PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New investigational compound targets pancreatic cancer cells

World's first patient treated at Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare

2010-09-15
(Press-News.org) SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Sept. 14, 2010) – A new investigational drug designed to penetrate and attack pancreatic cancer cells has been administered to a patient for the first time ever at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare.

ASG-5ME is a potent, targeted compound designed to selectively kill cancer cells, says Daniel Von Hoff, MD, a principal investigator in the Phase I clinical trial. Pancreatic cancer is a fast-growing and difficult to treat form of cancer, and is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

"ASG-5ME is intended for pancreatic cancer patients who do not have a good prognosis with currently available therapies. We are very pleased to be able to offer this exciting agent in a clinical trial for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer," says Dr. Von Hoff. "Our goal at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center is to deliver cell-killing medicine through the best possible individually targeted therapies, and ASG-5ME fits the bill."

The new investigational compound uses a monoclonal antibody against a target which is found in more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancer patients. The monoclonal antibody delivers a highly potent molecule called monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) to selectively kill the pancreatic cancer cells.

"It is a precision approach that is designed to avoid non-targeted cells, increasing antitumor activity in preclinical models and potentially reducing the toxic effects of traditional chemotherapy" says Dr. Von Hoff. Researchers are studying the drug to evaluate its safety and tolerability and identify the maximum tolerated dose.

The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare was the first to offer patient access to ASG-5ME. Researchers hope to enroll up to 50 patients in clinical trials of the drug in multiple centers across the U.S.

The drug was co-developed by Seattle Genetics, Inc. of Bothell, Wash. and Agensys, Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc.

More than 36,000 people are expected to die from pancreatic cancer in 2010, according to the American Cancer Society. Most patients with advanced pancreatic cancer die within one year of diagnosis.

The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare opened in 2001 as the first major cancer center in greater Phoenix to offer comprehensive cancer research, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and support services in a single location. The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has awarded Accreditation with Commendation to the Scottsdale Healthcare cancer program.

Dr. Von Hoff is chief scientific officer at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare and physician-in-chief at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

Research at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare is conducted in collaboration with TGen and the Scottsdale Healthcare Research Institute, allowing molecular and genomic discoveries to reach the patient bedside as quickly as possible through clinical trials of therapies directed at specific targets in a patient's tumor.

INFORMATION: For more information about eligibility to participate in research at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, contact cancer care coordinator Joyce Schaffer, RN, at 480-323-1339, toll free at 1-877-273-3713 or via email at clinicaltrials@shc.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Higher altitudes hide deadly problem: Increased suicide risk

2010-09-15
SALT LAKE CITY—The Intermountain West is renowned for the beauty of its towering mountains and high deserts, but according to new research from an investigator with the University of Utah Brain Institute the region's lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides in this part of the country. In the Sept. 15, 2010, online edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Perry F. Renshaw, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, professor of psychiatry at the U School of Medicine and an investigator with Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative, ...

Present imperfect: Doctors in training work even when ill

2010-09-15
A new study demonstrates that young doctors often fail to heed the Biblical injunction, "physician, heal thyself." In a research letter published in the September 15, 2010, issue of JAMA, researchers report that three out of five residents surveyed came to work in the previous year while sick, possibly exposing their patients and colleagues to suboptimal performance and, in many cases, communicable disease. The survey, which involved multiple hospitals, found that 60 percent of residents—physicians who have completed medical school and are getting on-the-job advanced ...

Researchers find selfishness can sometimes help the common good

2010-09-15
Scientists have overturned the conventional wisdom that cooperation is essential for the well-being of the whole population, finding evidence that slackers can sometimes help the common good. Researchers, from Imperial College London, the Universities of Bath and Oxford, University College London and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology studied populations of yeast and found that a mixture of 'co-operators' and 'cheats' grew faster than a more utopian one of only "co-operators." The study, publishing next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, ...

Combined impact of lifestyle factors on mortality among Chinese women

2010-09-15
In research published this week in PLoS Medicine, results from the Shanghai Women's Health Study reveal the impact of lifestyle-related factors on mortality in a cohort of Chinese women – confirming the results from other Western research studies. The large prospective cohort study by Wei Zheng and colleagues (from Vanderbilt University & Shanghai Cancer Institute) showed that lifestyle factors other than active smoking and alcohol consumption, have a major combined impact on total mortality on a scale comparable to the effect of smoking. For example healthier lifestyle-related ...

Specialist health journalists write better news stories

2010-09-15
David Henry from the University of Toronto and colleagues analysed Australian news stories over a five-year period, and examined whether experienced specialist health reporters write better stories than other categories of journalists. They found that it does matter who writes news stories that cover the benefits and harms of health care interventions: stories written by specialist health journalists working for a single media outlet were of higher quality than those written by less experienced writers. The authors say their findings are important because "this source of ...

The 'urban advantage' in health care is more complex than it seems

2010-09-15
Amos Channon from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom and colleagues outline the complexities of urban advantage in maternal health where the urban poor often have worse access to health care than women in rural areas. They used improved methods to measure urban poverty in 30 countries, and found substantial inequalities in maternal and newborn health, and in access to health care. The authors outline two main patterns of urban inequality in developing countries, and offer recommendations for improving access to care. INFORMATION: Funding: No funding was received ...

Burnout associated with self-reported unprofessional conduct among medical students

2010-09-15
Medical students with higher levels of distress (burnout) were more likely to self-report unprofessional conduct related to patient care and less altruistic professional values, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education. "Professionalism is a core competency for all physicians. Professionalism includes being honest, acting with integrity, advocating for the needs of patients, reducing barriers to equitable health care, and adhering to an ethical code of conduct," the authors write. "Despite the widely acknowledged importance ...

Depressed medical students more likely to associate stigma with depression

2010-09-15
Medical students with moderate to severe depression more frequently endorsed several depression stigma attitudes than nondepressed students and had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education. "Medical students experience depression, burnout, and mental illness at a higher rate than the general population, with mental health deteriorating over the course of medical training. Medical students have a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicide, higher rates of burnout, and a lower quality ...

Educational intervention may help medical students adapt care for patients needing nonstandard care

2010-09-15
Fourth-year medical students who participated in an educational intervention were more likely to seek, identify and incorporate into care patient circumstances that may require variation from standard care, compared to students in a control group, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education. "Clinical decision making requires 2 distinct skills: classifying patients' conditions into diagnostic and management categories that permit the application of best-evidence guidelines, and individualizing or contextualizing care for ...

Personal sacrifices, rationalization may play role for physicians who accept gifts from industry

2010-09-15
Sunita Sah, M.B.Ch.B., B.Sc., M.B.A., M.S., and George Loewenstein, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, conducted a study to determine whether reminding resident physicians of the sacrifices made to obtain training, as well as suggesting this as a potential rationalization, increases self-stated willingness to accept gifts from industry. In a study that included a survey of 301 U.S. resident physicians, the researchers found that "reminding physicians of sacrifices made in obtaining their education resulted in gifts being evaluated as more acceptable: 21.7 ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] New investigational compound targets pancreatic cancer cells
World's first patient treated at Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare