Press Releases: 2011

Starch Intake May Influence Risk for Breast Cancer Recurrence

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Increased carbohydrate intake was associated with a higher rate of breast cancer recurrence.
Changes in starch intake comprised 48 percent of changes in carbohydrate intake.
Dietary modifications targeting starch intake warrant further research.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers have linked increased starch intake to a greater risk for breast cancer recurrence, according to results presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“The results show that it’s not just overall carbohydrates, but particularly starch,” said Jennifer A. Emond, M.S., a public health doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. “Women who increased their starch intake over one year were at a much likelier risk for recurring.”

Researchers conducted a subset analysis of 2,651 women who participated in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Dietary Intervention Trial, a plant-based intervention trial that enrolled about 3,088 survivors of breast cancer. WHEL researchers studied breast cancer recurrence and followed the participants for an average of seven years.

The subset analysis involved an examination of how changes in carbohydrate intake influenced breast cancer recurrence. “The WHEL dietary trial, even though it focused on fruits and vegetables, fiber and fat, didn’t really have a specific carbohydrate goal,” Emond said.

She and her colleagues obtained carbohydrate intake information from multiple 24-hour dietary recalls at baseline and at one year. In an annual phone interview, participants reported everything they had eaten during the last 24 hours.

At baseline, carbohydrate intake was 233 grams per day. Results showed that women whose cancer recurred had a mean increase in carbohydrate intake of 2.3 grams per day during the first year, while women whose cancer did not recur reported a mean decrease of 2.7 grams per day during the first year.

Starches were particularly important, Emond said. Changes in starch intake accounted for 48 percent of the change in carbohydrate intake. Mean change in starch intake during the first year was –4.1 grams per day among women whose cancer recurred vs. –8.7 grams per day among women whose cancer did not recur.

When change in starch intake during one year was grouped into quartiles of change, the rate of an additional breast cancer event was 9.7 percent among women who decreased their starch intake the most during one year, compared with an event rate of 14.2 percent among women who increased their starch intake the most during one year.

The change in starch intake was “independent of dietary changes that happened in the intervention arm,” Emond said. “It is independent of more global changes in diet quality.”

After stratifying patients by tumor grade, Emond and colleagues found that the increased risk was limited to women with lower-grade tumors.

These results indicate a need for more research on dietary recommendations that consider limited starch intake among women with breast cancer.

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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 patients with breast cancer. 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 34th annual symposium is expected to draw nearly 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

Risk for Developing New Cancer in Other Breast Increased for Survivors With BRCA Mutation

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Survivors with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation had a more than 10 percent greater risk for developing cancer in their other breast.
Age at diagnosis and triple-negative or estrogen receptor status of first cancer further affected risk.
Guidelines should be amended to consider these factors when counseling women with the mutation.

SAN ANTONIO — Breast cancer survivors who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation are at high risk for developing contralateral breast cancer — a new primary tumor in the other breast — and certain women within this group of carriers are at an even greater risk based on age at diagnosis and first tumor status, according to data presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“Our studies show that certain subgroups of women [with this mutation] who have already had cancers are also at risk for developing a second new cancer in their other breast, much more so than survivors who do not carry the mutation,” said Alexandra J. van den Broek, M.Sc., a doctoral candidate at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. “Our study is, as far as we know, the first study showing that within certain carriers of BRCA mutations, subgroups with an increased or decreased risk for contralateral breast cancer (CBC) can be made.”

Researchers surveyed 5,061 women diagnosed with unilateral, invasive breast cancer at 10 hospitals in the Netherlands. Two hundred eleven women (4.2 percent) were carriers of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Overall, at a median of 8.4 years of follow-up, 8.6 percent of participants developed CBC.

Van den Broek and colleagues found that the overall 10-year risk for developing CBC in noncarriers was 6.0 percent, while risk for carriers was 17.9 percent.
For carriers diagnosed with their first breast cancer when aged younger than 40 years, the 10-year risk for CBC jumped to 26.0 percent. For carriers between the ages of 40 and 50 years at first diagnosis, the risk was 11.6 percent. In addition, mutation carriers with a triple-negative first tumor had a 10-year cumulative CBC risk of 18.9 percent compared with 11.2 percent among carriers with a non-triple-negative first tumor.

Although these numbers can be overwhelming to carriers who have already survived breast cancer, van den Broek said it is crucial to know who is most at risk and by how much.

“Guidelines for prophylactic measures and screening in the follow-up of patients with breast cancer carrying the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation are important to provide patients with the best information and counseling,” she said. “If these results are confirmed, [it will be] possible to personalize the guidelines for these specific subgroups.”

The next step will be to confirm the results in larger studies and to look at other factors that define subgroups of patients with an increased or decreased risk for CBC.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

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Bilateral Oophorectomy Associated With Higher Prevalence of Low Bone Mineral Density and Arthritis in Younger Women

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Women who had both ovaries removed before age 45 had lower bone mineral density, an important predictor of osteoporosis, than women with intact ovaries.
These women were also more likely to report a diagnosis of arthritis.
Few other studies have measured bone mineral density among women who underwent oophorectomy.

SAN ANTONIO — Women who underwent surgery to remove their ovaries before the age of 45 years were more likely to have arthritis and low bone mineral density compared with women with intact ovaries, researchers found.

Anne Marie McCarthy, Sc.M., a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, presented the results at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“Our study suggests that some women with oophorectomy, particularly at a young age, can experience clinically relevant decreases in bone mineral density (BMD). Clinicians need to be aware of this so they can intervene early if required,” McCarthy said.

She and senior investigator Kala Visvanathan, M.D., MHS, associate professor at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and Bloomberg School of Public Health, examined associations of oophorectomy with arthritis and BMD in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), a nationally representative survey conducted from 1988 to 1994.

The BMD analysis included 3,660 women, and the arthritis analysis included 4,039 women. Women aged 40 years and older who had no cancer history and reported a bilateral oophorectomy or intact ovaries were included for analysis.

Researchers used dual-energy X-ray to measure BMD in the femoral neck.

Women who had both ovaries removed before 45 years of age and who never used HRT had a lower BMD on average than women with intact ovaries (0.691 g/cm2 vs. 0.729 g/cm2, respectively). They were also twice as likely to have very low bone mineral density compared to women with intact ovaries.

Participants were also asked if they had been diagnosed with arthritis. Researchers found that 45.4 percent of women who had oophorectomy reported arthritis compared with 32.1 percent of women with intact ovaries. They found a higher prevalence of arthritis — 47.7 percent — among women who had undergone oophorectomy before 45 years of age.

“[The study] highlights the need for more research in this area to identify those women at risk and to determine appropriate screening and preventive strategies for these young women,” McCarthy said.

She added that NHANES III is a cross-sectional study, so “therefore, we cannot make statements on whether oophorectomy actually causes osteoporosis or arthritis at this time.”

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Many Women Do Not Undergo Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Less than a quarter of women are undergoing postmastectomy breast reconstruction.
Patients’ insurance status impacts the likelihood of undergoing reconstruction.
Rates of reconstruction are increasing but still remain low, even among young women.

SAN ANTONIO — Despite the benefits, only a small minority of women, regardless of age, are opting for immediate reconstructive breast surgery after undergoing mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer, according to data presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Research has shown that immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy improves psychological well-being and quality of life and provides women with improved body image and self-esteem compared with delaying the procedure.

However, data from this study, presented by Dawn Hershman, M.D., associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, indicate that only about one third of women undergo the procedure.

Hershman and colleagues identified 106,988 women with breast cancer who underwent mastectomy between 2000 and 2010. They identified these women using insurance codes and then examined data on the frequency of reconstruction by a number of factors including age, race, number of procedures performed in the hospital and type of insurance.

Of the women examined, 22.6 percent underwent immediate reconstruction. Although overall rates of reconstruction have increased since 2000, the greatest increases were seen among women with commercial insurance — from 25.3 percent to 54.6 percent — and among women aged younger than 50 years — from 29 percent to 60 percent. Among women aged 50 years or younger who also had commercial insurance, 67.5 percent underwent immediate breast reconstruction. Overall, women with commercial insurance had more than a threefold higher likelihood of undergoing immediate reconstruction compared with women without health insurance.

“We were surprised to see that although the use of immediate postmastectomy reconstruction has increased, the rates still remain low, with 41.8 percent of women aged younger than 50 years and less than 20 percent of women aged older than 50 years receiving reconstruction during this time frame,” Hershman said.

Researchers found that patients were more likely to undergo immediate reconstruction if their surgeon did more mastectomies or they were in a hospital where more mastectomies were performed.

“This is something that could be modified by training and patient education,” Hershman said.

Other factors associated with a decreased likelihood for undergoing mastectomy were increasing age, black race, rural hospital location, nonteaching hospital or having other medical illnesses.

Women who underwent immediate breast reconstruction postmastectomy did have a longer hospital stay, but in-hospital complication rates were similar between women who had reconstruction and those who did not.

“Our study shows that there are factors that can be modified to increase the likelihood that women undergo postmastectomy reconstruction,” Hershman said. “Public policy should ensure that access to reconstructive surgery is available to all women regardless of insurance status.”

In the future, Hershman and colleagues plan to explore other factors that may be associated with immediate reconstruction to better target interventions to appropriate institutions.

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AACR Unveils Cancer Today: Magazine for Patients, Survivors and Caregivers

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) welcomes the newest addition to its publication family, Cancer Today. A relaunch of the award-winning CR magazine, Cancer Today provides knowledge, expert guidance and inspiration to recently diagnosed patients, long-term survivors and caregivers facing the challenges of cancer.

“For more than 100 years, the AACR has been promoting the understanding, prevention and successful treatment of this disease,” said Executive Editor Jessica Gorman. “With the redesign of Cancer Today, we are renewing our commitment to providing readers with the most authoritative information about cancer, as well as the inspiration to face the daily challenges presented by cancer with knowledge and hope.”

Since 2006, CR magazine has provided patients with insightful and reliable reporting on the latest advances and challenges facing cancer research and patient care. It has received numerous prestigious editorial honors including recognition from the Utne Reader Independent Press Awards, the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, the Clarion Awards and more. The name change from CR magazine to Cancer Today is part of the publication’s strategic goal to adapt the editorial content of the magazine to better address the needs of the readers today.

“We are thrilled to provide our thousands of readers with a new magazine that has a fresh look and new name,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Cancer Today is an extension of the AACR’s commitment to deliver vital resources to scientists, survivors and caregivers that are informative and inspiring.”

Cancer Today has rich content, including stories from patients who are successfully dealing with cancer; exciting developments in cancer therapy and research; and useful advice to help readers navigate the medical, practical and emotional issues that surround cancer.

Copies of Cancer Today can be found at cancer centers and doctors’ offices nationwide. Individual subscriptions can be ordered on the website, www.CancerTodayMag.org. Articles are available online.

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Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting, Present Possible Intervention for Breast Cancer Prevention

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior in lowering blood levels of insulin, which can lead to cancer.
Low-carbohydrate diet two days per week resulted in greater weight loss than standard daily dieting.

SAN ANTONIO — An intermittent, low-carbohydrate diet was superior to a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for reducing weight and lowering blood levels of insulin, a cancer-promoting hormone, according to recent findings.

Researchers at Genesis Prevention Center at University Hospital in South Manchester, England, found that restricting carbohydrates two days per week may be a better dietary approach than a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for preventing breast cancer and other diseases, but they said further study is needed.

“Weight loss and reduced insulin levels are required for breast cancer prevention, but [these levels] are difficult to achieve and maintain with conventional dietary approaches,” said Michelle Harvie, Ph.D., SRD, a research dietician at the Genesis Prevention Center, who presented the findings at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Harvie and her colleagues compared three diets during four months for effects on weight loss and blood markers of breast cancer risk among 115 women with a family history of breast cancer. They randomly assigned patients to one of the following diets: a calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet for two days per week; an “ad lib” low-carbohydrate diet in which patients were permitted to eat unlimited protein and healthy fats, such as lean meats, olives and nuts, also for two days per week; and a standard, calorie-restricted daily Mediterranean diet for seven days per week.

Data revealed that both intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior to the standard, daily Mediterranean diet in reducing weight, body fat and insulin resistance. Mean reduction in weight and body fat was roughly 4 kilograms (about 9 pounds) with the intermittent approaches compared with 2.4 kilograms (about 5 pounds) with the standard dietary approach. Insulin resistance reduced by 22 percent with the restricted low-carbohydrate diet and by 14 percent with the “ad lib” low-carbohydrate diet compared with 4 percent with the standard Mediterranean diet.

“It is interesting that the diet that only restricts carbohydrates but allows protein and fats is as effective as the calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet,” Harvie said.

She and her colleagues plan to further study carbohydrate intake and breast cancer. This study was funded by the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Appeal (www.genesisuk.org).

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MRI May Be Noninvasive Method to Measure Breast Cancer Prognosis

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

MRI is valuable in assessing the extent of breast cancer and monitoring treatment response.
Diffusion-weighted MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI reflect tumor cellularity and vascularity.
Both correlated with histopathological markers and prognostic factors.

SAN ANTONIO — Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging measures were associated with prognostic tumor markers, demonstrating the potential of magnetic resonance imaging for prediction of disease prognosis and stratification of patients to appropriate therapies, according to preliminary data presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“Breast cancers are heterogeneous, and different subtypes of breast cancer will respond differently to therapy,” said Sana Parsian, M.D., a research assistant in the department of radiology at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Every patient with breast cancer must undergo biopsy to be evaluated for the type of breast cancer they have. Based on that, adjuvant medical therapies are prescribed for them.”

Parsian and her colleagues hypothesized that some quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures, such as diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE), would correlate with histopathological markers by enabling the researchers to measure the tumor’s cellularity and vascularity.

In DWI, the diffusion of fluids along a field gradient reduces the MRI signal, so it can determine cellularity of the tumor by measuring the degree of water mobility. DCE enables viewers to see more information about tumor vascularity. A malignant cell group needs a blood supply to grow, and those vascular changes cause tumors to appear differently on DCE compared with normal tissue, Parsian said. The enhancement pattern seen on an MRI is called kinetics.

Researchers evaluated correlations between DWI and DCE kinetics and histopathologic markers of breast cancer determined from biopsy, such as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor, HER2, p53 and the ki67 proliferation marker, in 41 invasive cancers among 36 patients. They found statistically significant correlations between MRI measures and all markers, except ER, which was only marginally associated with one of the DCE measures. Each of the DCE kinetics parameters significantly discriminated grade III tumors from grades I and II and luminal A from luminal B and basal-like intrinsic subtypes.

“When we looked at these measures, we realized there was a correlation with biomarkers,” Parsian said.

Although these are preliminary data, she hopes that someday MRI might provide valuable noninvasive information about tumor biology for selecting and guiding targeted therapies.

Parsian said larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these results and that MRI may complement biopsy to sample the whole tumor and reflect tumor heterogeneity.

“I think the final goal of radiology is to get more information while doing the least amount of intervention possible for the patient,” she said. “It would be great if we could improve our understanding of breast cancer biology and predict response to different therapies with imaging. Our study suggests MRI may play a valuable role in this process.”

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

# # #

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 patients with breast cancer. 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 34th annual symposium is expected to draw nearly 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

Addition of Trastuzumab May Potentially Equalize Disease-Free Survival Outcomes Among Obese and Normal-Weight Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Obese patients have larger tumors and increased cancer in lymph nodes.
Obese patients treated with chemotherapy alone had the worst disease-free survival rate.
Addition of trastuzumab improved survival rates, regardless of body mass index.

SAN ANTONIO — A large, multicenter, randomized study has shown that obese patients with HER2-positive breast cancer have larger tumors, increased lymph node involvement and, when not treated with trastuzumab, poorer long-term outcomes than normal-weight patients.

This is the first time the relationship between obesity and HER2-positive breast cancer has been studied, according to Jennifer A. Crozier, M.D., a medical resident at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, who presented the results at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“We knew that obesity was a risk factor for breast cancer,” said Crozier. “However, we had not explored the relationship between body mass and how patients respond to treatment and disease-free survival (DFS).”

The study, known as N9831, included 3,017 patients who were initially classified into two categories based on World Health Organization body mass index (BMI) guidelines: normal-weight patients (BMI less than 30) and obese patients (BMI greater than 30). BMI was measured when patients began chemotherapy.

Researchers randomly assigned patients to treatment with only chemotherapy, with chemotherapy and sequential trastuzumab or with chemotherapy and concurrent trastuzumab.

When data were first examined, there were no significant differences in DFS between obese and normal-weight patients in any arm at three, five and seven years of follow-up. The team then subdivided normal-weight patients to determine if those patients considered overweight, with BMI between 25 and 29, might be affecting the analysis.

They found that obese patients and overweight patients had lower DFS rates of 70.6 percent and 65.9 percent, respectively, after seven years when not treated with trastuzumab compared with a rate of 74.7 percent among normal-weight patients also treated with chemotherapy alone. Results suggested that adding trastuzumab to treatment, particularly when received concurrently with chemotherapy, may potentially equalize DFS rates, with five-year rates of about 85 percent for normal-weight and overweight patients and 82.6 percent for obese patients.

Researchers observed these DFS rates among patients who received concurrent trastuzumab, regardless of BMI. Among patients treated with sequential trastuzumab, normal-weight patients appeared to have benefited more from the treatment than obese patients. Patients treated with chemotherapy alone had the worst observed DFS rate of the three groups, highlighting the potential importance of trastuzumab in treating HER2-positive breast cancer.

The researchers also alleviated the concern that hormonal differences in obese patients might undercut trastuzumab’s effectiveness.

“Overall, we can see in the trends that weight management is going to be important in treating HER2-positive breast cancer,” said Crozier. “The next step is to examine how weight management during different stages of treatment affects outcomes.”

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Exemestane Plus Everolimus Increased Progression-Free Survival for Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Everolimus in combination with exemestane was well tolerated.
BOLERO-2 results establish “a new standard of care” in advanced breast cancer.

SAN ANTONIO — Everolimus in combination with exemestane has shown promise for the treatment of breast cancer.

“For postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive metastatic breast cancer, the addition of everolimus to exemestane markedly improves the duration of disease control,” said Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, M.D., FACP, professor of medicine, chair of the department of breast medical oncology and director of the Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Research Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Hortobagyi presented findings from Breast Cancer Trials of Oral Everolimus (BOLERO-2), a phase 3 clinical trial, at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

BOLERO-2 researchers enrolled 724 postmenopausal patients with HR-positive metastatic breast cancer and evidence of progressive disease while receiving anastrozole or letrozole. They randomly assigned patients to treatment with exemestane plus everolimus or with exemestane plus placebo.

Results revealed a median progression-free interval of 3.2 months for 239 patients treated with exemestane plus placebo. Among the 485 patients treated with exemestane plus everolimus, researchers found a median progression-free interval of 7.4 months, “a highly significant difference,” Hortobagyi said.

Clinical benefit rates, which include complete response, partial response, or stable disease exceeding six months, were 25.5 percent among patients treated with exemestane and placebo and 50.5 percent among those treated with exemestane and everolimus.

“The original hypothesis predicted this increased benefit from the combination, based on compelling preclinical experiments and preliminary results from earlier, smaller clinical trials. These results establish a new standard of care for this group of patients,” Hortobagyi said.

He continued, “These results highlight the progress being made in understanding the evolving mechanisms of resistance to standard therapies.”

Researchers were not yet able to measure survival analysis in BOLERO-2. However, treatment was well tolerated, with oral mucositis, fatigue, pneumonitis and hyperglycemia being the most common side effects.

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Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

Dual HER2 Blockade Significantly Extends Progression-Free Survival

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Two agents blocking HER2 led to an additional six months of progression-free survival.
Side effects were minimal with the addition of pertuzumab.
Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

SAN ANTONIO — Adding pertuzumab to a combination of trastuzumab and docetaxel chemotherapy extended progression-free survival by a median of 6.1 months in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer compared with patients who received the combination therapy with placebo.

Researchers conducted an international phase 3, double-blind, randomized trial, known as CLEOPATRA (CLinical Evaluation Of Pertuzumab And TRAstuzumab), in which they randomly assigned 808 patients to receive trastuzumab and docetaxel chemotherapy with pertuzumab or placebo. Progression-free survival (PFS) was 18.5 months for patients who received pertuzumab compared with 12.4 months for patients who received placebo — a 38 percent reduction in risk for progression.

The findings, reported at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011, represent a significant advance in the treatment of this advanced breast cancer, said senior researcher José Baselga, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the department of medicine at Harvard Medical School, associate director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and chief of hematology/oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“This is huge. It is very uncommon to have a clinical trial show this level of improvement in PFS,” said Baselga. “Most metastatic patients with HER2-positive breast cancer eventually stop responding to trastuzumab, so the fact that we now have an agent that can be added to current treatment to delay progression is very exciting. With the advent of trastuzumab and now pertuzumab, we have come a very long way in treating a type of breast cancer that once had a very poor prognosis.”

The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Pertuzumab is designed to work in combination with trastuzumab as a dual blockade of the HER2 growth factor, which fuels about one third of all breast tumors. Both drugs are monoclonal antibodies that bind to the HER2 receptor protein in different locations. Pertuzumab’s role is to prevent the receptor from linking to HER3 and therefore forming a “dimer” that further signals tumor growth — making pertuzumab the first in a new class of drugs called “dimerization inhibitors,” Baselga said. “These two agents offer a dual HER2 blockade, shutting down different mechanisms responsible for HER2 signaling.”

Adding pertuzumab to the combination therapy resulted in an objective response rate (tumor shrinkage of at least 30 percent) of 80.2 percent compared with 69.3 percent for the combination therapy alone.

Although survival outcomes are not mature, meaning not enough time has passed for a valid statistical analysis, Baselga reported 69 deaths among the 402 patients treated with the three-drug combination and 96 deaths among the 406 patients who received two drugs.

He added that the three-drug combination is “remarkably safe and well tolerated. Only minimal side effects were seen with the addition of pertuzumab.” Some of those effects were grades 1 and 2 diarrhea and neutropenia, but no additional cardiac toxicity was seen, he said.

Enrollment is already under way in a new double-blind, randomized clinical trial, APHINITY, to test the use of pertuzumab as adjuvant treatment for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. “It is in that setting that you can really cure patients,” Baselga said.

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Addition of Bevacizumab to Conventional Therapy Improved Progression-Free Survival in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Bevacizumab demonstrated benefit as first-line therapy in treating HER2-positive disease.
AVEREL study is the first randomized trial of bevacizumab in HER2-positive breast cancer.
Biomarkers are being studied to determine the best use of bevacizumab.

SAN ANTONIO — Data evaluated by an independent review committee revealed that the addition of bevacizumab to trastuzumab and docetaxel significantly improved progression-free survival in HER2-positive breast cancer, despite findings from an investigator assessment that the improvement was present but statistically non-significant.

Luca Gianni, M.D., director of medical oncology at the San Raffaele Cancer Center in Milano, Italy, presented results from AVEREL, a randomized, phase 3 trial, at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011. The trial is designed to evaluate bevacizumab combined with trastuzumab and docetaxel as first-line therapy for HER2-positive, locally recurrent/metastatic breast cancer. The study is the first randomized trial of bevacizumab in this type of breast cancer, according to the researchers.

Patients had measurable or evaluable HER2-positive, locally recurrent/metastatic breast cancer and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0/1 and had not received prior chemotherapy for advanced disease. Patients with central nervous system metastases were excluded.

Researchers enrolled 424 patients from 60 centers during September 2006 to February 2010, with 421 patients receiving treatment. They randomly assigned patients to receive trastuzumab and docetaxel (n=208) or to receive trastuzumab and docetaxel plus bevacizumab (n=216).

At a median follow-up of 26 months, investigator assessment revealed an 18 percent reduction in risk of progression or death with the addition of bevacizumab compared with that of patients who received only trastuzumab and docetaxel. However, an independent review committee analysis found a 28 percent reduction in risk for progression or death with the addition of bevacizumab. Overall, median progression-free survival increased by 2.8 and 2.9 months with bevacizumab according to investigator analysis and independent review committee analysis, respectively.

Gianni said that because there are effective treatments for women with HER2-positive breast cancer, researchers are now examining the precise role of an anti-angiogenic drug in combination with existing therapy.

“The concept of this trial was a test for the benefit observed in early phase 1 and phase 2,” Gianni said. “In a way, we confirmed that combining an anti-angiogenic and [other treatment] is a good idea. But now, we have to search the subset of women who have the characteristics associated with benefit from addition of an anti-angiogenic. The key element is looking for a restricted indication that might have a longer-lasting effect than we can observe in AVEREL.”

Biomarkers will be important in helping determine the best role for bevacizumab in treating HER2-positive cases, he said.

“The limit in anti-angiogenic therapy is that we treat all participants and we have no hint of what are the tumor characteristics or the patient characteristics that deserve intervention with anti-angiogenic therapy,” Gianni said. “We have started some study investigation of biomarkers, and we hope that the AVEREL results, together with other studies, can help in finding ways of restricting indication of bevacizumab to those who could have the right benefit.”

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Breast Cancer Mortality Higher in Hispanic Women

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Hispanic women had a 20 percent increased risk for death from breast cancer.
Tumor-related factors may primarily account for this difference.
Hispanic women may be more likely to have a tumor phenotype resistant to chemotherapy.

SAN ANTONIO — Hispanic women are more likely to die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to research presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“This difference may be associated with a tumor phenotype that is less responsive to chemotherapy,” said Kathy B. Baumgartner, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and associate dean for faculty affairs in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. “Increased awareness of this ethnic disparity is needed to improve survival in Hispanic women with breast cancer.”

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and is the second cause of cancer death in women in the United States. Incidence and survival rates vary by ethnicity, and previous research has demonstrated a trend toward poorer survival in Hispanic women.

From 1992 to 1996, Baumgartner and colleagues conducted the New Mexico Women’s Health Study (NMWHS), a statewide, population-based, case-control breast cancer study that examined the difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women for breast cancer risk. In all, 692 women with a first primary breast cancer participated.

In a recent study, researchers followed the 577 women with invasive breast cancer through 2008 to assess differences in long-term survival between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women in the NMWHS.

Hispanic women were about 20 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, which is consistent with other reports, Baumgartner said. After adjusting for age, stage, lymph node involvement and estrogen receptor (ER) status, the researchers saw the risk drop considerably to almost equal that of non-Hispanic white women — suggesting that “the ethnic difference in breast cancer mortality may be mostly biologically based,” Baumgartner said.

In addition, Hispanic women who received chemotherapy were about 1.5 times more likely to die from breast cancer compared with non-Hispanic white women who received chemotherapy, after adjusting for age and the characteristics noted above.

“It is not clear how much of this ethnic difference in survival is due to socioeconomic factors influencing access to screening and treatment or to biological ones,” Baumgartner said. “Some studies suggest that Hispanic women are more likely to develop ER-negative tumors that are resistant to chemotherapy.”

She added, “Altered response to chemotherapy may partly explain the Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic white disparity in breast cancer survival.”

There was no difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women for all-cause or non-breast cancer mortality.

Baumgartner and her colleagues will continue to monitor this cohort for the long term. This research was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

# # #

Obesity Linked to Worse Outcomes in Early Breast Cancer Treatment

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

In the overall group, obese patients had an increased risk for worse survival.
Obese patients who received chemotherapy had significantly worse survival outcomes.
Overweight patients who received tamoxifen had significantly better survival outcomes.

SAN ANTONIO — Obesity is associated with worse outcomes overall in early-stage breast cancer, researchers reported at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Obesity was linked to shorter time to recurrence (TTR), disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The exception was treatment with endocrine therapy (mainly tamoxifen), in which obesity was associated with a protective effect.

“The findings add to the body of evidence indicating that obesity, in general, increases a patient’s chance for having a worse prognosis,” said lead researcher Sao Jiralerspong, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

“Obesity is a probable risk factor for worse breast cancer outcomes, and ours is the latest study to suggest it has an effect on treatment outcome as well,” Jiralerspong said.

Using data from the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor, Jiralerspong and colleagues examined the link between weight and treatment modality in 4,368 patients treated between 1970 and 1995.

For the group as a whole, data revealed that overweight patients had similar outcomes to normal-weight patients, but obese patients had an increased risk for worse TTR, DFS and OS.

Among patients who received no adjuvant chemotherapy or endocrine therapy, there was a trend for worse survival outcomes in obese patients compared with normal-weight patients.

Obese patients who received chemotherapy fared significantly worse compared with normal-weight patients, “with the magnitude of this effect approaching that of the degree of benefit expected from chemotherapy,” Jiralerspong said.

In contrast, overweight patients who received endocrine therapy, predominantly tamoxifen, fared significantly better compared with normal-weight patients.

“Finding that overweight patients have a better outcome than normal-weight patients after tamoxifen treatment is surprising. We are examining the possible reasons for this,” Jiralerspong said.

He said that obesity could contribute to worse outcomes because of biological factors associated with excess weight, such as higher blood insulin and estrogen levels, inflammation and growth factors secreted by fat cells. But Jiralerspong also added that more research is needed to understand the effect of body mass on adjuvant treatment because of the unexpected findings and because additional agents are in use today compared with the time period studied.

The study was funded by the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

# # #

Oral Bisphosphonate Did Not Improve Prognosis for Patients With Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Patients treated with dose-dense chemotherapy did not show signs of improvement with oral bisphosphonates.
Other studies have shown bisphosphonates are beneficial for patients receiving endocrine treatment.
Results do not confirm the use of bisphosphonates in the adjuvant setting.

SAN ANTONIO — Results from a German study demonstrated no improvement in disease-free survival among patients with breast cancer who were treated with dose-dense chemotherapy and the bisphosphonate ibandronate.

Volker Möbus, Ph.D., head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Klinikum Frankfurt Höchst GmbH in Frankfurt, presented the results from the German Adjuvant Intergroup Node Positive (GAIN) Study, at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Möbus and his colleagues randomly assigned 3,023 patients with breast cancer to two different chemotherapy regimens and then further assigned them to 50 milligrams of oral ibandronate or observation. After a median follow-up of 38.7 months, “we found no significant difference between groups in the primary endpoint” of disease-free survival, Möbus said.

He described these results as “disappointing” compared with other studies. In the Adjuvant Treatment with Zoledronic Acid in Stage II/III Breast Cancer (AZURE) trial, for example, Möbus said that the subgroup of postmenopausal patients showed an improvement in recurrence-free and overall survival.

“So far, clinical trials of adjuvant bisphosphonates in early breast cancer have shown variable results, independent from their application (oral compared with intravenous),” Möbus said.

More recently, two trials — the Austrian Breast & Colorectal Study Group (ABCSG-12) and the Zometa-Femara Adjuvant Synergy Trial (ZO-FAST) — have shown significant benefit in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who were postmenopausal and received an endocrine treatment only.

Möbus said that in the AZURE trial, 95 percent of patients received chemotherapy and only postmenopausal patients showed an improvement in the zoledronic acid group. “In our [GAIN] trial, all patients received dose-dense chemotherapy, and unfortunately, we could not show a benefit in any subgroup,” he said. “We speculate that the high efficacy of dose-dense chemotherapy erases the potential effect of bisphosphonates, which is shown in patients with endocrine treatment only.”

# # #

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Clodronate Appeared Safe, Modestly Affected Breast Cancer Disease Events

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Low rates of toxicity and adverse events were seen with clodronate.
Clodronate modestly affected breast cancer disease events.
Clodronate was more favorable in patients aged 50 years or older at diagnosis.

SAN ANTONIO — A recently presented study revealed that the bisphosphonate clodronate had a low incidence of adverse events and toxicity among patients with breast cancer and may modestly reduce the incidence of distant metastases in postmenopausal women.

The results of B-34, a prospective, randomized, double-blind, phase 3 clinical trial, presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011, are similar to those of trials on other bisphosphonates in this group of patients, according to Alexander H.G. Paterson, M.D., professor in the departments of medicine and oncology at the University of Calgary in Canada.

He and his colleagues enrolled 3,323 patients with stage I, II or III breast cancer between Jan. 22, 2001, and March 31, 2004. Paterson presented data on the 3,311 patients (99.6 percent) with follow-up information. Slightly more than 75 percent of the patients had pathologically negative axillary nodes, 64 percent were 50 years or older at entry and 22 percent had estrogen receptor (ER)-negative or progesterone receptor (PgR)-negative breast cancer.

Researchers randomly assigned patients to receive three years of clodronate or an oral placebo three times a day. In addition, the patients also underwent surgery (lumpectomies or mastectomies) and received radiation therapy and chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. Median follow-up for patients who were still alive was 7.6 years.

Five hundred ninety-eight patients experienced disease events, defined as any cancer (either recurrent breast cancer or a new primary) or death (cancer related or otherwise): 286 in the clodronate group and 312 in the placebo group. The relative reduction of events in the clodronate group was about 9 percent compared with the placebo group.

“This reduction was smaller than had been hoped for and was not statistically significant,” Paterson said.

Researchers observed a 16 percent relative reduction in mortality in the clodronate group. They also observed relative reductions of 23 percent and 26 percent in the clodronate group for the occurrence of skeletal and nonskeletal metastases, respectively.

“Although clodronate appeared more favorable for all endpoints, only the comparisons of the distant metastasis-free interval and nonskeletal metastasis-free interval were statistically significant and favorable for the clodronate patients,” Paterson said.

Results also demonstrated that clodronate might perform better for patients aged 50 years or older when diagnosed with breast cancer and for women with ER/PgR-positive nodes. Clodronate was generally tolerable, and the toxicities observed were mainly due to concomitant systemic chemotherapy, according to the researchers. This was the largest study to assess clodronate in a placebo-controlled trial, Paterson said.

“At this point, clinical indications are not absolute, but a tolerable agent that has a known beneficial effect on osteopenia with a small reduction in distant disease recurrence may be of interest to some patients and clinicians,” he said. “The current trials of targeted RANK-ligand inhibitors against placebo are of great interest.”

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# # #

Institute of Medicine to Release Report on Breast Cancer and the Environment

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO — Although women have little or no control over some of the risk factors for breast cancer, such as those related to aging and genetics, they may be able to reduce their chances for developing the disease by avoiding certain environmental risks.

“Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach,” a new report from the Institute of Medicine, assesses the breast cancer risk posed by various environmental factors, identifies actions that offer potential to reduce women’s risk for the disease and recommends targets for future research.

The report, sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will be released during a press briefing and presented at a plenary session at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

The press briefing will be held Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET) in Room 217D of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center.

Reporters who cannot attend in person can call in using the following information:

U.S./Canada (Toll Free): 1 (888) 647-7462
International (Toll): 1 (201) 604-0169

Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D., professor and chief in the division of environmental and occupational health at the University of California, Davis, will moderate the press briefing, which will include the following panelists:

David Eaton, Ph.D., associate vice provost for research and professor and director at the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health at the University of Washington, Seattle;
Robert A. Hiatt, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics and director of population sciences at Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco; and
Cheryl Lyn Walker, Ph.D., Welch professor and director at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology at Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station.

Reporters can obtain a copy and arrange interviews with members of the authoring committee by contacting Christine Stencel, senior media relations officer at the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information, at (202) 680-9353 (mobile), (202) 334-2138 (main), or by email at cstencel@nas.edu.

More information on the study is available at http://www.iom.edu/BreastCancerEnvironment.

The report will be discussed at an SABCS plenary session on Dec. 7, 2011, beginning at 1:45 p.m. CT, in Exhibit Hall D of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center.

# # #

Immediate Bisphosphonate Use With Endocrine Therapy Reduced Recurrence, Increased Survival in Postmenopausal Early Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Long-term data confirm overall survival benefit with zoledronic acid.
Women five years postmenopause had greatest benefit.
Even delayed use of zoledronic acid reduced recurrence vs. no use.

SAN ANTONIO — The addition of zoledronic acid to adjuvant endocrine therapy increased bone mineral density and reduced the risk for disease recurrence among postmenopausal women with early hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, according to new data from the ZO-FAST trial.

Richard de Boer, M.D., of the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Victoria, Australia, presented long-term data from the Zometa-Femara Adjuvant Synergy Trial (ZO-FAST) at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

De Boer and colleagues explored adding zoledronic acid, an intravenous bisphosphonate, to adjuvant endocrine therapy to reduce bone mineral density loss seen with aromatase inhibitors and to improve survival outcomes.

When he presented initial data from ZO-FAST at the 2010 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, de Boer indicated that early zoledronic acid resulted in a significantly improved bone mineral density and an improved disease-free survival. At this year’s symposium, he reported long-term data and data on the effect of menopausal status at breast cancer diagnosis on disease-free survival.

Researchers randomly assigned 1,065 patients who were about to commence letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, to receive immediate zoledronic acid every six months or to a delayed group where zoledronic acid was started at a later time only if the patient experienced a fracture or a documented fall in bone mineral density.

After 60 months of follow-up, “the primary endpoint of the trial was successfully achieved — up-front zoledronic acid significantly decreased bone mineral density loss in both the lumbar spine and the hip,” de Boer said. “The secondary endpoint of an improvement in disease-free survival was also met with a 34 percent decrease in disease recurrence in the patients receiving the up-front zoledronic acid.”

Researchers conducted an exploratory subgroup analysis based on menopausal status at the time of breast cancer diagnosis. Data indicated that in women who were truly menopausal at diagnosis, immediate treatment with zoledronic acid reduced the risk for disease recurrence by 29 percent and improved overall survival by 35 percent.

“In addition, patients in the delayed group, who did not start with zoledronic acid but who switched to start at a later time, also appeared to benefit from the zoledronic acid with an improvement in disease outcomes compared with those women who never started the bisphosphonate,” de Boer said.

Additional studies are needed to fully define the patient populations most likely to benefit from adjuvant zoledronic acid in this setting.

Until then, “patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who are postmenopausal and about to commence letrozole have the option of considering the addition of zoledronic acid — primarily to maintain bone mineral density but also with the aim of reducing the risk for disease recurrence,” de Boer said.

# # #

Zoledronic Acid Shows Long-Term Benefit in Survivorship for Premenopausal ER-Positive Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Zoledronic acid and endocrine treatment improved survivorship in early-stage, premenopausal ER-positive breast cancer.
Risk for recurrence decreased by 28 percent, and risk for death decreased by 36 percent.
No patients have experienced osteonecrosis of the jaw or renal failure.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers have proven the continuing effectiveness of treating patients with estrogen receptor-positive premenopausal breast cancer with adjuvant zoledronic acid in addition to adjuvant endocrine treatment including ovarian function suppression.

Data from the Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group (ABCSG-12), reported at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011, confirmed and extended data reported at 48 months and 62 months of follow-up. Now at 84 months of follow-up, patients are experiencing drastically fewer recurrences of breast cancer and improved rates of survivorship without toxic side effects.

“We have confirmed what this trial showed initially, which was both exciting and surprising,” said Michael Gnant, M.D., professor of surgery and president of the ABCSG at the Medical University of Vienna. “The continued success of this treatment means we can intervene early and still observe persistence of the benefit of treatment.”

