“I owe it to my family, myself and the great people of Gary to suspend this campaign for another term as mayor,” Clay said. The normally lively mayor added that having to make this decision was frustrating and difficult, but that he hopes his supporters “will understand this decision and recognize there is no other option for me at this time.”

Clay has had a distinguished political career, with roles including State Senator, County Commissioner, and the head of the Democratic Party of Lake County. He first took the mayoral seat in early 2006 after then-mayor Scott King left office to return to his law practice. Clay then won his first election in 2007.

Clay’s decision comes while the city is approaching a crossroads in its financial dealings. After seeing a departure of residents from the city, a major drop in property tax collections, and a property tax cap of 1%, Gary hopes to acquire $11.1 million through Indiana’s Distressed Unit Appeals Board. The tax relief would hopefully stop the city’s need to cut its public services, including closing a U.S. Postal Service facility with hundreds of employees and laying off the city’s firefighters.

Information recently revealed by the U.S. Census reveals that Gary has lost over 20,000 residents in the past decade and has lost its status as the region’s most populous city. Clay has asserted that he will appeal to the U.S. Census for a recount.

Rudy Clay to discontinue run for mayoral seat | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Since the color blue is to prostate cancer as pink is to breast cancer, a number of building exteriors in downtown Chicago will be awash with blue lighting at night throughout this month.

There are 2.5 million men battling prostate cancer as survivors today and approximately 32,050 prostate cancer patients will die from the disease in 2010.

According to estimates based on new National Cancer Institute data, more than 217,000 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2010 – exceeding the number of new breast cancer cases predicted.

The new NCI numbers represent a 17 percent jump in deaths and a more than 13 percent rise in diagnosed cases this year as compared to 2009, which marks the greatest percentage increase since the mid-1990s.

“Prostate cancer awareness lags far behind that of breast cancer,” noted Thomas Kirk, CEO and President of Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network, which is headquartered in Downers Grove.

“And many of the people who are aware of it don’t recognize the seriousness of the disease. Prostate cancer can be a silent killer since there are no symptoms in its early stages. That’s why it’s so important for men to get tested for prostate cancer annually. Hopefully these blue lights throughout this city and across the nation will serve as a visible reminder.”

Joining the ranks of other landmark buildings around the country, Willis Tower in downtown Chicago will be lit blue from September 6 – 9. The Empire State Building in New York City will also be bathed in blue this month. In addition, members of America’s Leading Prostate Cancer Organizations are asking President Obama to place a blue ribbon on the White House and light the White House blue this month to step-up prostate cancer awareness.

Other Chicagoland activities recognizing Prostate Cancer Awareness Month build awareness and raise funds for Us TOO International, a 501-c-3 non-profit organization which provides prostate cancer survivors and their families with education and support services and materials free of charge. The 6th Annual SEA Blue Chicago Prostate Cancer 5K Run and 3K Walk will take place on Sunday, September 19, 2010 in Lincoln Park (http://www.SEABlueProstateWalk.org).

Immediately following on Monday, September 20 is Rock Out 4 Cancer at the Hard Rock Cafe at 93 W. Ontario featuring emcees Ginger Zee of NBC5-TV and Dina Bair of WGN9-TV, Chicago sports celebrities, and two live bands benefiting four cancer charities (http://www.rockout4cancer.com).

Also, “Conquer Prostate Cancer” braided leather designer wristbands are being sold around town at all of the events and online (http://www.ustoo.org/LeatherWristbands.asp) with all net proceeds benefiting Us TOO.

Prostate cancer is diagnosed through a digital rectal exam (DRE) along with a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. Both tests can be conducted as part of an annual physical exam. The risk of prostate cancer increases exponentially after age 50 and by the age of 60, as many as 34 percent of men show early evidence of prostate cancer.

If detected while still in the prostate gland, prostate cancer has nearly a 100 percent five-year survival rate. Since early stage prostate cancer usually has no symptoms, early detection is critical.  Us TOO recommends that men have annual prostate examinations by age 35 if African American or have a family history of prostate cancer (either are considered high-risk), but no later than age 40 for all other men.

About Us TOO International

Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network (www.ustoo.org) is a source of peer-to-peer support and free materials for men and their families to make informed choices on prostate cancer detection and treatment options.

Founded 20 years ago by prostate cancer survivors and their families “who recognized that cancer affects us, too,” the 501(c)(3) non-profit is headquartered in Illinois and works with volunteers in 325 affiliated support group chapters worldwide.

SOURCE Us TOO International

http://www.ustoo.org

Blue Lights to Help Chicagoans See Prostate Cancer | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Then she found a novel program at the University of California, San Francisco, that gave her an unbiased evaluation of the pros and cons of all treatment options.

“I realized that I didn’t need to use a sledgehammer. It was my choice,” said Soviero, of San Francisco, who went with the lumpectomy and radiation, but refused the chemo.

