Campaign Highlights Importance of Molecular Testing in Lung Cancer

NEW YORK, Nov 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — –People with Lung Cancer Invited to Submit Their Personal Stories

Kathryn Joosten, two-time Emmy(R) Award-winning actress and star of Desperate Housewives and The West Wing, is opening up about her 10-year battle with lung cancer as part of a new national campaign, Lung Cancer Profiles. Lung Cancer Profiles aims to reduce the stigma associated with lung cancer by educating about the diversity of the disease inside and out. The campaign, created by Pfizer Oncology in collaboration with the nation’s leading lung cancer advocacy groups, also seeks to educate about the role of molecular testing and its potential to uncover the unique genetic drivers of each person’s cancer, which can help doctors devise an individualized treatment plan rather than using a one-size-fits all approach.

“I have lung cancer and it’s nothing to hide–anyone can get lung cancer, everyone’s cancer is different and it’s reassuring that the science is catching on,” Ms. Joosten said. “When my cancer returned after eight years, I was discouraged, but my doctor recommended I get my tumor tested to see if it would affect my treatment plan. We were able to identify my particular type of lung cancer and find a clinical trial designed specifically for people with my tumor type. I am passionate about this campaign because I know, first-hand, how hard it can be to learn you have lung cancer, how important it is to get tested and how impactful sharing my story might be on the lives of others with lung cancer.”

(Nanowerk News) An investigation by a group of Thai researchers has demonstrated that Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) plays an important role in the migration and invasion of human lung cancer cells and that these effects are regulated by cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). The group used transfected human lung cancer cells with Cav-1 plasmid which were incubated and cultured prior to performing migration assay.

“The result of this investigation shows the effect of ROS on cell migratory functions is dependent on Cav-1 expression and is associated with Akt activity” said Dr. Ubonthip Nimmannit of National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC). “The activation of Akt activity by Cav-1 helps to mediate cancer cell migration and is likely to play an important role in the ROS induced effect on cell motility alteration”.

The investigation reveals the differential role of individual ROS on cancer cell mortility and Cav-1 expression helps to better understand tumor progression and metastasis which is considered important in cancer research.

The hot article on the cover of this month’s issue is from Andreas Keller and Christina Backes et al. whose artwork shows their discovery of novel microRNAs in peripheral blood of lung cancer patients. Using high-throughput SOLiD transcriptome sequencing they identified 76 previously unknown miRNAs and 41 novel mature forms of known precursors, which may potentially be used as biomarkers for the disease.

IOWA CITY – Researchers with UI Health Care have received a two-year, $340,023 grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate whether a ketogenic diet can increase the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy for lung and pancreatic cancer.

Despite advances in chemotherapy and radiation, the prognosis for locally advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic cancer remain poor. The new study, led by UI researchers Douglas Spitz, Ph.D., John Buatti, M.D., Daniel Berg, M.D., and Sudershan Bhatia, M.D., Ph.D., aims to exploit a fundamental flaw in cancer cell metabolism to improve outcomes for patients with these cancers.

Relative to normal cells, cancer cells require more glucose to overcome a defect in their mitochondrial metabolism. The ketogenic diet, which is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, deprives cancer cells of glucose and forces them to rely on their flawed mitochondrial metabolism. This causes oxidative stress in the cancer cells and appears to make them more susceptible to chemotherapy and radiation.

For the first time, investigators in the U.S. have demonstrated that it is possible to screen individuals with cancer for a variety of cancer-causing genetic mutations as part of normal clinical practice. Doctors have the ability to target tumors with the most suitable treatment by identifying patients’ individual genotypes within a fairly short time period.

The investigation was conducted in individuals with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although investigators are already using it in a variety of other cancers as well. The study is published in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology this week.

Individuals who suffer with NSCLC could have mutations in any of at least 14 different genes, although the number could be even higher. So far, it has only been possible to look for single or a small number of genetic mutations, but as several genes are found to be involved in more cancers, it is vital for researchers to develop methods to determine the mutational status of numerous genes at once.

Researchers Report Some Success Against Advanced Lung Cancer With Epigenetic Drugs

Nov. 9, 2011­ — A new approach to treating cancer appears to help certain patients with advanced lung cancer, and researchers say they think they may have a way of spotting those who will benefit.

The small study is generating big excitement in the world of cancer treatment because it demonstrates that so-called epigenetic drugs may work when traditional chemotherapy has failed.

Epigenetic drugs work by controlling gene expression — the way information from genes is used to create products such as proteins.

The study is published in Cancer Discovery.

