The war against cancer gathered steam in 2008, as new drugs tackled the toughest cancers with some success, and advances were made in both disease prevention and risk factor identification.

A new report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) details 12 "major" advances and 19 "notable advances" across the gamut of cancer prevention, screening, treatment and survival in the past year.

"These specific advances . . . reflect a maturation, if you will, of the whole approach of personalized medicine to oncology care," said ASCO President Dr. Richard L. Schilsky, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center. "And some of the reports deal with targeted therapies being used in a broader array of diseases. We're beginning to see the utility of targeted therapies expand across many, many diseases, and we're increasingly able to identify those patients who are most likely to benefit from those targeted therapies."



The report was expected to be published online Dec. 22 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

One of the most impressive reports of the year serves as a backdrop to these advances, pointed out Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. That was a study showing the first reported decline in the number of U.S. men and women developing and dying from cancer.

Nevertheless, some 1.4 million people received the devastating diagnosis of cancer in 2008, and half a million people died from the disease.

Following are the 12 major advances of 2008 identified by ASCO, divided into six general areas and not ranked in order of importance.

In the area of hard-to-treat cancers:

Cetuximab (Erbitux), a monoclonal antibody, when added to chemotherapy, increased overall survival by as much as 21 percent in patients with non-small cell lung cancer which expressed the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Patients receiving Erbitux in a recent trial lived an average of 11.3 months vs. 10.1 months in those receiving a placebo. Lung cancer is the number-one cancer killer among men and women; only 5 percent of those diagnosed with this type of lung cancer survive five years. The new chemotherapy drug Gemcitabine (Gemzar) doubled disease-free survival from 6.9 months to 13.4 months in pancreatic cancer patients, and increased overall survival from 20.2 months to 22.8 months in patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer who had undergone surgery. Again, only 5 percent of people receiving this diagnosis live five years.

In the area of new drug approvals:

Bendamustine (Treanda) "eliminated" chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in one-third of patients compared with 2 percent who went with current standard therapy, and extended survival without a recurrence to 21.7 months from 9.3 months. The drug was approved in March of 2008 and is now indicated as first-line treatment for the disease.Bevacizumab (Avastin), another monoclonal antibody, was approved (in conjunction with the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (Taxol) for women with previously untreated HER2-negative, metastatic breast cancer. A trial the year before had found the combination doubled disease-free survival compared with women receiving chemo alone. A second trial, this one from 2008, confirmed the findings.

FDA checking out local man's possible cancer cure

"A Sanibel man used his background in broadcasting to discover a possible cure for cancer. Now, his findings have been further validated by newly-released research.

A report published Friday shows promising new advances in the possible cancer cure John Kanzius dreamt up in his Sanibel Island garage.

He began creating his machine five years ago after undergoing cancer treatment himself and seeing children go through the same thing."

Patrick Swayze: I'm Winning the Battle Against Pancreatic Cancer
FOXNews - Dec 2, 2008
The “Ghost” star, 56, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, fired back at claims he has been saying goodbye to members of his family. ...

Test your genes for cancer? 23andme.com

Your 23andMe scan includes genetic analysis on all of the following diseases, traits, and conditions. This list grows every month as new research is published.

Clinical Reports (23)
Clinical Reports give you information about conditions and traits for which there are genetic associations supported by multiple, large, peer-reviewed studies. Those associations must also have a substantial influence on a person's chances of developing the disease or having the trait. Because these associations are widely regarded as reliable, we use them to develop quantitative estimates and definitive explanations of what they mean for you.
Age-related Macular Degeneration
Alcohol Flush Reaction
Bitter Taste Perception
Celiac Disease
Crohn's Disease
Cystic Fibrosis (Delta F508 mutation)
Earwax Type
Eye Color
G6PD Deficiency
Lactose Intolerance
Malaria Resistance (Duffy Antigen)
Muscle Performance
Non-ABO Blood Groups
Norovirus Resistance
Parkinson's Disease
Prostate Cancer
Psoriasis
Resistance to HIV/AIDS
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sickle Cell Anemia & Malaria Resistance
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes
Venous Thromboembolism

Research Reports (72)
Research Reports give you information from research that has not yet gained enough scientific consensus to be included in our Clinical Reports. This research is generally based on high-quality but limited scientific evidence. Because these results have not yet been demonstrated through large, replicated studies, we do not perform complete quantitative analyses of their effects. We do, however, explain how they may–if confirmed–affect your odds of having or developing a trait, condition or disease.
Research Reports also includes scientifically accepted, established research that does not have a dramatic influence on a person's risk for a disease.
Alcohol Dependence
Aneurysm
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Antidepressant Response
Asthma
Atrial Fibrillation
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Avoidance of Errors
Back Pain
Baldness
Beta-Blocker Response
Bipolar Disorder
Birth Weight
Bladder Cancer
Blood Glucose
Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer
C-reactive Protein Level
Caffeine Metabolism
Celiac Disease
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Cluster Headaches
Colorectal Cancer
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Developmental Dyslexia
Endometriosis
Esophageal Cancer
Eye Color
Food Preference
Freckling
Gallstones
Glaucoma
Gout
HDL Cholesterol Level
HIV Progression
Hair Color
Heart Attack
Height
Heroin Addiction
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Kidney Disease
Larynx Cancer
Longevity
Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS)
Lung Cancer
Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)
Male Infertility
Measures of Intelligence
Memory
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuroblastoma
Nicotine Dependence
Obesity
Obesity
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Odor Detection
Oral and Throat Cancer
Osteoarthritis
Pain Sensitivity
Peripheral Arterial Disease
Persistent Fetal Hemoglobin
Placental Abruption
Pre-eclampsia
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Restless Legs Syndrome
Schizophrenia
Sjögren's Syndrome
Skin Cancer
Stomach Cancer
Tardive Dyskinesia
Tourette's Syndrome
Uterine Fibroids
The genotyping services of 23andMe are performed in LabCorp's CLIA-registered laboratory. The results presented in Health and Traits have not been cleared or approved by the FDA but have been analytically validated according to CLIA standards.

