Press Releases: 2009

AACR Responds to Mammography Guidelines

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Attribute to: Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research

Philadelphia - In October, the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force issued a report that recommended significant changes in the guidelines for mammography screening. These included discontinuing regular, periodic screening for women between the ages of 40 and 50 years, and biannual screening for woman aged 50 to 65 years. The report, based on an analysis of studies from six major institutions and covering a 10-year period, has generated a high level of controversy among physicians, scientists and advocates, as well as women seeking answers as to when to begin breast cancer screening and how often to get it.

The American Association for Cancer Research recognizes that these are complex issues that encompass a broad range of areas - medical, scientific, public health, economic and sociological - and that the interpretation of these data can result in legitimate disagreement among respected leaders in their fields. The AACR believes that decisions on the delivery of screening methods and treatment of cancer should be evidence based and recognizes that the "state of the art" in the field is evolving and will continue to change as our understanding of the biology and genetics of cancer is better understood and translated into clinical practice.

This report has brought to the forefront a number of critical issues including the need for more sensitive, specific techniques for detecting early breast cancers, greater understanding of the natural history of non-invasive in-situ cancers, especially those found in younger women, and the differences in types of breast cancer that determine treatment and prognosis. We emphasize the importance of ongoing research into all of these critical areas, as exemplified by the remarkable work presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held here Dec. 9-13, 2009. We also note that the mortality rates from breast cancer have been falling since the mid-1990s, and believe that this is attributable at least in part to the more widespread utilization of mammography screening and other factors.

This is an encouraging trend, and it is important that we not compromise the positive effects of increased awareness of breast cancer and utilization of screening methods by delivering confusing and contradictory messages to women seeking answers about their personal care. The issues, however, are simply too complex to make a clear statement at this time supporting either the existing guidelines or those proposed by the USPSTF. We advocate continued analysis of the data and discussion among the top experts in the field in order to resolve the issues related to the frequency and timing of breast cancer screening. It is essential that women and doctors discuss their individual situations and make informed decisions based on those risk factors. The AACR hopes that the publication of this report will spur continued research that will lead to greatly improved understanding of this disease and improved methods of preventing, detecting and treating breast cancer.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(609) 519-0212
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Management and Prognosis: How Best to Treat Breast Cancer Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO - As therapies for breast cancer continue to emerge, the issues of how to best monitor success and gauge prognosis remain important questions.

At the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, presented new data on Herceptin, circulating tumor cells, mucinous breast carcinoma and the role of the Ki67 antigen during a press conference on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. CT, in room 217C of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. (Listen to a recording below.)

Claudine Isaacs, M.D., hosted this press conference. Isaacs is director of the Clinical Breast Cancer Program and medical director of the Cancer Assessment and Risk Evaluation Program at Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The following abstracts were presented at the press conference:

80. Results of chemotherapy alone, with sequential or concurrent addition of 52 weeks of trastuzumab in the NCCTG N9831 HER2-positive adjuvant breast cancer trial

Clinicians can now recommend that trastuzumab, currently sold as Herceptin by Genentech-Roche, be given concurrently with chemotherapy to achieve maximum benefit in terms of disease-free survival.

Researchers, led by Edith Perez, M.D., director of the breast cancer program at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., found a 25 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer recurrence when trastuzumab was administered concurrently, rather than following chemotherapy.

Perez said these findings are very important and estimated that they will inform treatment decisions for about 50,000 women in the United States and 200,000 women around the world every year.

"Often the research community conducts studies that conclude with ‘that was interesting, but let's do more research.' This is an important finding on how we can help prevent breast cancer recurrence and improve survival," said Perez.

All patients enrolled in this phase III trial were receiving standard chemotherapy of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel.

The researchers conducted two separate comparisons.

The first included 2,448 patients randomly assigned to chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy followed by trastuzumab. After 5.5 years, the researchers observed 386 events. After adjustment for possible confounding variables, they found that event-free survival increased from 72 percent with chemotherapy alone to 80 percent with chemotherapy followed by trastuzumab.

The second comparison included 1,903 women. The researchers compared those who received trastuzumab after chemotherapy with those who received it concurrently with paclitaxel. At five years, disease-free survival increased from 80 percent to 84 percent.

"This study has global implications. In the United States, Herceptin is approved for use either following or concurrently with chemotherapy," said Perez. "However, currently in some countries trastuzumab is only approved for use following chemotherapy as adjuvant therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer. We hope our findings will change those policies. In the United States, this will clearly inform physician decision making."

3011. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Breast Cancer: Describing the Heterogeneity of Microscopic Disease
Embargoed until 5:30 p.m. CT, Dec. 11, 2009

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are an important predictor of survival in metastatic breast cancer patients. When CTCs undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), resulting in a loss of epithelial markers, they may escape conventional detection, according to data presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"Our data suggest that current CTC detection methods may underestimate the most important subpopulation of CTCs, which are involved in tumor dissemination," said Michal Mego, M.D., Ph.D., a scientist at the National Cancer Institute in the Slovak Republic. The research was conducted while Mego was an International Union Against Cancer Scholar in the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The presence of an increased number of CTCs is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients, Mego explained. Cells with this EMT phenotype are probably involved in tumor dissemination and represent tumor initiating cells. Identification of therapeutic targets on these cells could lead to eradication of micrometastatic disease in breast cancer, as well as in other epithelial tumors.

"When we retrospectively evaluated the outcome of breast cancer patients, we observed that there were subgroups of patients, such as those with brain metastasis, triple negative or inflammatory breast cancer, who had poor prognosis and low or undetectable CTCs by conventional methods," Mego said. "We found that the low or undetectable CTCs were due to the existence of a subpopulation of cancer cells that undergoes a process of EMT."

When epithelial cells undergo EMT, they lose their epithelial receptors. As a result, they are no longer detected by current detection assays. In addition, these cancer cells become resistant to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, according to Mego.

"This observation led us to hypothesize that EMT CTCs are responsible for tumor dissemination," Mego said. "Hence, we developed a novel detection method that would be capable of identifying EMT CTCs in peripheral blood from breast cancer patients."

In this prospective study, Mego and colleagues used approximately 5 mL of peripheral blood from patients with varying stages of breast cancer and isolated the CTCs using magnetic beads coated with monoclonal antibodies. Using a polymerase chain reaction, they then isolated RNA to detect genes that are involved in EMT.

Patients who had triple-negative breast cancer more commonly overexpressed EMT genes compared to non-triple-negative patients.

"Our data indicate that a subpopulation of CTCs with EMT really exists, and that these cells are more commonly detected in patients with poor prognosis such as those with triple-negative breast cancer or in patients pretreated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy who have developed resistance to therapy," Mego said. "A novel detection method such as ours that is capable of detecting CTCs after EMT could add new important prognostic information, and could be useful for monitoring treatment efficacy."

Mego and colleagues also initiated a confirmatory study in metastatic breast cancer patients as well as in prostate and colorectal cancer patients to confirm their findings. These studies were aimed to identify therapeutic targets on these cells.

Ongoing research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute in the Slovak Republic will continue to focus on the detection of CTCs with tumor-initiating properties, as well as the identification of potential therapeutic targets for CTCs. Trastuzumab treatment based on detection of HER-2/neu amplification on CTCs represents proof of this new concept of targeted therapy, according to Mego.

4117. Mucinous Breast Carcinoma: Occult Multifocality/Multicentricity in a Favorable Disease
Embargoed until 7:00 a.m. CT, Dec. 12, 2009

A large sample of patients with pure mucinous breast cancer demonstrated a favorable prognosis. However, researchers also found an association with significant occult multicentricity/multifocality.

"Our findings indicate another potentially unfavorable aspect associated with a widely accepted as favorable breast cancer subtype," said George H. Perkins, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

"In an era of concern regarding overtreatment, we caution in our findings that undertreatment could also become a significant hazard for patients and thus should be a significant area of concern," he said.

Perkins presented results of this study at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13, 2009.

Mucinous carcinoma is a rare form of cancer, diagnosed in about 2 percent of patients with breast cancer. Cancer cells within the breast produce mucous, forming a jelly-like tumor. Previous research has shown that the disease has a favorable prognosis; therefore, investigators have recommended treating patients with the minimal effective therapy vs. the maximum tolerated treatment.

"Our results are from one of the largest single institution experiences with a relatively uncommon subtype and has significant, long-term follow-up of patients," Perkins said. "We emphasize multidisciplinary, comprehensive care to avoid the non-recognition of additional occult disease, which could affect patient outcomes."

Perkins and colleagues reviewed charts for 264 patients diagnosed with a pure mucinous carcinoma from 1965 to 2005.

At five years, overall survival was 95 percent; the 10- and 15-year rate was 97 percent. Rates for distant metastases-free survival were similar: 88 percent at five years; 95 percent at 10 years; and 94 percent at 15 years. The five-year local regional control rate was 83 percent; at 10 years it was 92 percent; and at 15 years it was 85 percent.

Initially, 10 percent of the patients had a multicentric/multifocal presentation; however, a detailed pathology review revealed a 38 percent rate of multicentric/multifocal disease after resection. This finding surprised the researchers.

"We have been previously surprised by the decreasing age at presentation in this population, and by the regression of favorable outcomes towards the lower outcomes of other common breast cancer subtypes over time," Perkins said. "This reinforces our commitment to interdisciplinary care and true personalized patient treatment in this variant. Patients should receive the care indicated, rather than receive the assumption that it may not matter which treatment approach is taken because this is a favorable disease."

The researchers hope that these data, coupled with other data, will help practitioners understand the various presentations of favorable breast cancer subtypes. They also plan to "identify patients who may need additional multidisciplinary evaluation prior to disposition to a minimalist approach inclusive of observation and limited use of radiation therapy," Perkins said.

78. Tumor Ki67 Proliferation Index within 4 Weeks of Initiating Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy for Early Identification of Non-Responders

As a prognostic tool, the preoperative endocrine prognostic index (PEPI) has been developed as a way to identify estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers that have a poor long-term outcome because of a failure to respond to tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor after three to four months of pre-surgical treatment.

The PEPI is based on pathological tumor size, nodal stage, ER status and a protein marker for proliferation - Ki67. A team at Washington University School of Medicine has now developed a faster way to identify patients with poor outcome disease by measuring tumor Ki67 early, just two to four weeks after starting neoadjuvant endocrine therapy. By assessing tumor response to endocrine therapy sooner, non-responding tumors can be triaged to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This approach is currently undergoing prospective evaluation in the American College of Surgeons Z1031 trial.

"We'd like to identify poor prognosis ER+ disease earlier than three to four months," said Matthew Ellis, Ph.D., professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and program leader for the Breast Cancer Research Program at Siteman Comprehensive Cancer Center. "That way, we don't continue ineffective neoadjuvant endocrine treatment and can switch to a more intensive treatment approach."

Researchers measured Ki67 levels in tumors of 158 postmenopausal women in two independent trials with confirmed ER+ stage II and III breast cancers two to four weeks into endocrine therapy.

Tumor Ki67 measuring more than 10 percent accurately predicted higher rates of relapse, and the absence of a group of patients with such a low score suggested adjuvant chemotherapy is not likely to be of benefit.

"Through these trials, we are also obtaining high-quality tumor samples from patients for sophisticated molecular profiling, including whole genome sequencing," said Ellis. "The investigations will determine the molecular basis for endocrine therapy resistance so we can intervene with new regimens that might be more effective than standard chemotherapy."

Listen to a recording of the press conference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (11.2 MB, 49 minutes and 10 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd annual symposium is expected to draw more than 8,500 participants from more than 90 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio, Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

New Treatment Paradigms for Breast Cancer: Managing the Flow of New Data

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO - As scientists and clinicians continue to uncover new information about breast cancer, the landscape of acceptable treatment and management continues to shift.

Leading researchers will present new data on existing therapies that have been tested in unique ways at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, now in its 32nd year.

A press conference on some of the most impactful studies was moderated by Edith Perez, M.D., director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. The press conference took place on Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, at 12:30 p.m. CT, in the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. (A recording is available below.)

The following abstracts were presented during this press conference:

61. Updated Survival Analysis of a Randomized Study of Lapatinib Alone or in Combination with Trastuzumab in Women with HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Progressing on Trastuzumab Therapy

Two targeted therapies - lapatinib plus trastuzumab - are better than one in the fight against HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to study results presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13, 2009.

"These two targeted therapies against HER2, sort of a ‘one-two punch,' conveyed a more than four-month significant improvement in survival when compared to lapatinib alone," said Kimberly L. Blackwell, M.D., associate professor of medicine and director of the Clinical Trials Program in Breast Cancer at Duke University Medical Center.

What makes these results stand out from previous studies, according to Blackwell, is that this study demonstrated an improvement in survival without the incorporation of endocrine therapy or chemotherapy.

"We demonstrated the effectiveness of combined targeted therapy; no other study has examined this combination in a phase III, randomized design," she said.

The researchers randomized 296 metastatic breast cancer patients to receive lapatinib 1,500 mg once a day or lapatinib 1,000 mg once a day in combination with trastuzumab 2 mg/kg every week. Patients' tumors had progressed on a number of trastuzumab-chemotherapy combination treatments, and patients were faced with limited treatment options.

Lapatinib is an orally active small molecule inhibitor against HER2 and epidermal growth factor receptor for use against solid tumors, and for combination therapy for metastatic breast cancer patients. Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds selectively to the HER2 protein, and has demonstrated benefits when combined with chemotherapy in early stage and metastatic breast cancer patients.

Overall survival significantly improved among the patients who used combination therapy, compared with those who were treated with the lapatinib monotherapy, they found. Even after adjusting for prognostic factors, the survival benefit was maintained.

Further, Blackwell and colleagues noted a trend toward a 25 percent reduction in risk of death.

The same combination of lapatinib and trastuzumab from this study is now being compared to either drug alone in the prevention of breast cancer recurrence in patients faced with HER2-positive, early stage breast cancer.

"In the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, we have highly effective treatments and when we combine them, we can make a significant difference in survival," she said. "This represents a step forward toward a day when we don't have to give chemotherapy for breast cancer at all."

42. RIBBON-2: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase III Trial Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Bevacizumab in Combination with Chemotherapy for Second-Line Treatment of HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

RIBBON-2 results demonstrated that adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy as a second-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer significantly improved progression-free survival.

"Potentially, we have another biologic agent that can improve the survival or at least the progression-free survival of women with metastatic breast cancer," said Adam Brufsky, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, associate chief of hematology-oncology and associate director of clinical investigation, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
"Clearly, this may be an indication to use bevacizumab in this setting, but we really have to consider the results of this trial in terms of how best to use these drugs in metastatic breast cancer."

Results of three phase III studies - E2100, AVADO and RIBBON-1 - have shown the clinical benefit of adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy as a first-line metastatic breast cancer treatment. Brufsky and colleagues designed RIBBON-2 to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy as a second-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

The study included 684 patients in 19 countries at 211 sites. Patients were eligible if they met the following criteria: one prior cytotoxic treatment for metastatic breast cancer, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 1, HER2-negative disease and no central nervous system metastases.

The primary endpoint was progression-free survival; secondary endpoints included overall survival, overall response rate, duration of response and safety. Researchers randomly assigned patients to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab or chemotherapy plus placebo.

The results were predictable, Brufsky said. Adding bevacizumab to various chemotherapy regimens as a second-line metastatic breast cancer treatment significantly improved progression-free survival.

"The fact that bevacizumab has a benefit in first- and second-line treatment really begs the question: Should we be giving this drug to someone through the entire course of metastatic disease?" he said.

To address this question, Brufsky and colleagues are considering conducting a long-term clinical trial that compares bevacizumab or no bevacizumab treatment in women with metastatic breast cancer.

41. Final Overall Survival (OS) Results from the Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase III AVADO Study of Bevacizumab (BV) Plus Docetaxel (D) Compared with Placebo (PL) Plus D for the First-Line Treatment of Locally Recurrent (LR) or Metastatic Breast Cancer (mBC)

Results of the AVADO study showed that adding bevacizumab to docetaxel treatment significantly improved progression-free survival for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

"The AVADO study confirms that the use of bevacizumab in combination with a taxane, in this case docetaxel, increases the chance of reducing tumor burden and prolongs the time for which disease is controlled," said David W. Miles, M.D., consultant medical oncologist, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex, United Kingdom. "The greater ability to control metastatic breast cancer, particularly in patients with immediately life-threatening disease, is reflected in the significant improvement in one-year survival."

Miles presented final overall survival results from the AVADO trial, which included 736 patients in 24 countries at 106 sites, here at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial, researchers randomly assigned patients with HER2-negative, locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, and no central nervous system metastases, to first-line treatment with either docetaxel 100 mg/m2 plus placebo (n=241), docetaxel plus bevacizumab 7.5 mg/kg (n=248) or docetaxel plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg (n=247). The researchers administered docetaxel once every three weeks for up to nine cycles. They administered bevacizumab or placebo once every three weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

The primary endpoint was progression-free survival; secondary endpoints included overall survival, time to treatment failure, overall response rate, duration of response and safety.

Primary analysis results about after 10 months of follow-up showed that adding bevacizumab to docetaxel significantly improved progression-free survival without affecting toxicity.

"Bevacizumab does not exacerbate the toxicity of chemotherapy but increases its effect in terms of response rate and progression-free survival," Miles said. "We must make efforts to identify those most likely to benefit based on conventional characteristics or molecular markers, though the latter remain somewhat elusive."

Final overall survival results showed that despite the improved response and progression-free survival results, there was no difference in median survival, Miles said.

11. Five Years of Exemestane as Initial Therapy Compared to 5 Years of Tamoxifen Followed by Exemestane: The TEAM Trial, a Prospective, Randomized, Phase III Trial in Postmenopausal Women with Hormone-Sensitive Early Breast Cancer
Embargoed until 9:15 a.m. CT, Dec. 10, 2009

Researchers presented late breaking five-year data from the TEAM (Tamoxifen Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational) trial, a prospective, randomized trial comparing initial therapy with the steroidal aromatase inhibitor exemestane vs. a switch from initial therapy of tamoxifen to exemestane after a few years, at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"This is the only aromatase inhibitor study that has used exemestane as initial endocrine therapy compared to tamoxifen followed by exemestane," said study author Daniel Rea, M.D., senior lecturer in medical oncology at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. "This is also the only study with sufficient power to reliably determine if an aromatase inhibitor as initial therapy is superior to a sequential approach starting with tamoxifen."

In the TEAM trial, researchers randomly assigned 9,775 postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer to exemestane 25 mg per day or tamoxifen 20 mg per day. The trial began in 2001, and in 2004 the researchers reassigned all women who were initially receiving tamoxifen to switch to exemestane after 2.5 to three years. All women had undergone surgery with curative intent for invasive breast cancer. All tumors were hormone receptor positive, 50 percent were node negative and 36 percent had received chemotherapy.

The trial's two primary endpoints were disease-free survival for tamoxifen vs. exemestane at 2.75 years - data that were presented at the 2008 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium - and disease-free survival at five years for women initially receiving exemestane vs. those who switched from tamoxifen to exemestane.

"Our hypothesis under examination in this presentation is that exemestane taken as initial endocrine therapy will improve relapse-free survival compared with starting tamoxifen," Rea said.

He also explained that the TEAM trial is large enough for researchers to potentially identify subgroups that might benefit from different treatment approaches.

"In addition to analysis by traditional prognostic features, we may be able to identify subgroups defined by relatively simple biomarkers which can be used or combined with standard prognostic variables to rationally select optimal treatment strategies," Rea said.

Late breaking data will be presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference below:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (13.2 MB, 58 minutes and 04 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd annual symposium is expected to draw more than 8,500 participants from more than 90 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio, Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

Disease-free, Overall Survival Inferior for Black Women with HR-positive Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Results are not explained by lack of access to care or more advanced stage.
• Chemotherapy, hormonal therapy adherence was similar among groups.

SAN ANTONIO - Black women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer had worse disease-free and overall survival, according to data presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13, 2009.

"Black women had a higher risk for disease recurrence and inferior survival compared with women of other races," said Joseph A. Sparano, M.D., professor of medicine and women's health at Albert Einstein Medical College of Medicine and associate chairman of the Department of Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y.

"The worse outcome was seen only in those with HR-positive, HER-2-negative breast cancer, which is the most common type of breast cancer" he added.

Previous research has shown that black women have worse outcomes in operable breast cancer, likely explained by their higher incidence of more advanced-stage disease, more aggressive triple-negative disease, disparities in medical care, and comorbidities.

"When we controlled for these other factors to the extent possible, black race was still associated with a worse outcome, but only in HR-positive disease - this was a new and surprising finding," said Sparano.

The researchers evaluated survival outcomes in 4,817 women (405 were black) with stage 1 to 3 axillary lymph node-positive or high-risk node-negative breast cancer who had undergone surgery. The women were part of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and Breast Cancer Intergroup trial E1199; they received doxorubicin and taxane-containing chemotherapy plus standard hormonal therapy.

"We found that black patients exhibited similar adherence to the chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, and they didn't do worse if they had other breast cancer subtypes. This indicates that black women with HR-positive breast cancer are more prone to have disease recurrence despite state-of-the-art medical care," said Sparano.

The researchers are planning additional studies to evaluate whether these findings can be attributed to differences in black women's ability to metabolize hormonal therapies.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

Anti-estrogens May Offer Protection Against Lung Cancer Mortality

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Anti-estrogen therapy significantly decreased the risk of lung cancer death.
• Results support the role of estrogens in lung cancer management.

SAN ANTONIO - Anti-estrogens as therapy for breast cancer may also reduce the risk of death from lung cancer, according to study results presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held here Dec. 9-13, 2009.

"We found a reduction in lung cancer mortality among women treated with anti-estrogens for breast cancer. This work builds on previous studies that had suggested estrogens have a role in lung cancer development and progression," said Elisabetta Rapiti, M.D., M.P.H., medical researcher with the Geneva Cancer Registry, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Rapiti and colleagues evaluated whether anti-estrogen therapy for breast cancer patients reduced their risk of subsequently developing and/or dying from lung cancer.

The study included 6,715 women living in the Geneva canton of Switzerland who were diagnosed with breast cancer, between 1980 and 2003. Forty-six percent of the women received anti-estrogen therapy, primarily tamoxifen.

By the end of the study period, 40 cases of lung cancer developed. There was no difference in the incidence of lung cancer among women with or without anti-estrogens compared with the general population. However, the risk of dying from lung cancer was significantly lower among women who received anti-estrogen therapy.

"Our results are particularly relevant to the research agenda exploring endocrine treatment(s) for lung cancer," said Rapiti. "If prospective studies confirm our results and find that anti-estrogen agents improve lung cancer outcomes, this could have substantial implications for clinical practice."

Phase II clinical trials are currently underway in a number of centers to evaluate the use of anti-hormone therapy as an adjunct to traditional chemotherapy for lung cancer, according to Rapiti.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio, Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

Drugs in the Pipeline: What’s Emerging in Late-stage Trials

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO - Breast cancer continues to be a dynamic field of research, and the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, now in its 32nd year, is the premier destination to present new data on emerging therapies.

C. Kent Osborne, M.D., director of the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center and the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine and president of the symposium, hosted a Drugs in the Pipeline press conference on Friday, Dec. 11, at 8:00 a.m. CT, in room 217C of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. (A recording is available below.)

The following abstracts were presented at the press conference:

48. Targeting Intrinsically-Resistant Breast Cancer Stem Cells with Gamma-Secretase Inhibitors

Treating breast cancer with a "Notch" pathway inhibitor reduced the ability of cancer stem cells to replenish themselves and promote tumor growth, researchers reported at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. These findings suggest that ongoing clinical trials testing this class of agents could offer promising results, especially when combined with other anticancer treatments.

"The Notch pathway regulates self-renewal of stem cells and our research indicates that it also regulates cancer stem cell self-renewal," said the study's lead author, Jenny Chang, M.D., professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

The impact of using a Notch inhibitor, she said, was to sensitize a significant proportion of otherwise treatment-resistant cancer stem cells, and this supports the notion that a select subpopulation of cells in breast cancer is largely responsible for disease recurrence and cancer spread.

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, University of Michigan and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute focused on "mammosphere-forming" human breast cancer cells - cells that have been found to have stem cell properties and are resistant to conventional chemotherapy. These cancer cells can be identified because of their protein signature; they express high levels of CD44, a protein involved in migration, and low or undetectable levels of the cell adhesion protein CD24. Gene analysis of these cells showed that a number of pathways are activated, such as Notch, PI3K and Hedgehog, compared to non-cancerous cells.

In this study, researchers tested gamma-secretase inhibitors in preclinical cancer stem cell models and a complementary clinical trial of a gamma-secretase inhibitor in breast cancer patients. Gamma-secretase is required for activation of the Notch signaling pathway, which regulates self-renewal of stem cells.

The research team implanted human triple-negative breast cancer obtained from patients in two independent sets of mice, and then treated them with a gamma-secretase inhibitor. They isolated the tumors in the mice and found that mammosphere formation was impaired, but tumor volume was not affected.

"Because the cancer stem cell population may be a very small percentage of the tumor cells (0.1 percent to 1 percent), tumor volume measurement is not sensitive enough to measure effects on the cancer stem cell population," Chang said.

Researchers then studied tumor biopsies taken from a patient with metastatic breast cancer enrolled in a complementary clinical trial of a gamma-secretase inhibitor conducted at Baylor College of Medicine. They looked at biopsies before and during treatment. Findings showed that mammosphere-forming efficiency declined after the first cycle of the agent combined with chemotherapy, and tumor response was seen only after several rounds of therapy.

"The agent reduced the tumorigenic cancer cells," Chang said. "To eliminate these cells, combination therapy that targets additional pathways regulating cancer stem cells will be essential."

25. CONFIRM: A Phase III, Randomized, Parallel-Group Trial Comparing Fulvestrant 250 mg vs Fulvestrant 500 mg in Postmenopausal Women with Estrogen Receptor-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer
Embargoed until 4:00 p.m. CT, Dec. 10, 2009

A higher dose of fulvestrant is well tolerated and more active than the standard, lower dose in postmenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer.

"We believe that, based on the results of this study, treatment and practice should change; patients should receive the 500 mg dose," said Angelo Di Leo, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Department of Oncology at the Hospital of Prato, Italy.

Fulvestrant, sold under the trade name Faslodex by AstraZeneca, is an estrogen receptor antagonist used for the treatment of metastatic receptor-positive breast cancer in women who have progressed or had recurrent cancer after prior endocrine therapy.

Di Leo and colleagues conducted the CONFIRM study - Comparison of Faslodex In Recurrent or Metastatic breast cancer - to compare the efficacy, response rate, clinical benefit, duration of benefit and response, quality of life and overall survival of the drug at the standard 250 mg per month dose and 500 mg per month dose. Over a two-year period, the researchers recruited 736 women from 128 centers located in 17 countries to participate in this study.

Findings showed that the 500 mg dose of fulvestrant was more active and as well tolerated as the 250 mg dose of fulvestrant, according to Di Leo, who will present further results of this randomized, phase III trial at the CTRC-AACR Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, to be held Dec. 9-13, 2009.

The researchers are currently conducting the Trans-CONFIRM study in an effort to understand if the higher dose is mandatory in all patients, or only some.

44. A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 2b Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Sorafenib in Combination with Paclitaxel as a First-Line Therapy in Patients with Locally Recurrent or Metastatic Breast Cancer

Combining chemotherapy with a drug widely used to treat liver and kidney cancer has offered advanced breast cancer patients with HER2-negative tumors significant improvement in overall response rate and time-to-disease progression, according to new results from an international trial presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The combination of sorafenib and paclitaxel also demonstrated a favorable trend in progression-free survival, according to lead investigator William Gradishar, M.D., professor of medicine at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University. Data on overall survival are not yet available.

"These data indicate that sorafenib provides added benefit when combined with paclitaxel compared to single agent paclitaxel in the first-line treatment of advanced breast cancer," Gradishar said.

The study, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIb study, was conducted in the United States (95 patients), India (170 patients) and Brazil (15 patients). It is the second in a series of four worldwide stage IIb clinical trials testing the use of sorafenib in recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer in a program called TIES (Trials to Investigate the Effects of Sorafenib in breast cancer).

The first study to be reported demonstrated a significant progression-free survival benefit in patients with advanced breast cancer who were treated with capecitabine chemotherapy and sorafenib, compared to treatment with capecitabine alone. The other two studies are ongoing.

Sorafenib is an oral agent that has been shown to target members of two classes of kinases involved in cell growth and angiogenesis, the growth of blood vessels to feed tumors. It is approved to treat advanced kidney cancer and liver cancer. Paclitaxel is used to treat a number of different cancers, including both early and advanced breast cancer.

Early research suggested sorafenib may be a promising treatment for breast cancer, and initial clinical studies demonstrated it has a modest activity as a single agent in patients with metastatic disease.

To see if benefit improved when sorafenib was paired with chemotherapy, the researchers randomized 119 patients to the combination therapy and 118 patients to a placebo and paclitaxel.

Results showed median progression-free survival was 6.9 months (combination therapy) vs. 5.6 months (placebo/paclitaxel). Median time-to-progression was 8.1 months vs. 5.6 months for patients receiving sorafenib/paclitaxel compared to placebo/paclitaxel. The overall response rate was 67 percent vs. 54 percent, respectively.

Discontinuation of study treatment due to adverse events occurred in 23 patients in the combination arm compared to five patients in the placebo/paclitaxel arm. With the exception of neuropathy, more grade 3 and 4 toxicities occurred in patients who received sorafenib/paclitaxel. Treatment-related deaths occurred in two patients in the combination treatment arm.

"There were no new toxicities observed with the combination and adverse events were manageable," Gradishar said.

67. Targeting Aldose Reductase: A Novel Strategy in Treating Endocrine Resistance Using Combination Therapy

Treating estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors with a combination of fidarestat (an inhibitor of aldose reductase enzyme) and letrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) could delay or stop tumor resistance to endocrine therapy, according to data presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"Single agents are less effective," said Rajeshwar Rao Tekmal, Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. "Many tumors develop resistance, so this combination approach could prolong that window when endocrine therapy is effective."

About two-thirds of breast cancer tumors initially are hormone sensitive or estrogen receptor-positive and respond well to endocrine therapy. However, close to half of those tumors develop resistance to endocrine therapy, said Tekmal.

In this preclinical study, researchers treated estrogen receptor-positive tumors already resistant to letrozole with letrozole and fidarestat. As an inhibitor of aldose reductase enzyme, fidarestat blocks the metabolism of glucose in cancer cells.

Together, the combination effectively re-sensitized the cells to letrozole, allowing for effective endocrine therapy and more cell death.

Researchers believe increased glucose metabolism (polyol accumulation) contributes to oxidative stress, which, in turn, could alter intracellular signalling by affecting the regulation of protein kinases that are known to be involved in therapy resistance. Blocking the path of glucose metabolism may help to restore sensitivity to endocrine therapies or it may stop or delay the development resistance endocrine therapies in first place.

While this is a preclinical study, Tekmal believes it could lead to future drug treatments that will make endocrine therapy more effective for longer periods of time.

"This is a very promising study showing that combination treatments seem to work on resistance and re-sensitizing tumors that are resistant to endocrine therapies," he said.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd annual symposium is expected to draw more than 8,500 participants from more than 90 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio, Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

MRI Detects Breast Cancer at Earlier Stage

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Fewer advanced cancers detected with MRI plus mammography.
• Early detection meant smaller breast cancer size, less lymph node spread.
• Overall, high-risk women with gene mutations benefited from MRI screening.

SAN ANTONIO - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coupled with mammography detects almost all cancers at an early stage, thereby reducing the incidence of advanced stage breast cancer in high-risk women.

"Earlier stage breast cancers are more likely to be curable," said lead researcher Ellen Warner, M.D., M.Sc., medical oncologist in the Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, in Toronto, Canada.

"We can be fairly confident that if screening with MRI finds cancers at a much earlier stage, it probably also saves lives," added Warner, who presented details of these results at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13.

The researchers separated 1,275 women at high risk for breast cancer into two groups: One group was screened with MRI plus mammography, and the second, a control group, received conventional screening by mammography. Participants had the defective BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, which suggests a very high lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.

Warner and colleagues followed the women over several years to determine which screening method detected cancer at a significantly earlier stage.

Forty-one cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the MRI group compared with 76 diagnoses in the control group. There were proportionately fewer advanced breast cancers, and more early cancers among women who screened with MRI compared with those not screened with MRI.

Furthermore, cancer size was smaller in the MRI group. The average size of invasive cancers in the MRI group was 0.9 cm compared to 1.8 cm in the control group. Three percent of cancers in the MRI group were larger than 2 cm in diameter compared with 29 percent of those in the control group.

"These results will hopefully convince high-risk women and their health care providers that breast screening with yearly MRI and mammography is a reasonable alternative to surgical removal of their breasts, which is commonly done to prevent breast cancer," Warner said.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

Obesity Linked With Poorer Breast Cancer Outcomes

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Obesity leads to late diagnosis of breast cancer.
• Obese patients have poorer breast cancer survival.
• Adjuvant treatment is less effective in patients with a higher BMI.

SAN ANTONIO - Breast cancer patients with a high body mass index (BMI) have a poorer cancer prognosis later in life. Specifically, their treatment effect does not last as long and their risk of death increases.

"Overall, women should make an effort to keep their BMI less than 25," said Marianne Ewertz, M.D., professor in the Department of Oncology at Odense University Hospital, Denmark. "Those who have a high BMI should be encouraged to participate in mammography screening programs for prevention efforts."

Ewertz and colleagues examined the influence of obesity on the risk of breast cancer recurrence and mortality in relation to adjuvant treatment. She presented study results at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13.

Using the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group database, they evaluated health information - such as status at diagnosis, tumor size, malignancy grade, number of lymph nodes removed, estrogen receptor status, treatment regimen, etc. - from almost 54,000 women. Ewertz and colleagues were able to calculate BMI for 35 percent of the women whose information about height and weight was available. A healthy, normal BMI score is between 20 and 25; a score below the normal range indicates underweight and a score above indicates overweight.

After 30 years of follow-up (from 1977 through 2006), the researchers found that women with higher BMIs were older and had more advanced disease at diagnosis compared with those who had a BMI within the normal range. The risk of distant metastases increased the higher the BMI. However, BMI played no role in loco-regional recurrence.

Women with a high BMI had an increased risk of dying from breast cancer, a finding that remained constant over the study period. Further, adjuvant treatment seemed to lose its effect more rapidly in obese patients, according to Ewertz.

"More research is needed into the mechanisms behind the poorer response to adjuvant treatment among obese women with breast cancer," she said.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

Alcohol Consumption Increases Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Alcohol may raise the risk of breast cancer recurrence.
• Obese women who drink alcohol may be at greater risk of recurrence.
• Alcohol was not related to risk of overall death.

SAN ANTONIO - Moderate to heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages (at least three to four drinks per week) is associated with a 1.3-fold increased risk of breast cancer recurrence. Women who are post-menopausal or overweight may be most susceptible to the effects of alcohol on recurrence. Drinking fewer than three drinks per week was not associated with an increased risk.

Marilyn L. Kwan, Ph.D., staff scientist in the Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif., presented detailed results of this study at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13, 2009.

Based on these findings, Kwan suggested, "Women previously diagnosed with breast cancer should consider limiting their consumption of alcohol to fewer than three drinks per week, especially women who are postmenopausal and overweight or obese."

Previous research has shown that consumption of alcohol is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, but there are limited studies to date about alcohol's role in patient prognosis and survival among those already diagnosed with breast cancer. Kwan and colleagues examined the effects of alcohol on cancer recurrence and mortality in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) Study.

LACE is a prospective cohort study of 1,897 early-stage breast cancer survivors diagnosed with early-stage invasive breast cancer between 1997 and 2000. The researchers recruited participants from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry.

Information on wine, beer and liquor consumption was documented via questionnaire. Each year, participants also filled out information on health outcomes, including recurrence of breast cancer, which was then verified by their medical records.

After eight years of follow-up, Kwan and colleagues found 349 breast cancer recurrences and 332 deaths. Among drinkers (50 percent of the study population), wine was the most popular choice of alcohol (90 percent), followed by liquor (43 percent) then beer (36 percent). Increased risk of cancer recurrence was most predominant among those who consumed two or more glasses of wine per day.

The increased risk of recurrence appeared to be greater among participants who were postmenopausal and overweight or obese, and was present regardless of type of alcohol. Alcohol consumption was not associated with overall mortality.

"Considering the few studies that have addressed alcohol and its influence on breast cancer prognosis, and that the increased risk of recurrence was observed in only some subgroups, our results should be confirmed in other prospective studies. Yet, these results can help women make a more informed decision about lifestyle choices after a diagnosis of breast cancer," said Kwan.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio, Dec.9-13:
(210) 582-7031

Pistachios May Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Pistachios are a source of gamma-tocopherol.
• Eating pistachios increased serum levels of gamma-tocopherol.
• A pistachio-rich diet may help reduce the risk of other cancers.

HOUSTON - A diet that incorporates a daily dose of pistachios may help reduce the risk of lung and other cancers, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9.

"It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer," said Ladia M. Hernandez, M.S., R.D., L.D., senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and doctoral candidate at Texas Woman's University - Houston Center.

"Pistachios are a good source of gamma-tocopherol. Eating them increases intake of gamma-tocopherol so pistachios may help to decrease lung cancer risk," she said.

Pistachios are known to provide a heart-healthy benefit by producing a cholesterol-lowering effect and providing the antioxidants that are typically found in food products of plant origin. Hernandez and colleagues conducted a six-week, controlled clinical trial to evaluate if the consumption of pistachios would increase dietary intake and serum levels of gamma-tocopherol. A pistachio-rich diet could potentially help reduce the risk of other cancers from developing as well, according to Hernandez.

"Because epidemiologic studies suggest gamma-tocopherol is protective against prostate cancer, pistachio intake may help," she said. "Other food sources that are a rich source of gamma-tocopherol include nuts such as peanuts, pecans, walnuts, soybean and corn oils."

The study, conducted at Texas Woman's University - Houston Center, included 36 healthy participants who were randomized into either a control group or the intervention group consisting of a pistachio diet. There were 18 participants in the control group and 18 in the intervention group.
There was a two-week baseline period, followed by a four-week intervention period in which the intervention group was provided with 68 grams (about 2 ounces or 117 kernels) of pistachios per day; the control group continued with their normal diet.

The effect on the intake and serum cholesterol-adjusted gamma-tocopherol was investigated. Intake was calculated using the Nutrition Data System for Research Version 2007, and consumption was monitored using diet diaries and by measuring the weights of the returned pistachios.

Hernandez and colleagues found a significant increase in energy-adjusted dietary intake of gamma-tocopherol at weeks three and four in those on the pistachio diet compared with those on the control diet. The similar effect was seen at weeks five and six among those on the pistachio diet compared with those on the control diet. For those on the pistachio diet, cholesterol-adjusted serum gamma-tocopherol was significantly higher at the end of the intervention period compared to baseline.

"Pistachios are one of those ‘good-for-you' nuts, and 2 ounces per day could be incorporated into dietary strategies designed to reduce the risk of lung cancer without significant changes in body mass index," said Hernandez.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Researchers Identify Barriers to HPV Vaccination Uptake in Low-income Populations

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Awareness, rate of HPV vaccine uptake in low-income areas vary by ethnicity.
• HPV vaccine not always offered to low-income patients.
• Patients do not always return for the three required HPV vaccine doses.

HOUSTON - Results of two separate studies show lower rates of HPV vaccination in low-income populations, and identify vaccination barriers and tailored interventions that may help to increase HPV vaccine uptake rates.

Findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held in Houston, Dec. 6-9, 2009.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found striking disparities in knowledge and awareness of HPV vaccines in different low-income minority groups.

"We expected some differences between the various ethnic groups, but not necessarily as many as we found," said Roshan Bastani, Ph.D., professor of health services and associate dean for research at the UCLA School of Public Health. She led the study, which was conducted through the Cancer Prevention Control Research Network (funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Cancer Institute).

Bastani and colleagues surveyed 390 mothers of girls aged 9 to 18 years who were registered with the Los Angeles County Office of Women's Health. Fifty-four percent of the participants were Latina, 20 percent were Chinese, 13 percent were Korean, 8 percent were black and 6 percent were of other ethnic origin.

Findings showed that vaccination rates were comparable to that of state and national estimates, however, there were significant gaps in the level of knowledge and awareness of HPV vaccine between ethnic groups.

While 64 percent of respondents reported having heard of the HPV vaccine, among Koreans the rate was only 42 percent.
Twenty-eight percent of the participating mothers reported knowing where to take their daughters to get the vaccine. This knowledge differed by ethnicity, with the lowest rates among Koreans (16 percent) and Chinese (19 percent) compared with blacks (29 percent) and Latinas (35 percent).
Only 28 percent of participants said they had enough information to make an informed decision about HPV vaccination; Koreans (14 percent) and Chinese (17 percent) had the lowest rates compared with Latinas (31 percent) and blacks (56 percent).
According to mothers of unvaccinated girls, barriers of HPV vaccination included concern over side effects, medical cost and insufficient information to make an informed decision.

"Now that we have found that there are ethnic differences, we have to be careful and not assume that a one size fits all intervention will be effective. We can tailor it per ethnicity and per the specific barriers identified," said Bastani.

Results of a separate study, which was also presented at the AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, showed that a lack of health care provider recommendation and poor uptake of the three-dose HPV vaccine series results in below average vaccination in low-income populations where the vaccine is readily available.

"We need interventions that help primary care teams to identify eligible patients and encourage the teen to receive all three doses. We need to take advantage of every opportunity where a teen comes into a clinic and offer all recommended adolescent vaccines," said Jasmin A. Tiro, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

Tiro and colleagues conducted this study at two neighborhood-based safety net clinics operated by the Parkland Health & Hospital System. The researchers examined the medical records of 353 female patients aged 11 to 18 years old, which is a more accurate method of assessing vaccine uptake than by using patient-provided information.

Results showed that 39.7 percent of eligible patients received a recommendation by their health care provider to receive the HPV vaccine. Of those patients, 24.3 percent refused the vaccine.

Overall, 30 percent of patients received the first dose of the vaccine in the series; only 6.5 percent completed all three doses required in the HPV vaccine series.

"We need to ensure that patients and their parents understand that the HPV vaccine is delivered in a series of three doses, which is unique among adolescent vaccines," said Tiro.

Based on the results of this study, the Parkland Health & Hospital System has adopted a new electronic medical records system that alerts their health care professionals if a patient is eligible for the HPV vaccine. Also, an automatic telephone system reminds the patient to keep clinic appointments and to receive their second and third HPV vaccine doses.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Hops Compound May Prevent Prostate Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Xanthohumol from hops has anti-androgenic activity.
• Stimulation of the secretion of prostate specific antigen was inhibited.
• It blocks testosterone effects in hormone-sensitive tissue in rats.

HOUSTON - The natural compound xanthohumol blocks the effects of the male hormone testosterone, therefore aiding in the prevention of prostate cancer.

"We hope that one day we can demonstrate that xanthohumol prevents prostate cancer development, first in animal models and then in humans, but we are just at the beginning," said Clarissa Gerhauser, Ph.D., group leader of cancer chemoprevention in the Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Risk Factors at the German Cancer Research Center, in Heidelberg, Germany.

Gerhauser presented these findings at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held in Houston, Dec. 6-9, 2009.

Xanthohumol is derived from hops and belongs to the group of flavonoids that are found in many plants, fruit, vegetables and spices. Studies to date have shown that xanthohumol blocks the action of estrogen by binding to its receptor, which may lead to prevention of breast cancer.

Since testosterone receptors act similarly to that of estrogen - by binding, then stimulating hormone-dependent effects, such as gene expression and cell growth - the researchers examined whether xanthohumol might not only block the effects of estrogen, but also of the male hormone androgen.

Gerhauser and colleagues stimulated hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells with testosterone, which led to a massive secretion of prostate specific antigen (PSA). PSA is used for screening and early detection of prostate cancer in men. Cells were then treated with testosterone and xanthohumol and the effects were examined.

"Xanthohumol prevented the receptor from translocating to the cell nucleus, thus inhibiting its potential to stimulate the secretion of PSA and other hormone-dependent effects," she said.

Molecular modeling results showed that xanthohumol directly binds to the androgen receptor structure.

The researchers suggest that this compound may have beneficial effects in animals - when they measured the anti-androgenic potential of xanthohumol in a rat model, they found that although xanthohumol was not able to prevent an increase in prostate weight after testosterone treatment, it could reduce testosterone-increased seminal vesicle weight.

"Although the prostate weights were not changed, xanthohumol still reduced the effects of hormone signaling, such as gene expression, measured in the prostate tissue," said Gerhauser.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

People Living in Poorer Neighborhoods at Increased Risk for Death, Worse Health Risks

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Poorer neighborhoods associated with higher risk for various health problems.
• Risk for death increased with level of fiscal deprivation.
• Interventions should target those living in socioeconomically deprived areas.

HOUSTON - Regardless of an individual's dietary and lifestyle risk factors, living in a poorer or more socioeconomically deprived neighborhood may increase a person's risk for death, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Dec. 6-9, 2009.

Researchers conducted the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study and found that people living in poorer neighborhoods, as determined by U.S. Census data, reported higher health risks, including heart disease and cancer, and were more likely to die sooner regardless of lifestyle and other risk factors.

"We were expecting that once we controlled for these lifestyle and medical risk factors, the differences would go away," said Chyke Doubeni, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of family medicine and community health and assistant vice provost for diversity at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "We weren't surprised by the unadjusted differences, but we were surprised that the differences persisted after controlling for lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, exercise and medical risks."

Previous data have demonstrated that people from lower socioeconomic groups have poorer health outcomes. Doubeni and colleagues prospectively evaluated whether people living in more deprived neighborhoods have a higher mortality risk.

Through the NIH-AARP study, they collected diet, lifestyle and medical history data from a prospective cohort of 565,697 participants, aged 50 to 71, from six U.S. states and two metropolitan areas during 1995 to 1996. Participants' mean age was 62 years, and the cohort consisted of 60 percent men, 91 percent non-Hispanic whites, 4 percent non-Hispanic blacks and 9 percent had a history of cancer.

Results revealed that a larger percentage of participants living in the most deprived neighborhoods reported poorer general health, higher average body mass index and lower Mediterranean diet scores, meaning that their diets were unhealthy. After Doubeni and colleagues controlled for dietary and lifestyle factors, the risk for death increased as the levels of deprivation in the neighborhood increased.

"We, as practitioners, either in the health care systems or clinics, should be alert to the needs of people from these backgrounds," Doubeni said. "We need to target public health interventions to these neighborhoods that are deprived by improving health resources and the physical environments in those areas."

Doubeni and colleagues are currently evaluating how living in a socioeconomically deprived neighborhood may influence overall cancer incidence and mortality, specifically focusing on colorectal cancer.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., to Present Updated Results of Herceptin Trial

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Available to Media Immediately Following in Room 217C

SAN ANTONIO - Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical/translational research for the Revlon/University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Women's Cancer Research Program at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, presented updated results of his groundbreaking work with trastuzumab, currently sold as Herceptin by Genentech-Roche.

