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Researchers at Dana-Farber have found that normal myoepithelial cells, which form part of the lining of the milk ducts, suppress fibroblasts that promote tumor growth and invasion, but when certain genes in the myoepithelial layer become under- or overactive, the layer breaks down and disappears, enabling tumor cells to spread.

GENEVA-A free online database brings together data on all of the known somatic mutations in EGFR, coupled with data on the response of NSCLCs treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Samuel Murray, PhD, of Metropolitan Hospital, Athens, Greece, reported at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference (abstract 750).

Young people who live in towns where regulations ban smoking in restaurants may be less likely to become established smokers, Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, of Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues reported (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 162:477-483, 2008).

LUGANO, Switzerland-The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) (Brussels) have united forces to host a co-branded biennial multidisciplinary partnership meeting to provide “the best and most updated scientific data for everyone working in cancer,” the two organizations announced in a press release.

ORLANDO­-“Unresectable” colorectal cancer liver metastases may actually be resectable with a two-stage hepatectomy approach, Rene Adam, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Paul Brousse, Villejuif, France, said at the 2008 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (abstract 283).

ORLANDO-In a subset of patients with colorectal liver metastases, a pathologic complete response can be achieved with preoperative chemotherapy, rendering “uncommonly high” disease-free and overall survival rates, French investigators reported at the 2008 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (abstract 333).

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts-Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has initiated a multicenter phase IIa clinical trial of Azedra (Ultratrace iobenguane I-131 or Ultratrace MIBG) for the treatment of children with high-risk neuroblastoma.

IRVINE, California-NuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has dosed the first patient in a single-center phase I clinical trial of its first-in-class rexinoid receptor (RXR) agonist NRX4204.

A new meta-analysis showing an increased mortality risk with ESAs, combined with new laboratory data on the mechanisms of ESA toxicity, may cause clinicians, and FDA, to re-think their use.

This update, of patients with 11 months or greater follow-up, showed a complete hematologic response in 77% of patients receiving nilotinib, with a major cytogenetic response in 57.

With this issue, regular readers of Oncology News International will notice a new look to the publication. We’ve introduced a new design that we believe is cleaner, more functional, and more appealing to the eye than what we’ve used in the past.

ORLANDO-In newly diagnosed, early chronic phase, Ph+ chronic myelogenous leukemia, nilotinib (Tasigna) quickly induced complete cytogenetic responses and was well tolerated, Jorge Cortes, MD, of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said at ASH 2007 (abstract 29).

In a landmark trial, DFMO plus sulindac reduced the risk of advanced adenomas by 92% in high-risk patients, with low toxicity.

In high-grade malignant glioma patients, functional diffusion maps showed tumor response to radiation therapy at 3 weeks after treatment initiation, compared with 10 weeks for traditional volumetric assessment of radiological response.

Putting fertility issues on the back burner should no longer be an option for oncologists who treat young adult cancer patients, especially as newer fertility preservation options become available, a number of reproductive medicine specialists told ONI.

The media played up the finding that colonoscopy may be missing so-called flat polyps, but a number of CT colonography experts interviewed by ONI see no need for panic.

A recent study in elderly breast cancer patients that linked earlier-stage disease, and possibly improved survival, with regular screening mammography is “fatally flawed” and “naïve,” according to some cancer screening experts.

SAN DIEGO-Presentations at AACR 2008 highlighted two new agents under development by Amgen with potential for use in treating colorectal cancer.

The care of cancer survivors is gaining new, much needed attention as the number of survivors in this country tops 11 million and there is recognition of the unique unmet needs of this group as a whole. In their article, Marcia Grant and Denise Economou trace the emergence of the cancer survivorship movement through private and federal agency reports and advocacy and service-based programs.

People living with cancer may experience nerve pain often described as tingling, burning, or numbness. Problems with coordination also may be present. These symptoms may be associated with a peripheral neuropathy. In this condition, nerves outside the brain and spinal cord have been damaged, often by the cancer treatments themselves.

Drug is a kinase inhibitor that blocks the action of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). mTOR plays an important role in regulating key cellular functions, such as cell proliferation, survival, movement, and angiogenesis. It is part of the P13K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase)/Akt (protein kinase) signaling pathway which is often mutated in cancer. When mTOR is blocked, this leads to cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.

Students at Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington will be the first in the nation to be offered a specialized training program in proton therapy.

Do all the bloody scenes from some of last year’s top-rated movies-There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Sweeney Todd-suggest that the American Society of Hematology is doing product placement?

The 2008 Oncology on Canvas: Expressions of a Cancer Journey art competition and exhibition, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company in partnership with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, is accepting entries to be received no later than June 30, 2008.

A study based on nearly 23,000 patients at 1,178 US healthcare facilities has found that FDG-PET or PET/CT led referring physicians to alter their opinion about the optimal treatment for 36.5% of cancer patients.

Xoft, Inc’s Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System, initially FDA approved for accelerated partial breast irradiation in patients with resected early-stage breast cancer, has now received expanded FDA clearance for the treatment of other cancers or conditions where radiation therapy is indicated.

Merck & Co., Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application for use of Gardasil in women aged 27 through 45 has been accepted by the FDA and designated for priority review.

Optical tomography with ultrasound localization has the potential to monitor tumor vascular changes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a pilot study in which the modality was able to distinguish between responders and nonresponders, and even between complete and partial pathologic responses. Susan Tannenbaum, MD, of the University of Connecticut, Farmington, described the approach at the 2007 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract 45).

When given as intended with radiation therapy, the dose-intense Stanford V regimen is well-tolerated, safe, and effective for treating bulky or advanced Hodgkin lymphoma, based on the experience of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.