Mission Tumor

Antiangiogenic Agent Thalidomide No Good in Mesothelioma

2013-05-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

Malignant pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma is a highly angiogenic and invariably fatal cancer with options that are largely supportive in nature. The current first-line chemotherapy regimens including pemetrexed with or without cisplatin or carboplatin do not provide long-term survival. A recent clinical trial published in this month's issue of the journal Lancet Oncology shows that the anti-angiogenic agent thalidomide when added to chemotherapy does not provide any additional benefit.
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The Specter of Rising Cancer Deaths in Latin America and Caribbean

2013-05-02T23:19:00.002-07:00

Latin America and the Caribbean are the next hotspots of cancer-related deaths in the world and countries in this region are woefully ill-prepared to face this growing epidemic. A report by Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG) presented at the LACOG Conference 2013 on April 26-27, 2013, at Sao Paulo, Brazil, put these facts in depressing hard numbers: currently 13 people of 22 diagnosed with cancer die in Latin America and the Caribbean in contrast to 13 of 37 in US or 13 of 30 in Europe. This translates to 59% of cancer patients dying of cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to 35% in US or 43% in EU.

Upcoming meeting: Tumor Models, Boston, July 23-25, 2013

2013-05-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Better Preclinical Models. Better Predictions. Better Patient Response.

Tumor Models gives you the tools to develop and utilize the very best preclinical oncology models.

This is a meeting for drug developers who are looking for answers to the difficulties faced with preclinical oncology models that are currently being used to test new cancer drugs. This is a forum to learn what you really need to know about the models pharma are using that are superior in predicting efficacy and mimicking tumor activity in patients. It’s also the best way to identify what preclinical questions need to be answered and make the best possible translational decisions. Decisions that will lead to more effective drug performance in the clinic.

Three Decades of SEER Data Confirms That Mammogram Screening Does More Harm Than Good

2013-04-14T23:53:00.001-07:00

Nearly one-third or 1.3 million women over the past 30 years were overdiagnosed with breast cancer (ie, their tumors would have never led to clinical symptoms in their lifetimes) in the United States, according to the research published in the November 22, 2012 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Serious Doubts on Biosimilars Ability to Rise Over the Cancer Biologics' Patent Cliffs

2013-04-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

The year 2012 saw conversation on the pricing structure and affordability of oncology drugs taking a center stage with commentaries, such as, "The Truly Staggering Cost Of Inventing New Drugs," by Mathew Herper in Forbes pegging the cost of inventing and developing these drugs at $1-$4 Billion, to news about Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center saying "NO" to Zaltrap (Sanofi's drug for colon cancer, then priced at $11,000 per month) for providing a marginal 1.4 month survival benefit. (Sanofi has since cut the price by 50%.)

What will rein in these Aston Martin-like price tags. At least Herceptin will lose its patent protection soon. Right? And biosimilars will force the price down. Wrong! Those banking on biosimilars to bring the cost down to earth are in for a rude shock.
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Unlock the Power of CTCs in the Clinic

2013-02-20T23:02:00.001-08:00

Pexa-Vec Doubles Survival of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

2013-02-19T22:11:00.002-08:00

An oncolytic virus-based drug JX-594 (also called Pexa-Vec) is highly effective in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. According to the results of a Phase II clinical trial published online at Nature Medicine journal's website on February 10, 2013, the patients who were given higher (more effective) dose of JX-594 had a median survival of 14.1 months which was twice that seen in the low dose group (6.7 months).
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Upcoming meeting: Tumor Models, London, January 2013

2012-10-30T23:43:00.001-07:00

The path to successful clinical development of oncology drugs starts with using predictive tumor models. This is easier said than done.

The organizers of the Tumor Models meeting in London (January 29-31, 2013) have assembled a roster of speakers from AstraZeneca, Eisai, Roche, MedImmune, Genentech, Sanofi and others to discuss tumor models used at these companies, optimization of traditional models, and explore alternative models and methods to better predict drug efficacy.
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New Cancer Drugs Reach US Patients Earlier but at a Price

2012-07-12T00:52:00.001-07:00

A report released by Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development concludes that FDA approved more cancer drugs and faster than European regulators during 2000-2011.

Cost of Cancer Drug Development, 4 Billion. Cost to Patient, 0.1 Million. Benefit, Priceless! Business Model, Unsustainable

2012-07-08T01:42:00.001-07:00

I recently rediscovered an article by Forbes's Mathew Herper, "The Truly Staggering Cost Of Inventing New Drugs." In this article, Mathew pegs the true cost of bringing drugs to market at 4 billion dollars.
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Adolescent and Young Cancer Survivors Face Long-Term Health Problems

2012-07-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

A recent study in the journal Cancer suggests that teenagers and young adults (15-29 years old at diagnosis) who survived cancer often have poor health compared to their peers later in life. Long-term consequences of cancer, treatments and behavior (including approach to life) affect health of body and mind.

Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, led by Eric Tai, examined data from 4054 adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors in the registry called Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

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What is Cancer

2012-07-06T21:30:00.001-07:00

Sometimes the most obvious and commonplace things are paradoxically equally hard to describe because we often do not think how to define them unless somebody throws a curve ball and asks! "What is cancer?" is one such apparently obvious thing.
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Making Chemotherapy Toxicity Palatable by What You Put or Don’t on Dinner Plate

2012-06-28T22:45:00.001-07:00

Watching what we eat and how much we eat may be an effective tool to manage the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs says this month's online article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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What are the Smart Apps in Oncologist's Phone

2012-06-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

Last June, a Romanian start-up Cronian Labs released an iPhone app Skin Scan which claimed that it can help with early diagnosis (or warning signs) of melanoma. The availability of Skin Scan at Apple iTunes Store was widely covered in the media (eg, read here and here). And, it was also the first time I put medical apps on my radar screen.

There are now hundreds of medical apps, and it is not unsurprising to find oncologists and cancer researchers using a variety of these as reference tools, calculators and diagnostic aids. Here is a short list:

Targeting Tumor Microenvironment, Boston: Pre-meeting notes 2

2012-06-21T21:18:00.001-07:00

In the run up to the Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment meeting, taking place in Boston, this October, there are some great resources available to you to download free of charge from the website resources page.
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Targeting Tumor Microenvironment, Boston: Pre-meeting notes 1

2012-06-21T21:04:00.001-07:00

"Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment" meeting will take place in Boston in October and will be looking at how to achieve tumor delivery, tackle drug resistance and improve clinical efficacy.
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Increasing Anti-Tumor Response by Localized High Dose Radiation

2012-06-07T00:36:00.000-07:00

Sci Transl Med 6 June 2012:

Vol. 4, Issue 137, p. 137ra74
Sci. Transl. Med. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003649

RESEARCH ARTICLE

TUMOR RADIOTHERAPY

Phase 1 Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy and Interleukin-2—Tumor and Immunological Responses

Health Costs of Smoking and Prop 29

2012-06-05T00:35:00.001-07:00

Smoking causes 5-6 million avoidable deaths annually worldwide. One in 5 men and 1 in 20 women who die after age 30 die of smoking-related causes.

These distressing numbers should be enough to galvanize the California voters who will decide to accept or reject the California Cancer Research Act, commonly called Proposition 29 (or Prop 29). If Prop 29 passes, the money raised through new taxes on cigarettes will support research into smoking-related diseases.

Spotting EMILIA at ASCO12 Chicago

2012-06-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

EMILIA trial is the first study to evaluate the efficacy of an antibody drug conjugate T-DM1 in metastaic breast cancer (mBC) patients. At ASCO 2012 meeting in Chicago, Dr. Kim Blackwell of Duke University presented the final analysis of the progression-free survival (PFS) results in mBC patients treated with T-DM1. A few days back, this trial was featured in the NBC Nightly News (read here.)
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Notes on Prostate Cancer From ASCO 2012

2012-06-03T18:27:00.001-07:00

Phase 3 date on abiraterone trial in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) was profiled in the ASCO daily news. These results have the potential of changing the standard of care in mCRPC.
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T-DM1 Shows a Way to Deliver Chemo Without Side Effects

2012-06-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Two months ago, Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1) metastatic breast cancer trial (called EMILIA trial) reached a major milestone when patients treated with T-DM1 had longer cancer-free periods, also called progression-free survival or PFS, compared to those patients who were on a combination chemotherapy consisting of lapatinib (Tykerb) and capecitabine (Xeloda). (read here). Today, NBC Nightly News gave a human face to this trial.
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Choosing Cancer Charity: CureSearch for Children's Cancer

2012-06-01T00:50:00.001-07:00

In a new series on this blog called "Choosing Cancer Charity," I have chosen to present CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation, also called CureSearch for Children's Cancer to the readers this month. There are several reasons that motivates me to pitch this charity for your dollars, and donations of time, expertise and support.

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Oral Mucositis: an Underappreciated Problem in Cancer Care

2012-05-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

How big is the problem?
25-30% of all cancer patients undergoing chemo suffer form oral mucositis, and almost all of the BMT patients.
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Focus on Tumour immunology & immunotherapy from Nature Reviews Cancer and Nature Reviews Immunology

2012-04-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

The tumour microenvironment is an important aspect of cancer biology that contributes to tumour initiation, tumour progression and responses to therapy. Cells and molecules of the immune system are a fundamental component of the tumour microenvironment.

Breast Cancer Tweets From AACR 2012 Annual Meeting

2012-04-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

AACR 2012 meeting summary - Breast cancer
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