Slamon presented his study at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, at 9:45 a.m. CT, in the main lecture hall.

Immediately following this presentation, he took questions from registered media representatives in room 217C of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio. (Listen to a recording below.)

Herceptin changed the face of breast cancer treatment when it was approved in 1998 for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. These updated results will focus on disease-free survival, overall survival and cardiac toxicity, according to Slamon.

"The results of this trial help define the role of Herceptin in the breast cancer HER2-positive adjuvant setting, as well as the risks and benefits of adjuvant therapy within the context of overall safety including cardiac toxicity," said Slamon.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd annual symposium is expected to draw more than 8,500 participants from more than 90 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio, Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

Mammography Use and False Positives Among Women Younger Than 40 Years Old Differ Between Minority Populations

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Majority of first mammograms under age 40 were for screening purposes.
• Rates of false positives vary more in diagnostic mammograms.

HOUSTON - Breast cancer screening guidelines generally recommend mammography begin at age 40. However, based on prior national research, an estimated 34 percent of non-Hispanic black women, 30 percent of non-Hispanic white women and 22 percent of Hispanic women aged 30 to 39 have reported having a mammogram.

"Our goals are to better understand who these women are that are getting mammograms at such a young age and their outcomes," said Julie M. Kapp, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia and lead author of the study, who presented the data at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, Dec. 6-9 in Houston.

Through the NCI Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, the researchers examined the first mammograms of women aged 18 to 39 with no prior history of breast cancer. The sample included 99,615 mammograms.

Even though the risk of developing breast cancer before age 40 is lower than 1 percent, research showed that the majority of first mammograms in this study were for screening purposes, rather than evaluation of a breast problem. Screening mammograms ranged from 69 percent among black women to 81 percent among Asian women.

"Women younger than 40 at low or average risk who receive screening mammography may be exposed to unnecessary negative harms, such as false positive results, additional radiation and invasive procedures," said Kapp.

False positives from screening mammograms varied only slightly between ethnic groups, ranging from 10.4 percent to 14.1 percent. However, false positive rates from diagnostic mammograms showed wider disparity, from 8.7 percent for white women to 18.2 percent for Asian women.

Kapp and colleagues are concerned that the impact of false positives on women of various racial/ethnic groups may vary and deter future mammography screening for some. For instance, previous studies have shown black women have greater odds than white women of having multiple mammograms before the age of 40, but black women older than 40 years are less likely to receive mammography screening.

Future research should address why, and what impact early screenings at a young age could have on future mammography use in women older than 40 years, when the risk of breast cancer is higher, according to Kapp.

This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute [grant number R03CA134196 to JMK]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health. Data collection for this work was supported by a National Cancer Institute-funded Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium co-operative agreement [grant numbers U01CA63740, U01CA86076, U01CA86082, U01CA63736, U01CA70013, U01CA69976, U01CA63731, U01CA70040]. Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium: www.breastscreening.cancer.gov

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Antioxidant Compound Reduced Incidence of Colorectal Metachronous Adenomas

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Five-year selenium-based antioxidant compound supplementation was beneficial.
• Supplementation reduced recurrence of colorectal adenomas by 40 percent.

HOUSTON - Supplementation with a selenium-based antioxidant compound decreased the risk of developing new polyps of the large bowel - called colorectal metachronous adenomas - in people who previously had colorectal polyps removed.

"Our study is the first intervention trial specifically designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selenium-based antioxidant compound on the risk of developing metachronous adenomas," said Luigina Bonelli, M.D., head of the unit of secondary prevention and screening at the National Institute for Cancer Research, in Genoa, Italy.

Bonelli presented these findings at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held in Houston, Dec. 6-9, 2009.

Adenomatous polyps (or adenoma) are benign lesions of the large bowel that, in time, could progress to cancer. Even though only a small proportion of adenomas will develop into cancer, almost 70 percent to 80 percent of colorectal cancer stems from an adenoma.

Adenomas are common in people aged 60 years or older; one in four people will have at least one adenoma.

Participants in this study were aged 25 to 75 years and had already had one or more colorectal adenomas removed, but did not have any other diagnosis of colorectal diseases, cancer or life-threatening illnesses and did not use vitamins or calcium supplementations. The researchers randomized 411 participants to the placebo group or to receive an antioxidant compound - specifically selenomethionnine 200 μg, zinc 30 mg, vitamin A 6,000 IU, vitamin C 180 mg and vitamin E 30 mg.

"Our results indicated that individuals who consumed antioxidants had a 40 percent reduction in the incidence of metachronous adenomas of the large bowel," Bonelli said. "It is noteworthy that the benefit observed after the conclusion of the trial persisted through 13 years of follow up."

The researchers are currently conducting a study to evaluate the role of genetic alterations as predictors of metachronous adenomas in participants who received the antioxidant compound compared with those in a placebo group.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Decline in Breast Cancer: Not Just Because of Hormone Therapy

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• WHI results led to decrease in hormone use.
• Women experienced steep decline in breast cancer.
• Only part of that decline can be attributed to hormone use.

HOUSTON - Between 2002 and 2003, American women experienced a 7 percent decline in breast cancer incidence, which scientists attribute to the publicity surrounding results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

However, researchers led by Brian Sprague, Ph.D., have conducted a reevaluation of the post-WHI landscape that suggests otherwise.

"We found that the change in hormone therapy use only accounted for a decline of about 3 percent, so there's another 4 percent that is being caused by something we do not yet know," said Sprague, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin.

Results of this study were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9 in Houston.

In 1991, the National Institutes of Health established the WHI to address the most common causes of death, disability and deterred quality of life among 15,730 postmenopausal women - cancer, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

Results of the WHI demonstrated in 2002 that hormone therapy is linked with an increased risk of breast cancer. Other studies have confirmed this relationship, and many women have stopped taking hormone therapy due to concerns about the potential risk of cancer. At the same time, the incidence of breast cancer has declined, which researchers attribute to the decrease in hormone therapy use.

After conducting a thorough literature review of the decline in hormone use and the decline in breast cancer incidence, Sprague and colleagues estimated that 42 percent of the decline in incidence of breast cancer was linked to the cessation of hormone therapy use.

Sprague said that additional studies are needed to determine the source of the remaining decline in breast cancer cases.

"This does not mean that women should start taking hormones again, but there appear to be additional factors that have contributed to the decline in breast cancer," he said.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Risk of Colon Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Consumption of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids reduced cancer in whites.
• Benefit observed in white participants, but not black participants.

HOUSTON - Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, primarily found in fish and seafood, may have a role in colorectal cancer prevention, according to results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9, 2009, in Houston.

"Experimental data have shown benefits of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in colorectal carcinogenesis, ranging from reduced tumor growth, suppression of angiogenesis and inhibition of metastasis," said Sangmi Kim, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Our finding of inverse association between dietary intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and distal large bowel cancer in white participants adds additional support to the hypothesis."

Although experimental and clinical data suggest that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids possess anti-neoplastic properties in the colon, epidemiologic data to date has been inconclusive.

Kim and colleagues studied the link between polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and distal large bowel cancer using data from a population-based control study. They recruited 1,509 white participants (716 cancer cases and 787 controls) and 369 black participants (213 cancer cases and 156 controls) using the State Cancer Registry and Division of Motor Vehicles records.

Nineteen polyunsaturated fatty acids were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire, which included 124 questions on food items. The researchers used the questionnaire to collect information on the frequency and amount of foods typically consumed in the past 12 months.

Patients who consumed more long-chain omega-3 fatty acids had a reduced risk of distal large bowel cancer. Compared to the lowest quartile, fat intake in the highest quartile was linked with a 39 percent reduced risk of cancer.

The researchers detected these associations in white participants, but not in black participants.

"We were surprised that the association was not also observed among blacks," Kim said. "We considered several possible explanations but were not able to account for this difference with the data we had. This finding warrants future study, but we should be careful about drawing conclusions about potential racial differences in the benefit from long-chain omega-3 fatty acids from this study."

"An increase in dietary intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which mainly come from fish and seafood, may be beneficial in the prevention of distal large bowel cancer," Kim said.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Exercise Reduces Death Rate in Prostate Cancer Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Three MET-hours of physical activity a week reduced overall death rates.
• Vigorous exercise five hours a week reduced cancer-specific death rates.

HOUSTON - As little as 15 minutes of exercise a day can reduce overall mortality rates in patients with prostate cancer, according to findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held here, Dec. 6-9, 2009.

"We saw benefits at very attainable levels of activity," said Stacey A. Kenfield, Sc.D., epidemiology research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study. "The results suggest that men with prostate cancer should do some physical activity for their overall health."

Researchers assessed physical activity levels for 2,686 patients enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, both before and after diagnosis (men with metastases at diagnosis were excluded).

Men who engaged in three or more hours of Metabolic Equivalent Tasks (MET) a week - equivalent to jogging, biking, swimming or playing tennis for about a half-hour per week - had a 35 percent lower risk of overall mortality.

Specific to walking, the researchers found that men who walked four or more hours a week had a 23 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to men who walked less than 20 minutes per week. Men who walked 90 or more minutes at a normal to brisk pace had a 51 percent lower risk of death from any cause than men who walked less than 90 minutes at an easy walking pace.

Walking didn't show any effect on prostate cancer specific mortality, but more strenuous exercising did. Men who engaged in five or more hours of vigorous physical activity a week were at a decreased risk of dying from their prostate cancer.

"This is the first large population study to examine exercise in relation to mortality in prostate cancer survivors," said Kenfield. Previous studies focused on how exercise affects risk of developing prostate cancer.

Kenfield said that researchers aren't sure of the exact molecular effects exercise has on prostate cancer, but exercise is known to influence a number of hormones hypothesized to stimulate prostate cancer, boost immune function and reduce inflammation.

"How these factors may work together to affect prostate cancer biologically is still being studied," she said. "For now, our data indicate that for prostate cancer survivors, a moderate amount of regular exercise may improve overall survival, while five or more hours per week of vigorous exercise may decrease the death rate due to prostate cancer specifically."

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org
In Houston, Dec. 6-9:
(713) 576-5445

Coffee Consumption Associated with Reduced Risk of Advanced Prostate Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Avid coffee drinkers had 60 percent lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
• Drinking coffee is linked to varied blood levels of insulin, sex hormones.

HOUSTON - While it is too early for physicians to start advising their male patients to take up the habit of regular coffee drinking, data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference revealed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers.

"Coffee has effects on insulin and glucose metabolism as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer. It was plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer," said Kathryn M. Wilson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Channing Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

In a prospective investigation, Wilson and colleagues found that men who drank the most coffee had a 60 percent lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer than men who did not drink any coffee. This is the first study of its kind to look at both overall risk of prostate cancer and risk of localized, advanced and lethal disease.

"Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes," said Wilson. "We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced vs. localized cancers or high-grade vs. low-grade cancers."

Caffeine is actually not the key factor in this association, according to Wilson. The researchers are unsure which components of the beverage are most important, as coffee contains many biologically active compounds like antioxidants and minerals.

Using the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study, the researchers documented the regular and decaffeinated coffee intake of nearly 50,000 men every four years from 1986 to 2006; 4,975 of these men developed prostate cancer over that time. They also examined the cross-sectional association between coffee consumption and levels of circulating hormones in blood samples collected from a subset of men in the cohort.

"Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies," said Wilson. "Our results do suggest there is no reason to stop drinking coffee out of any concern about prostate cancer."

This association might also help understand the biology of prostate cancer and possible chemoprevention measures.

Martine Piccart-Gebhart, M.D., Ph.D., Honored for International Contributions to Breast Cancer Research

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO - Martine Piccart-Gebhart, M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and director of the Medicine Department at the Institut Jules Bordet, in Brussels, Belgium, will receive the 2009 William L. McGuire Memorial Lectureship at the 32nd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Supported by GlaxoSmithKline Oncology (GSK) since its inception in 1992, this honor acknowledges distinguished internationally recognized researchers for their significant contributions to breast cancer research.

Piccart-Gebhart is the principal or co-principal investigator of many clinical trials, including HERA, MINDACT and ALTTO. She is the co-founder and chair of the Breast International Group (BIG), created in 1996 to facilitate, plan and oversee international breast cancer clinical trials, and TRANSBIG, a European Commission-supported translational research consortium that complements BIG's clinical research network. BIG brings together 41 collaborative groups from around the world and has more than 30 clinical trials under its umbrella; TRANSBIG represents 39 institutions in 21 countries.

"Dr. Piccart-Gebhart is a driving force of clinical and translational research," said C. Kent Osborne, M.D., co-director of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and director of the Baylor College of Medicine Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center. "Her work with BIG and TRANSBIG brings together the best science with the newest technology around the world."

Piccart-Gebhart will give a lecture entitled, "International Breast Cancer Research: Launching an Expedition to the Moon," on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, at 11:15 a.m. CT, during the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This meeting, encompassing the full spectrum of breast cancer research, will be held Dec. 9-13, 2009, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas.

Paolo Paoletti, M.D., senior vice president and head of the Oncology R&D Unit at GlaxoSmithKline, said "In this new era of genomic-based research, we can't understate what Dr. Martine Piccart-Gebhart has done to advance international patient participation in clinical trials. Her leading efforts have helped broaden our understanding of breast cancer across diverse patient groups. We join everyone in the research community in congratulating her on this well-deserved honor."

Piccart-Gebhart received her medical doctorate in 1978 and her internal medicine certification in 1983 from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. She earned her oncology qualification in 1985 from the Division of Oncology at the New York University Medical Center. She became certified in European medical oncology in London in 1989, and earned her Ph.D. from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1993. She is a member of the Académie Royale de Médecine de Belgique. As well, she serves on the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Board and is the immediate past president of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

Piccart-Gebhart has served as author or co-author of more than 325 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her achievements in the clinical research field, including a Freedom to Discover grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2005. In 2006, she was awarded the 14th Claude Jacquillat Award for achievements in clinical oncology and the ESMO-GSK Lifetime Achievement Award in Breast Cancer Research (to BIG). Piccart received the Miami Breast Cancer Conference Award of Excellence for 2007 and the ECCO Clinical Research Award in Berlin in September of 2009. She was a member of the AACR Annual Meeting Program Committee in 2007 and currently serves on the AACR Clinical Cancer Research Committee.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

About the William L. McGuire Memorial Lectureship
Dr. William L. McGuire, along with Dr. Charles A. Coltman, founded the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 1977. The William L. McGuire Memorial Lectureship was established in 1992 to commemorate the significant contributions of Dr. McGuire to our understanding of breast cancer biology and treatment. His research played a major role in introducing estrogen receptor assays on breast tumor tissue as a guide to treatment decisions for women with breast cancer. Breast cancer patients everywhere now receive these tests. The lecturer is selected by the SABCS Executive and Planning Committees from persons nominated by distinguished researchers in the field.

About the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd annual symposium is expected to draw more than 8,500 participants from more than 90 countries.

About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and health care companies, is dedicated to producing innovations in cancer that will make profound differences in the lives of patients. Through GSK's "bench to bedside" approach, we are transforming the way treatments are discovered and developed, resulting in one of the most robust pipelines in the oncology sector. Our worldwide research in oncology includes partnerships with more than 160 cancer centers. GSK is developing a new generation of patient-focused cancer treatments in prevention, supportive care, chemotherapy and targeted therapies.

Media Contact:
Megan Davies
(267) 646-0612
megan.davies@aacr.org

Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Announces Recipients of 2009 Komen Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Two U.S. Scientists Share Distinguished Honors in Basic Science Research; U.K. Physician Selected for Prestigious Clinical Research Award

SAN ANTONIO --Three researchers who have focused much of their careers on developing targeted therapies that both lower the risk of developing hormone-sensitive breast cancers and effectively treat the disease are this year's winners of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in basic science and clinical research. This is the highest award of merit given by the nation's leading breast cancer advocacy organization.

This year's team recipients in the category of basic science are Benita S. Katzenellenbogen, Ph.D., and Geoffrey L. Greene, Ph.D. Ian E. Smith, M.D., is recognized in the award category of clinical research.

Each honoree will deliver a keynote lecture and be honored at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, a major international gathering of breast cancer researchers, clinicians and patient advocacy organizations to be held at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio from Dec. 9-13, 2009. Each also will receive a cash award of $25,000.

Katzenellenbogen and Greene are being honored for their pivotal laboratory work that led to a better understanding of how drugs like tamoxifen and raloxifene work on a molecular level to fight and prevent certain breast cancers.

Smith is being recognized for his work in the early clinical development of several anti-cancer drugs and for his work in neoadjuvant - or preoperative - treatments with drugs like tamoxifen and raloxifene.

These drugs fight the hormone sensitive breast cancers that account for 70 percent of all breast cancers. The survival rate for all breast cancers is now 89 percent, largely due to the successful use of these hormone therapies before and after surgery.

"The two individuals selected for the basic science award have made important contributions to our understanding of the estrogen receptor and the role the receptor plays in breast cancer," said Eric Winer, M.D., Komen's chief scientific advisor. "The clinical award is made in recognition of the seminal work on the part of Dr. Smith in the field of endocrine therapy, particularly in the preoperative setting."

The Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction was established in 1992 to recognize the efforts of pioneers in two critically important areas of the fight to end breast cancer: clinical research and basic science. The roster of Komen Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction laureates has grown to include names of researchers who have made the most significant advances in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment as well as research. This year's awardees, as well as past laureates, are invited to a private reception during the San Antonio conference this year.

About the Brinker Award Winners
Ian E. Smith, M.D. - Clinical Research
Ian Smith is professor of Cancer Medicine at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where he is also head of the breast unit. His principal research interests have been in the biology and treatment of breast cancer and lung cancer, and in new drug development. He was involved in the early clinical development of several successful anti-cancer drugs including letrozole and carboplatin. One of his main interests is in preoperative endocrine treatments and in the molecular changes associated with these therapies. He is chief investigator of two international neoadjuvant endocrine therapy trials, IMPACT and IRESSA 223 and UK principal investigator for several international clinical trials. He is the first chairman of the recently formed UK Breast Trials Intergroup and recent past chairman of the British Breast Group. He has also been chairman of several national professional bodies including the Association of Cancer Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians Specialist Advisory Committee for Medical Oncology, and the NCRI Lung Cancer Clinical Studies Group. He is a member of numerous international cancer societies and has more than 300 peer-reviewed publications.

Benita S Katzenellenbogen, Ph.D. - Basic Science
Benita S. Katzenellenbogen is the Swanlund Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As an endocrinologist and cancer researcher, she has focused on understanding the biology of estrogen receptors and in trying to clarify how drugs likes tamoxifen and raloxifene are effective in controlling breast cancer. The work of her research group has most recently involved developing hormonal agents for breast cancer treatment and prevention. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recently served as president of The Endocrine Society, the world's largest professional society representing approximately 10,000 endocrinologists. She has published more than 270 research articles and co-edited a book on "Hormone-Dependent Cancer." During her career she has received five different Komen grants. She has been a member of the AACR since 1984 and is a member of the association groups Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR) and Women in Cancer Research (WICR).

Geoffrey L. Greene, Ph.D. - Basic Science
Dr. Geoffrey Greene is the Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor and vice chair of The Ben May Department for Cancer Research, chair of the Committee on Cancer Biology, associate director of Basic Sciences for the Cancer Research Center and co-director of the Ludwig Center for Metastasis Research at the University of Chicago. He is internationally recognized for his work on the function of female hormones and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) in breast cancer, and for the development of estrogen and progesterone receptor antibodies, which have had major diagnostic applications in breast cancer throughout the world. Projects in Greene's laboratory have direct relevance and application to breast cancer genesis, progression, treatment and prevention, as well as to the development of compounds that can be used for hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women. He has received several prestigious awards for his research accomplishments, including the Ernst Oppenheimer Award from the Endocrine Society, the John Brewer Distinguished Alumni Lectureship at Northwestern University, the first Tartikoff-Semel Award from the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program, and the first Olof Pearson Lecturer at Case Western Reserve University. In addition, he recently received the NAMS/Wyeth Pharmaceutical SERMs award from the North American Menopausal Society. He has been a member of the AACR since 1989 and is a member of the association groups Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR) and Women in Cancer Research (WICR).

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested more than $1.3 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Schiffman Honored with AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Mark W. Schiffman, M.D., M.P.H., senior investigator of the hormonal and reproductive epidemiology branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been selected to receive the 2009 American Association for Cancer Research-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research.

This award, in its eighth year, is given annually to a scientist for his or her seminal contributions to cancer prevention research, for investigations conducted in basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological or behavioral science.

Schiffman is honored for his outstanding research on the mechanisms of cervical carcinogenesis based on a model of infection with HPV. Schiffman has led efforts to understand cervical cancer etiology and natural history, spurring novel prevention strategies such as molecular diagnostics and prophylactic vaccines. Among his achievements, Schiffman's seminal work in HPV DNA testing as a more sensitive and reliable screening test than cervical cytology helped lead to FDA approval of a commercial HPV test.

In the 1990's, Schiffman first proposed that cervical cancer does not progress along a pathology model of stepwise progression from CIN1 to CIN2 to CIN3 to cancer but rather along a simple, causal schema composed of four reliably measured stages: HPV acquisition, HPV persistence (vs. clearance), progression to precancer and invasion. This conceptual model, radical at the time, has gained firm empirical support and is now widely accepted.

"The AACR is proud to give this award to Dr. Schiffman," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "His investigation of HPV infection and cervical cancer is an example of how interdisciplinary science can be leveraged to promote public health. His work has taken him from the lab to the clinic, with results that revolutionized cervical cancer prevention, impacting women worldwide."

"The Prevent Cancer Foundation is pleased that the AACR has recognized Dr. Schiffman for his significant contributions to cancer prevention," said Carolyn R. Aldige, president and founder of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. "This award helps ensure that vibrant new approaches to cancer prevention will continue to emerge."

Schiffman received his medical doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and his Masters in Public Health in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University.

Throughout his career, Schiffman has received numerous honors and awards including the 2008 American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2007 American Cancer Society Medal of Honor in Clinical Research, the 2006 Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Distinguished Service Award, the NCI Mentor of Merit Award and the NIH Merit Award, among others. He is on the editorial advisory board of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, and has served as a reviewer for Cancer Research.

Schiffman will give an award lecture entitled, "Biomarkers and Cancer Prevention: Cautionary Lessons from the Study of Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer," on Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, at 5:15 p.m. CST, during the American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. This foremost meeting on cancer prevention research will be held Dec. 6-9, 2009, at the Hilton Americas-Houston, Texas.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

About the AACR
The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About the Prevent Cancer Foundation
The Prevent Cancer Foundation was started in 1985. Today, it is one of the nation's leading health organizations and has catapulted cancer prevention to prominence. Through healthy lifestyle choices, you can reduce your risk of breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, oral, prostate, skin and testicular cancers. Since its inception the Prevent Cancer Foundation has provided more than $113 million in support of cancer prevention and early detection research, education and community outreach programs across the country. The Foundation's peer-reviewed grants have been awarded to nearly 400 scientists from more than 150 of the leading academic medical centers nationwide. This research has been pivotal in developing a body of knowledge that is the basis for important cancer prevention and early detection strategies. For more information, please visit www.preventcancer.org.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Stand Up To Cancer Funds High-risk/High-reward Cancer Research by 13 Young Scientists

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

$9.68 Million Supports Innovative Projects by Next-generation Research Leaders

Dec. 7, 2009, New York, N.Y./Los Angeles, Calif.: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) announced today that it is awarding $9.68 million to support high-risk/high-reward cancer research conducted by 13 young scientists. Over a three-year period, each investigator will receive a total of up to $750,000 as part of SU2C's Innovative Research Grants program, which supports the next generation of cancer research leaders.

"We asked our best and brightest young researchers to step outside their comfort zones and strive to make big differences with bold initiatives," said Richard D. Kolodner, Ph.D., professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, senior researcher at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in La Jolla, Calif., and chairman of the review committee for the grants. "If these projects come to fruition, some of the ideas could be game-changers in cancer research."

The Innovative Research Grants program is the second major funding commitment made by Stand Up To Cancer. Earlier this year, SU2C awarded $73.6 million to five interdisciplinary, multi-institutional Dream Teams with more than 300 members from 20 institutions. All of these SU2C-funded projects focus on groundbreaking translational research aimed at getting new therapies to patients as quickly as possible. Since its launch in May 2008, SU2C has raised more than $100 million from a wide range of philanthropic, corporate, and organizational donors, as well as the general public, much of it in connection with an SU2C telecast on September 5, 2008, that aired simultaneously on ABC, CBS, and NBC.

"By any measure, Stand Up To Cancer has been making significant progress in facilitating new ways of doing cancer research," said Laura Ziskin, one of SU2C's founding members and the executive producer of the Sept. 2008 broadcast, who is also a cancer survivor. "Cancer claims 1,500 lives every single day in this country, and by 2010 it will become the leading cause of death worldwide, so the need for more and better treatments has never been more urgent. We set out to engage people all over the United States in supporting the scientists who are working to end this disease ... We're grateful to everyone - from the person who contributes one dollar through our website, to the philanthropists and companies who've made multimillion dollar gifts - who is standing up with us."

Innovative Grant Funding Formula Departs from Traditional Approach
Stand Up To Cancer's funding model for the Innovative Grants was designed specifically to support work that utilizes new ideas and new approaches to solve critical problems in cancer research. These innovative projects are characterized as "high-risk" because they challenge existing paradigms, and because in order to receive a grant the applicants were not required, as they would be by most conventional funding mechanisms, to have already conducted a portion of the research resulting in an established base of evidence. If successful, the projects have the potential for "high-reward" in terms of saving lives.

The American Association for Cancer Research, Stand Up To Cancer's scientific partner, assembled the expert SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee as well as the Innovative Research Grants Review Committee, who administered the scientific review process and will provide ongoing scientific oversight of the grants.

"Traditionally, the projects most likely to be funded are those with a demonstrable expectation of success, which means that some of the research has to be done before an investigator can submit a proposal," explained Kolodner, who is also a member of Stand Up To Cancer's Scientific Advisory Committee. "There are not many opportunities to receive funding for cancer research where young scientists are freed from the requirement of having ‘proof of concept' data in order receive grants, and certainly not such large grants."

13 Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Grant Recipients
The projects funded all represent new approaches to the most important and challenging problems facing cancer researchers today. They address a wide range of cancer types and organ sites, including lung, ovarian and breast cancers, as well as leukemia and lymphomas. Some projects focus on developing improved therapies for difficult to treat cancers that affect children and young adults, including Ewing sarcoma and rhabdoid tumors. All the projects have the potential to significantly advance the identification of the complex mechanisms that cause cancers to occur and spread; to lead to the development of a new generation of targeted treatments; and to improve the methods of diagnosing cancers and monitoring the effects of treatment.

The 13 Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grant recipients for 2009 are:

Fernando D. Camargo, Ph.D., Children's Hospital Boston: An Emerging Tumor Suppressor Pathway in Human Cancer

Elizabeth R. Lawlor, M.D., Ph.D., Childrens Hospital Los Angeles: Modeling Ewing Tumor Initiation in Human Neural Crest Stem Cells

Matthew Levy, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University: Cancer Cell Specific, Self-delivering Pro-drugs

Markus Müschen, M.D., Childrens Hospital Los Angeles: Targeted Inhibition of BCL6 for Leukemia Stem Cell Eradication

William Pao, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center/Vanderbilt University: Identifying Solid Tumor Kinase Fusions via Exon Capture and 454 Sequencing

Charles M. Roberts, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Therapeutically Targeting the Epigenome in Aggressive Pediatric Cancers

Rajat Rohatgi, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University: Endogenous Small Molecules that Regulate Signaling Pathways in Cancer Cells

José M. Silva, Ph.D., Columbia University Medical Center: Genetic Approaches for Next Generation of Breast Cancer Tailored Therapies

Kimberly Stegmaier, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Modulating Transcription Factor Abnormalities in Pediatric Cancer

Muneesh Tewari, M.D., Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center: Noninvasive Molecular Profiling of Cancer via Tumor-derived Microparticles

Loren D. Walensky, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: A Transformative Technology to Capture and Drug New Cancer Targets

David M. Weinstock, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Functional Oncogene Identification

Hang Yin, Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder: Probing EBV-LMP-1's Transmembrane Activation Domain with Synthetic Peptide

Distinctive Review and Selection Process
The grant selection process began in late 2008 with a call for Letters of Intent from young researchers in the early stages of their careers. The 45-member Innovative Research Grants Review Committee considered 412 eligible letters in an intense, multi-step evaluation process that began in May, 2009. Based on the initial review of each proposal by three committee members, the group was narrowed to 73 semi-finalists who were invited to submit full research proposals, which were then reviewed late this past summer. The list was narrowed again, to 19 finalists who made in-person presentations to the Grants Review Committee during an intensive two-day meeting in early October. From that group, the committee selected the 13 recipients.

The committee evaluated the submissions using these criteria: potential for high-risk/high-reward; innovation in method or approach; potential for significant translation to clinical application; promise to improve and save the lives of cancer patients; and potential to develop into a Dream Team project.

"The review process was unusually interactive; it's very rare in cancer research funding for young investigators to present their proposals to a group of senior scientists in face-to-face meetings," said Scientific Advisory Committee Member and Innovative Research Grants Review Committee Vice-Chairperson William G. Nelson, V., M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology and director, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University. "The seasoned scientists on the committee provided direct feedback to the finalists on their projects, which the grant recipients can integrate as they begin to undertake their research."

Grants are Living Legacy to Research Pioneer Judah Folkman
The Innovative Research Grants program was established in honor of the late Judah Folkman, M.D., to recognize him as one of the great innovators in cancer research, an outstanding teacher of young investigators and an early contributor to the SU2C project. Folkman's pioneering work led to a new understanding of angiogenesis in cancer and the development of important new treatments based on his discoveries.

"At our very first meeting, as we were just beginning to formulate the plans for Stand Up To Cancer, Dr. Folkman spoke passionately about the need to fund young investigators. They say that science always stands on the shoulders of the giants that come before, and we lost a true giant when Dr. Folkman died just six weeks later. It's fitting to honor him by funding the next generation of potential research stars. Their work will be an important tribute to his legacy and his dream of defeating cancer," said Sherry Lansing, a SU2C founding member and board chair of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the underlying 501(c)(3) charitable organization that serves as the initiative's fiduciary.

Funded Projects Address Wide Range of Challenges

Margaret Foti, Ph.D, M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, said she was very excited by the scientific excellence and the scope of the research projects selected by the committee.

"The Innovative Grant recipients are thinking broadly and creatively, with one end goal in mind: making scientific progress to save lives from cancer," Foti noted. "We are at a very important juncture in cancer research; its pace is increasingly rapid, and that enhances the speed at which we can move new discoveries out of the lab and into the clinic. Support for the next generation of remarkable young scientists is critical to ensuring that we continue to accelerate that pace. The AACR is proud of its partnership with Stand Up To Cancer and the contribution this important initiative is making to advancing cancer research."

Collaboration and Transparency in the SU2C Funding Model
Fostering increased collaboration among cancer researchers at different institutions is a key SU2C goal. Planning is underway for both formal and informal communication and meetings among all the SU2C-funded scientists to share ideas and progress. It is expected that these interactions between the Innovative Research Grant recipients and Dream Team members will lead to new synergies and potential collaborations.

The AACR, through the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee and Innovative Research Grants Review Committee will conduct regular reviews to ensure accountability and that objectives are being satisfactorily achieved. Stand Up To Cancer is committed to transparency in both the funding process, and the outcomes of the projects. Progress reports will be made available to the public at: www.su2c.org and www.aacr.org.

The SU2C Movement's Online Community
SU2C's robust online community (www.su2c.org) offers various ways for people to share opinions and support, view video updates, contribute, and learn of ongoing initiatives and progress in the fight against cancer. The scope of donation opportunities on the SU2C website ranges from naming a star in honor of a loved one to web team challenges that encourage collaborative fundraising efforts by groups of various sizes all over the country. The online community provides ample opportunity to share SU2C's efforts via a variety of social media outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, AOL, MySpace, YouTube, flickr, and several other sites that are accessible through the SU2C website. SU2C is implementing ongoing grassroots efforts, and is participating in national and regional events to raise awareness and funds.

# # #

About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. In the fall of 2007, a group of women whose lives have all been affected by cancer in profound ways began working together to marshal the resources of the media and entertainment industries in the fight against this disease. The SU2C founding members include Laura Ziskin, executive producer of the Sept. 5, 2008 broadcast, who is a cancer survivor; Sherry Lansing, chairperson of the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Board of Directors and founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation; EIF President and CEO Lisa Paulsen; Katie Couric; Noreen Fraser, founder of the Noreen Fraser Foundation (NFF) and a cancer survivor; EIF Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. SU2C was formally launched on May 27, 2008, and Diane Balma serves as its executive director.

Major League Baseball was the lead donor to contribute to Stand Up To Cancer, and Sidney Kimmel, the country's largest individual supporter of cancer research, pledged $25 million during last year's telecast. Other major SU2C supporters include Amgen, AARP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Revlon, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, Milken Family Foundation, Philips Electronics, Steve Tisch, The Island Def Jam Music Group and many others. In addition to ABC, CBS and NBC, SU2C major media partners include AOL, Condé Nast Media Group, eBay Inc., Facebook, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Hearst Corporation, Los Angeles Times, Meredith Corporation, The New York Times Company, Time Inc, and WebMD.

About the AACR

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which consists of over 30,000 scientists engaged in the fight against cancer, is the oldest and largest scientific organization in the world focusing on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research from the bench to the bedside. Lauded internationally for its scientific breadth, innovation and spread of new knowledge about cancer, the AACR is on the front lines in the quest for the prevention and cure of cancer. The AACR holds meetings on critical cancer research topics around the world and publishes six major cancer research journals.

As Stand Up To Cancer's scientific partner, the AACR is responsible for administering the grants, and - in conjunction with the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David H. Koch Institute at MIT - providing scientific oversight.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation

Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.

For additional information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit www.su2c.org

Media Contacts:

Thomas Chiodo
Rubenstein Communications
212-843-8289/917-714-6670
tchiodo@rubenstein.com

Christine Wilson
American Association for Cancer Research
215-440-9300/215-817-9625
christine.wilson@aacr.org

Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference Highlights New Science in Diet and Lifestyle

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA- The American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference will focus on the latest biological, medical and social research behind cancer prevention. The conference took place Dec. 6-9, 2009, at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel in Houston, Texas. (A recording of the teleconference is available below.)

"This meeting has become a major venue for presenting cutting-edge research. As the only comprehensive conference on cancer prevention in the world, it continues to foster important cross-disciplinary interactions that are vital to making critical discoveries and translating them into effective preventive strategies," said conference chairperson Ernest Hawk, M.D., M.P.H., vice president for Cancer Prevention and head of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The teleconference took place on Monday, Dec. 7 at 11:00 a.m. CT.

The expert panel included:

John Milner, Ph.D., chief of the Nutritional Science Research Group at the National Cancer Institute, and editorial board member of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research;
Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at Marshall University School of Medicine;
Elizabeth Platz, Sc.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, co-director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University, and senior editor of the epidemiology section of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Tim Byers, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and interim director of the Colorado Cancer Center.

In addition to this teleconference, the American Association for Cancer Research has highlighted the following papers for the news media. For media inquiries on these studies, please contact Tara Yates at tara.yates@aacr.org.

Hops Compound May Prevent Prostate Cancer
Antioxidant Compound Reduced Incidence of Colorectal Metachronous Adenomas
People Living in Poorer Neighborhoods at Increased Risk for Death, Worse Health Risks
Mammography Use and False Positives among Women Younger Than 40 Years Old Differ Between Minority Populations
Exercise Reduces Death Rate in Prostate Cancer Patients
Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Risk of Colon Cancer
Decline in Breast Cancer: Not Just Because of Hormone Therapy
Researchers Identify Barriers to HPV Vaccination Uptake in Low-income Populations
Coffee Consumption Associated with Reduced Risk of Advanced Prostate Cancer
Pistachios May Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (39.9 MB, 58 minutes and 00 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Continues to Expand

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Now in its 32nd year, the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium continues to attract the best in breast cancer science and world leaders from industry and academia with the goal of eradicating breast cancer.

This year, more than 8,500 scientists and other professionals will gather at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio from Dec. 9-13, 2009. The symposium is a partnership between the American Association for Cancer Research, the University of Texas Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

Last year, more than 8,000 people attended from 92 countries; 46 percent of the participants were medical doctors and 9 percent were basic research scientists. Last year was the first year the AACR partnered with the symposium in an effort to help increase the presence of basic science. As a result, the meeting began one day earlier than in past years and held standing room only scientific sessions.

"The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is arguably the best cancer research meeting in the world, and with the addition of high quality science, credibility and outreach efforts from the American Association for Cancer Research, this collaboration continues to garner further scientific prominence," said C. Kent Osborne, M.D., director of the Dan L. Duncan Center and the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine and president of the symposium.

This year, in addition to the main program, the CTRC-AACR-SABCS press office will host four press conferences for the media highlighting important news from the meeting and a separate media Q&A on December 12 at 10:00 a.m. CT with Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D. on the long-term survival, disease free survival and cardiac toxicity results from his latest research with Herceptin.

The following is a schedule of the press briefings:

• Bisphosphonates: 12:30 p.m. CT, Thursday, Dec. 10
• Drugs in the Pipeline: 8:00 a.m. CT, Friday, Dec. 11
• New Treatment Paradigms: 12:30 p.m. CT, Friday, Dec. 11
• Patient Management and Prognosis: 8:00 a.m. CT, Saturday, Dec. 12
• Media Q&A with Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., 10:00 a.m. CT, Saturday, Dec. 12

Beyond the press conferences, the press office has selected additional abstracts that may be of interest to the media and will be highlighting them as separate press releases.

AACR will be conducting interviews with researchers throughout the symposium. Recordings of these events and interviews, as well as the teleconferences, will be posted to AACR Scientific Podcast feed and to the AACR website. You can subscribe to this feed through following:

Subscribe to the AACR Scientific Podcast via an RSS Reader.

Follow AACR on Twitter @AACR, and throughout the meeting using the hash tag #SABCS09.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed.

# # #

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267)646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio Dec. 9-13:
(210) 582-7031

AACR Takes Steps to Aid the FDA in Regulating Tobacco; Publishes Best Research Practices

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Congressional law allows FDA tobacco regulation, creating need for guidelines and research.
AACR journal includes compendium of best research practices with a special focus on tobacco.
AACR forms new Task Force on Tobacco and Cancer.
Listen to a recording of the teleconference.

PHILADELPHIA - When President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act in June, he ushered in a new era of tobacco policy that empowers the Food and Drug Administration to regulate one of the world's most controversial and deadly consumer products.

However, the FDA can only act in the context of scientific inquiry and proof, and while the tobacco legislation represents a step forward, those who have made tobacco research their life's work see challenges ahead.

The American Association for Cancer Research is responding to that challenge by offering a compendium of best research practices in a collection of nine reviews, published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

"This is completely virgin territory. Tobacco and alcohol are the only two products that people take into their bodies that, to this point, have not had to undergo any product regulation," said Kenneth Warner, Ph.D., dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, who wrote the introduction for the reviews. "The FDA will need to build a solid scientific base for its decisions, and the efforts of the American Association for Cancer Research are a big part of that."

The reviews, authored by leading experts in the field, cover everything from proper clinical trial design to how to best assess toxicity levels in the wealth of new tobacco products the industry has introduced as "safe."

Beyond the peer reviewed literature, the AACR has also convened an AACR Task Force on Tobacco and Cancer, which is chaired by Roy Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the section of thoracic medical oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The task force has already publicly commented on the FDA law and nominated members of an advisory panel.

The FDA regularly convenes advisory panels before making regulatory decisions. The panels are made up of independent experts from industry and academia. While the agency is not bound by the panel's recommendations, it typically follows a panel's advice. The advisory panel meetings are open and closely watched by the media and the public.

"Under the new legislation, the tobacco companies will be not be allowed to simply introduce new or modified tobacco products without first providing evidence to the FDA proving that the new or modified product is less harmful than the conventional products that they are intended to replace," said Michael Cummings, Ph.D., M.P.H., chairman of the Department of Health Behavior at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and author of several of the reviews.

The challenge, according to Cummings, will be in making sure that the FDA has sufficient data upon which to make reasoned judgments about whether a new or modified product is, in fact, less harmful to the individual user and the population as at large.

"Tobacco products are complex. A smoker gets about 4,000 chemicals in every puff. However, the FDA will need to consider much more than just the toxicity of the product when judging a new or modified products' harm potential," Cummings said. "Tobacco products are harmful because they are engineered to be addictive. Thus, the abuse potential of a product and how it is packaged and labeled will need to be considered by the FDA when judging the relative harm of new and modified tobacco products."

The reviews in this issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention describe some of the strategies that might be applied when assessing differences in product risk and population harm, said Cummings.

Additionally, the issue features several studies on lung cancer in minorities, risk for experimentation, impact of popular culture and the effect of alternative products like herbal cigarettes.

"No one questions any more that smoking is extremely dangerous. The big question is whether the flood of novel products like low-nitrosamine smokeless tobacco, modified cigarettes, and pseudo-cigarette nicotine delivery devices can substantiate their safety claims," said Warner.

In the past, the tobacco companies have continuously rolled out new products without conducting the studies to back up their claims, or at least not releasing those studies publicly. Experts say the scientific research supporting these new products has fallen short.

"All of a sudden the FDA has to start acting like the FDA and get into the tobacco world by regulating all types of nicotine-delivery devices, including tobacco products. However, compared to the wealth of pharmaceutical research available, the tobacco field is substantially behind and we are going to be challenged for years," said Peter Shields, M.D., deputy director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center and editor of the reviews. "The tobacco companies have been claiming to be socially responsible since the 1960s, but the new legislation will require them to disclose everything."

Teleconference Details:

The AACR hosted a press briefing on this research on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (14.5 MB, 20 minutes and 36 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

The following experts participated in the press briefing:

Peter Shields, M.D.
Deputy Director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Georgetown University Medical Center
Editor of the Tobacco Focus
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention

Michael Cummings, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chairman of the Department of Health Behavior
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Review Author
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention

Roy Herbst, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief of the Section of Thoracic Medical Oncology
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Chair
AACR Task Force on Tobacco and Cancer

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of expert Michael Cummings, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Smoking Cessation Results Mixed Among Ohio's Appalachian Women

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Immediate results are positive; 12-month results are disappointing.
• Appalachian women face economic, educational challenges

PHILADELPHIA - In the Appalachian region of the country - where smoking rates are high, tobacco is often a cash crop and income and education levels are low - a smoking cessation effort led by non-medical professionals was successful in the short term, but quit rates trailed off in the long term.

"After a year, the initial promising quit rates were not sustained," said Mary Ellen Wewers, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of public health at The Ohio State University College of Public Health. "This shows us that we need to think of smoking as a chronic condition similar to diabetes and high blood pressure, and management needs to be long term and intense."

Wewers and colleagues studied the effects of a smoking cessation intervention among more than 300 women in Ohio's Appalachian region. Results of this study are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, as part of a special focus on tobacco in the December issue.

The Appalachian region is not as heavily studied as minority populations in urban areas, but Wewers said they often suffer from the same health-damaging socio-economic factors.

In the current study, only half of the participants had a high school degree. About half worked as unskilled laborers, and almost half (45 percent) had household incomes less than $20,000 annually. All of the women participants smoked. Wewers and colleagues randomly assigned half of the participants to a control group and half to an intervention group.

The control group received a personalized letter from their physician who advised them to quit smoking and requested they schedule a clinic appointment to discuss cessation methods.

The intervention group was treated more aggressively; smokers were visited by a female lay health adviser from the Appalachian region who was an ex-smoker. Deemed by the participants as credible, the advisor counseled them about the difficulties of quitting smoking and offered behavioral and pharmacological interventions. Although the lay leaders consulted regularly with a nurse, that nurse did not interact directly with the study participants.

At three months, 17.7 percent of the intervention group had stopped smoking compared with 1.9 percent of the control group. This pattern continued at six months, with 14.3 percent of the intervention group still reporting not smoking compared with 4.5 percent of the control group. By 12 months, the gap had narrowed to 12.2 percent in the intervention group compared to 7.1 percent in controls. All quit rates were biochemically confirmed by saliva samples.

In this study, Wewers said the intervention group saw their counselor weekly for four weeks and then every other week for four more weeks. After that, there was no additional contact with the lay health advisor, which she suggested may be the reason for the high rate of relapse.

"Nicotine dependence is difficult to overcome, so more intensity and longer treatment may be required for this group," said Wewers.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of Mary Ellen Wewers, Ph.D., M.P.H

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Rise and Shine Shouldn’t Mean Cigarette Time: Increased Nicotine Levels Detected in Those Who Light-up Earlier

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Time to first cigarette after waking is a valid measure of nicotine dependence.
• Results suggest a possible association for increased risk for lung cancer.
• Cessation efforts should consider behavioral aspects of nicotine dependence.

PHILADELPHIA - People who smoke their first cigarette within minutes after waking up have much higher levels of cotinine, a by-product of nicotine when processed by the body, than those who wait to smoke, regardless of the number of cigarettes smoked.

"Since cotinine levels appear to reflect the risk of lung cancer, our results suggest that smokers who smoke immediately after waking may be especially at risk for lung cancer," said researcher Joshua E. Muscat, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. "These people may require a more intensive intervention than other smokers to help them quit smoking on a sustained or permanent basis."

Results of this study are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, as part of a special tobacco focus in the December issue.

Nicotine levels in the blood can be measured biochemically by the concentration of the metabolite cotinine. Muscat, along with John P. Richie, Jr., Ph.D., professor of public health sciences and pharmacology at Penn State College of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a community-based study in Westchester County, N.Y., to examine whether a behavioral aspect of nicotine dependence (the amount of time to the first cigarette after waking up) affects the physiological uptake of nicotine. This in turn may affect one's success in quitting smoking and have multiple health effects, such as lung cancer.

The study included 252 healthy black and white people who were daily cigarette smokers. Researchers examined a number of behavioral factors that are thought to measure the urge to smoke, and results showed a clear trend between lighting-up earlier and higher cotinine levels.

Cotinine levels varied from 16 ng/mL to 1180 ng/mL - a 74-fold difference, according to the study. Participants who waited 30 minutes or more were categorized into the "low" dependant phenotype; those who smoked within the first 30 minutes of waking were considered "high." Number of cigarettes smoked per day and its association with cotinine levels varied as well.

"Not all smokers are the same and approaches to smoking reduction may need to account for individual smoking behaviors such as the intensity and frequency of puffing, cravings and physiological symptoms," said Muscat. "It is unclear why smokers who take their first puff immediately after waking have higher cotinine levels, but this may reflect a more intense pattern of smoking. We need to find out why this is."

The researchers are currently conducting follow-up studies to investigate levels of additional nicotine metabolites that will further confirm this association and help determine the impact of time to first cigarette as a novel risk factor for lung cancer.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of researcher Joshua E. Muscat, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Nicotine Levels Higher in Children Exposed to Secondhand Smoke in the Home

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Data support home smoking ban.
• Younger children more at risk for increased exposure.

PHILADELPHIA - New research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, supports the World Health Initiative's efforts for a home smoking ban, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

Specifically, hair nicotine concentrations were higher in children exposed to secondhand smoke at home, and the younger the children, the higher the concentration under the same level of secondhand smoke exposure at home.

"This study provides adequate evidence to support home smoking bans, particularly in homes with small children," said Sungroul Kim, Ph.D., a research associate at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Kim and colleagues used hair nicotine concentrations as a biomarker of secondhand smoke exposure, because it is less affected by day-to-day exposure variation compared to the presence of nicotine in other body fluid samples.

The study included 1,284 children from 31 countries in Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Among the houses with high nicotine concentrations in the indoor air (more than 10 mg/m3 compared with less than 0.01 mg/m3), women had three times the level of hair nicotine concentrations; children had a 6.8-fold increase in hair nicotine concentrations.

Furthermore, children who were younger than 6 years old had 12 percent higher levels of nicotine concentration than those who were older. Those who spent more than 19 hours a day at home had 15 percent higher levels of nicotine concentration in their hair than those who spent less than 19 hours a day at home after adjusting other explanatory variables.

"Clearly the younger children are the most at risk; this is a call to action on a global level," said Kim.

These results were published as part of a special focus on tobacco in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of researcher Sungroul Kim, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Racial Disparity in Lung Cancer Rates Narrowed in Young Adults Due to Larger Decrease in Smoking

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Rates for blacks are now almost similar to that of whites.
• Public health experts credit decrease to effective messaging.
• Results suggest success could be found in other lifestyle diseases.

PHILADELPHIA - Effective prevention of smoking among teenagers, particularly black teenagers, is narrowing the disparity in lung cancer rates between blacks and whites, according to a report published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The December issue has a special focus on tobacco.

Although researchers are focusing a lot of attention on lung cancers that are not linked to smoking, the vast majority of lung cancers in the United States are directly attributable to smoking patterns, which gives urgency to anti-smoking campaigns.

"This report is good news in that it shows the importance of preventing teens from smoking in narrowing or eliminating racial disparities in smoking-related diseases," said Ahmedin Jemal, D.V.M., Ph.D., strategic director for cancer occurrence at the American Cancer Society. "The potential for eliminating racial or socioeconomic disparities from other lifestyle related diseases, such as heart disease linked to obesity, is profound."

Lung cancer rates have been consistently higher in blacks than whites at all ages, and at younger ages in women. However, anti-smoking efforts among teenagers have had marked effectiveness since the 1970s, so Jemal and colleagues sought to confirm the relationship between decreased smoking and decreased lung cancer. They used the mortality data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and the incidence data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program.

From 1992 through 2006, lung cancer death rates among men decreased by 7.9 percent per year in blacks and 3.6 percent per year in whites. For women, the death rates decreased by 4.8 percent per year in blacks compared to 1.9 percent per year in whites.

As a result, among men, the increased risk of death from lung cancer among blacks compared with whites decreased from more than 200 percent in 1992 to just 28 percent in 2006. Among black women compared with white women, there was a 47 percent increased risk of death in 1992 that had all but disappeared by 2006.

The gap in incidence rates closed as well. In 1992, black men were more than twice as likely to get lung cancer, but only 30 percent more likely by 2006. Among women, the risk dropped from 75 percent greater in 1992 to 22 percent greater by 2006.

"This should be encouraging to anyone who is trying to develop a public health message against lifestyle factors we know are modifiable; the results are definitely real," said Jemal.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of researcher Ahmedin Jemal, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Mexican-American Youth's Risk of Experimenting with Cigarettes Depends on Susceptibility

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Susceptibility influenced by a mix of peer influence, determination.
• It is not known what causes experimenting to lead to a habit.

PHILADELPHIA - Mexican-American teens who were considered more susceptible to smoking were 2.6 times more likely to experiment with cigarettes than their peers who expressed commitment to never smoke, according to a report published in the tobacco focus issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Susceptibility is a specific term in behavioral science that refers to a youth's inability to unequivocally say "no" when asked if they would ever take up smoking. Susceptibility combines intention to smoke and peer influence, two of the strongest risk factors for experimenting with cigarettes. Research has shown that experimentation leads to dependent smoking and that most smokers start in their teenage years.

Lead author Anna Wilkinson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, is working with funding from the 1999 Master Tobacco Settlement and the National Cancer Institute to study smoking rates and risk among Mexican-American teens. A companion paper on the effect of smoking imagery in movies is also included in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

"Overall, Mexican-American youth report much higher experimentation rates than white American youth," said Wilkinson. "It is important to understand the risk factors associated with the progression from being a committed never smoker to an experimenter so that we can develop more effective prevention programs."

For five years, Wilkinson and colleagues followed 964 Mexican origin participants between 11 and 13 years old who had never smoked. Of those deemed susceptible at the start of the study, 43 percent reported experimenting by the end of the study compared with 15 percent of those who were not considered susceptible.

"Susceptibility was larger than any of the other known risk factors such as being older, having multiple school discipline problems, living with a smoker or even having a positive view of the effect smoking can have on your social life," said Wilkinson. "Our results suggest that tailoring smoking prevention programs by a youth's susceptibility status may increase the efficacy of prevention efforts among Mexican origin youth."

Wilkinson said further research would focus on what turns an experimenter into a habitual user. This research is part of a larger, population-based study of more than 19,000 Mexican American families being conducted at M. D. Anderson.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Chinese "Herbal" Cigarettes No Healthier than Regular Cigarettes

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Chinese herbal cigarettes are growing in popularity.
• The general misconception is that they are safer.

PHILADELPHIA - Despite popular belief and some marketing claims, researchers have found that Chinese "herbal" cigarettes that combine medicinal herbs with tobacco are just as addictive and no safer than regular cigarettes.

"The public needs to be aware that herbal cigarettes do not deliver fewer carcinogens," said lead researcher Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D., professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine and Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco. "We hope our findings will help to dispel the myth that they are a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes; they are not."

Results of this study are published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, which has a special focus on tobacco.

Chinese herbal cigarettes are becoming increasingly more popular in China and elsewhere in the world. Glantz, along with colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco (including Quan Gan, Ph.D., and Neal L. Benowitz, M.D.), and researchers at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, examined the levels of four markers to determine differences in the delivery of nicotine and carcinogens between the two marketed products. They compared 135 people who smoked herbal cigarettes and 143 people who smoked "regular" tobacco cigarettes. The study was conducted in one city in China.

After analyzing participants' urine samples and evaluating questionnaires, the researchers observed no significant difference in the levels of all four markers: cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (two markers of nicotine intake); and total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-butanol and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (two classes of carcinogens).

"Levels of carcinogens were correlated with measures of nicotine intake, meaning that the more nicotine smokers took in, the higher the levels of carcinogens they took in," Glantz said.

Furthermore, 47 percent of participants who switched to use of herbal cigarettes did so because herbal cigarettes had a "better taste;" 24 percent switched because of their health concerns and the notion that herbal cigarettes were a healthier alternative. Most participants who switched to herbal cigarettes reported an increase in number of cigarettes smoked per day.

"Adding herbs to the cigarettes would not be expected to affect the nicotine, which is the addictive drug in tobacco, and cancer-causing chemicals in the smoke of cigarettes," said Glantz. "The Chinese tobacco industry should avoid misleading the public when promoting herbal cigarettes as 'safer' products."

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researcher Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Childhood Increases Lung Cancer Risk Later in Life

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Study confirms secondhand tobacco smoke is harmful to children.
• Exposure increased risk of developing lung cancer in adulthood.
• Genetic variant also linked to increased cancer risk.

PHILADELPHIA - Children exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke have an increased risk of developing lung cancer in adulthood, even if they never smoked.

This year alone, more than 219,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer; more than 159,000 will die from it and some of those may be people who have never smoked. Studies to date have shown that exposure to secondhand smoke in adulthood has detrimental health effects, but data are limited on one's risk of developing lung cancer when exposed as a child.

What makes this study different from previous research is that it was conducted in two independent cohorts and included a molecular analysis of gene variants of innate immunity - the mannose binding lection-2 gene, or MBL2 gene. The MBL2 gene is known to affect susceptibility to respiratory diseases.

Using the ongoing National Cancer Institute-Maryland Lung Cancer study (624 cases; 348 controls), Curtis C. Harris, M.D., chief of the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at NCI, and colleagues collected information on secondhand smoke history among men and women. They used DNA for genotyping the MBL2 gene. Then, to compare, Harris, Ping Yang, M.D., Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues used results from a Mayo Clinic study (461 never smokers; 172 cases; 289 controls).

Harris and colleagues found an association between childhood exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke and increased risk of lung cancer in adulthood. Furthermore, MBL2 activity was associated with an even more increased risk among those who were exposed to secondhand smoke in childhood.

Based on the results of this study, Harris said "children should not be exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke due to the long-term health implications they can face in adulthood." He added that these results warrant further investigation in a larger study population.

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researcher Curtis C. Harris, M.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Acculturation Affects Smoking Cessation Success Among Latinos

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Acculturation increases Latinos' likelihood of quitting; no effect on Latinas.
• Time spent in the U.S., language preference are indicators of quitting.
• Tobacco control efforts should reach out to underserved populations.

PHILADELPHIA - Less acculturated Latino men have a more difficult time quitting smoking than those who are more acculturated to U.S. culture, but acculturation has no affect on Latinas odds of quitting smoking. Details of these findings are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The December issue has a special focus on tobacco.

"Acculturation affects smoking cessation differently for Latino men and women," said researcher Yessenia Castro, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Health Disparities Research at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

"It is critical that tobacco control efforts place special emphasis on reaching these underserved populations such as Latino smokers, particularly given the fact that Latinos are the largest and fastest growing population group in the United States," she added.

Acculturation is the process of change that occurs when someone from one culture has prolonged contact and interaction with another culture and adapts to that culture's lifestyle. While studies to date have shown that acculturation and gender both influence smoking prevalence rates in Latinos, little is known about their effects on smoking cessation.

Castro and colleagues examined the relationship between acculturation and smoking cessation among 271 Latino smokers from Texas and whether the effects of acculturation are the same for men and women. Participants were mostly immigrants to the United States.

More common indicators of acculturation, such as duration of exposure to U.S. society and preference for the English language, were positively related to smoking cessation among men; none of these variables influenced smoking cessation among women, according to the study.

Smoking abstinence three months after receiving cessation services increased for Latino men with the amount of time they spent in the United States and among those who had a greater preference for the English language. For both genders, the odds of abstaining from smoking overall were greater for U.S.-born Latinos compared to Latino immigrants.

"Our data highlight the need for additional research on Latino smokers and how to best help them quit," said Castro. "Advancing knowledge in these areas can help identify treatment targets, improve current smoking cessation interventions and ultimately aid in eliminating smoking-related health disparities among Latinos. This information can be used to guide tobacco control efforts and media campaigns."

Future research should address why acculturation affects Latinos' smoking cessation and if acculturation exerts a direct influence on smoking or other variables that are important to smoking cessation, Castro suggested.

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researcher Yessenia Castro, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Who Use Alcohol and Cigarettes Have Increased Death Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Survivors who smoked after diagnosis were two times as likely to die.
• Those who drank alcohol were three times as likely to die.
• Cessation efforts should be incorporated into survivor care.

PHILADELPHIA - Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption before head and neck cancer diagnosis strongly predicts the patient's future risk of death, according to published studies. Now, results of a new study show a similar effect among those who continued these habits after cancer diagnosis.

"Most cancer survivors are counseled to quit smoking; despite this, many still smoke. In our study, 21 percent continued to smoke even after their cancer diagnosis, increasing their risk of death," said researcher Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D. "Similarly, we found that continued drinking increases the risk of death."

Based on these findings, Mayne advises survivors of head and neck cancer - which includes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx - to quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcoholic beverages in order to increase their odds of longer survival. Mayne is a professor of epidemiology at the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine, and the associate director of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Results of this study are published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. This issue has a special focus on tobacco.

Mayne and colleagues evaluated the habits of 264 recent survivors of early stage head and neck cancer before and after cancer diagnosis. They obtained detailed smoking and drinking histories through in-person and telephone interviews. Patient recruitment was conducted at 49 hospitals in Connecticut and Florida. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if these habits affected the risk of dying in subsequent years.

After more than four years of follow-up, 62 patients died.

Patients who continued to smoke were approximately two times as likely to die during the follow-up, as compared to those who did not smoke after diagnosis. Patients who continued to drink after diagnosis were approximately three times as likely to die during the follow-up, according to Mayne.

"We expected to see an adverse effect of continued smoking; I was really not sure what we would find for continued drinking," she said. "The data from our study indicated that continued drinking should be discouraged in head and neck cancer survivors. Patients need assistance with both tobacco and alcohol cessation."

Yale researchers are conducting studies to determine the most effective ways to help head and neck cancer survivors stop smoking. One preliminary study will compare medications to help survivors quit, and will specifically focus on the effectiveness of varenicline (Chantix) compared with the nicotine patch. Some evidence has shown that varenicline may also help reduce alcohol consumption in patients. Given these findings, the researchers will monitor alcohol use and address potential methods to help patients quit.

This research, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, was conducted as a partnership between the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. The National Cancer Institute funded the study.

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researcher Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Cigarette Smoking Increases Colorectal Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Long-term smoking associated with a 30 to 50 percent increased risk.
• Avoiding smoking is one way to reduce colorectal cancer risk.

PHILADELPHIA - New study results strengthen the evidence that people who smoke cigarettes over a long period of time have an increased risk for developing colorectal cancer, even after adjusting for other risk factors.

"This provides one more reason not to smoke, or to quit as soon as possible," said senior author Michael J. Thun, M.D., M.S., vice president emeritus, epidemiology and surveillance research at the American Cancer Society. "Colorectal cancer should be added to the list of cancers caused by smoking."

Findings are published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, as part of a special focus on tobacco.

Thun and colleagues tested the association between long-term cigarette smoking and colorectal cancer after adjusting for multiple other factors that are generally associated with risk, including screening. From 1992 through 2005 the researchers followed almost 185,000 participants aged 50 to 74 years old; participants described their behaviors and medical conditions.

Participants who smoked cigarettes for 40 or more years, or who did not quit before age 40, had a 30 percent to 50 percent increased risk of developing colon or rectal cancer during the follow-up, even in analyses that adjusted for 13 other potential risk factors, according to Thun. After 13 years of follow-up, the researchers identified 1,962 cases of invasive colorectal cancer.

While previous large studies conducted in long-term smokers showed similar results, Thun stated that this study is the first to control for screening and all of the suspected risk factors for colorectal cancer, such as alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and consumption of red or processed meat.

"These findings contributed to the evidence recently reviewed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in October of this year," Thun said. "IARC upgraded the evidence that smoking causes colorectal cancer from ‘limited' to ‘sufficient'."

This IARC reclassification brings the number of cancer organ sites causally related to cigarette use to 17, which includes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, nasopharynx, nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, larynx, lung, esophagus (both squamous cell and adenocarcinoma), stomach, colorectum, liver, pancreas, kidney (both renal cell and transitional cell carcinoma), urinary bladder and lower urinary tract, uterine, cervix, and myeloid leukemia.

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researcher Michael J. Thun, M.D., M.S.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

As Seen on the Big Screen: Watching Movies Featuring Characters Who Smoke Negatively Influences Mexican-American Teens

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Exposure to movie scenes of people smoking predicts smoking onset.
• Effect was stronger for Mexican-born than American-born youth.

PHILADELPHIA - Mexican-American adolescents exposed to cigarette smoking scenes in movies are more likely to pick up the habit themselves, and this may be part of the acculturation process associated with smoking initiation, according to new study findings.

"Our study supports an R-rating for smoking in the United States and highlights the global implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which includes guidelines for countries to restrict youth access to movies with smoking by using their movie ratings systems," said researcher Anna Wilkinson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Details of these results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, as part of a special focus on tobacco in the December issue.

Evidence to date has indicated that adolescents are influenced to start smoking cigarettes based on their level of exposure to cigarette smoking by the characters that actors and actresses portray in movies.

Wilkinson, along with James Sargent, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and colleagues evaluated whether images seen in the movies influence Mexican-American adolescents to experiment with smoking.

They followed 1,328 adolescents aged 11 to 13 years over four years and assessed which of the 50 movies randomly selected from a pool of popular movies featured between 1999 and 2004 were viewed by the participants. The researchers also evaluated whether acculturation plays a role in the relationship between exposure to smoking by characters in the movies and experimenting with smoking in these Mexican-American households.

While 10 percent of the adolescents experimented with smoking at the start of the study, 17 percent tried it at the end of the study. As exposure to smoking scenes in the movies increased, so did their chances of ever experimenting.

"Exposure to movie smoking predicted smoking onset even after controlling for several established risk-factors, like exposure to friends who smoke," said Wilkinson.

Results showed that the effect size of movie watching was smaller than published studies conducted in white adolescents; although this effect was stronger for Mexican-born than U.S.-born adolescents.

Based on their findings, Sargent believes that "parents of adolescents should limit the number of movies their children watch per week and avoid showing movies that depict cigarette smoking."

The message for the movie industry, according to Sargent: "Movies featuring smoking scenes should be rated R."

This NCI-supported study is part of a larger, population-based study to investigate smoking rates and risk among Mexican-American teens (recruited from a cohort jointly funded by the 1999 Master Tobacco Settlement and University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center). A companion paper, conducted by Wilkinson and colleagues, is also published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researchers Anna Wilkinson, Ph.D. and James Sargent, M.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Repeat Negative CT Scan for Lung Cancer Does Not Encourage Ex-smokers to Resume the Habit

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Reassurance not a spur to relapse.
• Cessation rates better than general population.

PHILADELPHIA - Assurance of a cancer-free status did not prompt people participating in a long-term computerized tomography (CT) lung-cancer screening program to pick up their cigarettes again, researchers wrote in a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The December issue contains a special focus on tobacco.

These findings should negate widespread concern in the lung screening community that reassurance provided by screening, and particularly by a negative screening result, might reduce the motivation to quit smoking among current smokers or lead to resumption of smoking among former smokers, according to the researchers.

"For some reason, people have thought that those who do well in lung cancer screening will feel reassured enough to begin smoking again, but there is no evidence of that in our study," said the senior investigator David M. Burns, M.D., professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. "This evidence should provide some comfort that CT scanning does not result in a deleterious effect on cessation."

Lung cancer death is the largest cause of cancer death in the United States, and late stage of disease at diagnosis results in five-year survival rates of only 13 percent, according to the researchers. Therefore, screening for lung cancer is "an attractive target for early detection," they wrote. But evidence on cessation activity from studies of screened populations is scarce, and follow-up has been limited to three years.

The study is part of the Early Lung Cancer Action Program (ELCAP), in which 2,078 participants received annual screenings and periodic smoking-behavior surveys over a follow-up period as long as 12 years. In this substudy, abstinence was examined among 730 smokers, 1,227 former smokers who quit for one year or more at enrollment in the study and 155 smokers who quit during the study's follow-up.

The reassurance provided by lung cancer screening was assessed by comparing smoking behaviors of those with negative scans to those with positive scans, which further testing showed was not malignant. The goal of the study was to define whether consistently negative screening results were associated with less cessation and more relapse over a six-year interval in participants undergoing annual CT screening for lung cancer.

Researchers found that participants who consistently received a negative CT scan had a 28 percent lower likelihood of abstinence from one follow-up to another, compared to those who had a positive result. But over a six-year period, that difference disappeared. There was no significant difference in likelihood of relapse between those with positive and negative scans among any of these groups: former smokers, recent quitters or current smokers who quit during the study.

The 30 percent smoking abstinence rate from this group was also higher than the 23 percent rate reported from a match sample of the U.S population, Burns said.

"This is the first examination of smoking cessation outcomes in a population of individuals being screened for lung cancer with follow-up that is longer than three years, and it shows us that reassurance provided by a negative scan may not be a factor determining long-term abstinence," he said.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Exposure to Secondhand Cigarette Smoke Over a Lifetime Increased Breast Cancer Risk Later in Life

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Breast cancer risk increased with higher levels of exposure.
• Postmenopausal women had the strongest risk.
• Exposures during adulthood were most important.

PHILADELPHIA - Exposure to secondhand smoke for a prolonged period of time and in high quantity may increase the risk of breast cancer, even in women who never smoked cigarettes themselves.

"The question of whether exposure to side-stream smoke could increase risk of breast cancer is one that is unresolved," said Peggy Reynolds, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the Northern California Cancer Center's Berkeley office. "While no single epidemiologic study can answer the question, our findings suggest that cumulative high levels of exposure may contribute to breast cancer, adding to the evidence for a variety of other adverse health outcomes."

Details of these results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The December issue features a special focus on tobacco studies.

Reynolds and colleagues examined the risk of developing breast cancer among women who had never smoked tobacco products, but who had a history of exposure to secondhand smoke either at home, at work or in social settings. Participants also had no history of breast cancer.

The researchers collected detailed information via questionnaire from more than 57,000 women in the California Teachers Study, then followed them for a decade. Detailed questions helped the researchers to determine whether age at exposure, setting of exposure or amount of exposure influenced the risk of developing breast cancer.

In the years since completing the questionnaire, 1,754 newly diagnosed cases of invasive breast cancer occurred.

Overall, findings showed no evidence that simple measures of secondhand smoke were associated with breast cancer risk. Risk seemed to be confined to exposures experienced during adulthood (among women aged 20 or older) and primarily among those who were postmenopausal; early-life exposures (before the age of 20) did not alone appear to increase their risk.

Women exposed to moderate to high levels for a combination of years and intensity of exposure had a significant dose response so that the risks for developing breast cancer increased as the cumulative exposure levels increased, according to Reynolds.

"We were initially surprised not to see much effect individually for exposure in household, workplace or social settings," she said. "It does make sense though, if there is an effect for higher levels of exposure, the sum of exposures across settings would be more important than only partial measures of exposure."

Based on these findings, Reynolds suggested that more research is needed to better assess overall exposure patterns. From a public health point of view, these results provide additional evidence for health risks from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Additional resources:

Download a photo of researcher Peggy Reynolds, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Protein from Pregnancy Hormone May Prevent Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Master pregnancy molecule prevents breast cancer
• Molecule may be able to be converted into anti-breast cancer drug
• Clinical trials needed to validate new drug safety, efficacy

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers have found that hormones produced during pregnancy induce a protein that directly inhibits the growth of breast cancer. This protein, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), may serve as a viable, well-tolerated agent for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, according to findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Hormones in pregnancy, such as estrogen, all induce AFP, which directly inhibits the growth of breast cancer," said lead researcher Herbert Jacobson, Ph.D., who is a basic breast cancer researcher in the Center for Immunology and Microbial Diseases and in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Albany Medical College, N.Y.

"The body has a natural defense system against breast cancer," he added. "AFP needs to be safely harnessed and developed into a drug that can be used to protect women from breast cancer."

Recent studies have shown that hormones released during pregnancy, such as estrogen, progesterone and human chorionic gonadotropin, reduce a women's risk for breast cancer. AFP is a protein normally produced by the liver and yolk sac of a fetus. Jacobson and colleagues sought to determine whether administering pregnancy hormones to carcinogen-exposed rats led them to produce AFP, which in turn produces the protective effect of pregnancy in the absence of pregnancy.

Results from this study showed that treatment with estrogen plus progesterone, estrogen alone or human chorionic gonadotropin reduced the incidence of mammary cancers in rats. Furthermore, the researchers noted that each of these treatments elevated the serum level of AFP and that AFP directly inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells growing in culture, suggesting that these hormones of pregnancy are preventing breast cancer through their induction of AFP.

Cancer Prevention Research Editorial Board Member Powel Brown, M.D., Ph.D., said while these preclinical findings are important and suggest a role of AFP in breast cancer prevention, they are not yet ready to be used in the clinic.

"The researchers have not directly demonstrated the cancer preventive activity of AFP, instead they found an association of these hormones preventing mammary tumors. None of these treatments prevented mammary tumors in 100 percent of the rats, it appears to delay mammary tumor formation and prevent breast cancer development in approximately 30 to 50 percent of the rats," said Brown, professor of medicine and cancer prevention and clinical cancer prevention department chairman at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

"This study is promising and suggests that additional animal studies need to be done before translation to humans," he said. "We may want to further test AFP for its cancer prevention activity."

Jacobson and colleagues are currently conducting studies in which they have isolated a small piece of AFP molecule and are working to convert it into a breast cancer preventative agent.

Subscribe to the Cancer Prevention Research RSS Feed
Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Download a picture of the researchers:
Herbert Jacobson, Ph.D.
Powel Brown, M.D., Ph.D.

# # #

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

New Markers of Prognosis for Cancer Therapies Highlighted

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA -- Recent advances in cancer therapeutics have led to the discovery of biomarkers that can predict patient response to certain drugs. Screening for mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGRF) prior to non-small cell lung cancer treatment, for example, has been shown to indentify patients who are likely to respond to treatment with erlontinib. This maximizes the drug's impact, and spares patients who are not likely to benefit from being subjected to potentially debilitating side effects.

"We now know that cancer is really millions of diseases, which begins to explain why there are such varying responses to different therapies," said Lewis Cantley, Ph.D., director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "This is an exciting time, in that we see that the last 30 years of basic research into understanding what actually causes cancer is beginning to pay off. That knowledge is leading to therapies that are actually working."

As part of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, Cantley moderated a press conference on "Markers of Prognosis in Cancer Treatment" on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, in Room 202 of the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass., from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. (A recording of the teleconference is available below .)

Researchers presented new data on markers of prognosis associated with metastatic and HER2 positive breast cancers, renal cell carcinoma and other advanced solid tumors.

"This is really the future of cancer therapy," said Cantley. "We are taking the first few steps toward what I think will ultimately dominate cancer treatment in the future. We are seeing the beginnings of a change in the paradigm of cancer treatment, and this meeting will be at the forefront of that."

The following abstracts were presented at the press conference:

#B134. PIK3CA mutations in patients with advanced cancers treated in phase I clinical trials

Scientists have shown that patients with mutations in a PI3K gene responded to treatment that targeted an important PI3K signaling pathway.

PI3K is an enzyme that helps control cell growth and is thought to play a role in the development of tumors. Mutations in PIK3CA, the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of PI3K, have been found in many types of tumors. These mutations activate the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway, which is highly active in cancer cells.

"The implications of this study are two-fold. We demonstrated that PIK3CA testing is feasible and may contribute to the decision-making process when offering a patient a clinical trial. Although this study suffers from low numbers, the response rate observed in patients treated with inhibitors of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway based on their mutational status was well above what we usually see in Phase I clinical trials," said Filip Janku, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical research fellow of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics.

The researchers analyzed 117 tumor samples from patients with advanced cancers of various types. They found that 12 percent of patients had mutations in the PIK3CA gene. Mutations were most frequent in endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer, but no mutations were found in patients with melanoma or cervical cancer.

The team found that 40 percent of patients that received the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway inhibitor responded to treatment. Responses were observed in patients with endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

"These results are intriguing but at this point should be interpreted with caution," said Janku. "The promising response rate needs to be confirmed in larger groups of patients. We expect to learn more as this project continues to offer PIK3CA screening to patients considering a Phase I clinical trial."

#C118. Influence of CYP2D6 phenotype on tamoxifen-treatment outcome in women with metastatic breast cancer

Inherited variation of the gene Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6), and use of CYP2D6-inhibiting medications, such as several commonly prescribed antidepressants, can have a negative impact on overall survival from metastatic breast cancer, according to research being presented at the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, co-sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, the National Cancer Institute, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

CYP2D6 is a gene that plays a crucial role in metabolizing several drugs, including tamoxifen. Previous studies have found that genetic variation in CYP2D6 and co-administration of medications that inhibit CYP2D6 reduce plasma levels of endoxifen, the active metabolite of tamoxifen, in patients being treated for breast cancer. However, little has been known about the effect on overall survival in patients receiving tamoxifen for metastatic disease.

In order to study the effect of CYP2D6 predicted phenotype (the combined effect of genetic variants and concomitant use of CYP2D6 inhibiting medication) on patient outcomes, Laureen A. Lammers, Pharm.D., and colleagues at Erasmus MC, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, reviewed patient charts for 99 women who received tamoxifen treatment for hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer, and analyzed the data to assess patient and tumor characteristics, time to progression (disease getting worse) and overall survival.

The researchers found that patients with predicted poor metabolizer (PM) phenotypes had worse overall survival compared to extensive metabolizer (EM) phenotypes, while patients with intermediate metabolizer (IM) phenotypes had similar outcomes to the EM group. PMs gave a shorter time to progression (1.7 years) compared to a combined IM/EM group (2.9 years), although this difference was not statistically significant. Overall survival of the IM/EM group (9.9 years) was significantly longer than for the PM patients (5.4 years). Patients who only took CYP2D6-inhibiting medications in conjunction with tamoxifen had worse time to progression and worse overall survival compared to patients who did not take CYP2D6-inhibitors.

"Our study found that, for women with hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer, CYP2D6 phenotype, as derived from both genotype information and co-medication use, is an important predictor of treatment outcomes associated with tamoxifen," said Lammers. "In addition, our study confirms that concomitant use of drugs that inhibit CYP2D6 limit the effectiveness of tamoxifen therapy, and should, therefore, be discouraged."

#A36. Plasma biomarkers predicting outcome in patients with advanced RCC: Results from the sorafenib phase III TARGET trial

Researchers have identified several plasma biomarkers that are predictive of overall survival in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

As an exploratory component of the landmark Treatment Approaches in Renal Cancer Global Evaluation Trial (TARGET), researchers examined plasma biomarkers for possible prognostic value. TARGET was a phase 3 clinical trial which demonstrated the efficacy and safety of sorafenib for the treatment of RCC in patients for whom previous treatment had failed.

Sorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor which is active against RAF kinase and a number of receptor tyrosine kinases including VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3, PDGFR-beta, c-KIT, FLT-3, and RET. Patients in the TARGET trial were randomly assigned to receive sorafenib or placebo. Sorafenib was shown to double the length of time that patients lived without their RCC getting worse (progression-free survival).

Carol Peña, Ph.D., associate director for Clinical Cancer Biomarkers at Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, and colleagues analyzed a subset of the patients enrolled in TARGET to look for plasma biomarkers that could potentially predict clinical outcomes in patients with RCC. According to Peña, "the biomarker component of TARGET was intended to utilize this valuable study to search for biomarkers - in this case, proteins we can measure in plasma - that would help determine renal cell carcinoma prognosis, and predict patients who would benefit from treatment with sorafenib."

At the start of the trial, the researchers measured plasma levels of five biomarkers -VEGF, VEGFR-2, CAIX, TIMP-1, and Ras - and repeated those measures after three and 12 weeks of treatment. Statistical analysis was used to compare plasma levels of these biomarkers and progression-free survival or overall survival.

A previous report by these authors showed that baseline VEGF was prognostic, and possibly predictive of sorafenib benefit. In the current report, there was no correlation between levels of plasma VEGFR-2,CAIX, TIMP-1, or Ras and the efficacy of sorafenib. However, the researchers found that, in univariate analyses (where each biomarker's relationship with outcome is assessed individually), patients with higher levels of CAIX, TIMP-1 or Ras at the start of the trial had poorer overall survival when treated with placebo. Analysis of CAIX, TIMP-1, Ras and VEGF together with clinical variables in a group of 59 patients from the placebo group showed that TIMP-1 was independently prognostic for survival.

"For the moment, these findings are preliminary, but promising," said Peña. "Although the analysis included a relatively small number of patients, the strength of TIMP-1 as a prognostic marker for renal cell carcinoma is remarkable. It would be interesting to see further studies of TIMP-1 in RCC to confirm this finding, and evaluate its potential for clinical application."

#A64. Mechanistic insights into the misregulation of p27 in HER2-positive breast cancers

It is well known that levels of a protein called p27 are related to breast cancer outcomes, but less is known about the reasons behind this. Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) in Seattle have determined that another protein, called Trim62, regulates p27 and may be one key to understanding the relationship between p27 and breast cancer prognosis.

In tumor cells, the cell cycle inhibitor p27 is often decreased in the tumor cell's nucleus (the control center of the cell), while retained or increased in the cytoplasm (the area outside the nucleus). When in the nucleus, p27 functions as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting cell proliferation (growth and duplication). However, when in the cytoplasm, p27 promotes cell migration and may thereby increase the tumor's potential to spread to other parts of the body. Thus, the location and distribution of p27 in the tumor cell may help indentify more aggressive tumors. To this end, Claire M. Faltermeier and colleagues in the Hutchinson Center's Basic Sciences Division developed antibodies that could reliably detect cytoplasmic p27. They observed that breast cancers positive for a certain growth factor receptor, called HER2, usually have increased cytoplasmic p27.

"While it has been established that cytoplasmic p27 could function as an oncogene, it has been difficult to determine which types of cancers have cytoplasmic p27 and its prognostic significance because of the lack of molecular tools to reliably detect cytoplasmic p27," said Faltermeier, lead author and research assistant in the lab of Jim Roberts, M.D., Ph.D., at the Hutchinson Center. "Now that antibodies have been developed to detect cytoplasmic p27, we can correlate cytoplasmic p27 to specific types of cancers and patient outcomes."

Faltermeier and co-author Erik Eide, Ph.D., post-doctoral research fellow in Robert's lab, also indentified a novel protein, Trim62, which not only regulates p27 stability but also its localization in HER2 positive breast cancers. When Trim62 levels were reduced (knocked-down) in HER2 positive cancer cells, p27 that was in the cytoplasm moved to the nucleus and the cells stopped proliferating. Furthermore, they showed that when Trim62 levels were reduced, HER2 positive cancer cells were more sensitive to the effects of lapatinib (a HER2/EGFR inhibitor) while increased levels of Trim62 had the opposite effect.

"Our research suggests that Trim62 is responsible for the misregulation of p27 in HER2 positive breast cancer tumors," said Faltermeier. "Because it regulates the stability and location of p27 in tumor cells, Trim62 could be a potential biomarker to predict patient response to anti-HER2 therapeutics such as lapatinib."

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (11.2 MB, 49 minutes and 02 seconds)

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About NCI
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

About EORTC
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is an international association under Belgian law created in 1962.

The aims of the EORTC are to develop, conduct, coordinate, and stimulate translational and clinical cancer research in Europe to improve the management of cancer and related problems by increasing both survival and patient quality of life. The ultimate goal of the EORTC is to establish state-of-the-art cancer treatment to improve survival rate, quality of life and quality of care for all patients with cancer.

The EORTC is primarily devoted to high-quality clinical research to establish optimal therapeutic strategies via large multi-center clinical studies in a multidisciplinary approach leading to state-of-the-art treatment.

In line with the increasingly important role of functional imaging in trials involving translational research and having endpoints linked to biological markers, the EORTC Board has decided to establish an Imaging Group to drive the development of treatment strategies tailored to the biological characteristics of a particular tumor.

EORTC Headquarters has instituted quality assurance in radiotherapy (QART), and these measures have resulted in measurably significant improvement in treatment delivery and patient outcome in radiotherapy.
The EORTC has initiated a European tumor bank project to improve and harmonize the histological review and to promote translational research in EORTC trials.

The EORTC Headquarters' Early Project Optimization Department (EPOD) lends support and methodological expertise to the EORTC groups for all new projects.

A Network of Core Institutions (NOCI) has been formed as part of the overall EORTC strategy. NOCI is based on core recruiting academic centers across Europe, specifically apt to develop projects with important translational research components.

EORTC Headquarters comprises about 160 staff members (15 nationalities) including medical doctors, statisticians, Ph.D.'s, quality of life specialists, scientific and administrative staff, computer specialists, and research fellows.

All EORTC research projects and clinical studies are peer reviewed and have to be approved by the relevant EORTC Committees.

An Academic Research Fund has been created to allocate support for clinical trials of excellence submitted to the Board.

Over 6,000 new patients are treated each year according to EORTC protocols.

For further information see: www.eortc.be

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, Nov. 15-19:
(617) 954-3042

Emerging Therapies in Pancreatic Cancer Show Promise

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest and hardest to treat cancers. After diagnosis, patients tend to live only six months and less than 5 percent survive to five years.

"In terms of a patient population, there is very little we can do for them once we find the cancer," said Craig Thompson, M.D., director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

The currently available treatment is gemcitabine, which is sold as Gemzar by Eli Lilly and Company, but the response rate with this treatment is typically only 5 percent. Researchers are working to develop new ways of treating pancreatic cancer and early scientific studies are showing promise.

As part of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, Thompson moderated a press conference on emerging treatments in pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, in Room 202 of the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass., from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. (A recording of the teleconference is available below.)

Researchers presented new data on nanotechnology methods of delivering therapies, angiogenesis, microRNA and the tumor microenvironment.

"Successful treatment of pancreatic cancer is going to require new and creative thinking from the scientific community, and the research being presented at this meeting is a good example of that," said Thompson.

The following abstracts were presented at the press conference:

# A2. Targeting intracellular VEGF using nanotechnology for sub-cellular delivery of bevacizumab improves efficacy of combination therapy against pancreatic cancer

New nanotechnology-based delivery of a common anti-angiogenesis agent improved efficacy in models of pancreatic cancer, suggesting a possible therapy for this hard to treat disease.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital used bevacizumab, sold under the brand name Avastin by Genentech, which is an anti-angiogenesis drug designed to starve cancerous tumors of the blood they need to grow. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the agent for several cancers (including breast and colorectal cancers) and oncologists use it to treat other cancers as well.

Avastin works by removing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a protein that stimulates new blood vessel growth in tumors. However, as administered currently, it has had limited efficacy because it can only remove some of the VEGF on the outside of the tumor cell. VEGF can still thrive inside the cell where it is made and continues to be secreted outside, long after the injected Avastin has disappeared and thus contributes to tumor growth.

"In order for these agents to work you have to deliver them at the right place at the right time. While Avastin is able to partially mop up VEGF outside a tumor cell, this is the first time we have been able to show that it can effectively be delivered and work inside the cell as well," said Tayyaba Hasan, Ph.D., professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Hasan and colleagues designed a nanotechnology-based delivery device to simultaneously deliver Avastin along with an FDA approved light-activated chemical within the tumor of mouse models of pancreatic cancer. In a previous small study, photodynamic therapy, a light activated therapy, enhanced the treatment outcome in pancreatic cancer. However, in clinical trials where standard chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer was combined with bevacizumab, there was no benefit to survival.

Their results showed that the nanotechnology successfully delivered Avastin to the interior of a pancreatic cancer cell and improved the acute treatment response in mice treated with the nanotechnology compared with those treated with Avastin alone. The combination with photodynamic therapy was associated with even greater improvements.

Absent the nanotechnology delivery, at the low doses of agents used, neither Avastin nor photodynamic therapy significantly improved the acute treatment effect of Avastin. The researchers also noted that Avastin delivered by nanotechnology caused at least a two-fold reduction in metastasis to the liver, lungs and lymph nodes.

"This finding represents a new paradigm for Avastin-based treatment that could be delivered with greater effectiveness and with less toxicity," said Hasan.

# C246. Nab-paclitaxel targets tumor stroma and results, combined with gemcitabine, in high efficacy against pancreatic cancer models

Treatment with nab-paclitaxel appears to weaken the stroma, or protective wall, surrounding a pancreatic tumor and increase the potency of gemcitabine, the most commonly used agent for pancreatic cancer, when the two drugs are used in combination.

"What we are seeing here is a real paradigm shift, because it shows that effective treatment does not necessarily require a fancy new molecular therapy but just the smart combination of what is already available," said Anirban Maitra, M.D., associate professor of pathology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Both gemcitabine, sold as Gemzar by Eli Lilly and Company, and nab-paclitaxel, sold as Abraxane by Abraxis Bioscience, are clinically available treatments. Researchers at TGen in Arizona and other clinical centers in the United States have already tested the combination in humans and reported preliminary results earlier this year demonstrating a median survival of 10.3 months, as compared to the previously reported 5.7 months survival seen with gemcitabine alone.

Maitra and colleagues sought to determine the mechanism behind that dramatic finding in 11 freshly generated pancreatic cancer mouse xenografts from Johns Hopkins laboratories.

Replicating the human trial, the researchers found the response rate of the combination in mice was almost double of what was seen with either agent alone.

A further evaluation by histology at the cellular level showed that nab-paclitaxel depleted the stroma surrounding pancreatic tumors and thus was able to facilitate delivery of gemcitabine more effectively. Those treated with the combination had a gemcitabine concentration in tumors that was 3.7-fold higher than what was seen with gemcitabine alone.

"What we have done is effectively make gemcitabine-resistant tumors into gemcitabine-sensitive tumors with the added punch of nab-paclitaxel, so we're getting synergy of the two-drug combination and better delivery of gemcitabine where it needs to be," said Maitra.

# A127. Combination therapy targeting EGFR/MET crosstalk using nanotechnology improves photodynamic therapy treatment of pancreatic cancer

Simultaneous inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and MET signaling pathways significantly reduced pancreatic tumor burden and toxicity when inhibitors were delivered using nanotechnology, according to research conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"These pathways are key to the growth of pancreatic tumors, and the fact that we were able to deliver these inhibitors in combination represents a significant step forward," said Prakash Rai, Ph.D., a research fellow working in the Tayyaba Hasan, Ph.D., laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Cell growth pathway inhibition is a recognized therapy for cancer, and current treatment regimens typically deliver large molecules such as antibodies outside of a cell, whereas the smaller molecules that are readily delivered inside the cell are often associated with high toxicity. In this report, nanotechnology appears to overcome these problems; it was able to simultaneously deliver an antibody and a small molecule inside the cell while reducing the toxicity of the small molecule.

To target EGFR, researchers used C225, a receptor antibody that has shown no survival benefit in patients with pancreatic cancer. Because different cancer growth pathways have "cross talk" capabilities, combinations that simultaneously target these "cross-talking" pathways may have better outcomes. For the current study, Rai and colleagues simultaneously targeted the EGFR and the MET pathways by combining C225 with the small molecule inhibitor PHA-665752 in a nano-construct.

"Combination pathway inhibition is extremely important because if you just inhibit one pathway, the cancer cells are smart enough to grow using the other signaling pathway, so you have to attack both at once," said Rai.

These two therapies were further enhanced by a light-activated treatment, photodynamic therapy, which by itself was reported to have improved median survival in pancreatic cancer patients in a small study. Nanotechnology-based delivery of the two agents successfully positioned the therapy on the inside of a tumor cell and reduced the local tumor burden.

The researchers are continuing their studies to determine if there is any effect on metastasis and long-term survival.

# A53. Tumor suppressor microRNA miR-34 inhibits human pancreatic and gastric cancer stem cells

Treatment with miR-34, a microRNA, significantly reduced pancreatic and gastric cancer stem cells, which suggests the molecule may be a potential therapeutic agent in these cancers.

Cancer stem cells are the tumor cells left over after chemotherapy that, in nearly all cases, lead to regrowth of the tumor. Typically, these cells are resistant to conventional treatments. Researchers are looking to microRNAs, which are proteins that regulate gene expression, as potentially therapeutic and they have already demonstrated some benefit in liver cancer.

"MiR-34 may be a new player in treatment for these very aggressive tumors because it acts as a tumor suppressor and can be delivered effectively," said Liang Xu, Ph.D., M.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan.

Xu and colleagues examined the role of miR-34 in p53-mutant human pancreatic and gastric cancer cell lines. They found that restoration of miR-34 inhibited tumor cell growth, increased cell death and sensitized the cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation.

Significantly, restoration of miR-34 reduced the number of tumor initiating cells, or cancer stem cells.

Xu is currently leading a research team that will investigate miR-34 as a potential therapeutic agent delivered by patented nanotechnology, which is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (11.8 MB, 51 minutes and 59 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About EORTC
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is an international association under Belgian law created in 1962.

The EORTC has initiated a European tumor bank project to improve and harmonize the histological review and to promote translational research in EORTC trials.

The EORTC Headquarters' Early Project Optimization Department (EPOD) lends support and methodological expertise to the EORTC groups for all new projects.

All EORTC research projects and clinical studies are peer reviewed and have to be approved by the relevant EORTC Committees.

An Academic Research Fund has been created to allocate support for clinical trials of excellence submitted to the Board.

Advances in Molecular Drug Development Highlighted

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

BOSTON - The last decade has seen a major expansion in the cancer drug pipeline and studies are continually underway to advance the arsenal of drugs and create more effective treatments and targeted therapies for patients.

To highlight results of more recent research, the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics International Conference hosted a press briefing on "Drugs in the Pipeline." Sara A. Courtneidge, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor and director of the Tumor Microenvironment Program, and director of academic affairs at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, moderated this press briefing. (A recording of the teleconference is available below.)

"Conferences such as the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics International Conference play a very important role in advancing translational cancer research. Here, one can learn about the newest breakthroughs across the continuum of cancer research," said Courtneidge.

Breakthroughs to date have been made in the development of anti-angiogenesis inhibitors that target the tumor vasculature and of modulators of gene expression and protein stability, according to Courtneidge. Many more agents have been added to the pipeline of cancer drugs, including inhibitors that target the BCR-ABL fusion protein and other kinases. Cytotoxic agents remain a mainstay of cancer therapy, and inhibitors of DNA repair and cancer stem cells show great promise.

The press briefing took take place on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET, in Room 202 of the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass.

Leading researchers presented new and exciting data on the role of hsp70 as a novel therapy for breast cancer; various drug compounds that kill leukemia stem cells and yet spare normal stem cells; tolerability results of cediranib for use in children with recurrent or refractory solid tumors; and sensitivity study results of olaparib for colorectal cancer cells containing a specific DNA repair defect.

"This research spans studies on the genetic makeup of cancer cells, validation studies on the roles of key signaling proteins and pathways, the development of novel agents, and the testing of those agents in a variety of pre-clinical and clinical settings," Courtneidge added.

The following abstracts were presented during this press briefing:

# B21. Targeting autophagy induced by pan-HDAC inhibitor panobinostat and promoted by acetylated hsp70: A novel therapy for breast cancer

Targeting heat shock response protein with panobinostat, combined with an autophagy inhibitor, is an effective treatment strategy against growing stress cells in breast cancer.

"Clearly this points to a very new approach of targeting heat shock response in combination treatment," said Kapil Bhalla, M.D., director of the Medical College of Georgia Cancer Center, professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology at the Medical College of Georgia, and vice president for cancer research at the Medical College of Georgia.

Panobinostat is a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor that has been shown to induce cell death of tumor cell lines, but not the normal cells. In breast cancer cells where programmed cell death is inhibited, pan-HDAC inhibitor treatment induces autophagy, which allows the breast cancer cells to escape elimination.

Bhalla and colleagues evaluated the stress phenotype of breast cancer cells in the mammary fat pad of mice when mediated by two heat shock proteins - hsp90 and hsp70, which help to promote cancer survival. The researchers wanted to determine how these inhibitors that deacetylate proteins and histones affect the cell's function.