In the four-arm trial, researchers randomly assigned 1,803 premenopausal patients with early-stage, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer to receive tamoxifen or anastrazole or each of these two treatments with zoledronic acid for three years. In the initial report, presented in 2008, Gnant and his colleagues reported significantly improved disease-free survival.

The most recent long-term data, at 84 months after treatment, revealed a 28 percent reduced risk for recurrence and a 36 percent reduction in risk for death among patients treated with zoledronic acid. Also, no patients experienced osteonecrosis of the jaw or renal failure — thus, Gnant said, proving the safety of the treatment seven years later.

Researchers also found that patients aged older than 40 years with presumed complete ovarian blockade had a 34 percent reduced risk for recurrence and a 44 percent reduced risk for death. They found no significant survival benefits among patients aged younger than 40 years.

Gnant and his team said these data, considered with previously demonstrated bone-protective effects of zoledronic acid, suggest that adding zoledronic acid to adjuvant endocrine therapy including ovarian function suppression should be considered for premenopausal women with ER-positive early breast cancer.

# # #

Molecular Differences May Be Used to Predict Early vs. Late Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Recurrence

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Molecular differences exist at diagnosis of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
Understanding tumor biology will help tailor treatment.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers may have discovered a series of genes that will help predict whether or not a woman with hormone receptor-positive invasive breast cancer will experience early, late or no recurrence of her disease.

Minetta C. Liu, M.D., associate professor of medicine and oncology and director of translational breast cancer research at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, presented the findings at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“There are clear biological differences within the supposedly unified group of hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancers, and these differences distinguish subtypes relative to the time at which they recur,” Liu said. “Understanding what drives these distinctions will allow us to tailor treatment and improve patient outcomes.”

Women with HR-positive breast cancer are frequently treated with tamoxifen, which is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of women. Although tamoxifen prevents or delays cancer recurrence in many women, some will recur 10 years or more from their original diagnosis. Until now, the molecular basis for this recurrence pattern was unknown.

Liu and colleagues, in collaboration with investigators from the University of Edinburgh, evaluated high-quality frozen tumor samples obtained at the time of breast cancer diagnosis. These tissue samples were linked to data on treatment and clinical outcomes, allowing researchers to analyze gene expression patterns present before the initiation of any systemic therapy.

Together with engineers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Liu and colleagues identified significant gene expression patterns among the tumor samples. These patterns correlated strongly with the development of distant metastatic disease.

“We confirmed what many have already suspected,” said Liu. “There are biological drivers that define — at the time of tumor development — whether or not breast cancer will recur early, late or not at all. Now we need to validate these findings and take our knowledge to the next step.”

Liu hopes that this research can be used to help personalize treatment in day-to-day clinical practice. “Endocrine therapy and chemotherapy are not without toxicity,” she said. “The ability to predict which patients will recur early in their treatment course can lead to more appropriate recommendations for adjuvant chemotherapy. It might also identify those women who would benefit most from studies using investigational agents to enhance the effects of tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors.”

She added: “At the other extreme are those patients with HR-positive tumors who recur long after completing five years of endocrine therapy. These are the patients for whom extended endocrine therapy and its related side effects are really worth it.”

The team’s next step is to validate their predictive model for the timing of recurrences on tamoxifen so that physicians and patients can make more informed decisions about the potential added benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy, extended endocrine therapy and involvement in clinical trials. They will also investigate combinations of molecular targets with the ultimate goal of delaying or preventing the development of metastatic breast cancer, Liu said.

# # #

Diabetes and Obesity Increase Risk for Breast Cancer Development

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Diabetes and obesity after age 60 are independent risk factors for breast cancer.
Abnormally low blood lipids were found to increase breast cancer risk.
Use of a specific diabetes drug is indicated in raising cancer risk.

SAN ANTONIO — Having diabetes or being obese after age 60 significantly increases the risk for developing breast cancer, a Swedish study has revealed. Data also showed that high blood lipids were less common in patients when diagnosed with breast cancer, while low blood lipids were associated with an increased risk.

Researchers of the study, reported at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011, also looked at overall cancer incidence and discovered that use of one diabetes drug was associated with a lower rate of any cancer, while another was associated with an increased risk.

Researchers evaluated health care data from a region of 1.5 million people living in Southwestern Sweden to provide a comprehensive picture of cancer risk.

“We are looking at everybody, and we found that diabetes in adult women and obesity in women aged 60 and older significantly increased breast cancer risk,” said Håkan Olsson, M.D., professor in the departments of oncology and cancer epidemiology at Lund University. “This is useful information for women who want to know their risk and who can take steps to lower it.”

He and his colleagues examined records of 2,724 patients up to 10 years before they developed cancer and 20,542 patients who never developed the disease.

They found that obesity in women after age 60 increased risk for developing breast cancer by 55 percent. “At the most, 15 out of 100 obese women would get breast cancer compared with slightly less than 10 out of 100 in the general population,” Olsson said.
Women with diabetes had a 37 percent increased risk for developing breast cancer if their diabetes had been diagnosed up to four years before cancer was diagnosed.

Women with abnormally low levels of blood lipids (mostly cholesterol) had a 25 percent greater risk for developing breast cancer, while high levels of blood lipids appeared to be associated with a lower risk for breast cancer. The mechanisms behind these effects are unclear, and the finding needs to be replicated in a different population-based study, Olsson said.

Researchers also looked at the national drug prescription registry to examine the link between risk for all cancers and use of two diabetes drugs, glargine and metformin. In this study, investigators found that glargine use, which had been associated with increased cancer development in previous European studies, almost doubled the risk for development of any cancer, while metformin was linked to an 8 percent lower risk for cancer in patients with diabetes.

Olsson said more research is needed to clarify the specific cancers at increased risk. The number of patients in this study who developed breast cancer using these medications was too small to make any link to breast cancer risk, specifically, he said.

The study was funded by Sweden’s Southern Health Care Region.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
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# # #

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 patients with breast cancer. 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 34th annual symposium is expected to draw nearly 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

New Test Predicts Risk for Recurrence for Patients With DCIS

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Multigene assay predicts risk for local recurrence for patients with DCIS.
This advance combines knowledge of the genome and new molecular technologies.
Test allows physicians to individualize treatment so that lower-risk patients avoid radiation.

SAN ANTONIO — In a significant advance for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, researchers have developed and prospectively validated a multigene test to identify the risk for recurrence of breast cancer.

The method combines measuring tumor gene expression with a gene expression algorithm to decipher the genetic underpinnings of a patient’s cancer and determine whether the individual patient should be treated with surgery (usually lumpectomy) or a combination of surgery and radiation.

This is the first time a multigene test has been used to differentiate lower-risk and more aggressive forms of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and will allow physicians to spare many patients the need to undergo radiation, according to researchers.

Lawrence J. Solin, M.D., FACR, FASTRO, chair of the department of radiation oncology at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, presented the results at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

“Using a molecular-based assay, we have successfully identified patients at higher risk for recurrence and patients at lower risk,” said Solin. “This is an important advance for women with newly diagnosed DCIS. By predicting individual risk, physicians can provide a more tailored treatment program for each patient.”

The validation study of the DCIS Score was a collaboration among the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), North Central Cancer Treatment Group and Genomic Health. The validation utilized patient tumor samples from E5194, an ECOG-led, multi-institutional study of patients with low-, intermediate- or high-grade DCIS who had been treated surgically but had not received radiation. E5194 was the first prospective study of local excision alone for DCIS, and its five-year results were reported at SABCS in 2006 (L. Hughes).

Researchers tested and scored tumors from 327 patients to determine their risk for recurrence. The DCIS validation study team used the Oncotype DX breast cancer assay, which has been available for invasive breast cancer since 2004, and a DCIS Score algorithm to study these tumor samples.

The test uses reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technology, which quantitates the level of RNA in the individual tumor sample to reveal its underlying biology. The level of RNA is then used by a prespecified algorithm to calculate a DCIS Score, which predicts the likelihood of local recurrence, defined as either the development of a new invasive breast cancer or the recurrence of DCIS.

Solin also reported 10-year results of E5194, in which 46 patients had an ipsilateral breast event (IBE; defined as ipsilateral local recurrence of DCIS or invasive cancer) at a median follow-up of 8.8 years. Continuous DCIS Score was significantly associated with IBE when adjusted for tamoxifen use and provided value beyond the traditional measures of tumor size, tumor grade and margin status.

Numerous studies, including the current study, have shown that routine, microscopic pathology grading is not a reliable indicator of the risk for recurrence.

“The DCIS Score will help physicians understand the underlying biology of DCIS for an individual patient and accurately gauge the risk for that person,” said Solin. “As a result, the patient and physician can decide on the appropriate course of treatment based on a more complete understanding of the risk involved.”

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
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# # #

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 patients with breast cancer. 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 34th annual symposium is expected to draw nearly 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

Brachytherapy Was Associated With Twofold Increased Risk for Mastectomy, Complications

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Brachytherapy treatment was the “most important factor” affecting mastectomy risk.
Brachytherapy was associated with an increased risk for postoperative side effects.
Patients treated with brachytherapy also had an increased risk for infection.

SAN ANTONIO — Compared with women treated with whole-breast irradiation, women treated with brachytherapy experienced a twofold increased risk for losing their breasts, according to findings presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Benjamin D. Smith, M.D., assistant professor in the department of radiation oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues evaluated the Medicare claims of all U.S. female beneficiaries (n=130,535) aged older than 66 years diagnosed with incident-invasive breast cancer between 2000 and 2007. Patients were treated with conservative surgery followed by accelerated partial breast brachytherapy alone vs. whole-breast irradiation. Brachytherapy involves temporarily placing a small radioactive source in the breast after lumpectomy.

The incidence of brachytherapy increased with time, with less than 1 percent of patients treated with brachytherapy in 2000 and 13 percent treated with brachytherapy in 2007.

“We found that women treated with brachytherapy experience a twofold increased risk for subsequent mastectomy, indicating that women treated with brachytherapy were more likely to lose their breast after their initial breast-conserving therapy,” said Smith.

Four percent of patients treated with brachytherapy vs. 2.2 percent of patients treated with whole-breast irradiation underwent a subsequent mastectomy.
Additionally, Smith said there was nearly a twofold increased risk for postoperative infection and noninfectious complications in women treated with brachytherapy.

“Women treated with brachytherapy were also more likely to experience radiation-related side effects, such as breast pain, fat necrosis and rib fracture,” he said.

Smith said he was “shocked” by the results. “I think that our results are very plausible and consistent with the literature,” he said. “However, I did not expect that we would find a difference in outcomes between brachytherapy and whole-breast irradiation using this claims-based approach. Such an approach has never been used before to evaluate breast brachytherapy.”

Smith and his colleagues said these data underscore the importance of waiting for “mature data” from randomized clinical trials before widespread adoption of breast brachytherapy.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

# # #

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 patients with breast cancer. 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 34th annual symposium is expected to draw nearly 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

Mammography Screening Reduced Risk for Death From Breast Cancer by Half

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Those who attended three screenings before diagnosis had lower mortality.
Strongest reduction seen in women aged between 70 and 75 years old.
Stage IV tumors were most prevalent among those never screened.

PHILADELPHIA — A new case-control study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, shows that women who participated in at least three screening mammograms had a 49 percent lower risk for breast cancer mortality.

“Our study adds further evidence that mammography screening unambiguously reduces breast cancer mortality,” said Suzie Otto, Ph.D., a senior researcher in the department of public health at the Erasmus MC at Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Otto and colleagues observed 755 patients who died from breast cancer during 1995 to 2003 and matched them with 3,739 controls. Among the breast cancer cases, 29.8 percent were detected at screening, 34.3 percent were detected between screenings and 35.9 percent had never been screened.

Stage IV tumors were present in 29.5 percent of the never-screened cases but only 5.3 percent of the screen-detected cases.

If women attended at least three screenings prior to diagnosis, their risk for mortality from breast cancer reduced by 49 percent. The greatest reduction was seen in women aged between 70 and 75 years old, where the reduction in mortality was 84 percent. Among younger women (aged 50 to 69 years old), the reduction was smaller, at 39 percent, but still statistically significant.

Otto said the findings could be applicable in the United States in principle, but the United States lacks a centrally organized government-funded program similar to what is found in the Netherlands.

“The Dutch government considers it imperative that everyone eligible for a screening program is given the opportunity to participate,” said Otto. “For that reason, all women in the targeted age group are invited and given the opportunity to decide independently to participate or not in screening programs that are entirely free of charge.”

Otto and colleague’s study was funded by the Dutch Health Care Insurance Council and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

EMBARGO CHANGE ALERT: 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium to Focus on New Treatments

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

This year's CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is shaping up to be the most exciting in years.

Due to an embargo change by the New England Journal of Medicine, the embargo on the papers CLEOPATRA and BOLERO-2 has shifted to 5:30 p.m. CT December 7, 2011. In an effort to not crowd out the rest of the news of the week, the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is shifting the embargoes on a number of other stories to accommodate the news cycle.

The news releases below have all been updated:

Everything in the Wednesday December 7, 2011, 7:30 a.m. press conference that had been previously embargoed for 7:30 a.m. is now embargoed for 5:30 p.m. CT on December 6.

Everything in the Thursday December 8, 2011, 7:30 a.m. press conference that had been previously embargoed for 7:30 a.m. is now embargoed for 5:30 p.m. CT on December 7.

The embargo times for the other three press conferences will remain the same.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

AACR Board Member Named to President's Cancer Panel

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research warmly congratulates Owen W. Witte, M.D., founding director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and an AACR board member, for being selected by President Obama to serve on the President’s Cancer Panel.

“These men and women have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers,” President Obama said of Witte and other nominees to key administrative posts. “I am grateful they have chosen to take on these important roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

Members of the panel are selected based on their training, experience and background and are considered exceptionally qualified to appraise the National Cancer Program.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Witte has been recognized by the White House to serve on this pre-eminent panel,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. The National Cancer Program will benefit from his sage and expert guidance on key issues in the field.”

A Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Witte has made significant contributions to the understanding of human leukemia and epithelial cancer stem cells. He discovered the tyrosine kinase activity for the ABL gene and the demonstration of the BCR-ABL oncoproteins in leukemia.

Witte’s research has focused on the interrelated problems of cell growth regulation and differentiation and on understanding the function of cancer-causing genes found in human leukemia and epithelial cancers. This fundamental research became the foundation for the later development of imatinib. More recently, Witte has concentrated on defining the stem cells for epithelial cancers of the prostate and other organs to help define new and more effective therapies.

In addition to his role as an AACR board member, Witte has served as a member of the Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grants Review Committee. He was co-chairperson of the Special Conference, “Advances in Prostate Cancer Research,” and served on the faculty for the Educational Workshop, “Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology.”

In addition to serving as director for the UCLA Stem Cell Center, Witte currently holds the UCLA David Saxon Presidential Chair in Developmental Immunology. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received national recognition for his research, including the Milken Foundation Award, the AACR Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award, the Dameshek Prize of the American Society of Hematology, the Alpert Foundation Prize and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s de Villiers International Achievement Award.

Witte’s two-year term on the President’s Cancer Panel will begin in January, 2012.

# # #

2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium to Focus on New Treatments and Prevention

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Press conferences will be held throughout the week.
Reporters who cannot attend in person can call in using 1 (888) 647-7462.

SAN ANTONIO — Now in its 34th year, the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium will focus on emerging treatments in hard-to-treat populations, including patients with metastatic breast cancer, and on new knowledge about prevention and risk.

The symposium will be held at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio during Dec. 6-10, 2011.

The symposium is presented by the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research and Baylor College of Medicine. The driving force behind this collaboration is the shared mission of the organizations to advance progress in breast cancer research.

To help guide coverage for the news media, the AACR Office of Communications will operate a full-service press room in Room 217A-C of the convention center.

New research will be presented during the following five press conferences held in Room 217D. Reporters who cannot attend in person can call in using the following information:

U.S./Canada (Toll Free): 1 (888) 647-7462
International (Toll): 1 (201) 604-0169

The meeting will open with a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. CT, hosted by Jennifer Ligibel, M.D., a breast oncologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The press conference will focus on the following research:

Diabetes and Obesity Increase Risk for Breast Cancer Development
Molecular Differences May Be Used to Predict Early vs. Late Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Recurrence
Brachytherapy Was Associated With Twofold Increased Risk for Mastectomy, Complications
New Test Predicts Risk for Recurrence for Patients With DCIS

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 12:30 p.m. CT, the Institute of Medicine will present a report entitled, “Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach.”

At 5:00 p.m. CT, James Ingle, M.D., professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, will host a media availability on important new research in bisphosphonates and breast cancer, which will feature the following research:

Zoledronic Acid Shows Long-Term Benefit in Survivorship for Premenopausal ER-Positive Breast Cancer
Clodronate Appeared Safe, Modestly Affected Breast Cancer Disease Events
Immediate Bisphosphonate Use With Endocrine Therapy Reduced Recurrence, Increased Survival in Postmenopausal Early Breast Cancer
Oral Bisphosphonate Did Not Improve Prognosis for Patients With Breast Cancer

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. CT, Lisa A. Carey, M.D., Preyer distinguished professor in breast cancer research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, will host a press conference featuring late-stage clinical trials in hard-to-treat populations. The press conference will feature the following research:

Dual HER2 Blockade Significantly Extends Progression-Free Survival
Exemestane Plus Everolimus Increased Progression-Free Survival for Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer
Addition of Bevacizumab to Conventional Therapy Improved Progression-Free Survival in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

At 12:30 p.m. CT, on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, Patricia Ganz, M.D., professor at the UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health and director of the division of cancer prevention and control research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, will host a press conference on issues in genetics and socioeconomics that will feature the following research:

Risk for Developing New Cancer in Other Breast Increased for Survivors With BRCA Mutation
Many Women Do Not Undergo Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy
Bilateral Oophorectomy Associated With Higher Prevalence of Low Bone Mineral Density and Arthritis in Younger Women

In addition to the press conferences, the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium has identified the following research as newsworthy:

Starch Intake May Influence Risk for Breast Cancer Recurrence
Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting, Present Possible Intervention for Breast Cancer Prevention
Addition of Trastuzumab May Potentially Equalize Disease-Free Survival Outcomes Among Obese and Normal-Weight Patients
MRI May Be Noninvasive Method to Measure Breast Cancer Prognosis
Obesity Linked to Worse Outcomes in Early Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast Cancer Mortality Higher in Hispanic Women

# # #

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Antonio:
(210) 582-7021

Coffee May Protect Against Endometrial Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day cut risk by 25 percent.
Coffee is a fast-emerging protective agent against a number of diseases.
Antioxidant properties, rather than caffeine, may be the mechanism.

PHILADELPHIA — Long-term coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk for endometrial cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said coffee is emerging as a protective agent in cancers that are linked to obesity, estrogen and insulin.

“Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin,” said Giovannucci, a senior researcher on the study. “So we hypothesized that we’d see a reduction in some cancers as well.”

Giovannucci, along with Youjin Je, a doctoral candidate in his lab, and colleagues observed cumulative coffee intake in relation to endometrial cancer in 67,470 women who enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study.

During the course of 26 years of follow-up, researchers documented 672 cases of endometrial cancer.

Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day was linked with a 25 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer. Drinking between two and three cups per day was linked with a 7 percent reduced risk.

A similar link was seen in decaffeinated coffee, where drinking more than two cups per day was linked with a 22 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer.

Giovannucci said he hopes this study will lead to further inquiries about the effect of coffee on cancer because in this and similar studies, coffee intake is self-selected and not randomized.

“Coffee has long been linked with smoking, and if you drink coffee and smoke, the positive effects of coffee are going to be more than outweighed by the negative effects of smoking,” said Giovannucci. “However, laboratory testing has found that coffee has much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits.”

# # #

AACR Joins U.S. Senators in Recognizing 40th Anniversary of the National Cancer Act

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research applauds U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) for sponsoring a Congressional resolution that reaffirms the national commitment to understanding and controlling cancer.

“We are extremely excited to see such distinguished, bipartisan support behind this resolution,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Senators Brown, Moran and Kerry are shining the light on the urgent need to accelerate and strengthen the nation’s efforts against the more than 200 diseases we know as cancer.”

The resolution commemorates the 40th anniversary of the signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which set the nation on a concerted course to conquer cancer through investment in cancer research and related biomedical science. The resolution is a tribute to the more than 12 million cancer survivors who are alive today because of our country’s commitment to accelerate progress in preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and treating cancer.

“Today, more than any time in history, cancer researchers are maximizing the impact of the fundamental discoveries made over the past 40 years and are translating them into improved patient care,” said AACR President Judy Garber, M.D., M.P.H. “Our ability to maintain this momentum depends upon a strong commitment by Congress to adequately fund the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and its parent agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The resolution also complements a landmark cancer progress report recently released by the AACR that illustrates the astounding return on investment in cancer research and biomedical science supported through the NIH and the NCI, and provides a summary of the scientific breakthroughs that promise to revolutionize the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

Scientists Identify Treatable Weakness in Lethal Form of Prostate Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Neuroendocrine prostate cancers overexpress the AURKA and MYCN genes.
PHA-739358, an investigational aurora kinase inhibitor, inhibited these cancers.

PHILADELPHIA — A recent report in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests that a new treatment may be on the horizon for neuroendocrine prostate cancers, the most lethal subtype of this disease.

Mark Rubin, M.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, said although fewer than 2 percent of men with prostate cancer present with neuroendocrine prostate cancer, the more common prostate adenocarcinoma can also evolve into a neuroendocrine prostate cancer, and the prognosis is grim.

“This is a highly lethal form of prostate cancer,” said Rubin. “It is also rare enough that it’s hard to get samples. This study is the largest of its kind, and it shows that we may be able to treat this highly aggressive disease.”

Rubin and colleagues used next-generation RNA sequencing to profile samples of seven neuroendocrine prostate cancers, 30 prostate adenocarcinomas and five benign samples of prostate tissue.

They found that the genes AURKA and MYCN were overexpressed and amplified in 40 percent of neuroendocrine prostate cancers and in 5 percent of prostate adenocarcinomas.

Moreover, the researchers found that treatment with the investigational aurora kinase (AURKA) inhibitor PHA-739358 inhibited the growth of these neuroendocrine tumors.

Rubin said that PHA-739358 has been studied in prostate cancers before without success, but this may be due to the fact that previously studied prostate cancers were not neuroendocrine cancers.

“Prostate cancer is not a homogenous disease. We need to continue to sort out the aggressive disease from the indolent and treat accordingly,” said Rubin.

The study was funded by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the Ann and William Bresnan Foundation, the Early Detection Research Network and the Department of Defense.

# # #

Panel of Melanoma Mutations Opens Door to New Treatment Possibilities

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Panel is a valuable tool for hypothesis generation and testing.
BRAF is the most common melanoma mutation.
Findings validate patient-derived tumor models.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers have developed a new genetic screening tool that will aid in the investigation of possible treatments for patients with melanoma and the unique genetic mutations that may accompany the disease, according to data presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011.

Heinz-Herbert Fiebig, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medical oncology at the University of Freiburg in Germany, presented data from 25 patient-derived melanoma models for which he and his colleagues studied relevant genetic mutations and the effect of new targeted and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents.

In this study, Fiebig, who is also the president and CEO of Oncotest GmbH Institute for Experimental Oncology, and colleagues collected melanoma samples from 80 patients. They were able to grow 38 of them in nude mice from which 25 permanent models were established. Eight different genetic mutations were determined in these models.

“The most prominent mutations were found in the BRAF oncogene; namely, 16 out of 25 tumors were positive for the mutation,” said Fiebig.

About 25 percent of melanoma cases had a mutated NRAS gene. PI3Kalpha mutations were rare, and the screening found no mutations of the KRAS gene, which is a common genetic mutation in other forms of cancer.

The researchers then exposed the melanomas bearing specific mutations in vitro in the clonogenic assay to a variety of cancer treatments including traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, paclitaxel or vincristine, and modern chemotherapeutic drugs that target specific mutations, such as sorafenib and vemurafenib. They hoped to determine which, if any, of these drugs had an effect on the cancer cells and whether that effect was related to the presence or lack of a mutation.

The tests indicated that vemurafenib — or PLX-4032 — was most effective in melanoma tumor samples with the V600E mutation in the BRAF gene. This finding echoes those of recent clinical studies in humans. In addition, vincristine was found to only be effective in tumor samples that did not have a mutation in the BRAF gene. “Up until now, we were not able to detect other correlations between chemosensitivity against cytotoxic or targeted agents and other mutations,” said Fiebig.

In the melanoma models, vemurafenib was 100 times more active in V600E-mutated melanomas compared with those melanomas with no mutations, Fiebig said. However, in the clinic, the majority of patients developed resistance within one year.

“Our melanoma models will allow researchers to investigate and overcome the possible underlying resistance mechanisms — for example, by combining vemurafenib with other target-specific agents,” Fiebig said. “In addition, other new targeted drugs are being studied in a systematic way.”

The study was funded by Oncotest.

# # #

Some Tumors Contain Factors that May Block Metastasis

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Concomitant tumor resistance to metastasis seen in laboratory models.
Cancer-associated forms of the amino acid tyrosine act as anti-metastasis factors.
Process might be manipulated chemically for therapeutic benefit.

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists are another step closer to understanding what drives tumor metastasis, as laboratory models suggest there are factors inside tumors that can slow their own growth.

In a recent issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Raúl A. Ruggiero, Ph.D., a biological researcher at the division of experimental medicine at the National Academy of Medicine in Buenos Aires, Argentina, described this novel mechanism.

Ruggiero and colleagues used bioanalytical methods of ion electrospray mass and tandem mass spectrometry to identify the factors that lead to metastasis resistance in laboratory models of localized cancer, a phenomenon called “concomitant tumor resistance” in which factors in a tumor can inhibit its own metastasis.

“The main cause of death in cancer patients is associated much more with metastasis rather than with the growth of a localized tumor, which generally can be surgically removed,” he said.

Ruggiero’s laboratory found that the presence of variant forms of the amino acid tyrosine were responsible for concomitant tumor resistance. In tumor models where these variants of tyrosine were present, the localized tumor did not tend to metastasize as fast as tumors lacking the variants.

Currently, tumor metastasis is treated with various chemotherapy regimens, but Ruggiero said the results of this sort of treatment are usually disappointing. He hopes that these tyrosine variants could be developed as a simple and safe type of therapy to retard metastatic growth.

“Both meta- and ortho-tyrosine have many attractive features. They exert antitumor effects at very low concentrations, are naturally produced in the proper tumor bearing organism, and do not appear to exert any toxic side effects,” said Ruggiero. “If these findings are confirmed we could develop new and more harmless means to manage malignant disease.”

# # #

Antifolates Show Promise Against NSCLC Subtype

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Aggressive lung cancers harboring KRAS mutations are sensitive to antifolates.
Antifolates decrease KRAS gene expression.
Large clinical trials needed to investigate antifolate effects in cancers with respect to driving mutations.

SAN FRANCISCO — Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have mutations in the KRAS gene should respond well to the antifolate class of drugs, according to results of a recent study conducted by Quintiles comparing human lung cancer cell lines and patients.

“Our findings indicate that when patients with lung cancer have specific changes in the KRAS gene, they become very amenable to antifolate drugs,” said lead researcher Sarah Bacus, Ph.D., Quintiles senior vice president and chief scientific officer of translational research and development, oncology. “This treatment stops the KRAS gene from being expressed in cancer cells and they die because they depend on this gene.”

Bacus presented the study results at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011.

KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an “aggressive form of cancer,” Bacus said. “Until today, there have been limited treatment options available for those patients.”

Bacus and colleagues treated human NSCLC cell lines (KRAS wild type, KRAS mutant nonamplified and KRAS mutant amplified) with the antifolates methotrexate or pemetrexed.

Results showed that KRAS wild-type and KRAS mutant amplified cells were relatively resistant to antifolate treatment. In contrast, antifolates inhibited growth in KRAS mutant nonamplified cell lines. The researchers also discovered a potent downregulation of KRAS gene expression in treated cells. Bacus reported dramatic and prolonged responses to pemetrexed therapy in patients with KRAS mutant NSCLC.

Bacus recommended that oncologists order two tests: one looking for the KRAS mutation and the other to measure KRAS amplification. “Looking at the cancer mutations is not enough; you have to look at gene copies,” Bacus said. “It is important before administering very expensive drugs to make sure that those mutations appear.”

This study was funded by the Quintiles Translational Research and Development Group; no external funding was used to finance the research.

# # #

New Approaches May Prevent Certain Side Effects in BRAF Mutation-Positive Melanoma

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Recently discovered BRAF inhibitors may prevent drug-induced skin lesion side effects and lead to greater treatment durability.
Mechanism of drug-induced skin lesions is explored in preclinical model.

SAN FRANCISCO — Findings from preclinical studies in a skin cancer model showed that next-generation BRAF inhibitors used alone, or first-generation BRAF inhibitors used in combination with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, may have the potential to prevent drug-induced skin lesions in BRAF mutation-positive patients treated for melanoma.

The studies, presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011, further elucidated the potential mechanism of action underlying this skin lesion side effect, which could further the development of next-generation drugs with improved safety and efficacy profiles for the treatment of BRAF mutation-positive melanoma, according to the researchers.

“Our data suggest that adding an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor may prevent skin lesions that sometimes appear during treatment with a first-generation BRAF inhibitor,” said Gideon Bollag, Ph.D., senior vice president of research at Plexxikon in Berkley, Calif. “Perhaps more importantly, our data also suggest that our next-generation BRAF inhibitors (which we call ‘paradox breakers’) represent a novel, single-agent treatment that may avoid this side effect and may also extend treatment durability.”

In a laboratory study, Bollag and colleagues used skin cells activated by oncogenes such as HRAS or by signaling through the EGFR receptor with a first-generation BRAF inhibitor. They observed that treatment led to upregulation of ligands for the family of HER receptors, consequent skin cell transformation and enhanced growth. In contrast, Plexxikon’s novel “paradox breakers” did not induce this upregulation and, therefore, may prevent the skin lesion side effect observed for all first-generation BRAF inhibitors to date.

Bollag said he and his research team were initially surprised by the upregulation of growth factor expression but were able to identify its cause with a model system. They then used this model system to differentiate the new “paradox breaker” compounds.

The “paradox breakers,” which are in preclinical development, are being studied in BRAF-mutant cancer, and Plexxikon is aiming to file an investigational new drug application in 2012.

# # #

Researchers Develop More Effective Way to Discover and Test Potential Cancer Drugs

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Phenotypic platform better predicts cancer drug effectiveness from the lab to actual tumors.
Platform reduces time and money spent on drugs that will not work or will be toxic.
Platform removes researcher bias in choosing systems to target for drug discovery.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers have created a new phenotypic screening platform that better predicts success of drugs developed to prevent blood vessel tumor growth when moving out of the lab and onto actual tumors.

“This platform allows us to predict what’s going to happen in preclinical models,” said Enrique Zudaire, Ph.D., staff scientist in the radiation oncology branch of the National Cancer Institute, who presented the findings at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011. “This not only shortens the amount of time that you would need to do screenings and drug discovery but also enhances dramatically the success you’re going to have in the next phases.”

Zudaire and colleagues developed a phenotypic, high-content, cell-specific fluorescence platform that examines the effectiveness of angiogenesis inhibitors, which shut down or impede tumor growth by hampering blood vessel formation and thus starve the tumor.

Past research has mainly focused on identifying single molecular targets for angiogenesis inhibitors. The new phenotypic platform evaluates how angiogenic inhibitors affect simultaneously entire cells and several steps of the angiogenesis process.

“If you do a screening for activity of a particular enzyme, that’s all you’re going to get: a drug that targets that specific enzyme activity. That tells you little about how the enzyme works in a complex organization,” said Zudaire. As a result, he explained, when many of these drugs advance to phase 2 clinical trials, they are either ineffective or result in side effects that are toxic to the patient.

Researchers validated the platform by screening the 1,970 small molecules that are part of the National Cancer Institute Developmental Therapeutics Program Diversity Set. Through the phenotypic platform, they identified more than 100 lead compounds that were then tested in preclinical models. All tested compounds showed antitumor activity, and some blocked tumor growth more effectively than current, FDA-approved antiangiogenic drugs.

This screening platform also ensures that researchers do not precondition the system to a known target. “We sometimes assume we know a lot about how these tumor systems work and what we should target,” said Zudaire.

The researchers proposed that most of the therapeutically relevant information in pathological systems rests on the complex interactions between the different components of the system rather than on the components themselves. Interrogating these systems in an unbiased manner will reveal not only single molecular targets but unknown interactions between them, which are relevant for the disease.

Ultimately, using this type of phenotypic platform can make drug development more efficient and cost-effective.

“If we improve the initial phases of drug discovery, we can decide where to invest time and money on drugs that are a lot more likely to work,” Zudaire said. “This study is proof of principle that the platform works. From here, we can design assays that are more complex and better able to describe what the in-vivo situation will be.”

This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

# # #

Combination Therapy Shows Potent Tumor Growth Inhibition in Preclinical Studies

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

VEGF and Ang2 are critical factors required for tumor angiogenesis.
Combined blockade of VEGF and Ang2 with investigational agents enhances antitumor activity in preclinical studies.
Combination of REGN910 with aflibercept warrants further clinical investigation.

SAN FRANCISCO — Combining the investigational agents REGN910 and aflibercept yielded statistically significant improvements in antitumor effects in animal models compared with either agent alone, according to results presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011.

“These preclinical findings suggest that combining REGN910 (SAR307746) and aflibercept in the clinic could be an attractive approach for future clinical research,” said Alshad S. Lalani, Ph.D., director of strategic oncology development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Tarrytown, N.Y. “The rationale is that inhibition of tumor angiogenesis by combining antiangiogenesis treatments could translate into more potent and durable antitumor responses than those observed with single-agent therapy.”

In this preclinical mouse study, researchers from Regeneron and BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, monitored how REGN910 and aflibercept blocked vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin-2 (Ang2), which are critical growth factors for tumor angiogenesis, or blood vessel formation.

REGN910 is a fully human monoclonal antibody discovered using Regeneron VelocImmune antibody technology that binds and inhibits Ang2. Aflibercept is a fully human fusion protein that binds all forms of VEGF-A, as well as VEGF-B and placental growth factor. REGN910 and aflibercept are being developed by Regeneron and Sanofi.

In addition, researchers performed tissue analyses to monitor the number of tumor blood vessels, tumor hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), tumor cell death and tumor perfusion.

“When used alone in animal studies, both REGN910 and aflibercept blocked tumor angiogenesis and growth; however, the combination of the two led to increased tumor hypoxia and consequently to the death of a large percentage of the tumor cells,” Lalani said. “Consistent with its ability to promote rapid and widespread tumor cell death in histology, the combination treatment inhibited tumor growth to a significantly greater extent than the single agents in multiple tumor models — colorectal, mammary and prostate. In particular, it caused dramatic tumor regression in the colorectal tumor models. Importantly, no visible evidence of toxicities or enhanced body weight loss was observed following the combination treatment.”

In ongoing animal studies, Lalani and colleagues are studying the reasons behind the results with the combined therapy. They are also investigating biomarkers that will allow them to monitor the combination therapy treatment effect and/or to identify which tumors are most likely to respond to treatment.

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Novel Monoclonal Antibody Offers Potential Treatment for Tumors Resistant to VEGF Therapy

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Shutting down the ALK-1 receptor inhibits the VEGF pathway.
Response seen in patients who had used antiangiogenic therapy.
VEGF therapies might work best in combination.

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite the widespread use of current antiangiogenic cancer therapies, many tumors escape this blockade, which is designed to shut down growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors and spread cancer cells. Now, a study reported at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics suggests that targeting a novel antiangiogenic receptor may help patients whose cancer does not respond to existing agents.

The experimental agent, PF-03446962, targets activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK-1), which is part of the transforming growth factor ß (TGFß) superfamily of receptors that potentially regulate cell growth and differentiation. Known as a tumor suppressor, TGFß can conversely promote invasion and metastasis during the later stages of cancer progression, said Filippo de Braud, M.D., who was director of new drugs at the European Institute of Oncology when the study was conducted and is now chief of the Medical Oncology Department at the National Tumor Institute in Milan, Italy.

Tumor cells frequently lose the growth inhibitory response to TGFß, which makes it a prime target for cancer treatment, he said. PF-03446962, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody, specifically inhibits the activity of ALK-1, which the researchers said is in part regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the protein that activates angiogenesis and other proangiogenic factors. Shutting down ALK-1 inhibits the VEGF pathway in a manner different from other antiangiogenic treatments now on the market, de Braud said.

Researchers tested PF-03446962 in a phase 1 clinical trial, which demonstrated that the agent exerted anticancer activity in tumors already resistant to VEGF treatment.

De Braud and his colleagues tested eight different doses of PF-03446962 in 44 patients with solid tumors. Results showed a partial response in three patients and stable disease lasting at least four months in seven patients. Most of the patients who benefitted had previously been treated with prior antiangiogenic therapy for lung, renal or liver cancer. Some of these patients did not achieve remission with previous antiangiogenic therapy, “suggesting that ALK-1 can operate as an escape mechanism to VEGF,” de Braud said.

The two patients with the longest response (stable disease for about a year) had been diagnosed with adrenocortical cancer and mesothelioma.

The researchers noted that three patients developed telangiectasia, which is dilation of blood vessels near the skin. This disorder is known to be caused by a mutation in the ALK-1 gene, and development of this mild side effect in these patients demonstrates PF-03446962 is affecting ALK-1 function.

“Based on this clinical activity, anti-ALK-1 may be a promising novel strategy to help patients who have failed previous VEGF therapy,” de Braud said. The agent might be used on its own or in combination with current antiangiogenic therapy to strengthen inhibition of the VEGF pathway.

Toxicities seen in the phase 1 trial were manageable, a finding that demonstrates that the agent is safe to use, he said.

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Signaling Pathway Linked to Inflammatory Breast Cancer May Drive Disease Metastasis

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Findings represent first evidence of ALK activity in inflammatory breast cancer.
Data emphasize importance of proteins and enzymes to define molecular biology.
Identification of ALK pathway activation could allow for more targeted treatment.

SAN FRANCISCO — Amplification of anaplastic lymphoma kinase, which has been reported in other cancers such as non-small cell lung cancers, may be a primary driver of the rapid metastasis that patients with inflammatory breast cancer experience.

If validated, the use of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors may be a new treatment approach for patients with this lethal form of breast cancer.

These data were presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011.

“A diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer carries with it a very low five-year survival rate of about 40 percent, clearly indicating the critical need for an understanding of the molecular basis of the disease,” said Fredika M. Robertson, Ph.D., professor in the department of experimental therapeutics at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and a member of the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program. “However, there are few molecules that have been identified that are matched with available targeted therapies of clinical benefit in patients with inflammatory breast cancer.”

Robertson and colleagues used patient-derived tumors, tumor cell lines and animal models to evaluate protein-signaling pathways and genetic abnormalities with the goal of identifying molecules that may be associated with the increased metastases of inflammatory breast cancer. They discovered ALK amplification in 13 of 15 tumor samples taken from patients with this lethal variant of breast cancer. They then validated the presence of this abnormality in tumor cell lines and newly developed xenograft models.

Gene amplification of ALK is only found in about 2 percent of the overall breast cancer population, according to Robertson. However, results from this analysis indicate that in inflammatory breast cancer, it could be occurring in up to 86 percent of patients.

“The observation that ALK is amplified may be comparable to the observation of HER2 oncogene amplification in some cases of breast cancer, which revolutionized how the disease was treated,” Robertson said. “Our observation that ALK is amplified in inflammatory breast cancer suggests that ALK may serve as a good target for treatment.”

To test this, the researchers evaluated the effects of a drug that inhibits ALK using tumor cells isolated from patients with metastatic inflammatory breast cancer and in two animal models that recapitulate the disease. Results indicated that the use of this drug resulted in tumor cell death.

“Patients with inflammatory breast cancer are now being evaluated for ALK genetic abnormalities, and if found and eligible, may be enrolled in a phase 1, dose-escalation clinical trial of a small-molecule ALK/cMet inhibitor,” Robertson said. She added that Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., chair of medical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia has implemented this trial at the center’s Inflammatory Breast Cancer Clinic.

Moving forward, Robertson emphasized the importance of collaborating with a research team with expertise in using both proteomic and genomic approaches to define molecular biology of tumors, to identify therapeutic targets and, once validated, to rapidly translate these findings to the clinic.

“Our results demonstrate that, had we only been using genomic platforms, the likelihood of identifying ALK as a therapeutic target would have been significantly diminished,” she said.

The funding for these studies came from an American Airlines Susan G. Komen for the Cure Promise Grant KGO81287 entitled, “Novel Targets for Treatment and Detection of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.” Robertson and Cristofanilli are co-principal investigators on this grant. The proteomics studies were performed in collaboration with Emanuel F. Petricoin III, Ph.D., and Lance Liotta, M.D., Ph.D., at the George Mason Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine in Manassas, Va.

# # #

Benefit of Novel Drug in Breast Cancer Seen in Blood Within Weeks

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

HDAC inhibitor first to show benefit in a controlled study in breast cancer.
Protein lysine acetylation linked to longer disease-free survival.
Study shows clinical gain can be determined after first or second dose of entinostat.

SAN FRANCISCO — Clinical benefit from use of a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor drug may be determined by examining blood cells days after a patient receives treatment. The drug, entinostat, is the first histone deacetylase inhibitor successfully tested in a randomized, placebo-controlled study in metastatic breast cancer — and is the first to show that clinical outcome can be predicted shortly after administration.

The findings, reported at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011, represent an advance in the goal to offer patients only those therapies that will help treat cancer effectively, the researchers said.

“The ability to have a marker of benefit within the first several weeks of using this drug represents an exciting advance in personalized medicine,” said lead researcher Peter Ordentlich, Ph.D., executive director of translational science and a founder of Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Waltham, Mass. Syndax Pharmaceuticals developed entinostat, an oral small-molecule drug that inhibits enzymes that alter the packaging of DNA inside the nucleus, which controls gene expression.

“The goal of entinostat in breast cancer is to extend the benefit of hormone therapy and delay the time that patients will need to use chemotherapy,” said Ordentlich. More than 160,000 women are diagnosed each year with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive invasive breast cancer, and many are treated with agents that block the hormone. But most women become resistant to these therapies, and entinostat, combined with antihormone agents, is meant to extend their benefit, he said.

To test that strategy in ER-positive metastatic breast cancer, Syndax Pharmaceuticals conducted ENCORE-301, a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study (n=130) testing the use of exemestane, an aromatase inhibitor, with either entinostat or placebo.

Results of the clinical trial, released in September, showed that the combination therapy delayed cancer progression by 27 percent (4.3 vs. 2.3 months) compared with exemestane treatment alone. At a median follow-up of 18 months, overall survival was also significantly longer with exemestane plus entinostat than with exemestane plus placebo (26.9 vs. 20.3 months).

In this subset analysis, researchers examined blood samples from 49 patients (27 received combination therapy) to evaluate whether changes in circulating blood cells that reflected the activity of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor could be detected. Researchers measured protein lysine acetylation, a biological marker of entinostat activity, in B cells, T cells and monocytes in blood samples taken at pretreatment and one, eight and 15 days after therapy with entinostat, which is taken once a week.

While levels of lysine acetylation after one day were not linked to clinical benefit, levels measured eight and 15 days after therapy were related to clinical benefit, Ordentlich said. Researchers found that patients with elevated levels of protein lysine acetylation had a 68 percent reduced risk for disease progression compared with those patients who did not have sustained elevated levels.

Researchers found that hyperacetylation was also associated with longer median progression-free survival across cell lines: B cells, 8.5 vs. 1.9 months; T cells, 6.6 vs. 1.8 months; and monocytes, 6.2 vs. 1.9 months. “Those patients who were able to maintain acetylation did well,” Ordentlich said.

He added that entinostat’s long half-life and unique pharmacology allow researchers to quickly gauge the agent’s activity. In this way, “we gain insight into how to use HDAC inhibitors, as a class of cancer drugs, in a variety of solid tumors,” he said.

The study was funded by Syndax Pharmaceuticals. Co-authors include investigators from the National Cancer Institute, who developed the assay used to test protein lysine acetylation in patient blood samples.

# # #

HDAC Inhibitor May Overcome Resistance to Common Breast Cancer Drug

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

HDAC inhibitor with tamoxifen treatment reduced tumor cell resistance in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
Critical pathway by which tumors become tamoxifen resistant identified.
Early introduction of HDAC inhibitor with tamoxifen is key.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers have shown how estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen, the only approved hormonal therapy for premenopausal patients with this type of breast cancer. They also found that introducing a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor in hormone therapy treatment can overcome resistance to hormonal therapy.

“We always thought that resistance was primarily an inborn or genetic effect,” said Pamela N. Munster, M.D., director of the Early-Phase Clinical Trials Program at the University of California, San Francisco. “But this is not the case. Tumors have found a way to modify their genes to become resistant. This process is called ‘epigenetics,’ where genes are turned on and off, but the sequence of DNA is not altered. We have also found that with this kind of breast cancer, we can prevent that resistance with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors.”

Munster presented the findings at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011.

She and her colleagues found that estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer tumors alter their genes to create more AKT, a protein that spurs actions within the cell to keep it alive — the opposite of what tamoxifen is designed to do.

In a preclinical study, researchers introduced the HDAC inhibitor PCI-24781 at an early phase of tamoxifen treatment and found that it reverses the tumor’s survival strategy of increasing production of AKT, thus stopping the tumor cells from developing resistance and leading to higher levels of cell death.

“The HDACs regulate the response of AKT to tamoxifen, and together, the effects of HDAC inhibitors and tamoxifen lead to more cell death if introduced with hormonal therapy,” said Munster.

She added that previous attempts to reverse hormone resistance were made later in the course of hormonal therapy treatment, “and we think that introducing these approaches earlier may be more successful,” she said.

The next step is to take this drug into clinical trials to investigate whether resistance to therapy can be prevented in patients with ER-positive breast cancer. A new look at AKT as a biomarker may help identify patients who are likely to benefit from this type of treatment.

This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

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AACR-NCI-EORTC to Hold Molecular Targets Meeting in San Francisco

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Progress in oncology drug development will take center stage Nov. 12-16, 2011, as thousands of scientists and industry experts convene at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco for the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

“During the last few years, numerous innovative agents have been discovered as a result of tremendous developments in the understanding of the molecular basis of cancer,” said program co-chairperson Kenneth C. Anderson, M.D., Kraft Family professor of medicine and program director and chief of the division of hematologic neoplasia at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. “The level of excitement surrounding targeted therapy and the high caliber of the science to be presented fuel the power of this meeting to attract the world’s leaders in cancer therapeutics.”

Anderson, who is also editor in chief of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, will host a press conference on new research in breast cancer at 7:00 a.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 13.

The press conference will feature the following research:

HDAC Inhibitor May Overcome Resistance to Common Breast Cancer Drug
Benefit of Novel Drug in Breast Cancer Seen in Blood Within Weeks
Signaling Pathway Linked to Inflammatory Breast Cancer May Drive Disease Metastasis

On Nov. 13 at 11:00 a.m. PT, program co-chairperson James H. Doroshow, M.D., FACP, deputy director for clinical and translational research at the National Cancer Institute, will host a press conference on progress in angiogenesis.

The press conference will feature the following research:

Researchers Develop More Effective Way to Discover and Test Potential Cancer Drugs
Novel Monoclonal Antibody Offers Potential Treatment for Tumors Resistant to VEGF Therapy
Combination Therapy Shows Potent Tumor Growth Inhibition in Preclinical Studies

Both press conferences will take place in Room 2004 of the Moscone Center. Reporters who cannot attend in person can call in using the following information:

U.S./Canada: 1 (888) 647-7462
International: 1 (201) 604-0169

In addition to the press conference, the program chairpersons have designated the following research projects as newsworthy:

Antifolates Show Promise Against NSCLC Subtype
New Approaches May Prevent Certain Side Effects in BRAF Mutation-Positive Melanoma
Panel of Melanoma Mutations Opens Door to New Treatment Possibilities

# # #

AACR Urges Congress to Safeguard Funding for FDA, Cites 35 Drug Approvals in 2011 as Validation of Agency's Effectiveness

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Underscoring the importance of a fully funded U.S. Food and Drug Administration in advancing progress in cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research calls on Congress to support the agency’s budget increase recently approved in the U.S. Senate.

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the vital nexus between discoveries in cancer research and continued improvements in patient care,” said AACR President Judy Garber, M.D., M.P.H. “We need to ensure the FDA has the resources to integrate advances in science and technology into the regulatory process to keep pace with medical product innovation. Patients will be the ones who suffer if the FDA budget falls victim to shortsighted budget cuts.”

The FDA currently operates on annual appropriations of about $2.4 billion. In early November, the Senate passed a FY2012 appropriations measure that boosted the FDA’s budget by $50 million, which contrasts sharply with the $285 million cut to the agency passed by the House earlier this year. House and Senate members are now negotiating a compromise between the two versions. Meanwhile, there are also concerns that the FDA may be a target for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which is tasked with releasing a plan by Nov. 23 to identify $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

These funding uncertainties will be a looming topic of concern as thousands of academics, scientists and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry convene in San Francisco this weekend for the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics to discuss innovations in drug development, target selection and the impact of new discoveries in molecular biology.

“Rapid advancements in molecular biology and genetics are leading to an abundance of new targets for cancer therapies,” said Frank McCormick, Ph.D., FRS, chair of the AACR Task Force on Regulatory Science and Policy, which was established with the goal of supporting FDA efforts to improve and modernize the regulatory process. “The excitement in this field is palpable, but it is tempered by anxiety over what is happening on Capitol Hill. These discoveries won’t advance to patients quickly enough unless Congress adequately funds the FDA.”

According to a recently released FDA report, the agency has approved 35 new medicines during the past 12 months, among the highest number of approvals in the past decade and surpassed only by 2009. Seven of the new medicines represent major advances in cancer treatment.

“The science underlying these new innovations is expanding at an incredible speed, as we will see at the upcoming AACR-NCI-EORTC conference,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “It is absolutely essential that Congress provide the FDA the resources needed to keep pace and continue to drive new breakthroughs quickly through the drug development pipeline to patients.”

# # #

Epigenetic Therapy Shows Promise in Hard-to-treat Lung Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Therapy extended median survival to 6.4 months.
Two patients are alive four years after start of epigenetic treatment.

PHILADELPHIA — Patients with recurrent metastatic non-small cell lung cancer have a morbid prognosis, but a new epigenetic therapy may have potential for this population, according to data published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

A research team at Johns Hopkins University tested a combination epigenetic therapy of azacitidine and entinostat among 45 patients with recurrent metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who had been heavily pretreated with other therapies but showed no response. Each patient received azacitidine on nine days and entinostat on two days per month. The trial had an “open-label” design, in which all patients received the treatment and there was no control group receiving a placebo.

Researchers found a median survival of 6.4 months with treatment, where the typical survival for this patient population is four months. Patients who showed signs of gene methylation reversal in at least two of four key genes had better survival than the rest, and two patients experienced dramatic tumor shrinkages.

Four of the 19 patients who received subsequent anticancer therapies had a major objective response to immediate subsequent treatment with other agents. Seven patients remain alive, including two who began treatment approximately four years ago.

“We are starting to show traction for epigenetic therapy for one of the most difficult-to-treat tumors,” said Stephen A. Baylin, M.D., professor and deputy director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University and leader of the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Epigenetics Dream Team. “This study appears to show the first durable successes in solid tumors with epigenetic therapy.”

This drug combination has previously shown efficacy among patients with leukemia.

“We hope these results lead to a larger, more definitive clinical trial of this drug combination,” said Charles Rudin, M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology and director of the Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Program at Hopkins’ Kimmel Cancer Center. Rudin led the team of physicians and cancer biologists who conducted the study.

This research is funded in part by SU2C, a Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute.

“This research would not have been possible, especially at this accelerated pace, without Stand Up To Cancer,” said Baylin. “Our SU2C Dream Team has benefitted enormously from the initiative’s vision and visibility. The funding helps leverage other support mechanisms, like our SPORE grant from the NCI, which could never separately fund a trial of this magnitude and scope. It has enabled incredibly fruitful collaborations and allowed us, most importantly, to make a real difference in peoples’ lives.”

Portions of this release have been provided by Johns Hopkins.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (49.6 MB, 54 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.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the United States and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) — a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization — raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that will get new therapies to patients quickly.

SU2C’s “Dream Team” approach to funding translational cancer research enables scientists from different disciplines at research centers across the country and internationally to collaborate on projects geared toward getting new, less toxic treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Monies also support innovative cancer research projects that are often deemed “too risky” by conventional funding sources. Currently, 355 scientists from 55 institutions are involved in SU2C-funded research projects — either as members of Dream Teams or as recipients of Innovative Research Grants. As SU2C’s scientific collaborator, the American Association for Cancer Research, led by a prestigious SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, provides scientific oversight, expert review of the research projects and grants administration.

Members of the SU2C Executive Leadership Council include Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen and Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pam Williams, partner at Laura Ziskin Productions; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin, a legendary film producer who executive produced the 2008 and 2010 SU2C telecasts, was also a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(215) 446-7109
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org

Ruling Blocking Graphic Cigarette Health Warnings Presents Major Setback for Public Health

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research strongly opposes the recent federal ruling that blocks implementation of the graphic warning labels for cigarette packaging and advertising and urges the Justice Department to swiftly appeal the decision.

“This ruling shows a blatant disregard for the scourge of death and disease caused by tobacco use,” said Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., chairperson of the AACR Task Force on Tobacco and Cancer and chief of medical oncology at Yale University. “The new labels were developed based on rigorous scientific evidence and will be an invaluable tool to help communicate the many public health dangers of tobacco use.”

The mandate for new health warnings was a critical component of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which was passed with bipartisan support by Congress in 2009. The parameters in the law are based on decades of science showing that large, graphic warnings are an effective way to increase awareness about the dangers of tobacco use, to dissuade nonsmokers from starting to smoke and to motivate smokers to quit.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon grants a preliminary injunction blocking the government from requiring the new warnings, which were unveiled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2011 and were due to appear by September 2012. The new labels use large color photos or drawings to depict the negative health consequences of smoking and include concise statements, such as “Cigarettes cause cancer.”

“This ruling is a disappointing setback, and we hope the administration will waste no time in appealing the injunction,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Nearly one third of all cancer deaths are caused by tobacco use — and cancer is only one of the ways that tobacco kills people. Yet, one in five Americans is still smoking, and 1,000 children across the nation become addicted to tobacco products every single day. We must waste no time in our efforts to reduce the burden of this horrible carcinogen which causes no fewer than 18 different types of cancer.”

In 2010, the AACR released a comprehensive policy statement on tobacco and cancer composed of policy recommendations and a road map for future research to stem the tide of tobacco-related death and disease. The statement urged more stringent and effective warning labels based on scientific evidence and recommended inclusion of the 1-800-QUIT-NOW cessation resource on labels.

# # #

Vaccine for Metastatic Breast, Ovarian Cancer Shows Promise

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Vaccine is a recombinant poxviral compound.
One patient with metastatic breast cancer had a sustained complete response.

PHILADELPHIA — Treatment with a recombinant poxviral vaccine showed a positive response in both metastatic breast cancer and ovarian cancer, according to a trial published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“With this vaccine, we can clearly generate immune responses that lead to clinical responses in some patients,” said lead researcher James Gulley, M.D., Ph.D., director and deputy chief of the clinical trials group at the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology at the National Cancer Institute.

Gulley and colleagues enrolled 26 patients and assigned them to monthly vaccinations with the PANVAC vaccine, which contains transgenes for MUC-1, CEA and three T cell costimulatory molecules.

These patients were already heavily pretreated, with 21 of them receiving at least three prior chemotherapy regimens.

Among the 12 patients with breast cancer, median time to progression was 2.5 months and median overall survival was 13.7 months. Four patients had stable disease.

For the 14 patients with ovarian cancer, median time to progression was two months and median overall survival was 15 months.

Following treatment, mild injection-site reactions were the most common side effect.

According to Gulley, interest in cancer vaccines is increasing and more study is needed to determine which vaccines will benefit which patients. “The sustained benefit seen in some patients in this study underscores the potential for therapeutic vaccines to impact clinical outcomes without toxicity,” he said. “However, more studies in the appropriate patient populations are required to adequately assess efficacy.”

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

# # #

Key Driver of Metastasis Identified

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Protein S100A10 is essential for metastatic growth.
Macrophages rely upon S100A10 to power movement of tumor cells to new sites.

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia have identified a key mechanism of metastasis that could lead to blocking tumor growth if their findings are confirmed.

In a recent issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, lead researcher David Waisman, Ph.D., professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Pathology, and Canada Research Chair in Cancer Research at Dalhousie University, detailed the key role the macrophage cell surface protein S100A10 plays in allowing macrophages to move to the site of tumor growth – a process that is essential to tumor development.

Waisman said the findings are an example of the complicated biology of cancer.

“We used to think that the only cells that mattered in a tumor were the cancer cells, and that’s it, but now we are beginning to see that other cells must collaborate with cancer cells to drive tumor growth and permit an evolution of the cancer cells into metastatic cells. This change is what causes poor prognosis and ultimately what kills the patient,” he said.

Waisman and colleagues discovered that tumors will not grow without macrophage assistance. These macrophages must come from the blood or from other locations in the tissues. How they are able to move through the tissues or from the blood supply into the tumor had always been a mystery.

These macrophages need to chew their way through the tissue that forms a barrier around the growing tumor in order to move into the tumor site and combine with the cancer cells. The researchers found on the outside surface of the macrophage is a protein called S100A10, which enables the macrophage to remove the tissue barriers retarding migration to the tumor site.

Theoretically, blocking either the macrophages or S100A10 chemically could slow, or even stop, tumor growth.

“We found that the protein, S100A10, acts like a pair of scissors on the outside of the macrophages that empowers the macrophages with the ability to chew their way through tissues and enter the tumor site where they release substances that stimulate cancer cell growth and metastatic evolution,” said Waisman.

He said the next step is to figure out exactly how S100A10 functions as a molecular scissor and also to identify pharmaceutical agents that can block the action of S100A10, thereby preventing the movement of macrophages to the tumor site. By understanding exactly how S100A10 works at the molecular level, it may even be possible to design agents which block its activity.

The study was funded by a grant from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

# # #

Thirteen AACR Members Elected to the Institute of Medicine

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research congratulates 13 of its members 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, election to the IOM is granted to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary professional achievement and commitment to service in the fields of health and medicine.

“We are thrilled that the Institute of Medicine is bestowing this great honor upon 13 of our prominent members,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). “The new inductees are leaders in cancer science and medicine who have made an enormous impact on our ability to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. This is a great tribute to their lifelong dedication to cancer research.”

The AACR members elected to the IOM are:

Frederick W. Alt, Ph.D., investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Charles A. Janeway professor of pediatrics and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, and president of the Immune Disease Institute and director of the program in cellular and molecular medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston;

Karen H. Antman, M.D., provost at Boston University Medical Campus and dean of Boston University School of Medicine;

Martin J. Blaser, M.D., Frederick H. King professor of internal medicine, chair of the department of medicine, and professor of microbiology at New York University School of Medicine;

Carlo M. Croce, M.D., John W. Wolfe chair in human cancer genetics, chair of the department of molecular virology, immunology, and medical genetics, and director of the Institute of Genetics at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio;

George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D., investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Samuel E. Lux IV professor of hematology in the division of hematology/oncology at Children’s Hospital Boston, and professor of biological chemistry, molecular pharmacology, and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School;

Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, associate vice chancellor for cancer research and professor of medicine at University of Pittsburgh;

Mark E. Davis, Ph.D., Warren and Katharine Schlinger professor of chemical engineering at California Institute of Technology;

David L. Eaton, Ph.D., associate vice provost for research, professor of environmental health sciences, professor of public health genetics, and adjunct professor of medicinal chemistry in the School of Public Health at University of Washington;

Richard A. Gibbs, Ph.D., Wofford Cain professor in the department of molecular and human genetics and director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine;

Joe W. Gray, Ph.D., Gordon Moore endowed chair in the department of biomedical engineering and director of the Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine at Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University;

Michael Karin, Ph.D., distinguished professor of pharmacology and pathology in the School of Medicine at University of California, San Diego;

Jay S. Loeffler, M.D., Herman and Joan Suit professor in the department of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School and chair of radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital; and

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Ph.D., president of Rockefeller University.

Current active members elect new 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.

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. Upon 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 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.

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AACR Calls for Letters of Intent for a Stand Up To Cancer-Prostate Cancer Foundation Dream Team

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), along with the American Association for Cancer Research, call upon the cancer research community to submit Letters of Intent for a new Dream Team dedicated to prostate cancer research.

The SU2C-PCF Prostate Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant will provide funding of up to $10 million over a three-year period for a cancer research project that will address therapeutic interventions for advanced prostate cancer with special emphasis on metastatic disease, and deliver near-term patient benefit through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, synergistic Dream Team of expert investigators. Proposals for the SU2C-PCF Prostate Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant must include plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic.

To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the Dream Team must include laboratory and clinical researchers, senior and/or young investigators and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past, as well as patient advocates. This Dream Team will span multiple disciplines and utilize the new tools of modern biology to attack research questions in a coordinated way. Mechanisms to foster collaboration within and among the Dream Teams should be employed — an approach that promotes the sharing of information and a goal-oriented focus on measurable milestones of progress.

SU2C and PCF believe that this unique Dream Team model will advance scientific research in the interests of both today’s cancer patients and those who may develop cancer in the future.

A SU2C-PCF Joint Scientific Advisory Committee (JSAC) will conduct a unique, interactive, rapid and rigorous evaluation of the applications via a multi-step scientific review process. The committee is chaired by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., institute professor at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is co-chaired by SU2C representative William G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., the Marion I. Knott director and professor of oncology, and director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, and PCF representative Howard R. Soule, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief science officer of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The JSAC is comprised of highly accomplished senior laboratory researchers and physician-scientists, as well as advocates.

Since the launch of Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, the AACR has played an integral role as SU2C’s scientific partner by providing scientific leadership, expert peer review and grants administration. The AACR is responsible for administering these grants and provides ongoing scientific oversight to ensure that progress is being made. The AACR will work closely with PCF, the world’s leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating prostate cancer research.

For general information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about this Dream Team grant, please visit: www.aacr.org/SU2CPCF. Inquiries may be directed to the SU2C Grants Office at: (267) 765-1049 or su2c@aacr.org. Those interested should submit Letters of Intent detailing their best ideas for cutting-edge prostate research projects using the proposalCENTRAL website at https://proposalcentral.altum.com. Letters of Intent must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET on November 28, 2011.

Plans are for the new Dream Team to be announced at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held March 31 through April 4 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill.

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About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) — a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization — raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C facilitates collaboration among the best and the brightest in the cancer research community. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C generates awareness and builds grassroots support for this effort.

To view the recently televised Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special, please visit: www.su2c.org/2010show. For general information, please visit www.su2c.org.

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.

About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised nearly $475 million and provided funding to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions in 12 countries. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds supporting transformational cancer research. More information about PCF can be found at pcf.org.

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, the AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

Visit the AACR: www.aacr.org
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 646-0622
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

High Fluid Intake Appears to Reduce Bladder Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Drinking plenty of fluids reduced men’s risk for bladder cancer.
Men drank fewer liquids as they aged.
Physicians should feel comfortable recommending that patients drink plenty of low-sugar fluids.

BOSTON — Drinking plenty of fluids may provide men with some protection against bladder cancer, according to a study presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

Although the study did not determine why increased fluid intake might be protective, Jiachen Zhou, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at Brown University, hypothesized that the fluids may flush out potential carcinogens before they have the opportunity to cause tissue damage that could lead to bladder cancer.

Researchers evaluated the association between fluid intake and bladder cancer among 47,909 male participants in the prospective Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) during a 22-year period. HPFS is a long-term study of male health professionals who were aged between 40 and 75 years at enrollment in 1986.

Participants answered a questionnaire about fluid intake every four years. Researchers found that high total fluid intake (more than 2,531 milliliters per day) was associated with a 24 percent reduced risk for bladder cancer among men.

Researchers first found an association between fluid intake and bladder cancer risk in this cohort 10 years ago. The association was present but weaker in the most recent study. Detailed analyses revealed the association was stronger among younger men, and this may explain the weakened association over time. The researchers also observed that the men drank fewer liquids, particularly water, as they aged.

Although he warned against generalizing these findings to the wider population, Zhou said that physicians should feel comfortable recommending that patients drink plenty of fluids.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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Increased Tanning Bed Use Increases Risk for Deadly Skin Cancers

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Indoor tanning use increased risk for three common skin cancers.
Risk increased 11 percent to 15 percent with use every four times per year.
Risk effect was more predominant during high school/college.

BOSTON — Researchers confirmed an association between tanning bed use and an increased risk for three common skin cancers — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, according to results presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

The popularity of indoor tanning is widespread, with roughly 10 percent of Americans using a tanning facility each year. However, use of tanning beds has been shown to be associated with an increased risk for skin cancer, according to lead researcher Mingfeng Zhang, M.D., research fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

For this cohort study, Zhang and colleagues followed 73,494 nurses who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study II from 1989 to 2009. They tracked tanning bed use during high school and college and when women were aged between 25 and 35 years old. They also tracked the overall average usage during both periods in relation to basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Results showed that tanning bed use increased skin cancer risk with a dose-response effect. More tanning bed exposure led to higher risks. Compared with nonusers, the risk for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma increased by 15 percent for every four visits made to a tanning booth per year; the risk for melanoma increased by 11 percent.

“The use during high school/college had a stronger effect on the increased risk for basal cell carcinoma compared with use during ages 25 to 35,” Zhang said.

“These results have a public health impact on skin cancer prevention for all three types of skin cancer,” she said. “[They] can be used to warn the public against future use of tanning beds and to promote restrictions on the indoor tanning industry by policymakers.”

In follow-up studies, the researchers plan to monitor skin cancer incidence and to assess the association with tanning bed usage in this cohort during a longer term.

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Coffee Consumption Associated With Decreased Risk for Basal Cell Carcinoma

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

A significantly inverse association was found for coffee consumption and basal cell carcinoma.
Decaffeinated coffee consumption was not associated with decreased risk.
Coffee consumption was not related to squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

BOSTON — Caffeine could be related to an inverse association between basal cell carcinoma risk and consumption of coffee, a study found.

The prospective study, presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011, examined the risks of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma in connection with coffee consumption and found a decreased risk for BCC only.

“Given the nearly 1 million new cases of BCC diagnosed each year in the United States, daily dietary factors with even small protective effects may have great public health impact,” said researcher Fengju Song, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent BCC.”

Data were taken from the Nurses’ Health Study (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Harvard School of Public Health). In the Nurses’ Health Study, 72,921 participants were followed from June 1984 to June 2008. In the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, 39,976 participants were followed from June 1986 to June 2008.

The researchers reported 25,480 incident skin cancer cases. Of those, 22,786 were BCC, 1,953 were SCC, and 741 were melanoma.

Song and colleagues reported that women who consumed more than three cups of coffee per day had a 20 percent reduction in risk for BCC, and men who consumed more than three cups per day had a nine percent risk reduction compared with people who consumed less than one cup per month.

The amount of coffee consumption was inversely associated with BCC risk. Those in the highest quintile had the lowest risk, with an 18 percent reduction for women and a 13 percent reduction for men.

Song and colleagues were surprised by the inverse connection in BCC cases only. Animal studies have suggested an association between coffee intake and skin cancer risk, but epidemiologic studies have not conclusively shown the same results, they said.

“Mouse studies have shown that oral or topical caffeine promotes elimination of UV-damaged keratinocytes via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and markedly reduces subsequent SCC development,” Song said. “However, in our cohort analysis, we did not find any inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk for SCC.”

Song said that additional studies specifically addressing the association between coffee consumption and BCC and the mechanism behind this association are warranted.

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Could Additives in Hot Dogs Affect Incidence of Colon Cancer?

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Erythorbate added to hot dogs reduced the content of possibly carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds.
Time trends in the incidence of colon cancer may not support the view that N-nitroso compounds in processed meat are a cause of colon cancer.

BOSTON — The addition of ascorbate (vitamin C) or its close relative, erythorbate, and the reduced amount of nitrite added in hot dogs, mandated in 1978, have been accompanied by a steep drop in the death rate from colon cancer, according to data presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

However, the incidence rate for colon cancer has apparently not changed much since 1978, according to 2011 data from the SEER Cancer Statistics Review from the National Cancer Institute.

“It was proposed that N-nitroso compounds in hot dogs and other processed meats can cause colon cancer,” said Sidney S. Mirvish, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. “We found that the level of total apparent N-nitroso compounds in hot dog links prepared in our laboratory fell as increasing levels of sodium erythorbate were included in the hot dog links.”

Mirvish and colleagues discussed the view that colon cancer was induced by components of the apparent nonvolatile N-nitroso compounds that occur in processed (nitrite-preserved) meat. Hence, Mirvish and colleagues investigated the effect of varying the erythorbate level on the N-nitroso compound content of hot dogs.

They found that the current level of erythorbate (500 milligrams per kilogram) added to hot dogs reduces the N-nitroso compounds to 2 nanomoles per gram compared with 180 nanomoles per gram when erythorbate was not used.

“When erythorbate was not added, 80 percent of the apparent N-nitroso compounds were found to be due to nitrosothiols, which are probably harmless, still leaving 40 nanomoles per gram that were attributed to possibly carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds,” Mirvish said.

If the level of N-nitroso compounds was an important cause of colon cancer, “the drop in N-nitroso compound content caused by the mandated changes in processed meat should have been accompanied by a drop in the incidence of colon cancer,” Mirvish said.

In fact, since the mandated changes were introduced 33 years ago, the death rate for colon cancer has dropped sharply. “This may have been due mostly to earlier detection and better treatment of this disease,” Mirvish said.

Mirvish concluded that the role of hot dog-derived N-nitroso compounds in the causation of colon cancer remains unclear.

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Dietary Patterns May Be Linked to Increased Colorectal Cancer Risk in Women

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Risk was further increased by being overweight, inactive lifestyle.
Dietary pattern may increase insulin resistance.
Altering diet could serve as colorectal cancer prevention method.

BOSTON — Researchers may have found a specific dietary pattern linked to levels of C-peptide concentrations that increase a woman’s risk for colorectal cancer.

“High red meat intake, fish intake, sugar-sweetened beverage intake, but low coffee, whole grains and high-fat dairy intake, when taken as a whole, seemed to be associated with higher levels of C-peptide in the blood,” said Teresa T. Fung, S.D., R.D., professor of nutrition at Simmons College in Boston, who presented the data at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

C-peptide is a marker of insulin secretion that can be measured in a person’s blood. High levels of insulin may promote cell growth and multiplication. One of the major characteristics of cancer is aberrant cell growth. Higher levels of C-peptide, and therefore insulin, may promote cancer cell growth.

“Colon cancer seems to be one of the cancers that are sensitive to insulin,” Fung said. “This research has helped us to put together a fuller picture of what may be going on in terms of mechanisms and the relationship between food and colorectal cancer risk.”

Fung and colleagues surveyed a sample of women every two years about general health information including whether or not they had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The researchers also assessed women’s diets in a separate questionnaire mailed to them every four years. The dietary questionnaire listed more than 130 types of foods and asked the women how often they were consuming each type.

After 22 years of follow-up, 985 cases of colorectal cancer and 758 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed among the women. The researchers found that those women who most often consumed high amounts of red meat, fish and sugar-sweetened beverages and low amounts of high-fat dairy, coffee and whole grains had a 35 percent increased risk for colorectal cancer.

The researchers also compared the dietary information of women who were lean and active with that of women who were overweight and sedentary.

“We found that people who were overweight or inactive seemed more sensitive to this dietary pattern. Their risk for colorectal cancer was much higher than those people who were lean and active,” Fung said. “Overweight people are already at risk for insulin resistance. We think that if you then add this unique dietary pattern on top of that, which was associated with higher C-peptide levels, they are much more prone to develop colorectal cancer.”

Fung said people should pay attention to the foods they consume for a multitude of health reasons.

“Although avoiding the dietary patterns that we found is not necessarily the most comprehensive way to prevent colorectal cancer, it definitely targets one pathway of the disease,” she said.

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Analgesics Use Associated With Increased Risk for Renal Cell Carcinoma

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Use of aspirin was not associated with risk for renal cell cancer.
Acetaminophen and nonaspirin NSAID use increased risk.
Researchers observed similar risk trends for high-dose analgesics use.

BOSTON — Use of acetaminophen and nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was associated with a significantly increased risk for developing renal cell carcinoma, according to data presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

Eunyoung Cho, Sc.D., assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a preliminary meta-analysis of 18 studies from six countries to examine analgesics use and its relation to the risk for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

“Our meta-analysis was the largest analysis of analgesics and risk for RCC,” Cho said. “Our study is the first few of those studies raising [the] possibility that these commonly used painkillers may elevate the risk for certain types of cancer.”

Cho and colleagues conducted a Medline database search for case-control or cohort studies on acetaminophen, aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), published between 1966 and July 1, 2011. They found 12 studies examining risk for acetaminophen, 12 for aspirin and five for NSAIDs.

Results demonstrated that any use of acetaminophen was associated with a 33 percent increased risk for RCC, and use of other NSAIDs was linked with a 26 percent increased risk. No significantly increased risk for RCC was found with the use of aspirin.

The meta-analysis revealed similar trends with high-dose analgesics intake. Researchers found no significant difference in associations based on study design, type of controls in case-control studies, study outcome or gender.

“The positive association with nonaspirin NSAIDs was somewhat expected since we recently published on the association from two prospective studies [in Archives of Internal Medicine], which were included in this meta-analysis,” Cho said. “However, the association with use of acetaminophen was not found in the publication and was thus unexpected. Several relatively small studies of use of acetaminophen and RCC did suggest positive associations. When we conducted a meta-analysis of these studies to improve statistical power, the summary results came out statistically significant.”

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Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In Boston, Oct. 22-25, 2011:
(617) 954-2674

Body Weight, Diet May Be Risk Factors for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Obesity in young adulthood was associated with risk for NHL later in life.
Obese men had a 64 percent higher risk for NHL compared with lean men.
Obese women had a 19 percent increased risk.

BOSTON — Body weight in young adulthood and diet appeared to be associated with the risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to results presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

“The causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are poorly understood, and unfortunately, we don’t know very much about specific ways to prevent or lower the risk for this disease,” said Kimberly Bertrand, Sc.D., research fellow in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

In previous analyses of the Nurses’ Health Study at 14 years of follow-up, lead researcher Shumin Zhang, M.D., Sc.D., and colleagues reported positive associations with NHL for trans fat intake and inverse associations for vegetable intake. To expand those findings, Bertrand and colleagues evaluated the association of obesity, specific types of dietary fats, and fruits and vegetables with risk for NHL.

Researchers analyzed questionnaire responses from 47,541 men followed for 22 years in the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study and 91,227 women followed for 28 years in the Nurses’ Health Study. Among the women, researchers confirmed 966 incident diagnoses of NHL through 2008, and among the men, they confirmed 566 cases through 2006.

“In analyses that controlled for age, race and other factors, we found that obesity in young adulthood (ages 18 to 21 years) was associated with risk for NHL later in life,” Bertrand said. “Men who were obese (body mass index [BMI] equal to or greater than 30) [in young adulthood] had a 64 percent higher risk for NHL compared with men who were lean, while obese women had a 19 percent higher risk.”

Current BMI was also associated with risk for NHL in men but not in women. Although total and specific dietary fats were not associated with NHL risk, findings also suggested that women who consumed the highest amounts of trans fat in their diets had a nonstatistically significant increased risk for NHL overall. “We observed that women who consumed at least four servings of vegetables per day, compared with those who consumed fewer than two servings per day, had a 16 percent lower risk for developing NHL,” Bertrand said.

“The results from this study, if confirmed in other studies, suggest that body weight and dietary choices may be potentially modifiable risk factors for NHL,” she said.
Bertrand and colleagues also plan to investigate associations of obesity and dietary factors with common subtypes of NHL, to evaluate biomarkers of fatty acids related to NHL risk to obtain more information on the possible biological mechanism for these associations, and to investigate other dietary factors including red meat consumption and antioxidants.

The study was supported by the American Cancer Society with funds to senior researcher, Brenda Birmann, M.Sc., Sc.D. (RSG-11-020-01-CNE), and by the National Institutes of Health (CA055075 and CA87969). Bertrand was supported by a training grant from the National Cancer Institute (R25 CA098566).

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Sleeping Sickness Drug May Provide Long-Term Protection Against Skin Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Significant difference found in the prevention of basal cell carcinoma.
Trend found in prevention of squamous cell carcinoma, although not significant.
No evidence of adverse effects found up to 10 years after being assigned to the drug.

BOSTON — An antiparasitic agent used to treat African sleeping sickness might someday be used to prevent nonmelanoma skin cancers. Researchers found that DFMO, or α-difluoromethylornithine, still appeared to protect against nonmelanoma skin cancers years after people stopped taking the drug, according to a poster presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

In this follow-up study, researchers evaluated prolonged evidence of a protective effect of DFMO among 209 people who had participated in an earlier study. The researchers also wanted to ensure there were no obvious deleterious effects associated with the drug, according to Howard H. Bailey, M.D., professor of medicine, and study presenter Sarah Lamont, a medical student, both from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

The original study was a phase III, randomized, double-blind, prospective study of 291 men and women with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer. They were assigned to either DFMO or a placebo for four to five years. At the end of the study period, researchers found a reduced skin cancer incidence among those assigned to DFMO.

“We showed a significant protective effect against basal cell carcinoma, but not a significant amount of protection against squamous cell carcinoma of the skin,” Bailey said.

The main side effect was a slight ototoxicity that was found on testing, but this was not associated with a noticeable reduction in hearing by the subjects.

In the current retrospective study, researchers reviewed the electronic medical records of 209 of the original participants to establish cancer rates and to see if any other illnesses they might have developed could be attributed to DFMO.

“We found there is still evidence that the men and women assigned to DFMO for five years continued to have a lower incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancers compared with people assigned to placebo,” Bailey said. “What we saw was that the presumed benefit that people got in taking DFMO appeared to persist for years after stopping it.”

Study limitations include that participants may have been followed differently or changed their behaviors to limit sun exposure because of being in the original study, Bailey said.

“Our data suggest that the protective event that we saw in our prospective study appears to continue and there was no evidence of any rebound effect,” he said. “We did not find any evidence that the people who received DFMO were harmed [other than the original ototoxicity].”

However, Bailey cautioned, more studies are needed before DFMO can be recommended as a prophylaxis against nonmelanoma skin cancers.

He added that such prophylaxis measures are needed because public health efforts to teach people about limiting sun exposure have not resulted in fewer cases of skin cancer, with more than 2 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer diagnosed each year. “The incidence continues to rise despite public health efforts to get people to lessen their sun exposure,” Bailey said.

The study was sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

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NSAID Use Associated With Lower Colorectal Cancer Mortality Rates Among Postmenopausal Women

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Lower colorectal cancer mortality rates were associated with consistent NSAID use at study enrollment and three years later.
Lower colorectal cancer mortality rates were associated with at least 10 years of reported NSAID use.

BOSTON — Postmenopausal women who reported having used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for at least 10 years at the time of enrollment in the Women’s Health Initiative study had a lower risk for death from colorectal cancer compared with women who reported no use of these drugs at enrollment, according to data presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

“Our results suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is associated with lower colorectal cancer mortality among postmenopausal women who use these medications more consistently and for longer periods of time,” said Anna E. Coghill, M.P.H., a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

She and her colleagues evaluated the association between aspirin and nonaspirin NSAID use and colorectal cancer mortality in 160,143 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) who did not report a history of colorectal cancer at baseline. The study population included women enrolled in the WHI clinical trials and women enrolled in the WHI observational study.

“The WHI study population represents a large and well-characterized cohort of postmenopausal women, and the medication data collected in this cohort made it possible for us to investigate multiple types, durations and strengths of NSAID use,” Coghill said.

Researchers confirmed 2,119 cases of colorectal cancer through medical reports and verified 492 deaths due to colorectal cancer through a centralized medical record and death certificate review.

Coghill and colleagues found that reported use of NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and prescription NSAIDs at baseline, by itself, was not associated with colorectal cancer mortality.

However, women in the study who reported using NSAIDs at both study enrollment and three years after study enrollment had an approximately 30 percent lower rate of death due to colorectal cancer compared with women who reported no NSAID use or use at only one of these two time points. Researchers also observed significant reductions in colorectal cancer mortality among women who reported at least 10 years of NSAID use at study enrollment compared with those who reported no use.

“The results of our study help to further clarify the importance of different durations of NSAID use over time for the risk for dying from colorectal cancer,” Coghill said.

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Significant Weight Gain in Adulthood Increased Risk for Endometrial Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Large amounts of weight gain increased risk twofold.
Increased risk was independent of body mass index.
Weight cycling, or “yo-yo” dieting, had no effect on endometrial cancer risk.

BOSTON — Postmenopausal women who gained weight during adulthood had an increased risk for endometrial cancer compared with women who maintained a stable weight, according to data from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

Victoria L. Stevens, Ph.D., strategic director of laboratory services at the National Home Office of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, presented the data at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

Stevens and colleagues investigated whether adulthood weight gain and/or weight cycling, defined as the number of times a woman purposefully lost 10 pounds or more and then later regained the weight, increased the risk for endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women, independent of body mass index (BMI). Weight cycling, commonly referred to as “yo-yo” dieting, had previously been suggested to increase the amount of fat mass relative to lean body mass, according to Stevens.

“Fat tissue is the major source of circulating estrogen in postmenopausal women, and estrogen promotes the development of endometrial cancer,” Stevens said. “Therefore, we hypothesized that weight cycling could be associated with risk for this cancer because women who engage in this behavior may have a higher proportion of fat than noncyclers.”

The researchers collected data from 38,152 women with an intact uterus and who provided information on weight history and weight cycling on a 1992 questionnaire. Between 1992 and 2007, 560 women reported a diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

Overall, the results indicated that there was an almost fourfold increased risk for endometrial cancer in women who had gained 61 pounds or more in that timeframe, compared with women who maintained a stable weight. After adjustment for baseline BMI, the researchers found a twofold increased risk for endometrial cancer.

In addition, after adjustment, the researchers found no association between weight cycling, or yo-yo dieting, and endometrial cancer risk. “Weight gain during adulthood may increase risk for endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women, but weight cycling, which results from unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, does not increase risk for this cancer,” Stevens said.

Future research should address whether the timing of weight gain and weight cycling during specific parts of adulthood, such as early adulthood versus middle age, influences the risk for endometrial cancer and whether weight loss decreases this risk, Stevens said.

“Weight gain during adulthood should be avoided to minimize risk for endometrial cancer,” she said. “Women who have gained weight and are overweight or obese should continue to attempt to lose weight even though most weight loss will not be maintained.”

# # #

Andrew J. Dannenberg, M.D., Honored With AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The AACR will present the 2011 AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research to Andrew J. Dannenberg, M.D., at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011. Dannenberg is director of the Weill Cornell Cancer Center and director of cancer prevention at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is also the Henry R. Erle, M.D.-Roberts Family Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Dannenberg’s work has provided the basis for the transformative discovery linking obesity, inflammation and breast cancer. He is recognized for his work on the inflammation-cancer connection with an emphasis on prostaglandin biology. Dannenberg’s research has been of major importance in explaining why levels of procarcinogenic prostaglandins are increased in inflamed tissues and tumors. He has also made major contributions to our understanding of why nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs show chemopreventive activity.

The AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research is given annually for seminal laboratory, translational, clinical, epidemiological or behavioral science contributions to the field of cancer prevention.

Dannenberg’s significant contributions include demonstrating that COX-2 was overexpressed in a variety of premalignant lesions and cancers; elucidating the mechanisms by which oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, carcinogens and tumor promoters regulate COX-2 gene expression; utilizing both pharmacological and genetic strategies to establish the importance of targeting prostaglandin synthesis as a bona fide prevention strategy; defining the signal transduction pathways by which dietary and synthetic chemopreventive agents suppress COX-2 transcription and prostaglandin synthesis; and determining the signaling mechanism by which COX-derived prostaglandin E2 induced aromatase, the rate-limiting enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesis. This latter work led to an observational study in which the use of aspirin was associated with a reduced risk for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

In his most recent work that provides new insights into the link between obesity, inflammation and breast cancer, Dannenberg conducted a preclinical study in which he used experimental models to demonstrate the presence of the obesity–inflammation–aromatase axis in the mammary gland. As a result, COX-2-derived PGE2 appeared to play an important role in inducing aromatase in the mammary glands of obese mice. Subsequently, he successfully translated these preclinical findings.

Dannenberg will present his lecture, “Obesity and Breast Inflammation: Implications for Cancer Prevention,” on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, at 5:15 p.m.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

About the Prevent Cancer Foundation
The Prevent Cancer Foundation was started in 1985. Today, it is one of the nation’s leading health organizations, catapulting cancer prevention to prominence. Through healthy-lifestyle choices and screening, many cancers can be prevented. The Foundation funds research and community grants in cancer prevention and early detection and creates educational materials and programs targeted at breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, oral, prostate, skin and testicular cancers. Since its inception the Prevent Cancer Foundation has provided more than $125 million in support of cancer prevention and early detection research, education and community outreach programs across the country. The Foundation has funded over 430 peer-reviewed research projects in 39 states and three in Canada, in leading research institutions. 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 http://www.preventcancer.org/.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 446-7156
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

AACR Calls for Applications for SU2C-KWF International Translational Cancer Research Grants

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA – Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and KWF Kankerbestrijding (Dutch Cancer Society), along with the American Association for Cancer Research, call upon the cancer research community to submit applications for Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research Grants.

One or two Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research Grants will be awarded for a total funding of €2.4 million (US$3.3 million, at the current exchange rate). The grants provide four years of funding for translational cancer research projects that address critical problems in patient care, including prevention strategies for those at risk, and deliver near-term patient benefit through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team of expert investigators. Projects must be designed to accelerate the application of new preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic agents to the clinic, and may focus on particular organ sites or on specialized research areas.

Proposals for Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research Grants must describe plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic. To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the projects will span multiple disciplines and use modern biological tools to attack research questions in a coordinated way.

The principal investigator of each project must be from a research institute located in The Netherlands. Co-principal investigators can be from research institutes in any country. Each project must include at least two research institutes located in The Netherlands and at least one research institute outside The Netherlands. At least fifty percent (50%) of the grant must be allocated to research executed in The Netherlands.

Since the launch of Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, the AACR has played an integral role as SU2C’s scientific partner by providing scientific leadership, expert peer review and grants administration. The AACR will work closely with the Dutch Cancer Society on this project. The Dutch Cancer Society will review the proposals for the Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Research projects in cooperation with the Stand Up To Cancer Scientific Advisory Committee. The Dutch Cancer Society and the committee consist of highly accomplished senior laboratory researchers and physician-scientists who are respected internationally for their own accomplishments in cancer research and as leaders in the field.

The Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research Grants are supported with money raised in connection with a Nov. 10, 2010, Dutch version of the Stand Up To Cancer televised fundraising event, broadcast in The Netherlands in cooperation with the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF Kankerbestrijding).

Proposals for Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research projects must be submitted by Nov. 1, 2011. For general information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about this Dream Team grant, click here. Inquiries may be directed to poz@kwfkankerbestrijding.nl.

The Sta Op Tegen Kanker International Translational Cancer Research Grant Dream Team(s) will be notified on Feb. 22, 2012, and the announcement will be made public on Feb. 29. There will be an additional public announcement at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held March 30 through April 4 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill.

# # #

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.

About the Dutch Cancer Society
The Dutch Cancer Society is a nation-wide organisation for cancer-related work in the Netherlands. We spend 80% of our budget to finance cancer research; 20% is spent on public awareness and information, prevention and patient support programmes. The DCS’ headquarters is located in Amsterdam; our professional staff amount to 140 persons. Over 120.000 volunteers support the Dutch Cancer Society whether it comes to local or nation-wide fundraising, scientific or policy advice in several councils and committees. We rely on nearly 1600 local committees that organise our yearly door-to-door campaign to raise funds for the fight against cancer (yearly revenue around € 8 million). The Dutch Cancer Society is supported by 800.000 donors. We receive no government money.

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, the AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and educational workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

Visit the AACR: www.aacr.org
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 646-0622
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

Embargo Policy for the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets Meeting

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – The American Association for Cancer Research announces the following embargo policy for the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, to be held in San Francisco Nov. 12-16, 2011.

The policy states:

Due to the high volume of sensitive fiduciary data in the abstracts for the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, the embargo for all abstracts will lift at 10:00 a.m. PT, Sat., Nov. 12, 2011, when they are available to registrants in San Francisco and posted online.

Some abstracts have been blocked and will not appear in the program or online on Nov. 12. These abstracts will break embargo at their meeting presentations and will be available online at http://mct.aacrjournals.org shortly after the presentation.

# # #

Ginger Root Supplement Reduced Colon Inflammation Markers

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Reductions of markers like PGE2 may be a biomarker for colon cancer prevention.
Phase II study conducted in humans requires validation.
Natural supplement use could be potential cancer prevention strategy.

PHILADELPHIA — Ginger supplements reduced markers of colon inflammation in a select group of patients, suggesting that this supplement may have potential as a colon cancer prevention agent, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Suzanna M. Zick, N.D., M.P.H., a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues enrolled 30 patients and randomly assigned them to two grams of ginger root supplements per day or placebo for 28 days.

After 28 days, the researchers measured standard levels of colon inflammation and found statistically significant reductions in most of these markers, and trends toward significant reductions in others.

Inflammation has been implicated in prior studies as a precursor to colon cancer, but another trial would be needed to see how ginger root affects that risk, Zick said.

“We need to apply the same rigor to the sorts of questions about the effect of ginger root that we apply to other clinical trial research,” she said. “Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic, and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective way.”

Zick is a naturopathic doctor (N.D.), which is a four-year degree that supplements a traditional medical education with instruction on the proper use of natural therapies, diet, nutrition and other alternative treatments. Her program is one of eight in the country, compared with about 135 traditional medical schools.

The study was funded by a National Cancer Institute grant.

# # #

AACR CEO Margaret Foti to Receive Research!America Advocacy Award

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Research!America will award American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Chief Executive Officer Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), the 2012 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership. Foti is honored for AACR’s national leadership role in science and public policy, and for her tireless and effective advocacy for federal research funding during her long tenure as the CEO of AACR.

In addition to Foti, Research!America, the nation’s largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance, will present its 16th Annual Advocacy Awards to Scott Johnson, president and founder, Myelin Repair Foundation; Sanjay Gupta, M.D., chief medical correspondent, CNN; Donald Lindberg, M.D., director, National Library of Medicine; and the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI).

“This year’s awardees have significantly raised the bar on scientific and policy achievements in their respective fields and shone a spotlight on the immeasurable benefits of research,” said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America. “We strongly believe their accomplishments will inspire others to be bold and innovative in advancing research and making it a high priority for our nation.”

The annual Research!America Advocacy Awards program was established in 1996 to honor outstanding advocates for medical, health and scientific research. Recognized individuals and organizations are those whose leadership efforts have been notably effective in advancing the nation's commitment to research.

“I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious award from Research!America,” said Foti. “The American Association for Cancer Research has made it a top priority to advocate for the advancement of cancer research and biomedical science and to ensure scientists have the federal support and resources needed to pursue novel new ways to treat and prevent disease. We are committed to educating lawmakers and the public about the value and promise of research and to fostering collaborations with the entire biomedical research community to expand the nation’s commitment to scientific discovery and innovation.”

Foti’s leadership was instrumental in the production of the landmark AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011 which highlighted the extraordinary progress made in cancer research over the past 40 years. This report was designed as a comprehensive, informational tool that illustrates the astounding return on investment in cancer research supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, and provides a summary of the scientific breakthroughs that promise to revolutionize the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

By engaging and leveraging the expertise of its membership and leaders in the field, the AACR has become the authoritative voice on issues of importance to the advancement of cancer research. In the fall of 2007, the AACR opened a Washington, D.C. office to represent the interests of cancer researchers before Congress. As a result, the AACR has a regular presence on Capitol Hill, sponsoring educational briefings for members of Congress and their staffs, and facilitating opportunities to connect researchers with key decision makers at all levels of government.

Foti became chief executive officer of the AACR in 1982. During her tenure, the AACR’s membership has grown from about 3,000 to 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers, health care professionals, students, cancer survivors, and research and patient advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries.

Foti has received many awards for her contributions to cancer research. In 2010, she was awarded the first Margaret Foti Award, established in cooperation with the University of Catania Ph.D. Oncology Program and the Italian League Against Cancer of Catania. In 2009, she won the first Margaret Kripke Legend Award from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the European CanCer Organization Lifetime Achievement Award, and received a citation from Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for her dedication to increasing awareness of the importance of cancer research and for her pivotal role in creating May as National Cancer Research Month. She was the first recipient of the AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research, created in her name in 2007.

She has received numerous other awards as well. Additionally, Foti has won 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 for her work in advancing clinical cancer research.

For her work, Foti has also been awarded honorary memberships in the Japanese Cancer Association, the European Association for Cancer Research and the Hungarian Cancer Society. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine and surgery from the University of Rome La Sapienza in 2003, and a second honorary doctorate in medicine and surgery from the University of Catania in Sicily in July 2008. She received a third honorary doctorate in medicine from the University CEU San Pablo, in Madrid in 2009.

The Research!America awards event will take place Wed., March 14, 2012, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. 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, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 646-0622
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

Older Cancer Survivor Population to Increase Substantially

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

In 2008, there were 11.9 million cancer survivors.
This represents an almost fourfold increase since 1971, the year the National Cancer Act was signed.
Researchers expect a 42 percent increase in the number of older adult survivors in the next 10 years.

PHILADELPHIA — Over the next decade, the population of cancer survivors over 65 years of age will increase by approximately 42 percent.

“We can expect a dramatic increase in the number of older adults who are diagnosed with or carry a history of cancer,” said Julia Rowland, Ph.D., director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). “Cancer is largely a disease of aging, so we’re seeing yet another effect of the baby boom generation and we need to prepare for this increase.”

Rowland’s report is part of the special focus on cancer survivorship, published in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Rowland and colleagues analyzed data from the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. This report on cancer survivorship statistics will be updated and published on an annual basis.

They found that in 1971, the year the National Cancer Act was signed, the survivor population was approximately 3 million, which increased to nearly 12 million in 2008, the last year data are available.

In 2008, 60 percent of the cancer survivors were at least 65 years old. The NCI projects this number will increase to 63 percent by 2020.

The most common diagnosis among cancer survivors includes female breast cancer (22 percent), prostate cancer (20 percent) and colorectal cancer (9 percent). Researchers attribute this high survival to improved detection and screening. Lung cancer, which is by far the most diagnosed cancer in men and women, is much lower in the survivor population at just 3 percent.

Rowland said the health care community needs to prepare for the coming wave of cancer survivors who will present some unique challenges. As a population, the number of oncologists and geriatric specialists is decreasing just as the need for these specialists is increasing.

“We may be fortunate in that the aging population is healthier than in previous generations, and new technologies could allow for better communication and follow-up,” she said.

# # #

AACR Congratulates Past President on Presidential Appointment

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research warmly commends Past President Tyler Jacks, Ph.D., for his recent appointment by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board.

“This appointment is a wonderful and fitting honor for Dr. Jacks, whose contributions to cancer research are immense,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Dr. Jacks is a dedicated leader and an innovative scientist who consistently contributes to the field with a fresh perspective on the whole spectrum of cancer research. The National Cancer Program will benefit greatly from his input.”

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 pioneered the use of technology to study cancer-associated genes and to construct animal models of many human cancers, including lung, pancreas, brain and ovarian cancer.

In addition to serving as AACR president and as a board member, 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 AACR special conferences. Jacks served as senior editor of Molecular Cancer Research from 2002-2007 and has served as an editorial board member of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics since the journal’s inception. To date, he has received numerous awards for his outstanding science including the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. Jacks has served as a trustee of the AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer since 2008.

Jacks has served on the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute. He was elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2009. 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.

# # #

Combination HPV Diagnostic Test for Head and Neck Cancer Outperformed Other Tests

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

A combination of P16 immunohistochemistry and viral DNA qPCR delivered solid results.
Diagnostic test may have immediate clinical impact.
Combination worked better than either individual test alone.

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers have determined that a combination of P16 immunohistochemistry and DNA qPCR to test for viral E6 can accurately determine the oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, a form of head and neck cancer, which derive from HPV16, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“This has immediate clinical applications as we consider recruitment to clinical trials designed to de-escalate the intensity of therapy based on HPV status” said lead researcher Andrew Schache, D.D.S., M.D., research fellow and surgeon at the University of Liverpool.

Schache said that the attention surrounding HPV, particularly in the last several years, has given rise to a number of diagnostic tests, but the evaluation of these tests has lagged behind.

For the current study, Schache and colleagues evaluated eight possible combinations of known diagnostic tests on 108 cases of HPV16 derived oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. They used viral gene expression as the standard marker.

“Viral gene expression has 100 percent specificity and sensitivity, but it requires very high quality tissue that is often not available,” said Schache.

After evaluating the tests, they found that a combination of DNA qPCR and P16 immunohistochemistry had 97 percent sensitivity, a measure of accurate positive tests, and 94 percent specificity, a measure of accurate negative tests.

Both of these assays are commercially available in proprietary and generic forms, Schache said, so the combination test could be administered.

“Getting the diagnosis right is extremely important because cases like this may receive less aggressive therapy based on a positive test. You do not want to withhold treatment from a more aggressive case,” he said.

The study was funded by a Wellcome Trust Grant, a U.K. philanthropy devoted to biomedical research.

# # #

Inflammation Marker may Guide Prognosis for Prostate Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Current methods often fail to separate lethal from non-lethal cancers.
• Levels of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) identify lethal cancers.
• Men with PIN were 89 percent more likely to die of prostate cancer.

PHILADELPHIA — Current methods of prostate cancer detection, like the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, often fail to identify which cancers will prove fatal and which cancers will remain benign until a patient dies of other causes.

“We are in need of better markers that distinguish between aggressive and indolent disease in this population,” said Jennifer R. Rider, Sc.D., an instructor in medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.

In a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Rider and colleagues suggested that levels of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) could allow for a more precise prognosis.

The researchers evaluated men with localized prostate cancer diagnosed following a surgical procedure to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. Of these men, 228 died of prostate cancer and 387 were diagnosed with prostate cancer, but were still alive after 10 years. Those with PIN were 89 percent more likely to die of prostate cancer.

Even after accounting for age, Gleason score, year of diagnosis, inflammation and type of focal atrophy present, PIN still managed to independently predict the lethality of a given tumor. There was also a suggestion that the degree of chronic inflammation adjacent to the tumor could predict lethal outcome.

“Identifying features surrounding the tumor that can predict prognosis, such as the presence of PIN or inflammation, can improve our understanding of the biology of aggressive prostate cancer and help to guide clinical decision-making,” said Rider.

The study was funded by the United States Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Swedish Cancer Society.

###

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and progress in the field.

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

Cancer Screening Rates Lower Among Those with Fatalistic Attitudes

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Even with no financial cost, rates are lower if negative attitudes persist.
•   Researchers tested rates of colorectal cancer screening in England.
•   Negative attitudes may be combated with psycho-educational interventions.

PHILADELPHIA — Even if health care is free, colorectal cancer screening rates among those without financial means are still low, and results of a new study suggest that may be due to an idea psychologists call cancer fatalism.

Anne Miles, Ph.D., a lecturer in psychology at Birbank, University of London, said those who felt that the cancer screenings wouldn’t help, or they were going to die of cancer anyway, often failed to comply with screening recommendations.

Her findings are published in a recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“In England, the screenings are free and the subsequent health treatments are free as well, yet people of lower socioeconomic status still do not get screened. We wanted to find out what else was going on,” she said.

Miles and her colleagues analyzed data from 529 adults aged 60 to 69 who had completed a series of surveys measuring their socio-economic status, self-rated health and rate of cancer fatalism. These measures were tested against the rate of fecal occult blood testing.

They found that men and women with higher socioeconomic status, better self-rated health and lower cancer fatalism were 56 percent more likely to undergo colorectal cancer screening by fecal occult blood testing.

Miles said cancer fatalism can be treated and managed if properly identified.

“There is clearly something else going on here besides costs. We need to understand peoples’ attitudes toward screening,” said Miles. “If they think it won’t help, they won’t do it, even if it’s free.”

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

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

AACR to Honor Three Congressional Leaders with Distinguished Public Service Awards

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research is pleased to recognize three members of Congress with Distinguished Public Service Awards for their commitment and dedication to the conquest of cancer. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Rep. Todd Platts (R-Penn.) will each receive this prestigious award during an AACR Congressional reception on Sept. 21, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

“We are deeply grateful for the contributions of these three champions of public health and biomedical and cancer research,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Their demonstrated support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will enable the future scientific advances needed to seize today’s scientific momentum, capitalize on prior investments in cancer research, save countless lives, and spur innovation and economic prosperity for our country and all our citizens.”

All three recipients were chosen by the AACR Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee, a distinguished panel of senior scientists who serve as the AACR’s principal means for devising and implementing strategies to influence important biomedical research-related public policy issues.

“Hard fought progress over the past 40 years by the cancer research community now provides unprecedented opportunities to translate critical discoveries into improved patient care,” said AACR President Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. However, our ability to exploit these exciting findings for progress in cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention will depend on a strong commitment by Congress to provide the necessary funding for the NIH and NCI.”

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) was elected to the Senate last fall, after representing the first district of Kansas for 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Moran’s appointment this year to the Senate Appropriations Committee and specifically, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, has allowed him to continue the strong support for biomedical research that he demonstrated while serving in the House of Representatives.

The AACR is deeply grateful for Moran’s strong engagement on and interest in the work taking place through the NIH and NCI, and appreciates his efforts to advocate for increased funding through his role as a Senate appropriator, most notably for his sponsorship of an amendment during today’s Senate full committee mark-up of the fiscal year 2012 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill to increase the budget of the NIH by $190 million.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) has been a true champion for early cancer detection and prevention. This was most notably demonstrated through her successful efforts to include a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a national education campaign about the threat breast cancer poses to all young women, with particular attention to high-risk ethnic, cultural and racial groups.

Wasserman Schultz has represented the 20th district of Florida since 2005 in the House of Representatives. She serves on the House Budget Committee, where she has proven to be a powerful advocate for NIH funding and cancer research. The AACR applauds her unwavering commitment to cancer prevention, detection and research.

Rep. Todd Platts (R-Penn.) has demonstrated tremendous leadership on the issue of tobacco and public health, and has worked to ensure adequate funding for the NIH and NCI. The AACR especially applauds his sponsorship of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which gave the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products for the first time. Platts has represented the 19th district of Pennsylvania for over a decade, and he holds leadership positions in the Congressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health and the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition.

The AACR looks forward to continuing to work with Platts to curb tobacco use and support research at the NIH and the NCI in order to achieve our collective goal of preventing and conquering cancer.

Pictured above: AACR CEO Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), Rep. Todd Platts (R-Penn.) and AACR President Judy Garber, M.D., M.P.H.

Pictured above: AACR CEO Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), William Dalton, M.D., Ph.D., Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and AACR President Judy Garber, M.D., M.P.H.

Pictured above: Roy Jensen, M.D., Director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center, AACR CEO Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and AACR President Judy Garber, M.D., M.P.H.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and progress in the field.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 312-8711
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

Genetic Differences May Cause Higher Rates of Prostate Cancer in African-American Men

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Differences could explain the higher rates of prostate cancer and mortality.
• Understanding differences could lead to specialized treatment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Genetic differences in prostate cells seem to be a root cause of the prostate cancer disparities between African-American men and white men, according to findings presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among U.S. men, with occurrences and mortality rates higher in African-American men compared to white men.

“There are a lot of socioeconomic and environmental factors that create differences in levels of prostate cancer in these two groups,” said Bi-Dar Wang, Ph.D., assistant research professor of pharmacology and physiology at the George Washington University. “We’ve found that genetic elements play a role in these disparities as well.”

Wang and colleagues analyzed normal and cancerous prostate tissue samples from African-American and white men who underwent prostate biopsies. They looked at two key genetic pieces: messenger RNA (mRNA), which carry codes from DNA that is then used to make proteins; and microRNA, shorter RNA strands that regulate that process by binding to mRNA and interrupt the gene expression or protein translation.

The results showed enough differences between African-American and white men to determine that each race has “population specific” mRNA and microRNA.

Specifically, they found nearly 400 mRNAs were differentially expressed between the cancerous prostate tissues of African-American and white men. These differences are crucial because mRNA and microRNA affect the biological pathways by which prostate cancer tumor formation is either promoted or stopped, according to Wang.

Wang believes these results are important because instead of focusing on socioeconomic and environmental factors, the researchers focused on biological differences, which could lead to more specialized treatment options in the future.

“It is still too early to conclude any novel treatment strategy based on our results. However, the genomic analyses of prostate cancers have revealed that differential mRNA and microRNA expression and the associated gene network rewriting may be critical in prostate cancer health disparities,” said Wang. “These findings will advance our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate cancer disparities and may help with the development of novel strategies for prostate cancer detection and personalized treatment for African-American men.”

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

Test Could Detect Breast Cancers Earlier in Young, High-risk African-American Women

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Pre-cancerous cells that consume sugar more common in this population.
• Prediabetes or gestational diabetes could speed development of cancer cells.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Certain cancer signaling pathways that are activated in aggressive cancer can be detected very early, even in precancerous cells, among young African-American women at high risk for breast cancer. This may allow for earlier detection and prevention of cancer.

However, the early activation of these pathways, which are linked to how the body’s cells consume and break down sugar, also raise the concern that certain conditions such as gestational diabetes and prediabetes, where the body produces more sugar, might stimulate precancerous cells promoting a conversion into cancerous cells.

Victoria L. Seewaldt, M.D., presented these study results at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 18-21, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

“We see a lot of very aggressive triple-negative breast cancers among young African-American women and a very high death rate, with only 14 percent alive at five years,” explained Seewaldt, professor of medicine and co-director of the breast and ovarian cancer program at Duke University in Durham, N.C. “We wanted to figure out why this was occurring among these women.”

It was already known that aggressive cancer cells actively consume glucose and produce lactic acid, even in the presence of adequate oxygen. Seewaldt and colleagues said this shift toward lactate production is called the Warburg effect.

“One of the hallmarks of really aggressive cancers is that they start taking sugar, breaking it down and turning it into energy,” she said. “It becomes their primary source of energy and that allows the cancer cells to grow rapidly.”

Although the Warburg effect is normally assumed to be a late event in breast cancer, previous research indicated that this process occurs early, even during cancer initiation, in high-risk African-American women. Because this process is occurring earlier, the researchers theorized that they could test for it in young African-American women as a method of breast cancer prevention.

Seewaldt and colleagues looked at two independent groups of 39 and 38 high-risk premenopausal African-American women. High-risk women were normally those women who had mothers or sisters who died from breast cancer at an early age, according to Seewaldt.

“We found that in a high proportion of high-risk African-American women these precancerous cells were taking in a high amount of glucose, and they also had activation of insulin signaling,” she said. “In these women, we would worry that if they developed gestational diabetes that the condition could really stimulate precancerous cells.”

Luckily, conditions like obesity and gestational diabetes can be avoided or treated, said Seewaldt.

“Exercise, weight loss and the diabetes drug metformin provide important opportunities for preventing aggressive breast cancer in African-American women. These are things where a community approach could really make a difference,” she said.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

African-American Men Living in Poor Sunlight Areas at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Race should be considered when recommending vitamin D supplementation.
• Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to multiple diseases.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — African-American men living in low sunlight areas are more likely to experience vitamin D deficiency than European-American men living in the same environment. Researchers believe that these findings should change recommendations for daily intake of vitamin D.

“This study shows that across the board vitamin D recommendations just won’t work for everybody,” said Adam B. Murphy, M.D., M.B.A., clinical instructor in the department of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who reported the study at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 18-21, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

“With so many diseases linked to low levels of vitamin D, we should have more stratified recommendations to consider groups within the population instead of making monolithic suggestions,” he added.

Researchers evaluated the marker for vitamin D – the 25 hydroxyvitamin D level (25-OH D level) – in 492 men aged 40 to 79 years who lived in Chicago, a low ultraviolet radiation (UVR) part of the country. Of that group, 93 percent of African-American men and 69.7 percent of European-American men were vitamin D deficient; having 25-OH D levels of less than 30 ng/mL.

Results showed that vitamin D levels were low in African American men, those with lower income and those with higher body mass index. Low sunlight exposure is a known factor in lower levels of vitamin D, but researchers found that African American men still had lower levels of vitamin D in sunnier seasons.

Murphy attributes low vitamin D levels to the composition of African-American skin, which contains more of the pigment melanin than lighter skin. When UVR light hits the skin cells, it reacts with the molecule 7-dehydrocholesterol to begin the production of vitamin D, which is then further processed by the body to make active vitamin D. In African-Americans, though, melanin blocks UVR rays from being absorbed, thus reducing the amount of vitamin D naturally produced.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to multiple diseases, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, which is why Murphy believes it is essential to adjust recommendations to reflect differences between African Americans and European-Americans.

“Because we have a lot of special populations in the United States – people who have darker skin, people who cover their skin for religious reasons and people who live in poor sunlight environments – there shouldn’t be uniform vitamin D recommendations for the entire population,” he said.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

AACR Releases Landmark Cancer Progress Report

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Report Calls on Congress to Provide Critical Funding Increases for Life-saving Research Supported by the NIH and NCI

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research will unveil the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011 at 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 20, during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The AACR is the world’s oldest and largest association dedicated to the acceleration of advances in cancer research for the prevention and cure of cancer.

The AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011, released 40 years after the National Cancer Act was signed into law, comes at a critical time – when decades of fundamental knowledge about cancer have led to incredible scientific and technological breakthroughs. Yet, because of the relatively flat funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 2003, both the momentum gained and future progress of cancer research are now seriously threatened.

“Today, more than any time in history, cancer researchers are maximizing the impact of the fundamental discoveries made over the past 40 years and are translating them into improved patient care. Sustained funding increases for the NIH and NCI are an urgent national priority that will improve the health of Americans and strengthen America’s innovation and economy,” said AACR Immediate Past President Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and Morris Herzstein professor of biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

The AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011 is a call to action for the general public and for lawmakers to intensify their efforts in supporting cancer and biomedical research. Past breakthroughs have resulted in new approaches that are transforming the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and are ushering in a new era of personalized cancer medicine.

At this inflection point in the field it is urgent that scientific momentum be maintained for the benefit of cancer patients and for all those who will be diagnosed with cancer in the future. Cancer and biomedical research also represents an unprecedented return on investment that can be measured not only in countless lives saved and a higher quality of life for cancer patients and survivors, but also in overall public health and economic benefit to our country.

For example, it is important to recall that the $3.8 billion in federal funds invested in the Human Genome Project from 1988 to 2003 helped drive $796 billion in economic impact and generated $244 billion in total personal income according to a 2011 report by Battelle; and many more opportunities to address the devastating consequences of cancer on our population while helping to create jobs are possible going forward.

The AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011 urges Congress to provide the NIH and NCI with sustained budget increases of at least 5 percent above the biomedical inflation rate. This level of support will ensure the future scientific advances needed to capitalize on past research investments, spur innovation, and make a difference in the lives of people worldwide.

“At this defining moment in cancer research, we hope that the AACR’s landmark Cancer Progress Report 2011 will help everyone to recognize the tremendous progress that has been made in our understanding of cancer and the enormous opportunities that now exist to stem the tide of this disease, which is diagnosed in one out of two men, and one out of three women in their lifetimes. The value of cancer research and biomedical research to the economic health and well-being of this nation cannot be overestimated,” said AACR President Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The following luminaries are scheduled to speak at the AACR’s press conference:

Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR, member of the AACR Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and member of the AACR Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee;

James F. Holland, M.D., professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and president of the AACR during the time of the signing of the National Cancer Act;

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., 2009 Nobel Laureate, Morris Herzstein professor of biology and physiology in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, and immediate past president of the AACR;

Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and president of the AACR;

Anna D. Barker, Ph.D., director of the Transformative Healthcare Networks, co-director of the Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative and professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, former deputy director of the NCI, member of the AACR Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee, and co-chair of the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011;

George F. Vande Woude, Ph.D., distinguished scientific fellow and professor in the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology at the Van Andel Institute, co-chair of the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011, and chair of the AACR Council of Scientific Advisors;

William S. Dalton, Ph.D., M.D., president/chief executive officer and director of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, co-chair of the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2011, and chair of the AACR Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee;

Josh Sommer, patient advocate and cancer survivor, and co-founder and executive director of the Chordoma Foundation; and

Zora Brown, patient advocate and cancer survivor, special assistant for health at INTEGRIS Health, founder and chairperson of Cancer Awareness Program Services and the Breast Cancer Resource Committee, and trustee for the AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer.

Reporters who are not able to attend the press conference in person can participate in the teleconference using the following information:

U.S. & Canada: (888) 647-7462
International: (201) 604-0169

Download a PDF version of the Cancer Progress Report.

Read more coverage:

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and progress in the field.

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

High-risk, Underserved Women Benefited from MRI Screening for Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Results based on lower-cost MRI screenings for high-risk, uninsured or under-insured women.
•   MRI screenings found more cancer cases in high-risk women than mammography.
•   Underserved women can benefit from follow-up with the help of a breast navigation team.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Using breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screenings among targeted, high-risk, underserved women significantly decreased diagnostic cost and increased patient compliance rates with follow-up compared to using general risk mammography screenings.

However, a caveat to these findings was that the cost of a MRI was reduced from an average of $3,500 to $649 by a grant specific to the study. Cost per diagnosis was $37,375 for mammography compared to $21,561 for MRI at the grant-based rate, according to the researchers.

“What we need is to lower the cost of MRI, and maybe that will happen as we do more of them,” said lead researcher Anne C. Ford, M.D., assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University Medical Center.

Preliminary results of the study, conducted by Ford and colleagues from 2004 to 2011, were presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 18-21, 2011.

The researchers compared breast cancer mammography screening in 299 general-risk, underserved women to MRI screening in 299 high-risk, underserved women. Women with abnormal mammogram or abnormal breast MRI underwent ultrasound, ultrasound guided biopsy and/or stereotactic biopsy for mammogram cases, and/or MRI guided biopsy for MRI cases.

Results showed that mammographic screenings detected one breast cancer case, while MRI screenings detected nine cases. Benign breast/total biopsies were found in 88 percent of mammographic screening cases and in 78 percent of MRI cases.

“In an underserved population, using this model, it is cost effective to screen with MRI because we found more breast cancers with MRI than we did with mammography in this population,” Ford said. “If you truly target high-risk women with MRIs, you can find the cancers, and you can find them early.”

In addition, compliance with follow-up in mammographic screenings was 75 percent and 90 percent in MRI screenings. Vital to those results was the utilization of a breast navigation team, which recruited study participants from the general population at health and screening fairs in central North Carolina, according to Ford.

“The navigation team was key in helping the women — and these are all uninsured or under-insured women — negotiate the medical center,” she said.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
(267) 646-0557
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

Mammography Use Up for U.S. Immigrants

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Mammography rates among immigrant women in the U.S. increased from 60.2 percent in 2000 to 65.5 percent in 2008.
•   Immigrant women remain less likely than native-born U.S. women to be screened.
•   Increasing immigrant women’s access to insurance coverage may diminish disparity.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While mammography rates have improved among foreign-born women residing in the United States, these women are still less likely to have undergone breast cancer screening than native-born U.S. women.

These study results were presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 18-21, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University believe that lack of access to health insurance and a regular source of health care are important factors related to the lower percentage of mammography screening among U.S. immigrants.

“There is progress, overall, in use of mammography among foreign-born women in the United States, but there is still a lot of work to do to improve their use of recommended breast cancer screening,” said the study’s lead researcher Nengliang (Aaron) Yao, a doctoral student in health policy and administration.

Yao and colleagues used data from the 2000 and 2008 National Health Interview Survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics and administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, to look at mammography screening among immigrants and factors associated with use. Information on immigrants’ legal status was not included in the survey.

Screening rates among immigrants increased from about 60.2 percent in 2000 to 65.5 percent in 2008, and disparities in the use of mammography between immigrants and native women narrowed from 11.2 percent in 2000 to 3.4 percent in 2008.

Immigrants who resided in the United States a decade or longer had markedly higher mammography rates compared to those who had been in the country less than a decade (64.7 percent versus 39.3 percent in 2000; 67.9 percent versus 55.7 percent in 2008).

Insurance coverage played an important role in predicting who would receive screening. By 2008, immigrant women with public insurance had odds of receiving a mammogram that were twice those of uninsured immigrant women, Yao said, and those with private insurance had odds more than 2.5 times higher than uninsured women.

In addition, having a regular source of health care also became a more important predictor of mammography use over time. In 2008, women with a regular source of care had odds of receiving screening that were more than twice as high as those for women without a regular source of care.

Yao added that there has been an increase in “culturally and linguistically appropriate subsidized programs,” such as those developed by the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancers Early Detection Program that encourage foreign-born women to seek a mammogram, which may have led to increased use of the test.

“As much progress as we have made, we still need to improve access to mammography screening for immigrant women, as well as for women overall,” he said.

# # #
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
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In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

Association Found Between Stress and Breast Cancer Aggressiveness

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Fear, anxiety and isolation were all linked with aggressive breast cancer.
• Higher levels of psychosocial stress were reported in blacks and Hispanics.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Psychosocial stress could play a role in the etiology of breast cancer aggressiveness, particularly among minority populations, according to study results presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here from Sept. 18-21, 2011.

“We found that after diagnosis, black and Hispanic breast cancer patients reported higher levels of stress than whites, and that stress was associated with tumor aggressiveness,” said Garth H. Rauscher, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology in the division of epidemiology and biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Rauscher and colleagues studied patient-reported perceptions of fear, anxiety and isolation, together referred to as psychosocial stress, and associations with breast cancer aggressiveness. He cautioned that patients’ stress levels were examined two to three months post-diagnosis.

The study included 989 breast cancer patients who were recently diagnosed; of those, 411 were non-Hispanic black, 397 were non-Hispanic white, and 181 were Hispanic. Results showed that psychosocial stress scores were higher for both black and Hispanic patients compared to white patients.

“Those who reported higher levels of stress tended to have more aggressive tumors. However, what we don’t know is if we had asked them the same question a year or five years before diagnosis, would we have seen the same association between stress and breast cancer aggressiveness?

“It’s not clear what’s driving this association. It may be that the level of stress in these patients’ lives influenced tumor aggressiveness. It may be that being diagnosed with a more aggressive tumor, with a more worrisome diagnosis and more stressful treatments, influenced reports of stress. It may be that both of these are playing a role in the association. We don’t know the answer to that question,” Rauscher said.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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Depression Affected Preventive Health Screening Among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Few women underwent ovarian or colorectal screening.
•   One-third of the participants met the criteria for depression.
•   Depression linked to ovarian, but not colorectal screening noncompliance.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Depression, in addition to other barriers, may prevent Latina breast cancer survivors from undergoing preventive health screening for colorectal and ovarian cancer, according to data presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

“Depression can make people more inattentive to potential risks to their health and more likely to ignore recommendations to reduce their risk,” said Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Ramirez presented results of this study at the conference.

Because depression is more common among breast cancer patients than the general population and because 10 percent of all new cancers are diagnosed in cancer survivors, Ramirez and colleagues examined the extent of depression among a group of 117 Latina breast cancer survivors to assess the barriers that were thwarting preventive health screening for colorectal and ovarian cancer.

All of the outcomes were self-reported and all patients were screened for depression.

“The most important thing that we found was that Hispanic breast cancer survivors were more depressed than Hispanics in the general population, and that they were not following recommendations to continue their other cancer screening behaviors,” she said.

Of the women who were surveyed, about one-third met the criteria for depression. Only five had been screened for both colorectal and ovarian cancers and about 60 percent had not been screened for one cancer or the other.

Although depression was associated with noncompliance for ovarian cancer screening, it was not associated with noncompliance for colorectal screening. In fact, only a marital status of “single” was associated with noncompliance for colorectal screening. In contrast, an inability to understand English, high price of care, unemployment and no familial history of cancer were all related to noncompliance for ovarian cancer screening.

Ramirez said that a broad-based preventive strategy is needed to increase screening and healthy behaviors among this population.

“Regardless of depression or not, we need to work with these women to help them understand that they need to get more involved with their health care,” she said. “We also have to get a better handle on the underpinnings of depression among cancer survivors.”

This includes efforts such as understanding the emotional challenges, what cultural influences might exist, and designing more specific messaging for those struggling with depression.

“We have to ask the critical questions to make sure that these patients are not only getting the follow-up treatment they need, but also are screening for depression,” she said.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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Common Genetic Variants Associated with Development of High-risk Neuroblastoma, Poorer Treatment Outcomes

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• African ancestry linked to increased rates of high-risk disease.
• Variants may be found in patients of any ethnic makeup.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients with a high degree of African ancestry had a greater incidence of high-risk neuroblastoma and poorer outcomes, according to preliminary results presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

“There are common genetic variants that are associated with the development of high-risk neuroblastoma and a poor outcome,” said Navin R. Pinto, M.D., instructor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Ill. “These variants are more common in patients of African origin, but have the potential to be present and affect patients of all ethnic backgrounds. Identifying patients with these variants at the time of diagnosis may one day allow us to modify treatment for those who are genetically at risk for treatment failure with standard therapies.”

Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer with a widely variable clinical outcome, Pinto said. Some children do well with no therapy, while others die despite aggressive chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell transplant and immunotherapy.

In a previous study of 3,539 children with neuroblastoma, Pinto and colleagues found that patients who self-reported as black were much more likely to have high-risk disease and have an increased incidence of late relapses, suggesting that germline genetic differences linked with ethnicity or ancestry may influence disease development.

For this follow-up study of 3,508 racially mixed children with neuroblastoma, the researchers obtained germline genotypes from investigators at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. They then created an ancestral map using the patients’ genotypes and the publicly available genotypes of three ancestral populations: African, Asian and white.

Children with a higher degree of African ancestry had increased rates of high-risk disease and lower survival rates following chemotherapy, according to the study’s preliminary findings.

“This indicates that African ancestors may have passed along common genetic variants that are associated with the development of the aggressive form of neuroblastoma and perhaps a relative intrinsic chemotherapy resistance that is associated with the observed inferior outcomes,” Pinto said.

Armed with these findings, researchers can now focus on the specific genetic variants linked with inferior outcome, Pinto said. These variants may be found in patients of any ethnic makeup, not just African ancestry.

“The remarkable improvements in cure rates for childhood malignancies over the past 50 years have, in large part, come from recognizing clinical or biological features that are associated with a poor outcome and intensifying therapy for patients at high risk of non-response,” Pinto said. “Germline genetic variables will likely one day be included in risk stratification algorithms for the treatment of neuroblastoma. I believe we are on the cusp of discovering these variants.”

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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In Washington, D.C.
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Death Rate Higher in Minorities with Acute Leukemia

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Deaths from acute leukemia higher in blacks and Hispanics.
•   Racial disparity is greater in ALL than AML.
•   Reason unknown but researchers suspect socioeconomic factors.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Blacks and Hispanics have fewer cases of acute leukemia compared to whites but they die at a substantially higher rate, according to study results presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

From 1998 to 2008, blacks had a 17 percent increased risk of dying from acute leukemia and Hispanics had a 12 percent increased risk compared to white patients.

When separated into the two forms of acute leukemia – acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) – the difference in mortality was even more striking. Blacks and Hispanics diagnosed with ALL had a 45 percent and 46 percent greater risk, respectively, of dying than whites; whereas increased risk of death from AML was 12 percent higher in blacks and 6 percent higher in Hispanics compared to whites.

“These data tell us that the disparity in overall survival in acute leukemia is driven by higher death rates in ALL,” said the study’s lead researcher Manali I. Patel, M.D., M.P.H., postdoctoral fellow in hematology/oncology at the Stanford Cancer Institute in Stanford, Calif.

“We don’t know the reason for the disparity, but now that we know it exists we can investigate why it occurs,” she said. “Like all disparities in cancer there could be any combination of influences; however, we believe that socioeconomic factors and access to care may be playing an important role.”

Patel and colleagues used the National Cancer Institute’s SEER database, which reports cancer incidence, prevalence and survival from multiple sites and represents 28 percent of the U.S. population. They examined statistics from 40,951 patients with acute leukemia during the 10-year time period. This included 2,299 black, 4,428 Hispanic and 22,035 white patients, of which 1,953 blacks, 3,322 Hispanics and 18,980 whites died within five years of diagnosis. The researchers discovered that minority patients who develop adult leukemia die from it more often than white patients.

“This paradox is seen in other solid tumors, such as breast cancer. It occurs less frequently in black women, but mortality rates, stage for stage, are higher,” Patel said. “Now that we have taken the crucial first step to document this disparity in acute leukemia, we need to understand the factors behind it so we can address and correct it.”

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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In Washington, D.C.
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Higher Incidence of Secondary Breast Cancer Seen Among Black Women Regardless of Age

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Overall incidence of breast cancer is higher among white women.
•    Four percent of women developed cancer in the opposite breast.
•   Physicians should carefully watch the opposite breast for signs of disease.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The overall incidence of breast cancer is generally higher among white women than black women; however, the incidence of a second breast cancer in the opposite breast is higher among black women, according to a study presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

When cancer is diagnosed in women younger than 45 years old, the incidence of primary breast cancer is higher among blacks than among whites and the cancer tends to be more aggressive.

“When the disease does occur in blacks early on, it tends to be more aggressive, more likely to be estrogen-receptor negative and it is more likely to cause death,” said lead researcher Nsouli-Maktabi Hala, a Ph.D. graduate of The George Washington University.

The researchers also found that when cancer is diagnosed at an older age, the incidence is higher among white women. Since most breast cancers are diagnosed in older women, the overall incidence is higher in whites, explained Maktabi.

“While the incidence of breast cancer is generally higher among whites for first-time diagnosis, we found the incidence of the second contralateral diagnosis was higher among blacks,” said Maktabi. “This was unexpected – blacks usually have a higher mortality rate than whites from the first cancer, so you would expect blacks to have lower rates of second cancers.”

“Usually, about 4 percent of all breast cancer patients will present with a second primary cancer contralaterally,” Maktabi added.

The researchers used the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Registry 9 data to evaluate breast cancer incidence among 415,664 white women and 39,887 black women diagnosed with primary breast cancer at age 19 or older and possible development of a second cancer in the opposite breast.

Results showed that 22,290 (4.89 percent) developed a second primary breast cancer, of which 18,142 (4 percent) occurred in the opposite breast. Incidence of second primary cancers of the opposite breast was higher among black women, and 15,101 (83.2 percent) of second contralateral cancers developed in those who were diagnosed with first breast cancer at age 45 or older.

In addition, contralateral breast cancer tended to occur within the first two years of the primary breast cancer diagnosis.

“This should alert the physician to watch patients very carefully,” Maktabi said. “A cancer in one breast should lead to a careful of examination of the other breast over a long period, just in case a cancer develops.”

Additionally, average age of the second primary contralateral cancer diagnosis tended to be lower in blacks (59 years of age) than in whites (67 years of age).

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
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In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

AACR to Host Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research will host its Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities from Sept. 18-21, 2011, in the Grand Hyatt Washington, located in Washington, D.C.

This conference will bring together scientists, survivors, doctors and others to share the latest findings in cancer genetics, epidemiology and treatment methods to better meet the needs of underserved populations.

“Cancer continues to strike minorities at a disproportionate rate, but leading researchers are working on ways to better understand causes and offer solutions,” said Conference Chairperson William G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.

The AACR Communications Department has identified a selection of newsworthy abstracts to help guide coverage of the conference.

On Monday, Sept. 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET, Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Ph.D., director of the Center for Community-based Research and Health Disparities at the University of Pennsylvania, hosted a press conference on the following research:

Association Found Between Stress and Breast Cancer Aggressiveness
Higher Incidence of Secondary Breast Cancer Seen Among Black Women Regardless of Age
Depression Affected Preventive Health Screening Among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors
Mammography Use Up for U.S. Immigrants

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (44.15 MB, 48 minutes and 13 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.

Reporters may also be interested in the following abstracts (embargoed by times listed on the individual releases):

Genetic Differences May Cause Higher Rates of Prostate Cancer in African-American Men
High-risk, Underserved Women Benefited from MRI Screening for Breast Cancer
Death Rate Higher in Minorities with Acute Leukemia
Test Could Detect Breast Cancers Earlier in Young, High-risk African-American Women
Common Genetic Variants Associated with Development of High-risk Neuroblastoma, Poorer Treatment Outcomes
African-American Men Living in Poor Sunlight Areas at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency

The AACR Communications Department has highlighted the following awards, which will be presented at the meeting:

Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholars in Cancer Research Awards
Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards
2011 AACR Distinguished Lecture on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
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In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

AACR Honors Seven Scientists with Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholars in Cancer Research Awards

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research will recognize leaders in the minority cancer community with the Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholars in Cancer Research Awards. The seven recipients will be honored at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 18-21, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

The Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholars in Cancer Research Awards are given to scientists who are working at the level of assistant professor or above at a minority-serving institution and who are engaged in meritorious basic, clinical, translational or epidemiological cancer research. Minority-serving institutions include historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and other post-secondary institutions as defined by the U.S. Department of Education.

The recipients of the Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholars in Cancer Research Awards include:

Zhenbang Chen, Ph.D., Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.
Essential Role of Skp2 in Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer
Melissa Gonzales, Ph.D., University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, Albuquerque, N.M.
Improving Colorectal Cancer Surveys for New Mexico Hispanics
Shane Y. Morita, M.D., The Queen’s Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Thyroid Cancer Ethnic Disparity in Hawaii: BRAF Mutation Within the Filipino Population
Sederick C. Rice, Ph.D., University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Prostate Cancer Screening of African-American Men Aged 40-75 in Jefferson County, Arkansas
Geri L. Schmotzer, Ph.D., New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, N.M.
Anil Shanker, Ph.D., Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.
Felicia Dionne Taylor, Ph.D., University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, Ark.

This award program funds the participation of full-time faculty members of Minority-serving Institutions at AACR conferences and annual meetings. Since its inception in 1997, this award program has been supported by a generous grant provided by the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. The Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities works to increase the number of underrepresented minorities participating as competitive National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health-funded cancer researchers.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

AACR Awards 23 Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research is awarding 23 Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 18-21, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

The award, now in its 26th year, is intended to enhance the education and training of minority researchers, and increase the visibility and recognition of minorities involved in cancer research. It provides funds for the participation of early-career, meritorious minority scientists at AACR conferences including its Annual Meeting. Scholars are chosen from minority institutions and the larger bodies of universities, colleges and research institutions based on their qualifications, references from mentors and an estimation of the professional benefit to the awardees.

The award is sponsored by a grant from the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. Additionally, Merck Oncology has agreed to provide support to fund the participation of young minority investigators. The recipients of the 2011 Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards include:

Atalie A. Ashley, B.A., University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla.
Developing a Network of Community Research Councils to Promote and Facilitate Clinical Prevention Trial Participation in Medically Underserved Populations
Arelis Baerga Martinez, B.A., University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Charvann K. Bailey, B.A., Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.
Slug Induced Plakoglobin Gene Repression in Triple-negative Breast Cancer Cells
Matthew P. Banegas, M.S., M.P.H., University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
Breast Cancer Outcomes Among Hispanic Women by Race
Christina H. Chapman, B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
An Analysis of Diversity Based on Race and Ethnicity in the Radiation Oncology Workforce
Kisha I. Coa, M.P.H., Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
Lizbeth M. Del Toro-Mejias, B.S., University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
What Do High Risk Men Attending STD Clinics in Puerto Rico Know About Human Papillomavirus
Curtiland Deville Jr., M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
Norma P. Fernandez, Ph.D., Texas Tech University Health Science Center, El Paso, Texas
Comparison of Colorectal Cancer Perceptions Among Two Different Predominantly Hispanic Community Populations
Precious Ann V. Fortes, M.H.S., University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
STI Clinics as Venues for Cancer Prevention and Control Among Women in Puerto Rico
Tabitha M. Hardy, Ph.D., University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala.
Differential Responses of Caucasian and African-American Breast Cancer Cell Lines After EGCG and Sulforaphane Treatment
Christina N. Johnson, M.S., Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Shari M.B. Johnson, B.S., Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.
Development of Calcitrol Resistance in Triple-negative Breast Cancer Cells Through SLUG-mediated Coordinate Repression of CYP2R1, CYP27B1 and VDR Gene Promoters
Giselle Y. Lopez, B.A., B.S., Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Tasha A. Morrison, B.S., Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Mass.
The Development of Novel Cell Culture Models and Pre-clinical Models of Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
Jesse N. Nodora, Dr.P.H., University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
Assessment of Westernization in Mexican Women with Breast Cancer
Yomayra Otero, M.S., University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cervical Cancer Survival in Puerto Rico: Disparities by Health Care Coverage
Samuel T. Pellom Jr., B.S., Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.
Combination Therapy of Kidney Cancer Using Bortezomib and Natural Killer (NK) Cell Transfer
Ambar Y. Rivera Camacho, M.P.H., University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Jamilia R. Sly, Ph.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, N.Y.
Challenges to Disseminating Evidence-based Research in Real World Settings: Training African-American Peers as Patient Navigators for Colon Cancer Screening
Maisha N. Standifer, M.P.H., University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla.
Ariel J. Thomas, M.S., North Carolina Central University, Durham, N.C.
βarrestin2 Contributes to Aggressive Tumor Growth in African-American Prostate Cancer Cells
Christina D. Williams, Ph.D., Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Race and Impact of Co-morbidities and Time-to-care on Receipt of Surgery for Early Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 646-0622
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

AACR and Komen for the Cure® Honor Breast Cancer Researcher with 2011 Distinguished Lecture

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research is pleased to announce Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, M.D., will present the 2011 AACR Distinguished Lecture on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®.

Olopade is the Walter L. Palmer distinguished service professor of medicine and human genetics, and associate dean for global health at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She is a member of the Komen Scholars scientific advisory panel for Komen. Olopade is honored for her leading work in the study of breast cancer genetics in women.

“We are pleased to recognize Dr. Olopade with this lectureship,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Her outstanding research into the genetic underpinnings of breast cancer in African and African-American populations has had a global impact and has led to targeted interventions for women at risk for this disease.”

Founded in 2010, the AACR Distinguished Lecture on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer health disparities.

“Dr. Olopade is an outstanding scientist whose work and passion bridges the gap between science and society,” said Elizabeth Thompson, president of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “As a valued member of our Komen Scholars advisory panel, she is always willing to share what she is learning in the lab with the community of people who will benefit. She is determined to end disparities in outcomes for this disease, and we are very pleased with this well-deserved recognition of her work toward that goal.”

Olopade graduated with distinction from the University of Ibadan College of Medicine in Nigeria and completed her residency training in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital where she also served as chief resident. Trained broadly in clinical hematology/oncology and cancer genetics at The University of Chicago, Olopade’s research has focused on understanding familial forms of cancer. Her seminal observations on the genetic basis of breast cancer in young women of African ancestry in the United States and West Africa has broadened the understanding of the complex interactions of genes, lifestyle and the environment in breast cancer causation.

Olopade has received numerous honors and awards, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award, the Scholar Award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the American Philosophical Society and the National Cancer Advisory Board. Olopade is a Komen scholar and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Olopade will deliver her lecture, “Closing the Knowledge Disparity Gap: From Molecular Mechanisms to Interventions and Back,” on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, during the opening plenary session of the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 18-21 in Washington, D.C.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

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, which is now the world’s largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer with more than $1.9 billion invested to date. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
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Michele.Sharp@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.
Sept. 18-21: (202) 239-4036

Finding Pathways to Cancer Progression may Lead to Identification of Targeted Therapies

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Researchers work to identify key pathways for cancer progression.
•   Approach may help identify new targeted therapies.
•   Global picture demonstrates how genes interact to affect cancer progression.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers are working to discover how genes interact with each other to lead to cancer progression. This research is expected to lead the way toward the discovery of new targeted therapies against breast cancer, according to a study presented at the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research, held here Sept. 14-18, 2011.

For example, the researchers found that a diuretic used to treat hypertension and edema also stops breast cancer cells from progressing, although this potential treatment is a long way from human trials, said lead researcher Bin Zhang, Ph.D., principal scientist and group leader at Sage Bionetworks in Seattle, Wash.

The researchers analyzed multiple large-scale cancer genomic data sets to find novel pathways and driver genes that help breast cancer progress. They then tested them in the laboratory against various compounds and drugs to see how they would react, explained Zhang.

“We tried to objectively derive a global picture of how genes interact with each other to impact cancer progression so that we could understand holistically the mechanisms underlying this complex disease. Then, we can systematically identify optimal intervention points for drug development,” he said.

The researchers found that many genes function as groups corresponding to different pathways, so future targeted therapies would work better if they target more than one pathway. This also gives credence to the idea that using combination therapy against the different genetic pathways might help fight cancer better.

Although they tested breast cancer cells, Zhang said, their methods could be used to test other cancers and even other diseases.

“There is an enormous amount of cancer characterization data available, yet it remains challenging to establish models that predict tumor progression and drug response. We developed complex and advanced algorithms to reconstruct multiscale gene regulatory networks that reveal global patterns of gene interactions in cancer and also detail regulatory maps,” he said. “These networks will serve as a blueprint for us to understand cancer progression and develop novel therapeutics.”

Zhang and colleagues have found a diuretic used to treat hypertension and edema affected the progression of cancer cells. They predicted and successfully validated its novel effectiveness in preferentially killing cancer cells through inhibiting cell cycle pathways that are responsible for uncontrolled cell proliferation.

Based on their prediction, they believe this drug is as effective in culture as several marketed cancer drugs. However, there is still some time until it can be tested in people, according to Zhang.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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In San Francisco, Sept. 14-18:
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Virus Shows Promise for Imaging and Treating Pancreatic Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Virus construct may work to kill pancreatic cancer cells.
•   Therapeutic response to virus treatment can be noninvasively monitored.
•   Virus construct could facilitate targeted radiotherapy.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers are investigating a potential treatment and noninvasive imaging modality for pancreatic cancer that shows promise, according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, N.Y., and Genelux Corporation in San Diego, Calif.

The vaccinia virus construct GLV-1h153, engineered to encode for the human sodium iodide symporter gene (hNIS), is a promising candidate for viro-therapy of cancer and for long-term noninvasive monitoring of therapeutic response via deep tissue imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET). This virus construct can also be used for targeted radiotherapy, according to study results presented at the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research, held Sept. 14-18, 2011, in San Francisco.

Dana Haddad, M.D., Ph.D., who at the time of the study was a postdoctoral research fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and is now a resident at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, said GLV-1h153-treated pancreatic tumors from more than 50 mice were treated and imaged to provide insight into tumor therapeutic response.

The combination of GLV-1h153 and radioiodine (¹³¹I) was promising for targeted radiotherapy and destruction of pancreatic tumors.

“We expected that we would be able to noninvasively detect virus replication in tumors using this imaging system, but we could not predict the timing of this, how long we could repeat serial imaging and whether this would actually provide information about therapeutic response,” said Haddad.

The researchers were initially discouraged when the PET signal in pancreatic tumors began to fade about two weeks after treatment with the virus, according to Haddad.

However, she said they investigated what could be the cause of this loss of signal and were “pleased to ascertain that it was likely due to tumor kill and necrosis.” They found that hNIS-mediated radiouptake noninvasively imaged with PET initially provided information into the presence of viral replication in the tumor, and later provided insight into the therapeutic response and biological activity of cancer cells.

“When the tumor began to die due to the effects of the virus, the PET signal began to decrease,” said Haddad.

“We were further pleased to observe that although tumor kill with a very low dose of virus was not very impressive, we could achieve potent tumor kill when we combined virus treatment with systemic radiotherapy. Using lower doses of virus and radiotherapy could minimize potential toxicity and side effects associated with both treatments,” said Haddad.

Further study of viral and radiotracer dosing, and their effects on therapeutic response and imaging potential is currently being planned, said Haddad.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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In San Francisco, Sept. 14-18:
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EGFR Essential for the Development of Pancreatic Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Despite KRAS, lack of EGFR blocks pancreatic cancer development.
• EGFR plays an “unappreciated” central role early in the carcinogenic process.

SAN FRANCISCO — The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is essential for KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer development, according to study results presented at the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research, held here Sept. 14-18, 2011.

The mutation of the KRAS gene has been found to be an important component in the development of many cancers, including pancreatic cancer. However, Barbara M. Gruener, researcher at the Technical University in Munich, Germany, said that despite the presence of KRAS, the development of preneoplastic precursor lesions and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is blocked without the EGF receptor.

“These results revealed an unappreciated central role of EGFR very early in the carcinogenic process,” said Gruener, who is a doctoral student at the university.

Gruener and colleagues compared more than 40 mice with the pancreas-specific deletion of EGFR with the KRAS mouse model for pancreatic cancer.

“Contrary to current opinion, we showed that lack of EGFR blocks the development of pancreatic cancer,” she said. “Originally, we wanted to characterize the known role of EGFR in pancreatic cancer to a higher extent so that EGFR targeted therapy could be more individualized.”

Gruener said the results were not what researchers had expected and were surprising.

“With oncogenic active KRAS, you would expect that the lack of a receptor that is upstream of the KRAS signaling pathway does not impair the carcinogenic effects of KRAS almost completely,” she said.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
In San Francisco, Sept. 14-18:
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Inner Workings of Virus Responsible for Rare Skin Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Merkel cell polyomavirus induces cell transformation in unexpected ways.
•   Discoveries help narrow possible treatments.
•   Virus functions differently than other cancer-related viruses.

SAN FRANCISCO — Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute have begun to uncover how the virus that causes most Merkel cell carcinoma – a rare and aggressive skin cancer – operates, meaning that a rational chemotherapeutic target for this cancer could be developed in the near future.

Patrick Moore, M.D., M.P.H., an American Cancer Society professor in the laboratory of Yuan Chang and Patrick Moore at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh, Pa., presented these study results at the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research, held here Sept. 14-18, 2011.

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare and highly aggressive cancer, the incidence of which has increased fourfold during the last 20 years, particularly in immunosuppressed populations, according to Moore.

“Unfortunately, Merkel cell carcinoma is difficult to treat and clinical trials of chemotherapeutics have been disappointing in affecting clinical course and survival,” he said. “Discovery of the molecular cause for this cancer provides opportunities to directly target the cellular pathways that are perturbed by the virus.”

In 2008, Moore and colleagues discovered Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV), the virus that causes most Merkel cell carcinoma. Polyoma refers to the ability of some members of this family to produce multiple tumors in animal models. Their laboratory previously discovered the herpes virus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma, cancer that commonly occurs in patients with AIDS.

“MCV is the first polyomavirus to be consistently associated with human cancer, and is believed to cause 80 percent of Merkel cell carcinoma,” Moore said.

MCV is a natural component of the human skin and is usually harmless, according to Moore. In fact, most adults carry the virus in some part of their skin cells. However, if someone becomes immunodeficient and the virus undergoes specific mutations, then it can generate Merkel cell carcinoma.

In the three years since they discovered MCV, this group has also discovered several of the unique characteristics of the virus. Most recently, their studies showed that MCV small T antigen protein is a new oncogene that can contribute to abnormal cell growth in both rodent and human cells. In addition, MCV does not act the same as other polyomaviruses that have served as classic models of cancer. These other polyomaviruses depend on viral interaction with the enzyme PP2A and heat-shock proteins; MCV interacts with them, but does not depend on them.

Moore and colleagues found that MCV could still cause the abnormal cell growth even after abolishing PP2A and heat-shock protein binding sites. The researchers hope to develop treatments that will directly target the cellular pathways affected by this virus.

“We are making headway on this approach now and have tested more than 1,350 drugs to identify better methods to treat this virus-caused cancer,” Moore said.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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In San Francisco, Sept. 14-18:
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Targeting Cholesterol May Help Slow Glioblastoma

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   These lethal brain cancers depend on cholesterol for growth.
•   Laboratory findings identified a tumor survival pathway.
•   Glioblastoma is one of the most untreatable cancers.

PHILADELPHIA — Glioblastoma is among the most lethal cancers, but scientists have uncovered a novel growth mechanism that suggests patients with glioblastoma could be treated with cholesterol-lowering agents, according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Lead researcher Paul Mischel, M.D., Lya and Harrison Latta professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the study revealed that EGFR vIII, a known oncogene in glioblastoma, increased the activity of the LDL receptor and, therefore, allowed for large amounts of cholesterol.

“Our data demonstrate that glioblastoma cells need large amounts of cholesterol to grow and to survive. This is not surprising considering the critical role of cholesterol in making new membranes, of which rapidly growing tumors need a lot,” said Mischel.

Mischel’s work is part of a growing body of cancer research where scientists study how they can combat a tumor’s growth supply, rather than the tumor itself. The most familiar agents in this arena are the vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors, like bevacizumab, which restrict a tumor’s blood supply.

If this laboratory work is confirmed in larger studies, it could lead to a role for cholesterol-manipulating drugs in the treatment of glioblastoma, he said.

“Pharmacologic strategies that pump cholesterol out of a cell could lead to significant tumor cell death,” said Mischel.

Glioblastoma is currently one of the most lethal cancers. With median survival times of 12 to 15 months, it is often resistant to even the most aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“New treatments are needed,” he said. “This study uncovers a novel and potentially therapeutically targetable tumor cell growth and survival pathway, which could potentially lead to more effective treatments for patients in the clinic.”

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

Media Contact:
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The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and AACR to Award More Than $3.1 Million in Pancreatic Cancer Research Grants

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR Grants will Open for Applications on Sept. 1, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research are pleased to announce the opening of the 2012 research grants program on Sept. 1, 2011. The program is administered using the AACR’s rigorous peer-review process to ensure that the highest quality cancer science and medicine are supported by the important funds raised by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

This grants program is designed to help incubate innovative research projects, increase the number of researchers directly working on pancreatic cancer, nurture collaborations across disciplines and institutions and expedite scientific progress for patient benefit. In addition to receiving financial support for their research, grantees will participate in a mentorship program that connects them with leading scientists in the cancer field and facilitates their ongoing professional development opportunities.

“We are thrilled to offer more than $3.1 million in research funding for the 2012 research grants program. This is the largest funding level since 2003, when we introduced the program,” stated Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. “Previous grant recipients have successfully leveraged the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s research investment, allowing them to expand their scientific investigations and take the next steps in pursuing medical breakthroughs for pancreatic cancer. In fact, for every dollar that we spend, grantees have received an average of $8.61 in additional research funding.”

“Pancreatic cancer is a very challenging disease with significant morbidity and mortality, and one that urgently requires innovative research to improve clinical outcomes,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research. “The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a remarkable organization that has a track record of addressing this challenge through its funding of cutting-edge scientific research, and the AACR is very proud to be of assistance in this quest.”

Applications will be accepted for the following four grant mechanisms:

Pathway to Leadership Grant
The Pathway to Leadership Grant is designed to build future leaders in the pancreatic cancer research community by supporting a promising early-career scientist in his/her postdoctoral position through the transition to research independence. Applicants must have started their postdoctoral or clinical research fellowships on or after July 2, 2007 (i.e., must be in the first five years of a fellowship at the start of the grant term). The Pathway to Leadership Grant provides up to five years of support, totaling $600,000.

Fellowship
The Fellowship supports an early-career scientist during the mentored research phase. Applicants must have started their postdoctoral or clinical research fellowships on or after July 2, 2009 (i.e., must be in the first three years of a fellowship at the start of the grant term). The Fellowship is a one-year grant, totaling $45,000.

Career Development Award
The Career Development Award supports newly independent investigators to develop or strengthen their research programs in pancreatic cancer. Applicants must be in the first four years of a full-time faculty appointment at the start of the grant term (i.e., cannot have had a full-time faculty appointment before July 2, 2008). This is a two-year grant, totaling $200,000.

Innovative Grant
The Innovative Grant supports creative and cutting-edge ideas and approaches, including those successful in other areas of cancer that have justifiable promise in pancreatic cancer research. This two-year grant totals $200,000 and is available to independent junior or senior investigators.

The deadline for Letters of Intent for the Innovative Grant is Oct. 3, 2011. Applications for the Pathway to Leadership Grant, Fellowship and Career Development Award are due Oct. 31, 2011. Submissions must be completed online using the proposalCENTRAL website at https://proposalcentral.altum.com/.

Funding decisions will be announced in March 2012. The grant terms begin July 1, 2012.

Since the collaboration with the AACR began in 2003, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has awarded 66 grants, totaling more than $10 million for meritorious pancreatic cancer research. To learn more about the 2012 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR Grants Program, visit: www.aacr.org/funding, and to learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, visit www.pancan.org.

###

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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, the AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network:
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is the national organization creating hope in a comprehensive way through research, patient support, community outreach and advocacy for a cure. The organization is leading the way to increase the survival rate for people diagnosed with this devastating disease through a bold initiative—The Vision of Progress: Double the Pancreatic Cancer Survival Rate by 2020. Together, we can know, fight and end pancreatic cancer by intensifying our efforts to heighten awareness, raise funds for comprehensive private research, and advocate for dedicated federal research to advance early diagnostics, better treatments and increase chances of survival.

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Women Who Drink and Smoke Less Likely to Stick to Chemoprevention

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Heavy alcohol users had a harder time adhering in the short term.
•   Cigarette smokers were less likely to maintain their regimen in the long term.
•   Obesity and physical activity were not associated with adherence.

PHILADELPHIA — Women at high risk of developing breast cancer who smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol were less likely to continue with their chemopreventive regimen and may require more adherence support, according to results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“Our results might suggest there are common factors, perhaps social factors relating to the behaviors of smoking and drinking, that are more strongly related to maintaining the chemopreventive regimen,” said lead researcher Stephanie R. Land, Ph.D.

At the time of the study, Land was an associate professor in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh and a statistician at the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP). She is currently a program director and statistician in the Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute.

“It doesn’t seem to be about unhealthy behaviors in general, but perhaps the commonality between smoking, alcohol and the use of preventive medications is associated with other sociologic, biologic or preventive mechanisms,” she suggested.

Utilizing data from the NSABP Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, the researchers evaluated predictors of chemoprevention adherence among 11,064 women at a high risk for breast cancer. The initial trial was conducted from 1992 to 1997, and women were randomized to receive 20 mg tamoxifen per day or placebo.

In Land’s study, the primary endpoint was full (100 percent) drug adherence at one and 36 months; secondary endpoint was adequate adherence (between 76 percent and 100 percent). They evaluated cigarette smoking, obesity, physical activity levels, and alcohol use as predictors of drug adherence.

Women were classified as overweight or obese if they had a BMI of 25 or greater and were classified according to physical activity levels.

For alcohol consumers, the researchers divided participants into groups based on the frequency and quantity of liquor, wine and beer the women reported consuming. One drink per day was classified as moderate drinking and more than one drink per day was considered heavy drinking. Participants were separated as current smokers and nonsmokers.

Land and colleagues found that women classified as heavy alcohol drinkers had lower chemoprevention adherence in the short term and were less likely to continue use of their medications one month after they started. In addition, women who smoked cigarettes were less likely to adhere to their medications in the long term.

Additional significant sociodemographic variables included age, education and per capita household income.

Physical activity and obesity held no significant bearings, according to the researchers, possibly suggesting that “poor adherence is not simply based on a pattern of unhealthy behavior in general, but could be related to common sociological, psychological, biological or genetic mechanisms that impact both substance use and medication adherence.”

Land said it is important to note that even women who had more favorable factors, such as having a support system and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, had some trouble adhering to the chemopreventive regimen.

“Patients shouldn’t be afraid to ask for support from their social network and health care community,” she said. “Health care providers need to know that smokers and drinkers may need additional support. This medication has been shown to prevent breast cancer, but that benefit will only translate if women follow the regimen and maintain it.”

This study was funded through Public Health Service Grants from the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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 seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals in 2010.

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

Childbearing May Increase Risk of Hormone Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer in African-American Women

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Two or more full-term births put African-American women at higher risk.
• Increased risk occurred only in women who did not breast-feed.

PHILADELPHIA — African-American women are at higher risk for hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, one of the most difficult subtypes to treat, but this risk could be ameliorated somewhat by breast-feeding their children.

“African-American women are more likely to have had a greater number of full-term births and less likely to have breast-fed their babies,” said Julie Palmer, Sc.D., professor of epidemiology at the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University. “This study shows a clear link between that and hormone receptor-negative breast cancer.”

Palmer based her report, published in a recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, on the Black Women’s Health Study, which has followed 59,000 African-American women since 1995.

Between 1995 and 2009, researchers recorded 457 cases of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and 318 cases of hormone receptor-negative breast cancer among study participants.

For women who had two or more children, there was a 50 percent increased risk of hormone receptor-negative breast cancer. However, among women who breast-fed, there was no longer a significant increased risk.

For estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, a higher birth rate was associated with a decreased risk and breast-feeding had no effect.

“The adverse effect of high childbirth without subsequent breast-feeding seems to be confined to the hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, which carries a higher mortality rate and is more common in African-Americans,” said Palmer.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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

CR Magazine Congratulates Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D., Clarion Award Recipient

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — CR magazine, the AACR’s magazine for cancer survivors, their families and caregivers, congratulates contributing writer Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D., on her Clarion Award-winning article, “Homeless With Cancer,” which was published in CR’s Fall 2010 issue.

The Clarion Awards recognize individuals who exhibit writing excellence. This award is one of three Ryan has received for this article. Others include an award from the Greater Philadelphia Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and a Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Award. Ryan is an associate professor of English at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Ryan’s story captures the daily struggles of homeless individuals who are living with cancer. Ryan documented the lives of patients in Birmingham, Ala., delving into each of their stories, highlighting their cancer diagnoses, feelings of disbelief and distrust in the medical system, lives on the streets, and experiences searching for medical care.

“Dr. Ryan’s story truly captures our mission of educating and communicating to the public critical issues that affect cancer patients today,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Her story shows heart. Not only has it touched the many people who have read it, but it inspired Dr. Ryan to establish a program that helps homeless cancer patients. The fact that CR magazine serves as this kind of catalyst speaks to the essence of what the publication is all about.”

CR was launched in 2006 as a means to create a forum where essential, evidence-based information is shared about cancer and perspectives on the progress of cancer research, survivorship and advocacy are conveyed.

Read Ryan’s story “Homeless With Cancer” in the Fall 2010 issue of CR magazine.
Listen to CR’s “Cancer on the Streets” audio podcast.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 646-0622
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

Childhood Cancer Survivors in Poor Health at Greater Risk for Unemployment in Adulthood

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Poor health led to an eightfold higher risk for unemployment.
•   Those with neurocognitive deficits less likely to hold professional positions.
•   Neurocognitive limitations affected women’s occupation status more than men’s.

PHILADELPHIA — Childhood cancer survivors with poor physical health and neurocognitive deficits are more likely to be unemployed or work part-time in adulthood, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Research to date has indicated that while more children with cancer are surviving, the treatments received can place them at risk for health complications later in life, which may impact their ability to work, according to the study.

“We know from earlier studies that childhood cancer survivors are more likely to be unemployed compared to unaffected samples. Our research points to factors such as physical health limitations that may be important to address to improve employment outcomes in this population,” said Anne Kirchhoff, Ph.D., M.P.H., who was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., during the time of the study. Kirchhoff is currently a Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, Kirchhoff and colleagues examined 5,836 adult childhood cancer survivors aged 25 years and older to determine how their physical, mental and neurocognitive function affected their employment and occupational status.

Childhood cancer survivors in poor physical health as defined by standard questionnaires were approximately eight times more likely to be unemployed in adulthood compared with adult cancer survivors in good health, according to Kirchhoff.

“Although mental health and neurocognitive limitations were also linked to unemployment, it was surprising that physical deficits were such a major factor for childhood cancer survivors who were unable to work due to their poor health status,” she said.

Among employed survivors, those with neurocognitive limitations were less likely to hold professional positions and more likely to hold part-time or lower-skilled jobs, according to the researchers. Women with neurocognitive limitations, such as task-efficiency issues, were more likely to be working in lower-skilled occupations than men with the same neurocognitive deficits.

In addition, Kirchhoff and colleagues stressed that changes in employment status could impact survivors’ access to health insurance coverage, which is essential to managing any long-term complications from cancer.

“Childhood cancer survivors should be educated about the risks, be screened for any limitations, and learn strategies to manage those limitations in an effort to ensure they have more successful employment outcomes,” she said.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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

AACR Mourns the Loss of Two Champions of Biomedical Research

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research is deeply saddened by the loss of former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Bernadine P. Healy, M.D., and former Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, two distinguished leaders who separately championed the promise of biomedical research throughout their illustrious careers. Healy died of brain cancer on Aug. 6 at the age of 67. Hatfield died after battling a long-term illness on Aug. 7 at the age of 89.

“On behalf of the AACR, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the Healy and Hatfield families,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Both of these individuals were champions of public health. Their unstinting dedication to improved methods of disease prevention and treatments resulted in important public activism and support for cancer and biomedical research. Their work has saved countless lives, and all of us are deeply thankful for their vision and their extraordinary legacies.”

Healy, who was the first woman to lead the NIH (1991-1993), will be long remembered for her commitment to research on women’s health. In 1991, she established the Office of Research on Women’s Health in the NIH Office of the Director. She also started the Institute for Nursing Research and the Women’s Health Initiative, a definitive, far-reaching U.S. study of women’s health. Healy also served as deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Policy and president of the American Red Cross.

A highly respected statesman, Hatfield (R-Ore.) served for 30 years as a senator from Oregon, where he was well known for his ability to work with members of both political parties. During his long tenure on the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which he served as chair and ranking member for 16 years, Hatfield played an instrumental role in significantly increasing the budget for the NIH, demonstrating his passion for biomedical research. He was the recipient of the distinguished AACR Public Service Award in 1996 for his tireless support of NIH-funded research and its importance to society. Among many tributes, the Clinical Research Center and hospital at the NIH are named in his honor.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
(267) 646-0622
Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

New Genome Profiling Technique Identifies Weak Points in Breast Cancer Cells

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Technique designed to identify Achilles’ heel of breast cancer.
•   Method could apply to other cancer types if validated.
•   AACR to host teleconference on Aug. 2, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. ET.

PHILADELPHIA — New research published in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, details a large-scale project in genetic profiling that has identified many of the weak points in breast tumor cells.

Alan Ashworth, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said the quest for a more personalized approach in cancer treatment has driven him and his colleagues to identify those genes upon which breast tumor cells are completely dependent. Ashworth and his colleague Christopher Lord, Ph.D., see this project as the first step toward the development of better treatments for the disease.

“We’ve already had significant success in identifying some of the genes that are highly active in breast cancer and then blocking them, such as HER2. Our new work shows there are many other ways of doing this by using some of the inherent weaknesses found in breast cancer cells,” said Ashworth.

José Baselga, M.D., Ph.D., co-editor-in-chief of Cancer Discovery and chief of hematology/oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, moderated a teleconference on this research on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Listen to a recording of the teleconference:

Download* the mp3 of the teleconference (30.2 MB, 32 minutes and 56 seconds)

In addition to Baselga, the following panelists participated in this AACR-hosted teleconference:

•   Alan Ashworth, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the Institute of Cancer Research in London;
•   Christopher Lord, Ph.D., senior staff scientist at Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Center at the Institute of Cancer Research in London; and
•   René Bernards, Ph.D., professor of molecular carcinogenesis at The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.

Ashworth and Lord performed high-throughput RNA interference screening in more than 30 commonly used models of breast cancer to identify a series of genes upon which breast cancer cells rely. This method identified potential therapeutic targets for PTEN-mutated cancers and for ER-positive breast cancers.

“We showed that large-scale functional profiling allows the classification of breast cancers into subgroups distinct from the established subtypes,” said Ashworth.

According to Lord, this work is the starting point for the development of new drugs for the disease. “We want to refine each patient’s treatment according to the specific type of disease they have. To do this we first need to know where the weaknesses are in breast cancer cells and to then develop drugs that hit these weak spots. With this new information we can start to do that,” said Lord.

Ashworth is a principal on the Stand Up To Cancer Breast Cancer Subtypes Dream Team.

“Stand Up To Cancer has provided funding that is vitally important, and through the Dream Team framework they also provided the collaborative structure that was necessary for our research,” said Ashworth. “The ability to collaborate with other team members and share genetic data has been vital and will continue to be necessary as we apply this finding to other cancer tumor types.”

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) — a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization — raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that will get new therapies to patients quickly.

SU2C's “Dream Team” approach to funding translational cancer research enables scientists from different disciplines at research centers across the country and internationally to collaborate on projects geared toward getting new, less toxic treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Monies also support innovative cancer research projects that are often deemed “too risky” by conventional funding sources. Currently, 355 scientists from 55 institutions are involved in SU2C-funded research projects – either as members of Dream Teams or as recipients of Innovative Research Grants. As SU2C’s scientific collaborator, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), led by a prestigious SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, provides scientific oversight, expert review of the research projects, and grants administration.

Members of the SU2C Executive Leadership Council include Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen and Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pam Williams, partner at Laura Ziskin Productions; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin, a legendary film producer who executive produced the 2008 and 2010 SU2C telecasts, was also a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer.

For more information go to www.standup2cancer.org.

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

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Scientists Developing New Therapy for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Uses HER2 as a target to selectively deliver toxins to cancer cells.
• Designed to overcome issues of resistance with Herceptin.

PHILADELPHIA — Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may have an alternative therapy when they develop resistance to trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, according to a laboratory finding published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Jacek Capala, Ph.D., D.Sc., an investigator at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues designed, produced and tested HER2-Affitoxin, a novel protein that combines HER2-specific affibody molecules and a modified bacterial toxin, PE38.

“Unlike the current HER2-targeted therapeutics, such as Herceptin, this protein does not interfere with the HER2 signaling pathway but, instead, uses HER2 as a target to deliver a modified form of bacterial toxin specifically to the HER2-positive cancer cells. When cells absorb the toxin, it interferes with protein production and, thereby, kills them,” said Capala.

At least, that is what happened in Capala’s laboratory. After Affitoxin was injected into tumor-bearing mice, even relatively large, aggressive tumors stopped growing and most of them disappeared. The effect was strong enough that Capala believes it warrants a clinical trial.

“Herceptin has revolutionized the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, but a significant number of tumors acquire resistance to the drug,” said Capala. “Affitoxin could offer another therapeutic option for those patients whose tumors no longer respond to Herceptin.”

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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

Targeting PTEN May Prevent Skin Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• The tumor suppressor PTEN played key role in radiation damage repair.
• Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States.

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists believe they have identified a role for PTEN, a known tumor suppressor, in removing DNA damage derived from UVB radiation, a known risk factor for non-melanoma skin cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Yu-Ying He, Ph.D., an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, found that laboratory mice with reduced levels of PTEN were more likely to have UVB-induced skin cancers.

“This was an unexpected finding and definitely provides a new approach for chemoprevention strategies,” she said. “It’s possible that if we can increase PTEN activity through nutritional supplements or some sort of pharmaceutical intervention, we may be able to prevent this common cancer.”

Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. The 1 million cases diagnosed last year accounted for 40 percent of all new diagnosed cancers. Scientists know that the major risk factor for this type of skin cancer is UVB radiation from sunlight, which leads to DNA damage.

PTEN, which was first identified in 1997, promotes genomic stability and cellular repair and can lead to a reduction in the molecular misfiring that leads to cancer and tumor progression.

In the current study, He and colleagues exposed skin cells to UVB radiation and examined the rates of DNA repair. Those with lower PTEN levels had slower rates of DNA repair, because of loss of the key DNA repair protein xeroderma pigmentosum C (XPC). Importantly, if the scientists restored the levels of XPC, then the rates of DNA repair went up as well.

“Cells without appropriate levels of PTEN were not able to repair sufficiently,” said He.

He called the idea of a chemoprevention trial “promising,” and said that her lab plans to assess the chemopreventive potential of restoring PTEN function.

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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

Record Number of Abstracts Submitted to CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO — This year’s CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium received 1,641 abstract submissions before their deadline closed on June 21, 2011, an increase over the previous 2009 record of 1,464.

Selected abstracts will be presented as part of the robust program hosted by the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research and Baylor College of Medicine.

The symposium will be held Dec. 6-10, 2011, in San Antonio, Texas. Media registration is open and interested journalists can submit press credentials to Natalie Poole at Natalie.Poole@aacr.org.

For information on media policies, please visit: http://www.sabcs.org/Media/index.asp.

Abstracts span all categories of breast cancer care and management, including a new category called Ongoing Clinical Trials, which has received 68 submissions.

Now in its 34th year, the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium remains the premier venue for exciting studies in the field of breast cancer research and treatment. The program continues to present essential up-to-the-minute information and fosters discussion for basic, translational and clinical cancer research professionals.

# # #

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 34th annual symposium is expected to draw nearly 8,000 participants from more than 90 countries.

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

Stem Cell Treatment May Restore Cognitive Function in Patients with Brain Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Cranial radiotherapy is known to lead to cognitive dysfunction.
• Stem cells conformed to ethical guidelines.

PHILADELPHIA — Stem cell therapy may restore cognition in patients with brain cancer who experience functional learning and memory loss often associated with radiation treatment, according to a laboratory study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Charles Limoli, Ph.D., a professor in the department of radiation oncology at the University of California, Irvine, said radiation therapy is the standard of care for most brain cancers, but the side effects can be devastating.

“In almost every instance, people experience severe cognitive impairment that is progressive, debilitating and adversely impacts quality of life,” he said. “Pediatric cancer patients can experience a drop of up to three IQ points per year.”

In the current study, Limoli and colleagues subjected rats to cranial irradiation and followed up two days later with human neural stem cell transplants. A significant proportion of these cells survived and turned into brain cells found at one- and four-month evaluations. Cognitive function significantly improved compared with control rats.

Limoli said the findings of this study were significant, and may help pave the way for a human safety trial to be conducted within a few years if appropriate funding can be secured. Neural stem cells like those used in this study do not present the same ethical questions as embryonic stem cells.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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

Cancer Mortality Rates are Higher in Men than Women

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Disparity driven by gender differences in cancer incidence.
•   Cancer survival largely similar between men and women.
•   Research needed to understand gender disparities in cancer incidence.

PHILADELPHIA — Overall cancer mortality rates are higher for men than women in the United States, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Michael B. Cook, Ph.D., an investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues used U.S. vital rates and survival data from the SEER database for 36 cancers by gender and age. They assessed whether cancer mortality rates and cancer survival differed by gender.

“Men are more likely to die from cancer than women,” said Cook. “We found this to be true for a majority of specific types of cancer.”

Results showed that the cancers that had the highest male-to-female mortality rate ratios were: lip cancer (where 5.51 men died compared to 1 female); larynx (5.37-to-1); hypopharynx (4.47-to-1); esophagus (4.08-to-1); and urinary bladder (3.36-to-1). Cancers with the highest mortality rates also showed greater risk of death in men than women: lung and bronchus (2.31-to-1); colon and rectum (1.42-to-1); pancreas (1.37-to-1); leukemia (1.75-to-1); and liver and intrahepatic bile duct (2.23-to-1).

In their analysis of five-year cancer survival, the researchers adjusted for age, year of diagnosis and tumor stage and grade, when this information was available. Cook and his team found that a person’s gender did not play a major role in cancer survival.

For many cancers, men have poorer survival than women but the differences are slight. It is difficult to assign any singular root cause, but influences include differences in behavior of the tumor, cancer screening among people without symptoms, presence of other illnesses and health care seeking behaviors.

“Our research suggests that the main factor driving the greater frequency of cancer deaths in men is the greater frequency of cancer diagnosis, rather than poorer survival once the cancer occurs,” said Cook. “If we can identify the causes of these gender differences in cancer incidence then we can take preventative actions to reduce the cancer burden in both men and women.”

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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Southern U.S. States Lag in Reducing Death Rates from Colorectal Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

•   Some southern states show almost no improvement.
•   Study points to increased need for screening.
•   Poverty and uninsured rates are higher in southern states.

PHILADELPHIA — Improvements in colorectal cancer mortality rates are concentrated in the northern part of the United States, while southern states continue to fall behind, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Ahmedin Jemal, D.V.M., Ph.D., vice president for surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, said the decrease in death rates ranged from about 37 percent in Massachusetts to no reduction in Mississippi.

“This was very surprising, because when you look at the differences in reductions by state they are huge,” said Jemal.

Although colorectal cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer mortality for men and women, rates have been declining nationwide for several decades. The researchers analyzed the temporal trend in age-standardized colorectal cancer death rates for each state from 1990 to 2007.

Overall, states in the South had a lower reduction in mortality than states in the North. The researchers found a strong correlation between higher rates of screening and higher reductions in rates of mortality by state. They speculate that economic disparities may be playing a role in rates of screening. In Mississippi, 18.8 percent of people do not have health insurance, compared with 5.4 percent in Massachusetts. More than 20 percent of the population of Mississippi lives below the poverty line, compared with a national average of 13 percent.

Elizabeth Jacobs, Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Arizona, said the report shows a significant change in historical trends.

“It used to be that the highest rates of colorectal cancer mortality were in the northeastern part of the United States, but now we’ve really seen a switch,” said Jacobs, an editorial board member of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “It shows the importance of access to screening.”

# # #

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

Media Contact:
Jeremy Moore
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Celecoxib May Prevent Lung Cancer in Former Smokers

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Agent lowered key biomarkers in lung cancer development.
• Study confirms earlier research in Cancer Prevention Research.
• Experts estimate former U.S. smoker population at 45 million.

PHILADELPHIA — Celecoxib may emerge as a potent chemopreventive agent for lung cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers tested celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, among patients who were former smokers and found a significant benefit in bronchial health as measured by the Ki-67 labeling index, a marker of cellular proliferation or growth, as well as a number of other biomarkers. The findings follow a previous report published in Cancer Prevention Research that showed a similar effect on Ki-67 among former smokers and current smokers (Kim et al., Feb. 2010).

“Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that celecoxib can be used as a chemopreventive agent in these high-risk groups,” said Jenny Mao, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico and section chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the New Mexico VA Health System.

Mao cautioned, however, that both the current study, where she was the lead researcher, and the Feb. 2010 study were phase II trials, and that large phase III trials are still needed to confirm the findings.

J. Jack Lee, Ph.D., a professor of biostatistics at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the statistical editor of Cancer Prevention Research, estimates that there are currently 45 million former smokers and 45 million current smokers in the United States alone.

“The oncology community does not have a good treatment for lung cancer. Unless it is caught in the earliest stages, the five-year survival is only about 15 percent,” said Lee. “The best way is to intercept at the earliest stages and try to reverse the processes that can lead to cancer. These studies suggest celecoxib may be a tool to do that.”

For the current study, Mao and colleagues enrolled 137 patients and randomly assigned them to 400 mg celecoxib twice daily or a placebo. Patients had to be at least 45 years old, and had to have stopped smoking for at least a year.

Researchers conducted bronchoscopies at baseline and six months to measure changes in the Ki-67 labeling index. Treatment with celecoxib reduced this index by 34 percent compared to a 3.8 percent increase with the placebo group. Decreases in this index were also linked with a reduction in lung nodules, a potential precursor to cancer.

# # #

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Scientists Identify Order of Mutations that Lead to Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Findings represent a critical step in personalizing cancer treatments.
• Some early aberrations are required for development of later abnormalities.

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists have begun to reveal the order of the genetic aberrations in individual cancers in a finding they say is key to early diagnosis and personalized medicine.

“We know that each cancer is a collection of genetic malfunctions,” said Raymond Cho, Ph.D., an assistant clinical professor in the department of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). “We now show it is possible to determine which changes happen earlier and which ones happen further down the road, even in a single cancer.”

Cho and colleagues reported the findings in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. He said the work was the result of collaboration among UCSF, the Oregon Health & Science University, the University of California at Berkley and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.

The researchers focused on TP53, a known oncogene present in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas and serous ovarian adenocarcinomas. By examining how additional copies of the mutant oncogene accumulated, they found that complex changes in TP53 occurred earlier in most cases, rather than later, as had been previously believed.

According to the study, the ability to identify the actual sequence of mutations will help scientists to determine which mutations lead to precancerous lesions and which produce invasive carcinomas.

“Although cancers carry many mutations, the ones that always happen earliest set the stage for additional abnormalities,” said Cho.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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

Patients Treated with Sunitinib and Sorafenib Respond to Flu Vaccine

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Flu vaccine could be used to test immune response.
• Patients presented with metastatic renal cell cancer.
• Implications beyond quality of life and patient management.

PHILADELPHIA — Patients treated with sunitinib and sorafenib responded to the flu vaccine, which suggests the agents do not damage the immune system as much as previously feared, according to a study in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Keith Flaherty, M.D., director of developmental therapeutics at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a senior editor of Clinical Cancer Research, said the findings have broad implications beyond questions of patient management.

“The damage that chemotherapy does to normal, healthy cells as it treats cancer has been well documented, but the precise effect that the new class of targeted agents has on the immune system is less well known,” he said. “This study helps us answer that question.”

Flaherty said the indication that the flu vaccine is safe and effective in cancer patients treated with sunitinib and sorafenib, tyrosine kinase inhibitors that have been shown to have an effect on several types of cancer, suggests that clinicians can be less concerned about other targeted therapies.

“At the very least, it allows us to have a method of testing the capacity of the immune system when we use these agents, similar to how a stress test would test heart function,” said Flaherty.

Flaherty cautioned, however, that the findings would have to be confirmed both with other tyrosine kinase inhibitors and with other classes of drugs. As a question of patient management, the effect is more conclusive, according to Flaherty.

The study, led by Carla van Herpen, M.D., Ph.D., a medical oncologist at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in The Netherlands, included 40 patients: 16 were treated with sunitinib, six were treated with sorafenib, seven patients with metastatic renal cell cancer were treated with neither drug and 11 were healthy.

The researchers observed an antibody response in all patients comparable with healthy participants.

“The exact incidence of influenza in patients with cancer is not known, however, it is definitely higher than in the general population,” said van Herpen. “Managing these patients with the flu vaccine would improve their quality of life.”

# # #

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AACR Praises New Cigarette Health Warnings as Significant Step Forward; Urges Continued Research to Reduce Tobacco Use

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research applauds the bold new health warning labels for cigarette packages and advertisements unveiled today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The new labels will be required no later than the fall of 2012, and are a major step forward in the fight against tobacco use, which is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States and is responsible for nearly a third of all cancer deaths.

“The new warnings use color graphics to depict the negative health consequences of smoking, including cancer, and are a dramatic advance over the virtually invisible text-only warnings on cigarette packages today,” said Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., chairperson of the AACR Task Force on Tobacco and chief of medical oncology at Yale University. “These new labels offer an unprecedented opportunity to curb tobacco use. Research has shown that large, graphic warnings are an effective way to increase awareness about the dangers of tobacco, dissuade nonsmokers from starting to smoke, and motivate smokers to quit.”

The new warnings will cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packages and will occupy at least 20 percent of all cigarette advertisements. These new health warning labels will also include the national toll-free Quit Line number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Importantly, the FDA has authority to use the latest scientific research to periodically revise the warnings to keep them original and effective.

“We congratulate the FDA on reaching this important milestone in implementing the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act of 2009,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “The multifaceted nature of the tobacco problem calls for collaboration between the research community and the FDA to ensure that scientific discovery keeps pace with the FDA’s progress in implementing this historic law. We look forward to supporting the FDA in ensuring a rigorous scientific evaluation of the impact the new warning labels have on different populations, especially minorities and people of lower socioeconomic status who face a disproportionate burden of disease as a result of higher rates of tobacco use.”

In 2010, the AACR released a comprehensive policy statement (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) on tobacco and cancer comprised of policy recommendations and a road map for future research to stem the tide of tobacco-related death and disease. The statement urged more stringent and effective warning labels based on scientific evidence and recommended inclusion of the 1-800-QUIT-NOW cessation resource in labels.

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Scientists Image Beginning Stages of Ovarian Cancer Growth with Time Lapse Technique

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• New model of time-lapse microscopy provides better visualization of metastatic processes.
• Knowledge could allow for therapeutic targeting to prevent metastasis.
• NOTE TO PRODUCERS/EDITORS: Video footage available.

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists at Harvard University have created a laboratory model using time-lapse video microscopic technology that allows observation of early stages of ovarian cancer metastasis.

“We were able to observe key molecular mechanisms that are necessary for the force-dependent processes associated with metastasis,” said Joan Brugge, Ph.D., professor and chair of cell biology at Harvard University.

These findings are published in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. According to Brugge, who served as program chairperson for the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, ovarian cancer cells spread throughout the peritoneum by attaching to the outer cell layer of organs in this area and then clearing away this layer of cells and embedding themselves on the organ, where they then proliferate and expand.

“The reason these tumors are so morbid is that the metastatic tumors grow large enough to interfere with the function of the organs in the peritoneum,” she said.

By using the time-lapse video microscopic technique, Brugge and colleagues were able to visualize the detailed sequence of events associated with insertion of tumor cells into peritoneal monolayers in cell culture, and then determine that the mechanism involves tumor cells’ use of force via α5 integrin, talin I and muscle myosin II.

“Theoretically, by targeting these molecules, it may be possible to prevent the formation of new metastatic tumors,” said Brugge.

The study was funded by The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

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Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets May Reduce Both Tumor Growth Rates and Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Laboratory study has clear implications for humans.
• Low carbohydrates reduce blood glucose, which tumor cells need.
• Possible anti-inflammatory effect also observed.

PHILADELPHIA — Eating a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet may reduce the risk of cancer and slow the growth of tumors already present, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The study was conducted in mice, but the scientists involved agree that the strong biological findings are definitive enough that an effect in humans can be considered.

“This shows that something as simple as a change in diet can have an impact on cancer risk,” said lead researcher Gerald Krystal, Ph.D., a distinguished scientist at the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre.

Cancer Research editor-in-chief George Prendergast, Ph.D., CEO of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, agreed. “Many cancer patients are interested in making changes in areas that they can control, and this study definitely lends credence to the idea that a change in diet can be beneficial,” said Prendergast, who was not involved with the study.

Krystal and his colleagues implanted various strains of mice with human tumor cells or with mouse tumor cells and assigned them to one of two diets. The first diet, a typical Western diet, contained about 55 percent carbohydrate, 23 percent protein and 22 percent fat. The second, which is somewhat like a South Beach diet but higher in protein, contained 15 percent carbohydrate, 58 percent protein and 26 percent fat. They found that the tumor cells grew consistently slower on the second diet.

As well, mice genetically predisposed to breast cancer were put on these two diets and almost half of them on the Western diet developed breast cancer within their first year of life while none on the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet did. Interestingly, only one on the Western diet reached a normal life span (approximately 2 years), with 70 percent of them dying from cancer while only 30 percent of those on the low-carbohydrate diet developed cancer and more than half these mice reached or exceeded their normal life span.

Krystal and colleagues also tested the effect of an mTOR inhibitor, which inhibits cell growth, and a COX-2 inhibitor, which reduces inflammation, on tumor development, and found these agents had an additive effect in the mice fed the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet.

When asked to speculate on the biological mechanism, Krystal said that tumor cells, unlike normal cells, need significantly more glucose to grow and thrive. Restricting carbohydrate intake can significantly limit blood glucose and insulin, a hormone that has been shown in many independent studies to promote tumor growth in both humans and mice.

Furthermore, a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet has the potential to both boost the ability of the immune system to kill cancer cells and prevent obesity, which leads to chronic inflammation and cancer.

# # #

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AACR Mourns the Loss of Laura Ziskin, Co-founder of SU2C

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — It is with immense sorrow and deep regret that we share the news of the passing of Laura Ziskin, co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). She was a staunch advocate of the value of cancer research in saving lives, and was a beloved friend and member of our AACR family.

“The AACR expresses its deepest sorrow and heartfelt condolences to Laura’s family, friends and to our extended family at SU2C. We have truly lost a brave and visionary leader, and an inspiration to so many,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Laura fought her cancer and also worked with passion and urgency to help others affected by this dreaded disease. Her legacy is evident and tangible in the excellent translational research being conducted, and in new treatments being developed that will help countless people.”

“We are extraordinarily grateful for Laura’s unwavering commitment to a revolutionary approach to funding and conducting cancer research,” said Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H., president of the AACR. “Her impact on our field has already been enormous and will endure as a tribute to her astonishing energy and vision. As the scientific partner of SU2C, we are proud to have had the privilege of working with Laura in her quest to eradicate cancer.”

Ziskin had a trail-blazing career as a producer and studio executive for 35 years, with film credits from movies such as “Pretty Woman,” “What About Bob,” “No Way Out,” “The Doctor,” and the “Spider Man” trilogy. As the founding president of Fox 2000, she spearheaded films such as “The Thin Red Line,” “Fight Club,” “Soul Food” and “Courage Under Fire.” She also produced the 74th and 79th Academy Awards.

After her diagnosis with stage III breast cancer in 2004, Ziskin embraced an additional, unsought role as a cancer activist, joining with other women in the entertainment and media businesses (including Sherry Lansing, Katie Couric, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Ellen Ziffren, Pam Williams, Noreen Fraser, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Lisa Paulsen and Kathleen Lobb) to co-found SU2C. The group marshals the entertainment industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new approach to cancer research that is geared toward getting new therapies to patients quickly.

Since its launch in May 2008, more than $180 million has been pledged to SU2C from a wide range of philanthropic, corporate and organizational donors, as well as the general public, much of it in connection with two live “roadblock” telecasts — on Sept. 5, 2008 and Sept. 10, 2010. Together, these live telecasts featured nearly 200 celebrities, aired simultaneously on the major networks and a dozen cable stations, and were seen in 175 countries. Donors of every type joined the movement, ranging from individuals all over the country to organizations like Major League Baseball, philanthropists such as Sidney Kimmel, and corporations from an array of industries.

With these critical funds, SU2C has funded five interdisciplinary, multi-institutional Dream Teams and 26 Innovative Research Grants — comprised of 355 scientists and other professionals from 55 institutions. Current research underway has the potential to impact the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of cancers that are responsible for two-thirds of the cancer deaths in the United States.

The family requests that donations be made to Stand Up To Cancer: (via http://su2c.org or by mail: Attn: Stand Up To Cancer, c/o The Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, T-700, Los Angeles, CA, 90017.)

Read more about Laura Ziskin from SU2C.
Watch the AACR’s interview with Laura Ziskin.

# # #

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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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp
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AACR's CR Magazine Honored With Four Prestigious Journalism Awards

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research is pleased to announce that CR – AACR’s magazine for cancer survivors, their families and caregivers – won first place in the 2011 National Media Awards of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Separately, it received three additional awards from the Greater Philadelphia Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

“We are honored and humbled to receive such wonderful recognitions by two esteemed organizations for the outstanding reporting in CR magazine,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “CR prides itself on delivering accurate and important stories to survivors, patients and advocates, and these awards give us confidence that we have achieved our goal of providing new knowledge to these individuals.”

The article “A Step (or Leap, or Jump, or Stretch) in the Right Direction,” written by Rabiya S. Tuma, Ph.D., received first place for outstanding achievement in print reporting about colon and rectal disease, awarded by the 2011 National Media Awards of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.

The article takes a close look at the role of exercise in extending and improving quality of life for colorectal cancer survivors. Tuma builds the story around several studies, showing the effect of exercise on survivors, and provides user-friendly exercise tools. The article was published in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of CR.

In addition, the Greater Philadelphia Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists honored CR with three awards in its print category:

• Second place in the Non-deadline Writing category (for publications with a circulation of 40,000-75,000) to Jenny Song for three articles on the personal side of cancer: “The Measure of a Life,” “Stepping Up” and “Too Scared to Not Get a Mammogram?”;

• Second place in the Health and Science Story category to Sue Rochman for “The Culture and Cancer of Rural Poverty”; and

• Third place in the Public Service category to Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D., for “Homeless With Cancer.”

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Stand Up To Cancer Co-Founder Laura Ziskin Dies at 61

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Los Angeles, CA - Acclaimed film producer and cancer activist Laura Ziskin died today at her home in Santa Monica at the age of 61. Ziskin, who lived with breast cancer for seven years, is survived by her husband, screenwriter Alvin Sargent, with whom she frequently collaborated; daughter, producer Julia Barry, and son-in-law, writer Eli Dansky.

The family requests that donations be made to Stand Up To Cancer: (via SU2C.org or by mail: Attn: Stand Up To Cancer, c/o The Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street., T-700, Los Angeles, CA, 90017.)

Ziskin had a trail-blazing career as a producer and studio executive for 35 years. After her cancer diagnosis, Ziskin embraced an additional, unsought role as a cancer activist, joining with other women in the entertainment and media businesses (including Sherry Lansing, Katie Couric, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Ellen Ziffren, Pam Williams, Noreen Fraser, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Lisa Paulsen and Kathleen Lobb) to co-found Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). The group marshals the entertainment industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new approach to cancer research geared toward getting new therapies to patients quickly.

Earlier this year, Ziskin was awarded The Producers Guild of America’s Visionary Award for her work as a film producer and her humanitarian efforts in the fight against cancer. Speaking of herself and the other SU2C co-founders, Ziskin said, "We realized we had the potential to make cancer the first-tier issue it needs to be and to impact how cancer is treated by using our skills as producers and quite literally ‘putting on a show.’ Stand Up To Cancer is my most important production and I am so touched and proud that the PGA is honoring us for it.”

In late 2007, ABC, CBS and NBC committed to donating an hour of time for the first-ever “roadblock” televised fundraising event to proactively combat a major public health threat. Ziskin was executive producer of the initial, historic Stand Up To Cancer telecast in September of 2008, as well as a follow-up one in September, 2010, that aired on those three broadcast networks, FOX, and 13 cable providers. The shows, which featured hundreds of film and TV stars, recording artists, news anchors and sports personalities, were seen in 175 countries.

Donors of every type joined the movement, ranging from individuals all over the country to organizations like Major League Baseball, philanthropists such as Sidney Kimmel, corporations from an array of industries and foundations. Largely in connection with these two televised specials, $180 million has been pledged to support groundbreaking “translational” cancer research designed to move developments from the laboratory phase to new treatments that will benefit people battling cancer in record time. One of Stand Up To Cancer’s key goals is to foster increased collaboration among cancer researchers at different institutions. Currently, 355 scientists from 55 institutions collaborate, interact and share information through SU2C.

“Laura was the heart and soul of Stand Up To Cancer,” said SU2C co-founder Sherry Lansing. “She dreamed big, and attacked every challenge with creativity, passion, perseverance and intelligence.” Added SU2C co-founder Katie Couric, “Laura was one of the most courageous people I’ve ever known. Her fearlessness in the face of this relentless killer inspires everyone on the SU2C team to redouble our efforts to make cancer history.”

Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, chairs the Stand Up To Cancer Scientific Advisory Committee, which makes the recommendations about which projects to fund. Dr. Sharp said, “Stand Up To Cancer’s research is about bringing new therapies to the people who need them now. Laura was the ‘impatient patient and friend’, constantly hammering that message home to everyone on the science side of SU2C – from the Scientific Advisory Committee and the American Association for Cancer Research, to the Dream Team members and young Innovative Investigators. We take the mantra Laura and the other co-founders reiterate to us very seriously: that we collaborate in every way possible in order to accelerate the pace of research… That principle will forever guide our work.”

Ziskin’s Film Career

A California native, Ziskin grew up in the San Fernando Valley. After graduating from the USC School of Cinema-Television in 1973, Ziskin began writing for game shows and then became the film producer/director Jon Peters’ personal assistant. She quickly became a development executive, moving into feature films with Peters' production company, where she worked on the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born, starring Barbra Streisand. In 1978, she was the associate producer of The Eyes of Laura Mars.

In 1984, Ziskin partnered with Sally Field in Fogwood Films and produced Murphy's Romance, which yielded an Academy Award nomination for James Garner as Best Actor. Ziskin’s passion for identifying new talent emerged early on. In 1987, she produced No Way Out, starring then newcomer Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman. In 1990, she was Executive Producer of Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts, which remains one of the highest-grossing films in Disney's history.

In 1991, Ziskin produced two films: the comedy hit What About Bob?, starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss, and the critically acclaimed The Doctor, starring William Hurt and Christine Lahti. In 1992, Ziskin produced Hero, directed by Stephen Frears and featuring Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, and Geena Davis. In 1994, she produced Gus Van Sant’s To Die For, starring Nicole Kidman. Ziskin also developed and served as Executive Producer of Columbia Pictures' As Good As It Gets, which garnered Academy Awards for stars Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.

In 1994, Ziskin was named President of Fox 2000 Pictures, a newly formed feature film division of 20th Century Fox. Under her stewardship, Fox 2000 released such films as Fight Club, Courage Under Fire, Anna and the King, One Fine Day, Inventing the Abbotts, Volcano, Soul Food, Never Been Kissed, Anywhere But Here and The Thin Red Line, which garnered seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. In 1996, Fox 2000 also pooled resources with Fox Searchlight to distribute Anthony Minghella’s acclaimed The English Patient.

Ziskin turned to TV in 2001, executive producing the Norman Jewison-directed HBO Film Dinner With Friends, written by Donald Margulies from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play and starring Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette.

In March, 2002, Ziskin became the first woman to solo executive produce the Academy Awards. She held that position again for the 2007 broadcast, instituting the first-ever "Green" Oscars ceremony. The two shows garnered a total of 17 Emmy nominations.

The first of what will be four Spider-Man films for which Ziskin had a producing role hit theaters in 2002. Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 have grossed more than $1.5 billion, and Spider-Man 3 broke box office records worldwide to become the highest-grossing film in Sony's history. At the time of her death, Ziskin and her partner in Laura Ziskin Productions, Pamela Oas Williams, were at work on the fourth installment of the series.

In addition to her work with Stand Up To Cancer, Ziskin was actively involved in issues that concern the environment, health and families, having served on the board of Americans for a Safe Future, the National Council of Jewish Women and Education First.

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Ziskin’s feisty spirit and hopeful outlook about the potential of cancer research was evident in a blog she authored just days ago, on National Cancer Survivor’s Day. Excerpts follow; the full text can viewed at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-ziskin/stand-up-to-cancer_b_870673.html.

All cancer survivors can vividly recall the moment the disease invaded their lives. After three years of repeated tests that always ended with being told everything was fine, I listened to my doctor's chilling voicemail: "You have lobular breast cancer, and you need to come in as soon as possible."

My head was spinning with questions like "What in the world is 'lobular' cancer?" One that's hard to diagnose, it turns out. The tumor's lace-like texture meant there were holes in the mass that a needle could pass through, resulting in "clean" biopsies while cancer lurked -- and spread ... to 30 lymph nodes.

The ensuing seven years have been quite an odyssey, but I am still here, fortunate to count myself among the 28 million cancer survivors worldwide ... And grateful, as one of the co-founders of Stand Up To Cancer, for all the support SU2C has received as we raise funds to help scientists develop better, less toxic treatments and get them to patients quickly.

Feeling fortunate and grateful doesn't mean I'm not mad, though. I'm mad as hell, not only about my years of misdiagnosis, but also that -- despite many advances in the fight against breast cancer -- the particular type of disease I have is still a challenge to treat. Cancer sucks, and each and every day I have moments of telling it where to go. And today, on National Cancer Survivors Day, I can shout it from the rooftops!

Whether it's to vent your own anger or frustration, or to show support for a loved one, it takes only seconds to "donate" your Facebook status (via http://livestrong.standup2cancer.org/) and give cancer a piece of your mind...

While somewhat more crass assertions also readily come to mind, what I really want to say is: "Cancer, you can't survive ME!"

I couldn't have imagined my medical odyssey at its outset, in part, because some of the therapies I've received didn't exist seven years ago. Some, not even seven months ago.

This is an incredibly hopeful time in cancer research, with monumental discoveries occurring at a breathtaking pace ... In 2008, for example, only one cancer genome had been sequenced. Today, more than 100 have been, yielding an exponential increase in the number of targets for which scientists can develop tailored treatments.

All of which will lead to more survivors; more lives to celebrate.

So please join us today, with whatever message you wish to send cancer. Take a stand -- for yourself, for a loved one ... for anyone in the fight. Let's make everyone diagnosed with cancer a survivor.

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John Koch
ID
323-822-4869
jkoch@id-pr.com

Maurine Slutzky
Entertainment Industry Foundation
213-240-3923
mslutzky@eifoundation.org

Kristen Bothwell
Rubenstein Communications
212-843-9227
kbothwell@rubenstein.com

AACR Celebrates Unanimous Passage of Resolution Declaring May as National Cancer Research Month

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On May 27th, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a Congressional resolution to designate May 2011 as National Cancer Research Month.

Introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Senate Resolution 172 (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) recognizes the importance of cancer research and declares May “National Cancer Research Month.” Feinstein and Hutchison sent a letter to their Senate colleagues, urging them to cosponsor the resolution “in celebration and support of this lifesaving work.”

Seventeen additional senators served as cosponsors of the resolution, including Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.). The resolution was also endorsed by more than 65 national organizations and cancer centers.

“The Senate’s unanimous support of this resolution reinforces the nation’s long-standing commitment to cancer research and demonstrates that our Congressional leaders clearly understand the need to continue and indeed strengthen the nation’s efforts against the 200 diseases we call cancer,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “We must pursue every avenue to conquer cancer with a sense of urgency. Research in preventing, detecting and treating cancer is essential to public health.”

The resolution recognizes the scientists and clinicians across the United States dedicated to fighting cancer and highlights key cancer statistics. Among them, the resolution notes that the five-year survival rate for all cancers combined has increased from 50 percent to 68 percent during the past 35 years. While there are currently 12 million cancer survivors in the United States, more than 500,000 Americans die from cancer each year.

The AACR believes that it is vitally important to underscore the value of cancer research at this juncture, as there are many promising developments against cancer in the pipeline waiting to be translated for the good of cancer patients.

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Brisk Walking Could Improve Prostate Cancer Outcomes

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Effect was seen if men walked at a brisk pace after diagnosis.
• Easy exercise regimen continues to improve health.
• Walking decreased the likelihood of secondary treatments.

PHILADELPHIA — Men with prostate cancer can improve their outcomes if they walk briskly for at least three hours a week following their diagnosis, according to a recent study in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“It appears that men who walk briskly after their diagnosis may delay or even prevent progression of their disease,” said lead researcher Erin Richman, Sc.D., a research associate at the University of California, San Francisco.

Richman said the evidence adds to the growing body of literature that suggests walking regularly may prevent a variety of adverse health problems, including cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

“Walking is something everyone can and should do to improve their health,” she said.

Richman and colleagues observed 1,455 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer that had not spread beyond the prostate. These patients reported their physical activity by questionnaire about 27 months after their diagnosis and prior to any evidence of recurrence or second treatment.

Researchers recorded 117 events, including biochemical recurrences (elevations in PSA), secondary treatments, bone metastasis and prostate cancer-specific death. They found that men who walked briskly for at least three hours a week had a 57 percent lower rate of progression of disease than men who walked at an easy pace for less than three hours a week.

“The benefit from walking truly depended on how quickly you walked. Walking at an easy pace did not seem to have any benefit,” said Richman.

This collaborative group also recently reported in a separate cohort of men with prostate cancer that vigorous physical activity after diagnosis was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer-specific death.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, and more than 2.2 million men in the United States currently live with the disease. In 2010, there were 217,000 new cases.

Stephen M. Schwartz, Ph.D., a full member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a senior editor of Cancer Research, said this study is important because research on the role of physical activity in prostate cancer has been relatively sparse.

“We have had some studies that show a reduced risk of developing prostate cancer, but this is strong evidence of a benefit after someone is diagnosed,” said Schwartz.

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AACR Calls for Letters of Intent for a Stand Up To Cancer-Melanoma Research Alliance Dream Team

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), along with the American Association for Cancer Research, call upon the cancer research community to submit Letters of Intent for a new Dream Team dedicated to melanoma research.

The SU2C-MRA Melanoma Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant will provide funding of a minimum of $6 million over a three-year period for a cancer research project that will accelerate the application of new preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic agents to the clinic. Proposals for Melanoma Dream Team projects must present plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic.

To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the Dream Team must include laboratory and clinical researchers, senior and young investigators and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past, as well as patient advocates. This Dream Team will span multiple disciplines and utilize the new tools of modern biology to attack research questions in a coordinated way. Mechanisms to foster collaboration within and among the Dream Teams should be employed — an approach that promotes the sharing of information and a goal-oriented focus on measurable milestones of progress.

SU2C and MRA believe that this unique Dream Team model will advance scientific research in the interests of both today’s cancer patients and those who may develop cancer in the future.

A SU2C-MRA Joint Scientific Advisory Committee (JSAC) will conduct a unique, interactive, rapid and rigorous evaluation of the applications via a multi-step scientific review process. The committee is chaired by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is comprised of highly accomplished senior laboratory researchers and physician-scientists, as well as advocates.

Since the launch of Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, the AACR has played an integral role as SU2C’s scientific partner by providing scientific leadership, expert peer review and grants administration. The AACR is responsible for administering these grants and provides ongoing scientific oversight to ensure that progress is being made. AACR will work closely with MRA, the largest private funder of melanoma research.

For general information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about this Dream Team grant, please visit: www.aacr.org/SU2CMRA. Inquiries may be directed to the SU2C Grants Office at: (267) 765-1049 or su2c@aacr.org. Those interested should submit Letters of Intent detailing their best ideas for cutting-edge melanoma research projects to su2c@aacr.org by 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET on June 20, 2011.

The SU2C-MRA Melanoma Translational Dream Team will be announced in November 2011.

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To view the recently televised Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special, please visit: www.su2c.org/2010show. For general information, please visit www.su2c.org.

About the Melanoma Research Alliance
The Melanoma Research Alliance is a public charity formed under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the generous founding support of Debra and Leon Black. It supports an international, cross-disciplinary group of biomedical researchers possessing clinical and scientific expertise to explore, identify and pursue innovative solutions to critical research questions, leading to better treatments and a cure for melanoma patients. Since its founding in 2007, MRA has become the largest private funder of melanoma research. For more information about MRA’s research programs, visit www.melanomaresearchalliance.org

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, the AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

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Lee W. Wattenberg, M.D., Receives the 2011 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Prevention Research

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Lee W. Wattenberg, M.D., will receive the 2011 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Prevention Research for his role in launching the field of chemoprevention and his work to understand the potential mechanisms of action of chemopreventive compounds. Wattenberg is a professor at the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota and past president of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“Dr. Wattenberg is a trendsetting, innovative cancer research leader whose early thinking and insights in cancer prevention put the spotlight on the potential of the field to save lives from cancer,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “His lifelong work in this field has inspired scores of scientists to dedicate their energies and their careers to preventing or delaying the onset of cancer. Dr. Wattenberg’s work proves definitively that one committed person can positively alter the course of cancer science and medicine. Cancer prevention is his extraordinary legacy, and all of us are profoundly grateful for his stellar contributions.”

An AACR member since 1961, Wattenberg first recognized that some groups of compounds could be effective in chemoprophylaxis of carcinogenesis in experimental animals in 1965. He introduced the term “chemoprophylaxis” in a 1966 review that was published in Cancer Research, a journal of the AACR. In this seminal publication, he laid the groundwork for the experimental inhibition of chemically induced animal carcinogenesis. The concepts he developed led to the framework for understanding the potential mechanisms of action for chemopreventive compounds, which still guides preventive agent development today.

Wattenberg is the author of more than 150 scientific publications. His studies have covered a wide range of chemopreventive agents, including dietary preventive substances and most recently synthetic compounds that might prevent carcinogen-induced lung cancer. He pioneered the use of aerosols to deliver drugs in lung cancer. His laboratory is currently studying processes that cause irreversibility in carcinogenesis and whether these processes could be targets for intervention.

Wattenberg is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a 1962 Guggenheim Fellowship, the 1996 AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, and the 1991 American Health Foundation Naylor Dana Award for scientific achievement in the prevention of cancer.

His tireless dedication to cancer prevention is evidenced by the many seminars, lectures and workshops that he has presented all over the world. He was chair of the American Association for Cancer Research’s first prevention symposium at the 1979 AACR Annual Meeting and has been a major speaker at the AACR Annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meetings. Wattenberg has served as program chair of the AACR Annual Meeting and on numerous AACR committees, editorial boards, the Board of Directors and as AACR president from 1992 to 1993.

Wattenberg earned an undergraduate degree from The City College of New York in 1941 and his medical degree from the University of Minnesota in 1950. He has spent most of his career at the University of Minnesota, where he now holds the position of professor at the Masonic Cancer Center.

The 2011 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Prevention Research will be presented at The Lee W. Wattenberg Symposium - Cancer Chemoprevention: Past Achievements, Future Strategies, held May 26, 2011 in the Al Johnson Great Room in the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota. For more information, please contact Lisa Haubein, Ph.D., at lisa.haubein@aacr.org.

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AACR Hosts Successful 102nd Annual Meeting in Orlando

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — More than 16,000 people from 67 countries around the world, including Japan, attended the American Association for Cancer Research’s 102nd Annual Meeting, held in Orlando, Fla., April 2-6, 2011.

"We were excited to host our Annual Meeting in Orlando, a destination for the AACR’s main event where we were able to showcase cancer research advances that are benefitting cancer patients everywhere,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR.

The economic impact of the Annual Meeting on Orlando, Fla., and the surrounding area was approximately $32.9 million. This figure includes the costs of hotels and lodging, food and beverage, the convention center and other related expenses.

“We were pleased to exceed our housing commitments with all of our hotel partners,” said Linda M. Still, CMP, director of meetings and exhibits. “Feedback from attendees was very positive. They enjoyed the conference venue, as well as spending free time at the many excellent local restaurants and entertainment facilities.”

At the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, participants presented and discussed research in a variety of formats that stimulated significant discussion of the field, i.e., plenary lectures, symposia, minisymposia, workshops, poster sessions and other types of sessions.

The AACR's Annual Meeting attracts leading academic, industry, philanthropic and government laboratory and clinical scientists, as well as students, cancer survivors, patient advocates and other health care professionals. This year, more than 6,000 scientific proffered papers were presented, complementing an outstanding program of invited scientific and educational events.

The AACR's 103rd Annual Meeting 2012 will be held in Chicago, Ill., from March 31 to April 4.

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View video podcasts and listen to teleconferences from the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011.
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AACR Invites Nominations for the 2011 AACR Distinguished Lecture on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research announces a call for nominations for the 2011 AACR Distinguished Lecture on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, funded by Susan G. Komen for The Cure®.

The lecture, established in 2010, honors an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer health disparities.

The inaugural recipient was Charles M. Perou, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics and pathology at the Lineberger Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 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. Perou's synthesis of biology, informatics and molecular genetics informs his breast cancer research from the lab to the clinic, and into the general population.

The award recipient will receive $5,000 and deliver a 45-minute lecture at The Science of Cancer Health Disparities meeting, to be held Sept. 18-21, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington, D.C.

• Deadline for nominations: June 13, 2011

• For more information, contact: Monique P. Eversley at (267) 646-0576, e-mail awards@aacr.org or visit www.aacr.org/page25387.aspx.

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AACR Congratulates Two Members on Their Election Into the National Academy of Sciences

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research congratulates two of its members, Ira Mellman, Ph.D., and Luis F. Parada, Ph.D., on their election to the National Academy of Sciences.

“We are very proud to announce the election of these two distinguished AACR members to the National Academy of Sciences. Both Drs. Mellman and Parada are extrapolating new knowledge gained in critical biological questions to the development of new treatment paradigms in cancer therapeutics,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “They are outstanding leaders in the field and we want to wish them our warm congratulations on this great milestone in their careers.”

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.

The National Academy of Sciences elected 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 15 countries. Two of these inductees are AACR members:

Ira Mellman, Ph.D., vice president of research oncology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, Calif. Mellman was among the first to unravel the pathways and functional significance of endocytosis. He has applied these insights to elucidate two key problems: the generation and maintenance of cell polarity and the cell biological basis of the immune response. His work on immune response has concentrated on dendritic cells. This work lends itself to the development of strategies for therapeutic intervention: augmenting dendritic cell function to enhance responses to cancer, and attenuating dendritic cell function to combat autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disease. Mellman received his B.A. from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. in genetics from Yale University School of Medicine. He was a postdoctoral fellow at The Rockefeller University before returning to Yale, becoming Sterling Professor and chair of cell biology and immunobiology, member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and scientific director of the Yale Cancer Center. Mellman moved to Genentech in 2007 as Vice President of Research Oncology, where he leads the largest component of Genentech’s discovery organization. Mellman is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, an elected foreign member of EMBO, the previous Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cell Biology and a member of the editorial boards of Cell, the JEM and EMBO Journal. Mellman founded CGI Pharmaceuticals (Gilead). He is an advisor to numerous research institutes and the author of 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Luis F. Parada, Ph.D., professor and Diana K. and Richard C. Strauss distinguished chair in developmental biology, department of developmental biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. Parada’s research integrates the fields of molecular genetics, embryonic development and signal transduction. His studies have provided critical insights into brain development, associated disorders and cancer biology, and have led to the identification of molecules that inhibit nerve regeneration after injury. His laboratory focuses on the regulatory pathways that control the complex process of nervous system development and the consequences of inappropriate development, which can include behavioral and mood disorders, as well as cancer. Parada graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology. He completed his doctorate in biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985 and served postdoctoral fellowships at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass., and at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He was head of the Molecular Embryology Section in the Mammalian Genetics Laboratory of the National Cancer Institute before joining UT Southwestern in 1994. He was an AACR Annual Meeting 2007 program committee member. Parada has received numerous honors, including election to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was named an American Cancer Society Basic Research Professor in 2003.

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Cancer Organizations Honor Rep. Markey, Advocate for Biomedical Research Funding on Capitol Hill

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four of the nation’s leading oncology organizations will honor Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on May 11, recognizing his longstanding commitment to biomedical research and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) will present the award to Rep. Markey following a collaborative cancer research advocacy day on Capitol Hill. The advocacy day is largely focused on sustaining or increasing the nation’s investment in biomedical research.

Markey has served as a champion for the NIH during his more than 35 years of service in the House of Representatives. In recent years, he has distributed an annual “dear colleague” letter to appeal to his fellow congressmen for increased funding for the agency. He is also a steadfast supporter of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other cancer research centers in his home state of Massachusetts.

“Congressman Markey’s support is invaluable,” said AACR President Judy Garber, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Cancer Risk and Prevention Program at Dana-Farber. “The NIH funds crucial research and programs at Dana-Farber and at cancer centers throughout the nation. Without the commitment of Congressman Markey and other congressional supporters, the work we do every day simply would not be possible, and the advances our patients are counting on would not be there. ”

The advocacy day follows a 1-percent funding reduction for the NIH in Fiscal Year 2011 – a cut that, leaders say, must be reversed to preserve the nation’s leadership in biomedical research.

“There is incredible biomedical research being conducted all across the nation that aims to bring new treatments and hope to patients everywhere,” said Ellen Sigal, Ph.D., chair and founder of Friends. “However, if the commitment to fully funding our scientific and research agencies does not continue, news of scientific breakthroughs will become a thing of the past, and the burden of diseases like cancer will continue to take their toll on the American people.”

Physicians, researchers and patient advocates from around the country will visit congressional offices on May 11, many from the nation’s top cancer centers. The NIH and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) award these centers critical funding to bring clinical trials to patients and conduct innovative cancer research.

“AACI’s 94 member cancer centers know firsthand the impact of NIH and NCI funding on cancer research,” said AACI President Michael A. Caligiuri, M.D., director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute. “For example, it is with this funding that Ohio State researchers are discovering that gene mutations and molecular markers in leukemia cells can help distinguish leukemia patients who require aggressive treatment.”

The meetings give cancer researchers and clinicians an opportunity to speak directly to their elected representatives, making the case for sustained – or, ideally, increased – funding for the NIH and NCI. The groups are asking for Congress to at least meet the president’s NIH budget request of $31.98 billion in FY 2012, a 2.4-percent increase above FY 2011. They are also advocating for an FDA budget increase of $279 million, in order to safely and adequately usher in the next generation of treatments and cures.

“Cuts to publicly funded cancer research threaten the research that is making significant progress in diagnosing, preventing, and treating cancer,” said ASCO President George W. Sledge, M.D., Ballve-Lantero Professor of Oncology at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center. “Today, some 500,000 people die from cancer in the United States every year. And as our population ages, the disease is projected to become the nation’s leading cause of death. Given these challenges, we urgently need to accelerate the pace of research, particularly the clinical trials that serve as the link between cutting-edge discoveries in the lab and new therapies for patients. Millions of patients and their loved ones are relying on the NIH and NCI for the possibility of a healthier tomorrow.”

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The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 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 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 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 fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 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. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world's leading professional organization representing physicians who care for people with cancer. With nearly 30,000 members, ASCO is committed to improving cancer care through scientific meetings, educational programs, and peer-reviewed journals. For ASCO information and resources, visit www.asco.org. Patient-oriented cancer information is available at www.cancer.net.

Representing 94 of the nation’s premier academic and free-standing cancer research centers, the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI), based in Pittsburgh, is dedicated to aiding its members’ shared mission to eradicate cancer. For more than 30 years, the Association has provided a unified voice for cancer center directors to educate policy leaders and the public about the importance of cancer centers and the role they play in reducing the burden of cancer in their communities.

Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) is a cancer research think tank and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. Friends is a leader in developing partnerships and advocating for policies that will get treatments and therapies to patients in the safest and quickest way possible. Working with federal health agencies, congressional leadership, academic research centers and private sector industry, Friends continues to create innovative educational, policy, and scientific approaches to improve health outcomes and cancer care. www.focr.org

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AACR Applauds Sens. Feinstein and Hutchison's Leadership in Promoting May as National Cancer Research Month

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 06 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The AACR applauds leaders of the bipartisan Senate Cancer Coalition for reinforcing the importance of cancer research this May, in honor of National Cancer Research Month.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) introduced a Congressional resolution (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) that recognizes the importance of cancer research and declares May “National Cancer Research Month.” Feinstein and Hutchison sent a letter to their Senate colleagues, urging them to cosponsor the resolution “in celebration and support of this life-saving work.”

Ten additional senators served as original cosponsors of the resolution, including Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

“We are deeply grateful to Senators Feinstein, Hutchison and all the cosponsors of this resolution for their unstinting leadership in the support of cancer research,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “These dedicated Congressional leaders clearly understand the need to continue and indeed strengthen the nation’s efforts against the 200 diseases we call cancer. We must pursue every avenue to conquer cancer with a sense of urgency, and research in preventing, detecting and treating cancer is essential to public health.”

The resolution recognizes the scientists and clinicians across the United States dedicated to fighting cancer and highlights key cancer statistics. Among them, the resolution notes that the five-year survival rate for all cancers combined has increased from 50 percent to 65 percent during the past 30 years. While there are currently 12 million cancer survivors in the United States, more than 500,000 Americans die from cancer each year.

The AACR believes that it is vitally important to underscore the value of cancer research at this juncture, as there are many promising developments against cancer in the pipeline just waiting to be translated for the good of cancer patients.

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Racial Disparities Still Exist in Colorectal Cancer Screening Despite Increased Medicare Coverage

registration@aacr.org () — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Blacks and Hispanics less likely than whites to receive screening.
• Disparities persisted after increased colorectal screening coverage.

PHILADELPHIA — Despite expanded Medicare coverage for colorectal cancer screening tests, lower rates still exist among blacks and Hispanics compared to other ethnic groups, according to research published in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers from the University of Texas School of Public Health used data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), a National Cancer Institute database, to determine the prevalence of colorectal cancer screenings among Medicare beneficiaries aged 70 to 89 years with no history of any tumor. Researchers examined the data for an effect of Medicare’s expansion of colorectal cancer screening; including coverage of fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy.

“Colorectal cancer screening increased as Medicare coverage expanded,” said Aricia White, Ph.D., an epidemic service officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “However, screening rates were still low according to recommendations.”

White and colleagues analyzed data from 16 SEER regions of the United States between 1996 and 2005, and found that blacks were less likely than whites to receive colorectal cancer screening before and during Medicare coverage of fecal occult blood test and after coverage of colonoscopy. Hispanics were also less likely to receive screening after colonoscopy coverage.

Electra Paskett, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor in the college of medicine at the Ohio State University and Comprehensive Cancer Center and deputy editor of Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, said this study, like others before it, shows that “we need to make a more concerted effort to make sure that everyone who is eligible to receive these tests gets screened.”

“Interventions might need to be focused on the people who are less likely to receive the screening test,” she added.

Although there are no follow-up studies planned, this is an area that needs further study.

“While screening rates increased over time, they are still lower than national recommendations,” said White. “More efforts need to be made to increase colorectal cancer screening among all beneficiaries.”

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AACR Opens Nominations for Award Funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research announces a call for nominations for the 2011 AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

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’s award was presented to Klaus Pantel, M.D. Ph.D., professor at the Institute of Tumor Biology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. Pantel was honored for his pioneering and original work on the detection of minimal residual disease and on using this information to provide improved care for breast cancer patients.

The award recipient will receive $10,000 and deliver a 25-minute lecture at the 34th Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, to be held Dec. 6-10, 2011, in San Antonio, Texas.

• Deadline for nominations: May 16, 2011

• For more information, contact: Monique P. Eversley at (267) 646-0576, e-mail awards@aacr.org or visit www.aacr.org/page24996.aspx

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Blood Test Could Predict Metastasis Risk in Melanoma

registration@aacr.org () — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Most of the mortality from melanoma comes from metastasis.
• Current monitoring requires costly imaging methods.

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists at Yale University have identified a set of plasma biomarkers that could reasonably predict the risk of metastasis among patients with melanoma, according to findings published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“The rate at which melanoma is increasing is dramatic, and there is a huge number of patients under surveillance,” said Harriet Kluger, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. “Our current method of surveillance includes periodic imaging, which creates huge societal costs.”

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh most common cancer in women. It is estimated that 68,130 people in the United States were diagnosed in 2010, and 8,700 died. With proper screening, melanoma can often be caught early enough to be removed with surgery, and mortality typically comes when the cancer metastasizes. The risk of metastasis varies from less than 10 percent for those with stage 1A melanoma, to as high as 70 percent with stage 3C.

Patients with melanoma are typically subjected to a combination of imaging tests, blood tests and physical examinations, but there is no clear consensus on how often these tests should occur or how reliable they are.

Kluger and colleagues tested the plasma of 216 individuals, including 108 patients with metastatic melanoma and 108 patients with stage 1 or 2 disease. They identified seven plasma biomarkers: CEACAM, ICAM-1, osteopontin, MIA, GDF-15, TIMP-1 and S100B.

All of these biomarkers were higher in patients with metastatic melanoma than patients with early-stage disease. In fact, 76 percent of patients with early-stage disease had no elevations at all whereas 83 percent of metastatic patients had elevations of at least one marker. Researchers calculated that the area under the curve, a measure of the test’s reliability, was 0.898. Area under the curve calculations rate from .5 to 1, with 1 being optimal and .5 being useless.

“This finding will need to be confirmed prospectively before it is used in the clinic, but it shows that such testing is possible,” said Kluger.

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Strawberries May Slow Precancerous Growth in Esophagus

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Esophageal cancer is the third most common gastrointestinal cancer.
• Six months of eating strawberry may decrease histological grade of precancerous lesions.
• Strawberries may reduce cancer-related molecular events.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Freeze-dried strawberries may be an alternative to drugs for the prevention of esophageal cancer, according to research presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

“We concluded from this study that six months of eating strawberries is safe and easy to consume. In addition, our preliminary data suggests that strawberries can decrease histological grade of precancerous lesions and reduce cancer-related molecular events,” said lead researcher Tong Chen, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, division of medical oncology, department of internal medicine at The Ohio State University. She is also a member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Esophageal cancer is the third most common gastrointestinal cancer and the sixth most frequent cause of cancer death in the world, she said. Chen and her team are studying esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) which makes up 95 percent of cases of esophageal cancer worldwide. China, where this study took place, has the highest incidence of esophageal SCC.

In a previous study, Chen and colleagues found that freeze-dried strawberries significantly inhibited tumor development in the esophagus of rats. Based on these results, they embarked on a Phase Ib trial that included participants with esophageal precancerous lesions who were at high risk for esophageal cancer.

Participants consumed 60 grams of freeze-dried strawberries daily for six months and completed a dietary diary chronicling their strawberry consumption. Using freeze-dried strawberries was important because by removing the water from the berries, they concentrated the preventive substances by nearly 10-fold, Chen said.

The researchers obtained biopsy specimens before and after strawberry consumption. The results showed that 29 out of 36 participants experienced a decrease in histological grade of the precancerous lesions during the study.

“Our study is important because it shows that strawberries may slow the progression of precancerous lesion in the esophagus. Strawberries may be an alternative or work together with other chemopreventive drugs for the prevention of esophageal cancer. But, we will need to test this in randomized placebo-controlled trials in the future,” said Chen.

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Physical Health Scores Predict Breast Cancer Outcomes

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Risk of recurrence increased in women with poor health scores.
• Five percent improvement in physical health score can reduce risk.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Breast cancer survivors with poor physical health scores had an elevated risk of poorer cancer outcomes, including recurrence and death, according to the results of an observational study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Survivors of breast cancer who had poor health scores were 27 percent more likely to experience either a recurrence of their cancer or a new breast cancer. Physical health also impacted survival quite strongly; risk of death from any cause was 65 percent greater among those with poorer health scores.

Researchers from UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center used data from three of the four cohorts included in the After Breast Cancer (ABC) Pooling Project to analyze the association of poor physical health and survival, along with a cluster of comorbidities. The physical health score has been shown in smaller studies to be an important predictor of future breast cancer events and overall survival in women with breast cancer.

“Here we see a single metric that predicts risk,” said John P. Pierce, Ph.D., who is the Sam M. Walton professor for cancer prevention and associate director for population sciences at Moores Cancer Center. “Variables cluster together and are summarized in the physical health score. The question becomes how to improve the physical health status of this particular group of breast cancer survivors.”

Physical health scores were measured for a total of 9,387 early-stage breast cancer survivors, using the SF-36 – a multipurpose, short-form health survey taken after diagnosis, with follow-up occurring on average seven years later. The physical health score includes information about how an individual perceives their own physical functioning, bodily pain and limitations caused by physical problems.

About half the women in the sample had a physical health score that met the survey definition of poor physical health. Low physical health scores were strongly associated with a higher body mass index. The women with low scores were less physically active and were 64 percent more likely to have sleep difficulties. They also had 50 percent higher rates of high blood pressure and diabetes and were twice as likely to have arthritis.

By addressing this cluster of health concerns, clinicians can help women improve their health, feel better about their lives and reduce associated breast cancer risks, according to Pierce.

“Instead of looking at breast cancer survivors as a whole, we need to focus on the women with low physical health scores, those most at risk,” he said. “An increase of 5 percent in their physical health score can reduce their risk. We can empower them to take charge of their health and thereby improve their chance of survival as well as their quality of life.”

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GOLFIG Increased Progression-free Survival in Colorectal Cancer Patients

registration@aacr.org () — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Duration of progression-free survival was 16.5 months with GOLFIG.
• GOLFIG is safe and effective in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
• Study prematurely terminated due to superior results of GOLFIG.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Oncologists can use colorectal cancer patients’ own immune system to boost the effects of chemotherapy and increase progression-free survival, according to Phase III study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Patients with advanced colorectal cancer are typically treated with combination chemotherapy with fluorouracil or the derivative product, capecitabine with or without levofolinic acid with irinotecan (FOLFIRI) or oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) given alone, or with the monoclonal antibodies bevacizumab, cetuximab or panitumumab.

“These combinations have been successful in inducing tumor regression, retarding disease progression and increasing overall survival. However, the average progression-free survival and overall survival are still no more than eight to 10 months and 20 to 22 months, respectively,” said Pierpaolo Correale, M.D., Ph.D., an oncologist at the Siena University School of Medicine in Italy.

This study was started in 2005, before monoclonal antibodies were routinely used. Correale and colleagues added gemcitabine to FOLFOX followed by granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and low-dose aldesleukine (GOLFIG) to boost the immune system in an effort to fight cancer.

The researchers randomized 130 patients to receive GOLFIG or FOLFOX for a maximum of 12 cycles and then receive maintenance treatment until disease progression. The study was designed to follow the patients in both arms until death, but was ended early due to significantly better results seen with the GOLFIG regimen.

So far, the patients who received GOLFIG had a progression-free survival of 16.5 months compared with the 7.5 months recorded in those patients who received FOLFOX.

“Based on our experience and results to date, we believe that the GOLFIG regimen is superior to FOLFOX chemotherapy in terms of efficacy and comparable in terms of toxicity and cost,” said Correale. “We were very surprised to find such a significant difference in terms of overall survival with this low number of patients.”

The challenge for the future will be to compare GOLFIG regimen with regimens containing monoclonal antibodies, he said.

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Soy Isoflavones Not a Risk for Breast Cancer Survivors

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Cancer recurrence did not increase in survivors who ate soy food.
• A trend toward a reduction in mortality and recurrence was observed.
• Study is one of the first in the new After Breast Cancer Pooling Project.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Soy food consumption did not increase the risk of cancer recurrence or death among survivors of breast cancer, according to the results of a study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Researchers investigated the association between soy food intake and breast cancer outcomes among survivors, using data from a multi-institution collaborative study, the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project.

“There has been widespread concern about the safety of soy food for women with breast cancer,” said lead researcher Xiao Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Soy foods contain large amounts of isoflavones that are known to bind to estrogen receptors and have both estrogen-like and anti-estrogenic effects. There are concerns that isoflavones may increase the risk of cancer recurrence among breast cancer patients because they have low estrogen levels due to cancer treatment. We’re particularly concerned that isoflavones may compromise the effect of tamoxifen on breast cancer treatment because both tamoxifen and isoflavones bind to estrogen receptors.”

This research was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which combines the resources of four National Cancer Institute-funded studies: the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study; the Life After Cancer Epidemiology Study; the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study; and the Nurses’ Health Study. Together these cohorts included 18,312 women between the ages of 20 and 83 years who had invasive primary breast cancer.

Soy isoflavones intake was assessed for 16,048 of these women on average of 13 months after breast cancer diagnosis using food frequency questionnaires for a group of soy isoflavones in three cohorts and on tofu and soy milk consumption in one cohort. Breast cancer outcomes were assessed, on average, nine years after cancer diagnosis.

Outcomes among the survivors who consumed the highest amounts of soy isoflavones (more than 23 mg per day) were compared with the outcomes of those whose intake was lowest (0.48 mg per day or lower). The average daily soy isoflavone intake among U.S. women was 3.2 mg; however, in the Shanghai group the amount was significantly higher at 45.9 mg.

Women in the highest intake category of more than 23 mg per day had a 9 percent reduced risk of mortality and a 15 percent reduced risk for recurrence, compared to those who had the lowest intake level. However, these results did not reach what the scientists call statistical significance, suggesting the finding could be chance.

“Our results indicate it may be beneficial for women to include soy food as part of a healthy diet, even if they have had breast cancer,” said Shu. “This can’t be directly generalized to soy supplements, however, as supplements may differ from soy foods in both the type and amount of isoflavones.”

Further analysis of the data from this study, elucidating the interaction of soy isoflavones and tamoxifen, will be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting.

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Extreme Weight Gain Raises Risk for Recurrence Among Breast Cancer Survivors

registration@aacr.org () — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Moderate weight gain did not affect breast cancer outcomes.
• Extreme weight gain resulted in higher risk of death.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Breast cancer survivors who experience extreme weight gain have an increased risk of death after breast cancer diagnosis. Moderate weight gain did not affect breast cancer outcomes. These study results were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

The investigation, which looked at the association of post-diagnosis weight gain and breast cancer outcomes, was conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. Data for the study came from the After Breast Cancer (ABC) Pooling Project, which includes 18,336 breast cancer survivors from four prospective cohorts — three in the United States and one in Shanghai, China.

Participants were diagnosed with invasive primary breast cancer between 1976 and 2006; their ages ranged from 20 to 83 years. Weight and body mass index (BMI) were assessed 18 to 48 months after diagnosis and were compared with each woman’s pre-diagnosis weight.

“Most women are not gaining a large amount of weight following breast cancer diagnosis,” said lead researcher Bette Caan, Dr.P.H., senior research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. “But our analysis of the pooled data showed an association with poorer outcomes overall for those who do.”

While extreme weight gain occurred in 16 percent of the women overall, 19.4 percent of women with a BMI lower than 25 before diagnosis fell into this category. Breast cancer survivors who gained the most (10 percent or more over their pre-diagnosis weight was considered extreme) were 14 percent more likely to experience a cancer recurrence compared with women whose weight remained stable (within 5 percent of pre-diagnosis weight) following diagnosis.

“Women tend to worry about gaining weight after a breast cancer diagnosis,” said Caan. “But it’s actually only the larger weight gains that increase the risk of poor outcomes.”

Moderate weight gain (a 5 to 10 percent increase post-diagnosis) was also more common among normal or underweight women, but was unrelated to breast cancer outcomes. Only 11.1 percent of women who were overweight or obese before diagnosis had extreme weight gains after their diagnosis.

Women who were leaner to begin with at diagnosis (BMI lower than 25) and who later gained 10 percent or more had a 25 percent higher risk of cancer death and also had a higher risk of recurrence. The risk of overall death was also greater for women whose tumors were ER-positive.

Continued research is needed to understand those women most at risk for extreme weight gain and those whose weight gain puts them at risk for poorer cancer outcomes, according to Caan.

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AACR Inaugurates New Leadership

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H., is elected as the new president.
• Nobel Laureate Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., is past-president.
• Frank McCormick, Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon.), is president-elect.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H., was inaugurated today as president of the American Association for Cancer Research at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011. This year’s meeting theme is “Innovation and Collaboration: The Path to Progress.”

“We are excited to have Dr. Garber serve as AACR president, at a time when scientific discoveries are rapidly being translated to patients,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “As a clinical and translational researcher, Dr. Garber’s areas of expertise epitomize the broad scope of work conducted by the AACR’s more than 33,000 members.”

“This is a momentous time for cancer research,” said Garber. “It is critical that we continue to strive for innovation in basic science and the rapid translation of this knowledge to the clinic. At the same time, we must work to overcome funding and other challenges. To be at the helm of the preeminent cancer research association at this time is truly an incredible opportunity. I look forward to furthering the mission and important work of the AACR as president this year.”

Garber is director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is an associate physician of medicine and attending physician of medical service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.

Garber’s research has focused primarily on breast cancer risk assessment and risk reduction. A clinical translational researcher, she has led epidemiologic, cancer surveillance, cancer genetics service delivery and cancer risk reduction (chemoprevention) studies in hereditary cancers. Her primary interests have included breast and ovarian cancers, but she has also studied pediatric cancers and sarcomas in Li-Fraumeni and hereditary gastrointestinal stromal tumors. More recently, Garber has led a series of therapeutic clinical trials as part of a translational group focusing on basal-like breast cancer, the most common form of cancer in women with germline BRCA1 mutations.

Garber has served in many critical leadership roles with the AACR. She was a member of the board of directors (2007 to 2010) and served as a member of the Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grants Review Committee, Finance and Audit Committee, Special Conferences Committee, Grants Advisory Committee and the Susan Love/Avon Army of Women Scientific Advisory Committee. She was chairperson of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Grants for Translational Breast Cancer Research Scientific Review Committee in 2008, and has served on several other grants committees and scientific award selection committees over the years. Garber has served on the Annual Meeting Program Committee as well as on the program and scientific review committees for many other meetings, including the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the AACR Scientific Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics and the JCA-AACR Special Joint Conference, “The Latest Advances in Breast Cancer Research.”

Garber is a senior editor of Cancer Prevention Research and a member of the editorial board for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. She has also served as a senior editor for Clinical Cancer Research. All three publications are journals of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Garber is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Claire W. and Richard P. Morse Research Award and the Tisch Family Outstanding Achievement Award, both from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and the Statesman Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, a member of the scientific advisory board of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and was a member of the advisory board of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Garber earned her medical degree and her master’s degree in public health from Yale University School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Brockton-West Roxbury Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. She completed her fellowship in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and in hematology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., who preceded Garber as president, is the Morris Herzstein professor of biology and physiology in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. She served as the AACR president for the 2010 to 2011 term and will now fulfill the role of past-president.

In 2009, Blackburn, with colleagues Carol W. Greider, Ph.D., and Jack W. Szostak, Ph.D., received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Blackburn is currently investigating molecular mechanisms of telomere maintenance and its regulation, cellular responses to telomere perturbations, and the possibility that life stress and lifestyle behaviors can take a toll on telomerase and telomeres. Several of her collaborative studies in humans have suggested such correlations. These findings may offer insights, at the cellular level, into the impact of stress on age-related diseases including cancers.

Throughout her career, Blackburn has been honored as the recipient of many prestigious awards. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, and 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. She has received numerous national and international awards, including the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award in Basic Medical Research, the L’Oreal-UNESCO “For Women in Science” Award, the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research and the Kirk A. Landon-AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research.

At the AACR, Blackburn served on the AACR Board of Directors (2006 to 2009), is a current member of the executive committee, and was the chair of several scientific award selection committees, including the AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Committee, the Women in Cancer Research-Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship Committee and the AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award Committee. She was a senior editor of Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the AACR. Blackburn was co-chairperson for the AACR Special Conference, “The Role of Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer,” in 2002 and 2004, and co-chairperson of the AACR Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research in 2009 and 2011. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Stand Up To Cancer.

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 completed her postdoctoral work in molecular and cellular biology at Yale University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco.

Frank McCormick, Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon.), AACR president-elect, is the director of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He holds the E. Dixon Heise distinguished professorship in oncology and the David A. Wood distinguished professorship of tumor biology and cancer research at UCSF. Additionally, he is the associate dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and a distinguished professor in residence in the department of microbiology and immunology as well as in the department of biochemistry and biophysics.

McCormick pioneered cancer research looking at the molecular basis of cancer and how genes, when mutated or expressed at high levels, help turn normal cells into oncogenes. In 1992, he founded the biotech company Onyx Pharmaceuticals and developed Nexavar, which is used to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. His current research interests center on the Ras pathway and new ways of targeting this pathway for cancer therapy.

Among his extensive service to the AACR, McCormick served as program chairperson for the 2010 Annual Meeting, member of the board of directors (2002 to 2005) and co-chair of the Annual Meeting Program Committee (2001). He chairs the Task Force on Co-development of Investigational Drugs, and previously chaired the Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Committee (2005) and the Team Science Award Committee (2007). He is a member of the Special Conferences Committee and participated in the Scientific Review Committee (2003, 2007) and the Program Committee (1999) for the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Meeting. McCormick is a scientific editor of the AACR’s new journal, Cancer Discovery, and was a senior editor of Molecular Cancer Research from 2002 to 2006. He was the recipient of the 2002 AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award for outstanding recent accomplishments in basic cancer research.

McCormick is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and an elected fellow of The Royal Society, England, UK. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Birmingham, England, UK. McCormick has received many accolades and awards, including the Science of Oncology Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Cancer Research Grant, the Novartis Drew Award in Biomedical Research, and the Shubitz Award from the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center. He is on the editorial board for a number of cancer publications, including Cancer Discovery, BCM Cancer and Cancer Cell. He has served as a board member and advisor for numerous cancer research organizations including the Association of American Cancer Institutes, the Melanoma Therapeutics Foundation, the Canary Foundation, the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy and the Friends of Cancer Research.

McCormick received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London.

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Study Confirms Genetic Differences in Breast Tissue Among Races

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Differences suggest susceptible and perhaps increased risk.
• Pathways analyses showed differences.
• Full data presented during an AACR press conference.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Scientists from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine are working on a series of genetic analyses that suggest the underlying differences among racial groups are present not just in tumors, but in normal tissue as well. Lisa Baumbach, Ph.D., associate research professor, and colleagues presented the full study results at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

“Our group has been working for quite some time on the hypothesis that there are underlying genetic differences in breast tissue across ethnicities, which would explain, at least in part, disparities in morbidity and mortality,” said Baumbach.

Baumbach’s research group is observing a multi-ethnic cohort of patients with triple-negative breast cancer, including 10 blacks, 10 Hispanics and 10 non-Hispanic whites. Study samples were marked by pathology as normal vs. tumor tissue. They were then analyzed for RNA isolation, cDNA preparation and hybridization of tumor/normal cDNAs and compared to a breast cancer focused gene expression array.

Results showed that the number of genes related to the DNA repair pathway, a known biology in cancer, was expressed differently across ethnicities. In a set of 10 DNA repair/cell cycle genes, the direction of change was the same for all three ethnic groups, but the level of change differed.

This abstract was presented at an AACR press conference on Monday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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Bad Mix: Heavy Beer Drinking and a Gene Variant Increases Gastric Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Risk was also found in heavy beer drinkers who did not have the variant.
• Use of other alcoholic beverages was not a factor.
• Study results to be featured at Annual Meeting press conference.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Heavy beer drinkers who have a specific genetic variant in the cluster of three genes that metabolize alcohol are at significantly higher risk of developing non-cardia gastric cancer, according to research presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Study results also showed that the same risk is also elevated (but not as significantly) for heavy beer drinkers who do not have the variant, known as rs1230025, and for non-drinkers who have rs1230025 or rs283411.

