Thursday, October 29, 2015

Genetically Modified Super Tomato May Help Fight Cancer, Diabetes And Alzheimer’s Disease

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/100488/20151028/genetically-modified-super-tomato-may-help-fight-cancer-diabetes-and-alzheimer-s-disease.htm


By Katherine Derla, Tech Times | October 28, 3:29 AM

 A study led by John Innes Centre researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) resulted in the mass production of natural compounds in a single, genetically modified fruit - a tomato. These compounds include life-extending Resveratrol found in wine and Genistein found in tofu which has cancer-preventing benefits.

By introducing a protein called AtMYB12, which is normally found in a garden weed called thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), scientists found that the protein activates a wide set of genes responsible for natural compound production in the tomato plant. The AtMYB12 acts like a plug or tap that scientists can control to reduce or increase the amount of natural compounds that can benefit the plant and in turn, humans.
The researchers noted that the introduction of the AtMYB12 protein did not only increase the plant's ability to create the Resveratrol and Genistein, it also influenced the plant's ability to devote more carbon and energy in the compound creation.

"Medicinal plants with high value are often difficult to grow and manage, and need very long cultivation times to produce the desired compounds. Our research provides a fantastic platform to quickly produce these valuable medicinal compounds in tomatoes. Target compounds could be purified directly from tomato juice," said co-author Dr. Yang Zhang
The research team is optimistic that the same genetic switching technique can be used to mass manufacture other natural compounds involved in the production of several medicines. Tomatoes are relatively cheap to produce and can be turned into juice form where the compounds can be extracted. Eventually, the fruit itself could soon become a medicinal plant with increased levels of illness-fighting compounds.

The study provides a basis for a more cost-efficient industrial production of valuable natural compounds from plants compared to extracting small amounts from tons of soybeans and grapes. The researchers believe their design can be applied to other compounds such as alkaloids and terpenoids.

Co-author Cathie Martin stressed that their study delivers a design to mass produce not just phenylpropanoid compounds but potentially more natural compounds that can extracted from aromatic amino acids.

The researchers published their study in the Nature Communications journal on Oct. 26.

Camomile tea could improve blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes

 http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2015/oct/camomile-tea-could-improve-blood-glucose-control-in-type-2-diabetes-91406398.html

Jack Woodfield
Tue, 27 Oct 2015

An Iranian study finds that drinking three cups of camomile tea a day could improve control of blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Researchers from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences aimed to investigate how the effects of camomile tea would affect glycemic control and antioxidant levels in type 2 subjects. Antioxidants are chemicals that protect or delay against cell damage.

64 participants with type 2 diabetes were recruited, all of whom were aged between 30 and 60. They consumed camomile tea three times per day immediately after meals for eight weeks. A control group also followed this routine, but they drank water instead.

The camomile tea group had significantly reduced HbA1c and serum insulin levels, as well as significantly increased total antioxidant capacity compared to those in the control group.

The researchers concluded that camomile tea could be useful in reducing diabetes risk factors. They added: "Short-term intake of chamomile tea has beneficial effects on glycemic control and antioxidant status in patients with type 2 diabetes."

However, the researchers noted that a larger sample population and a longer intervention period would be necessary in order to demonstrate significant clinical improvements.

This study was published in the journal Nutrition.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Vemurafenib/Sorafenib Combo Shows Promise in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma

W. Todd Penberthy, PhD
Published Online: Thursday, October 22, 2015
- See more at: http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma#sthash.JZnsUABZ.dpuf
W. Todd Penberthy, PhD
Published Online: Thursday, October 22, 2015
 Published Online:  Thursday, October 22, 2015

Interesting article but for some reason it won't let me copy and paste.  Check it out at the website above.

Dual targeting of BRAF V600E–positive papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with the anti-BRAF V600E agent vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and the angiogenesis inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar) showed promising clinical activity, according to research presented at the 2015 International Thyroid Congress.

Sorafenib was approved in 2013 for the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive differentiated thyroid carcinoma refractory to radioactive iodine treatment. Antitumor activity with vemurafenib in BRAF V600E–positive PTC was previously demonstrated in a phase II study presented at the 2013 European Cancer Congress. In the study, the median progression-free survival in treatment-naïve patients who received vemurafenib was 15.6 months.

Carmelo Nucera, MD, PhD, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues used cell cultures of human metastatic/recurrent BRAF V600E -PTCs and tested the effects of vemurafenib versus sorafenib used as single agents or in combination. To date, they have used predominately three types of assays. These include biochemical assays of enzyme activity along with two dynamic cellular assays—measures of cell-cycle proliferation and in vitro microenvironmental analysis: migration and motility.

Nucera pointed out that BRAF V600E PTCs responded to vemurafenib than sorafenib. In contrast, with wild-type BRAF cells, the BRAF inhibitor does not work and sorafenib works very well. Ultimately the combination overlaps in activity, Nucera said.

The key, according to Nucera, is tumor heterogeneity, and therefore, the tumor microenvironment needs to be considered. Macrophages, for example, are an important component in the anaplastic pericyte microenvironment. Macrophages and endothelial cells exist in this microenvironment.

Nucera’s group observed that the pericytes act like stem cells, interacting with endothelial cells to regulate angiogenesis. Pericytes spread after exposure to various signaling molecules like PDGFR-β, according to Nucera. Pericytes have a strong capability to produce an extracellular matrix, which may ultimately confer advantage to PTC cells to promote their migration and invasion.

Higher PDGFR-β was observed by Nucera et al in BRAF V600E cells than in the wild-type equivalent, but addition of a BRAF inhibitor caused down-regulation of PDGFR-β activation. No response was seen after sorafenib treatment, while the combination belies the treatment of the single sorafenib agent.

Nucera’s study preliminarily suggests that the combination of an antiangiogenic compound and a BRAF inhibitor may be more effective than either agent alone, not only in blocking the proliferation of PTC cells, but also in preventing cell types like pericytes in the microenvironment from promoting otherwise reproductive advantages to PTC cells.

Nucera highlighted that these results indicate for the first time that PTC cells express VEGFR2, and this dual combination treatment with anti–BRAF V600E and antiangiogenesis therapy is likely to improve therapeutic response in metastatic BRAF V600E–positive PTC cells by directly reducing cell survival and migratory capacities via pERK1/2 and pPDGFR-β down-regulation.

Richard Kloos, MD, cochair for the session and professor of Medicine at Ohio State University, stated that the value of adding sorafenib must be that the BRAF activity is not strong enough. Kloos then asked whether or not the sorafenib effect is really a dose effect working through BRAF.

Nucera elaborated that the BRAF inhibitor is working on the BRAF system. Therefore, if you use a pan¬–tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) like sorafenib, you can improve the activity to kill any tumor cell, said Nucera. The rationale for using an antiangiogenic agent is that you have a human system with many different cells with many different TK targets. In Nucera’s observations, combining the BRAF inhibition with a pan-TKI will fundamentally work on any tumor cell.


