Seattle, U.S.A. — Since its opening in 2008, the Ben & Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment (the Ivy Center) at Swedish Medical Center’s Neuroscience Institute has led the expansion drive of major research projects and expanded treatment options for patients living with brain cancer in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the world. The Ivy Center was founded in 2008 to create a world-class treatment and research facility focused on delivering excellent patient care and advancing progress toward more effective treatments for brain cancer.

While great strides have been made in the treatment of breast, colon and other common cancers, only three new drugs to treat brain cancer have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the past 35 years, and these drugs prolong the lives of patients by only a few months. Such a center was needed at the time, said Greg Foltz, M.D., a neurosurgeon and director of the Ivy Center, because brain cancer had been for far too long a neglected or “orphan” disease.

In fact, today the life expectancy of a person diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common form of malignant primary brain cancer, is only about 15 months — only slightly better than it was a century ago, Dr. Foltz said. “We felt we needed to focus our efforts on coming up with better treatment options,” said Dr. Foltz. “We felt someone had to champion this cause so we embarked on a mission to get more researchers and physicians focused on this disease. And we did.”

The Ivy Center at Swedish has partnered with and led major brain cancer programs with the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation, Institute for Systems Biology, Allen Institute for Brain Science, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Accium Biosciences and The Elliott Foundation. This has led to a variety of new brain cancer treatment options and research programs for people living with brain cancer in our region. “Previously, none of this existed,” said Dr. Foltz.

Five Years of Progress Made

The goal of the Ivy Center was to create a place where brain tumor patients and their families would have access to the best care and latest clinical research. The Ivy Center has achieved this making it possible for the center’s neurosurgeons, oncologists, radiologists and nursing staff to work in close collaboration with the program’s team of scientists. This collaboration allows clinicians and scientists to provide patients with the best of care as well as direct access to promising new therapies and clinical trials.

The Ivy Center’s clinical team provides comprehensive, integrated care that includes the latest neurosurgery techniques and technology, including intra-operative MRI-guided navigation, precision Gamma Knife radiosurgery as well as the support of a team of physical and occupational therapists, counselors, and other specialists who provide each patient with comprehensive, personalized care.

“People with brain cancer have needs that transcend the traditional requirements of most patients. Care is not just about an operation, it’s not just about a medication,” said Dr. Foltz. “Brain cancer is a life-changing event, so it’s very important from the first meeting that these patients know that we’re there for them, that we care deeply about them and we’re going to provide all the resources that are possible to help them fight their disease.”

Holly Zimmerman, a Bellevue, Wash. resident who has been battling brain cancer and is leading a team in this year’s Seattle Brain Cancer Walk, can speak personally to the importance of the first meeting. “A small seizure led doctors to the discovery of a tumor in my parietal lobe—what immediately followed was brain surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and a very scary prognosis for me and my family,” said Zimmerman. “This disease is unique and it takes an extraordinary team of medical professionals to conquer it. As a one-year survivor of brain cancer, I have great hopes.”

New Strategies in the Search for a Brain Cancer Cure

Over the past five years the Ivy Center has established an international reputation for its expertise in the genetic analysis of individual tumors. At the Ivy Center, a genetic profile is created of every patient’s tumor with the goal to identify each tumor’s individual weaknesses and to develop new, personalized treatment strategies that target these weaknesses.

The Ivy Center’s genomic database — now one of the largest brain tumor research projects in the country — was developed in collaboration with the world-renowned Institute for Systems Biology. This collaboration brings together physicians and scientists in the fields of neurosurgery, neuropathology, systems biology, genomics and biostatistical analysis. Together they are determining how networks of genes and proteins interact in brain cancer to discover new targets for diagnostic tests and treatments.

In another partnership, the Ivy Center and the Allen Institute for Brain Science are creating a 3-D map of gene activity within brain tumors.  These maps can then be compared with maps of gene activity in normal brain tissue to identify which genes are malfunctioning in the cancer tissue. Once these genes are identified the goal is to develop diagnostics and treatments that target these malfunctioning genes.

All data from these projects are being made available online to researchers around the world for free.

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London, UK – Action on Bladder Cancer (ABC) releases findings from a new National survey^[1] exposing how little the general public knows about bladder cancer. Awareness around the main warning sign for bladder cancer – blood in the urine – is gradually increasing (50% in 2010 rising to 55% in 2012), but still only 5% of the public recognise that smoking is a main cause of bladder cancer.

Over 10,000 people are diagnosed every year in the UK^[2] and ABC, the only UK charity dedicated to bladder cancer, wants to encourage more people to understand how to recognise the warning signs and consult their doctor if they are concerned. Up to date information on the disease and advice on how people can help raise awareness is available through the ABC website (http://www.actiononbladdercancer.org).

The work of ABC supports the Be Clear on Cancer Campaign run by the Department of Health as well as Bladder Cancer Awareness Day which is organised out of the US (this year on May 5th).

Bladder cancer is the 4th most common cancer in men and the 11th most common in women^[2]. Across different areas of health, women are traditionally better informed. Yet, in the case of bladder cancer, one quarter (25%) of both men and women wouldn’t know what a sign of possible bladder cancer might be.

Over half of survey respondents have no idea what causes it. One in five people think it is caused by drinking too much alcohol rather than citing the most common cause of smoking. The main area where public awareness has increased over the last two years is around treatment options. More people recognise chemotherapy (32% in 2010 versus 38% in 2012) and radiotherapy (12% in 2010 versus 24% in 2012) as possible treatment approaches for bladder cancer.

Mr Colin Bunce, Chair of ABC and Consultant Urologist in Barnet says: “We don’t expect everyone to be an expert, but such a huge lack of understanding can lead to people being mis-diagnosed and/or diagnosed at a later stage in the disease which can narrow down the best treatment choices. Over the last 15-20 years bladder cancer has been in the shadows. Greater public attention is urgently needed to improve understanding about the disease so that people know when and where to go for help. We also need to help people take steps to reduce their risk of getting the cancer in the first place, such as giving up smoking.”

Dr Mary Archer, who has been affected by bladder cancer, supports the work of Action on Bladder Cancer: “If you notice blood in your urine, you should consult your GP as soon as possible. It may not be bladder cancer, but if it is, the earlier it is caught the better the chances of successful treatment”, comments Dr Archer. ”Blood in the urine is a sign that you need to be seen by a GP and a specialist urgently.”

ABC is working with healthcare professionals, patients, their carers and the general public, to help improve the treatment and prevention rates of bladder cancer through raising awareness, education and research.

Mr Tony Kirkbank, Trustee of ABC and a Service User, says: “The profile of bladder cancer and, as a result, the care of patients can be significantly improved by asking the public and healthcare professionals and providers to become involved in our dedicated advocacy group, ABC (http://www.actiononbladdercancer.org) – we want to work together”.

References:

http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/prod_consump/groups/cr_common/@nre/@sta/documents/generalcontent/crukmig_1000ast-2778.pdf

Survey Technical Details:

GfK NOP conducted a nationally representative face-to-face omnibus survey amongst 2055 adults aged 16+ in 2010.  In 2012 Gfk NOP commissioned TNS Research to conduct a face-to-face omnibus survey amongst 1015 adults aged 16+ in Great Britain.

Weighting was applied to the data in both surveys to ensure it matched known population profiles.

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In 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened its doors amid an emotionally charged debate regarding how to treat childhood cancer. At that time, few children with the most common form of childhood cancer survived, and many physicians believed treatment was futile.

St. Jude physicians and researchers took a radically different approach, and these efforts proved pivotal in changing the way the world treats childhood cancer. St. Jude is recognized for playing a significant role in improving overall survival rates for childhood cancer, which have increased from 20 percent in 1962 to 80 percent today.

In recognition of this impact over the past 50 years, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam declared February “St. Jude Month” in the state of Tennessee. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, the hospital opened February 4, 1962.

“In the nearly four decades I’ve been at St. Jude, I’ve had the privilege of watching the organization grow from one star-shaped building to a sprawling campus of about 2.5 million square feet of research, clinical and administrative space,” said Dr. William E. Evans, St. Jude director and CEO.

“When I started, there were a few hundred people on staff. Now we have more than 3,700 employees. Driven by our patients, and thanks to our employees, our colleagues at ALSAC and the public support they generate, St. Jude will only continue to grow and flourish in the years to come.”

