Archive for the ‘Follow up Treatment’ Category

Inhaled nanoparticles deliver potent anticancer cocktail to lung tumors and block resistance

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Posted 17 Nov 2011 — by James Street
Category Follow up Treatment, Lung Cancer, Lung Metastases, NanoTechnology, Osteosarcoma Outcomes, Physics and Engineering, Relapse, silica nanoparticles
(Nanowerk News) An ideal treatment for lung cancer would be one that could be inhaled deep into lung tissue where it would deliver tumor-killing agents that would then largely stay in the lungs, avoiding the toxicities that limit the effectiveness of today’s lung cancer therapies. Now, researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have developed an inhalable porous silica nanoparticle that not only delivers potent anticancer drugs only to non-small cell lung tumors, but also delivers agents that prevent the development of drug resistance.
Reporting its work in the Journal of Drug Targeting (“Innovative strategy for treatment of lung cancer: targeted nanotechnology-based inhalation co-delivery of anticancer drugs and siRNA”), a research team headed by Tamara Minko showed that a targeted silica nanoparticle was effective at getting a cocktail of drugs into lung tumors in animals and triggering cancer cell death. The inhaled nanoparticles largely remaining in the lungs, with a small amount accumulating in the liver and kidneys, the organs that are typically involved in excreting nanoparticles and other administered compounds.
Minko and her colleagues began this project by first developing mesoporous silica nanoparticles that could effectively deliver a mixture of traditional anticancer drugs and siRNA molecules specifically to lung cancer cells. The investigators chose mesoporous silica nanoparticles for two reasons – their pore size makes them ideal for delivering large loads of different types of molecules and they are biocompatible.
The researchers chose the anticancer agents doxorubicin and cisplatin, used today to treat lung cancer, as the primary tumor killing agents. They then designed two siRNA molecules to stop the development of drug resistance that develops during conventional anticancer treatment. One siRNA molecule would block tumor cell production of a drug pump that they use to expel anticancer agents, while the other siRNA would limit production of a protein that tumor cells use to prevent the programmed cell death, or apoptosis, that doxorubicin and cisplatin normally triggers.
To target the nanoparticles to lung tumors, the researchers added a molecule known as LHRH to the surface of the nanoparticle. LHRH binds to a receptor that is produced at high levels by many types of cancers, including lung cancers.
Tests with non-small cell lung tumor cells demonstrated that this complex formulation was highly effective at killing the cells and preventing the expression of the two types of drug resistance responses normally seen. Tests in animals showed that nearly three quarters of the inhaled nanoparticles remained in the lungs and were taken up by tumor cells. In this study, the researchers did not measure efficacy in killing tumors in the animals.

Source: National Cancer Institute

Taking chances, pursuing success

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Posted 12 Sep 2011 — by James Street
Category Artificial limbs, Biomedical Engineering, Follow up Treatment, Local Recurrence, Lung Metastases, Osteosarcoma, Osteosarcoma Outcomes, Relapse
By Kody Klein | THE EASTERN ECHO
Added September 11, 2011 at 9:30 pm

September 11 is a bittersweet day of remembrance for Eastern Michigan University student Andrew Samuels — not only because of the tragic events that took place that day, but because of a more personal loss — his left leg.

Samuel, a 23-year-old junior majoring in engineering physics, had his leg amputated as a last-ditch effort to eradicate the osteosarcoma that began in his left femur.

DSC_8808

Lukas Burch / THE EASTERN ECHO

“I was ten years old when I found out I had cancer,” Samuels said. “I was diagnosed at Mott Children’s Hospital by doctors from the University of Michigan.”

Samuels, a warm, outgoing and physically-active ten-year-old, was overwhelmed most by the desolate reality of being condemned to a hospital bed for the last remaining years of his childhood.

“I didn’t really understand what cancer was at first, but I understood that I was going to have to stay in the hospital for a very long time,” Samuels said.

“It wasn’t so much the fact that I realized that I could actually die at some point in my life. It was more that this was going to completely transform my life to the extent that I couldn’t be the kid that I wanted to be. I just wanted to be a normal kid. I was at school, I had all kinds of friends, I wanted to run around, I wanted to play sports, but I had to grow up. Week after week in a hospital bed, a large part of my childhood was gone.”

Samuels’ grueling struggle with cancer continued for four years. At first, doctors didn’t think amputation would be necessary.