It is an unthinkable notion for an American generation raised on the message that early cancer detection saves lives, but specialists say more tumors actually are being found too early. That is raising uncomfortable questions about how aggressively to treat early growths — in some cases, even how aggressively to test — along with a push for more of the informed-choice programs such as the one Soviero used.

“The message has been, ‘Early detection, early detection, early detection.’ That’s true for some things but not all things,” said Dr. Laura Esserman, a breast cancer specialist at UCSF. She helped lead a study, reported last week, that found mammography is increasing diagnoses of tumors deemed genetically very low risk.

“It’s not just all about finding any cancer. It’s about being more discriminating when you do find it,” she added.

Today’s cancer screenings can unearth tumors that scientists say never would have threatened the person’s life. The problem is there aren’t surefire ways to tell in advance which tumors won’t be dangerous — .just some clues that doctors use in prescribing treatment.

Work is under way to better predict that, and even the staunchest supporters of screening call overdiagnosis a problem that needs tackling.

“We’re really at a tipping point right now, where we have a trade-off between the benefits of finding cancer early and the harms that are caused,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society. “We treat more patients than we know will benefit. … We just don’t know who they are.”

Prostate cancer test controversy

Nowhere is the disconnect more obvious than with prostate cancer screening. Most American men over 50 have had a PSA blood test to check for it even though major medical groups do not recommend routine PSAs, worried they may do more harm than good for the average man.

What is the evidence? A study of 76,000 U.S. men, published last year, concluded annual PSAs did not save lives. A separate study estimated two of every five men whose prostate cancer was caught through a PSA test had tumors too slow-growing ever to be a threat.

A European study of 162,000 men screened less aggressively — a PSA every four years versus none — found seven fewer deaths per 10,000 men screened. But 48 men had to be treated to prevent each death, meaning many men who weren’t facing death experienced treatment that can have such side effects as incontinence and impotence.

Thus, the American Cancer Society urges that men weigh the limitations of PSAs against their individual risk and fear of cancer before deciding for themselves. Government guidelines say men over 75 should not get a PSA at all — although about one-third do.

“PSA is the controversy that refuses to die,” said Dr. Michael Barry of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision-Making, which pushes programs that help patients make such choices. “But in some ways, it’s the prototypical close call that we have to come to grips with in American medicine — that there just isn’t one right answer for everybody.”

False alarms

Mammograms aren’t nearly as controversial, except for the when-to-start-them question. Most medical groups advise age 40; a government task force ignited complaints last year by advising not until 50. Generally, studies find they cut the risk of death from breast cancer by roughly 20 percent.

The trade-off: More than three-quarters of the 1 million-plus anxiety-provoking biopsies done each year to check out suspicious spots turn out to have been false alarms.

The bigger unknown is overdiagnosis, as closer mammogram readings spot ever-earlier growths.

A study in last month’s Journal of the National Cancer Institute said nearly one-quarter of breast tumors found by mammograms may be overdiagnosed. That includes invasive cancer, but also a common milk-duct growth called DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ.

DCIS isn’t invasive cancer and isn’t life-threatening; it’s described as “stage zero” cancer or even pre-cancer. But it is a risk factor for later developing invasive disease, and many of the 50,000 DCIS cases a year get the same care as women with outright early cancer.

Research is examining when and how to scale back aggressive DCIS care. At UCSF, Dr. Shelley Hwang is testing whether hormone drugs such as tamoxifen allow DCIS patients to avoid surgery altogether.

A colleague, Dr. Karla Kerlikowske, this spring reported tumor markers that suggest up to 44 percent of DCIS patients might skip aggressive treatment. A government panel last year even urged removing the word “carcinoma” from the name, to lessen fear.

Waiting on treatment

Beyond DCIS, Esserman is designing a first-of-a-kind study to start by summer’s end at five University of California health centers. Women whose mammograms turn up a specific type of suspicious spot that is unlikely to be aggressive cancer will get the option of skipping today’s usual biopsy and repeating the scan in six months instead. She hopes to learn which early abnormalities are safe to leave alone.

“If you’ve had a normal mammogram and develop a new mass, don’t ignore that. If you have a new symptom, those are things you don’t want to ignore,” Esserman said. “The public also has to understand that it’s complicated and there are some cancers that are very slow-growing.”

“The problem with our tests is they can see too much,” added study author Dr. H. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth and the Veterans Affairs Outcomes Group, who led the overdiagnosis study published last month. He says raising the threshold at which tests signal suspicion could help.

Welch also found diagnoses of thyroid cancer have more than doubled while the death rate remains unchanged, saying the new cases are almost entirely a small, low-risk type spotted with increasing medical scans.

Some early cancer overtreated; few want to wait | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also said that almost 21.4 million new cases of the disease will be diagnosed annually in 2030.

Launching a new database on global incidence of cancer in 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, the IARC said the burden of cancer was shifting from wealthier to poorer nations.

“Cancer is neither rare anywhere in the world, nor confined to high-resource countries,” it said in a statement.

In total, 7.6 million people died of cancer in 2008 and there were an estimated 12.7 million new cases diagnosed.

63 percent deaths in developing nations

Around 56 percent of new cancer cases worldwide in 2008 were in developing countries and these regions also accounted for 63 percent of all cancer deaths, the data showed.

IARC director Christopher Wild said the data represented the most accurate available assessment of the global burden of cancer and would help international health policy makers develop their responses.

The most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide in 2008 were lung cancer, with 1.61 million cases, breast cancer, with 1.38 million, and colorectal cancers, with 1.23 million. The most common causes of cancer death were lung (1.38 million), stomach (0.74 million) and liver cancers (0.69 million)

The projection for annual death rates of 13.2 million and annual diagnosis of 21.4 million were based on assumptions that underlying rates of cancer would remain the same over the next two decades, the IARC said.

Cancer deaths to double by 2030, report says | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

That process is already gaining traction at the University of Chicago’s Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology (IGSB), where researchers are one year into a three-year project to collect and analyze the genetic sequence and variations of every gene expressed by 1,000 tumors.

Over the past year, working closely with physicians, the IGSB team collected complete sequence data for genes expressed by 100 tumors — primarily breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and leukemia.

Correlating genetic data with patient outcomes, they have begun to identify genetic patterns within tumors that may help them predict how a cancer will behave.

Many experts believe such information will increasingly guide treatment.

“The long-term goal,” said IGSB Director Kevin White, James and Karen Frank Family Professor in human genetics and ecology and evolution,” is to translate genomic discoveries into useful diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies. This should improve patient care.”

Not to be confused with the “1,000 Genomes Project” — an international effort to sequence all of the DNA from 1,000 individuals selected from hundreds of distinct populations worldwide — the Chicago 1,000-cancer-genomes project is based entirely at the University of Chicago and tightly focused on the genetics of this common disease.

“The Chicago Cancer Genome Project is aimed at teaching us how to use the genetic state of the cells as a guidepost for which treatments should be offered to specific patients,” White said.

Cancer is a genetic disease. Each tumor’s genes provide clues about the severity of the disease.

They can sometimes predict whether a cancer will respond to specific treatments, develop resistance to radiation or chemotherapy, relapse after therapy, or spread to a distant site.

Many established cancer treatments grew out of genetic information, beginning at the University of Chicago with Elwood Jensen’s discovery of the estrogen receptor in 1958, which led to the development of estrogen blockers such as tamoxifen, and Janet Rowley’s descriptions of the first chromosomal translocations in 1972, work that led to the targeted therapy known as Glevec.

But the Chicago Cancer Genome Project is among the first efforts to combine a focus on the genes expressed by multiple cancers with broad scale, systematic implementation.

During the pilot phase — sequencing expressed genes from the first 100 tumors — the team established and refined a project framework utilizing the latest in gene-sequencing technology and computational analysis.

“We now know how to do this,” said White.

“We have the basic structure in place. In the process, we have identified novel genes associated with clinical outcome in selected cancers.”

The next steps are to determine how these altered genes act and expand the project to include more tumor types, including cancers of the bladder, lung, pancreas, prostate, as well as several childhood cancers such as rhabdosarcomas and neuroblastomas.

Analyzing a wide variety of tumors may reveal previously unknown genetic similarities in cancers typically classified as different according to tissue of origin, White said.

The genetics of cancer can be extraordinarily complex, said Michelle LeBeau, PhD, director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center.

“Kevin’s team at the IGSB brings all the right tools,” she said.

“They have the ability to collect and manipulate large amounts of genetic data, the capacity to study not just single genes but entire genetic pathways and their interactions, and a close working relationship with multiple teams of cancer specialists.”

The Chicago approach differs from several large-scale cancer-genome efforts in progress. A year ago a team from Washington University published the first cancer genome, from a patient with leukemia.

Since then, genomes for breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer have appeared, and the National Cancer Institute is compiling its Cancer Genome Atlas.

Unlike those projects, the Chicago researchers will study only the genes that are expressed by these tumors — one to two percent of an individual’s genome — but will collect genetic data from many more tumors.

“If we eliminate 98 percent of the genome, that makes it 50 times cheaper and easier,” said White.

“That’s still quite a lot of DNA,” he emphasized, the equivalent of 20 entire genomes, or about 60 billion base pairs. Collecting genetic information from 1,000 tumors will take about three years, he said, but it will provide information that “can more rapidly be applied to answer clinical questions.”

The project also will gather genetic data on how the genes expressed by tumors evolve over time.

Whenever possible, the researchers will compare tumor samples taken from a patient before and after treatments, to learn how cancers accumulate additional genetic changes that enable them to resist radiation or chemotherapy or to spread to distant sites.

All patients must provide prior consent for their tissues to be catalogued and studied. Because the researchers are focused on how genetic clues can predict cancer behavior, the team follows each patient’s progress through his or her clinical course.

Most patients have been eager to donate, said cancer specialist Kevin Roggin, MD, assistant professor of surgery, who offers each patient with a pancreatic cancer the opportunity to contribute to a project that could, over time, make a difference in treatment and outcome.

“It is already starting to help,” he added. “We are accumulating data that we hope to develop into a molecular fingerprint, a DNA profile that may help us predict which pancreatic cystic tumors are likely to remain benign and which ones will develop into cancers.”

Donating tumor tissue requires no extra effort or expense for the patient, said Roggin.

“First we make sure we don’t compromise the pathologists’ ability to make a diagnosis.

Second, if there is extra tissue, we flash freeze it to 80 below zero and log it into a database. Then we can store the tissue indefinitely and take what we need to generate DNA and RNA.”

The project meshes well with the Medical Center’s established program in cancer pharmacogenomics, which studies how certain gene variations influence patient responses to various anti-cancer drugs and develops genetic tests to predict side effects.

“By studying both the tumor and the patient we will, increasingly, be able to design optimal treatment strategies that offer the best hope for control of the cancer with the least toxicity for the patient,” said Richard Schilsky, MD, professor of medicine and chief of hematology/oncology at the Medical Center and past president of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.

“It’s a long road from having a piece of genome sequence to improving patient care,” White cautioned. “But the path of discovery is clear. In many cases we know enough now to connect the dots.”

Chicago Cancer Genome Project Studies Genetics of 1,000 Tumors | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

One person dies from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, almost every hour. Yet melanoma is often successfully treated, if caught early.

That’s why thousands of dermatologists across the country offer free skin cancer screenings in their communities through the American Academy of Dermatology’s (AAD) National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Screening Program.

The program recently reached a milestone – two million screenings have been conducted since the program’s inception in 1985. As of December 31, 2008, more than 188,000 suspicious lesions have been detected, including more than 21,500 suspected melanomas, through the program.

“The goal of the AAD National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Screening Program is to save lives. We’re certain that there are people who are alive today because they received a skin cancer screening,” said David M. Pariser, MD, FAAD, president, American Academy of Dermatology.

“Dermatologists have volunteered countless hours to conduct screenings in locations such as sports stadiums, state and county fairs, and hospitals. The AAD National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Screening Program is a key opportunity for dermatologists to educate the public about early detection and prevention of skin cancer while saving lives by finding skin cancers in their earliest, most treatable stages.”

While screenings happen all year long, many skin cancer screenings are conducted in May.

Visit aad.org/public/exams/screenings/index.html to find a free skin cancer screening in your area.

The Web page also includes a video of what to expect at a screening, an eCard to tell others about free screenings and an eAlert to receive notifications of screenings in your area.

“A skin cancer screening is a non-invasive exam that only takes a few minutes, yet it could save a person’s life,” said Dr. Pariser.

Significantly more than 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year. Current estimates are that 1 in 5 Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime. One American dies of melanoma almost every hour (every 61 minutes).

More than 11,000 Americans die each year from skin cancer, but when detected early, skin cancer has a cure rate of 99 percent.

For more information about skin cancer, please visit the SkinCancerNet section of SkinCarePhysicians.com, a Web site developed by dermatologists that provides patients with up-to-date information on the treatment and management of disorders of the skin, hair and nails.

Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential, and most representative of all dermatologic associations.

With a membership of more than 16,000 physicians worldwide, the Academy is committed to: advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education, and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails.

For more information, contact the Academy at 1-888-462-DERM (3376) or aad.org.

Dermatologists Reach Skin Cancer Screening Milestone through National Program | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) lauds the recent news of the decline in U.S. colorectal cancer death and incidence rates.

The report, released this week, shows that from 1975 to 2000, incidence rates dropped 22 percent and death rates dropped 26 percent.

The decline reflects the impact of increased colorectal cancer screening, changes in lifestyle and diet, and improved treatments.

ASGE, representing the specialists in colorectal cancer screening, is also encouraged by the report’s statement that if current trends persist, death rates from colorectal cancer could decline 36 percent by 2020 and there could be as much as a 50 percent decline if there are further improvements in risk factor control, screening, and treatment.

The study, by the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, has been issued annually since 1998 on the status of cancer in the U.S.

This year’s report states that “screening appears to have had a considerable impact on reducing CRC incidence and mortality.” It notes, however, that the greatest decline in new diagnoses were among those 65 and older, while people younger than age 50 showed an increase in diagnoses.