The history of St. Jude is marked with milestones in the treatment of pediatric cancer and other childhood illnesses. In 1971, St. Jude investigators showed that the combination of chemotherapy and radiation cured at least half of all children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The most common form of childhood cancer, ALL, was previously considered almost universally fatal. Today, St. Jude patients with ALL have a 94 percent survival rate. In 1984, a St. Jude patient with sickle cell disease was the first to be cured with a bone marrow transplant.

St. Jude is currently engaged in the largest effort in the world to do whole genome sequencing of pediatric cancer tumors. The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project collaboration has already produced significant new findings related to aggressive forms of pediatric leukemia, eye tumors and brain tumors.

“St. Jude has a legacy of taking on the toughest of pediatric cancer questions, and that focus won’t change,” said James R. Downing, M.D., scientific director and deputy director at St. Jude. “We’re uniquely positioned as an institution to move research and treatment ahead. From the genetic data we collect from the genome project, we’re creating the foundation of knowledge to deliver the next decades’ childhood cancer discoveries and treatments.”

Throughout its five decades, St. Jude research has included work in cancer biology and genomics, pharmacogenomics, gene therapy, bone marrow transplant, drug discovery, radiation treatment, blood diseases and infectious diseases, integrated into a long series of innovative clinical trials.

According to Joseph Laver, M.D., St. Jude clinical director, “the unsurpassed family-centered care that is provided at St. Jude stems from the multidisciplinary team approach that has been a hallmark of St. Jude since the doors opened in 1962.”

“Looking toward the future, St. Jude is a national resource with a global mission and will continue to enhance its leadership as a resource for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases,” Evans said. “Even though we’ve grown significantly, our mission has never wavered.

We’ve created a collaborative culture whose team members demonstrate unceasing compassion for our patients and families, innovation in our treatment and research, and quality in everything we do.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/stjude

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In 2007 Canadian researchers of the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, reported they had found a cure for cancer. Evangelos Michelakis and his colleagues discovered that dichloroacetate (DCA), a common and basic drug already used to treat metabolic disorders, could be employed also for inhibiting the growth of tumors and for killing most types of cancer cells in humans.

Over the years the news of this discovery, after arousing initial interest and curiosity, has been ignored until the recent appearance of a post blog on the Web stating, “Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice,”  which drew attention and spread the news again. This post underlines the fact that major pharmaceutical companies have intentionally ignored the discovery for business reasons.

DCA is a safe and nontoxic drug, it leads cancer cells into self-destruction and consequent death thanks to the activation of apoptosis process by mitochondria, without effecting normal tissues, as it happens instead with patent anti-tumoral drugs produced until now which are focused on glycolysis method.

The reason why pharmaceutical companies are not interested in this “alternative” drug is only business. In fact DCA has no patent, so it can be employed widely and for a cost that is ridiculously low compared to other drugs produced by major drug companies.

“Big Pharma has no interest whatsoever in investing [in DCA research] because there will be no profit,” said Michelakis to Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience.

Diseases are sources of profit for pharmaceutical companies, which work like any other company, following the logic of business. The sale of drugs that cause many side effects brings the greatest profit. Cancer drugs are the ones which cause the highest number of side effects. Therefore they represent a huge business for drug companies, triggering a mechanism that could be also defined criminal, made by conflicts of interests, cynicism, cruelty and lies.

New generations of alternative methods would largely reduce the profit, for this reason companies don’t invest in research like the DCA one. “If DCA proves to be effective, then it will be a ridiculously cheap drug,” Michelakis said, highlighting the scarce possibilities to make profit on a drug like that.

“Without the promise of a reasonable profit, there is very little incentive for any company to develop new drugs,” explained Omudhome Ogbru, a pharmacologist R&D director at The Medicines Company in New Jersey.

The magazine Forbes classified pharmaceutical industry as the most lucrative of the world at the same level of oil industry. At so high of a business level it is not surprising that the conflicts of interests regulate choices in regards to health and ethics.

Various investigations and revelations have brought to light all the negative sides of the pharmaceutical sector. These include causation of new diseases to sell drugs, spread of epidemics in order to produce and distribute vaccines, reports on false research or falsification of data, censorship on inconvenient facts, and corruption and bribes to politicians, doctors and officials at international level.

This is all an interlacing of relations and a power game of enormous range where human life is worthless and only the money counts. Treat is better than cure for the “world’s health masters”.

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