of chronic pain has shown better results for patients with cancer, when guidelines are adhered to, but often they are not. Disturbingly, about 43% of patients with cancer receive inappropriate care for pain."
full free access: PLoS Medicine: Strengthening the Reporting of Genetic Risk Prediction Studies: The GRIPS Statement (multinational)
Summary Points
- The rapid and continuing progress in gene discovery for complex diseases is fueling interest in the potential application of genetic risk models for clinical and public health practice.
- The number of studies assessing the predictive ability is steadily increasing, but the quality and completeness of reporting varies.
- A multidisciplinary workshop sponsored by the Human Genome Epidemiology Network developed a checklist of 25 items recommended for strengthening the reporting of Genetic RIsk Prediction Studies (GRIPS), building on the principles established by prior reporting guidelines.
- These recommendations aim to enhance the transparency of study reporting, and thereby to improve the synthesis and application of information from multiple studies that might differ in design, conduct, or analysis.
- A detailed Explanation and Elaboration document is published as supporting information (Text S1).
Safety Concerns Prompt New Recommendations for Anemia Drugs « news@JAMA (patients with chronic kidney disease)
"The revised recommendations apply to epoetin alfa, which is marketed as Epogen and Procrit, and to darbepoetin alfa, marketed as Aranesp."
Friday, June 24, 2011
Top Cancer News — Cancer Matters podcasts - Johns Hopkins
full free access: Journal of Ovarian Research: On the Path to Translation: Highlights from the 2010 Canadian Conference on Ovarian Cancer Research
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
"This report summarizes the key findings presented at the fifth biennial Canadian Conference on Ovarian Cancer Research held in Toronto, Canada, and includes the important issues and challenges we still face in the years ahead to make a significant impact on this devastating disease."
FDA Should Not Mandate Comparative-Effectiveness Trials
"Consumer groups are pushing for a new drug approval mandate that would require drug companies to conduct "comparative effectiveness" trials to win Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for new medicines. Proponents of this policy argue that new drugs should have to prove superior to older medicines to gain marketing approval. These requirements would add a major hurdle to the development and approval of new medicines, adding significant time and cost, says Scott Gottlieb, M.D. and a resident fellow at American Enterprise Institute.
- Consumer groups are pushing to add a step to the FDA drug approval process: "comparator" trials, which test a new drug against the current standard treatment.
- But these trials are already being conducted in important cases; a new FDA approval requirement would slow down the drug approval process elsewhere.
- If such an FDA mandate were adopted, the resulting studies would likely be "noninferiority trials," which are unlikely to conclusively show whether a new medicine is indeed more effective than an existing alternative.
- Achieving the goal consumer groups want -- safer and more cost-effective drugs -- requires innovation in clinical trial design, not a congressional mandate.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network - New Paradigms in Advanced Ovarian Cancer CME - Dr Deborah K. Armstrong (repeat post)
Note: requires registration to view (free)
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011
financial news: Immunovaccine Nominates Brad Thompson for Appointment to the Board - DepoVax™
Brad Thompson, Ph.D., is Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. and is the current Chairman of BIOTECanada. Prior to joining Oncolytics, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Iteration Energy Ltd. (formerly SYNSORB Biotech Incorporated), from May 1994 to February 1999, and was Head of Biotechnology at The Alberta Research Council. Dr. Thompson received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
Immunovaccine Inc. (TSX VENTURE:IMV) is a clinical stage vaccine development company focused on the commercialization of its patented vaccine delivery technology and product candidates.
media: FDA OKs clinical trials for cancer vaccine (DPX-Suvivac)
"In the trials of DPX-Suvivac, ovarian cancer patients will be treated with the vaccine after surgery and chemotherapy treatments."
full free access: Personalized Medicine and Cancer Supportive Care: Appropriate Use of Colony-Stimulating Factor Support of Chemotherapy
"Unfortunately, patients in RCTs (randomized clinical trials) are often highly selected, and toxicities, including FN, are frequently underreported (18). In addition, chemotherapy dose intensity and the use of prophylactic CSF or antibiotics are infrequently reported in RCTs, making it difficult to assess the true burden of neutropenic complications associated with a chemotherapy regimen (18)." "....Although there is little debate that both underuse and overuse of the CSFs occur in clinical practice, accurate estimates of the true magnitude and impact of such considerations remain elusive. What is clear is that there is a need for greater attention to chemotherapy-associated toxicities along with accurate prediction tools for the assessment of individual patient risks, including FN (febrile neutropenia) and its complications. Such tools could improve the evidence base for practice guidelines and aid clinicians in the selection of patients with cancer who are at an individual increased risk for FN, and therefore, appropriate candidates for the clinically effective and cost-effective use of the CSFs (40)."
extract: Estrogen's Dual Nature? Studies Highlight Effects on Breast Cancer
Note: to read full text $$$ (requires subscription)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Cancers | Free Full-Text | Clinical Trial Design for Testing the Stem Cell Model for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
Cancers 2011, 3(2), 2696-2708; doi:10.3390/cancers3022696
Review
Clinical Trial Design for Testing the Stem Cell Model for the Published: 20 June 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Stem Cells)
Abstract:
The cancer stem cell model introduces new strategies for the prevention and treatment of cancers. In cancers that appear to follow the stem cell model, pathways such as Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog may be targeted with natural compounds such as curcumin or drugs to reduce the risk of initiation of new tumors. Disease progression of established tumors could also potentially be inhibited by targeting the tumorigenic stem cells alone, rather than aiming to reduce overall tumor size. These new approaches mandate a change in the design of clinical trials and biomarkers chosen for efficacy assessment for preventative, neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and palliative treatments. Cancer treatments could be evaluated by assessing stem cell markers before and after treatment. Targeted stem cell specific treatment of cancers may not result in “complete” or “partial” responses radiologically, as stem cell targeting may not reduce the tumor bulk, but eliminate further tumorigenic potential. These changes are discussed using breast, pancreatic, and lung cancer as examples.
