Combination of drugs may help kill brain cancer: Study

[stewartdean98]

A team of U.S. researchers finds that a combination of drugs may help in the killing of brain cancer tumor cells with high cure rates in mice.

A combination of drugs may help in the killing of brain cancer tumor cells with high cure rates in mice, finds a study.

The study appeared in journal Nature Communications.

Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa conducted the study on mice and found that a combination of drugs known as SMAC Mimetics and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) amplifies kill rates of cancer tumor cells in laboratory testing.

They also found that the new mechanism also promotes long-term immunity against glioblastoma tumors and is highly effective against breast cancer and multiple myeloma - a malignant tumor of the bone marrow.

"These findings represent a significant evolution in our research and the field of immunotherapy. We are the first in the world to show the synergistic tumour-killing impact of combining SMAC Mimetics with immune checkpoint inhibitors for glioblastoma," said Robert Korneluk from the University of Ottawa.

"You could say it takes two to tango. We believe that it takes a combination strategy to impact cancer cure rates," Korneluk added.

The finds indicate that SMAC Mimetics also have a powerful synergistic effect with ICIs, relatively new drugs that are showing great promise in the clinic.

"Two drug companies have initiated human clinical trials this year to assess the impact of this combination of SMAC Mimetics and ICIs on patients with a variety of cancers," said another researcher ,Eric Lacasse.

"Although it could be years before any clinical trials begin for adults or children with the deadly brain cancer, glioblastoma, we're looking forward to seeing how scientific evidence from these experimental treatments adds to our knowledge," Lacasse explained.
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[waltky]

Glowing Dyes Help Doctors Find Hidden Cancers...

Doctors Hunt for Hidden Cancers with Glowing Dyes
March 14, 2018 — It was an ordinary surgery to remove a tumor - until doctors turned off the lights and the patient's chest started to glow. A spot over his heart shined purplish pink. Another shimmered in a lung. They were hidden cancers revealed by fluorescent dye, an advance that soon may transform how hundreds of thousands of operations are done each year.

Surgery has long been the best way to cure cancer. If the disease recurs, it's usually because stray tumor cells were left behind or others lurked undetected. Yet there's no good way for surgeons to tell what is cancer and what is not. They look and feel for defects, but good and bad tissue often seem the same. Now, dyes are being tested to make cancer cells light up so doctors can cut them out and give patients a better shot at survival.

Dr. Sunil Singhal, right, directs a special camera to be able to view his patients tumor on monitors while performing surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia​

With dyes, "it's almost like we have bionic vision,'' said Dr. Sunil Singhal at the University of Pennsylvania. ``We can be sure we're not taking too much or too little.'' The dyes are experimental but advancing quickly. Two are in late-stage studies aimed at winning Food and Drug Administration approval. Johnson & Johnson just invested $40 million in one, and federal grants support some of the work. "We think this is so important. Patients' lives will be improved by this,'' said Paula Jacobs, an imaging expert at the National Cancer Institute. In five or so years, "there will be a palette of these,'' she predicts.

Making cells glow

Singhal was inspired a decade ago, while pondering a student who died when her lung cancer recurred soon after he thought he had removed it all. He was lying next to his baby, gazing at fluorescent decals. "I looked up and saw all these stars on the ceiling and I thought, how cool if we could make cells light up'' so people wouldn't die from unseen tumors, he said. A dye called ICG had long been used for various medical purposes. Singhal found that when big doses were given by IV a day before surgery, it collected in cancer cells and glowed when exposed to near infrared light. He dubbed it TumorGlow and has been testing it for lung, brain and other tumor types. He used it on Ryan Ciccozzi, a 45-year-old highway worker and father of four from Deptford, New Jersey, and found hidden cancer near Ciccozzi's heart and in a lung. "The tumor was kind of growing into everything in there,'' Ciccozzi said. "Without the dye, I don't think they would have seen anything'' besides the baseball-sized mass visible on CT scans ahead of time.

Singhal also is testing a dye for On Target Laboratories, based in the Purdue research park in Indiana, that binds to a protein more common in cancer cells. A late-stage study is underway for ovarian cancer and a mid-stage one for lung cancer. In one study, the dye highlighted 56 of 59 lung cancers seen on scans before surgery, plus nine more that weren't visible ahead of time. Each year, about 80,000 Americans have surgery for suspicious lung spots. If a dye can show that cancer is confined to a small node, surgeons can remove a wedge instead of a whole lobe and preserve more breathing capacity, said On Target chief Marty Low. No price has been set, but dyes are cheap to make and the cost should fit within rates hospitals negotiate with insurers for these operations, he said.

Big promise for breast cancer

 

[waltky]

The hope is for patients to get all the checks they need under one roof...

'One-stop shops' set to speed up cancer diagnosis
3 April 2018 - "One-stop shops" aimed at speeding up cancer diagnosis are being introduced across England.

The aim is to catch the disease earlier and prevent patients from being referred for several tests for different forms of the illness. Patients often face delays when they have non-specific symptoms. NHS England says this is a "step change" in the way people with suspected cancer are diagnosed and treated. The rapid diagnosis and then treatment of cancer can be vital in saving lives. While cancer survival rates have improved dramatically over recent decades, patients who are not displaying very obvious signs of the illness sometimes struggle to access quickly the help they need.

The aim is for patients to get all the checks they need under one roof​

Those with more vague symptoms, such as unexplained weight loss, reduced appetite or abdominal pain can be referred several times for different tests for different cancers, all wasting valuable opportunities to start treatment. Other symptoms can include fatigue, unexplained sweats or generally feeling unwell. NHS England is now adopting an approach first developed in Denmark - introducing 10 specialist rapid diagnostic and assessment centres where patients will receive all the necessary investigations under one roof'

Unclear symptoms'

Cally Palmer, national director for cancer at NHS England, says the new centres could play a key role in improving diagnosis and treatment. "Early diagnosis is crucial to saving lives and providing peace of mind for patients, which is why we are driving forward plans to revolutionise our approach to cancer in this country," she said. "These new one-stop shops represent a real step change in the way people with unclear symptoms are identified, diagnosed and treated." NHS England has developed the centres in collaboration with the cancer charities Macmillan and Cancer Research UK.

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Sara Hiom, director of early diagnosis at CRUK, said: "We're confident that these 10 pilot centres will give us a much better understanding of what's needed to speed up the diagnosis and treatment of people with less obvious symptoms, improve their experience of care and, ultimately, survival rates. "This is a first for this country and Cancer Research UK is delighted to be partnering with NHS England in this innovative initiative. "The knowledge gained will support others looking to roll out similar approaches in future."

The new centres will be spread across England, with the first 10 being located at: