Researchers may have uncovered why lung cancer afflicts some smokers and not others, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009 (see also American Association for Cancer Research). “A history of smoking has always been thought of as a predictor of lung cancer, but it is actually not very accurate,” said Jian-Min Yuan, Ph.D., M.D., associate professor of public health at the University of Minnesota. “Smoking absolutely increases your risk, but why it does so in some people but not others is a big question.” Yuan and colleagues hypothesized that the presence of the metabolite NNAL in a patient’s urine might predict risk of lung cancer. This metabolite has been shown to induce lung…
Black patients suffering from lung cancer are less likely to receive recommended chemotherapy and surgery than white lung cancer patients, a disparity that shows no signs of lessening. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the May 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study’s findings indicate that efforts are needed to provide appropriate treatments for black patients and to educate them about the value of those treatments. Researchers led by Dale Hardy, Ph.D., of the University of Texas School of Public Health analyzed data from 83,101 patients 65 years old or older who were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer, between 1991 and 2002….
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Celera Corporation today announced the presentation of data describing a novel mass spectrometry-based approach to identify and validate circulating protein biomarkers that detect non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A key outcome of the study was the assembly of an immunoassay test for a panel of 6 biomarkers that detected lung cancer with 94% sensitivity and 93% specificity in a blinded analysis. In addition to detecting all stages of lung cancer studied and all major histological subtypes, the panel also accurately distinguished malignant cases from benign lung disease. The data will be presented from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. MDT today as poster #3542 at the 100th Annual American Association for Cancer…
A nicotine compound called NNAL appears to be a bellwether for smokers of their risk of lung cancer, according to new University of Minnesota research results. Evaluating urine samples from 491 smokers, U tobacco researcher Jian-Min Yuan found that high levels of NNAL doubled the risk of lung cancer. Even moderate levels of the compound increased the cancer risk among the smokers by 43 percent. “We’ve known for a long time that smoking increases a person’s risk for getting lung cancer, but we have not been able to clearly answer why one smoker would eventually develop lung cancer and another one would not,” Yuan said. “Now we know one definitive link.” The results were presented Sunday at a national cancer research convention and p…
WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced new data demonstrating the anticancer activity of its investigational drug, pralatrexate, in colon, ovarian, lung, prostate, and head and neck cancer cell lines. The preclinical research further showed that the antiproliferative effects against these cancer lines were achieved at drug concentrations that are attainable in humans. These data were presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. The results, outlined in a poster titled “Cytotoxicity of Pralatrexate, a Novel Synthetic Antifolate, in Human Cancer Cell Lines (abstract #1686),” demonstrate anticancer activity of pralatrexate in nine of 15 human cel…
Multiple, anatomically distinct lung cancer tumors may frequently arise from a single cancer cell, according to a retrospective analysis of patient tumor samples published in the April 7 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some lung cancer patients have multiple anatomically distinct tumors at the time of diagnosis. Although such multiple tumors usually share a common appearance, it has been unclear whether they arise from a single tumor or are independent primary cancers. In the current study, Liang Cheng, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and colleagues examined 70 lung cancer tumors from 23 female and seven male patients to determine whether multiple tumors from an individ…
Higher doses of radiation combined with chemotherapy improve survival in patients with stage III lung cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Standard treatment for this stage of lung cancer — when the tumor is likely too large to be removed through surgery — involves a combination of radiation therapy with chemotherapy. But, this new study finds, giving chemotherapy at the same time as the radiation enhances the effect of both. Further, increasing the dose of radiation over the course of treatment also increased survival. “When patients are diagnosed with stage III lung cancer, surgery is often not an option, and survival rates are typically quite low. Finding new w…
Multiple, anatomically distinct lung cancer tumors may frequently arise from a single cancer cell, according to a retrospective analysis of patient tumor samples published in the April 7 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some lung cancer patients have multiple anatomically distinct tumors at the time of diagnosis. Although such multiple tumors usually share a common appearance, it has been unclear whether they arise from a single tumor or are independent primary cancers. In the current study, Liang Cheng, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and colleagues examined 70 lung cancer tumors from 23 female and seven male patients to determine whether multiple tumors from an individ…
