Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute (for those not “in the know”, the Cleveland Clinic is  a highly regarded institution)  are now conducting human trials of a breast cancer vaccine.  The vaccine specifically targets a protein common to breast cancer tumors (a-lactalbumin).

Studies upon mice (Sorry PETA, that’s what [...]]]> Source:  BBC Health; Journal Nature Medicine.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute (for those not “in the know”, the Cleveland Clinic is  a highly regarded institution)  are now conducting human trials of a breast cancer vaccine.  The vaccine specifically targets a protein common to breast cancer tumors (a-lactalbumin).

Studies upon mice (Sorry PETA, that’s what they’re really good for) have demonstrated reason to be hopeful.  There are currently two cancer vaccines approved for use in the US, however neither of these actually prevent cancer.  One (Gardasil) prevents HPV while the other prevents Hepatitis B, both precursors to cancers.  If the breast cancer vaccine is effective in human trials it would be the first vaccine against cancer tumors.

Some background is in order.  Cancer actually describes a process of rapid and unrestrained cell growth.  The inability of the human body to switch off the growth of cells results in formation of clusters of cells forming tumors or spreading (metastasizing) throughout the body.  Where viruses are foreign to the immune system and defended against, cancerous cells are not.

The vaccine would target the proteins at the cellular level so that they can not continue to form tumors.  Unlike traditional chemotherapy (chemical agents) or radiation, which destroys not only cancer tissue but a good deal of healthy tissue and organs with it, a targeted vaccine would actually prevent one from ever developing breast cancer (in theory) in much the same way that the polio vaccine prevented generations of children from contracting polio.

Definitely one to watch.

~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire

192,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually.  27,000 cases are terminal.  Currently under investigation is a new chemotherapy drug -Cabazitaxel which is being administered in conjunction with Mitoxantrone (a commonly used drug f0r prostate cancer).   Men receiving this chemo cocktail (no pun intended) had a 30% increase in survival.  [...]]]> Source:  Annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium; Medline

192,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually.  27,000 cases are terminal.  Currently under investigation is a new chemotherapy drug -Cabazitaxel which is being administered in conjunction with Mitoxantrone (a commonly used drug f0r prostate cancer).   Men receiving this chemo cocktail (no pun intended) had a 30% increase in survival.  To you or I 15.1 months to live vs. 12.7 may not seem like a lot but if you were dying and those were your options, wouldn’t you want more time?  It is thought that giving the combination of drugs early in the diagnostic stage might translate to even greater survival times.

To that end researchers are developing better diagnostic tools for Prostate Cancer.  Showing promise is the PCA3 urine test.  Apparently overly expressed in men with prostate cancer, gene 3 is a fair predictor for advanced prostate disease.   The current complaints against the standard PSA testing is the high rate of false positives resulting in biposy.

Finally, the tried and true cystoscopy procedure (Yes, the one where they insert a catheter with a small camera into the bladder. Over the river and through the woods…Well not quite.  Cystoscopy has been found to be remarkable cost-effective.  Accordingly, look for it to be featured more in insurance schemes and offered more by urologists.  Cynical? Perhaps.  But you’ll see.

~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire

It may be still in the early lab stages -how early? Well they are still testing the technique upon mice with tumors, however, researchers have found that freezing breast cancer tumors (cryoablation) helps to stop the spread of breast cancer.

Not only did the rapid freezing, through application of a cold [...]]]> Source: Annals of Surgical Oncology; Medline

It may be still in the early lab stages -how early? Well they are still testing the technique upon mice with tumors, however, researchers have found that freezing breast cancer tumors (cryoablation) helps to stop the spread of breast cancer.

Not only did the rapid freezing, through application of a cold probe to the tumor site, kill breast cancer tumors, there was a better outcome in terms of tumor spread (metastasis) to the lungs.

All is not lab mice though.  Cryoablation is being actively used to treat actual human patients with prostate cancer, kidney cancers and cancers that have spread to the bone marrow with encouraging results.  Hopefully this will be another tool to fight breast cancer in the near future.

~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire.

It is a fact of chemotherapy (chemical treatment for cancer) that some patients simply don’t respond to medications. Or that they stop responding over time.  With more than 45,400 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, scientists have been furiously trying to decode our genetic patterns for reasons such as [...]]]> Source: BBC Health; The Lancet Oncology

It is a fact of chemotherapy (chemical treatment for cancer) that some patients simply don’t respond to medications. Or that they stop responding over time.  With more than 45,400 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, scientists have been furiously trying to decode our genetic patterns for reasons such as this.

Starting with 829 genes present in breast cancer cells, the focus has been drawn to just 6 genes which appear to impact the efficacy (medical effectiveness) of chemotherapy.  If they are correct then it may be possible to develop a simple test to determine whether or not certain drugs, in this case paclitaxel, will be beneficial to patients.  Another one to watch.

~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire

Ginger, already legal, has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing nausea for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy (chemical treatment). Chemotherapy induced nausea occurs in 70% of patients receiving same. Not surprising. What is surprising is that patients taking antiemetics (Medication to combat nausea) who supplemented with ginger reported [...]]]> Source: American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), 05/2009

Ginger, already legal, has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing nausea for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy (chemical treatment). Chemotherapy induced nausea occurs in 70% of patients receiving same. Not surprising. What is surprising is that patients taking antiemetics (Medication to combat nausea) who supplemented with ginger reported a 40% decrease in nausea. 0.5 to 1g of ginger per day is the amount recommended by the study.

So roll em up. Er, sushi style.

posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esq.