Sisms J, Antonello Z, Nucera C, et al. Combinatorial targeting with anti-BRAFV600E and anti-angiogenesis therapy enhances cell death and suppresses cell migration in metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma. Presented at: 2015 International Thyroid Congress; October 18-23, 2015; Orlando, FL. Abstract 106.
- See more at: http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma#sthash.JZnsUABZ.dpuf
Published Online: Thursday, October 22, 2015
W. Todd Penberthy, PhD

Dual targeting of BRAF V600E–positive papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with the anti-BRAF V600E agent vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and the angiogenesis inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar) showed promising clinical activity, according to research presented at the 2015 International Thyroid Congress. - See more at: http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma#sthash.JZnsUABZ.dpuf
Dual targeting of BRAF V600E–positive papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with the anti-BRAF V600E agent vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and the angiogenesis inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar) showed promising clinical activity, according to research presented at the 2015 International Thyroid Congress. - See more at: http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma#sthash.JZnsUABZ.dpuf
Dual targeting of BRAF V600E–positive papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with the anti-BRAF V600E agent vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and the angiogenesis inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar) showed promising clinical activity, according to research presented at the 2015 International Thyroid Congress.

Sorafenib was approved in 2013 for the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive differentiated thyroid carcinoma refractory to radioactive iodine treatment. Antitumor activity with vemurafenib in BRAF V600E–positive PTC was previously demonstrated in a phase II study presented at the 2013 European Cancer Congress. In the study, the median progression-free survival in treatment-naïve patients who received vemurafenib was 15.6 months.

Carmelo Nucera, MD, PhD, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues used cell cultures of human metastatic/recurrent BRAF V600E -PTCs and tested the effects of vemurafenib versus sorafenib used as single agents or in combination. To date, they have used predominately three types of assays. These include biochemical assays of enzyme activity along with two dynamic cellular assays—measures of cell-cycle proliferation and in vitro microenvironmental analysis: migration and motility.

Nucera pointed out that BRAF V600E PTCs responded to vemurafenib than sorafenib. In contrast, with wild-type BRAF cells, the BRAF inhibitor does not work and sorafenib works very well. Ultimately the combination overlaps in activity, Nucera said.

The key, according to Nucera, is tumor heterogeneity, and therefore, the tumor microenvironment needs to be considered. Macrophages, for example, are an important component in the anaplastic pericyte microenvironment. Macrophages and endothelial cells exist in this microenvironment.

Nucera’s group observed that the pericytes act like stem cells, interacting with endothelial cells to regulate angiogenesis. Pericytes spread after exposure to various signaling molecules like PDGFR-β, according to Nucera. Pericytes have a strong capability to produce an extracellular matrix, which may ultimately confer advantage to PTC cells to promote their migration and invasion.

Higher PDGFR-β was observed by Nucera et al in BRAF V600E cells than in the wild-type equivalent, but addition of a BRAF inhibitor caused down-regulation of PDGFR-β activation. No response was seen after sorafenib treatment, while the combination belies the treatment of the single sorafenib agent.

Nucera’s study preliminarily suggests that the combination of an antiangiogenic compound and a BRAF inhibitor may be more effective than either agent alone, not only in blocking the proliferation of PTC cells, but also in preventing cell types like pericytes in the microenvironment from promoting otherwise reproductive advantages to PTC cells.

Nucera highlighted that these results indicate for the first time that PTC cells express VEGFR2, and this dual combination treatment with anti–BRAF V600E and antiangiogenesis therapy is likely to improve therapeutic response in metastatic BRAF V600E–positive PTC cells by directly reducing cell survival and migratory capacities via pERK1/2 and pPDGFR-β down-regulation.

Richard Kloos, MD, cochair for the session and professor of Medicine at Ohio State University, stated that the value of adding sorafenib must be that the BRAF activity is not strong enough. Kloos then asked whether or not the sorafenib effect is really a dose effect working through BRAF.

Nucera elaborated that the BRAF inhibitor is working on the BRAF system. Therefore, if you use a pan¬–tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) like sorafenib, you can improve the activity to kill any tumor cell, said Nucera. The rationale for using an antiangiogenic agent is that you have a human system with many different cells with many different TK targets. In Nucera’s observations, combining the BRAF inhibition with a pan-TKI will fundamentally work on any tumor cell.


Sisms J, Antonello Z, Nucera C, et al. Combinatorial targeting with anti-BRAFV600E and anti-angiogenesis therapy enhances cell death and suppresses cell migration in metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma. Presented at: 2015 International Thyroid Congress; October 18-23, 2015; Orlando, FL. Abstract 106.
- See more at: http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma#sthash.JZnsUABZ.dpuf
W. Todd Penberthy, PhD
W. Todd Penberthy, PhD
Published Online: Thursday, October 22, 2015
- See more at: http://www.onclive.com/conference-coverage/thyroid-2015/vemurafenib-sorafenib-combo-shows-promise-in-papillary-thyroid-carcinoma#sthash.JZnsUABZ.dpuf

Massive screen of drug combinations may find treatment for resistant, BRAF-mutant melanoma

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-10-massive-screen-drug-combinations-treatment.html


October 26, 2015
search and more info
A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has discovered a new combination of drugs that may be effective against one of the deadliest cancers, malignant melanoma. The combination - pairing a drug targeted against mutations in the BRAF gene with a second drug that targets another important signaling pathway - was discovered through one of the largest screens of cancer drug combinations conducted to date. Findings from the study conducted at the MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center and Center for Molecular Therapeutics have published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

 "We wanted to see whether very-large-scale screening across a diverse collection of cancer cell lines and a large number of drugs could yield new combinations for patients with cancer," says Adam Friedman, MD, PhD, of the CBRC and the MGH Cancer Center, who led the study. "By conducting such a screen, we found one specific combination of agents that are already being used clinically that potentially could be used for a specific group of patients - those with BRAF-mutant cancers."

Friedman notes that, even with the increasing number of drugs targeting specific molecular abnormalities that drive tumor growth, most patients are only treated with one such at a time. Most of those treated with targeted-therapy drugs will relapse within a year, often because their tumors have become resistant, and some tumors never respond to the targeted drugs. While combining anti-cancer drugs appears a promising strategy, the sheer volume of drugs currently in use or in development - more than 500, which could make up more than 100,000 two- - makes testing each potential combination in clinical trials challenging.

Previous efforts to screen potential drug combinations only analyzed use of a few drugs against a limited number of cell lines or lines in which genomic variations were poorly understood. This study utilized 36 well-characterized melanoma cell lines assembled by the MGH Center for Molecular Therapeutics to test all possible combinations of more than 100 oncology drugs, two-thirds of which are currently in clinical use. More than 5,775 potential drug combinations, as well as each single drug, were screened against each cell line, looking for effects on the number and viability of tumor cells. While several combinations showed synergistic effects - with some drugs sensitizing the cells against several other drugs - most combinations increased the response of only one or two cell lines, implying that the vulnerability of an individual patient's tumor to these combinations depends on its unique genetic signature.

Since around half the cases of are driven by mutation in the BRAF gene, the team focused on combinations that might address intrinsic resistance to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib. They found that combining that drug with the cediranib, an investigational drug that targets a group of proteins known to be involved in blood vessel formation, had synergistic effects against cell lines that were resistant to treatment with vemurafenib alone but not those sensitive to single-agent therapy. They also tested this combination in animal models into which two resistant cell lines had been grafted, and found significant synergistic effects against both tumor models.
"We need to confirm this synergistic activity of vemurafenib and cediranib across a broader range of melanoma models, investigate why the particular combination is effective, and find biomarkers that predict which patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma should receive this combination," says Friedman, who is a research fellow in Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. "What is really exciting is that these drugs are already in the clinic; in fact a clinical trial for a similar combination is already underway at another research center. We may be able to quickly improve on the selection criteria for this trial and identify patients whose tumors might respond."

He adds, "This study was actually a pilot project for a much larger effort within the Center for Molecular Therapeutics to map responses against drug combinations across hundreds of cancer cell lines, not just melanoma, and look for novel combinations that will benefit subsets of patients regardless of the particular type of tumor they have. Since our collection of is completely genetically annotated - which means that mutations and expression changes in each line's genes have been documented - we should be able to identify in advance patients who will benefit from specific combinations. Beyond the specific combination we focused on, this study should help others understand the technical challenges of analyzing such a large combination dataset."

VB-111 May Be Effective in Radioactive Iodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

http://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/itc-2015/itc-ata-vb-111-differentiated-thyroid-cancer/article/449338/




Sina A. Jasim, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said in an email interview with Endocrinology Advisor that most patients respond well to surgery and radioactive iodine therapy (RAI), but other patients with differentiated thyroid cancer develop resistant disease, “which is progressive, symptomatic, and fatal.”

“VB-111 is a non-replicating, engineered AD-5 adenovirus that is selectively targeting tumor vasculature,” Dr Jasim said. “It utilizes a tissue- and condition-specific semi-artificial pre-pro-endothelin promoter to express a pro-apoptotic FAS-chimera transgene that is triggering apoptosis of angiogenic tumor vasculature in response to tumor necrosis factor stimulation.”

Dr Jasim, who presented the data at the 15th International Thyroid Congress and 85th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association, and colleagues explained that VB-111 is a novel approach that could potentially address the need for additional effective therapies.

Their open-label, industry-sponsored, dose-escalating phase 2 study analyzed the safety and efficacy of patients with advanced RAI-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, where the end point was progression-free survival at 6 months for 25% of patients.

The researchers divided 29 patients into 2 groups that received a single VB-111 infusion at a low dose (3 x 1012 viral particles) or a high dose (1 x 1013 viral particles) every 2 months until disease progression.

Regarding adverse effects, patients reported flu-like symptoms after VB-111 administration, which commonly resolved within less than 2 days.

Results revealed that 35% of patients in the high-dose group and 25% of patients in the low-dose group achieved progression-free survival at 6 months.
At 12 months, progression-free survival was 25% in the high-dose group vs 0% in the low-dose group, which may suggest dose-dependent disease stabilization. However, this finding did not reach statistical significance.

Current results indicate that median survival is 18 months in the low-dose group and 22 months in the high-dose group, although the data are not yet mature, according to Dr Jasim.
Dr Jasim and colleagues reported that 9 patients survived until final follow-up, with 8 patients (47%) in the high-dose group.

The research group is continuing to follow the surviving patients, who have all progressed past 18 months post-treatment.

This study is supported by VBL Therapeutics.

Reference
Jasim S. Poster 638: A Multi-cohort Phase II Trial Of VB-111 In
Advanced Radioactive Iodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Presented at: 15th International Thyroid Congress and 85th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ITC/ATA); Oct 18-23, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Month off drinking slashes risk of disease: Abstaining found to heal the liver and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3289187/Month-drinking-slashes-risk-disease-Abstaining-heal-liver-lower-blood-pressure-cholesterol-levels.html

  • Doctors have warned drinkers should abstain for a month to prevent illness
  • Research has shown it can heal the liver and lower blood pressure levels
  • Those who gave up for a month also at lower risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes
  • Researchers claim 'staggering' results can influence drinking guidelines

‘The results were staggering,’ said Professor Kevin Moore, who was involved in both experiments. ‘If you had a drug that did this it would be a multi-billion pound market.
‘There was a 40 per cent reduction in liver fat, they lost about three kilograms in weight and their cholesterol levels improved.’

In the second, larger study the London researchers looked at 102 relatively healthy men and women in their forties taking part in a ‘dry January’ campaign.
The women had been drinking an average of 29 units of alcohol a week, almost double the Government guidelines. The men were typically on 31 units, ten too many.
All had blood tests and liver scans and answered detailed questionnaires. Four weeks later the damage caused to their livers by years of heavy drinking had started to repair itself.
Their ‘liver stiffness’ - an indication of disease - had been reduced by 12.5 per cent. Their insulin resistance - a measurement of diabetes risk - had come down by 28 per cent.
Current recommendations state men should not drink more than four units of alcohol a day or 21 a week
Current recommendations state men should not drink more than four units of alcohol a day or 21 a week
They had also lost weight, their blood pressure had dropped, and many said their concentration and sleeping levels had improved. The researchers are due to publish further details, which are expected to show their risk of developing certain cancers was also reduced.
Gautam Mehta, a liver specialist who oversaw the study, said: ‘I am excited. There are some findings that will be pretty novel. It’s an important study which shows the benefit from a month’s abstinence. What we can’t say is how long those benefits are, how durable those benefits are.’
The initial results are already being examined by Department of Health officials, who are preparing new guidelines on safe drinking.
Current recommendations state women should have no more than three units a day or 14 units over a week while men should not exceed four units a day or 21 a week.
One unit is equivalent to less than half a glass of wine or half a pint of beer depending on their strength and size.
But health professionals say these limits should be reduced. They also want adults to be told to have at least two or three days off a week to allow their bodies to recover.
The Royal Free’s first experiment was on ten men and women undertaking a dry January last year.
Tom Smith of Alcohol Concern said: ‘This evidence confirms what a growing number of other studies have shown, that having even just one month off from alcohol has incredible health benefits.’
Andrew Langford of the British Liver Trust said: ‘It provides good evidence that simple behavioural change can make a real difference to the health of your liver.’

Massive screen of drug combinations may find treatment for resistant, BRAF-mutant melanoma

 This is interesting because it involved a mutation I have (BRAF, common in Thyroid Cancer as well as Melanoma) and is using the drug I am on in combination with another.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-10-massive-screen-drug-combinations-treatment.html

October 26, 2015 
A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has discovered a new combination of drugs that may be effective against one of the deadliest cancers, malignant melanoma. The combination - pairing a drug targeted against mutations in the BRAF gene with a second drug that targets another important signaling pathway - was discovered through one of the largest screens of cancer drug combinations conducted to date. Findings from the study conducted at the MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center and Center for Molecular Therapeutics have been published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.  
We wanted to see whether very-large-scale screening across a diverse collection of cancer cell lines and a large number of drugs could yield new combinations for patients with cancer," says Adam Friedman, MD, PhD, of the CBRC and the MGH Cancer Center, who led the study. "By conducting such a screen, we found one specific combination of agents that are already being used clinically that potentially could be used for a specific group of patients - those with BRAF-mutant cancers."
Friedman notes that, even with the increasing number of drugs targeting specific molecular abnormalities that drive tumor growth, most patients are only treated with one such at a time. Most of those treated with targeted-therapy drugs will relapse within a year, often because their tumors have become resistant, and some tumors never respond to the targeted drugs. While combining anti-cancer drugs appears a promising strategy, the sheer volume of drugs currently in use or in development - more than 500, which could make up more than 100,000 two- - makes testing each potential combination in clinical trials challenging.

Previous efforts to screen potential drug combinations only analyzed use of a few drugs against a limited number of cell lines or lines in which genomic variations were poorly understood. This study utilized 36 well-characterized melanoma cell lines assembled by the MGH Center for Molecular Therapeutics to test all possible combinations of more than 100 oncology drugs, two-thirds of which are currently in clinical use. More than 5,775 potential drug combinations, as well as each single drug, were screened against each cell line, looking for effects on the number and viability of tumor cells. While several combinations showed synergistic effects - with some drugs sensitizing the cells against several other drugs - most combinations increased the response of only one or two cell lines, implying that the vulnerability of an individual patient's tumor to these combinations depends on its unique genetic signature.

Since around half the cases of are driven by mutation in the BRAF gene, the team focused on combinations that might address intrinsic resistance to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib. They found that combining that drug with the cediranib, an investigational drug that targets a group of proteins known to be involved in blood vessel formation, had synergistic effects against cell lines that were resistant to treatment with vemurafenib alone but not those sensitive to single-agent therapy. They also tested this combination in animal models into which two resistant cell lines had been grafted, and found significant synergistic effects against both tumor models.
"We need to confirm this synergistic activity of vemurafenib and cediranib across a broader range of melanoma models, investigate why the particular combination is effective, and find biomarkers that predict which patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma should receive this combination," says Friedman, who is a research fellow in Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. "What is really exciting is that these drugs are already in the clinic; in fact a clinical trial for a similar combination is already underway at another research center. We may be able to quickly improve on the selection criteria for this trial and identify patients whose tumors might respond."

He adds, "This study was actually a pilot project for a much larger effort within the Center for Molecular Therapeutics to map responses against drug combinations across hundreds of cancer cell lines, not just melanoma, and look for novel combinations that will benefit subsets of patients regardless of the particular type of tumor they have. Since our collection of is completely genetically annotated - which means that mutations and expression changes in each line's genes have been documented - we should be able to identify in advance patients who will benefit from specific combinations. Beyond the specific combination we focused on, this study should help others understand the technical challenges of analyzing such a large combination dataset."

Explore further: New screening approach identified potential drug combos for difficult-to-treat melanomas
More information: PLOS ONE, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140310

Journal reference: PLoS ONE
 
 

Monday, October 26, 2015

The latest study about antioxidants is terrifying. Scientists think they may boost cancer cells to spread faster.

Good Grief, is anything safe?!?


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/10/14/antioxidants-may-give-a-boost-to-cancer-cells-making-them-spread-faster-study-suggests/




Since the term "antioxidants" made the leap from the realm of biochemistry labs and into the public consciousness in the  1990s, Americans have come to believe that more is better when it comes to consuming the substance that comes in things like acai berries, green tea and leafy veggies.
A provocative new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature raises important questions about that assumption.
Antioxidants — which include vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, and are contained in thousands of foods — are thought to protect cells from damage by acting as defenders against something called "free radicals" which the body produces as a part of metabolism or that can enter through the environment.
That's all great for normal cells. But what researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found is that antioxidants can work their magic on cancerous cells, too — turbo-charging the process by which they grow and spread.
Researcher Sean Morrison and his colleagues conducted experiments on mice that had been transplanted with skin cancer cells (melanoma) from human patients. They gave nothing to one group. To the other they gave doses of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) which is a common antioxidant that's used in nutritional and bodybuilding supplements and has been used as a treatment for patients with HIV/AIDS and in some children with certain genetic disorders.
The results were alarming: Those in the second group had markedly higher levels of cancer cells in their blood, grew more tumors and the tumors were larger and more widespread than in the first.
"What we're starting to learn is that there can be bad cells from cancer that appear to benefit more from antioxidants than normal cells," he said in an interview.

Morrison, director of the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, explained that it has to do with something called oxidative stress.
Scientists have known for a while now that cancer metastasis — especially when it involves spreading a great distance to another part of the body — is a very inefficient process and that many cells die along the way. This is likely due to oxidative stress, which is an inability by the body to counteract the harmful effect of free radicals. When antioxidants supplements are given, the paper hypothesizes, they may give new life to those cancerous cells that are on the edge of dying.

Morrison said that previous studies have shown that the progression of metastasis of human melanoma cells in mice is predictive of their metastasis in humans, which raises concerns about the use of dietary antioxidants by patients with cancer.
Moreover, melanoma may not be the only type of cancer to be affected this way.
A similar study conducted at Vanderbilt University and published in PLoS One in 2012 involving mice with prostate cancer also showed that antioxidants appeared to increase the proliferation of cells in the pre-cancerous lesions. And another one in rodents with lung cancer published in Science Translational Medicine in 2014 found that normal doses of vitamin E and smaller doses of acetylcysteine, an antioxidant supplement, appeared to lead to a three-fold increase in the number of tumors and caused them to be more aggressive. As a result, the mice given antioxidants died twice as fast the ones in the control group. The reaction appeared be dose dependent with larger doses leading to a more severe reaction.
Morrison said that further study needs to be done to confirm the findings and that cancer patients should still consume antioxidants as part of a healthy diet.
But, he added, "personally, from the results we've seen, I would avoid supplementing my diet with large amounts of antioxidants if I had cancer."
Over the past 20 years, numerous studies were launched to ascertain the effect of antioxidants on other conditions ranging from heart disease to memory loss. Early results have mostly been mixed, but that hasn't stopped food companies from hyping their disease-fighting abilities.

PD-L1 Strongly Correlates with Papillary Thyroid Cancer Aggressiveness

http://www.targetedonc.com/conference/ata-2015/pd-l1-strongly-correlates-with-papillary-thyroid-cancer-aggressiveness

W. Todd Penberthy, PhD
Published Online: 2:05 PM, Fri October 23, 2015
- See more at: http://www.targetedonc.com/conference/ata-2015/pd-l1-strongly-correlates-with-papillary-thyroid-cancer-aggressiveness#sthash.G9T2k0uM.dpuf

Investigators at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Toronto, Canada, have been working on determining whether or not PD-L1 expression levels and tissue (sub)locali - See more at: http://www.targetedonc.com/conference/ata-2015/pd-l1-strongly-correlates-with-papillary-thyroid-cancer-aggressiveness#sthash.G9T2k0uM.dpuf

TERT/BRAF Mutations a Deadly Combo for Thyroid Cancer Patients

http://www.cancernetwork.com/ata-2015-thyroid-cancer/tert-braf-mutations-deadly-combo-thyroid-cancer-patients

