Cell division blocker combined with cisplatin triggers tumor cell death

SCIENCE DAILY – April 9, 2014 – Researchers using an experimental drug that blocks division of a key structure in cells, combined with a common chemotherapy drug triggered unexpected significant cell death in breast cancer cell lines. The findings were presented Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2014 in San Diego. The new agent, called mitochondrial division inhibitor-1 (mdivi-1) blocks a protein in the cell’s energy converter, called mitochondria, that prevents it from dividing, a necessary step in cell division. Cisplatin has long been, one of the most commonly used chemotherapy drugs, but often loses its effectiveness. 

“Cisplatin is one of the most widely used cancer drugs today, but some tumors are inherently resistant to it, and many others become resistant, leading to treatment failure," Dr. Van Houten, of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute said. "In our studies, this combination overcame cisplatin resistance and caused cancer cell death, which is very encouraging." 

Drug doubles time to progression in advanced breast cancer

REUTERS ­– April 6, 2014 – Women with advanced breast cancer had their disease progression halt or slow for twice as long when a new type of targeted drug was added to their hormonal therapy, compared to those treated with hormonal therapy alone. UCLA researchers reported the results of the mid-stage trial at the American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting this week in San Diego. Women whose tumors were responsive to hormones (HR-positive) had progression-free survival of 20.2 months when treated with the new drug, palbociclib plus letrozole. Those in the standard therapy receiving letrozole alone had progression-free survival of 10.2 months. The palbociclib group had an overall survival of 37.5 months compared to 33.3 months for the letrozole-alone group. That difference was not considered statistically significant.

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Combination test predicts risk of prostate cancer recurrence

EUREKALERT – April 4, 2014– A new test using a prostate tumor's genetic characteristics and oxygen content taken from biopsy samples can predict which men are at high or low risk of their prostate cancer recurring with close to 80 percent accuracy. Researchers at Princess Margaret Cancer Center at the University of Toronto, unveiled the test today at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO33) meeting in Vienna. The test was developed from an analysis of DNA taken from the tumors of 126 surgically treated men who were considered to have an intermediate risk of recurrence. Using a genomic DNA analysis technique they looked for missing, extra or irregular sections of DNA in the tumor samples and followed the men for an average of 7.8 years. From the men who recurred they were able to identify a genetic "signature" that predicted recurrence. In another study, they tested the oxygen content of the tumors from men treated with radiation therapy. When they combined the two tests they found that men with high levels of genetic changes and low levels of oxygen had worse outcomes, with 49 percent surviving for five years without recurrence. The researchers say it will take a few more years of testing in larger groups to fully validate the test.

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Lung cancer vaccine a dry hole for GlaxoSmithKline 

REUTERS – April 2, 2014 – British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline announced that it has stopped its clinical trial of a immunotherapy vaccine for non-small cell lung cancer. The study comparing MAGE-A3 to standard therapy failed to show a significant benefit to people with the disease. The researchers are continuing to look for an effect of the drug on a subgroup of patients with a particular genetic make-up. The drug had previously failed to provide improvement in a clinical trial of melanoma patients.

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New test may indicate bladder cancer recurrence

Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
(NMIBC) is the most common. (Fig.
courtesy of Wikipedia)

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY – Apr. 1, 2014 – A new test that measures a chemical that acts on DNA in many cell processes appears to be highly sensitive in detecting recurrence of the most common form of bladder cancer. Researchers at the University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles validated the test on 368 urine samples from 90 bladder cancer patients monitored over seven years. The report in the journal Clinical Cancer Research shows that the new test correctly predicted cancer recurrence 80 percent of the time, and correctly indicated no recurrence 74 percent of the time. Current methods of detecting recurrence in these patients are correct 35 percent of the time and rule out cancer accurately 15 percent of the time.

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