“This is a … groundbreaking study, showing that by modifying the epigenetics of a cancer cell we can get real responses in lung cancer,” said Jeffrey A. Engleman, MD, PhD, director of thoracic oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, in a news briefing. “And getting real responses in lung cancer is actually quite difficult, so we take special notice of therapies that can do this.” He was not involved in the research.

Tübingen, Germany, November 7, 2011/ B3C newswire / – CureVac GmbH, the mRNA vaccine company, yesterday presented the results of a Phase I/IIa trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with CV9201, an mRNA-based cancer vaccine, in patients with NSCLC stage IIIB/IV after first-line chemo-radiotherapy or chemotherapy, respectively. The trial strived to assess safety and toxicity of CV9201 as well as its ability to induce antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in cancer patients. The results suggest that CV9201 is safe, well tolerated and biologically active. The trial evaluated a five dose regime of CV9201 delivered via intradermal injection in 46 patients.

The trial with CV9201, conducted in Germany and Switzerland, was the first to test an immunotherapy based on CureVac´s RNActive® vaccination technology in patients after heavy pre-treatment with chemotherapy. 65% of the phase IIa study patients responded to at least one antigen out of the five antigens in CV9201. “Importantly, CureVac‘s therapeutic mRNA vaccine CV9201 induces responses against multiple antigens in two thirds of immunologically responding patients. Moreover, we see profound B-cell activation in 61% of the patients. This makes an overall antigen-specific or B-cell response of 84%. We also see immune responses against all included antigens. All in all, these data are extremely encouraging and confirm our previous results in prostate cancer,” said Dr. Kajo Kallen, CSO and CMO of CureVac.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov 3, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — OXiGENE, Inc. OXGN -33.33% , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced final results today from the FALCON trial, a stratified, randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT(TM) (fosbretabulin tromethamine, or CA4P) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The final analysis of the data showed that the combination regimen of ZYBRESTAT plus bevacizumab, carboplatin and paclitaxel (ZYBRESTAT arm) was observed to be well-tolerated with no significant cumulative toxicities or overlapping toxicities with bevacizumab when compared with the control arm of the study (standard chemotherapy plus bevacizumab). In addition, an analysis of patients with tumor burden greater than 10 cm suggested meaningful improvements in overall survival for patients receiving ZYBRESTAT in addition to bevacizumab and chemotherapy. For patients with this large tumor burden, median overall survival was 14.2 months, compared with 11.0 months for patients on the control arm of the study. For the overall patient population, no survival benefit was observed for patients receiving ZYBRESTAT.

November 3, 2011 — Adding the targeted agent cetuximab (Erbitux) to chemotherapy significantly improves overall survival in some patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and an approach to identifying the patients who will benefit has now been found.

The finding comes from an analysis of the FLEX study, published online November 4 in the Lancet Oncology. It was presented earlier this year at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, and reported at the time by Medscape Medical News.

The analysis shows that NSCLC patients who have a high expression of epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) in their tumors have the best response when cetuximab (a monoclonal antibody directed against EGFR) is added to chemotherapy. This high EGFR expression was found in 31% of patients who were tested.

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–CollabRx, the company that leverages information technology to inform personalized cancer treatment planning, announces the release of a Targeted Therapy Finder application (“app”) for lung cancer. Targeted Therapy Finder apps are dynamically updated online resources that enable physicians and patients to identify diagnostic tests and clinical trials associated with therapies that “target” the unique genetic profiles of patients’ tumors. The Targeted Therapy Finder – Lung Cancer app builds on the success of the first such app released by CollabRx earlier this year for melanoma. The melanoma app was created in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as a first-of-its kind resource for cancer patients and physicians.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer types in the U.S. (and worldwide) and is by far the most lethal, resulting in an estimated 150,000 deaths in 2011, according to the American Cancer Society. Lung cancer is responsible for more cancer-related deaths in women than breast and ovarian cancers combined. Some forms of the disease can be treated with targeted therapies (particularly for women), and CollabRx’ Targeted Therapy Finder app was developed to bring this knowledge to the people who need it most.

The Targeted Therapy Finder – Lung Cancer is available now at www.collabrx.com/lung. The app allows physicians and patients to input information about their disease – including the stage of progression, type of lung cancer histology, status of genetic mutations known to have implications for treatment, and sites of metastasis, if any. It then provides personalized treatment-related recommendations, based on peer-reviewed medical and scientific content, that may be of use to the patient and physician, such as identification of potential drugs, diagnostics and clinical trials that may have utility in the specific form of lung cancer selected. The app content is kept up-to-date by a team of scientists and top cancer experts, such as Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, who continually monitor the scientific literature to stay abreast of new developments in the field.