This represents a minority of colorectal cancer deaths as six percent of deaths in 2006 were among individuals under age 50.

The good news is that overall colorectal cancer incidence and death rates are declining steadily.

The causes for the increase in those under 50 with colorectal cancer are still unknown, but possibilities may include increased screening among people before age 50 due to family history or genetic factors, increased awareness of colorectal cancer symptoms, which prompts people to see their doctor, and the increasing prevalence of obesity and poor diet and lifestyle habits.

Modifiable risk factors for colorectal cancer include physical inactivity, obesity, a diet high in red and processed meats, and tobacco use.

“This report is a testament to the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening. Everyone should get screened for colorectal cancer beginning at age 50,” said Jacques Van Dam, MD, PhD, FASGE, president, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

“African-Americans, and people with certain risk factors, including a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps, may need to start screening at an earlier age. While these statistics are very encouraging, too few people are being screened for this largely preventable disease. Patients should talk to their doctor about an appropriate screening schedule.”

ASGE recommends colonoscopy screening beginning at age 50 and repeating every 10 years after a normal exam.

Some studies have shown that African-Americans are more frequently diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a younger age, leading some experts to suggest that African-Americans should begin screening at age 45.

Colonoscopy plays a very important role in colorectal cancer screening and prevention because it is the only method that allows for the detection and removal of precancerous polyps during the same exam and before the polyps turn into cancer.

Other screening methods, such as CT colonography or fecal occult blood tests, are less invasive and may also indicate the presence of precancerous and cancerous polyps, but they do not allow the removal of these polyps at the time of the exam.

Patients with polyps found during these exams would then need to be referred for a colonoscopy.

Colorectal cancer kills nearly 50,000 people each year. Many of those deaths could be prevented with earlier detection. The five-year relative survival rate for people whose colorectal cancer is treated in an early stage is greater than 90 percent.

However, only 39 percent of colorectal cancers are found at that early stage. Once the cancer has spread to nearby organs or lymph nodes, the five-year relative survival rate decreases dramatically.

ASGE screening guidelines recommend that, beginning at age 50, asymptomatic men and women at average risk for developing colorectal cancer should have a colonoscopy every 10 years. People with risk factors, such as a family history of colorectal cancer, should begin screening at an earlier age.

Patients are advised to discuss their risk factors with their physician to determine when to begin routine colorectal cancer screening and how often they should be screened. Colorectal cancer is often present in people without symptoms.

This is why screening for colorectal cancer is so important. The following signs or symptoms, however, might indicate colorectal cancer: blood in your stools, narrower than normal stools, unexplained abdominal pain, unexplained change in bowel habits, unexplained anemia, and unexplained weight loss.

These symptoms may be caused by other benign diseases such as hemorrhoids, inflammation in the colon or irritable bowel syndrome. If you experience any of these symptoms for more than a few days, talk with a gastrointestinal specialist about them.

For more information about colorectal cancer screening or to find a qualified physician, visit ASGE’s colorectal cancer awareness Web site at screen4coloncancer.org.

About the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Since its founding in 1941, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has been dedicated to advancing patient care and digestive health by promoting excellence in gastrointestinal endoscopy.

ASGE, with more than 11,000 members worldwide, promotes the highest standards for endoscopic training and practice, fosters endoscopic research, recognizes distinguished contributions to endoscopy, and is the foremost resource for endoscopic education.

Visit asge.org and screen4coloncancer.org for more information and to find a qualified doctor in your area.

About Endoscopy

Endoscopy is performed by specially-trained physicians called endoscopists using the most current technology to diagnose and treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Using flexible, thin tubes called endoscopes, endoscopists are able to access the human digestive tract without incisions via natural orifices.

Endoscopes are designed with high-intensity lighting and fitted with precision devices that allow viewing and treatment of the gastrointestinal system.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Anne Brownsey, 630-570-5635
abrownsey@asge.org

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Lauds Drop in Colorectal Cancer Deaths | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Two new studies advance that argument and demonstrate how shielding lung cancer cells from opiates reduces cell proliferation, invasion and migration in both cell-culture and mouse models.

The reports–to be presented November 18, 2009, at “Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics,” a joint meeting in Boston of the American Association for Cancer Research, the National Cancer Institute, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer–highlight the mu opiate receptor, where morphine works, as a potential therapeutic target.

“If confirmed clinically, this could change how we do surgical anesthesia for our cancer patients,” said Patrick A. Singleton, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center and principal author of both studies.

“It also suggests potential new applications for this novel class of drugs which should be explored.”

The proposition that opiates influence cancer recurrence, prompted by several unrelated clinical and laboratory studies, has gradually gained support. It started with a 2002 palliative-care trial in which patients who received spinal rather than systemic pain relief survived longer.

Soon after that, Singleton’s colleague, anesthesiologist Jonathan Moss, noticed that several cancer patients receiving a selective opiate blocker in a compassionate-use protocol lived longer than expected.

Two recent retrospective studies found that breast and prostate cancer patients who received regional rather than general anesthesia had fewer recurrences. In February, 2009, the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation highlighted the issue.

Moss’s palliative-care patients were taking methylnaltrexone (MNTX), developed in the 1980s for opiate-induced constipation by the late University of Chicago pharmacologist Leon Goldberg.

Goldberg modified an established drug that blocks morphine so that it could no longer cross the protective barrier that surrounds the brain. So MNTX blocks morphine’s peripheral side effects but does not interfere with its effect on pain, which is centered in the brain. It won FDA approval in 2008.

“These were patients with advanced cancer and a life expectancy of one to two months,” Moss recalled, “yet several lived for another five or six. It made us wonder whether this was just a consequence of better GI function or could there possibly be an effect on the tumors.”

So Singleton, Moss and colleagues, including Joe G.N. Garcia, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, began a series of studies looking at the many peripheral effects of opiates and the potential benefits of blocking those effects.

In laboratory studies, morphine can directly boost tumor-cell proliferation and inhibit the immune response.

The researchers found that opiates also promote angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, and decrease barrier function–effects that may exacerbate diseases involving vascular leakiness including acute lung injury in experimental models.

In a surgical setting, decreased barrier function may make it easier for tumors to invade tissue and spread to distant sites. Increased angiogenesis helps cancers thrive in a new site.

In the studies to be presented Nov. 18, Singleton and colleagues focus on the mu opiate receptor as a regulator of tumor growth and metastasis and examine the ability of methylnaltrexone to attenuate these effects.

Using two different models of non-small cell lung cancer, the research teams showed that MNTX inhibited the tumor-promoting effects of opiates. In one study, using bronchioloalveolar carcinoma cells, MNTX blocked oncogenic signaling and prevented tumor-cell proliferation and migration.

In the other study, using Lewis lung carcinoma cells, mice without the mu opiate receptor did not develop the tumors that normal mice did when injected with cancer cells.

The researchers further showed that MNTX reduced proliferation of cancer cells by 90 percent in normal mice. It also prevented invasion in cell culture and tumor growth and metastasis in mice.

The opioid receptor promotes Lewis lung cancer tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis, the authors conclude in a summary of the second study. “Methylnaltrexone attenuates these oncogenic effects.”

“In conjunction with previous studies on opiate-induced angiogenesis by our laboratory and others, these experimental data suggest a plausible explanation for the epidemiologic observations,” notes Moss, professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Chicago.

“If these laboratory studies are confirmed clinically, the selection of anesthetic technique used during the operative procedure and the possible use of opiate antagonists in the perioperative period may be important.”

Additional contributors to the project include Frances Lennon, PhD, Biji Mathew, PhD, and Ravi Salgia, MD, all of the University of Chicago.

University of Chicago Studies Suggest Common Pain Relief Medication May Encourage Cancer Growth | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Breast Cancer Network of Strength® is proud to announce it is has expanding “A Day for You™” — a program that assists medically underserved Asian, Latina, Polish and African American women in the United States.

The expense associated with health care access has increased exponentially, and data compiled from ongoing federal surveys of individuals and employers indicates that nationally, the cost of health insurance coverage is growing eight times as fast as income is. This is made worse by an economic slump that evolved into the worst recession in decades.

However, while health care resources are shrinking, A Day for You is expanding to meet the growing challenge of providing education and screening for women in vulnerable communities.

Through a generous grant from the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), Breast Cancer Network of Strength has established 13 new programs across the country in 2009 alone.

“Our organization’s mission to ensure, through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone,” says Breast Cancer Network of Strength President and CEO Margaret C. Kirk. “That includes those who may not be insured or have other barriers to breast cancer screening.”

The goals of the A Day for You program are to:

1. raise awareness about earlier detection;
2. facilitate access to information, clinical breast examinations and screening mammograms; and
3. help underserved communities overcome barriers such as language, lack of knowledge, lack of transportation, and lack of medical insurance that keep women from seeking services.

Participants are educated about earlier detection methods for breast cancer, taught breast self-examination (BSE), given a clinical breast examination (CBE) by qualified health care
professionals, and, if appropriate, given on-site mammograms. The program also assists women who have abnormal screening results in obtaining proper follow-up care.

Breast Cancer Network of Strength collaborates with community organizations, social service agencies, mammography centers, mammography mobile units, hospitals, health care centers and providers, volunteers, and breast cancer survivors to provide A Day for You.

Volunteers are vital to the success of A Day for You. They help with everything from filling out paperwork to accompanying women to medical appointments.

For more information about A Day for You, visit networkofstrength.org/programs/ad4u.php.

About Breast Cancer Network of Strength

Breast Cancer Network of Strength® (formerly known as Y-ME) is the oldest national breast cancer organization and ensures, through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone.

Network of Strength provides immediate emotional relief to anyone affected by breast cancer through the YourShoes™ 24/7 Breast Cancer Support Center.

YourShoes is the country’s only 24-hour toll-free breast cancer hotline staffed exclusively by breast cancer survivors who are trained peer counselors. The YourShoes Support Center provides real-time interpretation in 150 languages.

Each year on Mother’s Day, the organization holds Walk to Empower events across the country, not to raise funds for research, but to provide breast cancer support today. Other services include a free wig and prosthesis bank for women with limited resources.

Network of Strength Advocacy™ works to increase breast cancer research funding, support breast cancer related clinical studies and ensure quality health care for all.

Networkofstrength.org has more than 1,200 pages of easy to understand breast cancer content in seven languages. Network of Strength also provides informational brochures in up to nine languages.

For more information about Breast Cancer Network of Strength, visit networkofstrength.org. Peer counselors can be e-mailed or contacted at 1-800-221-2141.

Breast Cancer Network of Strength Expands Its “A Day for You” Program to Care for Medically Underserved Women | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The work shows–for the first time–that social isolation is associated with altered gene expression in mouse mammary glands, and that these changes are accompanied by larger tumors.

“This interdisciplinary research illustrates that the social environment, and a social animal’s response to that environment, can indeed alter the level of gene expression in a wide variety of tissues, not only the brain,” said Suzanne D. Conzen, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study, to be published on Sept. 30, 2009, in Cancer Prevention Research. “This is a novel finding and may begin to explain how the environment affects human susceptibility to other chronic diseases such as central obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, etc.”

The research began six years ago when cancer specialist Conzen joined forces with biobehavioral psychologist Martha McClintock, PhD, professor of psychology and founder of the Institute for Mind and Biology at the University of Chicago, who has long been interested in the result of social isolation in aging, to study behavior and cancer in a mouse model.

The University of Chicago scientists took mice that were genetically predisposed to develop mammary gland (breast) cancer and raised them in two environments: in groups of mice and isolated.

After the same amount of time, the isolated mice grew larger mammary gland tumors. They were also found to have developed a disrupted stress hormone response.

“I doubted there would be a difference in the growth of the tumors in such a strong model of genetically inherited cancer simply based on chronic stress in their environments, so I was surprised to see a clear, measurable difference both in mammary gland tumor growth and interestingly in accompanying behavior and stress hormone levels,” Conzen said.

The researchers then turned their attention to how the chronic social environment affected the biology of cancer growth. In other words, they sought to discover the precise molecular consequences of the stressful environment.

To do this, they studied gene expression in the mouse mammary tissue over time. Conzen and her colleagues found altered expression levels of metabolic pathway genes (which are expected to favor increased tumor growth) in the isolated mice. This was the case even before tumor size differences were measurable.

These altered gene expression patterns suggest potential molecular biomarkers and/or targets for preventive intervention in human breast cancer.

“Given the increased knowledge of the human genome, we can begin to identify and analyze the specific alterations that take place in caner-prone tissues of individuals living in at-risk environments,” Conzen said. “That will help us to better understand and implement cancer prevention strategies.”

These findings do suggest novel targets for chemoprevention, according to Caryn Lerman, PhD, Scientific Director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Deputy Editor of Cancer Prevention Research. “Future studies should evaluate whether these molecular processes can be reversed by chemopreventive agents.”

The findings also support previous epidemiologic studies suggesting that social isolation increases the mortality of chronic diseases, as well as clinical studies revealing that social support improves the outcomes of cancer patients.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health Centers for Population Health and Human Disparities; the University of Chicago Cancer Center’s Women’s Auxiliary Board; and the University of Chicago Cancer Center.

The paper is titled “A Model of Gene-Environment Interaction Reveals Altered Mammary Gland Gene Expression and Increased Tumor Growth following Social Isolation,” and Cancer Prevention Research is published by the American Association for Cancer Research.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Greg Borzo, 773-795-0892
greg.borzo@uchospitals.edu

University of Chicago Medical Center Researchers Determine Negative Social Isolation Worsens Cancer | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

More than 40,000 women are diagnosed with endometrial cancer every year in the United States, and most of those women will undergo some form of surgical treatment of the disease. It is estimated that 80 percent of those surgeries are performed the traditional open method, and less than 10 percent are performed by laparoscopic surgery in the state of Illinois, but results of a new study evaluating the outcomes of robotic surgery for endometrial cancer may change these statistics and encourage more women to seek less invasive options.

The study, appearing in the August issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, evaluated a multiinstitutional database of 405 patients who underwent robotic surgery for endometrial cancer between April 2003 and January 2009. Results of the study were conclusive with previous smaller studies and found short operative times, minimal blood loss, decreased length of hospital stays, a dramatic reduction in surgical complications, and reduced recovery times for those women with endometrial cancer who underwent robotic surgery.