“They tried what’s called ‘limb salvage,’” Samuels said. “They took out the femur and replaced it with a metal one. I had that for a while, and I was still on two legs. But the cancer came back two years later. Not only it had spread upward, but it was in my lungs as well.”

Samuels was 12 when the doctors informed him the cancer had returned, had spread and that amputating his leg was now the best way to combat the cancer. Yet somehow, at an age when most adolescents are playing video games, obsessing over acne and nursing quiet infatuation, he received the news without flinching.

“I was cool with it,” Samuels said. “That was about two years into my cancer battle, so I was pretty battle-hardened by then. At that point I had the perspective, ‘Let’s just do what it takes to get this done. Bring it on.’ I was talking with my doctors and I told them, ‘If this is what you guys think is the best route to go and the best way to end this right now, then let’s do it.’“

Amputating his leg proved to be a prudent decision. Samuels ultimately won the war and has been cancer-free for a decade. His last surgery was Sept. 11, 2001.

“We were walking through the hospital and everybody was standing around looking at the TV,” Samuels said. “Obviously, the planes had hit the towers. My doctor was watching as well in the lobby. It was really impressive. He said, ‘Andrew, we’re not going to worry about what’s going on right now. We’re going to focus on you.’ So he turned off the television and he said, ‘This is our day. We’re going to get you fixed up.’ I was really impressed by that, and I’ll always have respect for UM doctors.”

Victory over cancer has had a profound effect on Samuels’ outlook on life.

“Through my experience, I developed the perspective that I don’t believe in giving up on anything,” Samuels said. “No matter what adversity you’re facing, why would you ever give up? The moment you give up, the chance of your succeeding is zero. Even if the chance of succeeding is so very small, there’s still that chance. So you take the shot. No matter what.”

This fierce practical optimism ultimately played a large role in Samuels’ decision to resume his education by enrolling at Eastern Michigan University.

“I used to think I could never ever do math and physics,” Samuels said. “I was terrible at it in high school, but it was because I didn’t think I could do it.

“After I graduated, I started my own Internet marketing company. I did that for two years, made a little money, and I thought, ‘If I can run a business and be somewhat successful at it, what else can I do? What can’t I do?’ So I came back to school. Again, I was just challenging all of my previous roadblocks that I thought were roadblocks but really weren’t, and realizing that even if they were, I could jump over them.”

One can’t help but feel impressed by Samuels. For someone who never considered himself to be proficient at math or physics, he’s made tremendous accomplishments.

He’s currently researching space weather in Earth’s upper atmosphere for Dr. David Pawloski. As if that isn’t impressive enough, Samuels hopes to use his degree to further the technology to provide people with comfortable and affordable robotic prosthetics.

“I have a prosthetic,” Samuels said. “However, the technology right now for people who are amputated at the hip is not good. It’s really uncomfortable and they’re really heavy and cumbersome. The computerized ones are starting to take off, but they’re very expensive and most insurance companies won’t even pay for them. Part of the reason I’m in engineering physics is that, if I have that sort of background, maybe I can build my own.”

Samuels’ ability to persevere through life’s most daunting tribulations with a smile and his head held high is something to revere. Perhaps most admirable of all is his eagerness to give back to the hospital that saved his life.

“I volunteer there now on Thursday nights,” Samuels said.

“The UM athletes come up for a program called Michigan From the Heart. Along with the Thursday night visits to Mott Children’s Hospital, the program also organizes trips to take the kids to the games and setup meetings between them and the players afterwards, so they can get autographs and photos. It’s a really cool thing to be a part of and I get to share my experience with kids who have the same type of cancer I had.

“It took me awhile to be convinced to ever go back to the hospital. After my treatment, spending four or five years there, why would I want to go back? But I realized I had a lot to share and I thought I could make someone else’s experience a little better by sharing mine with them.”

Samuels is truly an inspiration, like a prize-fighting boxer swinging until he collapses.

“I feel like if there’s that chance, you should take it,” he said. “I mean it’s life and death. Quite literally in my experience.”

Dual approach will find mutations in osteosarcoma and develop tools to monitor disease in patients

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Posted 07 Jun 2011 — by James Street
Category Follow up Treatment, genetic research, genetic research, Osteosarcoma

Contact: Don Powell
don@sanger.ac.uk
44-012-234-96928
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Bone cancer, from the lab to the clinic

A new study into osteosarcoma – cancer of the bone – will use advances in genomic research and analysis to identify new genes that give rise to the condition and to create personalised blood tests for children and young adults with the condition. The study is funded by Skeletal Action Cancer Trust, SCAT.