The coexistence of mutations in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and BRAF genes dramatically increases the risk of thyroid cancer aggressiveness, tumor recurrence and thyroid cancer-specific deaths, confirmed research teams from the United States and Korea at the 15th International Thyroid Congress (ITC) and 85th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations each alone have a modest effect, but the two coexisting, had a robustly synergistic effect on PTC [papillary thyroid cancer]-specific patient mortality,” reported Mingzhao Xing, MD, PhD, of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Xing, the lead author of the US study, presented preliminary data on the TERT/BRAF mutations’ deadly synergy at last year’s ITC/ATA meeting, and this year presented data with a larger cohort of patients and longer follow-up time.
“The two mutations together are associated with much worse outcomes,” Dr. Xing said. “Coexisting BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations define a unique genetic background that robustly underpins the worst PTC-specific mortality.”
The coexistence of TERT mutation and BRAF—or RAS—mutations increases tumor recurrence, mortality, and “several aggressive clinicopathologic features” among patients, agreed the lead author of the Korean study, Young Shin Song, MD, of the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. Dr. Song reported his team’s study of TERT promoter mutations in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer in Korea.
BRAF is a well-recognized proto-oncogene and TERT mutations are suspected to lengthen chromosomal telomeres to immortalize cell lines, in part by evading apoptosis. However, it is not yet clear exactly how these particular mutations interact so powerfully in thyroid cancer.
Of the TERT mutations, C228T is the most common in thyroid cancers, Dr. Xing reported. The US team therefore focused on C228T mutation’s associations with the natural history and outcomes of PTCs. They followed 1,059 patients (764 of whom were female) who were diagnosed with PTC between 1990 and 2015. Using Sanger sequencing of primary PTC tumor genomes, they identified BRAF V600E and TERT C228T mutation status for each patient’s tumors, and analyzed associations between mutation status and patient outcomes.
The US researchers reported that during their study period, only four patients whose PTC harbored neither mutation, died of their disease—a PTC-specific mortality of less than 1 death per 1,000 person-years. “Almost no patients died—very few,” remarked Dr. Xing. Among patients with TERT or BRAF mutations alone, there were four and seven deaths, respectively, yielding PTC-specific mortality rates of 6.6 and 3 deaths per 1,000 person-years. But for patients whose PTC tumors harbored both TERT and BRAF mutations, the US team identified 15 deaths, representing a PTC-specific mortality rate of 29.86 deaths per 1,000 person-years. The associated unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 37.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.50–114.09), Dr. Xing reported. That HR dropped to a still-dramatic 9.34 after statistically adjusting the analysis for patient age, sex, tumor size, tumor multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, vascular invasion, and cervical lymph node metastasis, he noted.
The Korean researchers studied 551 patients with DTC (432 of whom had PTC), who underwent thyroidectomy between 1993 and 2012, among whom the overall prevalence of TERT C228T and C250T mutations was 4.5%. “This mutation was found more frequently in patients with tumors harboring BRAF V600E or RAS mutations (4.8% or 11.3%, respectively), or in the high-risk patients defined by the ATA high-risk group or the TNM stage III–IV group (9.1% or 12.9%, respectively),” Dr. Song reported. “Even after adjusting for clinicopathologic cofactors, the presence of TERT promoter mutations significantly increased the risk of both recurrence and thyroid cancer-specific mortality among the ATA high-risk group.”
TERT promoter mutations strengthened the prognostic predictions of the conventional staging systems,” Dr. Song noted. “Genetic screening for TERT promoter mutations could aid predictions of mortality and recurrence in DTC patients, particularly high-risk patients.”
- See more at: http://www.cancernetwork.com/ata-2015-thyroid-cancer/tert-braf-mutations-deadly-combo-thyroid-cancer-patients#sthash.tMAHGqTk.dpuf


October 23, 2015
News | October 23, 2015 | ATA Thyroid Cancer 2015, Thyroid Cancer - See more at: http://www.cancernetwork.com/ata-2015-thyroid-cancer/tert-braf-mutations-deadly-combo-thyroid-cancer-patients#sthash.tMAHGqTk.dpuf
News | October 23, 2015 | ATA Thyroid Cancer 2015, Thyroid Cancer - See more at: http://www.cancernetwork.com/ata-2015-thyroid-cancer/tert-braf-mutations-deadly-combo-thyroid-cancer-patients#sthash.tMAHGqTk.dpuf

The coexistence of mutations in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and BRAF genes dramatically increases the risk of thyroid cancer aggressiveness, tumor recurrence and thyroid cancer-specific deaths, confirmed research teams from the United States and Korea at the 15th International Thyroid Congress (ITC) and 85th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations each alone have a modest effect, but the two coexisting, had a robustly synergistic effect on PTC [papillary thyroid cancer]-specific patient mortality,” reported Mingzhao Xing, MD, PhD, of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Xing, the lead author of the US study, presented preliminary data on the TERT/BRAF mutations’ deadly synergy at last year’s ITC/ATA meeting, and this year presented data with a larger cohort of patients and longer follow-up time.
“The two mutations together are associated with much worse outcomes,” Dr. Xing said. “Coexisting BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations define a unique genetic background that robustly underpins the worst PTC-specific mortality.”
The coexistence of TERT mutation and BRAF—or RAS—mutations increases tumor recurrence, mortality, and “several aggressive clinicopathologic features” among patients, agreed the lead author of the Korean study, Young Shin Song, MD, of the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. Dr. Song reported his team’s study of TERT promoter mutations in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer in Korea.
BRAF is a well-recognized proto-oncogene and TERT mutations are suspected to lengthen chromosomal telomeres to immortalize cell lines, in part by evading apoptosis. However, it is not yet clear exactly how these particular mutations interact so powerfully in thyroid cancer.
Of the TERT mutations, C228T is the most common in thyroid cancers, Dr. Xing reported. The US team therefore focused on C228T mutation’s associations with the natural history and outcomes of PTCs. They followed 1,059 patients (764 of whom were female) who were diagnosed with PTC between 1990 and 2015. Using Sanger sequencing of primary PTC tumor genomes, they identified BRAF V600E and TERT C228T mutation status for each patient’s tumors, and analyzed associations between mutation status and patient outcomes.
The US researchers reported that during their study period, only four patients whose PTC harbored neither mutation, died of their disease—a PTC-specific mortality of less than 1 death per 1,000 person-years. “Almost no patients died—very few,” remarked Dr. Xing. Among patients with TERT or BRAF mutations alone, there were four and seven deaths, respectively, yielding PTC-specific mortality rates of 6.6 and 3 deaths per 1,000 person-years. But for patients whose PTC tumors harbored both TERT and BRAF mutations, the US team identified 15 deaths, representing a PTC-specific mortality rate of 29.86 deaths per 1,000 person-years. The associated unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 37.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.50–114.09), Dr. Xing reported. That HR dropped to a still-dramatic 9.34 after statistically adjusting the analysis for patient age, sex, tumor size, tumor multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, vascular invasion, and cervical lymph node metastasis, he noted.
The Korean researchers studied 551 patients with DTC (432 of whom had PTC), who underwent thyroidectomy between 1993 and 2012, among whom the overall prevalence of TERT C228T and C250T mutations was 4.5%. “This mutation was found more frequently in patients with tumors harboring BRAF V600E or RAS mutations (4.8% or 11.3%, respectively), or in the high-risk patients defined by the ATA high-risk group or the TNM stage III–IV group (9.1% or 12.9%, respectively),” Dr. Song reported. “Even after adjusting for clinicopathologic cofactors, the presence of TERT promoter mutations significantly increased the risk of both recurrence and thyroid cancer-specific mortality among the ATA high-risk group.”
TERT promoter mutations strengthened the prognostic predictions of the conventional staging systems,” Dr. Song noted. “Genetic screening for TERT promoter mutations could aid predictions of mortality and recurrence in DTC patients, particularly high-risk patients.”
- See more at: http://www.cancernetwork.com/ata-2015-thyroid-cancer/tert-braf-mutations-deadly-combo-thyroid-cancer-patients#sthash.tMAHGqTk.dpuf
By Bryant Furlow
By Bryant Furlow
October 23, 2015
News | October 23, 2015 | ATA Thyroid Cancer 2015, Thyroid Cancer - See more at: http://www.cancernetwork.com/ata-2015-thyroid-cancer/tert-braf-mutations-deadly-combo-thyroid-cancer-patients#sthash.tMAHGqTk.dpuf

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Is red wine at dinner good for type 2 diabetes?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/red-wine-at-dinner-may-help-hearts-in-type-2-diabetes/

Last Updated Oct 14, 2015 7:10 AM EDT

A glass of red wine each evening with dinner may offer heart health perks to people with type 2 diabetes.

