NIH study finds sigmoidoscopy reduces colorectal cancer rates
NCI Press Release
(Posted: 05/21/2012) - Study finds that flexible sigmoidoscopy is effective in reducing the rates of new cases and deaths due to colorectal cancer. Researchers found that overall colorectal cancer mortality was reduced by 26 percent and incidence was reduced by 21 percent as a result of screening with sigmoidoscopy.


Mass General study suggests specific populations of tumor cells have different roles
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/18/2012) - A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers suggests that specific populations of tumor cells have different roles in the process by which tumors make new copies of themselves and grow. In their report in the May 15 issue of Cancer Cell, researchers identify a tumor-propagating cell required for the growth of a pediatric muscle tumor in a zebrafish model and also show that another, more-differentiated tumor cell must first travel to sites of new tumor growth to prepare an environment that supports metastatic growth.

Fox Chase analysis finds more cutting-edge cancer research supported by industry
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/18/2012) - Nearly half of the research presented at ASCO’s annual meeting last year came from researchers with ties to companies, and the amount appears to be increasing every year, according to new findings from Fox Chase Cancer Center. The new findings will be presented this year at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting on Monday, June 4.

Multi-center team develops a new technique that reveals unseen information in DNA code
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/18/2012) - Imagine reading an entire book, but then realizing that your glasses did not allow you to distinguish “g” from “q.” What details did you miss? Geneticists faced a similar problem with the recent discovery of a “sixth nucleotide” in the DNA alphabet. Two modifications of cytosine, one of the four bases that make up DNA, look almost the same but mean different things. But scientists lacked a way of reading DNA, letter by letter, and detecting precisely where these modifications are found in particular tissues or cell types. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Chicago, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the University of California, San Diego and Emory University has developed and tested a technique to accomplish this task. The results are published May 17 in the online edition of the journal Cell.

University of Colorado study associates protein RAL with aggressive characteristics in prostate, bladder and skin cancers
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/18/2012) - We have known for years that when the proteins RalA and RalB are present, cells in dishes copy toward aggressive forms of cancer. However, until this week, no study had explored the effects of RAL proteins in human cancers – an essential step on the path to developing drugs to target these proteins. From metastasis in bladder cancer, to seminal vessel involvement in prostate cancer, to shortened survival in squamous cell carcinoma, a study published this week in the journal Cancer Research shows that proteins RalA and RalB are associated with aggressive cancer characteristics in human tumors.

In Georgetown University phase I study, combination of temsirolimus, temsirolimus proves safe; positive survival trend seen
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/18/2012) - A phase I clinical trial examining the safety of combining temsirolimus and capecitabine in advanced malignancies suggests the two agents can be given safely to patients. In addition, the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers conducting the study in cancer patients whose tumors have resisted multiple treatments say the combination demonstrates “promising evidence” of disease control and should be studied in a phase II trial. Their clinical findings and additional data from the study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, June 1 through 5, 2012.

Georgetown University study combines lapatinib with cetuximab to overcome resistance in EGFR-driven tumors
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/18/2012) - Targeted therapies have been studied for years, but recent laboratory research is providing robust clues about drugs that might work better in combination, particularly in treating cancers that have become resistant to therapy. That kind of information is behind a novel clinical trial at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center that combines cetuximab and lapatinib. Findings from this phase I study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, June 1st through 5th.

Sloan-Kettering study finds testing for mutations identified in squamous cell lung cancer tumors helps personalize treatment
NCI Cancer Center News
(Posted: 05/17/2012) - Screening lung cancer tumor samples for cancer-causing, or “driver,” genetic mutations can help physicians tailor patients’ treatments to target those specific mutations... Now, researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have begun testing for three new genetic targets and found that together they occur in approximately 50 percent of patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the lung, which affects 40,000 Americans each year. Initial findings of the research will be presented on June 4 at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.