It is hoped that the results of this new study will help doctors improve treatment of this difficult disease through better diagnosis and monitoring of this bone cancer.

Each year approximately 80 children and young adults develop osteosarcoma in the UK. This painful cancer of the bone tends to affect children and young adults and is normally treated using chemotherapy and surgery. The causes of the disease are not well known and measuring response to treatment relies on scanning and imaging. The new study seeks to bring both greater understanding to processes of developing the condition and create improved methods of measuring disease regression.

“We hope that this research project will improve the way patients with cancer are monitored and will guide the best drug treatment for the cancer in each patient,” says Professor Adrienne Flanagan from the UCL Cancer Institute, and Medical Director of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), “It is really important that we exploit new tools that emerge from cutting-edge research to see how they can benefit patients with bone tumours in the future.”

“We need the support of patients and of the wider public to make our aim of moving towards delivery of personalised cancer treatment a reality.”

Professor Flanagan, consultant pathologist at the RNOH and scientist at UCL Cancer Institute, worked with colleagues from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in which they discovered a novel cancer-causing mutation in chondrosarcoma, the second most common cancer of bone. The results of this study were published recently online in the The Journal of Pathology.

In this new programme, scientists will use recently developed methods to hunt for changes in the genomes of cancer patients, trying to pinpoint genes underlying in the disease. At the same time, they will develop new tools to monitor the disease in patients through the course of treatment. They hope that their methods, which look for tumour-specific DNA in the bloodstream of patients, will become routine for patients in the future.

“Currently, the response of patients with osteosarcomas to treatment is monitored by scanning tumours using imaging techniques,” says Dr Peter Campbell. “In contrast, blood cancers have long been monitored using simple tests that pick up recurring mutations in tumour cells in the blood and show how a patient is responding to treatment. The new project aims to see if we could develop and apply similar methods to osteosarcomas”.

The patients are being treated at the RNOH and University College London Hospital (London Sarcoma Service), and the research project is largely funded by SCAT Bone Cancer Trust based at the RNOH, with contributions from other charities including the Bone Cancer Research Trust, Rosetrees and others. The research is being carried out in collaboration with UCL Cancer Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

The team will sequence the complete genome of 50 patients with osteosarcoma and will look in their plasma in many of these patients before and after chemotherapy treatment to find rearrangements – shuffled chunks of DNA – in the small amounts of DNA that have leaked out from the osteosarcoma into the bloodstream. They will be searching for rearrangements that are specific to each patient.

By developing a picture of the unique profile of mutations of each patient’s cancer and then using these mutations to monitor the amount of cancer derived DNA circulating in the blood, the clinicians hope they can deliver treatments to patients in a personalised way

In addition to seeking improvements in treatment, the researchers are looking for novel genes giving rise to osteosarcoma. The team will sequence in full the gene-containing regions of the genome in 100 osteosarcoma samples.

“The future of cancer genetics lies ultimately in drawing a complete picture of each and every mutation for each and every cancer patient who visits a hospital,” says Professor Mike Stratton, Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and one of the project leaders. “But there are a number of steps on the way. By concentrating in this study on the so called ‘active’ areas in the genome we can begin to pick out mutations that might be driving cancer even as we embark on the journey towards comprehensive catalogues of mutations for this, and a whole range of other human cancers.”

Ultimately, the team on the osteosarcoma study will generate complete genome sequences for the whole genomes of osteosarcomas – allowing them to look in even finer detail at the spectrum of mutations in the cancer and distinguish the cancer causing mutations from the innocent bystanders.

“The research is promising, but its success relies on continued support from the public,” says Mr Steve Cannon, bone tumour surgeon at the RNOH and Chairman of SCAT, the Bone Cancer Trust. “It is great that we have been able to get this project up and running, but donations will continue to be necessary if we are to succeed in the fight against osteosarcoma and other bone cancers. In what is without doubt an exciting and important moment in the application of genetic science in cancer research, it is only right that we should be looking to apply the cutting edge tools that are now available to bone cancer.”

“Osteosarcoma is an aggressive cancer; we need an aggressive approach to tackle its effects.”

###

Notes to Editors

Related research

Amary MF et al. (2011) IDH1 and IDH2 mutations are frequent events in central chondrosarcoma and central and periosteal chondromas but not in other mesenchymal tumours. The Journal of Pathology
First published online: 19 May 2011
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/path.2913

Scat Bone Cancer Trust is dedicated to the advancement of bone cancer research, to providing the best possible care and support at each stage of treatment and to improving the quality and dignity for life for all patients. http://scatbonecancertrust.org/

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) is the largest specialist orthopaedic hospital in the UK and is regarded as a leader in the field of orthopaedics. The Trust provides a comprehensive and unique range of neuro-musculoskeletal healthcare, ranging from acute spinal injuries to orthopaedic medicine and specialist rehabilitation for chronic back pain sufferers. http://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which receives the majority of its funding from the Wellcome Trust, was founded in 1992. The Institute is responsible for the completion of the sequence of approximately one-third of the human genome as well as genomes of model organisms and more than 90 pathogen genomes. In October 2006, new funding was awarded by the Wellcome Trust to exploit the wealth of genome data now available to answer important questions about health and disease. http://www.sanger.ac.uk

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk

Contact details

Don Powell Press Officer
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
Tel             +44 (0)1223 496 928 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 (0)1223 496 928 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Mobile             +44 (0)7753 7753 97 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 (0)7753 7753 97 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Email press.office@sanger.ac.uk

Anna Fox Communications and Foundation Trust Liaison Officer
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
Tel 020 8909 5349
Email anna.fox@rnoh.nhs.uk

Surviving Cancer: What Kind of Post-Treatment Action Is the Answer?

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Posted 09 May 2011 — by James Street
Category Follow up Treatment, metastases, Osteosarcoma Outcomes

Posted: 05/ 9/11 05:51 PM ET

“You have cancer.”

Those three words once braced patients for a worst-case scenario. And, for some, the bad news is, it still does. But now there’s positive news to report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute have released new findings saying that one in every 20 Americans is now a cancer survivor. Decreased death rates have been found in both sexes for cancers of the colon, brain, stomach, kidney and lung, as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia.

This is a watershed change in statistics on an illness with a historically devastating diagnosis. It’s especially promising if you have family or friends struggling with the disease. But with this good news comes another stark reality: cancer has become more of a chronic — rather than a fatal — illness. Because of this, modern medicine and doctors must deliver new types of care to provide for the increased number of cancer survivors. Oncologists must shift their focus from the short-term to management of longer-term care, which potentially could last decades. Patients and their families, especially, will need to alter their lives and approach to care.

Increased Odds
Let’s look at some of the health challenges for survivors and the medical community. A number of studies have shown that cancer survivors are more at risk for other types of tumors and cancers; survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer are among the higher risk populations. These secondary tumors may result from a genetic susceptibility to form cancer, continued exposure to carcinogens, the effect of treatment of the initial tumor with chemotherapy or radiation, or may be an incidental finding due to increased surveillance that occurs when imaging studies are performed to make sure the initial tumor has stayed in remission. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that nearly one in every two adult survivors of childhood cancer reported at least one moderate to severe adverse health outcome, such as limits in activity, cancer-related pain, mental health troubles and cancer-related anxiety. Childhood cancer survivors also have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and metabolic abnormalities, and women can even face an early onset of menopause.

Cancer survivors have an increased risk of osteoporosis, as well as cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction including atherosclerosis, a condition in which fatty material collects along walls of arteries. As the fatty material grows thicker and harder, it forms calcium deposits that eventually can block arteries. Survivors also are more likely to have dementia, especially those that received radiation to the brain, and a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Cost of Care
Besides their continued fight for health, cancer survivors also often must battle insurers. Higher insurance costs for a longer period of time mean a harder-hit pocket book. Cancer is one of the five most costly medical conditions in the United States, which often can affect health decisions during treatment. Once you’re diagnosed with cancer, whether insured or not, you often will face more challenges in receiving health care that’s affordable now that you have that omnipresent “preexisting condition.”

As many as 10 percent of cancer patients report they have hit their insurance policy’s benefit limit, forcing them to find more coverage or to pay for treatments out of pocket. Atop sky-high deductibles and copayments, many policies include annual and lifetime benefit caps, resulting in more patients hitting these ceilings and unable to afford longer-term care.

How Washington ultimately reacts to these tough health coverage cost quandaries remains up in the air, though The Affordable Care Act legislation passed by Congress in 2010, and signed by President Obama, aimed over time to begin addressing many of the issues.

Patient Patience
While all of this may be disheartening news, it’s important to remember that if you are a patient in recovery from cancer, you do have some control — by remaining knowledgeable about what type of cancer you had and any health risks associated with it. Another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 72 percent of adult survivors of childhood cancer could report their childhood diagnosis precisely; only 19 percent could report it accurately, but not precisely. This fuzzy information could hinder cancer survivors from receiving optimal long-term care. The more you know in detail about your condition, the more you can communicate good information to your doctor, resulting in better long-term care.

You also can focus on three things to ensure you’re doing your part to surmount challenges that accompany surviving cancer — maintain a regular screening schedule, work with a doctor to monitor your condition, and, finally, protect yourself with a balanced diet, exercise and healthy lifestyle changes. (Stop smoking!)

While many cancer survivors in remission may feel alone, left to deal with discomforts and the difficulties with ongoing care, there is help. It’s estimated that 64 percent of cancer patients survive more than five years beyond their diagnosis. This means support and rehabilitation is becoming key in the lives of survivors. Some of the institutions that specialize in cancer have developed programs to help survivors heal, including psychological treatment and education on long-term effects of cancer-related treatments.

So, to the many and all of you who have “beat” the Big C, my congratulations — and welcome to what I hope will be a long, healthier, albeit sometimes challenging, life.

Follow Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CedarsSinai

 

The Novel Curcumin Analog FLLL32 Decreases STAT3 DNA Binding Activity and Expression, and Induces Apoptosis in Osteosarcoma Cell Lines

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Posted 29 Mar 2011 — by James Street
Category Alternative Therapies, antiangiogenesis, Complementary Therapy, experimental treatments, Follow up Treatment, Local Recurrence, Lung Metastases, Metastases, Molecular Osteosarcoma Studies, Natural Therapies, Osteosarcoma

Curcumin is a naturally occurring phenolic compound shown to have a wide variety of antitumor activities; however, it does not attain sufficient blood levels to do so when ingested. Using structure-based design, a novel compound, FLLL32, was generated from curcumin.

FLLL32 possesses superior biochemical properties and more specifically targets STAT3, a transcription factor important in tumor cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance. In our previous work, we found that several canine and human osteosarcoma (OSA) cell lines, but not normal osteoblasts, exhibit constitutive phosphorylation of STAT3.

Compared to curcumin, we hypothesized that FLLL32 would be more efficient at inhibiting STAT3 function in OSA cells and that this would result in enhanced downregulation of STAT3 transcriptional targets and subsequent death of OSA cells.

Methods: Human and canine OSA cells were treated with vehicle, curcumin, or FLLL32 and the effects on proliferation (CyQUANT(R)), apoptosis (SensoLyte(R) Homogeneous AMC Caspase- 3/7 Assay kit, western blotting), STAT3 DNA binding (EMSA), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), survivin, and matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP2) expression (RT-PCR, western blotting) were measured. STAT3 expression was measured by RT-PCR, qRT- PCR, and western blotting.

Results: Our data showed that FLLL32 decreased STAT3 DNA binding by EMSA.

FLLL32 promoted loss of cell proliferation at lower concentrations than curcumin leading to caspase-3- dependent apoptosis, as evidenced by PARP cleavage and increased caspase 3/7 activity; this could be inhibited by treatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK. Treatment of OSA cells with FLLL32 decreased expression of survivin, VEGF, and MMP2 at both mRNA and protein levels with concurrent decreases in phosphorylated and total STAT3; this loss of total STAT3 occurred, in part, via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that the novel curcumin analog FLLL32 has biologic activity against OSA cell lines through inhibition of STAT3 function and expression.

Future work with FLLL32 will define the therapeutic potential of this compound in vivo.

Author: Stacey FosseyMisty BearJiayuh LinChenglong LiEric SchwartzPui-Kai LiJames FuchsJoelle FengerWilliam KisseberthCheryl London
Credits/Source: BMC Cancer 2011, 11:112

Tumor’s protein level predicts if cancer will spread

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Posted 07 Feb 2011 — by James Street
Category Diagnostic, Follow up Treatment, Human osteosarcoma research, Local Recurrence, Lung Metastases, Metastases, metastases

AFP

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Researchers have found a way to detect if cancer has spread or if it will recur by testing the tumor for a certain protein, said a study on Tuesday in the journal Clinical Investigation.