Study: Vitamins E and C Fail to Prevent Cancer in Men

A large clinical trial of almost 15,000 male doctors taking vitamins E and C for up to 10 years has found that neither supplement had any effect on cancer rates, including cancer of the prostate.

The study comes on the heels of a disappointing finding regarding vitamin E reported late last month. After following 35,000 men taking selenium and vitamin E, investigators halted their trial because no benefit was seen and in some supplement users there appeared to be a slight increase in the risk of cancer or diabetes.

An author of the current study, an abstract of which was presented on Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, D.C., said his trial found neither risk nor benefit to use of the vitamins.

“The good news is you don’t appear to be hurting yourself ,” said Howard D. Sesso, an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. But, he added, “There’s very little evidence to recommend taking these supplements for prevention of cancer, particularly in the case of vitamin E.”

Achilles' Heel Of Pancreatic Cancer Discovered

UC Davis Cancer Center researchers have discovered a metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer cells that can be used to slow the progress of the deadliest of all cancers.
Published in the October issue of the International Journal of Cancer, study results indicate that pancreatic cancer cells cannot produce the amino acid arginine, which plays an essential role in cell division, immune function and hormone regulation. By depleting arginine levels in cell cultures and animal models, the team was able to significantly reduce pancreatic cancer-cell proliferation.
"There have been few significant advances in 15 years of testing available chemotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer," said Richard Bold, chief of surgical oncology at UC Davis and senior author of the study. "The lack of progress is particularly frustrating because most patients are diagnosed after the disease has spread to other organs, eliminating surgery as an option. We have to turn back to basic science to come up with new treatments."
Bold explained that average survival time for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is just four-and-a-half months, although chemotherapy can extend that prognosis up to six months.
"There is a dire need to find new options for these patients. While our findings do not suggest a cure for pancreatic cancer, they do promise a possible way to extend the life expectancies of those diagnosed with it," Bold said.
Bold and his colleagues hypothesized that pancreatic cancer cells lack the ability to produce arginine. In human pancreatic tumors, they measured levels of an enzyme — argininosuccinate synthetase — required to synthesize arginine.
The enzyme was not detected in 87 percent of the 47 tumor specimens examined, suggesting that the majority of pancreatic cancers require arginine for cell growth because of an inability to synthesize the amino acid.
The researchers then conducted further tests using pancreatic cell lines that represent the varying levels of argininosuccinate synthetase observed in human tumor specimens. Focusing on the lines with lowest levels, the researchers depleted arginine levels in cultures of pancreatic cell lines using arginine deiminase, an enzyme isolated from a Mycoplasma bacteria.
The enzyme was modified by adding polyethylene glycol chains to increase size and circulatory time.
The researchers found that exposing the pancreatic cancer cell lines to the modified arginine deiminase enzyme inhibited cancer-cell proliferation by 50 percent. They then treated mice bearing pancreatic tumors with the same compound and found an identical outcome: a 50 percent reduction in tumor growth. According to Bold, the current study represents a unique approach to cancer treatment in that it is one of the first to identify a metabolic pathway that can be leveraged to interrupt cancer growth.
"Instead of killing cells as with typical chemotherapy, we instead removed one of the key building blocks that cancer cells need to function," Bold said.
Metabolic interruptions like this one are also being studied for their potential in treating cancers of the blood, such as leukemia and lymphoma. In those cases, depleting the amino acid asparagine may be used in slowing cancer-cell growth.
Bold and his colleagues are continuing their laboratory work on the effects of arginine deprivation on pancreatic cancer. They will next be looking for ways to increase pancreatic cell sensitivity to arginine deprivation.
The researchers have also begun designing human clinical trials in cooperation with the manufacturer of arginine deiminase, Polaris Pharmaceuticals.
"We're looking at whether we can combine this treatment with certain kinds of chemotherapy," Bold said. "This additional research is needed to inform the clinical work and move it forward more quickly. The better we understand this process, the more we can use it in the fight against pancreatic cancer."
Additional study authors included Tawnya Bowles, Joseph Galante, Colin Parsons and Subbulakshmi Virudachalam of the UC Davis Department of Surgery; and Randie Kim and Hsing-Jien Kung of the UC Davis Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine.

Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation announced today the expansion of clinical trials using intravenous Rexin-G for pancreatic cancer and breast cancer in Manhattan, New York. Rexin-G is the world's first tumor-targeted genetic medicine that is designed to seek out and destroy both primary tumors and metastatic cancers that have spread throughout the body. Clinical data from on-going studies in Los Angeles, California, indicating dose-dependent tumor control rates and survival benefits with no major toxicity in Rexin-G-treated patients prompted the extension of these clinical trials to the East Coast. Rexin-G has gained orphan drug status from the U.S. FDA for three clinical indications: pancreatic cancer, osteosarcoma and soft tissue sarcoma.
The New York clinical trials will be conducted at the Bruckner Oncology Center in Manhattan, New York with Howard W. Bruckner, M.D. as the Principal Investigator. Dr. Bruckner is a board certified medical oncologist who trained at Yale University School of Medicine and performed research at the NIH with specialists and collaborative groups. Dr. Bruckner is internationally renowned for his work in pancreatic, breast, gastrointestinal, colon, and ovarian cancers and was the first medical oncologist to treat patients with Rexin-G for advanced pancreatic cancer in the United States (Int'l J Oncol 2006). He has served as an Expert Consultant and Safety Monitor for the National Surgical Adjuvant Project for Breast and Bowel Cancers Project (NSABP) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. For further information concerning these clinical trials in New York, please go to http://www.clinicaltrials.gov and search Epeius-sponsored protocols C07-104 and C07-105.

Digestive Care Completes NDA Submission for Pancreatic Drug

US-based pharmaceutical company Digestive Care has completed the submission of the new drug application for Pancrecarb, used in the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, to the FDA.

The FDA has previously granted the product fast track designation and approved a rolling new drug application (NDA) submission schedule.


The company has recently announced results of the completed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center, crossover study on Pancrecarb.

Tibor Sipos, president and chief scientific officer of Digestive Care, said: "Pancrecarb is a unique bicarbonate buffered enteric-coated formulation of pancrelipase that has been an essential component of the armamentarium for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency associated with cystic fibrosis and other diseases affecting the pancreas."

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

After months of battling pancreatic cancer, actor Patrick Swayze is speaking out about the difficulties that have come with his struggle.

"How do you nurture a positive attitude when all the statistics say you’re a dead man?" Swayze told the New York Times. "You go to work."

The 56-year-old actor and star of upcoming A&E series "The Beast" says that his work has been what has helped him through his struggle with his diagnosis.

While he has been healthy enough to continue working, Swayze told the Times that cancer has been a "battle zone." "Chemo, no matter how you cut it, is hell on wheels."

When the news of Swayze's illness surfaced in March, several reports claimed that he had only weeks to live.

But his physician George Fisher, an associate professor of teaching at Stanford University Cancer Center offered a more optimistic take on the actor's condition.

"Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far. All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue," Fisher said in a statement.

Caught in its advanced stages, pancreatic cancer, which strikes about 30,000 people a year, has a less than 5 percent survival rate for five years. If caught early and treated aggressively with surgery and chemotherapy — and if the cancer has not spread to lymph nodes — the five-year survival rate can go as high as 17 to 25 percent, said Avram Cooperman, surgical director for the Pancreas and Biliary Center at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan.

"I've made a pretty decent mark so far – nothing to scoff at," he said. "But it does make you think: Wait a minute. There’s more I want to do. Lots more. Get on with it."

cacner

cnn: ibuprofen reduces breast cancer risk

Can taking aspirin or ibuprofen reduce your risk of getting breast cancer? One of the largest studies of its kind suggests that the answer might be yes.

In the past, researchers have flip-flopped on the issue, so they recently combined some of the best data - from 2.7 million women in 38 separate studies - to look for solid evidence. And they found it.

Women who took aspirin had a 13 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those who didn't, while those who took ibuprofen had a 21 percent lower risk.

The findings were published this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

While it might be tempting to try to reduce your own risk by popping these over-the-counter pain relievers, known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the researchers sound a note of caution: The pills can cause bleeding in your digestive tract. And some types of NSAIDs have been linked to risk of heart problems. Health.com: How aspirin can help your heart

"I would not recommend that women use NSAIDs for breast cancer prevention," says study author Bahi Takkouche, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. "NSAIDs may have very strong secondary effects. The results of this study just show that women who are taking NSAIDs for other reasons probably have a lower risk of breast cancer." Health.com: How to cut your breast cancer risk at any age

This type of study can't prove conclusively that NSAIDs are responsible for the lower risk of breast cancer. According to the experts, some other factor could be responsible for the reduction in cancer risk.

Palliative Chemotherapy

"Chemotherapy had been used with one of the two intentions: the hope to cure cancer, and the hope to prolong life. Palliative chemotherapy/care means chemotherapy which is taken without expecting it to be curative. In other words, palliative chemotherapy is a form of medical treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the disease symptoms, rather than trying to provide a cure. This means that most of the time, palliative chemotherapy are only offered to patients with incurable cancer, preferably to patients with excellent performance status and a tumor sensitive to chemotherapy.

Just like treating cancer, cytotoxic drugs are also used in palliative chemotherapy. They attack cells during cell divisions. They could be phase specific and cycle specific. Phase-specific drugs kill cells only when they are given during a certain phase of cells’ cycle. By prolonging the treatment using such drugs, the number of cells killed increases because cells divide randomly. Cycle-specific drugs target cells during any phase of the cells’ cycle, thus the number of cells killed increases when the dosage of such drugs increase. Other Antimetabolites are given as well. These anti metabolites could interfere with the incorportation of nucleic acid bases into the DNA.Given the potential toxicities of the chemotherapeutic agents, it is important to educate patients about the side effects of the drugs consumed. The main challenge for both the doctors and patients would be balancing symptom relief and treatment’s side effects. It is also crucial for the doctors to maintain a holistic view of patients with cancer and help patients to achieve the best possible quality of life.

"
----
"A group of Melbourne researchers has discovered an important piece in the puzzle of how breast cancer develops.
Through implantation of breast cells in mice, scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research have made two key findings related to the way the Notch pathway of proteins works in breast tissue.

Researchers Toula Bouras, Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman identified how the Notch pathway of proteins regulates breast development and function by prompting breast stem cells to switch on the production of breast duct cells.

They also discovered a link between an overactive Notch pathway and the proliferation of immature cells in the breast ducts that can develop into tumours.

''The discovery has really revealed a mechanism by which overactivity of the Notch pathway may contribute to breast cancer,'' Dr Visvader said.

''If drugs can be developed that target this process in an effective way, this offers hope for future generations of patients whose cancers have an overactive Notch pathway.''

Dr Visvader said the Notch pathway played an important role in the development of breast cancer, but more research needed to be done before the development of anti-Notch therapies.

The researchers' findings are in the latest international journal, Cell Stem Cell. AAP"

HPV vaccine required to obtain Green Card

Thanks God that when I applied for an Immigrant Visa this vaccination is still not part of it.

Recently, Federal officials added the Gardasil vaccine to a list of vaccinations that immigrants must have before they can obtain green cards. The cervical cancer vaccine is required of females ages 11 to 26.
The vaccine protects against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer and genital warts. But the vaccine is one of the most expensive and controversial, primarily because it is given at a young age.

How Does Ellagic Acid Exert An Anti-Cancer Effect On Pancreatic Cancer Cells?

"Ellagic acid was previousely shown to have anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and antifibrosis properties. The anticarcinogenic effect of ellagic acid was shown in several types of cancers including skin, esophageal, and colon cancers. However the mechanisms mediating anti-cancer effect of ellagic acid, in general, remain unknown.

A research article published on 21 June 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Dr. Edderkaoui from West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center showed that Ellagic acid increases programmed cell death and decreases proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. They showed that the mechanism through which ellagic acid causes cell death is through decreasing the activity of the pro-survival transcription factor NF-kB. The compound does not affect mitochondria. The results presented in this article show for the first time how this polyphenol regulates cancer cell proliferation and resistance to death and may help surpass the resistance of these cells to radio and chemotherapies. "

"Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers and continues to be a major unsolved health problem. The overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor and its ligands correlates with rapidly progressive disease and resistance to chemotherapy."

Austin Texas DUI

Austin Texas DUI

Tech Startups 3.0

Tech Startups 3.0

cancer of the prostate

"Numerous media reports followed a federal task force's announcement this month that there is insufficient medical evidence to assess the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening in men younger than 75 and that doctors should stop testing men over age 75.
It's important to note that consideration was not given to the overwhelming body of emerging evidence that screening with PSA tests and digital rectal exams saves lives. Rates of death from prostate cancer and rates of diagnosis at advanced stages have decreased markedly since testing became widespread.
As a physician and a researcher specializing in prostate cancer, I worry that this recommendation will result in delays in potentially lifesaving treatment and possibly the unnecessary loss of life.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force did not even recommend screening for men at higher risk because of race or family history. The task force reasoned that screening might harm more men than it helps and that in men over 75 there was moderate certainty that the harm outweighs the benefits.
Physicians and patients who are concerned about preventing prostate cancer deaths choose to screen with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests because an inconclusive but increasingly compelling body of evidence shows that the screening reduces suffering and death from prostate cancer — the second-leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States."

In an Aug. 26 story about a new TV ad linking hot dogs with cancer, The Associated Press, relying on figures provided by a nutrition adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research, erroneously reported average risks for colon cancer and how eating hot dogs affects those risks. Karen Collins said she misstated the average adult's lifetime risk for getting colorectal cancer, which is about 5 percent, not 5.8 percent.

She said she also miscalculated population-level risks of eating one hot dog a day for several years. That would increase the number of Americans who get colorectal cancer each year from 50 per 100,000 to 60 per 100,000 people — not from 58 per 100,000 to 70 per 100,000, as she had stated.

She said the level of risk is smaller for eating a hot dog once or twice a month but that it can't be precisely quantified. It would not mean up to a 1.4 percent increase in colon cancer risk, as she had indicated.

What makes pancreatic cancer so deadly?: Scientific American

"Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the National Football League Player's Association—the union for NFL players—died late Wednesday evening of pancreatic cancer while vacationing in California's Lake Tahoe. Doctors diagnosed the 63-year-old Hall of Fame offensive lineman with the disease just four days earlier.

Upshaw was a guard for the Oakland Raiders from 1967 to 1981. He played in seven Pro Bowls and three Super Bowls. He served as head of the NFL player's union for 25 years.

According to Bloomberg News, Upshaw's wife, Terri, took him to a hospital on Sunday, August 17th, because he was having trouble breathing. A biopsy revealed, much to everyone's surprise, that he had advanced pancreatic cancer.

In March, actor Patrick Swayze—star of the hit 1980s film Dirty Dancing—revealed he had been diagnosed with the illness in January. Doctors' reports indicated they had caught his cancer relatively early.

The pancreas secretes hormones and enzymes to digest our fats. One of those hormones is insulin, which prompts the body to use sugar in the blood rather than fat as energy. Its levels are low in diabetic patients, who suffer from abnormally high blood sugar."

Happiness may protect against cancer

"YOUNG women exposed to tragic events may be at a higher risk of breast cancer and being optimistic can help protect against the disease, a study has found.

A team of researchers say they may have found a link between a women’s outlook on life and the risk of breast cancer.

After questioning more than 600 women – include 255 breast cancer patients – about life experiences, happiness and depression, researchers found optimists were 25 per cent less likely to develop the disease.

Women who suffered two or more traumatic events in their life, such as losing a loved one, had a 62 per cent greater risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer, the research said.

“Young women who were exposed to a number of life events, should be considered as a risk group for breast cancer and treated accordingly,” the researchers said.

“We can carefully say that experiencing more than one meaningful life event is a risk factor for breast cancer among young women. "

starbucks a savior

"When Howard D. Schultz in 1985 founded the company that would become the wildly successful Starbucks chain, no financial adviser had to tell him that coffee was America’s leading beverage and caffeine its most widely used drug. The millions of customers who flock to Starbucks to order a double espresso, latte or coffee grande attest daily to his assessment of American passions."

Great News: New Prostate Cancer Test is Ready for Commercialization

New Prostate Cancer Test is Ready for Commercialization Following Successful Completion of Final Clinical Trials
Health Discovery Corporation's New Molecular Diagnostic Test for Prostate Cancer Successfully Performs at 90% Sensitivity and 97% Specificity in Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Prostate cancer screening not recommended for men over 75_English_Xinhua

Prostate cancer screening not recommended for men over 75_English_Xinhua: "The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that men over 75 should stop the routine prostate cancer screening since the risks involved pose more immediate danger than the cancer itself, according to media reports Wednesday.
The task force said that screening can detect some cases of prostate cancer, but the benefits of treatment in men over 75 'are small to none, because the treatment often causes 'moderate-to-substantial harms,' without evidence it saves the lives of these elderly men.
The panel did not recommend for or against prostate screening of men under 75 but suggested that doctors discuss the potential benefits and harms of the test with their patients.
'We carefully reviewed the available evidence to measure the benefits and harms of screening for prostate cancer and could not find adequate proof that early detection leads to fewer men dying of the disease,' said task force chairman Ned Calonge."

Tech Startups 3.0: Private Equity HUB: In Memoriam: Keith Benjamin

"Venture capitalist Keith Benjamin has passed away, four days after suffering a major brain hemorrhage while at the gym. He was 49 years-old.
Keith had been a managing partner with San Francisco-based Levensohn Venture Partners since 2002, where he focused on software and digital media investments. He previously had been a general partner with Highland Capital Partners and, before that, was a sell-side analyst at Robertson Stephens.
Like many of his Silicon Valley peers, Keith also was a blogger — discussing both the personal and professional at SF Venture. In the past, he has graciously permitted us to reprint certain pieces at peHUB."

pancreatic cancer: The uplifting 'Last Lecture' man dies at 47

"The cause of his death was metastasised pancreatic cancer, said a spokesman for Carnegie Mellon University. He had survived for A federal eating mugs and judge has given the state of Texas until January to improve its education programs for intensive secondary data school students learning English more than twice as long as.."

Tech Startups 3.0: NYTimes.com: Randy Pausch, 47, Dies; His ‘Last Lecture’ Inspired Many to Live With Wonder#links

ABC News: Cancer Prof Warns Against Cell Phone Use

"The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Herberman is basing his alarm on early..."

Effective Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer Remains Elusive

"Although therapeutic strategies have advanced for many common gastrointestinal cancers, significant progress in the treatment of pancreatic cancer remains elusive. The eagerly anticipated results of randomized trials that evaluated gemcitabine-based combination regimens have proven to be disappointing, researchers report in a review paper that discusses the use of systemic therapy in advanced pancreatic cancer. Whereas 2 recent trials have demonstrated a modest survival benefit with combination therapy, some consider the improvement to be too small to justify the risk of toxicity or added cost.
The article appears in the July issue of the Annals of Oncology.

"Not many trials have been promising, unfortunately, as this is a difficult disease," said coauthor John R. Zalcberg, MD, PhD, professor and director of the division of haematology and medical oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, in Melbourne, Australia. "The new biologics have really not, at this point, been as hopeful as we would have liked or expected."

One disappointment has been the negative results from trials combining bevacizumab (Avastin, Roche) and gemcitabine (Gemzar, Eli Lilly), especially because an early-phase study showed a survival benefit. "We were hoping that it would be the opening of a new treatment era for pancreatic cancer, but unfortunately, that hasn't happened," Dr. Zalcberg told Medscape Oncology.

Pancreatic cancer is the eighth most common cause of cancer death; even with treatment, less than 5% of patients survive 5 years. This disease presents a number of challenges that the clinician has to consider and that make effective therapy so difficult, the authors point out. It is frequently diagnosed at a late stage, often after it has metastasized, and disease-related symptoms, including pain and cachexia, negatively affect performance status and limit the safe delivery of treatment.

The disease is highly resistant to chemotherapy, and systemic treatments produce only modest benefits. Only about 10% to 15% of patients have tumors that can be surgically resected; even then, the risk for recurrence is high. However, it is possible that adjuvant therapy will improve outcomes in this population as new strategies are developed."

Fat stomachs 'raise risk of pancreatic cancer in women' - Telegraph

Obese women who carry much of their excess weight around the belly are 70 per cent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, a study has found. The study published in the British Journal of Cancer found a link between waist-to-hip ratios and the cancer while monitoring more than 138,000 post-menopausal women for seven years.

Dr Juhua Luo, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who led the research said: "We found that the risk of developing pancreatic cancer was significantly raised in obese postmenopausal women who carry most of their excess weight around the stomach. Researchers believe that obesity could increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, one of the most difficult forms to treat, by affecting insulin levels.

TG2 identified as potential therapeutic target in chemo-resistant

For example, TG2 overexpression causes the degradation of the tumor-suppressing protein PTEN in pancreatic cancer, Mehta and colleagues reported in Clinical ...

Nanoparticles Stops Spread Of Kidney And Pancreatic Cancer Without ...AHN - Jul 11, 2008... that deliver drug agents to stop pancreatic and kidney cancer from spreading in mice but have fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.

Cancer claims White House aid

"Cancer claims White House aid

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 15 hours agoSnow joined the Bush Administration as press secretary in 2006, a year after he was diagnosed with cancer and his colon was removed."

"Swimmer is racing to beat cancerTimes Online, UK - 7 hours agoHe has testicular cancer. The 25-year-old from Atlanta has delayed surgery, against medical advice, so that he can fulfil his lifetime ambition of competing ...

US Olympian Shanteau diagnosed with testicular cancer AFP

Swimmer opts for Beijing trip, delays surgery for cancer Seattle Times

Olympics, then cancer surgery Kansas City Star"

RIP Tony Snow

"Ex-Bush press secretary Tony Snow dies of cancer at 53Los Angeles Times, CA - 4 hours agoAfter a long, candid and public battle with colon cancer, former White House press secretary and radio talk-show host Tony Snow died early this morning. "

The Associated Press: Supermodel raises awareness for pediatric cancer

"MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Supermodel Cindy Crawford has been making appearances this weekend in Madison, Wis., to raise awareness of pediatric cancer.

Crawford's younger brother, Jeff, was a patient at University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital. The boy died of leukemia in 1975 just before his fourth birthday.

Crawford is the honorary chair of Kids with Courage, which had its fourth reunion of childhood cancer survivors Saturday in Madison.

She was also part of the three previous reunions in 1993, 1998 and 2003.

The University of Wisconsin says Crawford has been contributing time and money to the UW Pediatric Oncology program for nearly 20 years. "

cancer - Google News

"Plastic surgeons' discarded breast tissue aids cancer researchCanada.com, Canada - 13 hours agoVANCOUVER - To learn about what triggers breast cancer and how to create better treatments, scientists first have to know more about the composition and ...Regulation and research in stem cell medicine PHG FoundationCanada puts $100 million into stem cell research Windsor StarSD stem cell efforts awarded $5 million total San Diego Union Tribune"

Slashdot | Cancer Resistance Technique Moves To Human Trials

"TaeKwonDood tips us to news that a new cancer resistance treatment is going into clinical trials after being quite successful at eradicating cancer in mice. Researchers discovered that certain white blood cells called granulocytes from cancer-immune mice were able to cure cancer in other mice. Now, doctors are putting out the call for healthy granulocyte donors in order to test how well it works on humans. The article quotes lead researcher Zheng Cui saying, "In mice, we've been able to eradicate even highly aggressive forms of malignancy with extremely large tumors. Hopefully, we will see the same results in humans. Our laboratory studies indicate that this cancer-fighting ability is even stronger in healthy humans."

8 Ways to Spot Skin Cancer Before It Kills

8 Ways to Spot Skin Cancer Before It Kills

U.S. News & World Report, DC - 18 hours agoBy Adam Voiland When skin cancer is spotted early, it's almost always curable. For melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, the 5-year survival rate is ...

Save your hide — skip the tanning booth MSNBC

Why Skin Cancer Kills More Men Than Women U.S. News & World Report

Agency Wants Companies To Stop Hawking Products As Cancer TreatmentsCBS News, NY - 5 hours agoThe FDA today warned 25 companies to quit claiming their products cure cancer and urged consumers not to fall for fake cancer cures. ...

Google News: Patrick Swayze Back To Work

"Patrick Swayze Back To Work MTV.uk, UK - 19 hours agoOn Sunday the Dirty Dancing star announced that he will continue in his lead role in A&E drama The Beast, which sees Swayze playing an unconventional FBI"

Phase III Clinical Study Using BSD Medical's Systems for Treating Pancreatic Cancer to Be Announced at ASCO

"BSD Medical Corp. (NASDAQ:BSDM) announced today that a team of researchers headed by Professor Rolf D. Issels will be announcing at the upcoming annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference that a Phase III clinical study is underway involving the combined use of hyperthermia therapy and chemotherapy in treating patients with pancreatic cancer. This announcement follows the successful conclusion of a Phase II clinical trial conducted in Munich, Germany using a combination of hyperthermia therapy and chemotherapy to treat patients with pancreatic cancer. All hyperthermia treatments used for this study will be delivered using BSD-2000 hyperthermia systems. The ASCO conference held in Chicago, Illinois will run May 30 through June 3.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and women. The American Cancer Society has projected 37,170 new cases and 33,370 deaths from the disease in the United States this year. While the use of hyperthermia therapy in treating some other forms of cancer has been heavily researched, little has been known about the potential of the therapy in treating pancreatic cancer patients, a deadly cancer for which better treatments are urgently needed. "

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No cure for malignant glioma like Kennedy has

"Doctors are not mincing words about the kind of brain tumor diagnosed in Sen. Edward Kennedy.
'Cure is out of the question,' said Dr. John Adler Jr., professor of neurosurgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Kennedy is reported to have a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe of his brain - a diagnosis that for most patients means a cancerous brain tumor that will kill them, usually within a year. 'It is almost certainly a fatal condition,' Adler said.
Exceptions abound in medicine, and Adler stressed that doctors like him who have only heard news reports of Kennedy's condition have no way of knowing how perilous his condition is. However, gliomas are the most common type of brain tumor in adults, and two-thirds of those diagnosed with malignant brain tumors of any kind will die of them.
About 9,000 people are diagnosed with malignant gliomas in the United States each year. The odds of survival go down with age. Kennedy is 76."

of the West finals 89-85 on Wednesday. How? Let's just say the MVP "managed" to find a way

Brain cancer patients share sympathy, stories of struggle - The Boston Globe

"For Patricia Whitman, it began with a smell, not a seizure.
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A strange burning odor occasionally filled her nose. In the weeks and months to follow, there were bouts of light-headedness and, later, excruciating headaches. Still, the last thing she expected her doctor to tell her was that she had a brain tumor. And certainly not one the size of a baseball and that came with a terrifying lethal prognosis.
'It's my brain. This is my brain,' the 48-year-old psychologist said. 'This can't be happening.'
In the year since her diagnosis, Whitman has undergone brain surgery, suffered memory lapses, and lost her hair - only to have it grow back gray. While doctors are hopeful she will defy the odds, she lives with an uncertain future. And after she saw news reports of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy's brain tumor diagnosis on Tuesday, she felt overcome with sadness for him and his family. 'Those poor people,' she said softly yesterday."

Verify or Claim Pancreatic Cancer Wellness Research - MyBlogLog

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

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Red wine compound may kill pancreatic cancer cells | Health | Reuters

"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A compound found in the skin of red grapes and red wine may help induce pancreatic cancer cells to malfunction and die, a lab study has found.
The compound, called resveratrol, is produced by certain plants as part of their defense arsenal against pathogens. A handful of foods, including raspberries, blueberries and peanuts, contain resveratrol, but it is most abundant in the skin of red grapes and, therefore, red wine.
In the new study, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York treated human pancreatic cancer cells with resveratrol, either alone or in combination with radiation.
They found that the wine compound disrupted the activity of the cancer cells' mitochondria, energy-producing centers needed for cells to function. Resveratrol also impaired certain cancer-cell proteins that thwart chemotherapy by pumping drugs out of the cell.
In combination with radiation, but not alone, the compound bumped up the production of cell-damaging substances called reactive oxygen species -- potentially making the cancer cells more destructible."

Blood Pressure Drugs Halt Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth, Researchers Find

"Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia are inching closer to understanding how common blood pressure medications might help prevent the spread of pancreatic cancer. They have found in the laboratory that one type of pressure-lowering drug called an angiotensin receptor blocker inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth and causes cell death."

"In earlier work in the laboratory, Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College, and her team showed that angiotensin receptor blockers may help reduce the development of tumor-feeding blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. Other studies have linked a lower incidence of cancer with the use of angiotensin blocking therapies. Such drugs, she says, may become part of a novel strategy to control the growth and spread of cancer.

One of these drugs -- AT1R (Ang II type 1 receptor) blockers -- inhibit the function of the hormone angiotensin II (Ang II) in the pancreas. The receptor is expressed in pancreatic cancer cells. Ang II increases the production of VEGF, a vascular factor that promotes blood vessel growth in a number of cancers. High VEGF levels have been correlated with poor cancer prognosis and early recurrence after surgery. Dr. Arafat's research team has shown that AngII indirectly causes VEGF expression by increasing AT1R expression."

YouTube - Randy Pausch Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really...

Cancer - Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment of Cancer - NY Times Health Information

Cancer - Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment of Cancer - NY Times Health Information: "Causes

Cells are the building blocks of living things. Cancer grows out of normal cells in the body. Normal cells multiply when the body needs them, and die when the body doesn't. Cancer appears to occur when the growth of cells in the body is out of control and cells divide too rapidly. It can also occur when cells “forget” how to die.

There are many different kinds of cancers. Cancer can develop in almost any organ or tissue, such as the lung, colon, breast, skin, bones, or nerve tissue.

There are multiple causes of cancers, including:

* Radiation
* Sunlight
* Tobacco
* Certain viruses
* Benzene
* Certain poisonous mushrooms and aflatoxins (a poison produced by organisms that can grow on peanut plants)

However, the cause of many cancers remains unknown.

The most common cause of cancer-related death is lung cancer.

The three most common cancers in men in the United States are prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer. In women in the U.S., the three most frequently occurring cancers are breast cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer."

globeandmail.com: Ontario takes lead in global genetic war with cancer

"Research groups from 10 countries are undertaking an unprecedented global effort to combat cancer, one of the world's leading killers, they announced Tuesday.

The collaborative project, dubbed the International Cancer Genome Consortium, will hunt the genetic mutations that drive 50 different types of cancer — from breast to bone. The consortium, in which Canada will play a lead role, plans to share results rapidly, widely and freely so scientists can quickly develop new diagnostic tests and treatments.

Each member country plans to spend roughly $20-million (U.S.) tackling at least one subtype of the disease, collecting specimen samples from 500 patients, and studying the genetic glitches they find in their cancerous cells. With 50 cancers to be studied, not all of them have been assigned a country yet.

But China, for example, intends to study liver cancer, because the country has particularly high rates of that disease. Japan will take on gastric cancer. India has an interest in oral cancers, France in sarcomas — cancers of the bone and connective tissue. Several countries will focus on breast cancers, including Britain and the United States, where research groups are also interested in brain and colon cancers."

Watch and protect yourself from Pancreatitits Cancer

"Men who frequently masturbate appear to have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, Australian researchers have reported.

Researchers from the Cancer Council of Victoria found that men who masturbated more than five times each week were a third less likely to develop the cancer.

The study surveyed 1,000 men who developed prostate cancer and 1,250 men who did not, between the ages of 20 and 50, it is reported by PlanetOut.

Researchers told the BBC last week that the prostate produces one of the fluids involved in ejaculation and that frequent masturbation appears to flush out carcinogens.

Sexual intercourse may not have the same effect because it increases the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, which could raise the risk of cancer, it is reported."

Masturbation may prevent prostate cancer - Yahoo! News

"Frequent masturbation may help men cut their risk of contracting prostate cancer, Australian researchers have found. It is believed that carcinogens may build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly, BBC News reported on Wednesday. The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer, and 1,250 men who had not. They found that men who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to get cancer. Men who ejaculated more than five times each week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer."

