New Drug for Soft Tissue Sarcoma Doing Well in Clinical Trials

Sarcoma is cancer of the connective tissue such as muscle, cartilage, blood vessels, nerves and bones. Soft tissue (non-bone) sarcomas are rare, but they can occur in many parts of the body such as muscle or fat of the extremities or the trunk. They can also occur in the abdomen, pelvis or chest. There are many types of soft tissue sarcomas, but most are treated in the same way. Some common soft tissue sarcomas include fibrosarcoma, liposarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and synovial sarcoma.

CytRx Corporation a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced that favorable results from a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial with aldoxorubicin (formerly INNO-206) in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma will be featured in a poster and discussion presentation at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) 17th Annual Meeting on November 15 in Prague, Czech Republic.

The abstract, "Aldoxorubicin (INNO-206) is an active drug for the treatment of relapsed or refractory soft tissue sarcomas," will be presented by the clinical trial's principal investigator Dr. Sant Chawla, M.D., F.R.A.C.P. Dr. Chawla, a world renowned expert in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas, is Director of the Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica, Calif. The Phase 1b/2 clinical trial results, first announced in early June 2012 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference, showed clinical benefit (defined as partial response and stable disease of more than four months following up to eight cycles of treatment) with aldoxorubicin at the maximum tolerated dose in 10 of 13 evaluable patients with advanced, metastatic soft tissue sarcomas who had either not responded or relapsed after receiving one to three prior chemotherapies. Eight of the 13 patients had been treated previously with doxorubicin.

"We are excited to share the powerful data from our aldoxorubicin clinical trial with experts from the international oncology community at this preeminent sarcoma conference, as well as at the upcoming ESMO 2012 Congress in Vienna, Austria," said Steven A. Kriegsman, CytRx President and CEO. "The results from this clinical trial are impressive, especially given that these patients had failed prior chemotherapy regimens. Further, there were no observed cardiac toxicities with aldoxorubicin in this clinical trial, with cardiac toxicity considered a major dose-limiting factor for standard doxorubicin. Again, we thank Dr. Chawla for his valuable time to present at these international conferences."

http://www.4-traders.com/CYTRX-CORPORATION-8996/news/CytRx-Corporation-CytRx-s-Aldoxorubicin-Clinical-Data-Selected-for-Presentation-at-Preeminent-Sarc-14513124/

New Genetic Test Which Identifies DNA Changes in Tumors

The Cancer Genetics Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine now offers the Cancer Exome Sequencing test, which uses next-generation sequencing to identify acquired changes in the DNA of a patient’s tumor.

“Cancer exome sequencing is poised to change the current paradigm of genetic testing for cancer patients,” said Dr. Federico Monzon, director of molecular pathology at the Cancer Genetics Laboratory at BCM. “Rather than testing a single gene or panel of genes, cancer exome sequencing will provide comprehensive profile of acquired mutations in tumor tissue.”

DNA change due to cancerous tumors

The term exome refers to the portion of the human genome that contains the DNA sequence that directs protein synthesis. These functionally important regions of DNA are referred to as exons. The 22,000 known genes are comprised of approximately 180,000 exons and represent about 3 percent of the genome.

Most errors in DNA sequence that lead to altered protein function in tumors are located in theexons; therefore, exome sequencing is an efficient method for tumor DNA sequence analysis to uncover genetic causes for tumor behavior.

Some of these acquired mutations can be used to predict tumor aggressiveness or determine the likelihood of response/resistance to targeted agents or other forms of cancer therapy.

“We are entering a new era in individualized cancer diagnosis and treatment in which molecular profiling of the cancer as well as the patient will determine the optimal therapeutic approach for a given patient,” said Dr. C. Kent Osborne, director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM.

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Caution: News of Two Breast Cancer Drugs That are Toxic to the Heart

If you have previously taken the drugs that will be mentioned in the following article then it would be advantageous for you to have your heart checked for any abnormalities. Also, if you are being currently treated for breast cancer please be aware of the names of your chemo drugs and double check with your nurse and physician.

The two drugs are Anthrocycline and Trastuzumab which may be know as the following:

                                                   This is an anthrocycline drug.

                                            This is an trastuzumab drug that is popular.

Women who screen positive for breast cancer through a lab test should be cautious about using two chemotherapy drugs. Findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicate that these treatments may contribute to heart problems.

After examining the medical history of 12,500 invasive breast cancer patients, the researchers determined that women taking the chemotherapy drugs anthracycline or trastuzumab had a substantially higher chance of experiencing heart failure or cardiomyopathy. The risk was even greater for women taking both medications.

"These drugs are toxic. They kill cancer cells, and sometimes kill other cells in the body, too. [But they] are still important for women with breast cancer to use, because we know they improve survival. As with any drug, people need to be aware of the risks, too," said lead author Erin Aiello Bowles of the Group Health Research Institute.

The American Cancer Association (ACA) says that a lab test for cancer markers can detect the presence of cancer, and gauge whether or not a cancer drug treatment is working.

http://www.privatemdlabs.com/blood-testing-news/Breast/Two-breast-cancer-drugs-linked-to-heart-problems$800854404.php

Why Muscular Cancer Is Very Rare

How many times have you heard of muscular cancer? Never, would be the answer from most people?  Cancer of the muscles are very rare. Why does cancer not develop in muscles?

                                           

                                                  Post mitotic cells

First, muscle cancers do occur, but they are rare. The reason muscle cells rarely become cancerous is that they are "post-mitotic cells.

Post-mitotic means the cells no longer replicate themselves via mitosis. The process of carcinogenesis occurs in cells that are replicating. The process of carcinogenesis begins with a mutation in a cell that is passed on to the daughter cell when the initial cell replicates - this process is called "Initiation".