The cancer stem cell model introduces new strategies for the prevention and treatment of cancers. In cancers that appear to follow the stem cell model, pathways such as Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog may be targeted with natural compounds such as curcumin or drugs to reduce the risk of initiation of new tumors. Disease progression of established tumors could also potentially be inhibited by targeting the tumorigenic stem cells alone, rather than aiming to reduce overall tumor size. These new approaches mandate a change in the design of clinical trials and biomarkers chosen for efficacy assessment for preventative, neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and palliative treatments. Cancer treatments could be evaluated by assessing stem cell markers before and after treatment. Targeted stem cell specific treatment of cancers may not result in “complete” or “partial” responses radiologically, as stem cell targeting may not reduce the tumor bulk, but eliminate further tumorigenic potential. These changes are discussed using breast, pancreatic, and lung cancer as examples.
repost: WORD of HOPE Podcast | Ovarian Cancer News, Research and Information
The Launch of the WORD of HOPE™ Ovarian Cancer Podcast - In case you missed it a few weeks ago - We are proud to partner with Libby's Hope™ in the launch of this new podcast. Here are four links to learn more. Episode 5 is being launched very soon.
Read our blog post about WORD of HOPE.
Read Libby's Hope™ Blog Post.
Read our Press Release.
Go to the WORD of HOPE website.
Friday, June 17, 2011
(from asco 2011) video: Dr Steven Joffe – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston - Ethics of early-phase clinical trials on ecancer tv. Cancer journal: online cancer news, clinical oncology research, cancer information and latest cancer studies - open access cancer journal: ecancermedicalscience
Ethics of early-phase clinical trials
Dr Joffe talks to ecancer tv at ASCO 2011 about the arguments around
patient recruitment and expectation management in early-phase clinical
trials.Canadian Patient Safety Institute - and the patients are where????
Blogger's Note: and the patients are still not at the table as equal 'partners' - only in Canada, eh? Reminder of the "Nothing for us, without us" (UK)
"The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to raise awareness and facilitate implementation of ideas and best practices to achieve a transformation in patient safety. We envision safe healthcare for all Canadians and are driven to inspire extraordinary improvement in patient safety and quality.
We invite governments, health organizations, leaders, and healthcare providers to join us and use the evidence-based tools and resources we develop and provide. Together, we can inspire, learn, apply, and improve the quality of care for patients, residents, and clients...."
Editorial :: VIEWPOINT: Randomised controlled trials using invasive ‘placebo’ controls are unethical and should be excluded from Cochrane Reviews - The Cochrane Library
"Placebo controls are frequently used to ‘blind’ participants, trial personnel and outcome assessors to intervention and control in clinical trials. Effective blinding of treatment reduces the risk of performance bias (differences between groups in the care provided apart from the intervention being evaluated) and detection bias (differences between groups in how outcomes are ascertained, diagnosed or verified). A placebo has traditionally been defined as an “inert or innocuous substance”,[1] such as a ‘sugar pill’. However, some randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been shown to erroneously use the term ‘placebo’ to describe an invasive intervention that exposes participants, allocated to a control group, to risks of serious harm.[2,3] In this context therefore, the term ‘placebo’ describes an invasive intervention which is neither inert nor innocuous.
In a recent study of local anaesthesia RCTs, over half the RCTs used an invasive ‘placebo’ control.[2] The ‘placebo’ interventions mostly involved deep-needle insertion through body tissues with potential damage to nerves, vessels and other structures such as liver and bowel. These interventions exposed control group participants to risks of serious morbidity.[2,3].......
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sustainability is not the issue: Let's focus on quality -- Hébert et al. 183 (8): 885 -- Canadian Medical Association Journal
"It’s no exaggeration to say that people have been proclaiming a crisis in Canadian health care for decades. Perhaps that rhetoric is wearing thin....)
Private clinics continue explosive growth - Canadian Medical Association Journal
"While private health providers argue that patients are demanding private health care and triggering the growth, those who oppose two-tier systems say patients are feeling increasingly coerced into paying out of pocket for services caused by underfunding in the public system.
"Provinces are delisting services. The medicare blanket is shrinking," says McBain. "The government is letting us down."
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Video: Ovarian cancer cells bully their way through tissue
When researchers placed ovarian cancer cells and mesothelial cells together in a dish, the cancer cells formed a hole in the mesothelial layer, mirroring behavior that would occur in the body as an invasion proceeds. The team interfered with molecular components of the cancer cells one by one and used time-lapse microscopy to watch the result. If the hole failed to form, the researchers knew that they'd discovered a critical player in the invasion process.
GEN | News Highlights:Scientists Find Ovarian Cancer Cells Barge Through Mesothelium to Invade New Organs
Mesothelium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mesothelium | |
|---|---|
| A layer of mesothelial cells grown in cell culture, featuring the typical "cobblestone" appearance | |
| MeSH | Mesothelium |
| Code | TH H2.00.02.0.02017 TH H3.04.08.0.00003 |
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