"Basically we forced the cancer cell to have autophagy and then pulled the rug from under it by having an autophagy inhibitor take that away," said Bhalla.

Treatment with panobinostat induced acetylation of amino acid lysine in the hsp70 protein. With growing tumor size they found an increase in hsp70, heat shock response and autophagy.

"Panobinostat accentuates stress, causes autophagy, and sets up the cell to be eliminated by autophagy inhibitors," Bhalla said.

Panobinostat is not FDA approved for use in breast cancer.

# A51. Identification of compounds targeting human leukemia stem cells

Researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University Health Network, Toronto, have found a new paradigm for screening against leukemia stem cells that can target them and spare blood-forming stem cells at the same time.

The researchers identified small molecules, potentially novel or those currently known, that kill leukemia stem cells, but not normal blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells, which are multipotent stem cells that give rise to all blood types. Three of the 10 compounds they studied targeted leukemia stem cells: ciclopirox olamine, etoposide and kinetin riboside.

"Treatment with these compounds, at the appropriate doses, would kill the leukemia cells and potentially minimize blood system side effects, such as anemia," said Sean McDermott, Ph.D., research investigator in the Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology-Oncology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

In total, the researchers screened a collection of 4,000 small molecules using two novel leukemia cell lines that have properties of leukemia stem cells. Compounds that killed these leukemia cells were further tested on normal hematopoietic stem cells to remove toxic compounds.

"Overall, to find three compounds that target the leukemia stem cell, all with vastly different mechanisms, is extremely surprising and bodes well for future drug discovery efforts," said McDermott.

Cells from 51 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 12 patients with chronic myelogenuous leukemia (CML) were screened with one of the drugs, etoposide. The researchers were surprised by the etoposide results, which showed that the drug may target the leukemia stem cell in 30 percent of patients with AML and 67 percent of those with CML. These patients might benefit from treatment with this chemotherapeutic drug.

"Screening of larger libraries hopefully will identify even more agents for the cancer pipeline," he added.

Follow-up studies are currently planned for ciclopirox olamine and it would be beneficial in evaluating low-dose etoposide as a single agent. Kinetin riboside may be tested in a clinical setting in the future, according to McDermott.

# A5. Phase I trial and pharmacokinetic study of cediranib in children with recurrent or refractory solid tumors

Results of a new study show that cediranib can be administered safely to children and adolescents with cancer, and that the side effects are tolerable. Preliminary evidence further showed that the drug may have activity in childhood sarcomas.

"There are a number of antiangiogenic agents, like cediranib, in development for adult cancers," said researcher Elizabeth Fox, M.D., M.S.C.R., staff clinician in the Pediatric Oncology Branch at the National Cancer Institute. "Encouraging results seen in this trial provide a rationale for future clinical trials of cediranib and other antiangiogenic agents in childhood cancer."

Cediranib is an oral drug that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor receptor. The recommended dose in adults is 20 mg to 30 mg administered daily every day for 28 days.

Fox and colleagues tested the toxicity and tolerance of this drug when given in 28-day cycles to patients 2 to 19 years old with malignant solid tumors to determine the appropriate dose of cediranib for this age group. Patients who participated in this phase I study had not responded to or recurred after conventional therapy.

Among the 13 patients enrolled, once daily dosing of 12 mg/m² of cediranib was tolerable. Thus far, three patients have experienced partial shrinkage of their tumor while receiving the antiangiogenic agent. Side effects in children were similar to those seen in adults on cediranib: dose-limiting toxicities were diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, lethargy and high blood pressure.

"This outcome is encouraging and provides evidence that cediranib should be further studied in future clinical trials in young patients with these and other sarcomas to determine the activity of this new agent," Fox said. "Hopefully, newer classes of anti-cancer drugs currently being developed will have fewer acute and long-term side effects than the chemotherapy that we currently use to treat childhood cancers."

The researchers are currently evaluating the effects with 17 mg/m² of cediranib and proposed to the Children's Oncology Group that a phase II study be conducted in selected childhood solid tumors.

# A114. Preclinical evaluation of the PARP inhibitor olaparib in homologous recombination deficient (HRD) MRE11 mutant microsatellite instable (MSI) colorectal cancer

The investigational cancer therapy olaparib demonstrated activity against colorectal cancer cells, which suggests that microsatellite instable colorectal cancer represents a potential patient population that could benefit from treatment with this agent.

Researchers have already evaluated the use of the oral poly (adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib and its antitumor activity pre-clinically and in patients with breast and ovarian cancer that contain a specific DNA repair defect in the form of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. These gene mutations are associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and play a major role in the repair of DNA by the homologous recombination repair pathway. PARPs also play a major role in DNA repair, by working in an alternative pathway.

Olaparib exploits the "Achilles' heel" of homologous recombination deficient cancers by blocking another DNA repair pathway in these already compromised cancer cells, therefore leading to an overload of DNA damage and resulting in tumor cell death. The activity of one such homologous recombination gene, MRE11, is lost as a consequence of microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer cells.

"DNA damage is occurring all the time in our cells and a number of mechanisms have evolved to repair this damage that include the PARP and the homologous recombination repair pathways," said Mark O'Connor, Ph.D., chief scientist at KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd., United Kingdom.

The aim of this study was to determine if microsatellite instability and MRE11 status correlated with sensitivity to olaparib. Olaparib is an oral anti-cancer drug in early development for the treatment of certain types of breast and ovarian cancer.

The researchers found the majority of colorectal cancer cell lines sensitive to olaparib correlated with microsatellite instability status and had MRE11 mutations. Furthermore, all olaparib-sensitive colorectal cancer cell lines were homologous recombination deficient.

"These results reinforce the idea that PARP inhibition might have broader clinical utility than in BRCA-deficient tumors alone," said O'Connor. "They support the idea of using targeted cancer therapies in defined molecular genetic backgrounds that exploit specific DNA repair deficiencies in the cancer to be treated."

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (7.7 MB, 33 minutes and 57 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About EORTC
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is an international association under Belgian law created in 1962.

The EORTC has initiated a European tumor bank project to improve and harmonize the histological review and to promote translational research in EORTC trials.

The EORTC Headquarters' Early Project Optimization Department (EPOD) lends support and methodological expertise to the EORTC groups for all new projects.

EORTC Headquarters comprises about 160 staff members (15 nationalities) including medical doctors, statisticians, PhD's, quality of life specialists, scientific and administrative staff, computer specialists, and research fellows.

All EORTC research projects and clinical studies are peer reviewed and have to be approved by the relevant EORTC Committees.

An Academic Research Fund has been created to allocate support for clinical trials of excellence submitted to the Board.

Over 6,000 new patients are treated each year according to EORTC protocols.

For further information see: www.eortc.be

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, Nov. 15-19:
(617) 954-3042

CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Teleconference Schedule

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is offering teleconference lines for media interested in participating in the press briefings scheduled during the 32nd Annual Symposium, Dec. 9-13, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas. Following the briefings, the phone lines will remain open for question and answer sessions.

CALL-IN: U.S./Canada: (888) 282-7404
Int'l/Local: (706) 679-5207

CONFERENCE CODES: The codes below will be needed to participate in each teleconference.

Thursday, Dec. 10 at 12:30 p.m. CST
Bisphosphonates - Abstracts: #21, #4083, #22, #27, #2009
Conference Code: 39115588

Friday, Dec. 11 at 8:00 a.m. CST
Drugs in the Pipeline - Abstracts: #25, #44, #48, #67
Conference Code: 39118522

Friday, Dec. 11 at 12:30 p.m. CST
New Treatment Paradigms - Abstracts: #62, #41, #42, #11, #61
Conference Code: 39119275

Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8:00 a.m. CST
Patient Management and Prognosis - Abstracts: #4117, #78, #3011
Conference Code: 39119499

Please call five to 10 minutes before the scheduled teleconference time. Additional abstracts may be added at a later date. Recordings of the press briefings will be made available through the Public & Media section of the AACR website for members of the media who are unable to participate during the scheduled time(s). They will also be posted to the AACR Scientific Podcast feed along with interviews with scientists attending the conference. Subscribe to the podcast feed through the following:

Subscribe to the AACR Scientific Podcast via a RSS Reader

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Emma O'Brien
(267) 646-0613
emma.obrien@aacr.org

All CTRC-AACR-SABCS issued press releases will be available at www.eurekalert.org, www.newswise.com or can be requested by reporters and public information officers by e-mailing emma.obrien@aacr.org.

# # #

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd Annual Symposium is expected to draw more than 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

Optical Coherence Tomography Identifies Surgical Margins for Breast Cancer Intraoperatively

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Imaging rates provide more comprehensive assessment of margin status.
• Real-time, high-resolution OCT may reduce re-operation rates.

PHILADELPHIA - Intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) rapidly images larger breast tumor margin areas, dramatically improving the microscopic sampling rate or analysis of the margin.

"Intraoperative OCT has the potential to provide diagnostically useful information about margin status in real time, at the point of care, rather than relying on postoperative histopathology," said Stephen Boppart, M.D., Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering, bioengineering and medicine, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Results of this study will appear in an article and on the cover of the Nov. 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

OCT is a high-resolution imaging technique that offers optical biopsies of tissue, therefore yielding images that approach the resolution of histopathology.

Boppart and colleagues demonstrated the feasibility of using this technology for evaluating surgical margins during breast-conserving lumpectomy procedures. The aim was to first establish image-based features that could be used to determine negative or positive margins, and then demonstrate how well intraoperative OCT compares to histopathological findings of the tissue.

Thirty-seven patients were divided into two groups - 17 in a training set and 20 in a study set. Of the lumpectomy specimens in the study set, 11 had a positive or close surgical margin; nine had a negative margin under OCT.

In the study set, intraoperative OCT had 100 percent sensitivity and 82 percent specificity for determining margin status using postoperative histopathology as the gold standard, according to Boppart. OCT, with imaging resolution around 10 microns and depth-of-imaging up to 2 mm into the tissue, identified cell and tissue features to differentiate negative margins from positive margins.

"The imaging depth was equivalent to the tissue depth that pathologists typically examine postoperatively to determine if the margin is negative, close or positive," he said. "Image features could also be used to identify structures such as surface blood or cauterized tissue and distinguish these image artifacts from normal and tumor tissue."

Follow-up studies are ongoing in an effort to develop computer-aided detection algorithms that would automatically identify suspicious areas within images, according to Boppart. New computed imaging techniques are also being developed to improve the imaging resolution over larger volumes of tissue, which should further improve the ability to distinguish tumor cells.

"OCT is a very promising technology with many advantages for real-time optical biopsies of tissue. We hope that this technology and methodology will shift the microscopic assessment of tissue from postoperative assessment in the pathology lab, which offers limited sampling of the margin, to real-time, point-of-care assessment in the operating room, with improved comprehensive sampling of the surgical margin," Boppart said.

He believes this will ultimately result in fewer repeat surgeries and long-term, potentially lower local recurrence rates.

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Tumor-initiating Cells Detected in Pten Null Prostate Cancer Model

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• LSC stem/progenitor cells initiate murine prostate cancer.
• These cells increase during murine prostate cancer progression.
• LSC cells increase after hormone ablation by surgical castration.

PHILADELPHIA - New findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, advance the current understanding of the role of stem/progenitor cells on the initiation and progression of prostate cancer from the Pten null prostate cancer model.

"Conventional therapy has focused on treating the entire tumor. However, if cancer stem cells are the source of cancer initiation, progression and resistance to therapies, then targeting of these cells may prove more effective in treatment of the lethal phenotype of prostate cancer, termed castrate-resistant disease," said researcher David J. Mulholland, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Hong Wu, M.D., Ph.D., at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mulholland, Wu, who is professor of the Institute for Molecular Medicine and Molecular and Medicinal Pharmacology and a researcher at the UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues evaluated whether a subpopulation of stem/progenitor cells - Lin-Sca-1+CD49f^high cells (LSC) - isolated from the Pten null prostate cancer model could initiate tumorgenesis.

After evaluating results from the complementary in vitro and in vivo reconstitution assays, the researchers found that sorted LSC cells retrieved from Pten null spheres or the primary tumors regenerated the cancerous prostate epithelial structure, mimicking the organization of the tumor. The study was conducted in a mouse model.

These results are consistent with, and support the concept that the LSC subpopulation carries tumor-initiating activity. While results from previous studies showed that LSC cells exhibit a stem/progenitor phenotype, the results of this study demonstrate a functional significance of these cells in the etiology of prostate cancer, according to Donald J. Tindall, Ph.D., editorial board member of Cancer Research.

"The significance of these findings is the demonstration that a subpopulation of prostate cells from Pten null mice has the capability of prostate cancer initiation and progression," said Tindall, professor, director and vice chair of urologic research, and the Carl Rosen professorship in urology in the Departments of Urology and Biochemistry Molecular Biology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

Wu and colleagues are conducting further studies using drug therapy to target the LSC subpopulation in hopes of achieving greater therapeutic efficacy. Tindall suggested that additional studies are needed to more completely characterize these cells, particularly their role in prostate cancer progression following androgen depletion.

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

AACR, NCI and EORTC to Host Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics International Conference

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Scientists and industry leaders from around the world will gather in Boston Nov. 14-19, 2009, for the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics International Conference, which will feature groundbreaking information on important cancer therapies in development.

"Cancer is a complex disease and to treat it effectively we need a greater understanding of the activity that takes place at the molecular level," said Lewis Cantley, Ph.D., director of the cancer center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and one of the scientific committee chairpersons of the conference. "The research presented at this conference will bring us closer to that understanding."

Experts from the world's leading cancer centers and pharmaceutical companies will discuss innovations in drug development, target selection and the impact of new discoveries in molecular and cellular biology.

Understanding the pathways and mechanisms that cause cancer and regulate the biological behavior of tumor cells has already led to the development of numerous new agents. This conference, now in its second decade, has been organized to reflect the many recent advances in the early development of promising new compounds.

During the conference, the American Association for Cancer Research will host several press briefings: "Drugs in the Pipeline," "Emerging Therapies in Pancreatic Cancer" and "Markers of Prognosis."

For the latest information on the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics International Conference, follow the AACR on Twitter using the hashtag #AACRTargets09

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About EORTC
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is an international association under Belgian law created in 1962.

The EORTC has initiated a European tumor bank project to improve and harmonize the histological review and to promote translational research in EORTC trials.

The EORTC Headquarters' Early Project Optimization Department (EPOD) lends support and methodological expertise to the EORTC groups for all new projects.

All EORTC research projects and clinical studies are peer reviewed and have to be approved by the relevant EORTC Committees.

An Academic Research Fund has been created to allocate support for clinical trials of excellence submitted to the Board.

Over 6,000 new patients are treated each year according to EORTC protocols.

For further information see: www.eortc.be

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267)646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, Nov. 15-19:
(617) 954-3042

Scientists Uncover New Key to the Puzzle of Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Atypical ductal hyperplasia rate has declined over the past decade.
• This decline is related to the decline in postmenopausal hormone therapy.
• Atypical ductal hyperplasia associated with early stage cancers.

PHILADELPHIA - The use of postmenopausal hormone therapy has decreased over time in the United States, which researchers suggest may play a key role in the declining rate of atypical ductal hyperplasia, a known risk factor for breast cancer.

"Postmenopausal hormone treatment is associated with increased rates of benign breast biopsies, and early and late stages of cancer. Atypical ductal hyperplasia is associated with the use of postmenopausal hormone treatment and its rates have decreased with the decline in use of this treatment," said researcher Tehillah Menes, M.D., who was the chief of breast service in the Department of Surgery at Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York, when this study was conducted.

Details of these findings are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, which is a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Atypical ductal hyperplasia is abnormal cells that grow in the milk ducts of the breast. Previous research has shown that women who are diagnosed with atypical ductal hyperplasia are at a three- to five-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Using data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, Menes and colleagues examined the rates of atypical ductal hyperplasia to determine risk factors and rates for more than 2.4 million mammography studies with and without breast cancer.

Between 1996 and 2005, the researchers found that postmenopausal hormone therapy use decreased from 35 percent to 11 percent; atypical ductal hyperplasia decreased from 5.5 per 10,000 mammograms in 1999 to 2.4 in 2005. Cases of atypical ductal hyperplasia associated with cancer reached a peak of 4.3 per 10,000 mammograms in 2003, but decreased to 3.3 in 2005.

"The rate of atypical hyperplasia declined, which we didn't expect to see with the increased use of mammography to identify abnormal lesions," said researcher Karla Kerlikowske, M.D., professor of medicine and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. "We did not expect to find a decline in rate of atypical ductal hyperplasia with a decline in postmenopausal hormone treatment use."

Findings also showed that when atypical ductal hyperplasia is diagnosed with an associated breast cancer, it is usually not an aggressive type of cancer. It is usually associated with low-grade cancers or those at an early stage, providing evidence to support the theory of a separate pathway for development of low-grade and high-grade breast cancers, according to Menes.

"These findings help clarify the different pathways to the development of breast cancer and the role of postmenopausal hormone treatment in increasing the rates of breast cancer," Menes concluded.

Kerlikowske suggested that future research should focus on the influence of exogenous hormone therapy on benign proliferative lesions of the breast.

The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium is a research resource for studies designed to assess the delivery and quality of breast cancer screening and related patient outcomes in the United States. It is a collaborative network of seven mammography registries with links to tumor and/or pathology registries: Carolina Mammography Registry, Colorado Mammography Project, Group Health, New Hampshire Mammography Network, New Mexico Mammography Project, San Francisco Mammography Registry and Vermont Breast Cancer Surveillance System.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of researcher Karla Kerlikowske, M.D.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

AACR to Host Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Meeting

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PREMIER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS BREAKTHROUGHS IN DIET, EXERCISE AND OTHER CANCER PREVENTION STRATEGIES

What:
The AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting is the location to learn about the latest in scientific breakthroughs and epidemiology regarding the prevention of one of the world's deadliest diseases. This year's conference brings together delegates from all over the world to discuss new information in genetics, diet, exercise and socioeconomic conditions that affect cancer incidence.

This year, the American Association for Cancer Research will host an educational teleconference for media professionals on the topic of diet and cancer prevention.

To help you plan your coverage of the conference, the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research program schedule is available online. Although the full abstracts will not be available until the conference, an electronic press kit containing the press releases and select highlighted abstracts will be available to subscribing reporters on Nov. 30, 2009, via Eurekalert and Newswise, and to registered reporters through the AACR Communications Department.

Nearly 500 abstracts will be presented for the first time at the conference, complementing an outstanding program of scientific and educational events.

When:
Dec. 6-9, 2009

Where:
Hilton Americas-Houston
Houston, Texas

Press Registration/Contact:
Natalie Poole
(267) 646-0619
natalie.poole@aacr.org

Does Green Tea Prevent Cancer? Evidence Continues to Brew, But Questions Remain

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Current study focused on oral cancer
• Phase II study with 41 patients
• Still too early to make recommendations

PHILADELPHIA - Although scientists are reluctant to officially endorse green tea as a cancer prevention method, evidence continues to grow about its protective effects, including results of a new study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, which suggests some reduction in oral cancer.

Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulo, M.D., professor of medicine in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues tested green tea extract taken orally for three months at three doses among 41 patients: 500 mg/m2, 750 mg/m2 or 1,000 mg/m2.

The researchers assessed clinical response in oral pre-malignant lesions and found 58.8 percent of patients at the highest doses displayed clinical response, compared with 18.2 percent among those taking placebo. They also observed a trend toward improved histology, and a trend towards improvement in a handful of biomarkers that may be important in predicting cancer development.

Patients were followed for 27.5 months and at the end of the study period, 15 developed oral cancer. Although there was no difference in oral cancer development overall between those who took green tea and those who did not, patients who presented with mild to moderate dysplasia had a longer time to develop oral cancer if they took green tea extract.

Although encouraged by the results, Papadimitrakopoulo cautioned against any recommendations that green tea could definitely prevent cancer.

"This is a phase II study with a very limited number of patients who took what would be the equivalent of drinking eight to 10 cups of green tea every single day," said Papadimitrakopoulo. "We cannot with certainty claim prevention benefits from a trial this size."

Dong Shin, M.D., professor of hematology and medical oncology and Blomeyer Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Emory School of Medicine, agreed, but said this trial is certainly a step in the right direction.

"A clinical trial with a natural compound is no easy task, and these researchers have accomplished that," said Shin, an editorial board member of Cancer Prevention Research. "The lack of toxicity is also important because often when you give supplements at higher doses than what would occur naturally, you induce nausea and vomiting. That did not happen in this trial."

Neither researchers had a reason why patients concerned about cancer should not drink green tea, but they cautioned against relying on the beverage to definitively reduce their risk of cancer.

"The goal of this kind of research is to determine whether or not these supplements have long-term prevention effects. More research including studies in which individuals at high risk are exposed to these supplements for longer time periods is still needed to answer that sort of question," said Papadimitrakopoulou.

Additional Resources:

Download researcher photos
Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulo, M.D.
Dong Shin, M.D.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Prevention Research RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

CTRC, AACR and Baylor College of Medicine to Host San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PREMIER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS BREAKTHROUGHS

IN BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

FOLLOW ON TWITTER: #SABCS09

What:
Now in its 32nd year, the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium remains the top venue for research and discovery in breast cancer. This year's conference will bring together delegates from all over the world. Among the expected highlights:

Five-year results of the groundbreaking Herceptin trial.
Definitive data on the role of bisphosphonates in breast cancer prevention.
The role hormone therapies may play in lung cancer treatment.
New data on the role of obesity and alcohol in breast cancer risk.
Emerging therapies that could change the treatment landscape.

To help you plan your coverage of the conference, the program schedule is available online at www.sabcs.org. Although the full abstracts will not be available online until the conference begins, an electronic press kit containing the press releases and select highlighted abstracts will be available on Dec. 2, 2009, to reporters registered through the AACR and those with a subscription to Eurekalert and/or Newswise.

More than 2,000 abstracts will be presented for the first time at the conference, complementing an outstanding program of scientific and educational events. The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium attracts world leaders in cancer research and treatment, including clinical oncologists, industry leaders, basic scientists and translational researchers who are working to improve patient care with the ultimate goal of eradicating breast cancer.

When:
Dec. 9-13, 2009

Where:
Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center
San Antonio, Texas

Press Registration/Contact:
Emma O'Brien
(267) 646-0613
emma.obrien@aacr.org

Cholesterol and Cancer: Answers and Some New Questions

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT

EDITOR'S NOTE: The American Association for Cancer Research hosted a press briefing on this study on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, at 11:30 a.m. ET. A recording of the teleconference and PDFs of the studies and accompanying editorial are available at the bottom of this page.

• Study shows low cholesterol as a symptom of cancer rather than a cause.
• Possible benefit of higher HDL and cancer risk.
• Lower cholesterol may lower risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

PHILADELPHIA - A pair of studies in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention lay to rest the decades-long concern that lower total cholesterol may lead to cancer, and in fact lower cholesterol may reduce the risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

Demetrius Albanes, M.D., a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, said early studies suggested that low cholesterol could increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

"Our study affirms that lower total cholesterol may be caused by undiagnosed cancer. In terms of public health message, we found that higher levels of 'good cholesterol' (HDL) seem to be protective for all cancers, which is in line with recommendations for cardiovascular health," said Albanes.

The researchers observed 29,093 men from the Alpha-Tocopheral, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study cohort for 18 years, making it the largest and longest study of its kind. In that follow-up period, they noted 7,545 cancer cases. Low total cholesterol blood levels were associated with an 18 percent higher risk of cancer overall, similar to the increases seen in previous studies, but this risk disappeared when the researchers excluded cases that occurred in the early years after the original blood draw.

This finding suggests that the low total cholesterol levels did not cause cancer, but rather were the result of underlying cancer, said Albanes. Higher levels of HDL cholesterol were associated with a 14 percent decreased risk of cancer even after excluding nine years of early cases.

In an accompanying study that looked specifically at risk for high-grade prostate cancer, Elizabeth Platz, Sc.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University, found a link between low cholesterol and decreased risk of high-grade prostate cancer among 5,586 men older than 55 years.

Specifically, if men had total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL they had a 59 percent reduced risk of high-grade prostate cancer, defined as a Gleason score eight to 10. No association was seen for prostate cancer overall or for prostate cancer with a lower Gleason score. Platz said that the study supports another benefit of keeping cholesterol low among men in this age group.

"High-grade prostate cancer is less common than prostate cancer overall, but it is a subset of prostate cancer that is more likely to progress," said Platz.

Discussion of the benefits of lower cholesterol inevitably leads to the discussion of the role of statins, which have produced one of the great public health success stories of the past few decades as cholesterol and, subsequently, heart disease rates have both fallen. Statins have been enormous money makers for their industry manufacturers and with two already off patent, and the largest seller, Lipitor scheduled to go off patent next year, researchers did leave open the possibility that industry leaders may seek a new indication for these blockbuster drugs.

"Until there is evidence from randomized trials, men should not take statins in order to prevent high-grade prostate cancer," said Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology at the American Cancer Society. Jacobs, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention issue. He said a randomized trial among men without prostate cancer would need to be very large and might not be feasible.

"One possibility, however, would be a randomized trial among early stage prostate cancer patients opting for surveillance rather than immediate treatment, to see if statins could lower risk of prostate cancer progression," Jacobs said.

The AACR hosted a press briefing on this research on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The following experts participated in this press briefing:

Timothy Rebbeck, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology
University of Pennsylvania
Editor-in-Chief
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

Elizabeth Platz, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Co-Director, Cancer Prevention and Control Program
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Johns Hopkins University

Demetrius Albanes, M.D.
Senior Investigator
National Cancer Institute

Eric Jacobs, Ph.D.
Strategic Director, Pharmacoepidemiology
American Cancer Society

Additional Resources:

Listen to the teleconference:

Download * the mp3 of the teleconference ( 7.77 MB, 33 minutes and 59 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Read the full studies and accompanying editorial:

Platz et al. Cholesterol and High Grade Prostate Cancer
Albanes et al. Cholesterol and Cancer Risk
Editorial: Answers and Some New Questions

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

The AACR Congratulates Member Peter C. Nowell on Winning the Franklin Institute Award

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research congratulates Peter C. Nowell, M.D., for winning the 2010 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, a Franklin Institute Award.

Nowell, a member of the AACR for 52 years, received this prestigious award for his and the late David Hungerford's discovery that alterations to chromosomes can cause cancer and for further research leading to the development of a therapy that now cures 95 percent of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

"Dr. Nowell is a pioneer in the field of genetic research. For the past five decades, he has brought pride to Philadelphia and the AACR," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "His research linking genetics and cancer has informed later significant discoveries in the field."

In 1960, while washing slides with tap water, Nowell observed the cancer cells on the slides began swelling and the abnormal chromosome 22 became visible. Dubbed the Philadelphia chromosome, it is a genetic cause of chronic myelogenous leukemia. His discovery led to the development of Gleevec, which targets the Philadelphia chromosome and has transformed CML treatment.

Established in 1824, the Franklin Institute Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious comprehensive science awards in the world. The awards identify individuals whose great innovation has benefited humanity, advanced science, launched new fields of inquiry and deepened our understanding of the universe.

Nowell is the Gaylord P. and Mary Louise Harnwell emeritus professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1948 he earned his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University; in 1952 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where he later served as the first director of the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center - now known as the Abramson Cancer Center. Nowell has won numerous awards, including the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award, The General Motors Cancer Foundation Charles S. Mott Prize and the Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. During his membership with the AACR Nowell served on the Cornelius P. Rhoads Memorial Award Committee, The Society Service Committee, and the editorial board of Cancer Research.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Megan Davies
(267) 646-0612
megan.davies@aacr.org

New microRNA Data Could Classify Bladder Cancer by Type

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• MicroRNA changes occur frequently, early in urothelial carcinogenesis
• Changes differ according to disease phenotype
• MicroRNA changes often signal gene-regulatory events

PHILADELPHIA - Data published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, offers new insights into the biology of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Specifically, microRNA profiles differ according to clinical disease phenotype, therefore, scientists may be able to use these profiles to identify gene-regulatory and biological differences between tumors.

"We identified new mechanisms of urothelial carcinogenesis. Consequently, microRNA could be used as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets," said lead researcher Freddie C. Hamdy, M.D., professor of surgery and professor of urology and head of the Nuffield Department of Surgery at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Hamdy, along with Jim Catto, M.D., Ph.D., a GlaxoSmithKline clinician-scientist and senior lecturer in urology at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, and their research team evaluated microRNA expression levels in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. The aim was to better understand the disease biology. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, these researchers examined the expression of 322 microRNAs and their processing machinery in 78 normal and malignant urothelial samples, according to the study.

Results showed differences in microRNA expression between low- and high-grade urothelial carcinoma. Compared to disease-free controls, 11 percent of microRNAs in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder had altered expression levels. Phenotype-specific microRNA changes facilitated gene-regulatory events typical for these tumors, indicating their importance in disease pathogenesis, Hamdy said.

The research team also found that DNA methyltransferase inhibition was associated with significant upregulation of six miRs in low-grade urothelial cell carcinoma.

"We expected differences to occur between these distinct tumor phenotypes, as they are known to share very few molecular mechanisms," he said. "However, we did not expect FGFR3 upregulation by microRNA to occur prior to the onset of mutation. This finding suggests novel epigenetic-genetic interactions."

Stephen J. Meltzer, M.D., an editorial board member for Cancer Research, believes this study - one of the first to evaluate altered microRNA expression levels in this form of cancer - is novel and well-designed.

"It is possible that in the future, these altered microRNAs could be investigated as potential biomarkers for the early detection of primary or metachronous bladder cancer," he said.

Additional studies are now indicated to evaluate levels of these microRNAs at discrete stages of urothelial carcinogenesis, according to Meltzer, who is the Harry and Betty Myerberg/Thomas R. Hendrix Professor of Gastroenterology in the Departments of Medicine and Oncology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Download researcher photos:
Freddie C. Hamdy, M.D.
Stephen J. Meltzer, M.D.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Circulating Mesothelin Serves as a Marker of Pancreatic Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients have mesothelin-specific T-cells
• Mesothelin is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers have expanded on previous studies, and there may be a new weapon in the arsenal for immune-based strategies in treating pancreatic cancer - mesothelin protein. Findings also showed that circulating mesothelin is a marker of pancreatic disease.

According to research published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, the vast majority (99 percent) of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma have readily detectable circulating levels of the adenocarcinoma-associated protein mesothelin compared with barely detectable levels in normal healthy donor samples analyzed.

Peter Goedegebuure, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, evaluated the presence of mesothelin in the serum of patients and examined the correlation of the mesothelin levels with the presence of pancreatic disease. Furthermore, they assessed if patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma have increased anti-mesothelin immunity.

The researchers used immunohistochemistry (n=10 patients) and ELISA (n=81 patients) to evaluate levels of tumor cell-bound and soluble mesothelin, respectively in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Significantly elevated levels of circulating mesothelin protein were detected in 73 of the 74 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and in all five patients with benign pancreatic disease, but not in the healthy controls. This suggests that mesothelin is a marker of pancreatic disease, according to Goedegebuure. Furthermore, patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma had a higher proportion of mesothelin-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cells compared to age-matched healthy controls (50 percent of patients vs. 20 percent of healthy controls).

"Mesothelin is an attractive target from a diagnostic and therapeutic perspective in patients with pancreatic cancer," said Goedegebuure, who is a research associate professor in the Department of Surgery. "Our findings call for additional studies to evaluate the usefulness of circulating mesothelin as a marker of pancreatic disease."

Previous studies have suggested the potential usefulness of mesothelin as a target of immunotherapy in malignancies: researchers at the National Institutes of Health reported that mesothelin may be a therapeutic target for ovarian cancer, and researchers from Johns Hopkins correlated a cytolytic T-cell response to mesothelin with some clinical benefit in pancreatic carcinoma patients who received a cell-based tumor vaccine. This study corroborates these findings in pancreatic cancer.

"Given the lethality of this malignancy and its usual late presentation, any clinical tool that could be used for widespread screening and early detection of pancreatic cancer would be a monumental advance in the management of this insidious disease," said Colonel George E. Peoples, M.D., F.A.C.S., who is not affiliated with this study. He is director of the Cancer Vaccine Development Program, deputy director of the United States Military Cancer Institute and chief of surgical oncology at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston.

The study results may be tempered somewhat by the additional findings that the levels of mesothelin could not differentiate between malignant and benign pancreatic neoplasms, nor predict the burden of disease, according to Peoples. Additional studies of levels and/or timing of assessments may better define the potential clinical utility of circulating mesothelin levels in pancreatic cancer.

"However, these are very encouraging results, and if validated in larger studies including more healthy controls, then a screening tool for pancreatic disease, including cancer, may be within sight," Peoples concluded.

Additional Resources:

Download researcher photos
Peter Goedegebuure, Ph.D.
Colonel George E. Peoples, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Read more about prostate cancer in an article on Jack Benny, from CR magazine, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS Feed

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

AACR, NCI and EORTC to Host Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Conference

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PREMIER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS BREAKTHROUGHS IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT BOSTON, NOV. 15-19, 2009

FOLLOW ON TWITTER: #AACRTargets09

What:
The AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutic s is the location to hear about late-breaking data on emerging cancer therapies. This year's conference brings together delegates from all over the world to discuss innovation in drug development, target selection and the impact of new discoveries in molecular and cell biology.

To help you plan your coverage of the conference, please review the program schedule. Although the full abstracts will not be available until the conference, an electronic press kit containing the press releases and select highlighted abstracts will be available to subscribing reporters on Nov. 9, 2009, via Eurekalert and Newswise, and by request to the AACR Communications and Public Relations Department.

More than 1,000 abstracts will be presented for the first time at the conference, complementing an outstanding program of scientific and educational events. The AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics attracts world leaders in cancer research and treatment, including clinical oncologists, industry leaders, basic scientists and translational researchers who are working to improve patient care with the ultimate goal of eradicating cancer.

When:
Nov. 15-19, 2009

Where:
Hynes Convention Center, Boston

Contact/Press Registration:
Natalie Poole
(267) 646-0619
natalie.poole@aacr.org

The AACR Congratulates President Tyler Jacks and AACR Members Elected to the Institute of Medicine

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research congratulates its president Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and 10 other AACR members including a past president, who are among 65 new members and five foreign associates elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Considered among the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, the award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service in the fields of health and medicine. The AACR members who were selected for this honor are:

Setsuko Kuki Chambers, M.D., Bobbi Olson Endowed Chair in Ovarian Cancer Research; professor and vice chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and director, women's cancers, Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.;

Arul M. Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology, and director, Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.; recipient of the 2008 AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research; and recipient of the 2007 Team Science Award as a member of 2007 University of Michigan-Brigham and Women's Hospital Team;

Thomas Curran, Ph.D., deputy scientific director, Joseph Stokes Jr. Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; professor of pathology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; past president of the AACR; and recipient of the 1993 AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research;

Alfred L. Goldberg, Ph.D., professor of cell biology, Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston;

Daniel A. Haber, M.D., Ph.D., investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Kurt J. Isselbacher/Peter D. Schwartz Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; director, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston; member of the AACR board of directors; past AACR annual meeting chair; and recipient of the 2007 AACR Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award;

Michael B. Kastan, M.D., professor, Department of Oncology; director, Comprehensive Cancer Center, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn.; editor-in-chief of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the AACR; past AACR annual meeting chair; and recipient of the 2007 AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award;

Joanne J. Lupton, Ph.D., distinguished professor, regents professor, and William W. Allen Endowed Chair in Nutrition, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas;

Mary V. Relling, Pharm.D., faculty member and chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn.; and recipient of the 2009 Team Science Award as a member of 2009 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Team;

Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., Jay Phillips Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis;

Ralph Weissleder, M.D., Ph.D., professor of systems biology and radiology, Harvard Medical School; and director, Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Jacks and other AACR members have been honored by the Institute of Medicine," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "Their selection is fitting - the Institute of Medicine has chosen true leaders in the cancer field who are advancing cancer science and medicine, and are making great strides in the fight to eradicate the more than 200 diseases we call cancer."

New members are elected by the current active members through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health.

"It is a great pleasure to welcome these distinguished and accomplished individuals to the Institute of Medicine," said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. "Each of these new members stands out as a professional whose research, knowledge, and skills have significantly advanced health and medicine and who has served as a model for others. The Institute of Medicine is greatly enriched by the addition of our newly elected colleagues."

The IOM is unique in its structure as both an honorific membership organization and an advisory organization. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. With their election, members make a commitment to volunteer their service on IOM committees, boards and other activities. Studies and initiatives during the past year include: a review of the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury among military personnel; an assessment of the health effects due to lack of insurance; recommendations for comparative effectiveness research priorities; new guidelines for how much weight women should gain during pregnancy; a blueprint for American leadership in advancing global health; a strategy for preventing medical conflicts of interest; and a series of meetings on improving health care value through evidence-based medicine.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

# # #

The AACR Names Michael J. Burton as Chief Development Officer and Executive Director of the AACR Foundation

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research welcomes Michael J. Burton as the chief development officer and executive director of the AACR Foundation. Burton will head the AACR's fundraising program and lead the effort to raise philanthropic revenues critical to the organization's mission.

"Michael comes to us with a world of expertise and experience in managing development programs, corporate and foundation relations, individual and major giving, planned giving and capital campaigns," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Michael's background, which includes both high level fundraising and grantmaking, will be very valuable to the AACR as we move forward to further establish a leadership presence in the field of grantmaking. This year alone, following rigorous peer review of grant applications, the AACR will provide over $30 million in support to individuals working at major institutions in the U.S. and around the world. These funds will support innovative research projects being conducted by many talented investigators and will help to advance the science that saves lives."

Prior to joining the AACR, Burton served as the assistant dean of development and alumni affairs at the Fox School of Business, Temple University. There, he led the Fox School's Access to Excellence campaign, which successfully raised $50 million for the School's priorities, including the private capital support for Alter Hall, the school's new home. He has previous professional experience at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as a special assistant to then university President Judith Rodin; at Princeton, where he raised corporate and foundation support for the university; and on Capitol Hill, where he served as a press and legislative assistant to the late Congressman Tom Lantos of California. In addition to his higher education and government experience, Burton worked on the program staff of the Venture Fund at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

"There is a deep professional satisfaction that comes from working for an organization with a compelling mission," said Burton. "The nearly 30,000 members of the AACR are making breakthroughs in the prevention and treatment of cancer, and the individuals and organizations that support the AACR are part and parcel of that success. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in a leadership capacity at the AACR. There is much good work to be done, and I very much look forward to doing all I can to help ensure a bright future for this fine organization."

A frequent speaker for various national fundraising and higher education associations, Burton earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of Michael Burton

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Scientists Identify Common HPV Genotypes in Northern India, Encourage Vaccination

registration@aacr.org () — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

BOSTON - Although a wide spectrum of human papillomavirus is seen across the population of India, HPV-16 and HPV-18 are the most common types and a vaccination targeting these types could eliminate 75 percent of the cervical cancers in the region, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting.

Cervical cancer caused by HPV is the most common cancer among Indian women, with an estimated 132,000 new cases and 74,000 deaths annually.

"In terms of cancer death, India has one fourth of the global burden and when you standardize for age it is the highest in the world," said A. Raj Kumar Patro, a doctoral student in the Department of Microbiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. "Most women present with an advanced state of the disease and compliance with treatment is very poor."

To effectively vaccinate against HPV, scientists need a greater understanding of the genotype. More than 100 HPV genotypes have been identified in humans and at least 40 are found in the anogenital tract, which makes HPV a moving target.

Patro and colleagues examined 106 women with invasive cervical cancer, 524 women with an unhealthy cervix and a community-based population of women who underwent HPV testing.

Among the women with invasive cervical cancer, 83 percent were linked with HPV-16 or HPV-18. Of those who presented with an unhealthy cervix, 15.5 percent had HPV. HPV-16 and HPV-18 were associated with 34.3 percent of normal disease, 45.4 percent of low-grade disease and 65.7 percent of high grade disease. Overall HPV prevalence in the community cohort was 7 percent.

Patro said the HPV vaccine is generally well received in India, with none of the moral or religious objections like those seen in the United States. However, economics remains a significant barrier.

"The vaccine is better accepted than screening in most cases, but it is difficult for most of the population to purchase it at the current price," said Patro. "At present it is purchased by the upper classes and if it becomes freely available through advocacy and outreach efforts, it could reach the general population."

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, October 8-11:
(617) 457-2444

AACR Debuts Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research will host its first Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting in Boston from Oct. 8-11, 2009. The meeting is expected to draw nearly 500 leading scientists to present on high-profile topics like epigenetics, metastasis and systems biology, and create synergies among the many subfields of basic science.

Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and president of the AACR, hosted a news briefing to highlight some of the important research that will be presented at this meeting.

The press briefing took place on Oct. 9, 2009, at 12:30 p.m. ET, in the Stuart Room of the Boston Park Plaza Hotel

Download* the mp3 of the press briefing (5.17 MB, 22 minutes and 35 seconds)

"Basic science is the foundation of clinical research that leads to patient breakthroughs. These research projects are examples of work that is being done in the laboratory that will one day directly impact patient care," said Jacks.

Jacks cited Gleevec, the anti-leukemia drug that has revolutionized the prognosis of patients with leukemia, as an example of a patient breakthrough that began in the lab.

"What people often forget is that the laboratory work on Gleevec began 40 years before any patient was even treated. Progress is deliberate, but it does continue," said Jacks.

The following abstracts were presented at the press conference:

#A22. Pooled analysis of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway variants and risk of prostate cancer

Scientists have observed an association between a collection of PI3K gene variations and prostate cancer risk that became stronger after considering the patient's age at diagnosis and family history, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting.

Stella Koutros, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute, said this was the first time PI3K genes had been evaluated in this setting, though further studies are needed to confirm the relationship and determine the role of the pathway in prostate cancer etiology.

"We observed an association in a very large nested case-control study drawn from several prospective cohorts, but the information will need to be confirmed," said Koutros.

Koutros and colleagues observed 8,309 cases of prostate cancer and 9,286 controls. They examined 89 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) on the following PI3K pathway genes: PIK3C2B, PIK3AP1, PIK3C2A, PIK3CD and PIK3R3.

They found that the SNP rs7556371 in PIK3C2B was significantly associated with between an 8 percent and 21 percent increased risk of prostate cancer overall.

Men who carried the rs7556371 risk allele had a 47 percent increased risk of early-onset prostate cancer (diagnosed at age 65 or younger) compared to men who did not carry the variant. Among men with a family history of the disease, those carrying the risk allele had a 57 percent increased risk of prostate cancer compared to men who did not carry the PI3K variation.

The greatest increase in risk was observed in men who had both a family history of prostate cancer and early-onset disease. Carriers of this risk allele had a 2.31-fold increased risk for prostate cancer compared to those without the PI3K variation. The variation was not associated with differences in disease aggressiveness.

#C49. AKT inhibitor has potent antitumor activity in human lung cancer xenograft models

Scientists at Cellceutix Corporation may have developed a new compound that could significantly delay lung tumor growth, according to data presented at the AACR Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting.

Lung cancer accounts for 215,000 new cases and 130,000 deaths in the United States every year, making it the single leading cause of cancer death. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 80 percent of all bronchogenic neoplasms, with 90 percent of diagnosed patients dying within five years.

"For patients with lung cancer, there are hardly any effective treatments available, so we investigated this unique compound that has activity against the AKT protein and found it to be extremely successful," said Krishna Menon, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Cellceutix Corporation in Beverly, Mass.

Menon and colleagues tested the compound, which the company currently calls Kevetrin, in two human xenograft models: A549 and NCI-H1975, both of them multiple drug resistant. They tested 200 mg/kg of Kevetrin three times a day every other day against paclitaxel, one of the currently approved therapies for lung cancer, 22 mg/kg four times per day every other day.

In the A549 model, Kevetrin significantly delayed tumor growth by 11 days in the first experiment and by 30 days in a repeat experiment. By contrast, paclitaxel delayed growth by zero days in the first experiment and only three days in a subsequent experiment.

In the NCI-H1975 model, Kevetrin significantly delayed tumor growth by 34 days in the first experiment and by 28 days in a subsequent experiment. Similar to the previous model, paclitaxel delayed growth by just four and 14 days, respectively.

The researchers measured weight loss as a marker of toxicity and found it to be less than 5 percent in all experiments.

"It is encouraging that this drug has such little toxicity," said Menon.

#A25. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization of hepatocellular carcinoma reveals a unique genomic aberration pattern in tumors with poor prognosis

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute have identified a 10-gene signature that could predict survival in both liver and breast cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting.

Stephanie Roessler, Ph.D., a visiting fellow in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at the NCI, and colleagues analyzed 13,000 genes to determine the genomic regions of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that are associated with poor prognosis. By integration of genomic aberration and gene expression they identified 10 potential tumor suppressor genes, which are associated with a 2.1-fold increased risk of death.

Tumor suppressor genes, as the name implies, prevent tumors when they are active.

"We and others found that genomic profiling of both liver cancer and breast cancer show overlapping regions of gain or loss," said Roessler. "When we analyze downstream pathways of these genes, we may be able to identify areas for more personalized medicine approaches in the future."

Roessler and colleagues performed their analysis in human liver and breast cancer tissue. Starting with 13,000 genes, they narrowed their search to 419 and then to 134 before determining the 10 that were significantly associated with impaired survival.

"We looked not only at the DNA copy number, but also at the gene expression, so this will help us identify genes that have a downstream function that can be manipulated by biologic therapies," said Roessler.

#A63. Inhibition of ROCK signaling inhibits breast cancer metastasis to human bone

Scientists have found that a kinase called ROCK is overexpressed in metastatic breast cancer, according to data presented at the AACR Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting. In this in vivo study, inhibiting ROCK in the earliest stages of breast cancer decreased metastasis by approximately 85 percent.

"This is preliminary research that will require further laboratory and clinical studies, but our results suggest that ROCK inhibition may be a drug therapy target for metastatic breast cancer," said Sijin Liu, Ph.D., a research instructor at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts in Boston. Liu and colleagues used an experimental inhibitor called Y27632 to block ROCK action, which resulted in metastasis to the bone decreasing by approximately 85 percent.

The researchers used a mouse model with luminescent imaging to study the effects and found that Y27632 inhibited the overall frequency of metastasis by 36 percent compared to controls. Specifically, only five out of 14 tumors metastasized in treated mice compared with eight out of 12 in the control group.

The laboratory experiments suggested that ROCK inhibition may work by targeting a set of microRNAs. Those microRNAs, 17 through 92, were elevated in metastatic cells compared with non-metastatic cells and responded to treatment with Y27632.

"In this study, we showed that there is a specific microRNA cluster associated with ROCK expression and breast cancer metastasis," said Liu, who worked under the supervision of Michael Rosenblatt, M.D., professor of medicine and dean of Tufts University School of Medicine.

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, October 8-11:
(617) 457-2444

Leptin Linked with More Aggressive Thyroid Cancer in Middle Eastern Region

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

BOSTON - Leptin, a molecule linked with obesity, may play a crucial role in predicting poor prognosis from thyroid cancer, at least in the Middle Eastern region of the world, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting.

"Leptin receptor expression may be a useful molecular marker in predicting the level of aggression of Middle Eastern thyroid cancer that can help guide treatment options and follow-up care," said lead researcher Khawla S. Al-Kuraya, M.D., director of the research center at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Thyroid cancer is the eighth most common cancer among American women, but the second most common in Saudi Arabian women. This high prevalence is seen in all Gulf Council countries, according to Al-Kuraya.

Al-Kuraya said there is some evidence that thyroid tumors in the Middle East are unique on a molecular level, particularly an increased amplification of the PIK3CA gene.

For the current study, the researchers focused on measuring the level of leptin and its receptor in 536 human thyroid cancer samples. They found overexpression of the leptin receptor in 80 percent of the cases. This overexpression was significantly associated with poor disease survival. Similarly, increased leptin receptor expression was linked with older age, larger tumor size, advanced stage and metastasis. Furthermore, the researchers have conducted numerous in vitro experiments on thyroid cancer cells in the lab and demonstrated that leptin works on the life process of cancer cells by stimulating growth and preventing death.

Leptin is the product of the "obesity gene" and regulates food intake and energy expenditure. Although this is the first study in which researchers have observed its role in thyroid cancer patients, it has previously been implicated in poor prognosis among patients with gastric, endometrial and breast cancer.

Leptin receptor status can be easily assessed with a fine needle biopsy, according to Al-Kuraya.

"This information will be useful in predicting disease aggressiveness and making subsequent treatment decisions about type of surgery, follow-up and iodine dosage," said Al-Kuraya.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, October 8-11:
(617) 457-2444

Survivors of Childhood Cancer Less Likely to Marry

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Late effects of cancer therapy affect integration into society
• Marriage is predicted by height, physical functioning, cognitive outcomes

PHILADELPHIA - Childhood cancer survivors typically suffer from the long-term effects of cancer treatment on physical health, and results of a new study suggest that social implications also exist, which may affect their chance of an "I do" at the altar.

Survivors are 20 to 25 percent more likely "to never marry" compared with siblings and the general population, according to findings published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Many childhood cancer survivors still struggle to fully participate in our society because of the lasting cognitive and physical effects of their past cancer therapy," said lead researcher Nina S. Kadan-Lottick, M.D., M.S.P.H., assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center, and medical director of the Health Education, Research & Outcomes for Survivors (HEROS) Clinic for childhood cancer survivors.

Using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a retrospective cohort of more than 10,000 childhood cancer survivors (who are now adults) treated at 26 institutions around the country, Kadan-Lottick and colleagues evaluated the frequency of marriage and divorce rates among survivors compared with their sibling group and U.S. Census data. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is an ongoing study funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers distributed surveys to participants to determine late outcomes of therapy, medical problems, subsequent cancers, psychosocial functioning and other aspects of survivorship, according to the researchers. They identified patients and treatment factors that may predict marital status, including psychosocial distress and neurocognitive impairment.

"Our study pinpointed what aspects of the survivor experience likely contribute to altered marriage patterns: short stature, poor physical functioning and cognitive problems," said Kadan-Lottick. "These conditions are known to be associated with certain chemotherapy and radiation exposures."

Results showed that an estimated 42 percent of survivors were married, 7.3 percent were separated or divorced and 46 percent were never married.

Those who survived brain tumors were 50 percent more likely never to marry. Survivors of central nervous system tumors and leukemia had the greatest likelihood of never marrying, according to the study. Cranial radiation was the therapy most associated with not getting married.

Likelihood of divorce did not vary between the study populations.

"While it can be debated whether marriage is a desirable outcome, marriage is generally an expected developmental goal in our society to the extent that most U.S. adults are married by the age of 30. Our results suggest that survivors of childhood cancer need ongoing support even as they enter adulthood," Kadan-Lottick suggested.

Electra D. Paskett, Ph.D., who was not involved with the study, but is a deputy editor of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, said these findings shed light on the use of certain treatments and their long-term implications, which may affect a patient's physical appearance, thereby resulting in social effects.

"In other studies marital status has been found to be a significant predictor of survival. Will we see this among the childhood survivors as well?" asked Paskett, who is the Marion N. Rowley professor of cancer research in the Division of Epidemiology, and associate director for population sciences in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

As a follow-up to this report, separate analyses are underway to better understand factors that contribute to other adult benchmarks among childhood cancer survivors, such as living independently, achieving higher education and income. The National Institutes of Health funded this study.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

American Association for Cancer Research to Honor Leading Researchers at Breast Cancer Symposium

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium will honor two leading breast cancer researchers when it holds its 32nd annual meeting Dec. 9-13, in San Antonio.

The awards will be given by the American Association for Cancer Research, which together with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine, conduct the meeting for nearly 9,000 attendees.

Robert Weinberg, Ph.D., professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present the 2009 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research. Weinberg is the author of The Biology of Cancer.

His laboratory is currently studying the ability of breast cancer cells to thrive and proliferate at various locations throughout the human body in a devastating process called metastasis. Their previous research has shown that this activity is dependent on stromal cells from bone marrow, and they are working to understand the nature of these cells and what causes their stimulation.

Charles M. Perou, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics and pathology at the Lineberger Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, will receive the 2009 AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, which is funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

Perou's lab focuses on genetic technology and its application to breast cancer. He initially demonstrated that breast cancer can be divided into five distinct molecular subtypes and that those subtypes could be applied to certain demographic populations to predict risk.

Both awardees will deliver a 25-minute lecture at this year's San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is a four-day program that presents a balance of clinical, translational and basic research. It provides a forum for interaction, communication and education for a broad spectrum of researchers, health care professionals and those with a special interest in breast cancer.

The majority of participants are scientists and researchers. At last year's meeting, more than 8,900 people attended from 92 countries. The audience was composed of 46 percent medical doctors and 9 percent basic research scientists.

Registration for the meeting is currently open, and information can be found at: www.sabcs.org.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances to the clinic. The 32nd Annual Symposium is expected to draw more than 8,900 participants from more than 90 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

AACR to Host Teleconference on Metastasis

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Approximately 90 percent of all cancer deaths are due to metastasis, which occurs when cancer cells shed from the primary tumor and develop secondary, sometimes microscopic, tumors in the body's distant organs. Although medicine has made significant strides against the more than 200 diseases collectively known as cancer, metastasis continues to present a daunting challenge.

The American Association for Cancer Research is at the forefront of efforts to control metastasis and hosted a scientific press conference on this topic for media professionals on Oct. 8, 2009, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. ET. The event took place at the Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting in the Stuart Room of the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

The following world-renowned scientists spoke on the biological process of metastasis, recent scientific research and the challenges that lie ahead.

Tyler Jacks, Ph.D.
Director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
President of the American Association for Cancer Research

Joan Massagué, Ph.D.
Program Chairperson, Cancer Biology and Genetics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Member of the Institute of Medicine

Robert Weinberg, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology at MIT
Author of The Biology of Cancer

Listen to the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the press briefing (11.8 MB, 51 minutes and 59 seconds)

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Boston, October 8-11:
(617) 457-2444

High-sensitivity Bone Marrow Aspiration Technology Enhances Leukemia Cell Detection

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Leukemia cell detection using a magnetic needle and nanoparticles
• First step in developing a sensitive, low-cost analysis of minimal residual disease

PHILADELPHIA - Scientists have created a viable technology to improve the detection of leukemia cells in bone marrow.

Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) enhanced the ability to rapidly quantify the amount of nanoparticle bound tumor cells in a sample at least 10 fold, and increased sensitivity of minimal residual disease measurements. Results of this proof-of-concept study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"This promises to significantly enhance the detection for residual disease in leukemia and other cancers," said lead scientist Richard S. Larson, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for translation research at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center. "Coupling nanotechnology can be employed in common techniques to enhance its utility."

These findings are a result of a collaborative research effort between Senior Scientific, LLC, and the University of New Mexico. The study was funded by a small business innovation grant awarded by the National Cancer Institute.

Previous studies have indicated that the magnetic needle can collect approximately 80 percent of leukemia cells in a bone marrow sample in a matter of minutes, according to Edward R. Flynn, Ph.D., president and CEO of Senior Scientific, LLC.

The scientists developed this magnetic marrow biopsy needle in an effort to target tumor cells with nanoparticles and then preferentially extract the tumor cells with a magnetic needle. They used anti-CD34 antibody loaded magnetic nanoparticles to detect CD34+ cells as an indicator of leukemia. To quantify the cells recovered, they coupled this nanoparticle-mediated fishing for leukemic cells with SQUID.

SQUID enhanced the sensitivity of measuring minimal residual disease over standard pathology methods for patients undergoing chemotherapy.

"This result will determine more precisely the effect of the chemotherapy and will help to ascertain proper dosage or termination of treatment for patients," said Flynn.

Furthermore, Larson said that SQUID will work well with current technologies to improve the detection of leukemia cells in the bone marrow. Chi Van Dang, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, cell biology, oncology and pathology, and vice dean for research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, believes this approach is quite different from the current standard. He suggested that the sensitivity compared to polymerase chain reaction still needs to be determined.

"In the case of leukemias without clear genetic markers, the magnetic needle could be useful," said Dang, who was not associated with this study, but is an editorial board member for Cancer Research. "It is possible that this technology could be used to detect cancer stem cells in general, if the proper antibodies with appropriate specificity are available."

Senior Scientific, LLC, is currently participating in follow-up studies to increase the efficiency of the magnetic needle further through advanced magnet configurations and theoretical calculations.

Download photos of the researchers:
Richard S. Larson, M.D., Ph.D.
Edward R. Flynn, Ph.D.
Chi Van Dang, M.D., Ph.D.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

# # #

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Physical Activity in Adolescence Associated With Decreased Risk of Brain Cancer in Adulthood

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Risk factors for glioma are largely unknown
• A link was found between glioma and early life physical activity

PHILADELPHIA - While little is known about the causes of glioma, researchers at the National Cancer Institute have found that this rare but often deadly form of brain cancer may be linked to early life physical activity and height.

"Our findings suggest that biological factors related to energy expenditure and growth during childhood may play a role in glioma etiology. This clue could help researchers better understand important features of glioma biology and the potentially modifiable lifestyle factors that could be important in preventing this disease," said Steven C. Moore, Ph.D., research fellow in the Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, NCI. Moore also added that "engaging in regular physical activity throughout the lifespan conveys many benefits." Results of this prospective study are published online first in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Gliomas are the most common type of brain cancer, accounting for nearly 80 percent of brain and central nervous system cancers. Though little is known about the causes of glioma, some evidence suggests that early life exposures may play a role in disease etiology. Because the brain develops rapidly during childhood and adolescence, it may be more susceptible to environmental influences during this time.

Moore and colleagues examined whether markers of early life energy expenditure and intake (physical activity, body mass index and height) are related to glioma risk. Between 1995 and 1996, researchers distributed a baseline questionnaire about dietary intake and other lifestyle exposures to participants in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Nearly 500,000 men and women answered questions about physical activity, body weight and height. The researchers then followed study participants for eight years, during which time 480 glioma cases occurred.

Participants who were physically active during adolescence had a decreased risk of glioma; their risk was about 36 percent lower than those who were inactive, according to the study. The researchers also found that those who were obese during adolescence had an increased risk of glioma; their risk was approximately three to four times that of individuals who were normal weight during adolescence. However, Moore cautioned that "we did not have many people in the study who were obese during adolescence." Moore and colleagues additionally confirmed results of previous studies linking height to increased glioma risk; risk among taller participants was twice that of those considered shorter.

"Aside from our finding for height, which had been previously reported, these results were surprising," he said. "But, to our knowledge, no one has looked at glioma risk as related to energy balance in childhood and adolescence before."

The researchers found that the association between physical activity and glioma risk was not consistent across the lifespan. Neither physical activity nor obesity in adulthood were associated with glioma risk. Since the data were collected before the participants were diagnosed with cancer, it is unlikely that the participants would respond to the questionnaire differently because of their diagnosis, according to Christine B. Ambrosone, Ph.D., professor of oncology and chair of the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. However, both Ambrosone and Moore commented that additional prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings, especially the association with obesity, which was in small numbers.

"These results highlight the potential importance of habits during childhood and adolescence for risk of brain cancer later in life. Additional research is needed to understand the biologic mechanisms that underlie these relationships," added Ambrosone, who is an editorial board member of Cancer Research and was not associated with this study.

Download researchers' photos:

Christine B. Ambrosone, Ph.D.
Steven C. Moore, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs, research fellowships and career development awards. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

The American Association for Cancer Research Congratulates President-Elect on Nobel Prize

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research congratulates its president-elect Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., and AACR member Carol W. Greider, Ph.D., for winning, along with Jack W. Szostak, Ph.D., the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

"Dr. Blackburn, our President-elect, is a scientific pioneer who, along with AACR member Dr. Greider and Dr. Szostak, is revolutionizing the way we look at biology and translational science," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "Not only did the discovery of telomeres and telomerase propel cancer science forward on a grand scale, it is also changing the way we explore how to treat other types of disease and how to potentially prolong cell life."

The trio uncovered how chromosomes can be copied in a complete way during cell division and how they are protected against degradation. The solution is found in the ends of the chromosomes - the telomeres - and in an enzyme that forms them - telomerase. With Szostak, Blackburn discovered that a unique DNA sequence in the telomeres protects the chromosomes from degradation.

In 1985, Blackburn and her then-graduate student Greider identified telomerase, the enzyme that makes telomere DNA. Their research showed that, in some organisms, such as the single-celled pond dweller Tetrahymena, telomerase continuously replenishes the chromosome's telomeric tips. In humans, however, research showed that telomerase is damped down at certain times in the lives of many types of cells, limiting their ability to self-replenish.

With this discovery, scientists saw the possibility of exploring whether, in humans, the enzyme could be reactivated to prolong cell life to treat age-related diseases, and deactivated to interrupt cancers.

Most normal cells do not divide frequently, therefore, their chromosomes are not at risk of shortening and they do not require high telomerase activity. In contrast, cancer cells have the ability to divide infinitely and yet preserve their telomeres. One explanation became apparent with the finding that cancer cells often have increased telomerase activity. It was, therefore, proposed that cancer might be treated by eradicating telomerase. Several studies are underway in this area, including clinical trials evaluating vaccines directed against cells with elevated telomerase activity.

In recent years, Blackburn and colleagues have investigated the possibility that life stress, the perception of life stress and lifestyle behaviors could take a toll on telomerase and telomeres. They have reported several studies with human participants that suggest a correlation. The findings may offer insight, at the cellular level, into the impact of stress on early onset of age-related diseases.

Blackburn is a co-chair of the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research meeting and will address the subject of "Cellular Responses to Telomerase Perturbations" on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Boston.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., president-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research, is the Morris Herzstein professor of biology and physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Stand Up To Cancer, that recently awarded $73.6 million to translational research Dream Teams for projects that could impact the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of cancers in adults and children across ethnicities including, but not limited to, pancreatic, breast, ovarian, cervical, uterine, brain, lung, prostate, rectal and colon, which represents two thirds of all U.S. cancer deaths.

Blackburn is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. From 2002 to 2004, she served on the President's Council on Bioethics and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards, including the Kirk A. Landon-AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research. Blackburn has served on the AACR Board of Directors (2006-2009) and as the chair of the AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Committee and as senior editor of Molecular Cancer Research.

Blackburn earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Melbourne in Australia. She received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge in England. From 1975 to 1977, Blackburn did her postdoctoral work in molecular and cellular biology at Yale, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco.

Carol Greider, Ph.D., the Daniel Nathans professor and director of molecular biology and genetics in the Johns Hopkins Institute of Basic Biomedical Sciences, studied at the University of California in Santa Barbara and in Berkeley, where she obtained her doctorate in 1987 with Blackburn as her supervisor.

She was recognized by the Lasker Foundation last year. In 1996, Greider received the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research. She has also won the Katharine Berkan Judd Award, the Louisa Gross Horowitz Prize, the Dickson Prize in Medicine, the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences and the Lila Gruber Cancer Research Award, among other awards. Greider has been a fellow at the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Additional Resources:

Download awardee headshots:
Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D.
Carol W. Greider, Ph.D.

Listen to Dr. Blackburn's call with Nobelprize.org

Listen to Dr. Greider's call with Nobelprize.org

Telomerase and Cancer by Elizabeth H. Blackburn
Kirk A. Landon - AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research Lecture
Mol Cancer Res September 2005 3:477-482; doi:10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-05-0147

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
267-646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

AACR Holds News Conference on President Obama's Speech to NIH

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

EDITOR'S NOTE: The American Association for Cancer Research hosted a news conference on September 30 at 3:00 p.m. ET. A recording of the teleconference is available at the bottom of this page.

President Barack Obama announced on Sept. 30 that the National Institutes of Health has awarded more than 12,000 Recovery Act grants, totaling $5 billion. This funding represents approximately half of the $10.4 billion allocated to NIH in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and will further research to treat and prevent HIV, cancer and heart disease.

Immediately following the announcement, the American Association for Cancer Research convened a panel to discuss the implications of the funding announcement and the challenges ahead.

Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., president of the American Association for Cancer Research, opened with the following statement:

"In today's speech, the president emphatically reiterated his commitment to supporting science and technology for biomedical research in general and for cancer in particular. President Obama is correct in saying that our leaders have not supported science adequately in the recent past. The overwhelming number of grant applications submitted in response to the stimulus funding is a clear indication that there is no shortage of good ideas in America and that with proper funding, powerful new approaches to understanding and controlling cancer can be brought to bear.

"However, as important as the stimulus funding is, without sustained funding the full potential of this investment will not be realized. For example, President Obama announced the expansion of the Cancer Genome Atlas project, which will now characterize the DNA of as many as 20,000 cancer specimens involving 20 cancer types. Yet this information will only have value if we can fund the research that explains how the alterations in cancer genomes can allow us to treat the cancer more effectively or prevent it from occurring at all. The stimulus funding is indeed a windfall for the research community and it is very much appreciated, but we look to the administration to deliver on its promise to provide increased investment in biomedical research over the long term. Only in this way can we ensure that the United States remains the world's leader in scientific breakthroughs and discovery."

Jacks is president of the American Association for Cancer Research, director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the David H. Koch professor of biology at MIT, and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Additionally, Jacks serves on the editorial board of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, and is a member of the scientific advisory board for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, as well as many other advisory boards.

Also on the panel were:

Rebecca Riggins, Ph.D., research assistant professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, who is currently working on breast cancer research under a stimulus grant.

David Bernstein, Ph.D., senior science policy analyst at the American Association for Cancer Research Washington D.C. office.

Additional Resources:

Listen to the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (6.61 MB, 28 minutes and 53 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Lack of Social Interaction Affects Health Outcomes of Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

EDITOR'S NOTE: The American Association for Cancer Research hosted a press briefing on this study on September 29 at 1:00 p.m. ET. A recording of the teleconference is available at the bottom of this page.

• Stress from loneliness leads to increased tumor growth
• Decrease breast cancer risk by increasing social interaction

PHILADELPHIA – Social environment can play an important role in the biology of disease, including breast cancer, and lead to significant differences in health outcome, according to results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“This study uses an elegant preclinical model and shows that social isolation alters expression of genes important in mammary gland tumor growth,” said the journal’s Deputy Editor Caryn Lerman, Ph.D. “It further elucidates the molecular mechanisms linking environmental stress with breast cancer development and progression.”

These findings suggest novel targets for chemoprevention, and future studies should evaluate whether these molecular processes can be reversed by chemopreventive agents, according to Lerman, who is the Mary W. Calkins professor of psychiatry and scientific director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Previous results from clinical studies have indicated that social support can improve the health outcome of patients with breast cancer. Epidemiological studies have suggested that social isolation increases the mortality risk from several chronic diseases.

Suzanne D. Conzen, M.D., associate professor in the department of medicine and the Ben May department for cancer research at the University of Chicago, along with colleagues from the Institute of Mind and Biology at the University of Chicago, evaluated whether an unfavorable social environment could influence tumor growth in mice that are genetically predisposed to mammary gland cancer.

They found that female mice that were chronically stressed because of social isolation (from the time they were first separated from their mothers) developed significantly larger mammary gland tumors compared to those mice that were group-housed.

Additionally, the isolated mice developed a heightened corticosterone stress hormone response.

“Despite the genetic similarity of the mice assigned to grouped versus isolated housing, living in the stressful environment was associated with greater tumor size, suggesting that the social environment may in fact alter the biology of cancer growth…then, of course, the question becomes how,” she said.

The researchers studied gene expression in the mouse mammary tissues and found that alterations in the expression levels of metabolic pathway genes, which are expected to favor increased tumor growth, had occurred in the isolated mice even before tumor size differences were measurable. These gene expression patterns suggest potential molecular biomarkers and/or targets for preventive intervention in breast cancer.

Further research is needed to focus on which specific cell types the changes in gene expression are taking place, according to Conzen. This knowledge could potentially lead to interventions that block similar pathways favoring the growth of human breast cancer.

“Given the increased knowledge of the human genome we can begin to objectively identify and dissect the specific alterations that take place in cancer-prone tissues of individuals in at-risk environments and that will help us to better understand and implement cancer prevention strategies,” she concluded.

Panelists (Select the link to download a photo):

Scott M. Lippman, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Editor-in-Chief
Cancer Prevention Research

Thea Tlsty, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology
Director, Center for Translational Research in the Molecular Genetics of Cancer
Director, Program of Cell Cycling and Signaling
University of California San Francisco

Caryn Lerman, Ph.D.
Mary W. Calkins Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Scientific Director
Abramson Cancer Center
University of Pennsylvania

Suzanne D. Conzen, M.D.
Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine
Ben May Department for Cancer Research
The University of Chicago

Additional Resources:

Listen to the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference ( 5.84 MB, 25 minutes and 33 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Read the full Cancer Prevention Research study.
Learn more about social environment and cancer from an article in CR Magazine, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.

Subscribe to the Cancer Prevention Research RSS feed

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Women Fare Better Than Men With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer - Are Hormones Helping?

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Previous studies show estrogen prevents colorectal cancer
• Largest study suggesting a prognostic benefit from estrogen
• Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death

PHILADELPHIA - Younger women with metastatic colorectal cancer lived longer than younger men. However, this survival advantage disappeared with age, suggesting a benefit from estrogen or other hormones, according to results of a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"We've known for a while that estrogen prevents colorectal cancer, but this is the first study to suggest it may improve outcomes once you have colorectal cancer," said Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D., co-director of gastrointestinal oncology and colorectal cancer at the University of Southern California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine.

Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry, Lenz and colleagues screened 52,882 patients who had metastatic colorectal cancer between 1988 and 2004.

Women age 18 to 44 years had significantly longer survival than men - at 17 months compared with 14 months. However, older women had significantly shorter overall survival at seven months compared with nine months.

Lenz said these results suggest that estrogen levels may be playing a significant role in prognosis. James Abbruzzese, M.D., chair of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and a deputy editor of Clinical Cancer Research, agreed that hormones may certainly play a role, but says a look at the data broken down by year is also intriguing. Specifically, those diagnosed after 2000 have improved survival; those diagnosed before 2000 had a less pronounced survival advantage.

"In terms of the chemotherapy we have available, since 2000 the regimens employ more agents and have become much more aggressive. Therefore, it may be expected to inhibit normal hormonal cycles leading to lower hormonal levels in these women, so other factors may be playing a role as well. It may not just be hormones," said Abbruzzese.

Download photos of the researchers:
Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D.
James Abbruzzese, M.D.

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS Feed

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

###

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 30,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 16,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Obesity Hinders Chemotherapy Treatment in Children with Leukemia

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Fat cells have biological effects that impair chemotherapy
• Relapsing leukemia cells can be found in fat tissue
• Provides possible explanation for rate of relapse

PHILADELPHIA - Obesity is an important factor contributing to chemotherapy resistance and increasing relapse rates among children with leukemia, according to recent findings published online first in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Obesity is associated with increased incidence and mortality of many types of cancer. Leukemia is the most common cancer in children, affecting more than 2,000 children each year in the United States alone, according to background materials in the study.

Given the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, these findings could have important implications for cancer treatment and may help explain the increased leukemia relapse rate in obese patients, according to the study's lead researcher Steven D. Mittelman, M.D., Ph.D. Mittelman is the fellowship research director with the Division of Endocrinology at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and assistant professor of pediatrics, physiology and biophysics at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.

"Obesity could increase cancer incidence and mortality through a variety of ways. It may impair the immune system's ability to stop cancer, or predispose cells to become cancerous," Mittelman suggested. "Once you have cancer, and if you are obese, the fat cells themselves may impair the ability of chemotherapy to fight cancerous cells."

This study was inspired by a previous study led by a colleague, Anna Butturini, M.D., associate professor of clinical pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Childrens Hospital, which showed that obese children diagnosed with leukemia have a 50 percent higher chance of relapsing compared with lean children.

Using preclinical models, Mittelman and colleagues investigated the reason why obese children were more at risk of relapse. They developed a mouse model of obesity and leukemia, cultured fat and leukemia cells together, and treated the leukemia cells with traditional chemotherapy drugs used in children - vincristine, nilotinib, daunorubicin and dexamethasone.

Obese mice with leukemia had higher relapse rates than lean mice after treatment with the first-line chemotherapeutic agent vincristine. The chemotherapy treatments all worked less effectively in culture when fat cells were nearby. When the mice relapsed from the leukemia, the researchers found leukemia "hiding out" in the fat tissue during chemotherapy, according to Mittelman.

"These four drugs attack leukemia cells by different routes, so when we saw fat cells blocking them we realized there could be an important mechanism promoting their ability to live and divide," he said. "We were surprised to find leukemia cells in the fat tissue."

David Hockenbery, M.D., member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and professor of internal medicine at the University of Washington, said "this study provides striking experimental support for the clinical observations that obesity is associated with poor prognosis in multiple cancers."

The researchers demonstrated that co-culture of leukemia cells with adipocytes diminishes response to multiple chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, adipose tissue may function as a "safe haven" for leukemia cells during therapy, according to Hockenbery. Based on the finding that adipocytes accumulate chemotherapeutic drugs, he advised that careful attention be paid to dose adjustments based on pharmacokinetic measurements.

"In addition, by highlighting a potential communication between adipocyte and leukemia cells, this research will stimulate efforts to find a diffusible factor that protects leukemia cells from chemotherapy," said Hockenbery.

More research is needed to figure out how fat cells are a part of the tumor microenvironment and how they block potentially lifesaving treatments, according to Mittelman. The researchers are currently conducting additional studies to evaluate other chemotherapeutics, how obesity may or may not affect treatment and the effect of fat cells found in bone marrow on leukemia.

Additional Resources:

Download photos of the researchers
Steven D. Mittelman, M.D., Ph.D.
David Hockenbery, M.D.

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

American Association for Cancer Research CEO Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the European CanCer Organisation

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, received the inaugural European CanCer Organisation Award for Lifetime Achievement on Sept. 21, 2009, in Berlin. This award honors Foti's outstanding contributions to cancer research and her remarkable scientific leadership in the worldwide cancer community.

Alexander Eggermont, M.D., Ph.D. (left), president of ECCO, and Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.)

"Under Dr. Foti's leadership, the AACR has become a unique organization promoting worldwide collaboration," said Alexander Eggermont, M.D., Ph.D., president of ECCO. "By bringing together leading scientists from around the globe, she opens the doors for research partnerships that lead to breakthrough developments in cancer treatment and prevention. We are honored to recognize Dr. Foti's lasting impact on international cancer science and medicine."

The ECCO Board of Directors established the Award for Lifetime Achievement earlier this year to honor an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the fight against cancer by demonstrating a lifetime commitment to defeating the disease. Foti will receive the award at the Opening Session of the ECCO 15-34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress.

"It is an extraordinary honor to receive this award from ECCO, a remarkable organization that represents 24 cancer organizations and over 50,000 cancer professionals in Europe, one that fosters excellence in research, education, policy and treatment. Because of its important mission to promote partnerships among individuals and organizations in the cancer field, AACR being one of them, ECCO continues to have an enormous impact on quality patient care," said Foti. "The AACR and I look forward to continued collaborations with ECCO to raise awareness of cancer as a serious public health problem, promote worldwide collaboration and support research for the good of cancer patients everywhere."

Foti has been CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research since 1982. During her tenure, membership has grown from 3,000 to 30,000 scientists residing in nearly 90 countries. She began her career as an editorial assistant for Cancer Research, the most highly cited cancer journal in the world, and was rapidly promoted to managing editor. Under Foti's leadership, the AACR has launched five additional journals that together contribute 20 percent of all peer-reviewed cancer literature.

In addition, the AACR convenes more than 20 meetings a year worldwide on timely scientific subjects and five educational workshops that train basic and clinical scientists. These conferences draw thousands and lay the groundwork for ongoing collaboration, leading to the acceleration of the latest breakthroughs in the field. The AACR also holds think tanks on high-priority scientific areas, facilitates programs that bring together scientists and survivors on issues of mutual interest, plays a key role in science policy and is the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a groundbreaking translational research funding initiative launched in 2008 which has provided funding for meritorious research that is being conducted in Europe.

In June, Foti was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Medicine from the University of San Pablo CEU in Madrid. She also holds Honorary Doctorates in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Rome La Sapienza and from the University of Catania in Sicily. Earlier this year, she received the first Margaret Kripke Legend Award from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and she was cited in August by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for her dedication to increasing public awareness of the importance of cancer research.

Foti's other national and international awards include the: Award of Appreciation from the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Chairpersons, Award with Recognition and Appreciation from the Israel Cancer Association, Italian League Against Cancer Commendation, Distinguished Service Award from the George Washington University Medical Center's GW Cancer Institute, Distinguished Service Award from the Association of American Cancer Institutes, AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research, Ville de Paris Award, Cina del Duca Award for raising public awareness of cancer globally, Community Caring Award from the William S. Graham Foundation for Melanoma Research and the Special Recognition Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.)
Read an article on Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.) in OncoPost & OncoPeople - the official newspaper of ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)

Subscribe to the AACR RSS News Feed

# # #

About ECCO
ECCO is a non-profit organization formed in September 2007 to replace the Federation of European Cancer Societies (FECS). It has six founding members: EACR (European Association for Cancer Research), EONS (European Oncology Nursing Society), ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology), ESSO (European Society of Surgical Oncology), ESTRO (European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology) and SIOPE (European Society for Paediatric Oncology). There are 24 member societies in total, representing more than 50,000 cancer professionals. ECCO plays an important role in engaging with policymakers to promote the interests of cancer patients, those who care for them, and those without whose research there would be no advances in treatment and care. Its official journal is the European Journal of Cancer.

About ESMO
ESMO is a non-profit leading European professional organization focused on advancing the specialty of medical oncology and promoting a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment and cure. It represents more than 6,000 oncology professionals in more than 100 countries. Its scientific journal, Annals of Oncology, ranks among the top clinical oncology journals worldwide. Recognized as an authoritative voice in the fight against cancer, ESMO offers consultative expertise to oncology organizations and European authorities on important issues related to cancer research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.

About the ECCO-ESMO congress
Since 1983 the ECCO conference has been organized every two years to promote the need for a multidisciplinary approach to cancer, and since then it has been Europe's premier cancer meeting. As of this year, the biennial multidisciplinary conference is hosted jointly by the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). It is the only congress in Europe that covers the entire spectrum of cancer from basic science and translational research, to prevention, treatment, nursing and supportive care for all types of tumors.

This unique platform is a forum for leading cancer experts from around the world to present their latest research and debate controversial issues surrounding the future of research, treatment and care. The congress expects to host about 15,000 participants from 120 countries, making it the largest oncology meeting in Europe to date. In more than 2,000 presentations, the conference will discuss the latest advances in prevention, treatment and survivorship, proteomics, biomarkers, pharmacogenomics and imaging, as well as the latest evidence on epidemiological trends, complementary therapies and quality of life issues. For the first time, the meeting also features a patient advocacy track and a track on oncopolicy, which is aimed at strengthening European policy on cancer research and care.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Diabetes Drug Kills Cancer Stem Cells in Combination Treatment in Mice

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Metformin is more effective than chemotherapy alone
• Study supports cancer stem cells hypothesis
• Laboratory study focused on breast cancer cells

Listen to a recorded mp3 of the teleconference.

PHILADELPHIA - In a one-two punch, a familiar diabetes drug reduced tumors faster and prolonged remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone by targeting cancer stem cells, Harvard Medical School researchers reported in the September 14 online first edition of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"We have found a compound selective for cancer stem cells," said lead researcher Kevin Struhl, Ph.D., the David Wesley Gaiser professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. "What's different is that ours is a first-line diabetes drug."

These findings add to a growing body of preliminary evidence in cells, mice and people that metformin may improve breast cancer outcomes in people. In this study, the diabetes drug seemed to work independently of its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar and insulin levels, all of which are also associated with better breast cancer outcomes.

The results fit within the cancer stem cell hypothesis, an intensely studied idea that small subsets of cancer cells have a special power to initiate tumors, fuel tumor growth and promote recurrence of cancer. Cancer stem cells appear to resist conventional chemotherapies, which kill the bulk of the tumor.

"There is a big desire to find drugs specific to cancer stem cells," said Struhl. "The cancer stem cell hypothesis says you cannot cure cancer unless you also get rid of the cancer stem cells. From a purely practical point of view, this could be tested in humans. It's already [in use as] a first-line diabetes drug."

The possible usefulness of a diabetes drug against cancer lends credence to an emerging idea that, in the vast and complex alphabet soup of molecular interactions within cells, a relatively few biological pathways will turn out to be most important for many different diseases, Struhl suggested.

In experiments led by postdoctoral fellows Heather Hirsch, Ph.D., and Dimitrios Iliopoulos, Ph.D., the combination of metformin and the cancer drug doxorubicin killed human cancer stem cells and non-stem cancer cells in culture. The researchers used four genetically distinct breast cancer cell lines.

In mice, pretreatment with metformin prevented the otherwise dramatic ability of human breast cancer stem cells to form tumors. In other mice where tumors took hold for 10 days, the combination therapy also reduced tumor mass more quickly and prevented relapse for longer than doxorubicin alone. In the two months between the end of treatment and the end of the experiment, tumors regrew in the mice treated with chemotherapy alone, but not in those who received both drugs. Metformin was ineffective in treating tumors when used alone.

"This is an exciting study," said Jennifer Ligibel, M.D., a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Harvard Medical School instructor in medicine. Ligibel and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group are developing a large-scale phase II trial and will study its metformin's impact on recurrence in women treated for early stage breast cancer.

"There is a lot of interest in studying metformin in breast cancer, but so far we do not have direct evidence that metformin will improve outcomes in patients," said Ligibel, who was not involved in the current study "That's what this trial is for."

So far, observational studies have suggested a lower risk of cancers, including breast cancer, and better response to chemotherapy in patients with diabetes who are treated with metformin, she said. Results of basic science studies have also suggested plausible biological mechanisms. The study from the Struhl lab suggests a potential new pathway through which metformin could have an effect on breast cancer cells, according to Ligibel.

In their search for compounds that selectively destroy cancer stem cells, researchers hope to improve cancer outcomes. But the story is never as simple in human cancers, according to Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D., a breast cancer researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Cancer stem cells are a shifty target, said Polyak, who was not involved in the current study. For example, any cancer cell can acquire the properties of a cancer stem cell, and cancer stem cells can change into non-stem cancer cells, which can be just as deadly. Clinical trials in people are needed to test these ideas, according to Polyak.

The study by Struhl and colleagues is an offshoot of a larger project in his lab to systematically track how gene activity changes when cells transform into cancer. These changes were remarkably similar to gene dynamics in diabetes and other inflammatory conditions.

The researchers reasoned that if a common genetic pathway underlies different diseases, drugs that work against one disease might work against another. In a screen, the most effective drug inhibiting the transformation of cells into cancer was metformin, which led to the experiments in this study. They were further encouraged by the low dose of metformin needed for the effect in the laboratory, compared to the amount needed for analogous molecular experiments in basic diabetes research. The relative dosage for treating or preventing cancer is unknown and untested in people.

Struhl and Harvard Medical School have applied for a patent for a combined therapy of metformin and a lower dose of chemotherapy, which is being tested in animals. The National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society funded this research.

News Briefing: The American Association for Cancer Research hosted a news briefing about the results of this study Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.

Download* the mp3 of the press briefing (8.74 MB, 38 minutes and 11 seconds)

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Panelists:

Moderator - Frank Rauscher, III, Ph.D.
Editor in Chief, Cancer Research
Professor, Gene Expression and Regulation Program
The Wistar Institute

Kevin Struhl, Ph.D.
David Wesley Gaiser Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Harvard Medical School

George Prendergast, Ph.D.
President, CEO and Professor
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research

Jennifer Ligibel, M.D.
Medical Oncologist
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Download panelist photos through the following links

Frank Rauscher, III, Ph.D.
Kevin Struhl, Ph.D.
George Prendergast, Ph.D.
Jennifer Ligibel, M.D.

Read the full Cancer Research study here.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

Media Contacts:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Harvard Medical School
Carol Cruzan Morton
(617) 432-0442
communications@hms.harvard.edu

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Applications for the 2010 Research Grants Program Now Open

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the AACR are Accepting Applications for Nine Grants Totaling $2.3 Million.

PHILADELPHIA - The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, in partnership with the American Association for Cancer Research, is now accepting applications for the 2010 Research Grants Program. This year's grants program will be administered through the AACR's rigorous peer-review system to ensure the highest quality science is supported. The grant term begins on July 1, 2010.

Nine grants through four grant mechanisms will be awarded in 2010, with a total funding level of nearly $2.3 million. This represents the largest annual dollar amount disbursed since the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network introduced the program in 2003. It reflects nearly a 90 percent increase in funding since last year. The goals of the grants program are to emphasize the urgent need to expedite scientific and medical breakthroughs that benefit patients, build a cadre of researchers dedicated to the field of pancreatic cancer research and encourage collaborations, information-sharing and innovation.

"Our research portfolio continues to grow strategically to meet the scientific needs and emerging developments in the pancreatic cancer community," said Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. "Not only do we provide financial support for research, we offer a mentorship program to connect grantees with leading scientists in the field of pancreatic cancer research, and provide ongoing educational and informational resources, opportunities to strengthen professional involvements, and linkages with pancreatic cancer survivors and caregivers."

"Although we have made enormous advances in cancer research and treatment over the last three decades, we have not yet stemmed the tide of pancreatic cancer," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research. "That is why these grants are so critical. The work of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has had an enormous impact on this field not only by funding high-quality research, but also by drawing attention to the importance of addressing this insidious disease that is on the rise in cancer incidence. The AACR is very proud of its scientific partnership with Pancreatic Cancer Action Network because our work together is advancing research that holds promise for successes in the clinic and for saving lives from pancreatic cancer."

Pathway to Leadership Grant
The newly introduced Pathway to Leadership Grant is designed to build future leaders in the pancreatic cancer research community by supporting highly promising early-career scientists who are beginning postdoctoral positions and continuing through positions as independent researchers. Applicants must be in the first five years of their postdoctoral or clinical research fellowships. One Pathway to Leadership Grant will be awarded in 2010, providing up to five years of support and totaling $600,000.

Fellowship Award
The Fellowship Award supports early-career scientists during their mentored research phase. Applicants must be in the first three years of a postdoctoral or clinical research fellowship. The Fellowship Award is a one-year grant given to one recipient, totaling $45,000 and one will be awarded in 2010.

Career Development Award
The Career Development Award is a two-year grant totaling $200,000 to support newly independent investigators develop or strengthen their research program in pancreatic cancer. In 2010, three Career Development Awards will be awarded. Applicants must be in the first four years of a faculty appointment.

Innovative Grant
The Innovative Grant (formerly Pilot Grant) supports the development of new and innovative ideas and approaches, including those successful in other areas of cancer that have promise for pancreatic cancer. The two-year grant, totaling $200,000, will be awarded to four independent junior or senior investigators.

Applications for the Pathway to Leadership Grant, Fellowship Award and Career Development Award are due by Oct. 28, 2009, noon ET. A letter of intent for the Innovative Grant is due by Oct. 5, 2009, noon ET. Submissions must be completed online using the proposal Central website at https://proposalcentral.altum.com.

Since the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's Grants Program was introduced in 2003, the organization has awarded 47 grants totaling nearly $5 million to scientists across the country. To learn more about the 2010 Grants Program, visit: www.pancan.org/Research/grants2010.html or www.aacr.org/research-funding.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed

# # #

About the American Association for Cancer Research
The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is the only national organization creating hope in a comprehensive way through research, patient support, community outreach and advocacy for a cure. The organization raises money for direct private funding of research, and advocates for more aggressive federal research funding of medical breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network fills the void of information and options by giving patients and caregivers reliable, personalized information they need to make informed decisions. We create a sense of hope and community so no one has to face pancreatic cancer alone. The organization helps support individuals and communities all across the country work together to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.

Autoimmune Response Can Induce Pancreatic Tumor Rejection

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Pathological damage to a normal pancreas induces autoimmune reactivity
• Immunological safeguards exist to prevent severe autoimmune consequences

PHILADELPHIA - Immune responses are capable of killing tumors before they can be directed toward normal body tissue, according to new scientific findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"There are extremely precise mechanistic methods augmenting the ability of the immune system to distinguish between normal tissues and tumors," said lead researcher Richard G. Vile, Ph.D. "Understanding the multiple checks and safeguards against autoimmunity should allow us to understand more closely how to generate antitumor immunity."

Vile, professor of immunology in the Department of Molecular Medicine and the Department of Immunology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and professor of biological therapy at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, along with other colleagues, induced pathological damage to a normal organ, in this case the pancreas, with the immune adjuvant hsp70. They investigated whether that damage could lead to the development of T-cell responses against the normal pancreas.

Inflammatory killing of the normal pancreas induced a Th-1-like, anti-self response to pancreatic antigens. Rapid suppression and damage to the pancreas induced a very strong suppressive regulatory T-cell response - Treg. Even after Treg cells were depleted, Vile and colleagues found that Th-1-like response was insufficient to induce significant ongoing autoimmunity.

"We believe that although there are additional mechanisms that prevent autoimmunity, simply removing the Treg uncovered a good antitumor response," Vile said. "We were not expecting that it would be possible to cure tumors without autoimmunity. Our prediction was that we would have to generate potent autoimmunity and then the tumors would be rejected."

Based on this study, the researchers suggested that it is more difficult than presumed to induce autoimmunity against the pancreas because multiple immune safeguards exist to prevent potentially autoimmune T-cells from destroying the normal pancreas. Further, when comparing the immunoprotective mechanisms of different tissues, profound differences exist in response to pathogen-like damage.

Cancer Research editorial board member Ivan Borrello, M.D., believes this study highlights several unique aspects of tumor immunology. The immune response toward normal elements and tumors in different organs are mediated through different mechanisms and may require different approaches to achieve a beneficial therapeutic outcome, he said. Further, in certain situations like the pancreas, it may not be sufficient to prime effective anti-tumor immunity.

"This study demonstrates the increasing complexity within which both normal tissues and tumors can protect themselves against destruction and underscores the complex network regulating immune responsiveness," said Borrello, an associate professor in oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

These findings may lead to a new approach for the development of a cancer vaccination, Vile said, whereby scientists link the autoimmune and antitumor fields more closely than ever before.

Additional research is underway to evaluate this approach for the treatment of melanoma, as opposed to pancreatic cancer, and further studies are ongoing in prostate cancer. The field also needs to understand how to utilize and possibly sequence immune-mediated interventions in a more disease-focused and tailored manner, according to Borrello.

Download photos of the researchers:
Richard G. Vile, Ph.D.
Ivan Borrello, M.D.

Subscribe to the AACR news feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Research feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Lapatinib Shows Minimal Effect Against Liver Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Lapatinib only benefited a subgroup of patients who developed a rash from toxicity
• Hepatocellular carcinomas are clinically, biochemically heterogeneous
• Drug was well-tolerated overall; 12 percent required a dose reduction

PHILADELPHIA - Use of the molecularly targeted agent lapatinib to delay tumor growth and improve the survival of patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer, only benefited certain subgroups of patients. While results of this study were largely negative, patients that exhibited toxicity from the drug in the form of a skin rash appeared to have a greater tumor response and longer survival.

Findings of this phase II, multi-institutional study are published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"These results may not be practice changing, but they do emphasize the need to continue developing strategies targeting epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] in hepatocellular carcinoma," said lead researcher Tanios Bekaii-Saab, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and pharmacology and medical director of gastrointestinal oncology at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma is increasing worldwide, and since this form of cancer typically responds poorly to chemotherapy, new treatments are necessary to help curb its rise. The current standard treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma is sorafenib.

This study is one of the first trials to test the tolerability and efficacy of lapatinib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Lapatinib targets both EGFR and Human EGFR type 2 (HER2/neu) signaling pathways. The FDA approved this drug in March of 2007 for patients with breast cancer who were already using the chemotherapeutic agent capecitabine. Lapatinib works by inhibiting the tyrosine kinase activity associated with the two oncogenes - EGFR and HER2/neu.

Twenty-six patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma received 1,500 mg/d of lapatinib by mouth for 28 days. Bekaii-Saab and colleagues evaluated tumor and blood specimens for expression of these signaling pathways.

Results indicated that lapatinib only benefited a subgroup of patients who developed a rash, which is an effect attributable to EGFR/HER1 inhibition. These patients tended to have a more favorable outcome and longer survival compared to the overall study population. The most common side effects were diarrhea in 73 percent of participants, nausea in 45 percent and rash in 42 percent.

"Our findings suggest a potential benefit from EGFR inhibition," said Bekaii-Saab. "Overall though, we were certainly hopeful that lapatinib would be more active and were somewhat disappointed by the results."

Samuel B. Ho, M.D., an editorial board member for Clinical Cancer Research, believes this study provides important information about the relevance of these signaling pathways in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

"The results support the fact that hepatocellular carcinomas are clinically and biochemically heterogeneous, and that certain subsets of hepatocellular carcinoma may respond differently than others, suggesting that larger trials with patients more likely to respond may show a definite survival benefit," said Ho. "However, the study failed to find a marker that could differentiate between tumors that may or may not be expected to respond."

Ho is the chief of gastroenterology section at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

Furthermore, the results of this study represent an important step in the strategy for designing clinical studies for this form of cancer, according to Ho, and additional studies are needed. Specifically with lapatinib, it will be important to determine a way to identify those patients who are more likely to respond and include them in a larger trial.

"Given the complexity of the biology in hepatocellular carcinoma and essentially all other malignancies, we should not hope a single marker would be predicative; it makes more sense biologically to monitor multiple potentially relevant markers," said Ho.

Additional Resources:

Download a photo of lead researcher Tanios Bekaii-Saab, M.D.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS Feed

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Androgenic Regulation of a microRNA Plays Critical Role in Prostate Cancer Progression

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Elevated miR-21 linked to tumor resistance to androgen deprivation therapy
• miR-21 is elevated in human prostate cancer
• Androgen receptor pathway regulates expression of miR-21

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a specific microRNA may contribute to prostate cancer pathogenesis.

"We have identified a new pathway that can cause prostate tumors to grow in the absence of androgens," said researcher Shawn E. Lupold, Ph.D., assistant professor of urology in the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Interestingly, the androgen receptor pathway itself uses this microRNA to promote cancer growth."

"This microRNA could be a target for therapy," added Donald J. Tindall, Ph.D., an editorial board member of Cancer Research. "We already have techniques for modulating microRNA in the laboratory with cell lines and animal models. If we could translate these techniques into the clinic, it might be possible to regulate this microRNA for the control of prostate cancer growth."

Results from this study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Lupold and colleagues studied the androgen receptor-signaling pathway - known to be active in prostate cancer - to evaluate if newly discovered genes, called microRNAs, are downstream regulators of androgen signaling and tumor growth.

Findings showed 16 androgen receptor-responsive microRNAs, with microRNA-21 standing out because of its oncogenic activity. This microRNA is known to be growth promoting, and the researchers found higher miR-21 concentrations in human prostate cancer samples. When they evaluated miR-21 and expressed it in tumor models, they further found that the tumors became castration resistant.

"It was surprising that a single microRNA could cause this growth," said Lupold. "There is evidence that elevated expression of this microRNA in breast cancer correlated with poor outcome. Therefore, it may similarly predict aggressive prostate cancers. These studies need to be done."

These findings are significant because it is the first demonstration that a microRNA in the prostate can be directly regulated by the androgen receptor, according to Tindall, who is professor, director and vice chair of urologic research in the Departments of Urology and Biochemistry/Molecular Biology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Tindall is also leader of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Prostate Program and principal investigator on the Mayo Prostate Cancer SPORE.

"The most common treatment for advanced prostate cancer is either surgical or chemical castration, which depletes androgens in the serum," said Tindall. "This microRNA is elevated in prostate cancer and can rescue prostate cancer cells from growth arrest following androgen ablation."

Lupold suggested that future research efforts should investigate additional microRNAs that may be directly regulated by the androgen receptor, and researchers should characterize their effects on prostate cancer cells and test ways of modulating expression of these microRNAs as potential therapeutic targets.

Additional Resources:

Download researcher photos through the following links
Shawn E. Lupold, Ph.D.
Donald J. Tindall, Ph.D.

Listen to a podcast from CR magazine, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists, about biostatistician Donn Young and his enrollment in a clinical trial during his battle prostate cancer.

Learn more about diagnosing prostate cancer through the article "Watchfully Waiting" from CR magazine.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS Feed

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Prevent Periodontitis to Reduce the Risk of Head and Neck Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Chronic periodontitis increases risk
• Smoking may be a modifier

PHILADELPHIA - Chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, is an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This suggests the need for increased efforts to prevent and treat periodontitis as a possible means to reduce the risk of this form of cancer.

"Prevent periodontitis; if you have it already, get treatment and maintain good oral hygiene," said Mine Tezal, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, and NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences at the University of Buffalo. She is also a research scientist in the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Prosthetics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, which is where the study was conducted.

Results of this study are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Chronic periodontitis is characterized by progressive loss of the bone and soft tissue attachment that surround the teeth. The researchers assessed the role of chronic periodontitis on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, as well as the individual roles on three subsites: oral cavity, oropharyngeal and laryngeal. They used radiographic measurement of bone loss to measure periodontitis among 463 patients; 207 of whom were controls.

Findings showed that chronic periodontitis might represent a clinical high-risk profile for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The strength of the association was greatest in the oral cavity, followed by the oropharynx and larynx, according to Tezal.

When they stratified the relationship by tobacco use, they found that the association persisted in those patients who never used tobacco. The researchers did not expect the periodontitis-head and neck squamous cell carcinoma association to be weaker in current smokers compared to former and never smokers, according to Tezal. However, this interaction, although statistically significant, was not very strong.

"Confirmatory studies with more comprehensive assessment of smoking, such as duration, quantity and patterns of use, as well as smokeless tobacco history are needed," she said.

"Our study also suggests that chronic periodontitis may be associated with poorly differentiated tumor status in the oral cavity. Continuous stimulation of cellular proliferation by chronic inflammation may be responsible for this histological type. However, grading is subjective and we only observed this association in the oral cavity. Therefore, this association may be due to chance and needs further exploration," Tezal added.

Andrew Olshan, Ph.D., said these results lend further support to the potential importance of poor oral health in this form of cancer. Olshan is professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"The study of poor oral health including the possible carcinogenic role of microorganisms is part of a rapidly growing interest in how a community of microbes that live in the various environments of the human body can affect health," Olshan said. "Although the study is comparatively small, the researchers were able to also see an association between bone loss and the risk of head and neck cancer."

Download researcher photos:
Mine Tezal, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Andrew Olshan, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed
Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
(267) 646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Even in a Safety Net Health System, Colorectal Cancer Screening Disparities Remain

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Only 22 percent of screen-eligible patients are screened
• Insurance, regular visits are the number one predictor of screening
• Higher rates of screening lead to less cancer

PHILADELPHIA - Colorectal cancer screening rates are much lower among those in a safety net health system compared to the national average, and the number one predictor of screening is a combination of regular visits and insurance access.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States behind lung cancer. Nearly 50,000 Americans will die from colorectal cancer this year. Although scientists have differing opinions on the best method, the benefits of early screening are beyond debate - cancers caught early are easier to manage and treat.

Still, the nationwide rate of colorectal cancer screening is 61 percent, with much of the lack of screening concentrated among blacks, Hispanics and those without insurance. However, results of a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, showed that the screening rate was merely 22 percent among individuals served by a safety net health system in Texas.

"Of our patients who did get screened, they either had insurance or saw their doctor regularly. Once you controlled for those variables, the screening rate was essentially zero," said Samir Gupta, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Gupta and colleagues conducted their study using data from the Tarrant County Hospital District John Peter Smith Hospital Health Network, a safety net health system. The system serves 155,000 individuals a year in Tarrant County, Texas, a geographic area that includes Fort Worth, and is committed to delivering health care to the uninsured, Medicaid and other vulnerable patients.

Using their electronic administrative records, Gupta and colleagues identified 20,416 patients who were between 54 and 75 years old and were eligible for colorectal cancer screening. The median age of these patients was 60 years, and about 60 percent of them were women. Approximately 15 percent of the population lived below the poverty line and median household income was $35,419. The majority of the patients were either black or Hispanic; nearly 20 percent reported a primary language other than English.

Although 40 percent were classified as having health insurance, including those on Medicare and Medicaid, another 40 percent only had medical coverage through their connection to the safety net system; 20 percent had no insurance at all.

Over the previous five years, 22 percent of these patients were screened for colorectal cancer. Women were slightly more likely than men, and Hispanics were slightly more likely to be screened than whites, but the largest increase came when insurance and regular medical care were considered. Those with insurance were almost three times as likely to be screened, and those who saw the doctor regularly were nearly four times as likely to be screened.

Karen Glanz, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and an editorial board member of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, said this study documents an important issue in a specific population.

"The idea that colorectal cancer screening rates are too low is not a new idea, but this is one of the first to document it in a specific population," said Glanz. "Access to care clearly has consequences, and any talk of health care reform needs to address proven prevention measures like screening."

Gupta said a national model already exists for successful screening. Low income, uninsured and underserved women can get breast and cervical cancer screening through the Centers for Disease Control's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, but Gupta said such an approach is far too disease-specific.

"Theoretically, the same model could be applied to colorectal cancer, but do we want to keep passing legislation for programs that target specific types of cancer, or could we provide more broad access to health care so we can make a serious and coordinated effort at prevention?" said Gupta. "That's the question that needs answering."

Additional Resources:

Download research photos through the following links
Samir Gupta, M.D.
Karen Glanz, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed
Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Scientists Identify Gene That Predicts Post-surgical Survival from Brain Metastasis of Breast Cancer Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Hexokinase 2 linked with poor post-surgical prognosis
• Brain metastasis is a growing problem in breast cancer

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have identified a gene that may play a role in breast cancer metastasis to the brain, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Diane Palmieri, Ph.D., a staff scientist at the NCI, said Hexokinase 2 overexpression was more highly expressed in brain metastasis in patients with breast cancer than in primary breast tumors.

"Importantly, this study was conducted in human tissue rather than animal models, so we are able to extrapolate data without the problems inherent in animal studies," said Palmieri.

Brunhilde Felding-Habermann, Ph.D., an associate professor at The Scripps Research Institute, said the findings are a major step forward in potential breast cancer treatments.

"Improvements in breast cancer therapy have made prognoses like brain metastasis a growing problem, and this research points to a potential target for future therapies," said Felding-Habermann.

Researchers performed analyses on both primary tumors and brain metastases. They found higher levels of Hexokinase 2 in brain metastases compared with unlinked primary tumors. Among resected brain metastases, these higher levels of Hexokinase 2 were linked with worse survival. The median survival for patients with high levels of Hexokinase 2 expression in their brain metastasis was 9.6 months compared with 17.5 months for those with lower expression.

Palmieri said that Hexokinase 2 plays a key role in glucose metabolism, which provides the energy tumors need to grow. It also impacts the cell survival process, apoptosis.

"Potential therapies would need to turn off this gene and thus starve the tumor of its growth potential," said Palmieri.

Download a photo of Brunhilde Felding-Habermann, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the AACR News feed

Subscribe to the Molecular Cancer Research RSS feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Weight Gain in Adulthood Associated with Prostate Cancer Risk; Patterns Differ by Ethnicity

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Overweight by age 21 linked to lower risk of localized, low-grade prostate cancer
• Overweight in older adulthood linked to increased risk of prostate cancer
• Risk varied across ethnic groups

PHILADELPHIA - Body mass in younger and older adulthood, and weight gain between these periods of life, may influence a man's risk for prostate cancer. This risk varies among different ethnic populations, according to results of a study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"The relationship of certain characteristics, such as body size, with cancer risk may vary across ethnic groups due to the combined influence of both genes and lifestyle," said lead researcher Brenda Y. Hernandez, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii.

Obesity is a risk factor for common cancers like colorectal cancer and breast cancer in post-menopausal women. However, the influence of body size on prostate cancer risk is not entirely understood. Hernandez and colleagues examined this relationship in a multiethnic population consisting of blacks, Japanese, Hispanics, Native Hawaiians and whites, and compared differences among age groups. They used the Multiethnic Cohort, a longitudinal study of men aged 45 to 75 years old established in Hawaii and California from 1993 to 1996.

Results showed that of the 83,879 men who participated in this study, 5,554 were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Overall, men who were overweight or obese by age 21 had a decreased risk of localized and low-grade prostate cancer, according to Hernandez.

Being overweight in older adulthood was associated with increased risk of prostate cancer among white and Native Hawaiian men, but a decreased risk among Japanese men. Excessive weight gain between younger and older adulthood increased the risk of advanced and high-grade prostate cancers in white men and increased the risk of localized and low-grade disease in black men, but decreased the risk of localized prostate cancer in Japanese men.

"Readers of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention might initially look at these results and discount them for being inconsistent across the racial/ethnic groups, but they should not," said Elizabeth A. Platz, Sc.D., M.P.H., associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore.

Platz stressed the strengths of this study, including that it was conducted prospectively and consisted of large numbers of men in most of the ethnic groups studied. An estimated 30 percent of prostate cancer cases occurred among Japanese men (n=25,275), 25 percent among white men (n=21,311), 27 percent among Hispanic men (n=20,448), 13 percent among black men (n=10,934), and 7 percent among Native Hawaiian men (n=5,921).

"There is no reason to think that the differences in results by ethnicity are explained by bias. Different racial and ethnic populations tend to have differing proportions of fat relative to lean mass and carry their fat mass differently. These differences may be used as a launching point for the next line of research: The nature of the weight gain - amount of fat gained and distribution of the fat gained in association with prostate cancer risk overall, and by stage and grade," added Platz, who is also an editorial board member for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

This study underscores the importance of investigating cancer etiology in diverse populations and researchers should conduct additional studies.

"These results do not warrant a change in the current public health messages about obesity: Men of normal weight in all racial/ethnic groups should be encouraged to avoid weight gain and men who are overweight and obese should be encouraged to lose weight for good health in general," Platz added.

Download photos of the researchers:

Brenda Y. Hernandez, Ph.D., M.P.H
Elizabeth A. Platz, Sc.D., M.P.H.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed

Subscribe the to the Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Pancreatic Cancer Affects Blacks at Higher Rates

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Cigarette smoking, overweight/obesity increases this risk

• Blacks are at an increased risk for mortality

PHILADELPHIA - Regardless of risk factors linked to pancreatic cancer, such as smoking and body mass index (BMI), blacks experienced higher rates of pancreatic cancer death than whites.

"Reducing overweight/obesity and smoking will help reduce pancreatic cancer overall, as well as prevent other diseases," said Lauren D. Arnold, Ph.D., M.P.H., postdoctoral research associate in the department of surgery at Washington University in St. Louis.
"We still have a long way to go towards understanding pancreatic cancer disparities."

Results of this cohort study are published online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly fatal disease that is challenging for researchers to study and treat. Because there are no good screening tests and symptoms do not often appear until the disease has spread, Arnold said that most people die within two years of diagnosis.

Statistically, pancreatic cancer claims the lives of black Americans more so than whites - between 2001 and 2005, blacks had a 32 percent higher death rate, according to background information in the study obtained from the National Cancer Institute statistics.

Arnold and colleagues examined risk factors for pancreatic cancer and separately evaluated them among black and white participants. Using data from the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II), they assessed whether these risk factor patterns explained differences in incidence and mortality. CPS-II is a longitudinal study that originally enrolled more than one million participants in 1982. Participants provided information such as race/ethnicity, medical history and health habits. The researchers tracked cancer deaths in the CPS-II and evaluated the outcomes.

Regardless of gender and race, findings showed that smoking was the biggest risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Increasing risk of pancreatic cancer was associated with increasing BMI. When considered by race, blacks had a 42 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer death compared to whites.

Excess risk of disease remained, even when the researchers eliminated all other risk factors from the calculation.

"We hoped to find that by accounting for known and suspected pancreatic cancer risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes and BMI, and by looking at this in the context of race and gender, we'd be able to explain the higher rates of pancreatic cancer in blacks," Arnold said. "Unfortunately, we were unable to explain these differences."

Maria Elena Martinez, Ph.D., M.P.H., said although differences in risk factor patterns were shown, overall, they did not account for the pancreatic cancer mortality rates evident by race. Martinez is the Richard H. Hollen Professor of Cancer Prevention at the University of Arizona, director of the Cancer Health Disparities Institute at the Arizona Cancer Center, and an editorial board member for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

"The results most certainly point to the need for additional work to explain these racial disparities in risk of pancreatic cancer," she said. "Factors other than those assessed by the researchers may be responsible for the disparities. These can include unidentified lifestyle and/or environmental factors, genetic factors or unique gene-environment interactions."

What makes this study different from previous studies that explored differences in relationship to risk for pancreatic cancer is that this study comes from a large group of cancer-free individuals and examines their risk of developing pancreatic cancer over a long period of time.

Arnold noted one limitation with this study is that higher death rates from an illness in certain populations may be the result of limited or no access to health care. However, past studies have shown that problems with access to health care might not be causing the higher pancreatic cancer death rates in blacks; blacks and whites are both usually diagnosed in relatively late stages of disease, which makes treatment difficult and survival low.

"Our data do not explain what is causing these disparities, but we hope it encourages researchers to continue looking for reasons why blacks develop and die from pancreatic cancer at higher rates than whites," Arnold said. "Clinicians who have patients with a family history of pancreatic cancer or other risk factors for the disease should communicate the benefits of losing weight and quitting smoking, if anything, to help reduce their risk of pancreatic cancer."

Additional Materials:

Learn more about racial disparities and cancer through an issue of CR Magazine, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.

Download a picture of Lauren D. Arnold, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Subscribe to the AACR News Feed

Subscribe the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS Feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Nominations Open for 2010 Pezcoller Foundation–AACR International Award for Cancer Research

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research is currently accepting nominations for the prestigious Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research.

This award, now in its 13th year, recognizes an individual scientist or co-nominated scientists of international renown who have made a major scientific discovery in basic or translational cancer research, and whose ongoing work holds promise for continued substantive contributions to progress in the field of cancer.

The Award includes an unrestricted grant of €75,000 and a commemorative plaque.

The recipient of the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research will give a 50-minute lecture at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010, which will be held in Washington, D.C., from April 17 to 21, and also present the Fifth Annual Stanley J. Korsmeyer Lecture in Padua, Italy, just prior to the official award ceremony in Trento, Italy, in early May 2010.

Nominations must be submitted online at https://proposalcentral.altum.com no later than Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

The Pezcoller Foundation was established in 1980 by Professor Alessio Pezcoller, a dedicated Italian surgeon who made important contributions to medicine during his career. Through Pezcoller's foresight, vision and generous gift in support of the formation of the Foundation, he encouraged others to join this effort in sustaining the work of the Foundation. He has inspired scientists around the world to make significant advances in cancer research. In addition to sponsoring this prestigious award, the Foundation also sponsors a series of symposia, publishes a journal and supports awards for early-career scientists from Europe who have submitted highly rated abstracts for presentation at the AACR Annual Meeting.

The 2009 Award Winner, Napoleone Ferrara, M.D., was recognized for his groundbreaking research in the mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis. Ferrara and his colleagues at Genentech, Inc. reported the isolation and cloning of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This groundbreaking discovery led to the development of bevacizumab (Avastin), the first antibody directed at VEGF, which suppresses angiogenesis and tumor growth. After years of clinical trials, the FDA approved bevacizumab in 2004 for the treatment of advanced lung, colon and breast cancers in combination with chemotherapy.

For more information on eligibility criteria, the nomination process and other details about the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research, please visit www.aacr.org/page14329.aspx. Additional inquiries should be directed to Monique P. Eversley at monique.eversley@aacr.org.

Subscribe to the AACR news feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0622
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

The AACR Mourns the Loss of Senator Edward Kennedy, Champion of Health Care and Cancer Research

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research celebrates the life and legacy of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). Over the last half century, Senator Kennedy has stood as a tireless champion in the fight against cancer and was the driving force behind improving health care and research policy in the U.S. Senate.

"Senator Kennedy was a true friend to the cancer research community and he will be remembered with admiration and respect for his extraordinary efforts on behalf of the health and well-being of all Americans," said AACR President Tyler Jacks, Ph.D. "For nearly five decades he stood as an unparalleled champion in the fight against this devastating disease. His efforts will continue to bring us closer to the day when cancer prevention and cures may replace the pain and suffering that many people, himself included, deal with each day around the world. His commitment to our common quest was and will remain an inspiration to us all."

Senator Kennedy first became a cancer research advocate in 1971, when he helped create the National Cancer Act. He played a vital role in various cancer efforts to date, and most recently took on an effort to revisit and improve cancer research and care. Over the past two years, the AACR has worked closely with Senator Kennedy to create the 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act, which establishes provisions to speed cancer research and the translation of innovative research from the lab to therapies needed at the bedside. He was a champion of government support for basic, translational and clinical research aimed at eradicating cancer.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
267-646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Gene Shows New Prognostic Marker for Pediatric Cancer Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Expression of most microRNAs is correlated with their host gene transcripts
• MIRHG1 expression predicts the outcome of high-risk neuroblastoma patients

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers with the National Cancer Institute have found that pediatric cancers express cancer-specific microRNAs, which may become important in understanding the biological functions of these microRNAs.

"Our microRNA profiles showed differentially expressed microRNA signatures specific to the cancer types and can be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers," said Jun S. Wei, Ph.D., staff scientist in the Oncogenomics Section of the Pediatric Oncology Branch at the NCI.

Results of this study are published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Wei along with Javed Khan, M.D., senior principal investigator and chief of the Oncogenomics Section, and colleagues examined the expression of microRNAs as biomarkers for pediatric cancers. They sought to reveal the biology of these microRNAs in cancer and to examine how, or if, the transcripts of microRNA host gene affect the expression.

The researchers used microarrays to perform parallel expression profiling of microRNA and mRNA on 57 different pediatric cancer samples, representing ten different pediatric solid tumors.

Significant findings showed that 14 microRNAs were differently expressed between two of the largest sample groups in this study, neuroblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma; eight were validated in independent human tumor samples, according to the study. More than 60 percent of microRNAs were co-regulated with their host gene transcripts - 43 of 68 microRNAs located inside known coding genes were significantly correlated.

"Among these host genes, high expression of MIRHG1, the host gene of OncomiR-1 (a known target of MYCN that is a commonly amplified gene in neuroblastoma), was significantly associated with aggressive neuroblastoma," said Wei. "Our finding implicates the adverse role of the OncomiR-1 in the biology of high-risk neuroblastoma and potential use of the expression of MIRHG1 gene as a new prognostic marker for neuroblastoma patients."

MicroRNAs have been reported to directly regulate normal cellular functions, including cell differentiation during development and pathogenesis in human cancers. While the researchers were not surprised to observe different pediatric cancer types expressing cancer-specific microRNAs, they were surprised to see the expression level of the MIRHG1 gene predicts the outcome of neuroblastoma patients independently from MYCN expression.

Future studies are needed to validate the predictive value of the MIRHG1 gene in a larger patient cohort before it can be used clinically as a prognostic factor. If validated, Wei said the expression of MIRHG1 may be used as a molecular marker to further stratify patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who do not have MYCN amplification where there currently is no marker available to predict the patient outcome in this group.

"It may be possible to specifically target OncomiR-1 as a potential novel therapy in high-risk neuroblastoma and the molecular mechanisms for the adverse effects of OncomiR-1 will need to be investigated to increase our understating of this devastating disease," he said.

Download a high resolution image of Jun S. Wei, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS feed

Subscribe to the AACR News feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

MicroRNA in Human Saliva May Help Diagnose Oral Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• MicroRNAs provide a revolutionary diagnostic tool
• Measuring saliva is both non-invasive and effective

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers continue to add to the diagnostic alphabet of saliva by identifying the presence of at least 50 microRNAs that could aid in the detection of oral cancer, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"It is a Holy Grail of cancer detection to be able to measure the presence of a cancer without a biopsy, so it is very appealing to think that we could detect a cancer-specific marker in a patient's saliva," said Jennifer Grandis, M.D., professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cancer Institute and a senior editor of Clinical Cancer Research.

MicroRNAs are molecules produced in cells that have the ability to simultaneously control activity and assess the behavior of multiple genes. They are a thriving research topic right now, and researchers believe they could hold the key to early detection of cancer. The emergence of a microRNA profile in saliva represents a major step forward in the early detection of oral cancer.

"The oral cavity is a mirror to systemic health, and many diseases that develop in other parts of the body have an oral manifestation," said David T. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry.

Wong and colleagues measured microRNA levels in the saliva of 50 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 50 healthy control patients. They detected approximately 50 microRNAs.

Two specific microRNAs, miR-125a and miR-200a, were present at significantly lower levels in patients with oral cancer than in the healthier controls.

Wong said that the findings of this study would have to be confirmed by a larger and longer analysis.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS feed

Subscribe to the AACR News RSS feed

Download researcher photos through the following links:

Jennifer Grandis, M.D.
David T. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Blood-flow Metabolism Mismatch Predicts Pancreatic Tumor Aggressiveness

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Interplay of physiological parameters is crucial
• Positron emission tomography is a promising tool
• Future therapy may need to be adjusted based on these findings

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers from Turku, Finland, have identified a blood-flow glucose consumption mismatch that predicted pancreatic tumor aggressiveness, according to results of a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Based on these findings, they suggested that the relationship between several physiological tumor parameters might provide more important information about a tumor than just looking at any of these parameters alone.

Gaber Komar, M.D., research fellow at the Turku PET Center, and colleagues investigated the importance of two physiological parameters in the tumor microenvironment among patients with pancreatic tumors to evaluate tumor aggressiveness. The parameters measured were blood flow in the tumor tissue and glucose consumption, which could be seen as a measurement of general metabolic activity of a tissue.

"Imaging of several of these tumor parameters might be important for the planning and success of oncologic therapies," Komar said. "We believe that a better understanding of these mechanisms may help overcome the general treatment resistance of pancreatic cancer."

The researchers used positron emission tomography (PET), a nuclear medicine imaging technique that provides a three-dimensional image of a bodily process, to measure blood flow and glucose consumption in 26 patients with pancreatic cancer. A PET scan is most often used to detect cancer and is also used to evaluate cancer response. It is emerging as a tool for pre-therapy evaluation of tumors and allows researchers to study and quantify tumor characteristics while the tumor is still in the body.

Results showed that patients with benign (n=8) and malignant (n=11) tumors had decreased blood flow of the lesion by 48 percent and 60 percent compared to patients with normal pancreatic tissue (n=7). These findings may help explain the lack of success some patients experience with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the researchers suggested.

Komar said he was somewhat surprised by the results of the study since they did not expect to see such a clear correlation in such a small sample size.

"The important new step in the future might be the integration of these findings in management of a single tumor and combination of this information with the appropriate therapeutic approach including early monitoring of tumor responsiveness," Komar said.

David Mankoff, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology, medicine and bioengineering at the University of Washington and an academic physician at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, said this is the latest finding in a series of studies that have shown that a blood-flow metabolism mismatch in tumor is a sign of a resistant tumor and a predictor of bad outcome.

"This study confirms that blood flow metabolism mismatch exists in pancreatic tumors, similar to other cancers such as breast and lung cancers, and predicts poor patient outcome," said Mankoff. "A blood-flow metabolism mismatch by PET appears to be associated with cancer aggressiveness and treatment resistance. We've only recently recognized this pattern as a result of advantages in functional imaging methods."

Mankoff, who is also an editorial board member for the AACR's journal Clinical Cancer Research, said he believes this study has a few implications. As researchers begin to use new methods, such as PET imaging to explore in vivo biology, they may uncover factors that point towards behavior that is more aggressive and suggests new avenues for treatment, therefore leading to better patient outcome. For example, Mankoff said that the findings identified by Komar and colleagues may lead researchers to study the role that tumor tissue oxygenation and hypoxia play in mediating tumor clinical behavior and responsiveness to systemic therapy.

Download a photo of the researchers:

Gaber Komar, M.D.
David Mankoff, M.D., Ph.D.

Read about Jack Benny's sturggle with pancreatic cancer in a profile from CR Magazine , the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.

Subscribe to the AACR news feed

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Fatigue Related to Radiotherapy May Be Caused by Inflammation

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Fatigue is a major side effect of radiotherapy
• Inflammation mechanism suggests possible treatment option
• Test done in breast and prostate cancer

PHILADELPHIA - Patients who experience fatigue during radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer may be reacting to activation of the proinflammatory cytokine network, a known inflammatory pathway, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Julie Bower, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues, conducted an observational study among 28 patients with breast cancer and 20 patients with prostate cancer, all early stage. Patients completed questionnaires and provided blood samples so researchers could determine the level of proinflammatory markers.

As expected, there was a strong link between radiotherapy treatment and fatigue. In a new finding, the researchers noted that increases in serum markers of cytokine activity, specifically IL-1 receptor antagonist and C-reactive protein, were also linked with fatigue.

"This study suggests that exposure to radiation is releasing these inflammatory cytokines and that may be contributing to fatigue," said Bower.

Scientists have been studying the role of inflammation in several diseases and have recently made breakthroughs about the link between inflammation and diseases like heart disease, Alzheimer's and cancer. There is growing evidence that inflammation may also contribute to depression and other behavioral disturbances, including fatigue and sleep problems.

Stephen Hahn, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said this study is an important step forward in understanding the biological basis for fatigue.

"Fatigue related to radiotherapy is very common but we do not have any good idea about why it occurs. This suggests one possible mechanism and suggests an avenue for treatment," said Hahn, who is also an editorial board member of Clinical Cancer Research.

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS feed

Download photos of the researchers:

Julie Bower, Ph.D.
Stephen Hahn, M.D.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

American Association for Cancer Research Director Appointed to Chair NCI Director’s Consumer Liaison Group

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The National Cancer Institute has appointed Gwen Darien, director of the American Association for Cancer Research Survivor and Patient Advocacy Programs and editor-in-chief of CR magazine, as chair of the NCI Director's Consumer Liaison Group. This appointment begins immediately and runs through June 30, 2012.

"As a cancer survivor herself, Gwen brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to this position," said John Niederhuber, M.D., director of the NCI. "The NCI will benefit from her leadership, not only regarding issues of survivorship and advocacy, but as the institute makes difficult decisions about the funding of science and translational research. Our responsibility, in the end, is to our patients. Ms. Darien is the perfect leader to keep our compass in order."

The Director's Consumer Liaison Group was established in 1998 to provide advice and recommendations to the director of the NCI from the perspective and viewpoint of cancer advocates on a wide variety of issues, programs and research priorities. It is an effective and caring voice for consumer advocates and the constituencies it serves.

As director of the AACR Survivor and Patient Advocacy Program since 2004, Darien oversees initiatives to strengthen communications and collaborations among cancer survivor, patient advocacy and scientific communities. She directs the association's renowned Scientist↔Survivor programs, founded over 10 years ago by Anna D. Barker, Ph.D., who serves as the NCI's Deputy Director. This program promotes partnerships and productive dialogue between advocates and cancer researchers. In 2006, Darien launched CR magazine to serve as a forum for sharing credible, balanced information about cancer and perspectives from both scientists and advocates on the pressing challenges in cancer research today.

"Gwen is a leading voice for people who are diagnosed with cancer and for those who support them," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "Through her work at the AACR, as well as with NCI and other organizations, she has made great strides forward in navigating the challenging advocacy issues that surround the more than 200 diseases we call cancer. Gwen will be an asset to the NCI as chair of the Director's Consumer Liaison Group."

In addition to chairing the NCI Director's Consumer Liaison Group, Darien is a member of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Health, Genetics and Society. She has served on the faculties of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop, American Society of Breast Disease Annual Symposium, Accelerating Anti-cancer Agent Development and Validation Workshop and the Milan Breast Cancer Symposium. Darien is on the advisory board of the Health Advocacy Program at Sarah Lawrence College and an external advisor to the Breast Cancer SPORE at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has received several awards for her work, including: the Avon Foundation Media Leadership Award, the LYMPHAdvocate Award from the Cure for Lymphoma Foundation and the Sisters' Network Media Leadership Award.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
267-646-0622
mailto:michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Cancer Mortality Rates Experience Steady Decline

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Cancer incidence rates still high
• Mortality decreasing due to prevention, treatment and screening

PHILADELPHIA - The number of cancer deaths has declined steadily in the last three decades. Although younger people have experienced the steepest declines, all age groups have shown some improvement, according to a recent report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Our efforts against cancer, including prevention, early detection and better treatment, have resulted in profound gains, but these gains are often unappreciated by the public due to the way the data are usually reported," said Eric Kort, M.D., who completed the study while employed as a research scientist at the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Researchers examined cancer mortality rates stratified by age and found that for individuals born since 1925, every age group has experienced a decline in cancer mortality. The youngest age groups have experienced the steepest decline at 25.9 percent per decade, but even the oldest groups have experienced a 6.8 percent per decade decline.

The public often hears about incidence rates, which continue to rise across many cancer types, or mortality proportions, with the World Health Organization's assertion that death from cancer will surpass death from heart disease by 2010. Both these calculations are accurate, Kort said, but they ask the wrong question. In particular, the often-quoted WHO statistic can be misleading.

Richard Severson, Ph.D., a cancer epidemiologist and associate chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences at Wayne State University, said proportional mortality is calculated in groups of 100.

"When calculating proportional mortality, we start with the assumption that everyone dies of something eventually, so you take 100 deaths and calculate, based on death certificates, what those people have died from," said Severson, who reviewed the report for Cancer Research.

Cancer will surpass heart disease as a cause of death in 2010 because, while both heart disease and cancer have been declining, heart disease mortality rates have been declining much more rapidly. And while it's true that cancer incidence rates continue to grow, the decreased mortality across all age groups shows the effect of improved screening and treatment.

"In childhood cancer particularly, we're able to do amazing things with leukemia and lymphoma that used to be a death sentence but now we are curing many of these cancers," Severson said.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS feed

Use the following links to download photos of the researchers:

Eric Kort, M.D.
Richard Severson, Ph.D.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Budesonide is Not Beneficial for the Treatment of Diarrhea in Metastatic Melanoma Patients Receiving Ipilimumab

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Oral budesonide does not change gastrointestinal side effects
• Diarrhea occurred in 32.7 percent of patients using the drug
• The median 12 and 18 month survivals were excellent and favorable

PHILADELPHIA - Patients with stage III or IV melanoma taking ipilimumab and the oral steroid budesonide to reduce side effects did not have less diarrhea, a known side effect of ipilimumab, according to results of a phase II trial published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

These findings would "discourage the prophylactic use of budesonide to reduce the gastrointestinal side effects of ipilimumab," said researcher Jeffrey Weber, M.D., Ph.D. Weber is a senior member at the Moffitt Cancer Center and director of the Donald A. Adam Comprehensive Melanoma Research Center, Tampa, Fla.

Weber and colleagues gave 10 mg/kg of ipilimumab to 115 patients every three weeks, for four doses. This was combined with daily budesonide for one group and placebo control for another.

After four months of treatment, they found that budesonide did not affect the rate of diarrhea - it occurred in 32.7 percent of patients treated with the drug and 35 percent of those who received placebo, according to the study. Median overall survival was 17.7 months among those treated with budesonide compared with 19.3 months among those who received placebo.

Additionally, the researchers saw anti-tumor responses in 10 to 15 percent of patients, without an apparent difference between patients treated with budesonide and those who received placebo.

"This study attempted to decrease the side effects of ipilimumab by using a preventative enteric steroid regimen. This approach failed to accomplish that goal," said Jennifer Grandis, M.D., who is an editorial board member for Clinical Cancer Research. She is professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

"The conclusion that the therapy is active in melanoma is justified, but not particularly novel. The study supports the contention that ipilimumab has use as a treatment in this disease, but more research is needed to elaborate on these findings and unveil ways to manage and potentially reduce side effects associated with this drug's use," she said.

Weber said he was not surprised by the favorable clinical results of this study and agreed that ipilimumab should be pursued in further clinical trials.

"Ipilimumab appears to result in prolonged median and overall survivals in patients with stage IV melanoma," he said. "A significant proportion of patients receiving ipilimumab may have long-term survival."

Ipilimumab (also known as MDX-010 or MDX-101) is in a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies, which stimulate the body's own immune system to fight disease. It is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of melanoma. Budesonide is currently used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, non-infectious rhinitis and for the treatment and prevention of growths in the nasal cavity.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS feed

Download photos of the researchers through the following links:

Jeffrey Weber, M.D., Ph.D.
Jennifer Grandis, M.D.

Read more about Bob Marley's struggle with metastatic melanoma through an article from CR, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Moving to the U.S. Increases Cancer Risk for Hispanics

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Overall cancer risk increases 40 percent or more for U.S. Hispanics
• Mexicans have the lowest cancer risk; Puerto Ricans have the highest risk
• Cubans, Puerto Ricans quickly acquire a similar colorectal cancer risk as whites

PHILADELPHIA - Results of a new study confirm trends that different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands.

"Hispanics are not all the same with regard to their cancer experience," said Paulo S. Pinheiro, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"Targeted interventions for cancer prevention and control should take into account the specificity of each Hispanic subgroup: Cubans, Puerto Ricans or Mexicans," added Pinheiro, who is the study's lead researcher. Pinheiro and colleagues received support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.

These results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Studies to date have classified all Hispanics under the same umbrella, as a single ethnic group, hiding the differences between each population group.

"They are really heterogeneous from cultural and socioeconomic perspectives and represent several population groups," said Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, and co-associate director of the Cancer Prevention and Population Studies research program at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The Hispanic population in the United States is increasing according to Ramirez - nearly one in every three people will be Hispanic by 2050. Ramirez, who was not involved in this research, said it is important to conduct studies like this to better understand these differences and learn what predisposes different population groups to certain types of cancer, in order to improve health outcomes.

Pinheiro and colleagues evaluated the kinds of cancers occurring in each Hispanic population group and compared their risk after moving to the United States. They conducted the study in Florida, which has a diverse Hispanic community composed of Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central and South Americans.

The results indicated that these population groups showed different patterns of cancer once they moved to the United States; Mexicans had the lowest rates of cancer overall and Puerto Ricans had the highest rates of cancer. Cubans' risk of cancer most closely resembles that of non-Hispanic whites. Similar to the U.S. non-Hispanic white population, Cubans and Puerto Ricans seemed to acquire higher risk for diet-related cancers relatively quickly.

Furthermore, Cuban males had higher incidence of tobacco-related cancers; Puerto Rican men had high incidence of liver cancer; and Mexican women had a higher incidence of cervical cancer.

For all cancers combined, risk for most cancers was higher (at least 40 percent) among Hispanics living in the United States compared with those who live in their countries of origin. Colorectal cancer risk among Cubans and Mexicans who moved to the United States was more than double that in Cuba and Mexico. The same was said for lung cancer among Mexican and Puerto Rican Floridian women compared to those in Mexico or Puerto Rico.

"This suggests that changes in their environment and lifestyles make them more prone to develop cancer," Pinheiro said. "It is puzzling that the groups for which integration in mainstream American society is easier, including access to health care, are also those with higher cancer rates even after accounting for the increased detection of certain cancers in the United States."

These results present important opportunities for United States and international collaborations in the prevention, treatment and research of cancer. While physicians may not have to change the care they provide, Ramirez said they should be more aware of the diversity and differences in cancer prevalence among this population.

"Don't assume that all Hispanics are the same," Ramirez said. "Physicians should probe Hispanic patients more on their background and family history to identify any problematic behaviors that could contribute to health problems."

Patients should become better informed of some of the positive aspects of their original lifestyles and should be strongly discouraged from adopting unfavorable lifestyles that may be more common in the United States, such as unhealthy diets, smoking and alcohol use, according to Pinheiro and Ramirez.

Additional studies are warranted to assess the variations in cancer risk according to socio-economic status and length of time spent in the United States within each Hispanic population group, in order to evaluate habits that may predispose them to certain cancers. More research should focus on these unique populations in relation not only to cancer, but to other diseases, according to the researchers.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

Download photos of the researchers through the following links:

Paulo S. Pinheiro, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc.
Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

More Than Half of Texas Physicians Do Not Always Recommend HPV Vaccine to Girls

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Approximately 50 percent do not recommend the vaccine
• Those who hear scientific information more likely to recommend
• Study confined to Texas, but representative of national mood

PHILADELPHIA - The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the human papillomavirus vaccination for all 11- and 12-year-old girls, but results of a recent survey showed that more than half of Texas physicians do not follow these recommendations.

The survey was published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Two years after the FDA approved the vaccine, the study suggests that additional efforts are needed to encourage physicians to follow these national recommendations," said Jessica Kahn, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been mired in controversy since it was approved in 2006. Texas placed itself at the center of that controversy early on with a mandate for universal vaccination from the governor's office, followed by a swift rebuke of that mandate from the legislature.

Kahn said she was approached by the Texas Medical Association to assist them in conducting this survey as part of their efforts to assess educational needs related to HPV vaccination among Texas physicians. Kahn and colleagues surveyed 1,122 physicians.

Of the respondents, 48.5 percent said they always recommend the HPV vaccine to girls, 68.4 percent said they were likely to recommend the vaccine to boys and 41.7 percent agreed with mandated vaccination.

When the researchers assessed the predictors of vaccine recommendation, they found that those in an academic vs. non-academic practice were more than twice as likely to recommend the vaccine. Those who considered professional organizations or professional conferences an important source of information were almost twice as likely to recommend the vaccine than those who did not consider these sources valuable.

"Most physicians are aware of the vaccine and what it prevents, but they may lack knowledge about issues of safety and how to address parental concerns. That may be making them reluctant to deliver the vaccine," said Kahn.

Although the study population was limited to Texas, Kahn said she believes that the views expressed by these physicians could be representative of physicians across the country. Nationally, vaccine rates for 11- to 12-year-old girls are between 6 percent and 25 percent.

"Physicians train all across the country using more or less the same curriculum, so as a group they tend to be fairly homogenous in their beliefs," said Kahn.

Sally Vernon, Ph.D., director of the Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences in the University of Texas School of Public Health, said this study points to the need to further educate physicians about the HPV vaccine.

"Physicians are the gatekeepers for this vaccine and the studies have shown that one of the most important predictors of health behavior is what your physician recommends," said Vernon, who is also an editorial board member of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Additional Materials:

Jessica Kahn, M.D., M.P.H.
Sally Vernon, Ph.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Women Often Opt to Surgically Remove Their Breasts, Ovaries to Reduce Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Commonality of surgery increases with greater risk of cancer
• Some women choose surgery as far as seven years after genetic risk testing
• Age influences patient's decision to undergo mastectomy, oophorectomy

PHILADELPHIA - Many women at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer are choosing to undergo surgery as a precautionary measure to decrease their cancer risk, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Women have their breasts or ovaries removed based on their risk. It does not always happen immediately after counseling or a genetic test result and can take more than seven years for patients to decide to go forward with surgery," said lead researcher D. Gareth Evans, M.D. Evans is a consultant in clinical genetics at the Genesis Prevention Center, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Trust and a professor at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

Evans and colleagues assessed the increase in risk-reduction surgery among women with breast cancer and evaluated the impact of cancer risk, timing and age.

Rate of increase was measured among 211 women with known unaffected BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are hereditary gene mutations that indicate an increased risk for developing breast cancer. Additionally, more than 3,500 women at greater than 25 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer without mutations also had a documented increase in risk-reduction surgery.

Women who had a biopsy after undergoing risk evaluation were twice as likely to choose a risk-reducing mastectomy. Forty percent of the women who were mutation carriers underwent bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy; 45 percent had bilateral risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (surgical removal of ovaries). These surgeries are widely used by carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations to reduce the risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Evaluated by gene type, bilateral risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy was more common in women who were BRCA1 gene carriers - 52 percent had the surgery compared with 28 percent of the women who were BRCA2 gene carriers.

"We found that older women were much less likely to have a mastectomy, but were more likely to have their ovaries removed," said Evans.

Most of the women, specifically those aged 35 to 45 years, opted for surgery within the first two years after the genetic mutation test, but some did not make a decision until seven years later.

"This is a very interesting study. It fleshes out some of what we know about adoption of risk reduction strategies in high-risk women who have participated in a very comprehensive and well thought-out genetic counseling, testing and management program," said Claudine Isaacs, M.D., an associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers have a very high lifetime risk of cancer, and for BRCA1 carriers there are unfortunately no clearly proven non-surgical prevention strategies, according to Isaacs. These women face a 50 to 85 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer, and mastectomy is currently the most effective prevention method available.

The findings confirm the expectations that when a woman has a biopsy, even if benign, most are more likely to opt for risk-reduction surgery.

"Screening should be conducted at a place with expertise in an effort to minimize false-positive results, which often lead to biopsy. This will minimize the anxiety that comes along with such a diagnosis. Patients should consult with an expert in advance and stay in contact with them to see how the science may be changing over time," she advised. "This is an ongoing conversation that needs to be addressed and individualized for each patient."

Likewise, Evans suggested that additional studies are needed to help evaluate the communication efforts and methods between doctors and/or counselors and women at risk for breast cancer. Questions to be raised should include how is the communication method occurring, are the doctors sympathetic and is there an ongoing dialogue?

"Careful risk counseling does appear to influence women's decision for surgery although the effect is not immediate," the researchers wrote.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

Download photos of the researchers through the links below:

D. Gareth Evans, M.D.
Claudine Isaacs, M.D. (Photo by Phil Humnicky/Georgetown)

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

The Way You Eat May Affect Your Risk for Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Method of restricting calories is important in tumor prevention
• Periods of restriction provide protection
• Calorie restriction alters hormone levels, influences cancer risk

PHILADELPHIA - How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue.

Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results to date have been mixed. New findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest the method by which calories are restricted may be more important for cancer protection than the actual overall degree of calorie restriction.

"Understanding how calorie restriction provides protection against the development of mammary tumors should help us identify pathways that could be targeted for chemoprevention studies," said Margot P. Cleary, Ph.D., professor at the Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota. "Further identification of serum factors that are involved in tumor development would possibly provide a way to identify at risk individuals and target interventions to these people."

Previous studies have shown that intermittent calorie restriction provided greater protection from mammary tumor development than did the same overall degree of restriction, which was implemented in a chronic fashion. The researchers compared changes of a growth factor (IGF-1) in relationship to these two calorie restriction methods - chronic and intermittent - and tumor development beginning in 10-week old female mice at risk to develop mammary tumors. Their hope was to explain why intermittent restriction is more effective.

The overall degree of restriction was 25 percent reduction compared to control mice. Mammary tumor incidence was 71 percent in the control mice who ate the amount of food they wanted, 35 percent among those who were chronically restricted and only nine percent in those who intermittently restricted calories.

The researchers were initially surprised by these findings for several reasons. First, the prevailing wisdom is that the degree of protection from calorie restriction is proportional to the degree of mammary tumor prevention. Second, they originally thought that intermittent calorie restriction might enhance tumor growth due to growth factors being secreted in response to re-feeding, Cleary said.

In an accompanying editorial also published in Cancer Prevention Research, Michael Pollak, M.D., stated that some major challenges of pharmacologic approaches to cancer prevention and/or treatment include defining the underlying causes and determining the relevance of these caloric restriction methods. Pollak is professor of oncology at McGill University and director of the Cancer Prevention Center at the Jewish General Hospital, both in Montreal.

This study "contributes to accumulating evidence that caloric restriction acts by altering hormone levels rather than by directly starving cancers of energy. In particular, lower levels of insulin are associated with reduced food intake, and this may be protective," said Pollak, who is also an editorial board member for Cancer Prevention Research.

In the editorial Pollak wrote: "there is reason for concern that the ‘obesity epidemic' may lead to an increased prevalence of a hormonal profile associated with elevated cancer risk and/or an adverse cancer prognosis. Therefore, in addition to its well-known general health benefits, maintaining an ideal body weight is also important in the specific contexts of cancer prevention and improving the prognosis of cancer patients."

Based on varied findings from clinical trials, Pollak suggested that lifestyle and pharmacologic methods to reduce IGF-1 and insulin deserve ongoing investigations. Cleary agreed, stating that these results may provide interest to more aggressively pursue cancer prevention studies related to calorie restriction.

"Humans frequently regain lost weight discouraging the application of calorie restriction protocols for disease prevention," she said. "We hope these studies will identify biomarkers and/or pathways that could be used in human studies to determine agents that would mimic calorie restriction."

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Prevention Research RSS feed

Download researcher photos through the following links:
Margot P. Cleary, Ph.D.
Michael Pollak, M.D.

Note: PDF of the study and an editorial are available on request.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

AACR Hosts Scientific Teleconference for Media Professionals

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - Scientists around the world are on the cusp of breakthroughs in cancer research that will soon translate into the clinic and provide the tools doctors need to curb the burden of cancer.