As more and more of these mutated daughter cells replicate, the potential for more mutations occurs (again mutation occurs during the process of cell replication called mitosis). This process of ongoing development of additional mutations is called "Promotion". At this stage of carcinogenesis a "tumor" has formed, but it is not yet cancerous.

The final stage of carcinogenesis is called "Progression". This last stage occurs when tumor cells acquire additional mutations (again, mutations require cell replication) that allow the tumor cells to spread (metastasize) - thus, becoming "cancer".

You can get sarcoma muscle cancer which is a cancer of the soft tissue that support the muscles.

Sarcoma Muscle Cancer - Soft tissues are the tissues that connect, support or surround organs of the body or other structures such as muscles, tendons, fat, blood vessels, nerves and tissue around the joints. Malignant or cancerous tumors that develop in a child's soft tissue are called sarcomas. They are relatively uncommon, accounting for less than 1 percent of all new cancer cases each year.

http://www.squidoo.com/sarcoma-muscle-cancer

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Carry Key for Pathogenic Transformation

The cells of lymphocytic leukemia carry the key for pathogenic transformation. The understanding of these mechanisms could help the medical community to create new therapies with reduced side affects.

Researchers in the group of Prof. Dr. Hassan Jumaa, Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS) of the University of Freiburg, Department for Molecular Immunology, have identified a new mechanism that causes immune cells to convert into malignant cancer cells. In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), one of the most common types of blood cancer in the Western world, cells themselves carry the key for the pathogenic transformation, the scientists report in the journal “Nature”. Understanding these underlying mechanisms could facilitate new therapies with reduced side effects.

In healthy humans, a subgroup of white blood cells, so-called B-lymphocytes, are responsible for producing antibodies that fight infections. Special receptor molecules of B-lymphocytes detect pathogenic agents via the key-lock principle and consequently start producing antibodies. In patients with CLL, however, abnormal forms of these receptors lead to uncontrolled reproduction of malignant B-lymphocytes. As a result, healthy cells of the immune system get repressed.

"Up to now, it was assumed that agents produced in the bodies of patients dock at the receptor and thereby activate CLL lymphocytes”, Jumaa says. “In our study we could show that specific components of the receptors are responsible for the development of CLL.” In B-lymphocytes of CLL patients, receptor components FR2 and HCDR3 are formed in such a manner that they represent key and lock of the receptor. “Hereby, neighboring receptors of the same cells activate each other and trigger a signalling cascade, which finally causes uncontrolled division of cancer cells.”

Currently, approaches like chemotherapy that suppress symptoms in a relatively unspecific manner are applied in CLL treatment. “Based on decoding the molecular basics of CLL, we now strive to translate this knowledge to make it useful for patients”, Marcus Dühren-von Minden says, another author of the study. “It is conceivable to administer numerous copies of the key FR2 to patients, which then dock to the receptors and prevent neighboring receptors to bind at each other. This stops the consequential signalling cascade.” Through this mechanism, the course of the disease could be precluded much earlier than before, and with less side effects.

                                        This video is about targeting B-cell therapy in Lymphoma.

For more http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120813074019.htm

A New Lab Test Detecting Early Stage of Breast Cancer

What would it mean to women to know that a lab test was available to detect early breast cancer in conjunction with a mammogram?  This would definitely give them confidence that the report is very accurate.

Breast cancer is the fear of most women because it is the number one cause of cancer death in this population

Great news has opened up for detecting a protein that is on the surface of breast cancer cells. The name of the protein is Nodal.

In the new research, the scientists monitored a group of laboratory mice that were designed to serve as models of breast cancer. Once the disease manifested itself, the researchers experimented by turning off expression of Nodal, a protein that is normally found on stem cells but also exists on the surface of breast cancer cells. Shutting down this protein caused the blood vessels that nourished the tumors to collapse, depriving the malignant tissue of the resources it needs to survive.

"Ultimately it would be nice to target Nodal in patients who already have quite advanced, well-vascularized tumors as a new option for therapy," said lead study author Daniela Quail. "Currently, patients like this don't have many options."

In the U.S., more than 228,000 individuals will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, according to the National Cancer Institute. A lab test may help with early detection.

This video above explains the new Nodal discovery and how this information will be used to shut down aggressive breast cancer.

http://www.privatemdlabs.com/blood-testing-news/Breast/Scientists-find-new-potential-target-for-breast-cancer$800833561.php

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Study Show What Supplements One Can Use to Reduce the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer.

A study over several years was conducted to see if certain supplements could reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. You may already be taking these cancer reducing antioxidants on a daily basis.

Vitamins C and E, as well as the mineral selenium, are antioxidants that may help neutralize the effects of free radicals. Such compounds may cause genetic damage, which, alongside factors such as type 2 diabetes and poor diet, may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Every year, more than a quarter of a million people around the world die from this disease.

In order to understand the effects of diet, a team of scientists reviewed food surveys completed by more than 23,000 individuals aged 40 to 74. Between 1993 and 2010, some 86 study participants developed pancreatic cancer.

Analysis of the surveys revealed that individuals in the top quartile of consumption of vitamins C, E and selenium were 67 percent less likely to have pancreatic cancer than people in the bottom quartile."If a causal association is confirmed by reporting consistent findings from other epidemiological studies, then population based dietary recommendations may help to prevent pancreatic cancer," the researchers said.

In the meantime, individuals who are concerned about their risk of pancreatic cancer may undergo a lab test for several disease markers.



http://www.privatemdlabs.com/blood-testing-news/Cancer_Detection_and_Tumor_Markers/Three-antioxidants-may-decrease-pancreatic-cancer-risk$800824885.php