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.– Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, today announced that it has reached its enrollment target of 400 patients in the SPEAR (Study of Picoplatin Efficacy After Relapse) trial. This global, pivotal Phase 3 trial is evaluating the efficacy and safety of picoplatin in patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who have failed prior platinum-containing first-line chemotherapy or who have progressed within six months of first-line therapy. Patients have been enrolled at more than 100 clinical trial sites in 16 countries in Europe, South America and Asia. “Completion of patient enrollment in our pivotal Phase 3 SPEAR trial represents an import…
SAN DIEGO — Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pioneer in drug discovery from marine microbial sources, today announced that it is conducting a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the vascular disrupting agent (VDA) NPI-2358 in combination with standard chemotherapy (docetaxel) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study follows on positive outcomes in the Phase 1 study assessing the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the combination. Preclinical and clinical data suggest that VDAs may be complementary or synergistic with chemotherapeutics and anti-angiogenesis agents due to the different targets and mechanisms of action. In addition, the non-overlapping side effect profile of VDAs compa…
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Med BioGene Inc. today announced that it has expanded its previous exclusive license and collaboration with the University Health Network in Toronto to develop and commercialize LungExpress Dx(TM) to include additional novel gene expression-based markers for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). LungExpress Dx(TM) is a proprietary gene expression-based assay for early-stage NSCLC that will be used to predict a patient’s prognosis for survival and the magnitude of benefit for adjuvant chemotherapy. “Not all patients benefit from chemotherapy and not all patients require chemotherapy after surgery,” said Dr. Ming-Sound Tsao of the University Health Network. “Knowing that a patie…
Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, targeted cancer therapeutics, announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead product candidate obatoclax (GX15-070) for the treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In this multi-center, randomized, open-label Phase 2 study, clinical effect of a combination of carboplatin, etoposide and obatoclax (the CEO regimen) will be compared to the standard chemotherapeutic therapy of carboplatin and etoposide alone (the control arm) in patients with SCLC. The primary endpoint of the study, expected to enroll approximately 150 patients with SCLC, is comparison of overall response rate (ORR) for the obatoclax-contain…
Accuray Incorporated, a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced significant growth in CyberKnife lung cancer treatments in calendar year 2008. The number of lung cancer patients treated with CyberKnife radiosurgery in the United States grew 52 percent from calendar year 2007 to 2008 and 43 percent worldwide. Additionally the overall number of patients treated with CyberKnife radiosurgery grew to more than 60,000 patients – a 14 percent increase from calendar year 2007 to 2008, demonstrating the increasing awareness and continued rapid adoption of CyberKnife radiosurgery, with lung being the leading extracranial indication by utilization in calendar year 2008. The increasing interest in CyberKnife radiosurgery for lung tumor…
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. radiologists say they have developed a new lung cancer treatment that avoids conventional radiation regimens or surgical procedures. Temple University Professor Curtis Miyamoto, who led the research, said the technique — stereotactic body radiotherapy — improves the odds of surviving early stage lung cancer. “With the success of this technique, we’re now questioning whether we’ll even be doing surgeries on these patients in the future,” Miyamoto said. Unlike conventional radiation therapy for lung cancer that can involve therapy five days a week for six or seven weeks, the SBRT treatment requires only three to eight treatments. For those who undergo SBRT, the median survival range is more tha…
Europeans with the least education have a higher incidence of lung cancer compared with those with the highest education. However, smoking history accounts for approximately half of this risk, according to a study in the February 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Previous studies showed that individuals with a lower socioeconomic status have a higher risk for developing lung cancer. Some studies have also suggested that some of the excess risk of lung cancer is due to smoking. To further investigate the contribution of smoking to the discrepancy in lung cancer incidence, Gwenn Menvielle, Ph.D., and colleagues examined the association of smoking, diet, education, and lung cancer in 391,251 individuals in…
VILLEJUIF, France — Europeans with the least level of education have a higher incidence of lung cancer compared to those with the highest level of education, researchers said. However, the study published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found smoking history accounts for approximately half of the risk of developing lung cancer. Gwenn Menvielle and colleagues examined the association of smoking, diet, education, and lung cancer in 391,251 individuals in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Menvielle, who conducted the research in The Netherlands at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment and the department of public health of the Erasmus…
HONG KONG — Sputum cytology and bronchoscopy examinations could help detecting early central airway lung cancer, researchers of the University of Hong Kong said here Tuesday. The university’s Faculty of Medicine conducted the study by screening about 400 lung cancer high-risk cases starting from 2002. The cases involved were smokers aged 40 or above, who smoked more than 20 packs of cigarettes a year. Sputum examinations followed by bronchoscopies were done among the cases. The result showed that none of the central airway cancer cases was missed by sputum cytology. More than 46 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer were in early stages. The faculty’s Honorary Clinical Assistant Professor Lam Bing said Tuesday…
WASHINGTON — A study of nearly 1.3 million British women offers yet more evidence that moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of a handful of cancers. British researchers surveyed middle-aged women at breast cancer screening clinics about their drinking habits, and tracked their health for seven years. A quarter of the women reported no alcohol use. Nearly all the rest reported fewer than three drinks a day; the average was one drink a day. Researchers compared the lightest drinkers – two or fewer drinks a week – with people who drank more. Each extra drink per day increased the risk of breast, rectal and liver cancer, University of Oxford researchers reported Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The t…
Postmenopausal women who take multivitamins appear to have the same risk of most common cancers, cardiovascular disease or dying of any cause as women who do not take multivitamin supplements, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. About half of Americans use dietary supplements, spending more than $20 billion per year on these products, according to background information in the article. “The motivations for supplement use vary, but common reasons include the belief that these preparations will prevent chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease,” the authors write. “These views are often fueled by product health claims, consumer testimonials and…
Strasbourg, France — Transgene S.A. today announced additional data from the ongoing controlled Phase IIb clinical study of its therapeutic vaccine TG4010 (MVA-MUC1-IL2) as an adjunct to first line chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The data at 21 months of median follow up confirms a statistically- significant 6-month increase in median survival (17.1 months in the experimental arm versus 11.3 months in the control arm) in patients with normal levels of activated Natural Killer cells at baseline (some 75% of the patients in the trial), a sub-population identified by Transgene’s biomarker programme([1]). The measurement of this biomarker is based on flow cytometry, a technique r…
DURHAM, N.C. — A tumor’s cellular structure, or histology, improves treatment decisions that may lead to improved outcomes for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer, according to a paper in the latest issue of “The Oncologist.” The findings are based on an analysis of recent studies of the chemotherapy drug pemetrexed to treat NSCLC. “The data confirm that histology matters when treating NSCLC,” says Professor Giorgio Scagliotti, M.D., of University of Turin, lead author of the new report. Prof. Scagliotti and colleagues analyzed data from two recent phase III studies of pemetrexed for NSCLC, which accounts for about 90 percent of all lung cancers. They focused on how…
Genentech, Inc. announced that a Phase III study (ATLAS) of Tarceva (erlotinib) in combination with Avastin (bevacizumab) as maintenance therapy following initial treatment with Avastin plus chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) met its primary endpoint. The study was stopped early on the recommendation of an independent data safety monitoring board after a pre-planned interim analysis showed that combining Tarceva and Avastin significantly extended the time patients lived without their disease advancing, as defined by progression-free survival (PFS), compared to Avastin plus placebo. A preliminary safety analysis showed adverse events were consistent with previous Avastin or Tarceva studies, as well as trials evaluati…
An Australian-first research project is hoping the use of a more delicate screening process to help boost early detection of lung cancer. But a doctor involved in the study says recruitment of patients for the study has been initially slow, because of a public perception that lung cancer is a self-inflicted disease. Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer deaths in the world, with 7,000 deaths in Australia and 8,000 new cases detected each year. The project uses computer tomography (CT) scans to spot potential cancer nodules in the chest region that a traditional chest X-ray might not detect. Prince Charles Hospital researcher Doctor Henry Marshall says so far around 30 people have volunteered for the project. “Smoking and…
Disparities in survival among black patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer are not seen when patients are recommended appropriate treatment, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States than any other cancer, according to background information in the article. Pulmonary resection or surgery to remove a portion of the lung provides the best chance for patients with early-stage disease to be cured. “Black patients with early-stage lung cancer have lower five-year survival rates than white patients, and this difference in outcome has been attributed to lower rates of resection among black patients,” the authors write. “Sever…
Cancer and cell biology experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified a new tumor suppressor that may help scientists develop more targeted drug therapies to combat lung cancer. The study, led by Jorge Moscat, PhD, appears in the January 2009 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Proto-oncogenes are genes that play a role in normal cell growth (turnover of cells and tissue) but, when genetically modified, can cause the out-of-control cell division that leads to cancer. Previous research had established that Ras, a proto-oncogene, is abnormally expressed in up to 25 percent of human lung cancers; however, researchers did not understand the specific cellular events by which abnormal Ras expression leads to transformati…
WASHINGTON — Just three weeks into the 111th Congress, United States Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)and Sam Brownback(R-KS) reintroduced the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009, legislation authorizing a comprehensive, multi-agency research effort to reduce lung cancer’s mortality. The Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009 declares lung cancer a public health priority, authorizes the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Defense and Veterans Affairs to combine their key assets and to develop a comprehensive and coordinated research program with a goal of cutting lung cancer’s mortality in half by 2016. The first year of the five year bill would be funded at no less than $75 million. Additional sums are…
A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a protein produced by cancerous lung epithelial cells that enhances metastasis by stimulating the activity of inflammatory cells. Their findings, to be published in the January 1 issue of the journal Nature, explain how advanced cancer cells usurp components of the host innate immune system to generate an inflammatory microenvironment hospitable for the metastatic spread of lung cancer. The discovery could lead to a therapy to limit metastasis of this most common lethal form of cancer. The scientists headed by Michael Karin, Ph.D., UC San Diego Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Pathology, who has been investigating the effects of inf…
While examining patterns of DNA modification in lung cancer, a team of international researchers has discovered what they say is a surprising new mechanism. They say that “silencing” of a single gene in lung cancer led to a general impairment in genome-wide changes in cells, contributing to cancer development and progression. In the January 1, 2009, issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, they also report finding a strong link between modification of the key gene, MTHFR, and tobacco use by lung cancer patients even if the patient had smoked for a short period of time. The findings reinforce tobacco’s link to lung cancer development, but show that deactivating one specific gene through a pr…
London, UK, and Cambridge, MA — Antisoma plc announces that ‘ATTRACT-2′, a phase III trial testing ASA404 as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is now underway. This is a single pivotal study designed to support applications to market ASA404 for lung cancer patients who have received one previous round of treatment. A separate, ongoing pivotal trial, ATTRACT-1, is evaluating ASA404 in patients receiving their first treatment for NSCLC. Glyn Edwards, Antisoma’s CEO, said: “We’re delighted that our partner Novartis has decided to explore the potential of ASA404 in previously treated as well as newly diagnosed lung cancer patients. This will help to ensure that a wide range of patients could ben…
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the company has begun treating patients in a Phase 2, open label, single arm, multicenter clinical trial of sapacitabine (CYC682) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have had one prior chemotherapy. This study builds on the observation of prolonged stable disease of four months or longer experienced by heavily pretreated NSCLC patients involved in two Phase 1 studies of sapacitabine. The multicenter Phase 2 trial is led by Philip D. Bonomi, M.D., the Alice Pirie Wirtz Professor of Medical Oncology at the Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. “Nucleoside analogs, such as gemcitabine, have significant activity in NSCLC,”…
Lung Cancer | admin January 22, 2012 | 
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