“This is a classic gene-environment interaction,” said Eric Duell, Ph.D., senior epidemiologist in the Cancer Epidemiology Research Program at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain. “Having both of these risks — heavy beer consumption and rs1230025 — appears to be worse in terms of gastric cancer risk than having just one or neither.”

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but because some countries, such as the United States, have much lower rates of gastric cancer than others, Duell believes this disease has a stronger environmental component than a genetic component.

Alcohol use has long been suspected to be a contributing factor to the development of gastric cancer but numerous studies have shown mixed results.

Duell and colleagues conducted a comprehensive analysis of alcohol consumption and gastric cancer risk in the more than 521,000 people aged 35 to 70 years old who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study from 1992 through 1998.

The researchers evaluated the type of alcohol consumed (i.e. wine, beer or liquor) and the location and grade of cancer. Total consumption of 60 grams of pure ethanol/alcohol from all beverage types combined carried a 65 percent increased risk. (One 12 ounce beer contains about 13 grams of pure alcohol/ethanol.)

However, this association was confined to beer. Results showed that drinking 30 grams of pure ethanol/alcohol or more a day from beer was linked to a 75 percent increased risk of developing gastric cancer. Wine and liquor was not associated with gastric cancer risk, Duell said.

In a further analysis, using the EurGast study nested within EPIC (which included 365 gastric cancer cases and 1,284 controls), the researchers analyzed the effects of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene cluster (ADH1) that produces an enzyme that breaks down alcohol. Two variants in the ADH1 locus were statistically significantly associated with gastric cancer risk; only one variant, rs1230025, interacted with beer consumption to increase risk.

The exact mechanism for how alcohol may cause gastric cancer is not known. However, Duell said there are compelling hypotheses involving the metabolite of alcohol (acetaldehyde, a toxic and carcinogenic compound), and nitrosamines such as N-nitrosodemethylamine (a known animal carcinogen that has been found in beer).

This paper was featured at an AACR Press Conference on Monday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

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AIDS Associated with an Increased Risk of Some Stomach, Esophageal Cancers

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• AIDS patients have nearly a seven-fold increased risk of malignancies of the stomach compared to the general population.
• Their risk of malignancies of the esophagus is almost three times higher than in the general population.
• In both organs, these results are mainly due to a dramatically increased risk of lymphomas, but risks are also increased for carcinomas.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Among people with AIDS, the risk of stomach and esophageal malignancies is higher than among the general population, according to study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

“People diagnosed with AIDS are living longer due to improved therapies. However, they are at increased risk of developing a number of different cancers, including Kaposi’s sarcoma and several lymphomas. The risk of stomach and esophageal cancers in AIDS patients has not previously been fully evaluated,” said E. Christina Persson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute.

Persson and colleagues utilized data from the HIV/AIDS Cancer Match Study, a linkage of 15 U.S. population-based HIV/AIDS and cancer registries with data from 1980 through 2007. The study included 600,000 men and women diagnosed with AIDS, of whom 1,166 developed stomach malignancies and 240 developed esophageal malignancies.

Overall, people with AIDS had a 6.9-fold increased incidence of stomach malignancies compared to the general population. The risk was increased 70 percent for stomach carcinomas, with similar increases for proximal (cardia) and distal (non-cardia) carcinomas. The risk for stomach lymphomas was 36-fold higher.

The overall risk of esophageal malignancies was 2.7 times higher among people with AIDS than in the general population. Risk was increased 54 percent for squamous cell carcinomas, 101 percent for adenocarcinomas, and 261-fold for lymphomas of the esophagus.

Persson said that the increased lymphoma risk among patients with AIDS was expected, but the increased risk for carcinomas is a new finding. Additionally, the size of this study allowed the researchers to look at carcinoma subtypes.

“This study is unique because of its large size, which allowed us to look more closely at the different histologic and anatomic subsites of the tumors,” said Persson. “It will be important for us to evaluate trends in risk over time, particularly in the modern HIV treatment era.”

This abstract was presented at an AACR press conference on Monday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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BRCA2 Mutations Associated with Improved Survival for Ovarian Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations have better survival.
• BRCA1 and BRCA2 have different effects on survival.
• BRCA2 mutations associated with better survival than BRCA1.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Women with ovarian cancer who have the BRCA2 gene mutation are more likely to survive the malignancy than women with the BRCA1 mutation, or women without either mutation.

In results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6, Kelly Bolton, a fellow at the National Cancer Institute, said the findings describe the effect of these mutations in ovarian cancer survival.

“There was some previous evidence that women with ovarian cancer who have mutations in the BRCA genes show improved survival compared to non-mutation carriers,” said Bolton. “Our study clearly shows that this survival difference is real. We also provide the first solid evidence that BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations don’t have the same impact on ovarian cancer survival.”

“Previous studies have been somewhat conflicting because of their small size and methodological limitations,” she added.

Bolton and colleagues evaluated 3,531 cases of epithelial ovarian cancer, including 1,178 women with BRCA1 mutations, 367 with BRCA2 mutations, and 1,986 with neither mutation. Overall, women with either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation had better survival compared to patients who carried the wild-type for both genes. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, the five-year survival of women without mutations was 36 percent. Survival for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers was 46 percent and 61 percent, respectively.

Bolton said further study is needed to explain why women with BRCA2 mutations had better survival than BRCA1 carriers, or those without either mutation. She hypothesized the mutations may affect a patient’s response to chemotherapy.

Approximately 1 in 400 to 1 in 800 women are born with mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2, which are known to predispose carriers to the development of ovarian and breast cancer. The risks differ between the two mutations. Roughly 5 percent of ovarian cancer patients carry mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2.

“This information may lead to improvements in clinical management of patients with these mutations,” she suggested.

This abstract was presented at an AACR press conference on Monday, April 4 at 11:00 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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Breast Milk May Provide a Personalized Screen of Breast Cancer Risk

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Breast cancer is difficult to detect during pregnancy and lactation.
• Breast milk screening may be more accurate than conventional screening.
• Abstract presented during an AACR press conference.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Breast cancer risk can be assessed by examining the epithelial cells found in breast milk, according to preliminary study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

This screening method has the potential to provide a personalized assessment of breast cancer risk, said lead researcher Kathleen F. Arcaro, Ph.D., associate professor of veterinary and animal sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Given that roughly 80 percent of women give birth, this screen would also cover a large percentage of the female population.

Arcaro and colleagues collected breast milk samples from about 250 women who were scheduled for or who had a breast biopsy. The women submitted fresh samples, which were processed within 24 hours of expression; they provided samples from both breasts.

The researchers recruited about 90 percent of their study population from the Love/Avon Army of Women, which registers women who are willing to participate in breast cancer research. The American Association for Cancer Research is the scientific partner in this effort.

Once researchers received the samples, they isolated the epithelial cells (the potentially cancerous cells) in the breast milk. Then they isolated the DNA to look for epigenetic signals (attachment of methyl groups to DNA), which are the signals that tell the body those genes that should be expressed. These signals were then compared with breast cancer risk assessed using the biopsy results.

Arcaro and colleagues analyzed three genes: RASSF1, GSTP1 and SFRP1. “More than 35 genes have been shown to be methylated in breast cancer,” she said.

Of the 104 women with a non-proliferative (low-risk) lesion, results showed no difference in the average epithelial DNA methylation of their biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast for RASSF1 and GSTP1. For SFRP1, however, the average methylation was higher in the biopsied breast. Importantly, among the women whose biopsies revealed cancer, there was a significant increase in average RASSF1 methylation in the biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast. Although the sample size in this study is small, “it’s sufficient to tell us that we can use the cells in breast milk to assess breast cancer risk,” Arcaro said, and additional studies are needed to expand the number of genes. Long-term studies are currently under way with about 80 percent of the original participants enrolled in follow-up.

Arcaro hopes that someday every woman who delivers a baby in a hospital will be screened for breast cancer via breast milk. “We’ll take a little sample of colostrum, and we’ll tell her how her breasts are doing,” she said. “It’s totally noninvasive, potentially inexpensive and really accurate.”

This research was presented at an AACR press conference on Monday, April 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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Protein Test Detects Early-stage, Asbestos-related Pulmonary Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Test measures 19 biomarkers of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
• Novel biomarker test may be the most accurate yet.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Researchers investigating a novel biomarker test believe it is the most accurate yet in detecting proteins secreted from tumors caused by exposure to asbestos. Study results of this aptamer proteomic technology were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

In a blinded test performed under the auspices of the National Cancer Institute’s Early Detection Research Network Biomarker Discovery Lab, the proteomic assay could detect 15 of 19 cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma that were in stage 1 or stage 2, making the test about 80 percent sensitive, a measure of how accurately a test can identify disease. In addition, the specificity of the test was 100 percent, meaning there were no false positives in this study.

Harvey I. Pass, M.D., director of the division of thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology at NYU Langone Medical Center and the NYU Cancer Institute in New York, and colleagues used the SomaLogic Inc. aptamer proteomics platform to examine 170 blood samples from 90 patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and 80 participants who had been exposed to asbestos. Three-fourths of the samples were used to derive 19 significant biomarkers for mesothelioma and the remaining 25 percent were used in the blinded test.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer that is increasing in incidence. Experts believe this form of cancer will not peak for another 20 years due to a latency period of 20 to 40 years from asbestos exposure. It currently causes an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 deaths per year worldwide. Once diagnosed, the disease is usually fatal (within 14 months) because of the advanced stage that it is typically found. The goal of a diagnostic test such as this one is to find the cancer early enough to effectively treat it, according to Pass.

“The only patients that seem to benefit from therapy in mesothelioma are those that are found in stage 1, and this is only 10 to 15 percent of patients,” he said. “Moreover, when found early, the magnitude of the operation necessary to reduce the burden of disease may be less, making the patient better able to cope if the disease recurs and the patient needs more aggressive therapy.”

The research team tested the assay produced by SomaLogic Inc. Its “Multiplex SOMAmer Assay” currently measures more than 1,000 proteins simultaneously from a sample of blood as small as 0.003 of a teaspoon, and can handle 300 samples a day, according to Pass. The assay uses SOMAmers — chemically modified single-stranded DNA molecules that fold into different structures and bind specifically to target proteins — to identify and quantify proteins across a broad range of concentrations.

According to Pass, this platform combines the best qualities of an immunoassay, and is able to find and quantify low abundance proteins secreted by tumor cells. Ongoing studies are refining the test and validating the results in other patient blood samples, according to Pass.

This abstract was presented at an AACR press conference on Monday, April 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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Serum Test Could Identify Lung Cancer in People Who Never Smoked

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Biomarker panel in serum has 83 percent sensitivity/specificity.
• As many as 25 percent of lung cancer patients have never smoked.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A panel of biomarkers appears to be able to identify the presence of lung cancer in the blood samples of people who have never smoked, according to data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

While lung cancer has long been linked to smoking, approximately one-fourth of patients with lung cancer have never smoked. Researchers are working on ways to identify the presence of lung cancer in these patients.

Charlie Birse, Ph.D., associate director of product development at Celera Corporation, and colleagues are investigating the potential for a serum test that would examine the reliability of a proprietary panel of biomarkers for lung cancer. The goal is to administer this test in patients with suspect chest scans using computed axial tomography (CT) technology.

“In addition to intentional CT scans for lung cancer, many people undergo chest scans for heart disease prevention or other conditions and incidental nodules appear in the lungs that may or may not be benign,” said Birse. “This panel of biomarkers would allow these imaging tests to be further evaluated and provide a degree of certainty in diagnosis.”

Birse and colleagues examined more than 600 specimens. Samples were randomly divided into a training set comprised of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were smokers and matched controls followed by a testing set of additional NSCLC cases and matched controls. Once the researchers established the biomarkers, they conducted additional studies in 80 people who have never smoked, 40 of whom had varied stages of cancer and histological cell types and 40 control subjects matched by age and gender.

Researchers found strong performance with a sensitivity and a specificity of 83 percent in identifying lung cancer. All stages of lung cancer and histological cell types were distinguished.

“While promising, these findings still need to be confirmed in larger sets,” Birse said.

This abstract was presented at an AACR press conference on Monday, April 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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Lung Cancer Risk Rises in the Presence of HPV Antibodies

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Carcinogenic role of HPV in lung cancer is being examined.
• Study results were similar regardless of gender and smoking history.
• Question of a causal relationship between HPV and lung cancer remains.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Researchers with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have found that people with lung cancer were significantly more likely to have several high-risk forms of human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies compared to those who did not have lung cancer. These results, which were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6, indicate that HPV antibodies are substantially increased in people with lung cancer.

Devasena Anantharaman, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Genetic Epidemiology Group at the IARC in Lyon, France, and colleagues used serological tests to determine the presence of several high-risk and low-risk types of HPV in 1,633 lung cancer cases and 2,729 matched controls from six central European countries. Among the lung-cancer-free controls, researchers found a low prevalence of antibodies to all types of HPV tested. In lung cancer patients, antibodies to proteins in eight types of high-risk HPV were significantly increased.

Smoking, which is the strongest risk factor for lung cancer, did not account for this effect. The results were consistent in current smokers, former smokers and those who never smoked.

“While a number of previous studies have demonstrated the presence of HPV in lung cancer, their statistical power has been limited by small average sample size and variations in methodology,” said Anantharaman. “We know that HPV can reach the lung, but whether HPV can cause frank malignancies is a question we hope to answer.”

High-risk HPV types HPV16 and HPV18 together account for about 70 percent of cervical cancers. Low-risk types, such as HPV6 and HPV11, which cause benign conditions such as genital warts, have also been observed in respiratory papillomatosis, a benign lung condition.

“In the general population HPV is quite common, particularly among young adults 20 to 25 years of age,” said Anantharaman. “We expect to see some seropositivity for antibodies to the L1 protein in the general population. But, the early proteins E6 and E7 of high-risk HPV are markers of carcinogenic transformation. These were significantly more prevalent in lung cancer patients.”

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Aspirin May Lower the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Benefit was seen with aspirin, but not non-aspirin NSAIDs.
• Effect was also present in people who took low-dose aspirin for heart disease prevention.
• Patients should consult doctors before taking aspirin as a preventive agent.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The use of aspirin at least once per month is associated with a significant decrease in pancreatic cancer risk, according to results of a large case-control study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Xiang-Lin Tan, Ph.D., M.D., a research fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said the findings from this large collaborative study are preliminary and do not encourage widespread use of aspirin for this purpose.

“The results are not meant to suggest everyone should start taking aspirin once monthly to reduce their risk of pancreatic cancer,” said Tan. “Individuals should discuss use of aspirin with their physicians because the drug carries some side effects.”

For the current study, Tan and colleagues enrolled 904 patients who had documented pancreatic cancer and compared them with 1,224 healthy patients. All patients were at least 55 years old and reported their use of aspirin, NSAIDs and acetaminophen by questionnaire.

Results showed that people who took aspirin at least one day during a month had a 26 percent decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those who did not take aspirin regularly. The effect was also found for those who took low-dose aspirin for heart disease prevention at 35 percent lower risk, according to Tan.

The researchers did not see a benefit from non-aspirin NSAIDs or acetaminophen. “This provides additional evidence that aspirin may have chemoprevention activity against pancreatic cancer,” said Tan. He added that more data must be gathered before we can prove a real benefit.

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Nicotine Does Not Promote Lung Cancer Growth in Mouse Models

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Nicotine replacement therapy is not linked to tumor incidence, size.
• Long-term therapeutic use may help people with nicotine addiction.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nicotine at doses similar to those found in most nicotine replacements therapies did not increase lung cancer tumor incidence, frequency or size, according to results of a mouse study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

“If you take our data and combine it with epidemiological data from Europe, even in people who quit smoking and maintain the use of nicotine replacement therapy for months or years, there does not appear to be increased lung cancer incidence,” said Phillip A. Dennis, M.D., Ph.D., senior investigator at the medical oncology branch of the National Cancer Institute. “This suggests that nicotine replacement therapy is probably safe and is certainly safer than smoking.”

According to Dennis, about 20 percent of all smokers are truly addicted to tobacco. In these people, the use of nicotine replacement therapy has markedly helped them to quit smoking. The current Food and Drug Administration indication for most nicotine replacement therapies, such as a nicotine patch, is limited to 10 to12 weeks.

There is a subset of smokers who will need to stay on nicotine replacement therapy longer in order to appease addiction, according to Dennis. However, expanding the use of this therapy is controversial. Research to date has linked nicotine to cancer in various ways, including laboratory studies that indicate nicotine promotes the growth or spread of tumor cells or that it helps transform normal lung airway cells into cancerous cells, according to Dennis.

Therefore, the researchers conducted a study in mice to determine if nicotine had any tumor-promoting effects. Three groups of mice were administered nicotine in drinking water for up to 12 weeks.

In the first group, the mice were administered three weekly injections of NNK, a known tobacco carcinogen, prior to receiving nicotine. The second group of mice was genetically engineered to have activation of the KRAS oncogene, which is frequently mutated in lung cancers derived from smokers. The third group was made up of mice that were given cell lines derived from mouse lung cancers.

The researchers found that all the mice had normal water consumption. Cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, was found to be at a level that is comparable to levels found in nicotine replacement users.

“We observed that there was no effect of nicotine on the mice in all three groups,” said Dennis. “Nicotine did not increase tumor incidence, multiplicity or size.”

At the levels measured in mice, nicotine did not activate signaling pathways associated with lung cancer that had been shown to be activated by high concentrations of nicotine.

“Based on our study and human epidemiological studies to date, nicotine replacement therapy is probably a safe option,” he suggested.

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In Orlando, April 2-6:
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Stand Up To Cancer Awards Next Round of Innovative Research Grants; 13 New Recipients' Projects are High-Risk/High-Reward

registration@aacr.org () — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

ORLANDO –April 4, 2011- Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) announced today the second round of awards for its Innovative Research Grants Program (IRG), and named the 13 young scientists that will receive a combined total of $9.74 million over the grants’ three-year term to conduct high-risk/high-reward translational cancer research.

The grants were announced during an event at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 102nd Annual Meeting 2011. These grants serve to provide much needed financial support to the next generation of research leaders, and continue SU2C’s overarching commitment to cutting-edge translational research.

“The Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grants are special in that they allow some of the best and brightest young researchers across various disciplines to step out of their comfort zones and attempt to make major breakthroughs in the field with bold research projects,” said Richard D. Kolodner, Ph.D., senior researcher at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in La Jolla, Calif., professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and chairman of the committee for the SU2C Innovative Research Grants Program.

“The array of novel approaches that these investigators are utilizing to attack cancer is extraordinary. We have cell biologists looking at cancer metabolism, and new ways to disrupt how cancer cells obtain nutrients to grow; and a computer scientist analyzing data to predict how a tumor will respond to a drug before it’s given to a patient. In this era of interdisciplinary cancer research, these cutting-edge approaches have enormous potential for rapid improvements in patient care,” explained Scientific Advisory Committee Member and Innovative Research Grants Committee vice chairperson William G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology and director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

Over a three-year period, each of the 13 recipients will receive a total of up to $750,000 as part of SU2C’s Innovative Research Grants Program, which made its first round of 13 grants in December 2009, and was designed specifically to support work that incorporates 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.

One of the 13 grants is named in honor of Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig and his wife Sue for melanoma research. MLB is Stand Up To Cancer’s founding donor, and Commissioner Selig is a melanoma cancer survivor. The incidence of melanoma is rising, and the survival rate for those with advanced disease has been static at 15 percent.

The Innovative Research Grants Program is one of two initial funding models created by SU2C. In 2009, SU2C awarded a total of $73.6 million to five interdisciplinary, multi-institutional Dream Teams, which are comprised of more than 200 researchers from more than 50 institutions. Current research under way by the Dream Teams has the potential to impact the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of cancers that are responsible for two-thirds of the cancer deaths in the United States. Both the Innovative Research Grants Program and the Dream Teams focus on groundbreaking translational research, aimed at getting new therapies to patients quickly.

Since its launch in May 2008, more than $180 million has been pledged to Stand Up To Cancer from a wide range of philanthropic, corporate and organizational donors, as well as the general public, much of it in connection with two live “roadblock” telecasts - on Sept. 5, 2008, and Sept. 10, 2010. Together, these live telecasts featured nearly 200 celebrities, aired simultaneously on the major networks and a dozen cable stations, and were seen in 195 countries.

“Four decades after President Nixon’s declaration of the war on cancer, we stand at a tipping point in the field of cancer research,” said Laura Ziskin, one of SU2C’s founding members and the executive producer of the SU2C broadcasts, who is also a cancer survivor. “We are proud to stand up for these young scientists who take on the challenge of defeating cancer as their life’s work. They are the generation that will lead us to a day when cancer is toppled from the list of leading killers…to the moment when cancer is moved from a disease that takes far too many lives to one people survive and triumph over to lead long, robust lives.”

The American Association for Cancer Research, SU2C’s scientific partner, assembled the expert SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee as well as the Innovative Research Grants Committee. These committees administered the scientific review process and will provide ongoing scientific oversight of the grants.

Stand Up To Cancer 2011 Innovative Research Grant Recipients

The projects funded represent innovative 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, leukemia, lymphomas and sarcomas. Some projects involve research on cancers that affect virtually all age groups, and most of the projects have implications across multiple cancer types. 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 2011 are:

Yali Dou, Ph.D., University of Michigan: Targeting MLL in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Adolfo A. Ferrando, M.D., Ph.D., Columbia University Medical Center: Targeting Genetic and Metabolic Networks in T-ALL

Estela Jacinto, Ph.D., University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School: Targeting Protein Quality Control for Cancer Therapy

Mei Kong, Ph.D., Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope: Targeting PP2A and the Glutamine-Sensing Pathway as Cancer Treatment

Hui Li, Ph.D., University of Virginia: Chimeric RNAs Generated by Trans-splicing and Their Implications in Cancer

Roger S. Lo,* M.D., Ph.D., UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center: Exome Sequencing of Melanomas with Acquired Resistance to BRAF Inhibitors
*recipient of the Allan H. (Bud) and Sue Selig Stand Up To Cancer Melanoma Innovative Research Grant

Charles G. Mullighan, M.D., St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Identification and Targeting of Novel Rearrangements in High-risk ALL

Dana Pe’er, Ph.D., Columbia University: A Systems Approach to Understanding Tumor Specific Drug Response

Sridhar Ramaswamy, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital: Targeting Sleeping Cancer Cells

Eric Alejandro Sweet-Cordero, M.D., Stanford University: Inhibiting Innate Resistance to Chemotherapy in Lung Cancer Stem Cells

Amy J. Wagers, Ph.D., Joslin Diabetes Center: Developing New Therapeutic Strategies for Soft-tissue Sarcoma

Angelique W. Whitehurst, Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Framing Therapeutic Opportunities in Tumor-activated Gametogenic Programs

Catherine J. Wu, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Coupled Genetic and Functional Dissection of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Distinctive Review and Selection Process

The grant process began in October 2010, with a call for Letters of Intent from young researchers in the early stages of their careers. The 38-member Innovative Research Grants Committee considered 188 eligible letters in an intense, multi-step evaluation process that began in January 2011. Based on the initial review of each proposal by committee members, the group was narrowed to 43 semi-finalists who were invited to submit full research proposals, which were then reviewed late in January. The list was narrowed again, to 18 finalists who made in-person presentations to the grants committee during an intensive two-day meeting in February. 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 patients with cancer; and potential to develop into a Dream Team project at a later time.

Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, who chairs SU2C’s overarching Scientific Advisory Committee, noted that “Drs. Kolodner and Nelson have put together the best, most thorough review process to be found anywhere for this category of grants.”

“The review process was highly interactive -- a rare experience for young investigators to present their proposals to a group of senior scientists in face-to-face meetings,” Dr. Sharp continued. “We are grateful to the exceptional committee members who provided valuable insights on the translational potential of each proposal, and who will help oversee the grantees’ progress.”

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.

“Dr. Folkman believed passionately in the importance of funding young investigators,” 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. “We honor Dr. Folkman by funding this new group of young scientists. Their work will be a tribute to his legacy and his dream of one day defeating cancer.”

Funded Projects Address Wide Range of Challenges

“The AACR is proud of its scientific partnership with SU2C and we are very excited by the excellence and scope of the research projects selected by the SU2C committee,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research. “The 2011 Innovative Research Grant recipients come from a wide range of disciplines and from formidable institutions. Their success will enhance the speed at which we can move new discoveries from bench to bedside. Support for these remarkable young scientists is critical to ensuring that we continue to accelerate the pace of cancer research, especially at this time of federal cutbacks on cancer and biomedical research.”

Collaboration and Transparency in the SU2C Funding Model

Fostering increased collaboration among cancer researchers at different institutions is a key SU2C goal. All SU2C-funded scientists are required to share ideas and progress among their teams and across institutions in formal and informal settings. These interactions among and between Innovative Research Grant recipients and Dream Team members have already led to new synergies and potential collaborations.

The AACR, through the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee and Innovative Research Grants Committee, conducts regular reviews of grant recipients 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 are 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.

Keep up with SU2C on Twitter (@SU2C) and facebook (https://www.facebook.com/su2c).

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

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About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) was established by leaders from the film and media industries who utilize the resources of those businesses in unique ways to get the public involved in supporting a new model of cancer research. The group produced two major televised events, in 2008 and 2010, that raised funds for teams of scientists collaborating on research that will get new therapies to patients quickly in order to save lives now. More than 100 celebrities participated in each program, conveying how cancer connects us all, and telling the stories both of people who survived the disease, as well as those taken by it. All of the major U.S. TV networks donated airtime for the broadcasts, which ran in more than 195 countries and raised millions of dollars for research.

The Executive Leadership Council of SU2C, which was formally launched on May 27, 2008, includes: Laura Ziskin, executive producer of the 2008 and 2010 SU2C telecasts, who is a cancer survivor; Sherry Lansing, chairperson of the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF) Board of Directors and founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation; EIF President and CEO Lisa Paulsen; Katie Couric; EIF Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pam Williams, partner at Laura Ziskin Productions; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., select the researchers to be funded with SU2C monies through a rigorous, competitive process. More than 200 scientists from 50 institutions around the world are currently involved in SU2C research projects.

Major League Baseball is Stand Up To Cancer’s founding donor, and Sidney Kimmel, the country’s largest individual supporter of cancer research, pledged $25 million during the 2008 telecast. Other major SU2C supporters include Amgen, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), Comcast, GlaxoSmithKline, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, MasterCard, Milken Family Foundation, Philips Electronics, Pfizer, Steve Tisch, The Island Def Jam Music Group, and many others. In addition to ABC, CBS, FOX 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 33,000 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 seven 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 leadership and 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.

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Media Contact:
Kristen Bothwell
Rubenstein Communications, Inc.
(212) 843-9227
kbothwell@rubenstein.com

Stand Up To Cancer and Innovative Grant B-Roll – FTP Site for Download
Available Monday, April 4

Supplemental press materials, including photos of the recipients, broadcast quality video footage of the recipients explaining their work, and a Stand Up To Cancer video highlight reel, are available for media download via an FTP server. Log-in details are as follows:

Web Address: file.eifoundation.org

Username: irg

Password: tr@nslati0nal

Innovative Research Grant Recipient Project Descriptions

Avoiding or Controlling Diabetes May Reduce Cancer Risk and Mortality

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Diabetes linked to an 11 percent increased risk for cancer mortality in women; 17 percent increased risk in men.
• Increased risk for colon, rectum and liver cancer in men and women.
• Associations appear to be independent of other cancer risk factors.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Results of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study revealed that diabetes is associated with lower risk of prostate cancer in men but with higher risk of other cancers in both men and women. The data, to be presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6, also showed an association between diabetes and higher cancer mortality rates.

Previous epidemiologic studies have shown an association between diabetes and an increased risk for cancers including colorectal, liver and pancreas, according to Gabriel Lai, Ph.D., a cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute.

“Our results provide further evidence that abnormal insulin and glucose signaling may contribute to cancer initiation and development,” he said. “There are myriad benefits from avoiding diabetes through exercise, diet and maintaining a healthy body weight. Our study confirms additional benefits in the form of reduced morbidity and mortality from certain cancers.”

Lai and colleagues conducted a prospective study using data from more than 500,000 predominantly white, non-Hispanic men and women aged 50 to 71 years. From 1995 to 1996, the participants completed questionnaires about diet, lifestyle and whether or not they had diabetes. Researchers followed the patients for 11 years.

Results showed that diabetes was associated with an 8 percent increased risk for cancer among women and a 4 percent decreased risk for men. In previous research, a decreased risk for prostate cancer was associated with diabetes, which researchers believe might be due to the lower testosterone levels associated with diabetes. After excluding prostate cancer from their evaluation, Lai and colleagues found that diabetes was associated with a 9 percent increased risk for cancer in men.

As for mortality, diabetes was associated with an 11 percent increased risk in women and a 17 percent increased risk in men.

“These risks appeared independent from other cancer risk factors, such as obesity and cigarette smoking,” Lai said.

After evaluating by cancer site, the researchers found diabetes was associated with a significant increase in risk for colon, rectal and liver cancers among men and women. In men, diabetes was associated with an increased risk for pancreatic and kidney cancers; in women, it was associated with an increased risk for stomach, anal and endometrial cancers. No association was found between diabetes and lung, skin or other cancers.

“Follow-up studies to identify the biologic mechanisms involved should be performed to build upon confirmed findings,” Lai said.

# # #

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Media Contact:
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In Orlando, April 2-6:
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Smoking Did Not Influence Breast Cancer Risk Among Obese Women

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Association found between smoking and breast cancer risk in non-obese women.
• Results were similar regardless of how obesity was defined.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Smoking increases the risk of breast cancer, but the risk differs by obesity status in postmenopausal women, according to data from an analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative observational study.

A significant association between smoking and breast cancer risk was observed in non-obese women, but not in obese women. The results were similar regardless of whether obesity was defined by body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference.

Juhua Luo, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of community medicine at West Virginia University, and colleagues examined the relationship between obesity, smoking and breast cancer risk. Luo presented these study results at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

“We found an association between smoking and breast cancer risk among non-obese women, which is understandable because tobacco is a known carcinogen,” Dr. Luo said. “However, we did not find the same association between smoking and breast cancer risk among obese women. This result was surprising.”

The study included 76,628 women aged 50 to 79 years old who had no previous history of cancer. Participants were part of the Women’s Health Initiative observational study. They were recruited between 1993 and 1998 at 40 U.S. centers and were followed until 2009.

Obesity was measured by BMI and by waist circumference, and the results were adjusted for other breast cancer risk factors.

The study results indicated that non-obese women with a BMI less than 30 who had a history of smoking had a significantly higher risk for breast cancer. Those who smoked from 10 to 29 years had a 16 percent excess risk; those with a 30- to 49-year history of smoking had a 25 percent excess risk; and those with 50 or more years of smoking had a 62 percent excess risk. However, this same association was not found among women with a BMI over 30.

The researchers then examined the data according to waist circumference to determine if the type of fat distribution – general compared with abdominal obesity – affected the results. When obesity status was defined by a waist circumference greater than 88 cm, similar results were found.

Despite the study’s finding that smoking did not affect breast cancer risk among obese postmenopausal women, Luo emphasized that she does not want to give the public the wrong message. Previous research has established that obesity alone is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer.

“Smoking and obesity are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, both of which have substantial consequences on health,” she said. “This is only the first study to examine the interaction between smoking, obesity and breast cancer risk. The main conclusion from this research is that more studies are needed to confirm these results.”

# # #

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In Orlando, April 2-6:
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Metabolic Syndrome May Increase Risk for Liver Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Metabolic syndrome a known risk factor for diabetes and heart disease
• Incidence of liver cancer continues to rise in U.S.
• Link found with the most common types of liver cancer.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Scientists have confirmed that metabolic syndrome, a constellation of conditions that increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, may also increase the risk of the two most common types of liver cancer, according to data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Katherine McGlynn, Ph.D., a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, said approximately one-third of the U.S. population has metabolic syndrome, which is defined as the co-occurrence of at least three of the following five conditions: raised blood pressure, elevated waist circumference, low HDL or “good” cholesterol, raised triglyceride levels and raised fasting plasma glucose levels.

According to McGlynn, persons with these conditions may be at increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Liver cancer incidence has been rising since the 1980s in the United States. The factors related to the increase are not well understood. “A lot of attention has focused on viral risk factors, but a significant part of the increase may be due to metabolic syndrome, as well as to diabetes and obesity,” said McGlynn.

“The prognosis for liver cancer is only marginally better than the prognosis for pancreatic cancer, with a five-year survival of approximately 10 percent,” she said. “Prognosis is more favorable, however, when liver cancers are diagnosed at early stages when they are small and localized to the liver.”

For the current study, researchers identified 3,649 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and 743 cases of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. They compared the medical history of these patients with the medical histories of 195,953 cancer-free adults.

Statistical analyses showed that the persons with liver cancer were significantly more likely than cancer-free persons to have a prior history of metabolic syndrome: 37.1 percent of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had pre-existing metabolic syndrome, as did 29.7 percent of patients with intrahepatic carcinoma; only 17.1 percent of the cancer-free adults had metabolic syndrome.

# # #

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Media Contact:
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In Orlando, April 2-6:
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AACR Opposes Proposed Cuts to Fiscal Year 2011 Budget

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Cuts affect our nation’s health, economic growth and national competitiveness.
• Proposed reduction in House would bring NIH back to fiscal year 2008 levels.
• Former Congressman, AACR officer and scientist addressed media Sunday, April 3.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Congress will soon be facing another budget showdown as their sixth continuing resolution expires on April 8, 2011. While the entire government has been without permanent appropriations for nearly six months, the House Republicans and Senate Democrats continue to remain far apart on resolving the fiscal year FY2011 budget.

Among the myriad of issues under discussion is a House-passed bill (H.R. 1), which cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $1.6 billion in FY2011. The alternative Senate proposal would maintain NIH funding at current levels (FY2010). A cut of this magnitude proposed by the House would slow research progress and squander invaluable scientific opportunities, to the detriment of our nation’s health and our ability to maintain leadership in the global innovation economy.

Jon Retzlaff, managing director of the AACR’s Office of Science Policy and Government Affairs in Washington, D.C., said the $1.6 billion cut would leave the NIH budget at $29.4 billion, which is where it was in fiscal year 2008. However, when adjusted for biomedical inflation, H.R. 1 reduces NIH’s funding capacity to just slightly above the FY2001 level.

“The numbers are staggering because even at 2010 levels the NIH has lost 13 percent of its purchasing power since 2003 because increases have not kept pace with inflation,” said Retzlaff. “It is unfathomable that members of Congress are considering this draconian cut to the NIH budget at a time when we are poised to make a quantum leap in our abilities to help millions of patients. The AACR will work with our allies in Congress and the advocacy community to ensure that NIH is funded at least at its FY 2010 level.”

Retzlaff addressed the media on Sunday, April 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange Country Convention Center. He was joined by:

The Honorable John Edward Porter, who, as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies from 1995-2000, made cancer and biomedical research his highest national priority. Former Congressman Porter is receiving the 2011 AACR Award for Distinguished Service and Global Impact in Cancer and Biomedical Research for his significant and sustained contributions to cancer and biomedical research, including his leadership of the effort to double the budget of the NIH. Porter is currently chairman of Research!America and acting chair of the Foundation for the NIH.

Rebecca B. Riggins, Ph.D., assistant professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. As a young scientist, Riggins received a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to study the role of Bisphenol A (BPA) in breast cancer risk. A $1.6 billion cut in NIH funding would jeopardize her ability to successfully compete for funding that is critical to her ongoing translational studies and the training of future cancer researchers.

Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik, R.N., a nine-year survivor of signet ring appendiceal adenocarcinoma, a rare cancer which has a 90 percent mortality rate. Langlie-Lesnik owes her survival to the sort of groundbreaking research funded by the NIH and now works to help others with her condition as president of the Appendix Cancer Connection, Inc.

# # #

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New Target Identified for Squamous Cell Lung Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Research illustrates the potential of personalized medicine.
• Patient with a mutation in the DDR2 gene responds to dasatinib.
• Full study results to be presented during an AACR press conference.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a mutation in the DDR2 gene that may indicate which patients with squamous cell lung cancer will respond to dasatinib.

The findings are published in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, debuting here at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, from April 2-6.

According to lead researcher Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, there are currently no targeted therapies for squamous cell lung cancer, which affects approximately 50,000 people annually in the United States. Meyerson estimates that DDR2 mutations would be present in lung cancers from about one to two thousand people a year in the United States.

“As a percentage of the millions of people who get cancer each year it is small, but cancer therapy is going more in the direction of personalized medicine as we learn more and more about the complicated biology of each tumor,” he said.

Using standard genetic sequencing techniques, Meyerson and colleagues identified mutations in the DDR2 kinase gene in about 3 percent of squamous cell lung cancers and cell lines. Furthermore, they found that tumor cells with these DDR2 mutations responded to treatment with dasatinib. A patient whose cancer carried a DDR2 mutation also showed a clinical response to dasatinib.

“Dasatinib is an existing therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia with a long history and a strong safety profile,” said Meyerson. “The results of this study clearly encourage a clinical trial to test dasatinib in the setting of squamous cell lung cancer.”

This research was presented during an American Association for Cancer Research press conference at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 3 in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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In Orlando, April 2-6:
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Scientists Identify KRAS Rearrangements in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

registration@aacr.org () — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 GMT

• Genetic information may allow doctors to determine cancer prognosis.
• KRAS is a known “oncogene” that leads to cancer.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Scientists have uncovered a genetic characteristic of metastatic prostate cancer that defines a rare sub-type of this disease. These findings are published in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, which will debut at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Arul M. Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, and colleagues identified an oncogenic gene fusion of KRAS, one of the most studied and well-known oncogenes in a metastatic prostate cancer cell line.

Like most metastatic disease, metastatic prostate cancer has a grim prognosis. As scientists learn more about the genetic characteristics of this disease, they may be able to work backward and accurately predict which early-stage prostate cancers will be more aggressive and thus require additional therapy and management.

“Right now, we can identify the presence of prostate cancer but not accurately predict which of these cancers will have a poor prognosis,” said Chinnaiyan. “Although prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death, we need better prognostic information to separate the slow growing tumors from the more aggressive ones.”

Chinnaiyan compared the identification of the KRAS gene in metastatic prostate cancer to the work that has been previously done in breast cancer, where scientists now recognize that breast cancer comes in multiple subtypes and requires different treatment strategies.

“The more we know about the disease biologically, the better we’ll be able to treat it,” said Chinnaiyan.

Currently, there are no treatments that block the KRAS oncogene, but several are under development that target components of the KRAS signaling pathway.

This abstract was presented at an AACR press conference on Sunday, April 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET in room W313 of the Orange County Convention Center.

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Media Contact:
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In Orlando, April 2-6:
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