A two-year study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine is the first long-term study aimed at assessing the effects and safety of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol in people with type 2 diabetes, who are more at risk for developing cardiovascular disease than the general population. Those with type 2 diabetes also tend to have lower levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
The researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reported that over two years, red wine helped improve signs of cardiac health by modestly increasing levels of HDL cholesterol and lowering overall cholesterol.

The randomized controlled intervention trial involved 224 controlled diabetes patients aged 45 to 75, who generally abstained from alcohol. The patients were randomly assigned to drink 5 ounces of red wine, white wine, or mineral water (the control group) with their dinner for two years. They were all given instructions to follow a well-balanced Mediterranean diet plan that did not have a calorie restriction.

The researchers performed genetic tests that showed how quickly the patients metabolized alcohol, as well as various lipid (cholesterol) tests. They also measured glucose control, blood pressure, liver function tests, medication use, and other symptoms at several time points during the two-year follow-up.

Compared with the group that drank water, patients in the red wine group had improvements in their lipid tests, the study showed. "Red wine was found to be superior in improving overall metabolic profiles, mainly by modestly improving the lipid profile, by increasing good HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1, one of the major constituents of HDL cholesterol, while decreasing the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol," the researchers explained.

Also, in both wine groups, patients who were "slow alcohol metabolizers" (according to the genetic tests) showed more improvements in glucose control tests than "fast alcohol metabolizers." Compared with water, wine did not increase or decrease blood pressure or liver function tests.
The study authors noted that in both red and white wine drinkers, sleep quality was significantly improved, too, compared with the water control group.

Iris Shai, principal investigator of the trial, and a member of the Department of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, said in a press statement, "The differences found between red and white wine were opposed to our original hypothesis that the beneficial effects of wine are mediated predominantly by the alcohol."

So, how much can people with type 2 diabetes sip at dinner without going over the top? "One to two glasses of red wine for men and up to one glass of red wine for women, daily, at dinner," was the amount indicated by the study, Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, told CBS News.

Sood said researchers have known for some time that moderate amounts of alcohol are acceptable for diabetics, but the jury was out on which kind of alcohol might offer the most benefit.

Sood said of red wine's health-enhancing ingredients: "It's the non-ethanol components of the wine, which are present more so in red wine. It's the phenols, it's the resveratrol, it's the tannins. They all work together with the ethanol possibly to result in these positive changes."

While the study shows benefits, Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, said, "I worry about the subset of my type 2 diabetes patients who drink too much, and that this may give them more ammunition to say alcohol is good for diabetes. Over-drinking can poison the pancreas. In these patients, when they stop drinking, their diabetes gets tremendously better."

Spratt also told CBS News that in the South, where she lives, many people abstain from drinking for religious reasons. She said, "Here in the South, it would not be something I would generally recommend. I would not say, 'Now you should start drinking wine.' I wouldn't tell someone to start drinking, but if I knew a type 2 diabetes patient was a moderate drinker, I would tell them it looks like red wine is the best choice out of all alcohols to drink, rather than white wine, beer, or hard liquor."

Spratt also noted that the study did not look at cardiovascular outcomes such as heart attack and stroke.

For 51-year-old Garret Rubin, who said he has to watch out for everything -- fats, salt, sugar -- in his diet since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the study is a positive note.

Rubin said diet, exercise and medication will remain his first line of defense, but he told CBS News, "Now, since I have a choice, I think red wine might be the thing."

Editor's note: In an earlier version of this article, Dr. Sood said red wine decreased development of heart disease, but that was not found in the study. The research only looked at risk factors like cholesterol levels, not whether patients actually developed heart disease.

Friday, October 9, 2015

2015 NCCN Guidelines® for Thyroid Carcinoma Recommend LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib) as Preferred Agent

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2015-nccn-guidelines-for-thyroid-carcinoma-recommend-lenvima-lenvatinib-as-preferred-agent-300156158.html


WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Eisai Inc. announced the decision of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) to recommend LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib) as the preferred agent for the treatment of patients with progressive and/or symptomatic metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer, including papillary, follicular and Hürthle cell thyroid carcinoma, that no longer responds to radioactive iodine therapy in the 2015 NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Thyroid Carcinoma. The panel based its recommendation on the response rate seen in the pivotal Phase 3 SELECT clinical trial. 

LENVIMA, a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor discovered and developed by Eisai, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2015 for the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAI-R DTC).
The most common types of thyroid cancer, papillary and follicular (including Hürthle cell), are classified as differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and account for approximately 95% of all cases. While most DTC patients are curable with surgery and radioactive iodine treatment, the prognosis for those patients whose cancers persist or recur is poor. There are a limited number of treatment options for this radioactive iodine-refractory form of thyroid cancer.

"We are pleased that the NCCN has recommended the use of LENVIMA as the preferred treatment option for patients with progressive and/or symptomatic metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer who have become refractory to radioactive iodine therapy," said RuiRong Yuan, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Eisai Global Oncology Business Unit, and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Americas Region, Eisai Inc. "This decision underscores the role of LENVIMA and provides oncologists and endocrinologists with an evidence-based, consensus-driven guide for decision-making when treating patients with this rare and difficult-to-treat cancer."  

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) document provides evidence-based, consensus-driven management to help patients receive preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and supportive services that are most likely to lead to optimal outcomes. The intent of the NCCN Guidelines is to assist in the decision-making process of individuals involved in cancer care—including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, payers, patients and their families—with the ultimate goal of advancing patient care in the fight against cancer.

About LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib)
LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib) is indicated for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).
LENVIMA, discovered and developed by Eisai, is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor that inhibits the kinase activities of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors VEGFR1 (FLT1), VEGFR2 (KDR), and VEGFR3 (FLT4). LENVIMA also inhibits other RTKs that have been implicated in pathogenic angiogenesis, tumor growth, and cancer progression in addition to their normal cellular functions, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors FGFR1, 2, 3, and 4; the platelet derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα), KIT, and RET. LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib) was approved under Priority Review designation for locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer by the FDA in February 2015. Eisai was granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for lenvatinib in various types of thyroid cancer in the United States, Japan, and Europe.
Important Safety Information
Warnings and Precautions
  • Hypertension reported in 73% of patients on LENVIMA vs 16% for placebo (44% vs 4% ≥grade 3). Blood pressure should be controlled prior to treatment. Withhold dose for grade 3 hypertension despite optimal antihypertensive therapy; resume at reduced dose when controlled at ≤grade 2. Discontinue for life-threatening hypertension.
  • Cardiac dysfunction reported in 7% of patients on LENVIMA vs 2% for placebo (2% vs 0% ≥grade 3). Monitor for signs/symptoms of cardiac decompensation. Withhold for grade 3 cardiac dysfunction. Resume at reduced dose or discontinue based on severity and persistence of cardiac dysfunction. Discontinue for grade 4 cardiac dysfunction.
  • Arterial thromboembolic events reported in 5% of patients on LENVIMA vs 2% for placebo (3% vs 1% ≥grade 3). Discontinue following an arterial thrombotic event. The safety of resuming LENVIMA after an arterial thromboembolic event has not been established, and LENVIMA has not been studied in patients who have had an arterial thromboembolic event within the previous 6 months.
  • ALT and AST increases (≥grade 3) occurred in 4% and 5% of patients on LENVIMA vs 0% for placebo. Across clinical studies in which 1108 patients received LENVIMA, hepatic failure (including fatal events) was reported in 3 patients and acute hepatitis in 1 patient. Monitor liver function before initiation, then every 2 weeks for first 2 months, and at least monthly thereafter during treatment. Withhold dose for liver impairment ≥grade 3. Resume at reduced dose or discontinue based on severity/persistence of hepatotoxicity. Discontinue for hepatic failure.
  • Proteinuria reported in 34% of patients on LENVIMA vs 3% for placebo (11% vs 0% ≥grade 3). Monitor for proteinuria before and during treatment. Withhold dose for ≥2 grams of proteinuria/24 hours. Resume at reduced dose when proteinuria is <2 discontinue="" for="" gm="" hours.="" li="" nephrotic="" syndrome.="">
  • Events of renal impairment reported in 14% of patients on LENVIMA vs 2% for placebo (3% vs 1% ≥grade 3). Withhold LENVIMA for grade 3 or 4 renal failure/impairment. Resume at reduced dose or discontinue, depending on severity/persistence of renal impairment.
  • Events of gastrointestinal (GI) perforation or fistula reported in 2% of patients on LENVIMA vs 0.8% for placebo. Discontinue in patients who develop GI perforation or life-threatening fistula.
  • QT/QTc interval prolongation reported in 9% of patients on LENVIMA vs 2% for placebo (2% vs 0% ≥grade 3). Monitor ECG in patients with congenital long QT syndrome, CHF, bradyarrhythmias, or patients taking drugs known to prolong the QT interval. Monitor and correct electrolyte abnormalities in all patients. Withhold dose for ≥grade 3 QT interval prolongation. Resume at reduced dose when QT prolongation resolves to grade 0, 1, or baseline.
  • Hypocalcemia ≥grade 3 reported in 9% of patients on LENVIMA (2% for placebo). Monitor blood calcium levels at least monthly and replace calcium as necessary. Interrupt and adjust LENVIMA as necessary. In most cases, hypocalcemia responded to replacement and dose interruption/reduction.
  • Across clinical studies in which 1108 patients received LENVIMA, reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) was reported in 3 patients. Withhold LENVIMA for RPLS until fully resolved. Resume at reduced dose or discontinue based on the severity and persistence of neurologic symptoms.
  • Hemorrhagic events occurred in 35% of patients on LENVIMA vs 18% for placebo (2% vs 3% ≥grade 3). The most frequently reported hemorrhagic event was epistaxis (11% grade 1 and 1% grade 2). Discontinuation due to hemorrhagic events occurred in 1% of patients on LENVIMA. There was 1 fatal intracranial hemorrhage case among 16 patients who received LENVIMA and had CNS metastases at baseline. Withhold dose for grade 3 hemorrhage. Resume at reduced dose or discontinue, based on severity/persistence of hemorrhage. Discontinue for grade 4 hemorrhage.
  • LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib) impairs exogenous thyroid suppression. In patients with a normal baseline TSH, elevation of TSH level above 0.5 mU/L was observed post baseline in 57% of patients on LENVIMA (14% for placebo). Monitor TSH levels monthly and adjust thyroid replacement medication as needed in patients with DTC.
  • LENVIMA may cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with LENVIMA and for at least 2 weeks following completion of therapy.
Adverse Reactions
  • The most common adverse reactions observed in LENVIMA-treated patients vs placebo-treated patients were hypertension (73% vs 16%), fatigue (67% vs 35%), diarrhea (67% vs 17%), arthralgia/myalgia (62% vs 28%), decreased appetite (54% vs 18%), weight decreased (51% vs 15%), nausea (47% vs 25%), stomatitis (41% vs 8%), headache (38% vs 11%), vomiting (36% vs 15%), proteinuria (34% vs 3%), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (32% vs 1%), abdominal pain (31% vs 11%), and dysphonia (31% vs 5%).
Use in Specific Populations
  • Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants, advise women to discontinue breastfeeding during treatment.
  • LENVIMA may result in reduced fertility in females of reproductive potential, and may result in damage to male reproductive tissues, leading to reduced fertility of unknown duration.
For more information about LENVIMA, click here for the full Prescribing Information or visit www.LENVIMA.com.
About Eisai Inc.At Eisai Inc., human health care is our goal. We give our first thoughts to patients and their families, and helping to increase the benefits health care provides. As the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., we have a passionate commitment to patient care that is the driving force behind our efforts to help address unmet medical needs. We are a fully integrated pharmaceutical business with discovery, clinical, manufacturing and marketing capabilities. Our key areas of commercial focus include oncology and specialty care (Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and metabolic disorders). To learn more about Eisai Inc., please visit us at www.eisai.com/US.
Eisai Inc. has affiliates that are part of a global product creation organization that includes R&D facilities in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as a global demand chain organization that includes facilities in Maryland and North Carolina. Eisai's global areas of R&D focus include neuroscience; oncology; metabolic disorders; vascular, inflammatory and immunological reaction; and antibody-based programs.




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WebMD: Experts Link Chemicals to Diabetes, Obesity

https://fepblue.webmdhealth.com/!newsletters?id=AD7jaLg1x2P97Mb5udhcAWrMK6Ql5BfFYnDzGqODA90w0&s=14148&mrdid=50f9b189-166e-e511-a515-a0369f30171a

By Brenda Goodman, MA
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
Sept. 28, 2015 -- People who are trying to lose weight or manage diabetes should try to change their lifestyle not only to exercise or cut calories, but also to avoid chemicals that may be contributing to their condition, experts say.
“You may have a healthy meal, but if it’s in a plastic container, it’s leaching chemicals,” said Andrea Gore, PhD, a pharmacologist at the University of Texas at Austin in a webinar for reporters on Monday.
Gore is the chair of a task force that issued on Monday a new statement on the harm from hormone-disrupting chemicals. The statement, which is based on a review of more than 1,300 studies, says there’s convincing evidence to support a link between hundreds of hormone disruptors and several chronic health problems, including:
  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Heart disease
  • Infertility
  • Hormone-sensitive cancers in women (breast, endometrial, ovarian)
  • Prostate cancer
  • Thyroid problems
  • Poor brain development and brain function in young children
Researchers say the statement is significant because it comes from a group of doctors that treat people for hormone problems instead of scientists who study the effects of chemicals in animals or on cells.
Gore said the evidence for these effects is now strong enough that everyone should take steps to avoid chemicals that block or mimic the action of hormones in the body.
She also called on doctors who are treating patients for infertility to tell their patients to avoid hormone disruptors, which are known to decrease semen quality and interfere with how ovaries work. She said doctors who are counseling pregnant women and the parents of young children should also warn about chemical exposures.
“In particular, we’re worried about fetuses, infants, children, etc.,” she said, because exposure to the chemicals during development could set the stage for disease down the road.
Avoiding these kinds of chemicals is easier said than done, however, since no one knows how many of them exist or exactly how they’re being used. That’s because chemicals aren’t tested for safety before they used in products that are sold to consumers.
There are about 85,000 chemicals known to be used in the U.S. No one knows how many might disrupt hormones.
“Not all of them are EDCs [endocrine-disrupting chemicals], but if even 1% of them were EDCs, that would be 850 chemicals,” Gore said.
Some of the best-known hormone-disrupting chemicals include:
  • Bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S, which are used in some plastics, metal food cans, and cash register receipts
  • Phthalates, a class of chemicals that are used to soften plastic and also used in some perfumes, soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics
  • Some pesticides, like DDT
  • Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical
“They act at very low doses,” she said.
The statement calls for better safety testing to determine which chemicals could pose problems, tighter regulation, and more research on the health effects.
Environmental health experts cheered the new statement.
“I’m thrilled,” said Richard Stahlhut, MD, a visiting research scientist at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“The endocrinologists had to be the first ones on board, and fortunately, they are,” he said. “If they’re not on board, then maybe people like me are crazy,” said Stahlhut, who studies the hormone-disrupting effects of chemicals like BPA.
Chemical manufacturers said the statement went too far.
“The statement incorrectly characterizes as settled the still-unproven hypothesis regarding risks of low levels of exposure to particular chemicals. In doing so, the [Endocrine] Society discounts the extensive reviews by experts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority that were unable to substantiate the health significance of the so called low-dose effects,” said the American Chemistry Council in a statement.
“Furthermore, the Endocrine Society’s report fails to differentiate between chemicals that are 'endocrine-active,' meaning they interact with the endocrine system, and those that are 'endocrine disruptors,' meaning that the levels of exposure associated with that interaction cause scientifically-proven adverse health effects,” the statement said.
Some retailers and manufacturers aren’t waiting for the dust to settle on the chemical debate.
On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that Target is expanding the list of chemicals it would ask suppliers to take out of their products. The expanded list will included nearly 600 chemicals on Health Canada’s roster of prohibited cosmetic ingredients. It will include triclosan, which is found in antibacterial soaps and some toothpastes.
Walmart also has a list of substances it asks retailers to avoid, though it doesn’t post the list publicly, Bloomberg reported.
Until more is known, Gore said consumers could reduce their exposure to known endocrine disruptors by avoiding bottled water in plastic bottles and being careful not to heat or microwave food in plastic containers.
Stahlhut said people who are concerned about chemical exposure should try to do the best they can, but because it’s impossible to avoid all potential exposures, to “Try to be Zen about it. Don’t drive yourself crazy.”
He said he tries to eat and drink out of stainless steel or glass containers instead of plastic. He especially tries to avoid heating food in plastic. He said he tries to avoid chemicals in the nonstick coatings by cooking in cast-iron pans. And he steers clear of soaps and toothpaste with triclosan.
“Make the easy choices when you can. Make the harder choices when you can afford it,” he said.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Hilton Head Island pitcher overcame cancer, other obstacles on his way to The Show

http://hiltonheadmonthly.com/sports/hilton-head-recreation/2843-hilton-head-island-pitcher-overcame-cancer-other-obstacles-on-his-way-to-the-show

A good non-goopy article about a Thyroid Cancer survivor.

BY JUSTIN JARRETT | P HOTO BY POUYA DIANAT

To anyone else, it looked like a routine spring training appearance. A quick inning of work on one of dozens of indistinguishable Grapefruit League afternoons.
For Ryan Kelly, it was the biggest game of his life, because as far as he knew, it might be his last.
Three days later, Kelly had surgery to remove his cancerous thyroid, an ailment that was discovered during a routine physical just days earlier.
Kelly thought it might be the end of his long journey through professional baseball, but it turned into a beginning of a new, more fruitful quest that culminated with his long-awaited arrival in the big leagues.

THE ‘C’ WORD

When Kelly reported to spring training with the Atlanta Braves in February 2014, he did so with realistic hopes it was his time to reach the big leagues. The former Hilton Head Island High School star had pitched well at Triple-A Tucson in the San Diego Padres organization the previous season and signed a free-agent contract with the Braves in the offseason.
A month later, he was more concerned with his health than the status of his baseball career. He learned that March that he had thyroid cancer, and the road to the majors suddenly looked longer and more treacherous than ever.
There were complications during surgery, followed by weeks of radioactive iodine treatments. Kelly missed two months, an eternity for someone who can’t stand being on the disabled list, and began his season at Single-A Lynchburg, a long way from the majors. It took the full season for him to get back to full strength, and he was assigned to play in the Puerto Rican Winter League for the first time in his career to get in some of the work he missed.
“People think I’m crazy when I say it, but it was one of the best things that ever happened for me in my life,” Kelly says, noting the thyroid cancer had been the source of his difficulty staying at his optimum weight and maintaining his stamina.
More than that, though, it offered a dose of perspective. The notion that his baseball career might be over — as frustrating as it had sometimes been — provided added motivation.
“This is all I know,” Kelly said. “For there to be a chance for me to have that taken away, it hit me pretty deep. I wasn’t ready to give up playing. It completely changed that side of it. It made the game easier, because I had a lot less to worry about.
“It became fun again.”

LEARNING TO PITCH

That winter in Puerto Rico wound up being pivotal to Kelly’s development. He experimented with “pitching backward” — starting at-bats with off-speed pitches to keep hitters guessing and disrupt their timing — and learned to pitch inside more. The lessons he picked up carried over to the next spring.
Kelly began the 2015 season at Double-A Mississippi and was dominant. In his first 17 appearances, he posted a 0.48 ERA and 10 saves while holding opponents to a .197 batting average, earning a promotion to Triple-A Gwinnett. He was nearly as dominant there, going 1-1 with five saves and a 2.13 ERA in 10 outings.
“What got me that far was God-given talent — I was lucky enough to be able to throw hard and had good stuff, and that kind of carried me through,” Kelly said. “When I finally learned how to pitch, which probably took me longer than I’d care to admit, that’s when I really started to have success.”

THE CALL

On June 27, 2015, more than nine years after the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in 26th round of the 2006 MLB Draft, Kelly got the call. He was going to The Show. The next afternoon, Kelly was in the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen — in Pittsburgh, oddly enough — eager for his big-league debut.
After an arduous nine-year trek to the bigs, Kelly had to wait two more days for his moment. With a group of family and friends cheering from the stands, Kelly ran in from the Turner Field bullpen on June 30 to face the heart of the Washington Nationals’ lineup.
Yunel Escobar greeted Kelly with a seeing-eye single through the middle, and then came his welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment. Bryce Harper, one of the brightest young stars in the game, roped a first-pitch single into right field. Kelly recovered nicely, getting a double-play grounder and a swinging strikeout to escape with only one run and elicit a celebration among his cheering section.
In hindsight, Kelly didn’t relish the moment as much as he would have liked.
“I was trying to keep my cool so much that I think I kind of brought myself down further than I would like to be,” Kelly said. “I didn’t want to let the bright lights and the fans and everything get involved with my outing. I didn’t really get to soak in everything.”
For the journey that led him so many places — from Hilton Head to Walters State Community College in Tennessee, to minor-league stops in Florida, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Myrtle Beach, Arizona, San Antonio, Oregon, Virginia, Mississippi and Puerto Rico — to wind up in Atlanta, where so many friends and family could make the short trip to see it in person, made it all the more rewarding.
“When I first got the call, I was overwhelmed with joy,” Kelly said. “Not just for myself, but my family, everyone that’s been on the journey with me. It’s been just as tough a road for them as it has been for me.
“It was definitely everything that I thought it would be.”