Dr Maurie Markman: Clinical Oncology News - A Provocative Intersection: Rare cancers, “approved” anti-neoplastics and preclinical models

Clinical Oncology News - A Provocative Intersection: Rare cancers, “approved” anti-neoplastics and preclinical models

"Preclinical results describing a novel approach to the treatment of an uncommon malignant condition raise a provocative question: How, in the current increasingly rigid “guideline-based” era of cancer management, can such observations ever leave the realm of the laboratory to be examined in the clinic? And can a rational approach to this highly relevant dilemma be devised?
Primary mucinous tumors comprise a very small proportion (<5%) of morphologic subtypes found in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer......."

"....One might even argue that the outcome of such individual non-investigative experiences be posted in an easily identified, well-organized, condition-specific online database (with absolutely no accompanying patient-specific identifiers), so the oncology community would be aware of any clinically beneficial effects observed if colleagues had previously attempted to employ this novel approach in an individual patient with a metastatic mucinous ovarian cancer.....

CTV Winnipeg- Too many deadly cancers go underfunded: report - CTV News

Charity Intelligence notes there are more than 200 forms of cancer, but the 10 forms that represent 70 per cent of Canadian cancer cases, deaths, potential years of life lost, and prevalence include:

• lung
• colorectal
• breast
• pancreatic
• non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• brain
• leukemia
• prostate
• ovarian
• stomach cancers

It also includes sarcoma, because it was the form of cancer that affected Terry Fox, who changed the face of cancer charity donations forever.

NCI Cancer Bulletin: Statistical Strength in Numbers: International Clinical Trials for Rare Cancers

“International trials for rare cancers offer many advantages over separate trials done in different countries or regions,” explained Dr. Jack Welch of the Clinical Investigations Branch in NCI’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). “By bringing patients together, international trials can accrue faster, and they offer lower collective administrative costs, shared infrastructure, centralized resources, and use of existing networks.”.....On December 10, NCI and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) convened a meeting of international stakeholders to explore ways to collaborate across borders on clinical trials for rare cancers. Nearly 100 representatives from 75 institutions participated in the day-long meeting, which was supported by CTEP, NIH’s Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR), NCI’s Office of Advocacy Relations (OAR), and ASCO. In addition to representatives from NIH, the FDA, the HHS Office for Human Research Protections, and NCI’s Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, attendees included investigators from Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, and representatives of patient advocacy organizations and the pharmaceutical industry....cont'd

Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the Risk of Rarer Cancers: Design and Methods of the Cohort Consortium Vitamin D Pooling Project of Rarer Cancers

Rare cancers in Europe - tackling a common problem - Editorial - Cancer World

A Revision Of The EU Clinical Trials Directive Supported By European Cancer Organization

"Certain groups of patients have been particularly hard hit: children, patients with rare cancers, patients who would profit greatly from international trials that optimise already existing treatments and which, therefore, do not find commercial sponsorship, and elderly patients with other health problems, including secondary cancers due to earlier treatments."