UCI non-small cell lung cancer study highlights advances in targeted drug therapy

Crizotinib caused tumors to stop growing, shrink or disappear in 90 percent of patients

2010-11-02

(Press-News.org) Orange, Calif., Nov 1, 2010 — A UC Irvine oncologist's work with a targeted therapy is showing great promise in patients with a deadly form of lung cancer. The results were published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The multicenter study is testing whether the drug crizotinib effectively slows, stops or reverses growth in advanced non-small cell lung cancer tumors by targeting a genetic mutation that causes uncontrolled tumor growth. Study participants all tested positive for a mutation in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene.

According to the findings, tumors disappeared or shrank in 57 percent of patients. Tumors ceased growing in another 33 percent. The response rate to the current standard of care for advanced non-small cell lung cancer is about 15 percent.

"For the majority of patients, the treatment right now is chemotherapy plus targeted therapy in those eligible," said Dr. Ignatius Ou. "In the future, with the advance of personalized medicine, we hope to be able to identify specific genetic change in the lung cancer and treat patients with specific inhibitors that can improve survival rates and quality of life."

The New England Journal of Medicine article includes data from 82 patients treated in Phase 1 of this study, sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The targeted genetic mutation is particularly prevalent among those who have never smoked. Study participants ranged in age from 25 to 78, with 76 percent of them nonsmokers.

Ou treated 15 patients in UCI's Phase 1 trial, most from Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. One person came from Arizona each month for treatment and assessment. Ou is currently enrolling patients in Phase 2 and 3 trials for crizotinib. Interested candidates should contact the UCI clinical trials office at 714-456-6241.

Each year, about 1.5 million new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed globally. Nearly 75 percent of people with non-small cell lung cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage, for which the five-year survival rate is only 6 percent.

Recent cancer research emphasizes targeting, or personalizing, treatment through molecular analysis of a tumor and the use of a specific drug to inhibit genetic expression. Conventional chemotherapy bombards a tumor with multiple drugs.

According to the National Cancer Institute, because targeted cancer therapies are more selective for cancer cells, they may harm fewer normal cells, reduce side effects and improve quality of life. ### About UC Irvine Medical Center: Orange County's only university hospital, UC Irvine Medical Center offers acute- and general-care services at its new, 482,000-square-foot UC Irvine Douglas Hospital and is home to the county's only Level I trauma center, American College of Surgeons-verified regional burn center and National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. U.S. News & World Report has included UC Irvine for 10 consecutive years on its list of America's Best Hospitals, giving special recognition to its urology, gynecology, and ear, nose & throat programs.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.9 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. Use of this line is available for a fee to radio news programs/stations that wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.

Contact: John Murray 714-456-7759 jdmurray@uci.edu

UCI maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media. To access, visit www.today.uci.edu/experts. For UCI breaking news, visit www.zotwire.uci.edu.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Collecting your thoughts: You can do it in your sleep!

2010-11-02

It is one thing to learn a new piece of information, such as a new phone number or a new word, but quite another to get your brain to file it away so it is available when you need it. A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the University of York and Harvard Medical School suggests that sleep may help to do both. The scientists found that sleep helps people to remember a newly learned word and incorporate new vocabulary into their "mental lexicon". During the study, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, researchers ...

MRI may help determine time of stroke onset

2010-11-02

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain could expand the number of stroke patients eligible for a potentially life-saving treatment, according to a new study, published online and in the December issue of the journal Radiology. Some patients who suffer an acute ischemic stroke — in which a blood clot or other obstruction blocks blood flow in the brain — can be treated with a drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, that dissolves the clot and restores blood flow. However, the clot-busting drug can only be administered within four and a ...

Eliminating or reducing cost-sharing for high-value prescription drugs improves medication use

2010-11-02

New York, NY, November 2, 2010—An initiative by the U. S. technology company Pitney Bowes to make medications of proven value less expensive for their employees succeeded in stabilizing employees' adherence to their treatment regimens, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published in this month's Health Affairs. The study, led by Niteesh K. Choudhry at Brigham and Women's Hospital, found that adherence to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, which had been on the decline, immediately stabilized after Pitney Bowes eliminated copayments for the drugs for all ...

OJSC PAVA's project: new opportunities

2010-11-02

Russia traditionally overproduces grain. Regardless of the fact that a considerable amount of grain has been destroyed this year as a result of heatwaves and drought, the grain production sector in Russia is normally very stable, although it is still in the early stages of its development towards being a major global player. This development is based on the fact that over 8000 enterprises are engaged in the cultivation of grain and other staple crops in Russia. Oversupply of grain to the domestic market leads to reduction in prices and makes the production of cereals ...

Montana Timing Brings State-of-the-Art Race Timing Systems To the Rocky Mountain Region

2010-11-02

Montana Timing http://www.montanatiming.com is a new race timing company, now based in Billings, Montana, that offers state-of-the-art race timing systems for competitions throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Competitive events include race running, triathlons, bike races, adventure races, and more. "We literally have the equipment to support any size or type of race or timed competition," notes Jennifer Drinkwalter, General Manager of Montana Timing. Drinkwalter explains that Montana Timing uses a disposable timing chip, dubbed "Jaguar" which can be attached to ...

Loud and Clear Home Theater Solutions Selected to Participate in State Business Plan Competition

2010-11-02

Loud and Clear Home Theater Solutions has been selected to participate in the fourth Boot Camp and Business Plan competition session hosted by the Delaware Emerging Technology Center. Their selection to the Fall 2010 ETC Boot Camp and Business Plan Competition will provide them the opportunity to develop, enhance or refine their business concept and plan, develop an Investor's Presentation so critical to obtaining funding for their business idea, connect with other businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators, and finally learn critically important strategies and skills from ...

Sleep Train Shares Six Steps for Becoming a "Secret Santa" this Holiday Season

2010-11-02

The joy and excitement of a child opening a gift can easily fill a room. Unfortunately, for many foster families the holidays can be a struggle symbolizing change and uncertainty, where money is used to replace necessities, leaving little for gifts. To help make sure no child is left wondering why Santa 'missed their house' this year, Sleep Train (www.sleeptrain.com) the number one bedding specialist on the West Coast, offers six steps for becoming a "Secret Santa" this year, donating new, unwrapped toys and gifts to its Foster Kids Secret Santa Toy Drive. Six Simple ...

Local Black Belt Brings Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA Training to The Arnold/Annapolis Area

2010-11-02

Brazilian jiu-jitsu has never been bigger in the United States. As mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have grown in popularity, with monthly pay-per-view broadcasts making millions of dollars and the top fighters now better known than the heavyweight boxing champion, countless people have decided they want to learn the Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) techniques that form an integral part of the sport. Jon Garfield, a 1st degree black belt who opened the first BJJ and MMA studio in the Annapolis area - Garfield Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - understands well why the once relatively ...

Multi-kHz, Ultra-High Voltage Silicon Carbide Thyristors sampled to US Researchers from GeneSiC Semiconductor

2010-11-02

In a first of its kind offering, GeneSiC Semiconductor announces the availability of a family of 6.5kV SCR-mode Silicon Carbide Thyristors for use in power electronics for Smart Grid applications. Revolutionary performance advantages of these power devices are expected to spur key innovations in utility-scale power electronics hardware to increase the accessibility and exploitation of Distributed Energy Resources (DER). "Until now, multi-kV Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices were not openly available to US researchers to fully exploit the well-known advantages - namely ...

DIRECTUS arrives as a heavy weight title contender in the Mobile Electronics category at SEMA 2010.

2010-11-02

DIRECTUS (a Tatmar Technologies Company), an industry leader and innovator in 12 Volt Automotive & Mobile Electronics markets, launches an all new product line up at this year's SEMA show. Like a fresh UFC title fighter emerging through the ranks, DIRECTUS kicks open the doors at SEMA with a killer combo of their all new Prodigy One system and the new line up of TD-43 mirror systems. Blindsiding the competition with the release of the Prodigy One Series; this innovative system by DIRECTUS allows the Prodigy One to work in both aftermarket head units such as Pioneer and ...

UCI non-small cell lung cancer study highlights advances in targeted drug therapy

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: