Cancer - September 2012 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — September 26, 2012.  A virtual monopoly held by some drug manufacturers in part because of the way treatment protocols work is among ...

One of the reasons cancer drugs cost so much in the United States is because there's a virtual monopoly held by some drug manufacturers. That's according ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — September 24, 2012.  Men who undergo surgical removal of prostate cancer can experience significant levels of anxiety one year after surgery, and higher levels of anxiety appear to be linked to poor sexual satisfaction and depression, say researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida. Their recent study, published in the online edition of Psycho-Oncology, suggests that men who experience high levels of "cancer-specific anxiety" following surgery for prostate cancer could likely benefit from counseling designed to address their worries and improve their quality of life. "The 10-year survival for a man undergoing surgery to remove localized prostate cancer is greater than 95 percent. Given that the majority of men who undergo prostatectomy for prostate cancer will not die from their disease, we are concerned about what life will be like for these patients decades after diagnosis and treatment," says the study's senior investigator, Alexander Parker, Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology and urology. While prostate cancer can be a life threatening disease, most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 2.5 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive. "The odds of surviving for long periods of time following surgery for prostate cancer are very high," says surgeon and co-author Gregory Broderick, M.D., a professor of urology. "That means a lot of men are living as prostate cancer survivors and we at Mayo Clinic are committed to understanding factors that affect their quality of life, not just their quantity of life." Dr. Broderick presented these results at the joint meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America and the International Society for Sexual Medicine this summer in Chicago. Data from studies in patients with other cancer types have shown that anxiety can significantly affect an individual's quality of life. "Our study is the first to specifically show that those men with higher cancer-specific anxiety one year after surgery for prostate cancer are more likely to report lower levels of satisfaction with their sex life and higher levels of depressive symptoms," Dr. Parker says. In their study, the Mayo Clinic researchers examined findings on 365 men who, one year after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, completed a questionnaire designed to measure anxiety levels about the fact they have been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. The men also completed additional questionnaires to measure levels of erectile function, sexual satisfaction and depression.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — September 24, 2012.  The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa have received a five-year, $11.5 million grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to continue the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) for lymphoma research. The renewal was based on a competitive peer-review process conducted by cancer researchers from across the country. The program, known as the lymphoma SPORE, focuses on applying scientific advances to develop new approaches for the prevention, detection, and treatment of lymphoma and lymphoid leukemia. It is the nation's longest-running lymphoma SPORE and has received more than $34 million from the NCI over its lifetime. "Collaboration between researchers at both institutions has led to new discoveries about cancers of the immune system and to clinical trials that test novel treatments," says Thomas Witzig, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist and the SPORE lead researcher. "The advancements we've made and the SPORE grant itself would not have happened if our two organizations hadn't collaborated so well together," says George Weiner, M.D., director and principal investigator of the SPORE and director of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. The team's work includes translational and clinical studies exploring the potential of treatments that stimulate the immune system to treat lymphoma; clinical trials targeting lymphoma-specific signaling pathways; discovery of gene mutations in cell-signaling pathways that contribute to development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma; identification of key interactions between lymphoma cells and their microenvironment that can be disrupted to make cancer cells more vulnerable to chemotherapies; and investigation into biomarkers that could have a significant impact on the management of lymphoma. The research team has worked with more than 6,000 patient volunteers to better understand how genetic makeup and other factors impact the clinical outcome of patients with lymphoma and lymphoid leukemia. SPORE funds will provide support for four major research projects, four shared research cores, clinical trials, early pilot projects, and new investigators in lymphoma research at both institutions.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — September 20, 2012.  To help Mayo Clinic design the most effective treatment possible for brain cancer patients, the JLG Brain Cancer Foundation is pledging to raise $250,000 to assist in the development of a brain tissue bank at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida. It has already raised $145,000 toward that goal. The brain cancer tissue bank will include brain tumor tissues for all stages and types of brain cancers. "This vast tissue library will enable Mayo Clinic researchers to accurately identify the key molecular culprits in brain cancers — not just genes or proteins that influence cancer development, but the ones that make cancers more aggressive or resistant to therapies. Once found, these malignant forces can be stopped," says Jill Geehr, the daughter of Jacquie Lorraine Goldman, for whom the Foundation is named. Mrs. Goldman was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, the most virulent form of brain cancer, in 2008. She participated in several experimental drug trials over the course of treatment at Mayo Clinic, but lost her struggle 1.5 years after diagnosis — well above the normal survival, says Ms. Geehr. "We want to see that people diagnosed with brain cancer have options for treatment that are effective," she says. "Right now, most people who receive this diagnosis have an outcome that is pretty bleak." "Mayo Clinic is pursuing a transformative vision for brain cancer care. We can help," says Ms. Geehr. The Foundation's annual fundraising events are being held later this month. The second annual TASTE food and wine event is Thursday, Sept. 27 at TPC Sawgrass, and the Unlock the Cure JLG 5K Fun Run is slated for Saturday, Sept. 29, in Jacksonville Beach at The Beach Restaurant. Brain tissue samples that are now starting to be collected at Mayo Clinic "will be instrumental in developing a new understanding of the biology and treatment of brain malignancies like that of Mrs. Goldman's," says Kurt Jaeckle, M.D., the Mayo Clinic neuro-oncologist who treated Mrs. Goldman. "This Brain Cancer Tissue Bank never would have been possible without the kind donation and pledge of the JLG Brain Cancer Foundation," he says. "It is our hope that every person who has fought or continues to fight brain cancer will lead us closer to unlocking a cure," says Ms. Geehr.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — September 12, 2012.  Today's researchers have a new set of tools to help uncover the roots of human disease and personalize prevention and treatment efforts. To take advantage of the emergence of faster, more affordable DNA sequencing technology, Mayo Clinic is establishing a biobank at its campus in Jacksonville. The Mayo Clinic Biobank is an extension of an effort that started at Mayo in Rochester, Minn. in 2007. Mayo Clinic in Florida has already begun enrolling volunteers in the Biobank, and expects to add at least 5,000 in the next five years, says Alexander Parker, Ph.D., an epidemiologist and Florida-based associate director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. "Our mission at Mayo is to improve understanding of human disease and translate this knowledge into better prevention and care for all populations," Dr. Parker says. "We are grateful to our participants in the Mayo Clinic Biobank for their willingness to provide the DNA samples and information that will support the next generation of scientific inquiry, and drive us closer to more individualized medical care for everyone." Participants who enroll in the Mayo Clinic Biobank are asked to grant access to their medical records, complete a 12-page lifestyle questionnaire and donate a blood sample, from which DNA is extracted and stored for future use. Participation in the Biobank is currently limited to people already receiving routine care at Mayo Clinic. It likely will eventually be opened to non-Mayo patients. More than 40 research projects are using genetic and health information housed in the Mayo Clinic Biobank to explore questions related to a range of human diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, hypothyroidism and cancers such as myeloma and leukemia, and cancers of the colon, breast, brain, lung, liver and kidney. Dr. Parker, a kidney specialist, says one study is looking at how frequently a genetic mutation found in kidney cancer patients occurs in healthy individuals. The Biobank makes it easier for researchers to perform studies because samples and information from many different people will be available in one place. Researchers can use the Biobank like a library. When they want to study a health issue they can use Biobank samples instead of finding new samples. "One of my goals is to understand how genetics interacts with the environment to affect a person's risk of developing kidney cancer," he says. "Now, through a simple query of the Mayo Biobank, we are able to rapidly identify control individuals who have no history of kidney cancer and gain access to their DNA and lifestyle data. This essentially reduces the time needed to do the work from years to months, which moves the process along at a faster pace." Other benefits of opening the Mayo Biobank in Florida include access to more diverse populations outside the Midwest and allowing for better design of studies aimed at disorders that have a higher prevalence in Southern states, such as skin cancer and kidney stones.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — September 7, 2012.  More than a cancer-causing gene is needed to trigger pancreatic cancer, a study led by Mayo Clinic has found. A second factor creates a "perfect storm" that allows tumors to form, the researchers say. The study, published in the Sept. 10 issue of Cancer Cell, overturns the current belief that a mutation in the KRAS oncogene is enough to initiate pancreatic cancer and unrestrained cell growth. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Video resources, including an interview with Dr. Crawford, are available for journalists at the Mayo Clinic News Network. The findings uncover critical clues on how pancreatic cancer develops and why few patients benefit from current therapies. The findings also provide ideas about how to improve treatment and prevention of pancreatic cancer. The research team, led by Howard C. Crawford, Ph.D., a cancer biologist at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, and Jens Siveke, M.D., at Technical University in Munich, Germany, found that for pancreatic cancer to form, mutated KRAS must recruit a second player: the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR.A third genetic participant known as Trp53 makes pancreatic tumors very difficult to treat, the study showed. The scientists also found that EGFR was required in pancreatic cancer initiated by pancreatic inflammation known as pancreatitis. "We believe the perfect storm needed to trigger pancreatic cancer include KRAS mutations and inflammation in the organ, which then work synergistically to turn on EGFR," says Dr. Crawford. "The bottom line is, without EGFR, tumors don't form — and that was never known before this study," he says. "We also think that inflammation in the pancreas has a big impact on turning on EGFR." The researchers discovered that when they blocked EGFR activity, the mice studied were protected against developing chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. They further found that in mice that had lost expression of the TP53 tumor suppressor — a situation that mirrors up to 60 percent of human pancreatic cancer cases — tumors escape the dependency on EGFR for initiation and continued growth of pancreatic cancer, Dr. Crawford says. Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease; no drug has been able to target the mutant KRAS protein. The study suggests some patients, such as those with chronic pancreatitis, may be good candidates for treatment with EGFR inhibitors to fight or prevent pancreatic cancer, Dr. Crawford says.

In this Medical Edge Radio episode, Mayo Clinic Dr. Debra Barton outlines her recent study that looked at the use of ginseng in battling cancer ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — September 5, 2012.  September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the nation and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. Although treatment advances have improved the average length of survival after diagnosis, the overall cure rate remains unchanged. An estimated 22,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States this year, and more than 15,000 will die from the disease. Assessing risk, drug resistance and coping with a cancer diagnosis are some of the issues women may face. The following Mayo Clinic Cancer Center experts are available to discuss those and other topics: John Copland, Ph.D. : Overcoming chemotherapy drug resistance in ovarian cancer. Research suggests that the growth of new blood vessels to the tumor plays a significant role in chemotherapy drug resistance. Dr. Copland is studying the use of anti-angiogenic drugs that prevent the growth of new blood vessels to a tumor as an enhancement to the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Sean Dowdy, M.D. : Fluorescence-guided surgery. New fluorescence technology is helping surgeons remove cancerous tissue from ovarian cancer patients by illuminating cancer — allowing surgeons to identify and remove tumors that otherwise might not be detected. Ellen Goode, Ph.D. : Researching ovarian cancer risk. Does ovarian cancer run in families? Dr. Goode is working to identify common inherited gene variations associated with ovarian cancer risk within families. Paul Haluska, M.D., Ph.D. : Using mouse avatars to study ovarian cancer and individualized treatments. Dr. Haluska is using mouse avatars as surrogates for human patients to study the diversity of ovarian cancer and to develop new drugs to treat this cancer based on the genetic makeup of a patient's tumors. Lynn Hartmann, M.D.: Charting the course for ovarian cancer research. Dr. Hartmann has led numerous studies on ovarian cancer and published more than 75 papers on ovarian disease. Dr. Hartmann is the co-leader of Mayo Clinic's Ovarian Cancer Special Program of Research Excellence, funded by the National Cancer Institute. Amit Sood, M.D. : Complementary and integrative medicine. Ongoing stress among cancer patients and survivors negatively affects health, happiness, relationships and quality of life. Dr. Sood specializes in mind-body approaches to decrease stress and enhance resilience, well-being and coping skills.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Mayo Clinic Experts Are Available For Interviews   Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers and the fifth leading cause ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — September 4, 2012.  Mayo Clinic and the University of North Florida are honoring National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October by hosting ...