The Pancreatic Cancer Network Help

"The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (http://www.pancan.org) released today a new Public Service Announcement (PSA: 90.76, -2.04, -2.19%) featuring Carnegie Mellon Professor, Dr. Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer and whose 'last lecture' reflecting on life's lessons has become an internet sensation. During the PSA, Pausch speaks about his diagnosis and the urgent need to fund pancreatic cancer research. Currently, less than 2% of the National Cancer Institute's federal research funding is allocated to pancreatic cancer, a figure farnightlife. High-tech, low-key. Big city, college town. Qgiven the severity of the disease. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States, yet it is the most under-recognized and least studied among all leading cancer killers.
'Randy Pausch has been an amazing champion for the pancreatic cancer community, and we are grateful for his time and efforts on behalf of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network,' stated President and CEO, Julie Fleshman. 'While Randy's efforts will not save his life, we hope the public will understand the sense of city with a heart and with a soul. Cosmopolitan, yet unpretentious. Thriving cultural scene and vibrant nightlife. High-tech, low-key. Big city, college town. Quirky and far from ordinary, it's the kind of place where you check your worries at the city limits sign, trade in suits for something a bit more urgency behind his message. We need to take action now by raising the appropriate funds for pancreatic cancer research that will ultimately lead to a cure.'
'There are very few advocates for this disease because patients don't live long enough, but I have been given a platform by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to raise my voice for this community,' added Dr. Pausch. 'With increased funding for research, the best scientific minds can make strides against this deadly disease and give patients a fighting chance.'"

Conflicting reports on Swayze cancer

"American actor Patrick Swayze, best known for his roles in the movies 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Ghost', has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, 'People' magazine reported Wednesday.

Rumors were swirling last week on the Internet about the severity of his condition. Army Radio reported Thursday that Swayze was given five weeks to live and had already lost 10 kg.

Swayze's doctor, George Fisher, contradicted such reports in a statement on Thursday. "Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far.

"All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic."

The 55-year-old actor was voted Sexiest Man Alive by 'People' magazine in 1991, is reportedly continuing his normal schedule and working on upcoming projects.

The US National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 37,680 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2008 with 34,290 deaths in the US; only 5 percent of patients live more than five years after being diagnosed."

Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer, doctor says he's working

"Patrick Swayze is being treated for pancreatic cancer but is doing well enough to continue working, his representative said Wednesday.
The "Dirty Dancing" actor has a very limited amount of disease and appears to be responding well to treatment, according to Dr. George Fisher, Swayze's physician. Fisher's prognosis was included in a statement released Wednesday by Swayze's representative, Annett Wolf.
"Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects," the statement said.
It also said earlier reports that Swayze had a matter of weeks to live were exaggerated. "All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic."
Swayze, 55, has two films in the works: the movie "Powder Blue," and a television movie titled "The Beast," according to the Web site imdb.com. Both are scheduled for release this year."

Avastin OK

"In a surprise decision, the Food and Drug Administration played against type and gave approval for Avastin as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer. It was the right option for terminally ill women, who will gain another weapon against a disease that kills about 40,000 every year.

In clinical trials, Genentech's biologic drug was shown to control the growth and spread of tumors, doubling the amount of time before illness worsened. That translates into an improvement in quality of life, and the results were corroborated by further studies.

Avastin shouldn't have been controversial. But an FDA panel ruled that "progression-free survival" was not sufficient, because the agency's usual acid test for anticancer agents is extending life overall. Such an analysis overlooks the real benefits to women in the months they have left. But as late as last week, it looked as though approval would be delayed or rejected outright.

The "accelerated approval" granted to Avastin is contingent on follow-up trials, and Avastin could be pulled from the market if future research fails to demonstrate that treatment prolongs life. In an interview with us on Monday, oncology drugs chief Richard Padzur said that the FDA was "not demanding" a survival advantage but would consider it a factor. In 2005, the lung cancer drug Iressa was approved and then withdrawn under similar conditions, and the danger is that history will repeat itself.

As for the notion that the decision portends a shift in the way the FDA evaluates cancer drugs, Dr. Padzur assured us that it "not a new step in our regulatory decision making." He emphasized that prolonging life was still the FDA's primary criterion, and noted that Avastin was green-lighted because its quality-of-life benefits were "statistically robust." Yet the narrowness with which the FDA balances risk and reward was the reason Avastin was contentious -- especially Dr. Padzur's statistical models.

FDA evaluation methods insist on large average effects and simplistic mortality rates. Only about 10% of patients responded to Iressa, for instance, and could be identified by genetic tests; but these targeted results didn't mesh with the arbitrary FDA approach. Other innovative medicines like Provenge (for prostrate cancer) and Junovan (for pediatric bone cancer) are pointlessly blocked by Dr. Padzur's division, and the risk is that Avastin still could be too, whatever its current reprieve."

Pancreatic Cancer: The Smaller The Tumor, The Better Your Chances, Study Shows

The odds of surviving cancer of the pancreas increase dramatically for patients whose tumors are smallest, according to a new study by researchers at Saint Louis University and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston -- the first study to specifically evaluate the link between tumor size and survival rates for one of the most common and deadly cancers.

Cure for cancer - maybe....worth a shot

Cure for cancer prevent cancer with Amygdalin laetrile vitamin b17 apricot seeds and more

GenVec will save your life

"GenVec (GNVC) is a smallcap biotech trying to become a bigcap. Its lead product, TNFerade, is currently in a pivotal Phase II/III study [PACT] in locally advanced pancreatic cancer; Phase II studies are in progress in rectal cancer and melanoma, and Phase I/II studies are in progress in head and neck cancer. GenVec also uses its proprietary adenovector technology to develop vaccines for infectious diseases including HIV, malaria, seasonal and pandemic flu and foot and mouth disease. During GenVec's most recent discussions with the FDA, the FDA agreed to change the primary endpoint of the PACT trial to overall survival from one year survival. "

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