The discovery could provide a more accurate indication of likely survival than the current method of grading cancer stages from one to four, researchers said.

If the test can be developed for wider use, which could still be years away, it may help doctors decide when to aggressively treat tumors to try to prevent them from metastasizing, often fatally, to other parts of the body.

“This biomarker may be useful for many types of cancers,” said lead study author Y. Peng Loh of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) Section on Cellular Neurobiology.

“It is very important to know when a cancer is likely to spread,” she said. “Currently there are no accurate biomarkers that can achieve such predictions and prognosis is determined by staging of the cancer.”

The new variant of a protein, carboxypeptidase E (CPE), usually involved with processing of hormones, such as insulin, was discovered by scientists at the US National Institutes of Health and the University of Hong Kong.

The protein, CPE-delta N, was found to be present at high levels in metastatic tumor cells in numerous types of cancer, including liver, breast, colon, adrenal and head and neck cancers.

The eight-year study focused on 99 patients with stage one to four liver cancer, and tested tumor cells and surrounding tissue for levels of CPE delta-N by measuring RNA (ribonucleic acid) which helps the body make the protein.

When the level of CPE delta-N RNA in tumors was more than double that in the surrounding tissue, “the cancer was highly likely to return or to metastasize within two years,” the study said.

“At or below this threshold level, the cancer was much less likely to recur,” it said.

According to that method, researchers predicted that cancer had metastasized or would recur in more than 90 percent of cases, and they were correct 76 percent of the time when they predicted the tumors would not come back.

In some cases, they found that the protein indicated cancer would return in stage two patients who normally would have been presumed cancer-free and would not have received further care after the tumor was excised.

“So CPE delta N is a better indicator of the seriousness of the disease than current staging techniques,” said Loh.

The scientists also extracted cells from other types of tumors and analyzed them for the protein, extending the study to a total of 180 patients.

Biomarker research has been plagued by announcements of promising indicators of disease that upon further study have fallen flat.

But Loh said the research team followed strict guidelines for publishing their study and were confident that they established a “basis on which to go further.”

The National Cancer Institute’s Stephen Hewitt, a scientist who contributed to the research, said the RNA method provided a better way to diagnose cancer.

“This study is nice because we were able to beat the current standard of care of stage and grade,” he said.

However, he cautioned that the research will take time to develop into a test that is available to the general public.

“We are at a stage where we have a discovery – and a very good result – but it is time to validate this and other cohorts and expand these findings, including to other tumor types,” said Hewitt.

“The nature of biomarker development is very much like the nature of drug development, it takes time,” he said.

“And sometimes you actually have to wait longer than with drug development because you are waiting for the patient’s outcome to be determined,” he said.

The lead authors of the study were Loh and Ronnie Poon from the University of Hong Kong, and funding came in part from the NICHD, National Cancer Institute, University of Hong Kong and the Canadian government.

ksh/jm

Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Cancer Survivors

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Posted 29 Dec 2010 — by James Street
Category Follow up Treatment

Written by TradersHuddle Staff
Tuesday, 28 December 2010 17:51

SEATTLE, Dec. 28, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Survivorship Program offers information and resources to cancer survivors determined to get the New Year off to a healthy start.

There are 12 million survivors in the United States, and while it’s good news that their numbers are growing, not all are problem-free. Many have long-term health needs resulting from having cancer and being treated for it.

Karen Syrjala, Ph.D., director of Biobehavioral Sciences and co-director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Survivorship Program, suggests these New Year’s resolutions for survivors who want to lead healthier lives:

1. “I resolve to get a personal doctor.” If you don’t have a primary care provider, now is the time to find one. As a survivor you have special needs for someone who monitors your overall health, including cholesterol and heart health, diabetes risks, second cancers, bone health, and other areas of health and wellness that keep survivors thriving.
2. “I resolve to plan for my long-term survivorship care.” Get a summary of your surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy doses to communicate to your primary care provider. Survivorship programs such as the one at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center can help you create a personalized plan for follow-up care to share with your doctor. Talk with your primary care doctor about potential long-term effects of your cancer treatment
and how you’ll watch out for your individual risks.
3. “I resolve to get moving.” Physical activity is the clearest step you can take to benefit your health. It is certain to make you feel better and help your body and brain to function better. It can even reduce your cancer-related risks. Make opportunities to walk or take stairs. Move more during the day, even if it’s a 5 or 10 minute break 3 times a day to walk up a few flights of stairs. Build muscles to build energy and reduce fatigue. Join an exercise program
for cancer survivors to get you started if it’s just too hard to do alone. Check with your local Y to see if they have a program for cancer survivors.
4. “I resolve to learn about and practice healthy nutrition.” Eating lots of fruit and vegetables is the goal. Whole foods are better than supplements. Focus on eating more of what your body needs (fruits and vegetables) and less on trying not to eat certain foods. Find out what supplements are good for you and which to avoid. Look online, attend a nutrition workshop for cancer survivors or schedule an appointment with a nutritionist if you are unsure what is healthy for you or have digestion problems.
5. “I resolve to manage my fear of cancer recurrence.” First, find out your risk of recurrence from your health care provider. Second, remember that risk is based on averages and does not apply to you as an individual. Third, consider counseling to help you face your fears and move forward.
6. “I resolve to attend to my body’s needs.” To help ensure your long-term survival and a better quality of life, don’t smoke, limit alcoholic drinks to one per day, and use sunscreen to protect your skin. Make sure you get sufficient vitamin D.
7. “I resolve to manage symptoms.” Don’t suffer unnecessarily. Talk to your doctor if you have fatigue or lack of stamina that does not improve with time; chemo brain, or mental fog, that makes it hard to work or remember what you need to do; pain, neuropathy (numbness or pain in your feet hands or elsewhere) or other aches or symptoms that make it hard to enjoy your life. Make an appointment to focus solely on the symptoms that reduce your quality of life. If you have lymphedema or other difficulty moving your body, now might be the time to see a physical therapist.
8. “I resolve to connect with other survivors.” Your family and friends are great support pillars. However, many find it valuable to talk or exercise with others who have experienced cancer and truly understand what it’s like to be a survivor. Look for resources in your community and online.
9. “I resolve to read ‘Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment.’” This is a free booklet from the National Cancer Institute that lists services to help you live a healthy, happy life after cancer. If you don’t have one from your treatment provider, call the NCI at 800-4-CANCER (422-6237).
10. “I resolve to learn more about a cancer survivorship program in my community.” In the Northwest region, visit the website of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Survivorship Program at www.fhcrc.org/survivorship. For information on other LIVESTRONG Survivorship Programs of Excellence visit www.livestrong.org/What-We-Do .

Note for media only: To arrange an interview with Dr. Syrjala or a cancer survivor, please contact Christi Ball Loso at the contact information below.

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more information, please visit www.fhcrc.org.

CONTACT: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Media contact
Christi Ball Loso
206-667-5215

closo@fhcrc.org

Bone implants that support and release chemotherapeutical agents in ciclodextrin nanocapsule

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Posted 23 Nov 2010 — by James Street
Category Artificial limbs, Bone repair, Chemotherapy, Drugs, Follow up Treatment, Local Recurrence

For the localized treatment of tumors

Bone implants with the ability to carry chemotherapeutical drugs in conception in CICECO

Chemotherapy, followed by the surgical removal of the affected tissue is the treatment usually adapted to bone tumors. An implant which can fill the areas of subtraction, while releasing chemotherapeutical agents locally, in a controlled manner, during the treatment period, is the aim of a research led by the Research Centre in Ceramic Material and Composites (CICECO/UA). In these experiences, specialists are using potential “anti-tumor” drugs coated by nanocapsules.

The osteosarcoma is the most common malignant primary bone tumor. Its major incidence is in children and youngsters and usually involves the amputation of arms and legs. The treatment for this type of tumor implies chemotherapy, followed by the surgical removal of the affected tissue with a safety area, in order to avoid the tumor’s reappearance. This area is then filled with a bone or synthetic biomaterial implant.

Considering how important it is to avoid repeating new chemo or radiotherapy treatments in these cases when neutralizing possible residual focus, 11 researchers from the Universities of Aveiro and Coimbra intend to develop an implant which can contain chemotherapeutical agents of specific ranges of action, and also release these components in a controlled manner for a specific and adequate period of time.

“The bone implants we are studying will serve as a support and releasing agent of capsulated drugs in a ciclodextrin nanocapsule. We are currently experimenting with an active molecule with anti-cancer properties specifically directed to osteosarcomas. Nevertheless, it is intended to broaden its application to other types of cancer”.

Source: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100315/Bone-implants-that-support-and-release-chemotherapeutical-agents-in-ciclodextrin-nanocapsule.aspx

Mounting evidence shows red wine antioxidant kills cancer

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Posted 19 Nov 2010 — by James Street
Category Alternative Therapies, Antioxidants, Chemotherapy, Complementary Therapy, Diet and Prostate Cancer, Drugs, experimental treatments, Follow up Treatment, Natural Therapies, Nutrition and Cancer, Prevention

Mounting evidence shows red wine antioxidant kills cancer

March 25, 2008
PDF file of scientific study

Rochester researchers showed for the first time that a natural antioxidant found in grape skins and red wine can help destroy pancreatic cancer cells by reaching to the cell’s core energy source, or mitochondria, and crippling its function. The study is published in the March edition of the journal, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology.

The study also showed that when the pancreatic cancer cells were doubly assaulted — pre-treated with the antioxidant, resveratrol, and irradiated — the combination induced a type of cell death called apoptosis, an important goal of cancer therapy.

The research has many implications for patients, said lead author Paul Okunieff, M.D., chief of Radiation Oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Although red wine consumption during chemotherapy or radiation treatment has not been well studied, it is not “contraindicated,” Okunieff said. In other words, if a patient already drinks red wine moderately, most physicians would not tell the patient to give it up during treatment. Perhaps a better choice, Okunieff said, would be to drink as much red or purple grape juice as desired.

Yet despite widespread interest in antioxidants, some physicians are concerned antioxidants might end up protecting tumors. Okunieff’s study showed there is little evidence to support that fear. In fact, the research suggests resveratrol not only reaches its intended target, injuring the nexus of malignant cells, but at the same time protects normal tissue from the harmful effects of radiation.

“Antioxidant research is very active and very seductive right now,” Okunieff said. “The challenge lies in finding the right concentration and how it works inside the cell. In this case, we’ve discovered an important part of that equation. Resveratrol seems to have a therapeutic gain by making tumor cells more sensitive to radiation and making normal tissue less sensitive.”

Resveratrol is known for its ability to protect plants from bacteria and fungi. Purified versions have been described in scientific journals as potential anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic agents, and for their ability to modulate cell growth. Other well-known antioxidants derived from natural sources include caffeine, melatonin, flavonoids, polyphenols, and vitamins C and E.

A flurry of antioxidant studies in recent years has not proven how and why they work at the cellular level. At the suggestion of a young scientist in his lab, Okunieff began studying resveratrol as a tumor sensitizer. That’s when they discovered its link to the mitochondria.

99,000 lives saved from bowel cancer in Germany

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Posted 18 Nov 2010 — by James Street
Category Colon Cancer, Follow up Treatment, Prevention

11 Nov 2010

By the end of this year, colonoscopy screening will have prevented bowel cancer in approximately 99 000 people since it was introduced in Germany. This is the result obtained by Hermann Brenner of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and his co-authors in their interim assessment conducted eight years after the procedure was added to the German cancer screening program. The authors present their projection and initial results of colonoscopy screening in Germany in the current edition of Deutsches Arzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010: 107(43): 753 – 9). The article was accompanied by an editorial on the subject written by Stefanie Klug of the Dresden University of Technology (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107(43): 751 – 2).

On the basis of German registry data, Brenner et al. determined the rates of participation in screening and the prevalence of advanced adenomas and carcinomas detected early, for each year from 2003 to 2008. Their projections for 2009 and 2010 were based on the values recorded for 2008.

The study showed that advanced adenomas had been identified and removed in more than 300 000 screening participants in the first eight years of the screening colonoscopy program. The projections showed that this had prevented approximately 99 000 cases of bowel cancer. If they had not been removed, these advanced adenomas would have become clinically manifest a median of 10 years after screening colonoscopy. Over the same period, approximately 50 000 colorectal carcinomas were detected early as a result of screening colonoscopy, mostly still at a curable stage.

In the authors’ view, still more cases would be prevented if the participation rate could be improved, using targeted invitations for example.

Screening colonoscopy has been offered as part of cancer screening in Germany since October 2002. It is available to men and women aged 55 and older.

Sources: Deutsches Aerzteblatt International, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/207429.php

Main News Category: Colorectal Cancer

Also Appears In:  Preventive Medicine,

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