Members of the American Association for Cancer Research are at the forefront of these groundbreaking research efforts. AACR hosted an educational teleconference with leading experts on microRNA, personalized medicine and progress in the cancer genome on August 4, 2009 (recording of the teleconference available below.) The panelists and discussion topics were as follows:

Tyler Jacks, Ph.D.: "MicroRNAs: Controlling Behavior in Cancer Cells"
President of the American Association for Cancer Research
Director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT

MicroRNAs are molecules produced in cells that have the ability to control the activity of multiple genes simultaneously and assess their behavior. This could mean breakthroughs in our ability to diagnose cancer accurately and early, and could potentially lead to effective biologic therapy.

Diagnosis with microRNA allows scientists to profile a cancer and properly subdivide it to better understand how microRNA is contributing to genetic malfunctioning that allows cancer to develop.

These microRNAs, and by extension all small RNAs, have therapeutic potential. Early pre-clinical research has shown that microRNAs easily travel to the liver, creating potential treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma or cancers that spread to the liver.

Clinical trials of small RNAs as therapy, which may be reported within the next year, will need to focus on how best to deliver these biologics to other tumor sites.

AACR Background Materials:

Cell Cycle Regulation by MicroRNAs in Embryonic Stem Cells
Yangming Wang and Robert Blelloch
Cancer Res 2009 69: 4093-4096.
doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-0309
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/10/4093

MicroRNA Silencing in Primates: Towards Development of Novel Therapeutics
Andreas Petri, Morten Lindow, and Sakari Kauppinen
Cancer Res 2009 69: 393-395.
doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-2749
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/2/393

MicroRNAs and cancer: past, present, and potential future
Kristen M. Nelson and Glen J. Weiss
Mol Cancer Ther December 2008 7:3655-3660 doi:10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-08-0586
http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/7/12/3655.full

Additional Background Materials:

Therapeutic microRNA delivery suppresses tumorigenesis in a murine liver cancer model.
Kota J, Chivukula RR, O'Donnell KA, Wentzel EA, Montgomery CL, Hwang HW, Chang TC, Vivekanandan P, Torbenson M, Clark KR, Mendell JR, Mendell JT.
Cell. 2009 Jun 12;137(6):1005-17.

Suppression of non-small cell lung tumor development by the let-7 microRNA family.
Kumar MS, Erkeland SJ, Pester RE, Chen CY, Ebert MS, Sharp PA, Jacks T.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Mar 11;105(10):3903-8. Epub 2008 Feb 28.

Jacks' research focuses on the genetic events that contribute to the development of cancer. He is a recent recipient of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Amgen Award and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.

Ingo K. Mellinghoff, M.D.: "Personalized Medicine: Greater Efficacy Through Better Understanding"
Assistant Professor in the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Personalized medicine is the cutting edge and future of cancer treatment as scientists continue to learn more about the basic biology of tumor growth and develop therapies to target a tumor's unique characteristics.

Although it is unlikely that personalized medicine will ever reach the point where each patient has completely individualized treatment, our biological knowledge continues to transform the way we think about tumor types. Breast cancer, for example, is no longer a single disease but three separate diseases with distinctive prognoses and treatment strategies.

Recent research in personalized medicine has given us promising results with EGF inhibitors in lung cancer, B-Raf inhibitors in melanoma and inhibitors in ovarian and breast cancer.

More is on the horizon with PI 3-kinase and AKT inhibitors for a myriad of cancers. Increased knowledge of how these agents work on different tumor types with specific molecular features will increase scientist's ability to get these drugs to the clinic and increase their efficacy.

AACR Background Materials:

Emerging Biomarkers and New Understanding of Traditional Markers in Personalized Therapy for Breast Cancer
Mitch Dowsett and Anita K. Dunbier
Clin Cancer Res 2008 14: 8019-8026
doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-0974
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/14/24/8019

Advances in Breast Cancer: Pathways to Personalized Medicine
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Tatyana A. Grushko, Rita Nanda, and Dezheng Huo
Clin Cancer Res 2008 14: 7988-7999
doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-1211
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/14/24/7988

Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D.: "The Cancer Genome: A Revolution in Knowledge"
Professor of Pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School

Cancer is a disease of the genome. It is caused by changes in DNA sequence, the number of copies of specific sequences, and the structure of the genome (where these gene sequences are located relative to one another).

Advances in genome technology and the advent of large-scale cancer genome projects offer the promise of discovering all cancer causing genome alterations. Scientists often refer to Moore's law, which claimed computing power would double every 24 months. However, the progress in biology and genome technology is now much faster, almost a quadrupling or even a 10-fold increase every year.

Recently, there have been breakthroughs in identifying alterations of the ALK gene in lung cancer and in neuroblastoma, a common form of pediatric cancer, which will allow scientists to target this gene and ultimately treat these diseases. The advancements in The Cancer Genome Atlas have also allowed scientists to identify mutations in the PI 3-kinase pathway.

The future will allow cancer experts to map the genome of an entire cancer, as has been done already for several leukemias, glioblastomas and ovarian cancers - the latter in The Cancer Genome Atlas. This whole genome sequencing will also allow for the diagnosis of every cancer on a genetic level.

AACR Background Materials:

Somatic Mutations of the Protein Kinase Gene Family in Human Lung Cancer
Helen Davies, Chris Hunter, Raffaella Smith, et al.
Cancer Res 2005 65: 7591-7595
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/65/17/7591

A Hypermutation Phenotype and Somatic MSH6 Mutations in Recurrent Human Malignant Gliomas after Alkylator Chemotherapy
Chris Hunter, Raffaella Smith, Daniel P. Cahill, et al.
Cancer Res 2006 66: 3987-3991
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/66/8/3987

Additional Background Materials:

Stratton MR, Campbell PJ, Futreal PA. The cancer genome. Nature. 2009 Apr 9;458(7239):719-24. Review. PubMed PMID: 19360079.

Meyerson's research focuses on identifying and understanding the genomic alterations that cause human cancers, with a particular focus on lung cancer. He recently received a Career Investigator Award from the American Lung Association.

Download photos of the scientists:

Tyler Jacks, Ph.D.
Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D.

Multimedia:

Listen to the teleconference:

Download a mp3 recording* of the teleconference (8.38 MB, 36:38 minutes).

*On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0622
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

# # #

Nanoparticle-delivered "Suicide" Genes Slowed Ovarian Tumor Growth

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Potential late-stage ovarian cancer therapy; currently none available
• Diphtheria-encoding genes delivered to tumor site by nanoparticles
• Laboratory research; possible human trials about 18 months away

PHILADELPHIA - Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Although early stage ovarian cancer can be treated with a combination of surgery followed by chemotherapy, there are currently no effective treatments for advanced ovarian cancer that has recurred after surgery and primary chemotherapy. Therefore, the majority of treated early stage cancers will relapse.

"This report is definitely a reason to hope. We now have a potential new therapy for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer that has promise for targeting tumor cells and leaving healthy cells healthy," said lead researcher Janet Sawicki, Ph.D., a professor at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research.

Sawicki and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of a cationic biodegradable beta-amino ester polymer as a vector for the nanoparticle delivery of a DNA encoding diphtheria toxin suicide gene. These nanoparticles were injected into mice with primary or metastatic ovarian tumors.

To test the efficacy of this technique, the researchers measured tumor volume before and after treatment. They found that while treated tumors increased 2-fold, this was significantly less than the between 4.1-fold and 6-fold increase in control mice.

Furthermore, four of the treated tumors failed to grow at all, while all control tumors increased in size. Administration of nanoparticles to three different ovarian cancer mouse models prolonged lifespan by nearly four weeks and suppressed tumor growth more effectively, and with minimal non-specific cytotoxicity, than in mice treated with clinically relevant doses of cisplatin and paclitaxel.

Edward Sausville, M.D., Ph.D., an associate editor of Cancer Research and associate director for clinical research at the Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland, said this report illustrates significant progress in targeted therapy.

"In oncology we have been studying ways to kill tumors for a long time, but much of this has run up against the real estate principle of location, location, location," he said. "In other words, an effective therapy is not effective if it cannot get to the target."

Sausville said a major accomplishment of this research is the multiple ways it can target ovarian cancer cells, as scientists were able to deliver diphtheria toxin genes, using a nanoparticle, to the actual tumor site (peritoneum) with a basis for selective activity in the cancer cells (how the toxin genes were regulated once inside the cells).

"A real plus of a cancer therapy like this is not just the functionality of the nanoparticle construct molecule, but the ability to deliver the toxin to the tumor cells," said Sausville, who agrees that inception of clinical trials could be just 18 months away.

Additional Resources:

Download a video interview with lead researcher Janet Sawicki, Ph.D. (requires Quicktime to view).

View the video below:

Download photos of the researchers above through the following links:
- Janet Sawicki, Ph.D.
- Edward Sausville, M.D., Ph.D.

Learn more about nanotechnology through a podcast from CR, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.
Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS feed

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

HPV Infection May Be Linked to Poor Head and Neck Cancer Survival Rates in African Americans

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

American Association for Cancer Research Hosts Press Conference on New Study

(View additional multimedia resources below.)

PHILADELPHIA - A groundbreaking study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests that having the human papillomavirus (HPV) improves survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Furthermore, African Americans had far less HPV infection than whites, which led to worse survival.

"There is currently no consensus on why blacks fare worse with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck than whites, but this is the first clue that it may be biologic rather than related to issues of access, insurance or provider attitudes," said senior author Kevin Cullen, M.D., director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Cullen's research showed that median overall survival was more than threefold higher for whites (70.6 months) than for African Americans (20.9 months) who were treated with chemotherapy and radiation. When the researchers examined patients by HPV status, they found that HPV-negative patients had a median survival of 26.6 months, while the survival rate for HPV-positive patients could not be calculated because most were still alive.

Overall, 4 percent of African American patients and 34 percent of white patients were HPV positive. Cullen said the survival difference was entirely due to HPV status, as survival rates were similar among HPV-negative patients.

Scott Lippman, M.D., chair of the Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and editor-in-chief of Cancer Prevention Research called the study "practice changing."

"Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is one of the fastest growing cancers, and this study gives us a new way to assess prognosis for our patients," said Lippman.

The American Association for Cancer Research hosted a teleconference to report and discuss these findings on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. The following preeminent scientists participated in the press conference (click on the links below to download high resolution photos of the panelists):

Scott Lippman, M.D.
Professor and Chair - Dept. of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Editor-in-Chief, Cancer Prevention Research

Kevin Cullen, M.D.
Director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center
University of Maryland

Otis Brawley, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
American Cancer Society

Martin Blaser, M.D.
Professor and Chairman in the Department of Medicine
New York University Langhorne Medical Center

Additional Resources:

Listen to a recording of the teleconference.
Learn more about race and cancer mortality through a podcast from CR Magazine, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.
Read the journal article.
Read the perspective by Otis Brawley, M.D..
Subscribe to the Cancer Prevention Research RSS feed
Download a video interview with lead researcher and panelist Kevin Cullen, M.D. (requires Quicktime to view).
View the video below:

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

AACR Plans Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in 2015

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research announced today that it will hold its 106th Annual Meeting in its home city of Philadelphia. Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer, made the announcement with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

"This is a very exciting piece of news for Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Convention Center," said Nutter. "The American Association for Cancer Research is a world-leading cancer research organization, headquartered right here. I am thrilled that the AACR decided to ‘bring it home' to Philadelphia in 2015."

The Annual Meeting will be held in the newly renovated and expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center, which is expected to be completed in 2011.

"As a Philadelphia native, I am proud that the American Association for Cancer Research is bringing its Annual Meeting to our hometown," said Foti. "The beautifully expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center will have a lot to offer the 20,000 scientists and other professionals who gather every year to discuss cutting-edge breakthroughs in cancer research. We look forward to 2015."

The AACR last held its Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in 1999 where it drew approximately 12,000 scientists and other professionals. As one of the largest scientific meetings in the world, the AACR Annual Meeting is expected to draw 20,000 attendees who will fill 30,000 hotel room nights, stimulating an estimated $41 million in economic impact for Philadelphia.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
267-646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Mathematical Modeling Predicts Response to Herceptin

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Amount of PTEN protein predicts resistance
• Revolutionary mathematical modeling increases accuracy

PHILADELPHIA - Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new paper in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.

Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D., scientific director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a senior editorial board member of Cancer Research, said the potential of mathematical oncology is nothing short of revolutionary. These landmark papers now have a potential forum in the Mathematical Oncology section of Cancer Research, whose wide readership will help the new results reach the clinic.

"Computational power has reached the point where models that could previously only be used to predict weather patterns, space travel or the effect of nuclear explosions can now be used in the clinic to estimate the impact of certain drugs," said Merajver.

The current paper, which was carried out at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit Edinburgh and led by Dana Faratian, M.D., a clinical lecturer in pathology at the University of Edinburgh, examined the role of PTEN protein expression on resistance to Herceptin. PTEN is a protein that acts as a tumor suppressor gene.

"Herceptin has benefited thousands of women with HER2 positive breast cancer, but only a third to half of patients treated with this agent respond," said Faratian. "We need to know which patients will or won't respond to treatment and this research is a step towards realising that aim."

For the current study, Faratian and colleagues built a mathematical model that used 56 differential equations to analyze the change in concentrations of 56 separate biological entities including proteins and lipid second messengers.

Researchers worked with 122 breast cancers treated with Herceptin and found that quantitative PTEN protein expression was a key determinant of who would be resistant or sensitive to Herceptin.

Furthermore, using the mathematical modeling techniques, the absence of PTEN was more predictive than could be determined using standard multivariate or laboratory analysis.

"This paper is a major step forward because as revolutionary as Herceptin has been, there are many patients who fail. This helps us understand why and it would not have been possible without the new mathematical techniques," said Merajver.

Additional Resources:

Use the following links to download photos of the researchers:

Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D.
Dana Faratian, M.D.

Subscribe to the Cancer Research RSS feed

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Circulating Blood Cells are Important Predictors of Cancer Spread in Children

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Circulating blood cells higher in pediatric patients with metastatic disease
• Endothelial cells most likely play a role in the development of cancer
• Rare cells detected in adult cancer patients important in pediatric cancers

PHILADELPHIA - Endothelial progenitor cells may play a role in the start and progression of metastatic disease in children with cancer, according to study results published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"This is the first study to measure circulating endothelial cells and endothelial progenitor cells in children with cancer, which can provide insight as to the biology of their tumor vessels," said researcher Françoise Farace, Ph.D., director of the department of biology of circulating cells in the translational research laboratory, Institut Gustave Roussy, France.

"Not only were these cells found in higher levels in patients compared to healthy volunteers, but endothelial progenitor cells were found in strikingly higher amounts in patients with metastatic disease," Farace said.

Circulating endothelial cells are rare cells that shed from the lining of blood vessels after vascular damage. Both circulating endothelial cells and their precursors, endothelial progenitor cells, have been described in previous studies, but mainly in the context of cardiovascular disease.

Farace and colleagues measured circulating mature endothelial cells and bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells in pediatric patients with solid tumors. They collected blood from 23 patients with localized disease, 22 patients with metastatic disease and 20 healthy participants and measured subsets of circulating cells.

While the researchers were not surprised to detect circulating endothelial cells and endothelial progenitor cells in pediatric patients, they were surprised to find these cell levels were significantly higher in patients with metastatic disease compared to levels found in healthy participants.

"This implies that these endothelial cells most likely play a role in the development of cancer in children," Farace said. "We also observed a large range of cell levels in patients with various tumor types. In some cases, very high levels were observed, which means that their role may be very important."

Preclinical studies have shown that these cells play a pivotal role in the initiation of metastasis or the spread of disease in mice; however, their association with metastatic spread has never been demonstrated in humans until now.

"Understanding the process of tumor vessel development in pediatric cancers is of utmost importance as pediatric patients are in dire need of new treatment strategies including those which could target tumor vessels," said researcher Melissa Taylor, M.D., pediatrician and doctoral student in the translational research laboratory, Institut Gustave Roussy, France.

Additional studies are needed in larger study populations to confirm that endothelial progenitor cells are implicated in metastasis. If confirmed, these cells could potentially be measured in patients to allow for early detection of metastatic disease and could be targeted by new drugs to prevent the spread of cancer, according to the researchers.

"This study is very interesting. It demonstrated that these rare cells detected in the blood of adult cancer patients are also important in pediatric cancers," said James L. Abbruzzese, M.D., F.A.C.P., chairman of the department of gastrointestinal medical oncology, M.G. and Lillie A. Johnson chair for cancer treatment and research and professor of medicine at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. He is also a deputy editor of Clinical Cancer Research.

One challenge with this study Abbruzzese pointed out is defining the characteristics of these cells, which may be more difficult to accomplish in a pediatric population because drawing a large volume of blood is not an easy task.

"Understanding these vascular precursor cells and seeing the changes over time may represent a real strategy for helping to identify drugs that might work in the pediatric population," he said. "Insights as to which patients are likely to develop metastases may help us to identify a subset of patients that require more extensive therapy."

Taylor believes these study results may potentially open new research strategies, which may take into account the study of circulating endothelial cells and progenitor cells in pediatric patients.

"Monitoring of these cells in larger and more homogenous study populations will help us understand the biology of tumor vessels and subsequently tumor growth in these diseases," she said.

Additional Resources:

Use the following links to download photos of the researchers:

Françoise Farace, Ph.D.
Melissa Taylor, M.D.
James L. Abbruzzese, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Subscribe to the Clinical Cancer Research RSS feed

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Link Between Migraines and Reduced Breast Cancer Risk Confirmed in Follow-Up Study

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Migraines associated with reduced breast cancer risk
• Risk did not differ based on a woman's age
• Migraine triggers irrelevant

PHILADELPHIA - The relationship between migraine headaches in women and a significant reduction in breast cancer risk has been confirmed in a follow-up study to landmark research published last year. Results of this new study showed a 26 percent reduced risk of breast cancer among premenopausal and postmenopausal women with a clinical diagnosis of migraines.

The study appears in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., led the first-of-its-kind study linking migraines with breast cancer risk reduction, which was published in the same journal last November. Li is a breast-cancer epidemiologist and associate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Public Health Sciences Division, in Seattle.

This time, Li and colleagues found that the risk reduction remained statistically similar regardless of a woman's menopausal status, her age at migraine diagnosis, use of prescription migraine medications or whether she avoided known migraine "triggers" such as alcohol consumption, smoking and taking hormone replacement. These triggers are also well-established breast cancer risk factors.

Some key differences between this study and the initial one in which Li and colleagues discovered the link include:

• The sample size was more than four times larger this time - more than 4,500 cases and controls versus about 1,000 each in the first study - and was more diverse geographically, drawing women from five metropolitan areas instead of only one. "From an epidemiological perspective, having a larger and more diverse study in its underlying population helps in replicating the finding," said Li.

• The age range of women studied was wider this time, 34 to 64 years of age versus 55 to 74 years of age. "We were able to look at whether this association was seen among both premenopausal and postmenopausal women," he said. "In breast cancer this is relevant because there are certain risk factors that are different between older and younger women. We saw the same reduction in breast cancer risk associated with a migraine history regardless of age."

• Researchers were able to ascertain whether women in the study had lifestyle behaviors that are known migraine triggers - alcohol consumption, smoking and taking hormone replacement therapy. They posited that perhaps women who had migraines drank and smoked less and didn't take hormone replacements. "In this study we looked at women who never drank, never smoked and who also didn't use hormones and found the same association within each of those groups, suggesting that the association between migraine and reduced breast cancer risk may be independent of those other factors and may stand alone as a protective factor," said Li.

What remains unknown is why migraines are associated with lower breast cancer risk.

"We know that migraines are definitely related to hormones and that's why we started looking at this in the first place," said Li. "We have different ideas about what may be going on but it's unclear exactly what the biological mechanisms are."

In the meantime, research on migraines and breast cancer continues. Li and colleagues are conducting a follow-up investigation among the women in the first study to determine the types, timing, intensity and severity of their migraines in hopes that the data may elicit additional clues.

Joanne F. Dorgan, Ph.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, said that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are frequently used to treat migraine and these drugs have been associated with lower breast cancer risk in some studies. Additional research is needed to clarify the effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use on the observed association between migraines and breast cancer.

"Estrogen and progesterone are neurosteroids, and investigations into neuroendocrine pathways in relationship to breast cancer risk might also prove to be fruitful," said Dorgan, who is also an editorial board member of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

Download photos of the researchers above through the following links:

Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Joanne F. Dorgan, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Two Reproductive Factors are Important Predictors of Death from Ovarian Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Greater number of lifetime ovulations linked to higher risk of death
• Earlier age of menarche increases risk of death

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.

This finding suggests that hormonal activity over the course of a woman's lifetime may influence the prognosis after an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Results of this study are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Results of previous studies indicated that fewer lifetime ovulatory cycles, higher parity, oral contraceptive use, hysterectomy and tubal ligation are associated with decreased risk of developing this form of cancer, according to the researchers. However, little is known about the influence of these factors on a patient's survival after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Cheryl L. Robbins, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the CDC, and colleagues sought to explore whether these reproductive factors influence ovarian cancer survival.

"Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality in women. It accounts for more deaths than any other gynecologic cancer," said Robbins, also a researcher on the study. "Although we have relatively good knowledge about the influence of reproductive factors on the risk of developing ovarian cancer, knowledge is rather limited regarding the reproductive factors that may influence survival after diagnosis with this serious disease."

Robbins and colleagues conducted a longitudinal analysis of 410 women, aged 20 to 54 years. All participants were previously enrolled in the 1980-1982 Cancer and Steroid Hormone (CASH) study as incident ovarian cancer cases.

After a follow-up of about 17 years, 221 women died; findings showed that overall 15-year survival among the study population was 48 percent. Lifetime ovulatory cycle and age at menarche were two factors that played a key role in predicting death from ovarian cancer.

Women with the most lifetime ovulatory cycles had poorer survival compared with those who had fewer lifetime ovulatory cycles. Robbins explained that the number of lifetime ovulatory cycles a woman has is affected by her use of oral contraceptives, pregnancy and breastfeeding, all of which temporarily cause ovulation to cease and reduces the total number of cycles.

Furthermore, the researchers determined that those with the youngest age at menarche also had poorer survival. After diagnosis of ovarian cancer, participants whose menarche began before age 12 were more likely to die compared with those whose menarche began at age 14 or older.

"We now have evidence that higher numbers of lifetime ovulatory cycles may play a role in the development of ovarian cancer as well as the risk of death after being diagnosed with the disease," Robbins concluded.

This study points to some important future directions of research for better understanding the influence of reproductive factors on ovarian cancer survival.

Mary B. Daly, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Personalized Cancer Risk Assessment Program at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, said these results raise the question "can the amount and/or duration of reproductive hormones to which women are exposed affect the aggressiveness of ovarian cancer and/or its resistance to treatment, and if so, by what mechanism?"

"The significance of this paper is in suggesting new research directions, not in any immediate treatment changes," said Daly, who is also an editorial board member for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. "The next steps would be to study this association in a prospective study, then to characterize molecular and genetic profiles of ovarian tumors and compare these profiles among different levels of exposure to reproductive hormones."

There is a need for additional studies to examine reproductive factors in other populations, specifically among older women and those of various ethnicities, according to Robbins. Additionally, she suggested that studies examining the biologic properties of ovarian tumors among women with high lifetime ovulatory cycles may help to explain the relationship between number of ovulatory cycles and mortality.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

Learn more about ovarian cancer through a profile of Gilda Radnor from CR, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists:

America's Funny Girl

Download a photo of Dr. Robbins with the following link:

Cheryl L. Robbins, Ph.D.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Possible Benefit from Online Genetic Testing for Lung Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• People open to using online genetic tests
• Study suggests genetic testing may be beneficial, but many questions remain
• Smokers likely to take steps toward quitting after using genetic test

PHILADELPHIA - As scientists continue to decode the human genome and the information becomes publicly available, private companies that offer online genetic testing are multiplying. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health were concerned that perhaps these tests posed a risk.

They evaluated responses to an online test among smokers who did or did not have a common genetic variant associated with risk for lung cancer. The results, published in a recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, raise a new set of questions, but also allay some of the early concerns.

"Up until now we have had a clear model for genetic testing. You see a professional genetics counselor, undergo a battery of tests and that professional helps you interpret your results," said Saskia Sanderson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who completed the study while working at the Social and Behavioral Research Branch of the National Human Genome Research Institute of the NIH.

"That model is coming under increasing pressure as more and more genetic information is generated, and as a greater number of genetic tests become available on the internet," said Sanderson. "What we found was encouraging in that people who got these online genetic results recalled them correctly, and no one regretted having taken the test; though it is important to remember that this was a small group of select smokers and that others may respond differently."

Patients at higher risk genetically displayed short-term signs of decreased confidence that quitting smoking could reduce their risk of lung cancer, but scientists did note that all of those who took the test chose to receive at least one of several offered known smoking cessation aids.

"Genetic information is complex, and there is a risk that providing unfiltered information will result in heightened worry and misinterpretation of results," said Jamie Ostroff, Ph.D., chief of behavioral science services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and an editorial board member of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. "This pilot study found no harm in undergoing these tests and underscores the importance of conducting future research as to how to best educate smokers about gene-environment risks."

Scientists are reluctant to endorse the tests based on this one study, because the sample was limited to 44 individuals who were biologically related to people with lung cancer and who smoked. The online test assessed the presence or absence of the GSTM1 gene, the absence of which has been associated with a slightly increased lung cancer risk.

Exactly half of the smokers were missing GSTM1, thus presenting as higher risk and the other half had GSTM1 present. All the GSTM1 missing individuals correctly identified themselves as "higher risk." Of the GSTM1 present group, 55 percent accurately labeled themselves as "lower risk" while 41 percent interpreted their result as "average risk."
These patterns of accurate interpretation remained at six months, suggesting that these individuals retained the information.

Overall, the individuals taking this test found the results to be believable, trustworthy, easy to understand, relevant and important. At follow-up, no one regretted taking the test.

After taking the test, all of the smokers selected some sort of smoking cessation help with no difference between the higher risk or lower risk groups. Scientists agreed that regardless of the genetic test result, quitting smoking is the single most important step a smoker can take in preventing lung cancer and that a larger comparison study would be needed to determine if knowledge of genetic risk encourages an individual to quit smoking.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

Learn More about genetic testing and lung cancer through the article "Genetic Link to Lung Cancer" from CR Magazine, the AACR's publication for patients, survivors and scientists.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Metabolic Factors May Play a Role in Risk for Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Weight, diet and exercise affects chance of postmenopausal breast cancer
• Blood glucose, triglycerides, blood pressure levels significantly increased risk

PHILADELPHIA - Physiological changes associated with the metabolic syndrome may play a role in the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, according to study results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The metabolic syndrome, or insulin resistance syndrome, consists of a constellation of factors including abdominal obesity, high blood glucose levels, impaired glucose tolerance, abnormal lipid levels and high blood pressure.

Affecting roughly 47 million Americans, the metabolic syndrome is also associated with poor diet and lack of physical activity. It can also increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease.

The metabolic syndrome is characterized by elevated insulin levels, and in recent years scientists have proposed that insulin may contribute directly or indirectly to the development of breast cancer. Researchers suspect that the metabolic syndrome could influence the risk for breast cancer by affecting interrelated hormones, such as insulin, estrogen, cytokines and growth factors.

"This study suggests that having the metabolic syndrome itself or some of its components may increase a woman's risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. However, much more work is needed to understand the role of these metabolic factors and their interplay with better established breast cancer risk factors, such as reproductive and hormonal factors," said researcher Geoffrey C. Kabat, Ph.D., senior epidemiologist in the department of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.

Studies to date have evaluated individual components of the metabolic syndrome and breast cancer, with inconsistent results, according to Kabat. For the first time, Kabat and colleagues assessed whether women who met the criteria of having the metabolic syndrome were at greater risk for postmenopausal breast cancer.

In this longitudinal study, the researchers used existing data from the Women's Health Initiative - a large, national study designed to assess major causes of chronic disease in women. Participants included postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years at enrollment who had repeated measurements of components of metabolic syndrome over an eight-year period. These included blood levels of glucose, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as waist girth and blood pressure.

Results showed a modest positive association of having the metabolic syndrome as a whole, according to Kabat. Of the 4,888 women with baseline measurements who did not have diabetes, 165 incident cases of breast cancer were diagnosed during the follow-up period. Presence of the metabolic syndrome at baseline was not associated with breast cancer risk.

However, in analyses that made use of the repeated measurements, "women who had the metabolic syndrome during the three to five years prior to breast cancer diagnosis had roughly a doubling of risk," he said.

Findings also showed significant associations with elevated blood glucose levels, triglycerides and diastolic blood pressure. For diastolic blood pressure, the result was stronger, with more than a two-fold increased risk (relative risk = 2.4). Generally, for both triglycerides and glucose the relative risk was about 1.7 for all breast cancer.

"We know a great deal about breast cancer, but we can't identify who is likely to get it. The effect of different variables associated with increased glucose and insulin levels needs to be evaluated further in larger studies," Kabat said. "We need to deepen our understanding of these different interrelated behaviors and physiological factors to see how they affect breast cancer."

Tim Byers, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and interim director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, believes these findings are important because the results show possible mechanisms that might explain the observation that increased weight is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer.

"We have assumed that the relationship between weight and breast cancer risk is due to increased circulating estrogens among postmenopausal women who are overweight or obese," he said. "An alternative explanation is explored here: that some other aspect of the metabolic syndrome might be involved, such as growth-stimulating effects of insulin, or insulin-like growth factors."

Based on the results of this study, Byers stated that researchers now need to look more closely at dynamic changes in insulin over time, in factors tied to inflammation, and in the specific ways in which estrogen metabolism is tied to features of the metabolic syndrome.

"Though estrogens are produced in adipose tissues, just how these are metabolized in various subgroups of women needs better study," he said. "In addition, the hyper-inflammatory state of obesity and the metabolic syndrome need to be better described relative to cancer risk."

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention RSS feed

Learn More about diet and breast cancer through the following article from CR, the AACR's magazine for patients, survivors and scientists:

The Simple Life

Media Contact:

Tara Yates
tara.yates@aacr.org
267-646-0558

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Biomarkers Predict Brain Tumor’s Response to Therapy

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• MRI and blood biomarkers predict benefit of antiangiogenic therapy
• Greater blood vessel normalization associated with longer survival
• Patients with the 25 percent highest normalization lived about a year longer

PHILADELPHIA - A report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, highlights a new biomarker that may be useful in identifying patients with recurrent glioblastoma, or brain tumors, who would respond better to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, specifically cediranib.

Cediranib is a highly potent inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor tyrosine kinases. It is an investigational, oral agent that is administered once daily. Using a form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that looked at the mechanism of action of this agent, the researchers were able to determine, even as early as after a single dose of cediranib, those patients who benefited from the agent and those who did not.

"We found that results from an advanced MRI scan taken just a day after starting treatment correlated with survival. Combining MRI with blood biomarkers did an even better job of identifying patients who best responded to treatment," said researcher A. Gregory Sorensen, M.D., associate professor of radiology and health sciences and technology at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital. "If this approach is validated in larger studies, we could use these tools to keep patients on therapies that their tumors respond to, and shift non-responders to other therapies much earlier."

Sorensen and colleagues sought to find the potential biomarkers that could be used to predict those patients who would respond better from antiangiogenic therapy early in the course of treatment by use of MRI.

The researchers measured vascular normalization prior to and one day after patients' received cediranib using an advanced MRI technique. They performed blood analysis and examined correlations between vascular parameters and treatment response after a single dose of cediranib in 31 patients with recurrent glioblastoma; all biomarkers were measured in 28 patients.

"Vascular normalization is an important mechanism of how these drugs work in cancer patients," said Rakesh K. Jain, Ph.D., Andrew Werk Cook professor of tumor biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology in the department of radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston. Jain is also a researcher on this study.

The correlative analysis in this single arm, phase II study showed that those patients whose extent of vascular normalization was greater, had a longer duration of overall survival as well as progression-free survival, according to Jain. Median overall survival rate was 227 days; some patients lived for about two years and some lived less than two months.

"I was intrigued by the findings from this innovative trial, especially the fact that you could use separate biomarkers in combination to potentially predict the outcomes of patients," said Richard B. Gaynor, M.D., Ph.D., deputy editor of Cancer Research. Gaynor is the vice-president of cancer research at Eli Lilly and Company.

"This is really a severe disease and being able to determine response at such an early point is helpful to tailor treatment," he said. "If we can predict those responding to antiangiogenic therapy early on, we may be able to define where the benefit would be."

These findings need to be validated in larger, prospective studies. The researchers are currently conducting several studies based on these promising results in efforts to evaluate the benefits and prolonged survival of these patients.

One study is a phase III, randomized, multicenter, international trial that will compare patients treated with standard chemotherapy, those treated with cediranib, and those treated with a combination of the two to evaluate the effects and prolongation of life in all three cohorts. Approximately 300 patients are enrolled in this study, with enrollment halfway complete, according to Jain.

Another study, which just began enrollment, is a phase II, single-arm trial among patients who are newly diagnosed with glioblastoma. Researchers plan to evaluate treatment effects in patients treated with this agent combined with standard radiation and chemotherapy.

"We hope to develop biomarkers to help physicians and researchers know if a patient is responding; if they are not responding we can move them to a more effective therapy, if they are responding we can continue treatment, even if the treatment carries risks or side effects," Sorensen said.

Additional Resources:

Suscribe to the Cancer Research RSS feed

Learn more about angiogenesis and tumor growth through the following article from CR, the AACR's magazine for patients, survivors and scientists:

Targeting Cancer Through Its Roots

Media Contact:

Tara Yates
tara.yates@aacr.org
267-646-0558

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Green Tea May Affect Prostate Cancer Progression

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

• Phase II study showed effects of short-term green tea use on prostate cancer
• Green tea reduced incidence, progression of prostate cancer
• Right combination of polyphenols can slow prostate cancer growth

PHILADELPHIA - According to results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in green tea demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression.

"The investigational agent used in the trial, Polyphenon E (provided by Polyphenon Pharma) may have the potential to lower the incidence and slow the progression of prostate cancer," said James A. Cardelli, Ph.D., professor and director of basic and translational research in the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport.

Green tea is the second most popular drink in the world, and some epidemiological studies have shown health benefits with green tea, including a reduced incidence of prostate cancer, according to Cardelli. However, some human trials have found contradictory results. The few trials conducted to date have evaluated the clinical efficacy of green tea consumption and few studies have evaluated the change in biomarkers, which might predict disease progression.

Cardelli and colleagues conducted this open-label, single-arm, phase II clinical trial to determine the effects of short-term supplementation with green tea's active compounds on serum biomarkers in patients with prostate cancer. The biomarkers include hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and prostate specific antigen (PSA). HGF and VEGF are good prognostic indicators of metastatic disease.

The study included 26 men, aged 41 to 72 years, diagnosed with prostate cancer and scheduled for radical prostatectomy. Patients consumed four capsules containing Polyphenon E until the day before surgery - four capsules are equivalent to about 12 cups of normally brewed concentrated green tea, according to Cardelli. The time of study for 25 of the 26 patients ranged from 12 days to 73 days, with a median time of 34.5 days.

Findings showed a significant reduction in serum levels of HGF, VEGF and PSA after treatment, with some patients demonstrating reductions in levels of greater than 30 percent, according to the researchers.

Cardelli and colleagues found that other biomarkers were also positively affected. There were only a few reported side effects associated with this study, and liver function remained normal.

Results of a recent year-long clinical trial conducted by researchers in Italy demonstrated that consumption of green tea polyphenols reduced the risk of developing prostate cancer in men with high-grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN).

"These studies are just the beginning and a lot of work remains to be done, however, we think that the use of tea polyphenols alone or in combination with other compounds currently used for cancer therapy should be explored as an approach to prevent cancer progression and recurrence," Cardelli said.

William G. Nelson, V., M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology, urology and pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, believes the reduced serum biomarkers of prostate cancer may be attributable to some sort of benefit relating to green tea components.

"Unfortunately, this trial was not a randomized trial, which would have been needed to be more sure that the observed changes were truly attributable to the green tea components and not to some other lifestyle change (better diet, taking vitamins, etc.) men undertook in preparation for surgery," added Nelson, who is also a senior editor for Cancer Prevention Research. However, "this trial is provocative enough to consider a more substantial randomized trial."

In collaboration with Columbia University in New York City, the researchers are currently conducting a comparable trial among patients with breast cancer. They also plan to conduct further studies to identify the factors that could explain why some patients responded more dramatically to Polyphenon E than others. Cardelli suggested that additional controlled clinical trials should be done to see if combinations of different plant polyphenols were more effective than Polyphenon E alone.

"There is reasonably good evidence that many cancers are preventable, and our studies using plant-derived substances support the idea that plant compounds found in a healthy diet can play a role in preventing cancer development and progression," said Cardelli.

Additional Resources:

Subscribe to the Cancer Prevention Research RSS feed

Media Contact:

Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

AACR CEO Margaret Foti Receives Honorary M.D. from The University of San Pablo CEU

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

MADRID - The University of San Pablo CEU, a major academic and research institution in Madrid, Spain, today presented Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, with an honorary doctorate in medicine that recognizes her exceptional contributions to cancer research and leadership of the AACR, which have done so much to help those suffering from cancer.

"Margaret Foti exemplifies the social leadership and management needed worldwide for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Her tireless efforts on behalf of patients and scientists are now visible through the impressive resources that AACR is providing today to the international scientific community. Her years devoted to cancer research development and communication have inspired several generations of scientists to move forward to even greater heights, and we are proud to honor her with this degree," Fernando Vidal-Vanaclocha, M.D., professor at Basque Country University and pioneer of cancer metastasis research in Spain, said at today's ceremony.

Vidal-Vanaclocha presented Foti with the degree of M.D. honoris causa. The degree is the first of its kind given in the University's 75-year history.

From left to right: Fernando Vidal-Vanaclocha, M.D., professor at Basque Country University and pioneer of cancer metastasis research in Spain; Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.)., chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research; Alfonso Bullon de Mendoza, University Rector of the University of San Pablo CEU.

"Such awards in themselves have a special significance, but I personally believe that this is an honor that does justice to your exceptional work in the field of cancer research and to your leadership of an international organization, which has done so much to advance our knowledge about cancer diseases and, therefore, to help those suffering from cancer," said Vidal-Vanaclocha.

Foti had been notified of the degree by the Governing Council of the University chaired by Alfredo Dagnino and was sworn in as M.D. honoris causa by the University Rector Alfonso Bullon de Mendoza.

"I am deeply humbled by this extraordinary recognition of my work, and I want to thank the university for seeing fit to honor me," said Foti. "This honorary degree is recognition of the hard work of all our members around the world, as well as our AACR staff, all of whom are working hard every day to solve the problem of cancer, which is truly worldwide."

Foti said the global burden of cancer continues to increase by about one percent per year, with even greater increases in China, India and Russia.

"Cancer is expected to surpass cardiovascular disease as the number one cause of death worldwide in 2010, and global incidence of cancer has more than doubled in three decades," said Foti. "This rapid increase represents a crisis in public health, and there is an increasing sense of urgency worldwide for us to find solutions to the cancer problem."

The University of San Pablo CEU was founded 75 years ago to develop future leaders of Spanish society, and its alumni include ministers, heads of major national and international companies, writers, artists, academics and scientists. The university currently serves just over 7,000 students and has 890 faculty members.

Foti has been CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research since 1982. During her tenure, the membership has grown from 3,000 to more than 28,000 scientists residing in nearly 90 countries. She began her career as an editorial assistant for Cancer Research, the most highly cited cancer journal in the world and was rapidly promoted to managing editor. Under Foti's leadership as CEO, the AACR has launched five additional journals that together contribute approximately 20 percent of all peer reviewed cancer literature.

In addition, the AACR holds 20 meetings a year on timely scientific subjects and five educational workshops that train basic and clinical scientists. The AACR also facilitates programs on survivorship issues, plays a key role in science policy and is the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a groundbreaking cancer funding initiative.

The honorary degree she received today is Foti's third. In 2003, she received an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Rome La Sapienza, and in 2008 she received a second Honorary Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Catania in Sicily.

Foti has received many national and international awards for her contributions to cancer research: the Award of Appreciation from the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Chairpersons, the Award with Recognition and Appreciation from the Israel Cancer Association, the Italian League Against Cancer Commendation, the Distinguished Service Award from the George Washington University Medical Center's GW Cancer Institute, the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of American Cancer Institutes, the AACR Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research, the Ville de Paris Award, the Cina del Duca Award for raising public awareness of cancer globally, the Community Caring Award from the William S. Graham Foundation for Melanoma Research, and the Special Recognition Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Most recently, in March of this year, she received the first Margaret Kripke Legend Award from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Last month she was cited by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for her dedication to increasing awareness of the importance of cancer research.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Stand Up To Cancer Awards $73.6 Million for Novel, Groundbreaking Research

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

New York, NY / Los Angeles, CA: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the charitable initiative supporting groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated timeframe, has reached a significant milestone, awarding the first round of three-year grants — that total $73.6 million — to five multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research Dream Teams. The majority of these funds were raised in connection with an SU2C telecast on September 5, 2008 that aired simultaneously on the ABC, CBS and NBC networks. Today's announcement comes on the one-year anniversary of the launch of Stand Up To Cancer. SU2C's next round of funding — Innovative Research Grants for individual investigators — will be announced later this year.

"Recent advancements in basic science and in technologies have placed us on the cusp of important discoveries that can revolutionize the fight against cancer," said Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David H. Koch Institute at MIT. Sharp chairs the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) assembled by SU2C's scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), that reviewed Dream Team applications and made recommendations on funding to SU2C's Management Committee. "SU2C aims to capitalize on that progress and is pushing it forward at what will be an extraordinarily quick pace. The Dream Teams bring together leading laboratory scientists and physicians, collaborating in ways that are unprecedented with a laser-like focus on research that has enormous potential to help patients and save lives. The Stand Up To Cancer model could very well change the face of cancer."

Five SU2C Dream Team Grants

Each Dream Team's project, funded for three years pending satisfactory achievement of stated milestones, is "translational" in nature, geared toward moving science from "bench to bedside" where it can benefit patients as quickly as possible. SU2C's distinctive funding model was specifically designed to eliminate barriers that can inhibit creativity and collaboration, in part, by enabling scientists with different expertise from different institutions across the country - and in some cases, internationally - to work together. The five Dream Teams are comprised of 7 leaders, 4 co-leaders and 27 principal researchers from over 20 leading institutions, with more than 300 individuals participating in total. Each team will have at least two members from patient advocacy groups to ensure that the perspective of the patients and survivors they represent will be integrated into the research on an ongoing basis.

The teams are listed below in alphabetical order according to the name of the leaders, and they will pursue the following important topics:

"Bringing Epigenetic Therapy to the Forefront of Cancer Management" / Leader: Stephen B. Baylin, M.D., Deputy Director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Co-Leader: Peter A. Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc., Distinguished Professor of Urology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Southern California;

"Targeting the PI3K Pathway in Women's Cancers" / Leader: Lewis C. Cantley, Ph.D., Chief of the Division of Signal Transduction at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Co-Leaders: Charles L. Sawyers, M.D., Director of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Department of Systems Biology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center;

"An Integrated Approach to Targeting Molecular Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes and Their 'Resistance' Phenotypes" / Leaders: Joe W. Gray, Ph.D., Life Sciences Division Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Clinical/Translational Research at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center;

"Bioengineering and Clinical Applications of Circulating Tumor Cell Chip" / Leader: Daniel A. Haber, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center; Co-Leader: Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Harvard Medical School; and

"Cutting off the Fuel Supply: A New Approach to the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer" / Leaders: Craig B. Thompson, M.D., Director, Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., Senior Investigator and Physician in Chief at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

The projects address some of the most critical and promising areas of cancer research today. They will enable scientists to gain new understanding of the molecular pathways and genetic mutations that contribute to the causes of many cancers; to apply nanotechnology to isolate and analyze circulating tumor cells; to explore imaging approaches that could lead to "starving" tumors; to leverage the growing understanding of epigenetics to design targeted anticancer agents; and to explore new approaches to treating breast cancers, especially those resistant to current therapies. This unique translational research model focuses on the disease, drug targets and clinical development, combining research and clinical applications that have extraordinary potential for patients.

"For people struggling with this disease, or many of the 1.4 million Americans who will be diagnosed this year, scientific breakthroughs can literally be a matter of life or death," said Laura Ziskin, executive producer of the September 5th, 2008 broadcast, who is a cancer survivor and a member of the SU2C Executive Leadership Council (ELC). "Every single minute of every single day, we lose someone to cancer in this country. We urgently need more and better treatments, and we need everyone to support the scientists who are working so hard to develop more effective treatments. That, in a nutshell, is what Stand Up To Cancer is trying to facilitate."

Collectively, the research that will be done through the Dream Team projects could impact the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of cancers in adults and children across ethnicities including, but not limited to pancreatic, breast, ovarian, cervical, uterine, brain, lung, prostate, rectal and colon, which represent two thirds of all U.S. cancer deaths. (562,340 people are expected to die of cancer in the United States this year.) In the U.S. alone, one out of three women and one out of two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Worldwide, cancer kills almost eight million people annually.

The combined award of $73.6 million fulfills one of Stand Up To Cancer's key objectives: to assure that these translational research Dream Teams receive sufficient funding to see results within the three-year term of the grants.

On behalf of Stand Up To Cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will be responsible for administering the grants, including distributing the funds to the Dream Team leaders' institutions, developing methods of reporting and providing scientific oversight through program management and evaluation of progress during the funding period. AACR and the Scientific Advisory Committee will conduct periodic reviews to ensure that milestones and objectives are being satisfactorily achieved. Stand Up To Cancer is committed to ensuring that the funding process, as well as the outcomes of the projects, are transparent and that progress reports are made available to the public at www.su2c.org and www.aacr.org.

"The response of the scientific community to Stand Up To Cancer has been extraordinary," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of AACR. "It has been truly amazing to watch this bold new funding model, which was introduced just one year ago, grow into an unprecedented opportunity to move research forward for the benefit of cancer patients. The dedication and time commitment of our highly expert SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee have been quite remarkable and far beyond what is normally expected in a more standard research grant review process. Each and every one of AACR's 28,000 members is very proud to be a part of this significant and exhilarating undertaking in cancer research, which will help us accelerate our mission of curing cancer at the earliest possible time."

Dream Teams Selected Through Rigorous and Transparent Process

The Dream Team selection process began in July 2008 when AACR issued a call for research ideas. In response, Stand Up To Cancer received 237 submissions, representing thousands of researchers. All submissions were reviewed by the 20-member Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which includes highly accomplished basic scientists, physicians and patient advocates, chaired by Nobel Laureate Dr. Phillip A. Sharp and co-chaired by Drs. Arnold J. Levine and Brian J. Druker. The field was narrowed to 25 groups, then 16 and then eight. At that point, finalists were invited to submit full-blown research proposals.

The leaders of each of the eight finalist teams met in-person with the SAC to present the plans for their research, and respond to questions about their projects - a level of interaction between applicants and reviewers that is unique in a scientific review process. The SAC made recommendations for the further development of proposals, where needed, and in two instances (in pancreatic cancer and breast cancer) where two teams proposed related approaches to research, the SAC suggested that the teams combine their proposals to create the strongest potential for producing optimal research results.

The SAC's recommendations were reviewed and accepted by SU2C's Management Committee, and were then approved by the Entertainment Industry Foundation's (EIF) Board of Directors. Stand Up To Cancer is a program of EIF, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as a collective charitable organization for the television and film businesses.

SU2C As a Movement

"Stand Up To Cancer grew from two simple constructs: scientists need more money for research and easier ways to work together; and the entertainment industry has unique resources that can be called upon to help make every American aware that each and every one of us has a role to play in advancing cancer research," said Sherry Lansing, EIF Board Chair and a member of the SU2C Executive Leadership Council (ELC). "From the person who can give five dollars to the philanthropist who can give millions, we are all connected to the devastation that cancer causes in our families, and together, we can Stand Up to end it."

Whether through providing in-kind services or mobilizing an array of organizations and individuals to build awareness and generate contributions, the entertainment industry is working to rally the public to Stand Up To Cancer. "Today is Stand Up To Cancer's first birthday, and it's thrilling to announce that all these incredible researchers are about to collaborate on five projects that have so much potential to reduce the suffering caused by this insidious disease," said EIF CEO Lisa Paulsen, also a member of the SU2C ELC. "We are enormously grateful to CBS, ABC and NBC for donating the time for last year's telecast, which was the catalyst that set all of this in motion, and to the 100 celebrities who volunteered their time to help get people involved."

Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grants Fund Early Career Scientists

The SU2C Innovative Research Grants are an effort to support the next generation of extraordinary leaders in their quest to conquer cancer. These grants will provide up to $750,000 over a three-year term, and will be awarded to early-career scientists whose novel, high-risk, high-reward research proposals have significant potential for translational application, but are often not funded by conventional sources. 415 grant applications have been received, and it is anticipated that in this first round of Innovative Research Grants, 10 to 12 will be awarded later this year.

Stand Up To Cancer Garners Broad Support

Major League Baseball was the first major donor to contribute to Stand Up To Cancer. "Baseball is an integral part of our country's heritage, and it has been a privilege for Major League Baseball to join the Stand Up To Cancer community to help fight a disease that has in some way affected virtually every family in our country," said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. "We encourage our fans to get involved, to Stand Up and to become part of this groundbreaking effort to stop cancer."

Sidney Kimmel, the country's largest individual supporter of cancer research, who pledged $25 million to SU2C during last year's telecast, said, "SU2C's intense, goal-directed, team-oriented approach is the next, most important step in the evolution of cancer research. If the Dream Teams produce tangible results over these next three years, the Stand Up To Cancer research model will be a paradigm shift on how cancer research is funded and conducted."

Other major SU2C supporters include Amgen, AARP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Revlon, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, New York Giants, Milken Family Foundation, Philips Electronics, Steve Tisch, The Island Def Jam Music Group and many others. In addition to ABC, CBS and NBC, SU2C major media partners include AOL, Condé Nast Media Group, eBay Inc., Facebook, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Hearst Corporation, Los Angeles Times, Meredith Corporation, The New York Times Company, Time Inc and WebMD.

Individuals Participate in SU2C Through Online Community and Grassroots Activities

SU2C's robust online community, at www.SU2C.org, offers various ways for people to share opinions and support, view video updates, contribute, and learn of ongoing initiatives and progress in the fight against cancer. The scope of donation opportunities on the SU2C website ranges from naming a star in honor of a loved one to web team challenges that encourage collaborative fundraising efforts by groups of various sizes all over the country. A novel Facebook application enables users to share their personal connections to cancer. The online community provides ample opportunity to share SU2C's efforts via a variety of social media outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, AOL, myspace, youtube, flickr and several other sites that are accessible through the SU2C website. SU2C is implementing ongoing grassroots and community efforts, and is participating in national and regional events to raise awareness and funds.

About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative
The Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) movement raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. In the Fall of 2007, a group of women whose lives have all been affected by cancer in profound ways began working together to marshal the resources of the media and entertainment industries in the fight against the disease. The SU2C Executive Leadership Council (ELC) includes Laura Ziskin, executive producer of the September 5th broadcast, who is a cancer survivor; Sherry Lansing, who is the Chairperson of the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Board of Directors and founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation; EIF President and CEO Lisa Paulsen; Katie Couric; Noreen Fraser, founder of the Noreen Fraser Foundation (NFF) and a cancer survivor; EIF Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. Representatives of 24 patient advocacy groups are members of SU2C's Advocate Advisory Council. SU2C was formally launched on May 27, 2008.

About the AACR
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which consists of over 28,000 scientists in the fight against cancer, is the oldest and largest scientific organization in the world focusing on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research from the bench to the bedside. Lauded internationally for its scientific breadth, innovation and spread of new knowledge about cancer, the AACR is on the front lines in the quest for the prevention and cure of cancer.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), as a leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.

For additional information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit www.su2c.org

Media Contact:

Jeremy Moore
609-519-0212
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Non-media related Stand Up To Cancer questions: su2c@aacr.org

Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research Receives Citation from Philadelphia Mayor Nutter

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Who: Mayor Michael Nutter together with Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

What: The City of Philadelphia officially recognizes Dr. Foti for her many accomplishments and contributions to cancer research as well as her pivotal role in National Cancer Research Month.

Where: Philadelphia City Hall, 1600 Arch Street, Conversation Hall, Room 215

When: Wednesday, May 20th. The citation presentation began at 8:30 a.m.

Why: During her tenure as chief executive officer, Dr. Foti has been instrumental to the success of the AACR. Successfully promoting collaboration and innovation, under Dr. Foti's leadership, the AACR's membership has grown from 3,000 to more than 28,000 scientists residing in nearly 90 countries.

Dr. Foti is dedicated to increasing awareness of the importance of cancer research. In 2007, The United States Congress declared May National Cancer Research Month. Senate Resolution 394 and House Resolution 448 recognized the AACR for its focus on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research and for its role as the authoritative source of information and publications about cancer. Read Dr. Foti's remarks at the City of Philadelphia Proclamation event for more information.

City of Philadelphia Citation. For a larger size of the Citation, click on the image.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
609-519-0212
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org

AACR Opens Nominations for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Award

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The award recognizes a scientist who is no more than 50-years-old and who is conducting novel and significant work that has had or may have a far reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of breast cancer. Such work may involve any discipline in biomedical research including basic, translational, clinical and epidemiological studies.

Last year, the inaugural award went to Douglas Easton, Ph.D., director of the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge in England, for his work with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which has provided important risk assessment tools in breast cancer.

The award winner will receive $10,000 and deliver a 25-minute lecture at the 32nd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, to be held December 9-13, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas.

Deadline for nominations: May 15, 2009
For more information, contact: Monique P. Eversly at 267-646-0567 or monique.eversly@aacr.org or visit:www.aacr.org/scientificawards.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org

Leading Breast Cancer Meeting Opens Travel Scholarship Application Process

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium has opened the application process for travel scholarships to the 32nd Annual Meeting, which will be held December 9-13, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas.

The scholarships are designed to promote the education and professional development of early career scientists who are actively pursuing breast cancer research. Scholarships will be awarded based on the quality of a submitted abstract.

General abstract submission is open until June 15, 2009.

For more information and an application please visit: www.sabcs.org.

To be eligible for a scholarship a participant must:

Be a graduate student, medical student, resident, or clinical or postdoctoral fellow at an official training program at an academic institution;
Provide certificate of "in-training" status from the program director;
Be the presenting author of an abstract accepted for presentation at the 32nd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium;
Submit an application with the abstract; and
Register for and attend the symposium, and present the accepted abstract.

Scholarships are available in the following categories:

SABCS Clinical Scholars: For clinical scientists-in-training who are actively pursuing clinical or clinical/translational research in breast cancer
SABCS Basic Science Scholars: For laboratory-based investigators-in-training whose work focuses on the biology of breast cancer and preclinical models of its development and progression
Avon Foundation-AACR International Scholars: For abstract presenters traveling from countries with emerging economies
AACR Translational Research Scholars, Funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure: For presenters of highly rated abstracts focused on translational breast cancer research
AACR Minority Scholars, Funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure: For abstract presenters working within the United States and within minority groups that have been defined by the National Cancer Institute as being traditionally underrepresented in cancer and biomedical research including African Americans, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Native Americans and Native Pacific Islanders

# # #

The mission of the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and Baylor College of Medicine are joint sponsors of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This collaboration utilizes the clinical strengths of the CTRC and Baylor, and the AACR's scientific prestige in basic, translational and clinical cancer research to expedite the delivery of the latest scientific advances into the clinic. The 32nd Annual Symposium is expected to draw more than 8,500 participants from more than 80 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org

American Association for Cancer Research Hosts Successful 100th Annual Meeting in Denver

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research held its 100th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colo., in April and drew more than 15,000 people from all over the world to network and learn about the latest breakthroughs in scientific cancer research.

The economic impact on Denver and the surrounding area was approximately $26.7 million including $6 million on hotels and other lodging, $6 million on food and beverage and $5.5 million in direct costs paid by the AACR.

At 15,131 attendees, the 100th Annual Meeting was down slightly from the 2008 Annual Meeting in San Diego. However, Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the AACR, said the 2008 meeting was a record-breaking year that did not face the unique challenges of 2009.

"The American Association for Cancer Research was able to hold a phenomenally successful Annual Meeting in a climate of economic uncertainty where cancer institutes and corporations are cutting travel budgets significantly," said Foti. "This speaks to the value of what we offer each year to cancer scientists and others who are interested in furthering the important goal of the prevention and cure of cancer."

Although overall attendance this year was down 13 percent from the record-breaking 2008 meeting, attendance by members of the AACR, the largest category, was down by only 1 percent. Non-members, a smaller category of attendees, were down 10 percent, for a total reduction in scientific attendance of only 8 percent.

Despite the increased cost of international travel and the worldwide nature of the economic crisis, international attendance at the 100th Annual Meeting accounted for 23 percent of participants, which was an increase from the 20 percent international attendance at the 2008 Annual Meeting.

The largest reduction in attendance came in a category that the AACR deemed "other attendees," which included a 19 percent drop in exhibitor attendance. Foti said this is typical of other medical meetings being held at this time and reflects an economic climate of restricted travel budgets at major medical companies.

"Cancer knows no boundaries and cancer research is a worldwide endeavor. The American Association for Cancer Research continues to lead the world in cancer science and medicine as evidenced by the strong international interest in our Annual Meeting," said Foti.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org

AACR Applauds President Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., and Five Other Members for Election Into the National Academy of Sciences

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research congratulates six of its members, including AACR President Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., for being elected into the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

"It is wonderful to see our president and members honored by the National Academy of Sciences, and to have their outstanding contributions to cancer and biomedical science recognized by this prestigious organization," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research. "We are very proud that so many of our excellent AACR members have been chosen this year."

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. Election into the Academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded to a U.S. scientist or engineer.

Jacks is the director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the Koch professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He has played a vital role in several leadership positions at the AACR, and he currently serves as the AACR president for 2009-2010.

Jacks has received numerous accolades and awards, including the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.

The National Academy of Sciences elected 72 new members this month and 18 foreign associates from 15 countries. Five other AACR members were elected into the National Academy of Sciences:

Doug Hanahan, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, and member of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Rakesh K. Jain, Ph.D., Andrew Werk Cook professor of tumor biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology in the department of radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
V. Craig Jordan, O.B.E., Ph.D., D.Sc., Alfred G. Knudson Jr. chair of cancer research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia. Jordan is a trustee of the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer.
Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., deputy director of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
Harald zur Hausen, D.Sc., M.D., scientific director emeritus of the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Tara Yates
267-646-0558
tara.yates@aacr.org

Margaret Foti Receives Honorary Membership in Hungarian Cancer Society

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, was presented today with an honorary membership in the Hungarian Cancer Society, the oldest and largest cancer research organization in Eastern Europe.

"The cure of cancer will require international cooperation, and I am honored to be a member of this historic scientific society that has done so much important work for patients and survivors all over the world," said Foti.

The Hungarian Cancer Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007 and has over 1,400 members. Edith Olah, D.Sc., Ph.D., the immediate past-president of the society, presented Foti with the honorary membership at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009, held in Denver.

"Our friendship with Margaret Foti, a true cancer hero, has allowed us to grow and thrive," said Olah. "She is an outstanding leader with true empathy for patients and researchers worldwide. We are honored to have her in our organization."

As the head of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the National Institute of Oncology in Hungary, Olah has published groundbreaking research on the genetic predisposition to cancer in Hungarian populations, particularly the role of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in Central and Eastern European populations.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Walnuts May Prevent Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Walnut consumption may provide the body with essential omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at Marshall University School of Medicine, said that while her study was done with laboratory animals rather than humans, people should heed the recommendation to eat more walnuts.

"Walnuts are better than cookies, french fries or potato chips when you need a snack," said Hardman. "We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all manner of chronic diseases."

Hardman and colleagues studied mice that were fed a diet that they estimated was the human equivalent of two ounces of walnuts per day. A separate group of mice were fed a control diet.

Standard testing showed that walnut consumption significantly decreased breast tumor incidence, the number of glands with a tumor and tumor size.

"These laboratory mice typically have 100 percent tumor incidence at five months; walnut consumption delayed those tumors by at least three weeks," said Hardman.

Molecular analysis showed that increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids contributed to the decline in tumor incidence, but other parts of the walnut contributed as well.

"With dietary interventions you see multiple mechanisms when working with the whole food," said Hardman. "It is clear that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer."

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

"Smart Bomb" Drug Delivery May Increase Effectiveness

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Researchers may have found a way to combine imaging with chemotherapy in a single agent for the treatment of prostate cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

"It's like a smart bomb, to use a military analogy," said John P. Sedelaar, Ph.D., M.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University. "By retooling chemotherapy agents, we may be able to get more accurate treatment monitoring and follow-up."

Sedelaar said current clinical practice uses multimodality MRI to examine the urological system for diagnosing prostate cancer. This tool, however, is mostly thought of as a prostate imaging method, rather than a prostate cancer imaging method.

"An increasing number of patients have minimal prostate cancer, and opt for either very focused treatment or the watchful waiting approach," said Sedelaar. "In this environment, the need for an accurate imaging tool is paramount."

Sedelaar and colleagues designed two imaging drugs: a PSMA and a PSA-activated pro-drug. These agents are therapeutic drugs that are modified by adding a tyrosine ring for imaging.

Following administration into laboratory mice, researchers noted a measureable reduction in prostate cancer cells.

Experiments also showed that the imaging pro-drugs were cleaved and activated by PSMA or PSA, suggesting their viability as a prostate cancer imaging modality.

"Unfortunately, next to clear tumor uptake there was also uptake into liver and kidney organs. Further experiments will have to address that problem," said Sedelaar.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Charred Meat May Increase Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Meat cooked at high temperatures to the point of burning and charring may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said the finding was linked to consumption of well and very well done meats cooked by frying, grilling or barbecuing. Cooking in this way can form carcinogens, which do not form when meat is baked or stewed.

Anderson and colleagues conducted a prospective analysis that included 62,581 participants. "My research has been focused on pancreatic cancer for some time, and we want to identify ways to prevent this cancer because treatments are very limited and the cancer is often rapidly fatal," she said.

Anderson and colleagues used information from surveys that were a part of the PLCO (Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian) Multi-center Screening Trial. Participants provided information about their meat intake, preferred cooking methods and doneness preferences.

Over the course of nine years, researchers identified 208 cases of pancreatic cancer. Preferences for high temperature cooked meat were generally linked with an increased risk; subjects who preferred very well done steak were almost 60 percent as likely to get pancreatic cancer as compared to those who ate steak less well done or did not eat steak. When overall consumption and doneness preferences were used to estimate the meat-derived carcinogen intake for subjects, those with highest intake had 70 percent higher risk than those with the lowest intake.

"We cannot say with absolute certainty that the risk is increased due to carcinogens formed in burned meat," said Anderson. "However, those who enjoy either fried or barbecued meat should consider turning down the heat or cutting off burned portions when it's finished; cook meat sufficiently to kill bacteria without excess charring. In addition, the precursors of cancer-causing compounds can be reduced by microwaving the meat for a few minutes and pouring off the juices before cooking it on the grill."

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Drinking Wine May Increase Survival among Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Pre-diagnostic wine consumption may reduce the risk of death and relapse among non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, according to an epidemiology study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

Xuesong Han, the first author of the abstract and a doctoral candidate at the Yale School of Public Health, said their findings would need to be replicated before any public health recommendations are made, but the evidence is becoming clearer that moderate consumption of wine has numerous benefits.

"This conclusion is controversial, because excessive drinking has a negative social and health impact, and it is difficult to define what is moderate and what is excessive," said Han. "However, we are continually seeing a link between wine and positive outcomes in many cancers."

This study was the first to examine the link among patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Han and her colleagues analyzed data about 546 women with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

They found that those who drank wine had a 76 percent five-year survival compared with 68 percent for non-wine drinkers. Further research found five-year, disease-free survival was 70 percent among those who drank wine compared with 65 percent among non-wine drinkers.

Beer and/or liquor consumption did not show a benefit.

The study team at Yale also looked at subgroups of lymphoma patients, and found the strongest link between wine consumption and favorable outcomes among patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. These patients had a 40 to 50 percent reduced risk of death, relapse or secondary cancer.

Researchers then conducted an analysis to examine the effect of wine consumption among those who had drunk wine for at least the previous 25 years before diagnosis. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients who had been drinking wine for at least this long had a 25 to 35 percent reduced risk of death, relapse or secondary cancer.

Those patients with large B-cell lymphoma had about 60 percent reduced risk of death, relapse or secondary cancer if they had been drinking wine for at least the previous 25 years before diagnosis.

"It is clear that lifestyle factors like alcohol can affect outcome," said Han.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Putting Knowledge to Work – The Genetics of Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Knowledge of the human genome continues to provide tools in the fight against cancer as scientists work to understand diagnosis and prognosis at earlier stages. Data presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 illustrate this progress.

John S. Witte, Ph.D., professor in the Institute for Human Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco, will moderate a press conference at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. MST in room 108 of the Colorado Convention Center. Reporters who cannot attend in person can dial in using the following number:

U.S./Canada Dial-In: (888) 282-7404
International Dial-In: (763) 488-9184
Access Code:88613002

Witte said the increasing knowledge about genetics and cancer is beneficial for patients concerned about their risk.

"The specific details depend on the type of cancer, but in general if a person has several relatives with a certain type of cancer, they should consider seeing a genetic counselor and make environmental adjustments that will decrease their risk," he said.

LB-92. Frequent JAK Mutations in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) with Poor Outcome: A New Therapeutic Target in Resistant Disease

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have mutations in the JAK tyrosine kinase gene tend to have very poor outcomes and a higher rate of recurrence of their leukemia, which suggests a potential diagnostic tool and a new therapeutic target in high-risk disease.

This important research discovery was produced by the first TARGET (Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments) initiative sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and coordinated by the Children's Oncology Group (COG). A team of physicians from COG worked with researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., the University of New Mexico Cancer Center and the NCI to conduct this research.

The researchers performed a genetic analysis in 221 children with B-progenitor ALL at high risk for relapse derived from a clinical trial conducted by COG. This analysis included genomic resequencing of JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and TYK2 in 187 cases of ALL. JAK mutations, which were not previously known to occur in children with ALL, were found in 10 percent of patients. The presence of JAK mutations was associated with a deletion of the genes IKZF1 and CDKN2A/B and poor outcome. The four-year incidence of relapse was 71 percent for patients with JAK and IKZF1 alterations, compared with 23 percent for patients with neither alteration.

"These mutations can currently be identified using standard genetic testing. Drugs are being developed that can be used against these JAK kinases, and JAK inhibition clearly warrants clinical evaluation in this subset of patients," said Charles G. Mullighan, M.B.B.S. (Hons), M.Sc., M.D., assistant member of St. Jude and a lead author of the study.

Gregory Reaman, M.D., COG chair, added, "Developing clinical trials of JAK inhibitors in ALL is one of our highest priorities. This is an example of how clinical trials conducted by COG can translate an important laboratory discovery to potential new therapies for patients identified to be at very high risk for relapse."

1905. Genetic Variants in MicroRNA Processing Pathway Genes and Ovarian Cancer Risk
Editor's Note: Late breaking data on this abstract not included in this release will be presented during the press conference

Genetic variants in the microRNA processing pathway may predict risk of ovarian cancer, according to research conducted at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and lead author of the study, said ovarian cancer risk is understudied, but information obtained in this study could help clinicians build a risk prediction model similar to the Gail model in breast cancer.

"With this information, coupled with other genetic and potential lifestyle risk factors, we could develop a quantitative risk prediction model," said Wu. "Previous studies mainly focused on the tumor tissue of ovarian cancer, but few have attempted the risk prediction."

For the current study, Wu and colleagues evaluated 70 potential functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in eight microRNA biogenesis pathway genes. This genetic information was gathered from 526 ovarian cancer cases and healthy controls.
The researchers identified 16 SNPs that had a predictive effect on ovarian cancer risk. A genetic makeup may be constructed based on these SNPs. Those patients who carried no more than five of these SNPs were considered to be at low risk for ovarian cancer.

Patients carrying between six and seven SNPs were at more than two-fold increased risk, while those carrying eight or more had a more than five-fold increased risk.

"People are born with these types of variants, so if this is confirmed in larger studies it could greatly enhance our understanding of the etiology of ovarian cancer, with potential applications in screening, cancer prevention and early detection," said Wu.

96. Confirmation of a Set of Genetic Susceptibility Variants for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have confirmed a set of genetic variants that put a person at greater risk for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is known to have a genetic component to disease risk.

"If you have a family member with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, your chances of getting the disease are eight times higher than that of the general population," said Susan L. Slager, Ph.D., associate professor of biostatistics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "We have validated genetic variants that may help explain why."

Slager said the findings of this study add more pieces to the puzzle that may lead to better prevention and prognosis.

"This will help us understand the disease better and, hopefully, help us to develop better drug targets," she said.

A previous genome-wide analysis study identified seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) that could possibly lead to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Slager and colleagues validated these in an independent sample of patients.

All but one of the SNPs was significant predictors of risk. The strongest association was for rs735665 on 11q24, where the risk was 50 percent higher. This was closely followed by a 39 percent increased risk associated with rs9378805 on 6p25.

LB-99. Association of UGT2B17, UGT2B7 and UGT2B28 Gene Copy Number with Prostate Cancer Risk

Researchers found no association between UGT2B17 and the risk of prostate cancer when examined both individually and in combination with other genetic variables, according to research conducted at Weill Cornell Medical School in New York and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"Prior to this study, we had two studies that reported this gene was linked with prostate cancer risk and two studies that did not. Our comprehensive study suggests that there is no significant association among the Europeans studied," said Sunita Setlur, Ph.D., an instructor in pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Reports like this, which scientists call a null finding, are critical to building a knowledge base from the ever-growing information derived from the mapping of the human genome. Prostate cancer affects one in six men in the United States and is known to have some sort of genetic component.

The researchers examined 269 individuals, including 156 men with prostate cancer and 113 men without prostate cancer who had PSA levels below 0.5 ng/ml for three years following a negative biopsy.

Copy number status analysis showed no changes for UGT2B7, while deletion patterns for UGT2B17 and UGT2B28 were between 3.4 percent and 19.9 percent depending on the analysis. No increased risk of prostate cancer was noted regardless of gene activity.

Setlur said the advantages of the current study were the identification of a strict cut-off point for PSA levels and the evaluation of copy number status of the gene of interest.

"This region is very interesting since it is involved in the regulation of testosterone. Therefore, delineating the association of genomic copy number status in this locus would help in understanding the biology of prostate cancer. Copy number status is fast becoming a standard measure of gene activity similar to what we can learn from single nucleotide polymorphisms," said Setlur.

LB-169. DNA Methylation Profiling Reveals a Field Defect in Bladders with Cancer and a Distinct Hypomethylated Pattern in Non-Invasive Bladder Tumors

Researchers have identified a DNA methylation pattern that may aid in the diagnosis of bladder cancer and the detection of those who may be at risk for recurrence.

Bladder cancer is currently the fifth most common cancer in the United States. It is characterized by a high rate of tumor recurrence that generally happens three to six months following treatment.

"Current clinical practice is to use invasive methods to diagnose and monitor these tumors, but we have uncovered a possible way to gather this information through a simple molecular assay," said Gangning Liang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of research in the department of urology at the University of Southern California.

DNA methylation is a process by which genes can be abnormally silenced or activated in cancer. Working with the knowledge from the human genome, scientists have been gaining a greater understanding of how methylation leads to measurable clinical outcomes.

For the current study, Liang and colleagues measured DNA methylation in 12 patients who did not have bladder cancer, 52 patients with non-invasive bladder tumors and 39 patients with invasive bladder tumors.

When comparing the cancerous tissue with normal bladder tissue, they found 158 hypermethylated locations and 366 hypomethylated locations. In addition, the researchers identified 21 loci that were hypermethylated in the normal appearing bladder tissue in patients with bladder cancer.

"These loci may provide markers for the identification of individuals at risk for developing bladder cancer, as they are only methylated in bladders with cancer," said Liang.

When the researchers further subdivided their analysis, they found that non-invasive tumors had a distinct pattern of hypomethylation when compared with invasive tumors, further supporting the notion that these two forms of bladder cancer develop along different molecular pathways.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Dark Hair? Don’t Burn? Your Genes May Still Put You at Risk for Melanoma

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - New genetic research suggests that the traditional risk factors for melanoma may not be as helpful in predicting risk in all people as previously thought, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

"Traditionally, a clinician might look at a person with dark hair who did not sunburn easily and classify them as lower risk for melanoma, but that may not be true for all people in the population," said Peter Kanetsky, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kanetsky and his colleagues have identified that genetic variants in MC1R could help to predict melanoma risk in people who are not usually classified as high risk. While this link previously has been observed, Kanetsky said it is now time to begin discussing genetic factors as part of the overall melanoma risk model.

For the current study, researchers analyzed 779 patients with melanoma from the Pigmented Lesion Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania and compared them with 325 healthy control patients.

Overall, the presence of certain MC1R variants was associated with a more than two-fold risk of melanoma, but this risk was largely confined to those patients who would not usually be considered to be at elevated risk.

Although those with dark hair are not thought to be at increased risk for melanoma, if they had dark hair and also inherited certain MC1R genetic variants, their risk for melanoma increased 2.4-fold. However, no elevated risk was associated with these same MC1R variants in those with blond or red hair.

MC1R was also associated with increased risk among those with dark eye color (3.2-fold increase), who did not freckle (8-fold increase), who tanned after repeated sun exposure (2.4 fold increase) or who tanned immediately without burning (9.5-fold increase). People with these characteristics are usually thought to be at reduced risk for melanoma.

Kanetsky said a clinical screening test for MC1R is not yet available.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

AACR Inaugurates New Presidential Leadership

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., was inaugurated today as president of the American Association for Cancer Research at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009. Jacks is the director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the Koch Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

"Tyler Jacks brings a unique perspective to the AACR presidency," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "He understands the full spectrum of cancer research, and the ways in which researchers need to build new bridges across the disciplines to bring new ideas and energy. He is not only a superb researcher but sees beyond his own expertise to build synergies. I am looking forward to working with him and expect a very active and productive year for the AACR and for cancer research."

Jacks succeeds Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who has served as the AACR president for the 2008-2009 term and will now fulfill the role of past president.

"Ray DuBois has been a spectacular president. We have worked together very closely over the last year to make sure all the programs of the AACR are of the highest quality. I have learned a good deal from him and am hopeful that he will continue in a very strong leadership role in the AACR in the future," said Foti.

Jacks assumes the presidency of the AACR at a key time in the history of cancer research as the field focuses on translational research and a new president of the United States has set a goal to cure cancer in our lifetimes.

"As the leading cancer research organization in the world, the AACR can command the attention of political leaders, heads of industry and academia," said Jacks. "We need to communicate to the public at large the remarkable progress that is being made and to advocate for the resources needed to take full advantage of the recent scientific and technological advances in the field."

At the David H. Koch laboratory, researchers have engineered a series of novel, mutant mouse strains that accurately mimic human cancer and thus serve as animal models for exploring the cellular pathways regulated by cancer-associated genes. Jacks received his Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Harvard University, his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California, San Francisco, and he completed his postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT.

Jacks has played a vital role in several leadership positions at the AACR. He was a member of the nominating committee and the AACR Laboratory Research Awards Committee, and was chairperson of several special conferences. Jacks served as senior editor of Molecular Cancer Research and an editorial board member of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. To date, he has received numerous awards, several of which were received on behalf of his efforts to help further cancer research, such as the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.

In addition to serving as president, DuBois is deputy editor of the AACR's journal, Cancer Prevention Research, and serves on the editorial boards for Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research and the editorial advisory board for CR magazine. He has served as chair and as a member of several AACR committees and special conferences. He is the recipient of the Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research, the Outstanding Investigator Award of the American Federation of Medical Research, the AGA Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Anthony Dipple Carcinogenesis Award and the AACR-Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award. Additionally, he was elected as a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars.

DuBois received his Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry at Texas A&M University, College Station, his medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and his doctorate in biochemistry from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. His research focuses on determining the role of certain inflammatory mediators in the progression of colorectal cancer. One of the goals of this research is to develop better strategies for prevention and early detection.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Care Delivery

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Although progress has been made on several fronts, minority cancer populations still experience higher risk and poorer cancer outcomes. At the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009, Elena Martinez, Ph.D., M.P.H, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, will moderate a press conference on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Care Delivery that will address these issues. Martinez is a previous chair of AACR's Science of Cancer Health Disparities Conference.

The press conference will take place on Monday, April 20, 2009, at 1:45 p.m. MST, in room 108 of the Colorado Convention Center. Reporters who cannot participate in person can dial in via teleconference using the following information:

U.S./Canada Dial-In: (888) 282-7404
International Dial-In: (763) 488-9184
Access Code: 88613001

"We need to stimulate research that will result in reducing disparities among underserved populations and support efforts that target improving access to medical care for everyone. We also need to increase minority recruitment to clinical trials and support the timely distribution of the findings," said Martinez.

On the individual level, Martinez said researchers and clinicians need to become more aware of the personal biases and practices that may have an impact on the care of patients from minority communities.

"We need to facilitate culturally competent and linguistically appropriate access to health services in the facilities in which we practice, as well as appreciate and address the structural barriers that minority patients face in seeking care," said Martinez.

1671. Enhancement of Recruitment of African-Americans to National Oncology Trials

African-Americans tend to have worse cancer outcomes and their enrollment in clinical trials continues to lag due to barriers of mistrust and communication, as well as lack of knowledge and access to the trials. However, researchers at Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center believe they have found a way to overcome those barriers.

"Our research staff at Nashville General Hospital at Meharry is dedicated and permanent. We do not refer African-Americans to another center for clinical trial enrollment. We offer clinical trial participation right here as part of our best medical practices if an appropriate trial is available," said Debra Wujcik, Ph.D., R.N., director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office.

Working with colleagues in the Meharry/Vanderbilt Cancer Partnership, and funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, Wujcik and colleagues sought to determine if they could increase the enrollment of African-Americans in clinical trials at their own center. The current national average for enrollment is about 2.5 percent.

Researchers established a procedure to identify every patient eligible for a clinical trial at the time of confirmed diagnosis. Prior to participation in the study, each clinician was offered training on how best to identify eligible patients and discuss the clinical trial option. No financial incentives were offered to the patient or the clinician.

"Most of the time, the clinical trial option is offered as an afterthought, which contributes to mistrust because African-Americans view themselves as part of an experiment that may not be to their benefit," said Wujcik.

From 2001 to 2004, researchers screened 569 patients, of whom 164 were eligible for a study (29 percent) and 95 agreed to enroll (17 percent). Overall, during this time period, 58 percent of those who were offered a study agreed to participate. Of the patients who did not enroll in a study, 66 percent were ineligible due to additional medical conditions. Only 3 percent refused because it was research.

From 2005 to 2007, researchers refined their techniques and screened 556 patients of whom 172 (32 percent) were eligible for a study and 138 (25 percent) agreed to participate. During this current interval, 80 percent of patients offered a clinical trial participated.

Since 2001, 1,125 patients have been screened, 30 percent of whom had a study available and 21 percent have enrolled.

"What that means is that 68 percent of patients who were eligible agreed to participate," said Wujcik. "This model is definitely replicable at a hospital with a permanent and consistent staff, adequate resources to conduct clinical trials and a patient-oriented, culturally sensitive environment."

4817. Breast Cancer Risk Factors among Caucasian-American and African-American Women

Caucasian-American women tend to have higher rates of breast cancer, but African-American women tend to have more aggressive disease and higher mortality rates. Although this disparity is well known, the exact cause and risk factors have not been adequately examined.

Yong Cui, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at Meharry Medical College, and colleagues, are conducting an epidemiologic study in Tennessee to examine risk factors among Caucasian-American and African-American women under support of a grant from the National Cancer Institute.

To date, this ongoing study has enrolled 1,826 Caucasian women with breast cancer, 1,766 healthy Caucasian control women, 360 African-American women with breast cancer, and 240 healthy African-American control women.

"Our initial data suggests that these women share some risk factors, but there may be distinctive risk factors as well," said Cui.

Lack of physical activity or overweight and obesity was linked with a 20 percent increased risk in both groups of women. The increased risk associated with a family history of breast cancer was similar in Caucasian-American and African-American women at 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively. A personal history of benign breast disease was linked with an 80 percent increased risk among Caucasian-American women and with a 40 percent increased risk among African-American women. Menarche after 12 years was associated with reduced risk up to 40 percent among Caucasian-American women, but not among African-American women.

When the racial groups of breast cancer patients were compared, African-American women were less likely to have a personal history of benign breast disease at 28 percent versus 49 percent. African-American patients were also more likely to be physically inactive at 58 percent versus 46 percent and to be overweight and obese at 80 percent versus 58 percent.

Noticeably, overweight/obesity and physical inactivity are two negative prognostic factors for breast cancer survival.

Cui said he and his colleagues continue to enroll patients and updated numbers will be presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

1669. Determinants of Screening Colonoscopy Among African-American Older Adults

Ineffective communication between medical providers and their patients, and the absence of strong primary care relationships, may contribute to the lack of colorectal cancer screening among African-Americans.

"These are barriers that can be overcome," said Jean G. Ford, M.D., associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Ford and colleagues surveyed 1,081 African-Americans in Baltimore City who were between the ages of 65 and 79. Those who had been screened for colorectal cancer were more likely to report better overall health status compared with those who had not been screened.

When Ford and colleagues analyzed what made an individual more likely to be screened, they found that if that individual said their doctor "explains things in a way you understand," they were 50 percent more likely to be screened.

If they had a doctor that they saw on a regular basis, the likelihood of being screened was 2.5-fold higher than those who did not have a regular doctor.

Supplemental health insurance was linked with a 40 percent increase in the likelihood of screening.

"The barriers to screening exist even when a population is insured. One of the key interventions to promote screening appears to be better communication, which fortunately, is a barrier that can be overcome," said Ford.

549. MicroRNA Profiles of Colorectal Adenocarcinomas - Racial Disparity

New data on microRNAs suggests that the same set of microRNAs offer different prognostic values depending on a patient's race/ethnicity.

"There is no common denominator that works for everyone. We need to consider race and ethnicity in the evaluation of the clinical utility of microRNAs," said Upender Manne, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Recent studies have suggested that microRNAs have the potential to serve as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers as well as therapeutic targets in human cancers. Manne and colleagues analyzed colorectal cancer samples collected from 26 African-American and 62 non-Hispanic-Caucasian patients.

The researchers identified five microRNAs that had higher expression in colorectal cancers, but there was a variance in the expression levels between races.
For example, the expression levels of microRNA-324-5p were higher when compared to non-cancerous tissues in colorectal cancer tissues of white patients, but lower in black patients. This increased expression was associated with an unfavorable prognosis in white patients, but decreased expression was associated with a favorable outcome in black patients.

Overall, the increased expression of microRNA-106a was associated with decreased survival in both blacks and whites. The increased expression of microRNA-20a and microRNA-181b, however, was associated with decreased patient survival in blacks, but not in whites.

By contrast, a higher expression level of microRNA-21 in blacks did not affect survival, but did decrease survival in whites.

"Obviously there are nuances among race and ethnicity that need to be considered when evaluating microRNAs as markers," said Manne.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Genetic Analysis May Predict Risk of Invasive Bladder Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - Genetic variations in the inflammation pathway may predict who would respond to Bacillus-Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment and who might experience a recurrence among patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

"Our goal is to use genetic information like this to create a genetic blueprint for this disease, which currently recurs in about 70 percent of patients despite initial successful therapy," said Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and a professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where the research was conducted.

Hushan Yang, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at M. D. Anderson and the first author of this study, and colleagues evaluated a panel of 59 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 35 major inflammation genes in all participants that had been treated with BCG therapy, the current treatment standard for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

If a patient had a genotype containing the variant allele of the iNOS gene, there was a significant reduction in the risk of recurrence compared with those patients who did not have this variance.

"Survival associated with this variance was 96.7 months compared with 47.0 months among patients with the wild-type gene," Yang said.

In a further analysis, Yang and colleagues calculated a variance combination to identify those patients at high risk for recurrence. The overall median recurrence-free survival time in this group was only 13.5 months compared with more than 96.7 months, or indefinitely, in the low-risk group.

"These genes can be measured through simple blood tests," said Wu. "Once we identify the patients at high risk for recurrence we can adjust their therapy and followup accordingly."

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415

Cancer Prevention: Diet, Lifestyle and Beyond

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:00 GMT

DENVER - The American Association for Cancer Research remains committed to cancer prevention. Peter G. Shields, M.D., deputy director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and interim chair of the department of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center, will host a press conference at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 that highlights recent breakthroughs.

The press conference will take place at on Monday, April 20 at 11:00 a.m. MST, in room 108 of the Colorado Convention Center. Reporters who cannot attend in person can call into the teleconference using the following information:

U.S./Canada Dial-In: (888) 282-7404
International Dial-In: (763) 488-9184
Access Code: 88612909

Shields is a leader in lifestyle prevention measures and his anti-smoking efforts were recently highlighted on NBC's Today Show.

"To effectively prevent cancer, we need a combination of lifestyle and pharmacologic measures. The science highlighted at the Annual Meeting will help us understand how we can best target our efforts toward the most appropriate populations," said Shields.

2116. Colorectal Polyp Type and the Association with Smoking, Charred Meat Intake and mEH

New research on the relationship between diet, lifestyle, genetics and colorectal cancer reinforces broad screening for adenomas, precursor lesions for colorectal cancer. It also provides rationale for further research evaluating the risk of colorectal cancer associated with certain hyperplastic polyps, common polyps traditionally thought to be clinically unimportant.

"Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men and women, and you can make great strides towards eliminating it with proper screening," said Andrea N. Burnett-Hartman, M.P.H., a doctoral student at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Researchers recruited 529 patients with adenoma, 691 patients with hyperplastic polyps, 227 patients with adenomas and hyperplastic polyps, and 772 healthy control patients. These patients were asked a variety of lifestyle questions using a questionnaire and analyses were performed.

Burnett-Hartman and colleagues studied the risk of hyperplastic polyps and adenomas associated with cigarette smoking, charred red meat intake and variations in the mEH gene; a gene responsible for processing some of the carcinogens found in cigarette smoke and charred meat. Although both adenomas and hyperplastic polyps had elevated risks associated with cigarette smoking, the association for hyperplastic polyps was stronger than for adenomas.

If a patient had smoked at least 22 pack-years (one pack-year is equal to smoking one pack per day for one year), the risk of adenomas increased by 68 percent while the risk of hyperplastic polyps increased 2.38-fold. For current smoking status, the risk increase was also 68 percent for adenomas; while the risk of hyperplastic polyps increased 3.02-fold.

Frequency of charred red meat consumption was consistently associated with slightly elevated risks in all polyp groups, but this association was not significant. Also, there was no link between polyps of any type and variation in the mEH gene.

"Colon cancer has a very strong environmental component, but based on the results of our study, these common gene variants do not significantly protect an individual from the carcinogenic effect of smoking," said Burnett-Hartman.

1680. Evidence of Immune Disruption up to 9.8 Years Prior to Diagnosis of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Prospective Study

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute may have uncovered a possible early cause of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to a prospective study that involved more than 77,000 patients.

"Although CLL can be a devastating disease, we know little about what causes it, except that it is linked with family history and aging," said Neil Caporaso, M.D., a section chief of the genetic epidemiology branch at the National Cancer Institute.

Drawing on data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, which included 77,469 healthy individuals, Caporaso and colleagues may have identified an early immune disruption that could lead to CLL.

Caporaso and colleagues identified 109 patients in the database that had a diagnosis of CLL; the diagnosis occurred at a median age of 70 years and 61 percent of the patients were male. These patients had serum available for analysis collected years prior to the diagnosis of CLL. Researchers assessed for the immune measures found in M-proteins and kappa-lambda free light chains.

Researchers assessed the serum tests conducted two to almost ten years prior to diagnosis of CLL. They found that 31 percent of patients who eventually developed CLL had a skewed kappa-lambda free light chain ratio, which Caporaso said is evidence of an early immune disruption. In one patient, this disruption was noted 9.8 years prior to diagnosis. By contrast, hypogammaglobulinemia-an indication of impaired immune function that is common in CLL-was found in only 13.1 percent of patients and was not present in any patients until three years prior to diagnosis.

"It's possible that these disruptions in the kappa-lambda ratio indicate early abnormal clone (collection of similar cells) that lead to CLL," said Caporaso. "Our aim is to better understand them in order to unravel the cause of this puzzling and common blood cancer."

45. The Effect of In Utero and Postnatal Folic Acid Supplementation on Genomic DNA Methylation in the Offspring

Folic acid supplementation provided at all stages of pregnancy and post-pregnancy significantly affected genomic DNA methylation patterns of offspring, according to research conducted at the University of Toronto.

"Early folate nutrition plays an important role in epigenetic programming in the offspring, and this may have an effect on disease risk later in life," said Karen K. Sie, M.Sc., a research scientist at the University of Toronto.

As scientists continue to work to understand the genetic underpinnings of cancer, epigenetics is an emerging science that studies the changes to DNA, including a process called "methylation" where genes are either silenced or activated.

Scientists know that aberrations in DNA methylation patterns play a role in cancer development, but the exact role depends on the tumor type and is still being investigated in many areas.

Sie's study determined that folic acid - the synthetic form of folate, a B-vitamin complex that is a major part of most American diets - plays a role in DNA methylation.

Based on evidence that supplementing folic acid before and during early pregnancy can reduce the risk of neural tube and other congenital defects, all women planning a pregnancy or capable of becoming pregnant are recommended to take 0.4 - 1.0 mg of folic acid for two to three months before conception, throughout pregnancy, and the postpartum period. Furthermore, blood levels and dietary intake of folate have drastically increased in the North American population because of mandatory folic acid fortification implemented in 1998.

Folate plays an important role in DNA methylation and has also been shown to either increase or decrease the risk of several human cancers depending on the time of intervention. However, the effect of maternal folic acid supplementation on DNA methylation in the offspring, and thus the risk of cancers in adulthood, is largely unknown at present.

Sie placed laboratory rats on either a control diet of 2 mg of folic acid supplementation per kg of dietary consumption (equivalent to the recommended dietary allowance for humans - 400 μg/d) or a supplemented diet of 5 mg per kg (equivalent to 1 mg/d). These diets were administered three weeks prior to breeding and remained throughout pregnancy and lactation.

Sie then examined levels of DNA methylation in the offspring of these rats and found that at 14 weeks of age dietary levels of folic acid significantly changed genomic methylation levels in the target organ of interest. Specifically, DNA methylation in the colon and liver at 14 weeks of age was significantly lower among those who had folic acid supplementation.

Sie will present additional data on methylation status at the Annual Meeting.

2115. (COX1) and (COX2) Polymorphisms, NSAID Use, and Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Colon Cancer Family Registry

Since Merck voluntarily recalled Vioxx in 2004, clinicians have been reluctant to use the remaining COX2 inhibitors on the market due to their risk of cardiovascular side effects.

Nevertheless, COX2 inhibitors, and nonsteroidal drugs in general (including ibuprofen and aspirin), have a proven efficacy against developing colorectal cancer, the number two cause of cancer deaths among men and women. Thus, researchers are working to identify patients whose benefit might be high enough to outweigh the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Cornelia Ulrich, Ph.D., a full member of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that may predict who is at greater risk for colon cancer. SNPs are small genetic changes unique to individuals.

Ulrich and colleagues analyzed data from 2,465 sibling pairs in the Colon Cancer Family Registry and identified 17 COX1 and 13 COX2 tag SNPs.

They found that the presence of COX2 rs4648261 was linked with a reduction in colorectal cancer risk of between 40 to 68 percent. No other SNP was associated with reduced risk. Furthermore, characterizing patients by two SNPs in COX2 suggested that only a subset of patients would derive benefit from NSAID use.

Ulrich said these findings would need to be replicated in larger studies before making clinical recommendations, but this was an important first step.

"Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been clearly shown to reduce colorectal cancer risk, but not without their own side effects," said Ulrich. "If we can identify which patients are going to benefit from these drugs, we can more effectively target prevention."

Data will be presented at the press conference by Ulrich's colleague Anna E. Coghill, M.P.H., a graduate research assistant at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

1909. Estimation of Absolute Risk for Prostate Cancer Using SNPS and Family History

A combination of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and family history may accurately predict who is at risk for prostate cancer and might benefit from chemoprevention with agents such as finasteride, according to research conducted at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

"This is the first time that we provided a simple tool for estimating absolute risk based on multiple genetic variants in combination. Up until now, we knew that each of these variants carried a slightly increased risk, but in combination the risk prediction is much more reliable," said Jianfeng Xu, M.D., Dr.PH, professor of epidemiology and cancer biology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Xu and colleagues studied 14 risk alleles on single nucleotide polymorphisms among 2,893 men with prostate cancer and 1,781 men who did not have prostate cancer. Researchers found that the presence of each additional risk allele increased the risk of prostate cancer by about 14 percent. This effect was strongest among men with a family history of prostate cancer.

The strongest risk prediction was observed among men who had at least 15 of the known risk alleles. These men were found to have a 34 percent increased risk of prostate cancer over a period of 20 years; this risk increased to 45 percent if the men also had a family history of prostate cancer.

"Absent this new genetic information, the risk among these men would have only been estimated at 13 percent," said Xu.

Xu said combining this new genetic knowledge with family history will help oncologists make informed decisions regarding a PSA screening regimen. "In addition, these results may motivate preventive measures such as diet/lifestyle intervention and chemoprevention," said Xu.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
267-646-0557
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
In Denver April 18-22:
303-228-8415