Category Archives: Colorectal Cancer

Update on PARP inhibitors including iniparib, olaparib and veliparib

Posted on by
10

A PSB reader wrote in asking whether an update on the PARP inhibitors and the clinical trials would be possible.   Following on from the last update in January that covered Sanofi’s negative iniparib phase III data in triple negative breast cancer and AstraZeneca’s decision in February not to pursue olaparib in hereditary BRCA1 and 2 positive breast cancers, it would be a good idea to see what’s left of this once highly promising class of compounds.

I first wrote about PARP inhibitors way back in 2006 and like many, I’m rather disappointed with the results we’ve seen so far.  However, all is not lost.  Abbott’s veliparib is going strong, while Pfizer (PF-01367338) and Cephalon (CEP-9722) are just getting started with their programs.

This is a preview of Update on PARP inhibitors including iniparib, olaparib and veliparib. Read the full post

Can we predict when cancer will spread?

Posted on by
Reply

Early this morning I saw a headline float by my Twitter stream from yesterday with a link to an article or paper suggesting that yes, we can indeed predict metastasis. I can’t remember who shared it, or what was the exact news article but a quick Google search for latest news found some noise around a potential biomarker, CPE-ΔN. The paper (open access) in the references link below, is from the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

This is a preview of Can we predict when cancer will spread?. Read the full post

6th International Society of Gastroenterological Carcinogenesis (ISGC) meeting

Posted on by
1

On Thursday this week I’m off to the GI Carcinogenesis meeting hosted by MD Anderson Cancer Center, you can find out more about the event here.

It’s a brand new meeting for me, but according to the program:

“The ISGC is comprised of basic, translational and clinical scientists.  This conference will encourage and develop research and communication in the areas of gastroenterological biology and oncology in both basic and clinical aspects through joint meetings with international and national gastroenterologists.”

This is a preview of 6th International Society of Gastroenterological Carcinogenesis (ISGC) meeting. Read the full post

Update on circulating tumor cells in colorectal cancer

Posted on by
4

Earlier this year we discussed some interesting papers on circulating tumour cells (CTC’s) in prostate cancer and how they are becoming a potentially useful surrogate marker in clinical trials for other cancers including lung cancer.

I was therefore intriqued to see another paper looking at the role of CTC’s in colorectal cancer (CRC) – see link below in the reference section at end of the article:

“Circulating tumour cells early predict progression-free and overall survival in advanced colorectal cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and targeted agents”

This is a preview of Update on circulating tumor cells in colorectal cancer. Read the full post

A new non-invasive DNA test for colorectal cancer

Posted on by
5

The Holy Grail of colorectal cancer prevention – a reliable screening test that users don’t dread and avoid – appears to be getting close.

A novel test that detects telltale DNA markers in stool samples correctly identified 85 percent of colon cancers, 64 percent of significant precancerous polyps, and 90 percent of healthy samples, researchers announced Thursday in Philadelphia at a conference held by the American Association for Cancer Research.

“There is no other noninvasive screening test for colon cancer that comes close” to that accuracy rate, said David Ahlquist, a Mayo Clinic researcher who invented part of the technology and who is working with the commercial developer, Exact Sciences of Madison, Wis.

This is a preview of A new non-invasive DNA test for colorectal cancer. Read the full post

AACR Colorectal Cancer Meeting: Biology to Therapy

Posted on by
1

Later today I’m heading off to Philadelphia to attend a special conference at the American Society of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting on colorectal cancer entitled Biology to Therapy.  There’s still time to pack a back and head on down as the main meeting doesn’t start until tomorrow.

Tonight, I’m very much looking forward to the Keynote from Prof Bert Vogelstein (Johns Hopkins) who is doing a talk entitled:

“Colorectal cancer genomes and their implications for basic and applied research.”

You can check out the full program here.

This is a preview of AACR Colorectal Cancer Meeting: Biology to Therapy. Read the full post

Upcoming cancer conferences – will you be there?

Posted on by
Reply

The last quarter of the year is always a busy one on the conference circuit in oncology, particularly in December with the annual ASH and the SABCS meetings back to back. We almost always need the Holidays after that just to recover! 

Here's my schedule for the next few weeks:

Upcoming cancer conferences will you be there?Oct 20th: Xconomy, 'War on Cancer', Boston hosted by Millennium

Oct 27-30th: AACR colorectal cancer biology and therapy symposium, Philadelphia

Upcoming cancer conferences will you be there?

Nov 8-13th: Greenspan Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, Marriott Marquis Times Square, NY

All three meetings look particularly interesting this year, with a big focus on biology and new product development.

This is a preview of Upcoming cancer conferences – will you be there?. Read the full post

International Society of GastroIntestinal Oncology (ISGIO) meeting

Posted on by
Reply

International Society of GastroIntestinal Oncology (ISGIO) meetingIt’s been quite a busy week with new projects, proposals and contracts on the go plus we’re heading off to the International Society of GastroIntestinal Oncology (ISGIO) meeting in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Jaffer Ajani does a really nice job of organising this educational conference. It includes the latest updates in the field from a esteemed panel of experts, as well as practical case studies, to help teach a diverse international and US audience how to manage complex or unusual cases.

This is a preview of International Society of GastroIntestinal Oncology (ISGIO) meeting. Read the full post

PIK3CA, MEK and mutant KRAS in cancer

Posted on by
2

One of the current challenges with developing new targeted agents in oncology is the tendency to rush various agents, whether monoclonal antibodies (mAB) or tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) into the clinic before we know how they might best work or in what potential combinations based on the precise underlying biology.

Another challenge I see is old school chemotherapy approaches permeating new development thinking. By this, I mean the traditional concept of testing therapies in advanced, metastatic and highly refractory disease where the tumour burden is high and the chances of getting a decent response is low.

This is a preview of PIK3CA, MEK and mutant KRAS in cancer. Read the full post

Diabetes drug may protect against cancer

Posted on by
1

Yesterday, I covered some of the key pathways and kinases associated with cell energy metabolism, LKB1 and AMPK.  These, together with Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) and the insulin receptor (IR), appear to play important roles in the broader regulation of energy and homeostasis.  Experimental evidence suggests that an overexpression of IGF-I is implicated in pancreatic tumours, for example. Increased IGF-II and decreased IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 serum concentrations have also been linked to a number of other cancers (see journal link below).

If we look at the IGF-IR pathway, we can see more clearly how they all interlink and how mTOR, LKB1 and AMPK may all be a critical part of the process:

This is a preview of Diabetes drug may protect against cancer. Read the full post