Targeted therapies: pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors join the club

In the RADIANT-3 study, a randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial, James Yao (Houston, TX, USA) and colleagues assessed the efficacy and safety of everolimus (an inhibitor of the mTOR pathway) plus best supportive care versus placebo plus best supportive care in 410 patients with advanced intermediate or low-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PNET) with disease progression within the previous 12 months. Everolimus showed a significant improvement in progression-free survival—the primary endpoint—over placebo, with a median progression-free survival of 11 months for everolimus compared with 4·6 months for placebo (HR 0·35, 95% CI 0·27–0·45, p<0·0001). The Lancet Oncology reports.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/issue/current

Dove si curano i tumori del Pancreas

Un link a sportello cancro del Corriere della Sera, per trovare le informazioni sui centri di eccellenza per la cura dei tumori del pancreas, fegato e vie biliari. Il servizio e' curato dalla Fondazione Veronesi.

http://www.corriere.it/sportello-cancro/db/mdc/tutte/2008/mdc07.shtml.

Late fees for Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a lethal disease, with a less then 3% five year survival. Our failure in treating this cancer led to the generally accepted assumption that pancreatic cancer is indeed an extremely aggressive disease. Latest studies from Yachida and colleagues (Nature, 2010) using whole genome sequencing on a well characterized series of human primary and metastatic pancreatic cancer tissues and primary cell lines, unveiled a much milder picture of pancreatic cancer, a slow growing tumor whose natural history takes about 20 years to complete. Furthermore metastasis occurs only at the very end (2,7 years before death). Interestingly all mutations found in metastases could be found in the primary tumor, suggesting that metastases heterogeneity reflects primary tumor heterogeneity. Still early diagnosis and local control are the way to go and pancreatic cancer is no exception.

Cancer as Old Foe and Goad to Science

Good Cancer literature

Cancer as Old Foe and Goad to Science from NYTimes

Perspective: Put Integrity High on Your To-Do List - Science Careers - Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Faculty, Postdoc jobs on Science Careers

Perspective: Put Integrity High on Your To-Do List - Science Careers - Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Faculty, Postdoc jobs on Science Careers

A brave new way to fund cancer research

It is time to think different, forty years of cancer funding have produced disappointing results overall. This is a common feeling in the cancer community. Obviously, this is not completely true. Even if we stand far away from winning the war, we can now thinking of cancer as many different genetic diseases, rationally design drugs, and prolong lives for years as for a chronic illness. In some case, we can definitely cure it, but prevention, rather then treatments helped. Anyhow, results we see are the sum of many little steps. The point is that they might be too little to make the difference. Actually, the way grant system works, induces researcher to propose projects reviewer know will be successful. None wants to fund a fishing expedition without results. But if you already know what you expect the yield of your discovery is more likely to be low. Obama Stimuls Package faced this challenge, a once in a lifetime chance to foster groundbreaking research. But it also should be a good opportunity to re-think of the way we fund research. We won't go to the moon with a bus ticket.


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Grant System Leads Cancer Researchers to Play It Safe

A claim for physician-scientist training in Europe

While everybody is talking about translational research, Europe is just ignoring the issue of training translational researchers. Oversea, despite a climate of economic uncertainty, United States are carrying on a huge effort in order to train physician-scientists feeding a brilliant new generation of researchers who will have the responsibility to lead translational projects and radically change our approach to cancer. They are training as MD/PhD, during residencies of surgery, hemato/oncology, radiation oncology, and then with research fellowships in competitive labs all over the country. Some of them will move into bio tech companies, some will remain into the academia or comprehensive cancer centers and a few will be in community hospital ready to improve the standard of care for most cancer patients. Where is Europe?