http://www.cancercompass.comCancerCompass is an online community committed to offering people living with cancer a place to receive cancer information and news, share knowledge, and share cancer treatment experiences. To learn more, visit our site today.en-us@copy; Copyright 2009, International Capital & Management Company, LLLP. All Rights Reserved.Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:53:25 CDTThu, 02 Jul 2009 20:53:25 CDTCancercompass.com: top stories60http://www.cancercompass.com/graphics/mini-logo.gifhttp://www.cancercompass.comhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15825,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15825,00.htm?rss=y Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc., provided an update today on the progress in the Company's clinical development plan for ProLindac, a novel DACH platinum drug that has shown to be active in many solid tumor types in human clinical studies. Access recently announced positive safety and efficacy results from its Phase 2 monotherapy clinical study of ProLindac(TM) in late-stage, heavily pretreated ovarian cancer patients. In this study, 66% of patients who received the highest dose achieved clinically meaningful disease stabilization according to RECIST criteria. No patient in any dose group exhibited any signs of acute neurotoxicity, which is a major adverse side-effect of the approved DACH platinum, Eloxatin, and ProLindac was well tolerated ov...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15826,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15826,00.htm?rss=y New data presented today at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncologist (ASCO) Annual Meeting support the use of a laboratory test, ChemoFX(R), to help physicians predetermine the effectiveness of chemotherapy in treating a woman's endometrial cancer. Investigators found a significant correlation between the test results from 405 patient specimens analyzed using ChemoFx and published patient response rates for each chemotherapeutic regimen, suggesting less effective therapies could be eliminated prior to patient administration. Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer among women in the United States. "Limiting a patient's exposure to chemotherapy is important, however determining the appropriate treatment the first...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15827,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15827,00.htm?rss=y According to a study from the United States, "African Americans are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to develop colorectal cancer (CRC) and to die as a result. Factors such as age, family history, income, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding screening are important predictors of risk, and multiple factors may contribute to poor CRC outcomes for African Americans." "Although screening is not the only factor associated with CRC outcomes, it may be one of the more important and modifiable risk factors for African Americans. Few programs have utilized narrative approaches to promote cancer screening among African Americans. None have focused on CRC screening," wrote A.G. Robillard and colleagues, Arizona State Universi...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15828,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15828,00.htm?rss=y Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even discussing genetic testing with their physicians or other health care providers. In a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, which has been released online, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Policy and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute note that their findings illustrate the challenges of bringing genetic information into real-world clinical practice. "Testing for BRCA1 and 2 mutations has been around a long time and should be a good indicator of whe...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15829,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15829,00.htm?rss=y WASHINGTON -- A study involving 678 individuals who apply pesticides, culled from a U.S. Agricultural Health Study of over 50,000 farmers, recently found that exposure to certain pesticides doubles one's risk of developing an abnormal blood condition called MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance) compared with individuals in the general population. The disorder, characterized by an abnormal level of a plasma protein, requires lifelong monitoring as it is a pre-cancerous condition that can lead to multiple myeloma, a painful cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. The study will appear in the June 18 issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. "Previously, inconclu...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15830,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15830,00.htm?rss=y NEW ORLEANS -- Research led by Ashok Aiyar, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, showing that a single gene can control growth in cancers related to the Epstein-Barr virus and that existing therapeutics can inactivate it, will be published in the June 12, 2009 online issue of PLoS Pathogens. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is closely associated with many human cancers such as Burkitt's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, AIDS-related lymphomas, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, cancers of the nose and throat, and stomach cancer. In many of these malignancies, proteins made by EBV are necessary for tumor cells to grow indiscriminately. This is especially true of AIDS-relat...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15822,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15822,00.htm?rss=y Fresh data on breast cancer are presented in the report 'Pregnancy in the mature adult mouse does not alter the proportion of mammary epithelial stem/progenitor cells.' According to a study from London, the United Kingdom, "In humans, an early full-term pregnancy reduces lifetime breast cancer risk by up to 50% whereas a later pregnancy (>35 years old) can increase lifetime risk. Several mechanisms have been suggested, including changes in levels of circulating hormones, changes in the way the breast responds to these hormones, changes in gene expression programmes which may alter susceptibility to transformation and changes to mammary stem cell numbers or behaviour." "Previous studies have shown that the mammary tissue isolated from bot...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15824,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15824,00.htm?rss=y Telik, Inc. announced presentation at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, Florida, of results from the ASSIST-5 Phase 3 randomized, multinational study of TELCYTA(R) (canfosfamide HCl) in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) vs. PLD alone in second-line therapy in platinum refractory or resistant ovarian cancer. Study Design: Patients with platinum refractory or resistant ovarian cancer (platinum refractory, primary platinum resistant, secondary platinum resistant) by standard GOG criteria, with measurable disease were eligible for enrollment in the trial. A total of 125 patients at sites in the USA (44), Brazil (15), Belgium (8) and UK (6) were randomized with a 1:1 a...Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15767,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15767,00.htm?rss=y HOUSTON -- Novel chemotherapy and biological agents for metastatic colorectal cancer has resulted in increased patient survival, U.S. researchers say. Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said researchers have made great strides in identifying active agents for the disease, resulting in U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of numerous chemotherapeutic agents. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that the median overall survival is now more than 30 months, compared with eight months for patients diagnosed before 1990. Five-year survival of patients diagnosed with the disease after 2004 is more than 30 percent. "In this study, we wanted to deter...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15748,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15748,00.htm?rss=y ORLANDO, Fla. -- New data presented today at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncologist (ASCO) Annual Meeting support the use of a laboratory test, ChemoFX(R), to help physicians predetermine the effectiveness of chemotherapy in treating a woman's endometrial cancer. Investigators found a significant correlation between the test results from 405 patient specimens analyzed using ChemoFx and published patient response rates for each chemotherapeutic regimen, suggesting less effective therapies could be eliminated prior to patient administration. Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer among women in the United States. "Limiting a patient's exposure to chemotherapy is important, however determining t...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15749,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15749,00.htm?rss=y Eleven years ago, Harris was diagnosed with breast cancer after she discovered her own lump through a self-examination. After having a mammogram and sonogram, she decided to have surgery as soon as possible. "After she [my doctor] told me I had cancer, I said, 'Well, am I going to die?' and she said 'No,'" Harris said. "So I think it's a mind over matter thing and 99.9 percent is your attitude." The support of family and friends also helped Harris while she received chemotherapy and radiation treatments, who noted staying occupied helps to reduce the amount of negative thinking. "It works on you," Harris said. "I came back to work after a certain length of time and I think that also helped. If you don't have family...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15750,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15750,00.htm?rss=y The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded. The study, published online this week in the journal Epidemiology, adds to the evolving picture of what factors, either alone or in combination, boost breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women. It also refutes the notion, held by many in the medical community, that a familial predisposition to breast cancer enhances the carcinogenic effects of estrogen. "Although we know that family history is a risk factor, we don't know yet what it is about family history that conveys the risk," said Robert E. Gr...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15751,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15751,00.htm?rss=y New therapies developed following groundbreaking clinical trials appear to effectively target breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to research unveiled Sunday at a major cancer conference. The first therapy targeting the capacity of cancer cells to repair themselves shows promise in treating breast cancer, according to results of two small clinical trials. The new agent, especially adept at targeting cancers that are most difficult to cure, neutralizes an enzyme called PARP (poly-ADP-ribose-polymerase) and prevents it from playing its usual role in repairing the DNA of damaged cells. Like healthy cells, cancerous cells employ PARP to regenerate themselves after they have been damaged by chemo-therapy treatments. T...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15752,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15752,00.htm?rss=y Breast cancer survivors risk having their disease come back if they use certain antidepressants while also taking the cancer prevention drug tamoxifen, worrisome new research shows. About 500,000 women in the United States take tamoxifen, which cuts in half the chances of a breast cancer recurrence. Many of them also take antidepressants for hot flashes, because hormone pills aren't considered safe after breast cancer. Doctors have long known that some antidepressants and other medicines can lower the amount of tamoxifen's active form in the bloodstream. But whether this affects cancer risk is unknown. The new study, reported Saturday at a cancer conference in Florida, is the largest to look at the issue. It found that using these...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDThttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15756,00.htm?rss=yhttp://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,15756,00.htm?rss=y Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a gene signature that may help predict clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer. In the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Harold (Hal) Moses, M.D., and colleagues report that this gene signature which is associated with the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF- & #946;) signaling pathway correlates with reduced relapse-free survival in patients with breast cancer, especially in those with estrogen receptor (ER) positive tumors. The results suggest that assessing TGF- & #946; signaling may be a useful aid in determining breast cancer prognosis and in guiding treatment. The work also sheds light on how TGF- & #946; affects tumor growth and progression. TGF- & #9...Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 CDT