“This is the largest study to date and the first multiinstitutional study to look at the effectiveness of robotic surgery for endometrial cancer, which has the potential to greatly influence surgical treatment of the disease,” says M. Patrick Lowe, MD, lead author of the study and a gynecologic oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Many women are unaware that a robotic alternative to treat endometrial cancer exists, and the advantages of this minimally invasive approach may provide them with their best surgical option.”

The study also evaluated the individual surgical outcomes and learning curve for the five participating surgeons who incorporated robotic technology. The number of robotic surgeries performed by each surgeon in the study ranged from 41 to 119, and results found that patient outcomes for intraoperative complications, length of hospital stay, lymph node yield, and blood loss were similar among the group of surgeons, regardless of experience. Surgeons with extensive laparoscopic experience and those without any laparoscopic experience also had similar outcomes, resulting in a more level playing field among surgeons when performing robotic surgery.

“When compared to published literature on the surgical outcomes of the traditional open or laparoscopic technique to treat endometrial cancer, robotics is at least equivalent if not superior to both modalities in several areas.” adds Dr. Lowe, who is also the director of the robotics and minimally invasive surgical program for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Based on the promising results of this study, the era of traditional open surgery to primarily treat women with endometrial cancer has come to a close.”

MEDIA CONTACT:

Kimberly Arndt, 312-926-6503
karndt@nmh.org

Study Finds Robotic Surgery to Treat Endometrial Cancer Associated with Improved Surgical Outcomes and a Shortened Learning Curve | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Janet Davison Rowley, MD, a founder in the field of cancer cytogenetics and a leader in molecular oncology, will receive the 2009 Genetics Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation for her research on recurrent chromosomal abnormalities in leukemias and lymphomas–discoveries that have revolutionized how cancer is understood and treated.

A 1998 recipient of the Lasker Award and the National Medal of Science, Rowley, 84, the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, is also being honored, according to the Gruber Foundation, for her “critical national and international leadership in the biomedical research community.”

The Prize comes with a gold medal and an unrestricted cash prize of $500,000. It will be presented in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 23 at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.

“Janet Rowley’s work established that cancer is a genetic disease,” says Mary-Claire King, a geneticist at the University of Washington. “She demonstrated that mutations in critical genes lead to specific forms of leukemia and lymphoma, and that one can determine the form of cancer present in a patient directly from the cancer’s genes. We are still working from her paradigm.”

Before Rowley, few scientists suspected that chromosomal aberrations caused tumors. The established view at the time was that abnormal chromosomes were manifestations of generalized chaos within leukemia and lymphoma cells. But Rowley believed something else was going on with those damaged pieces of DNA, and diligently pursued their study.

“I became a kind of missionary, saying that chromosome abnormalities were important and hematologists should know about them,” Rowley recalls of those early–and often lonely–years in the field. “I got sort of amused tolerance at the beginning.”

In the end, Rowley proved to be astonishingly prescient. Over the next decade, she made a number of remarkable discoveries, including the landmark finding that an abnormally short chromosome associated with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) was not a chromosome deletion, as many scientists had thought, but an exchange (translocation) of segments between two chromosomes.

Prior to this discovery, Rowley had an unusual career path. In 1940, she enrolled as an undergraduate at University of Chicago, at the age of 15. In 1945, she was one of only seven women out of 65 students entering the University of Chicago School of Medicine. In 1948, the day after graduating from medical school, she married fellow student, Donald Rowley. They had four children, all boys. She stayed home to raise them while working part-time with mentally disabled children.

Her scientific career got rolling only in 1962. On sabbatical with her husband in Oxford, she learned newly developed techniques of chromosome analysis. Back in Chicago, at the request of her clinical colleagues, she used these techniques to study the chromosomes of patients with leukemia. For the next decade she labored over the microscope, searching amid the seeming genetic chaos of leukemic cells for consistent chromosome abnormalities.

The first such abnormality had just been reported by Peter Nowell and colleague David Hungerford. They found that patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia had an abnormally small chromosome 22 in their tumor cells, which they labeled the “Philadelphia” chromosome.

The next step came in the early 1970′s when geneticists perfected the art of chromosome “banding,” a way of visualizing segments of chromosomes with more precision. Again, Rowley learned these techniques during a sabbatical in Oxford. They enabled her to discover that chromosomes from leukemic cells not only lost genetic material, they sometimes exchanged it. Early in 1972, Rowley discovered the first such “translocation,” an exchange of small pieces of DNA between chromosomes 8 and 21 in patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia.

Later that same year, she found that the “Philadelphia” chromosome was also the result of a translocation. In patients with CML, a crucial segment of chromosome 22 broke off and moved to chromosome 9, where it did not belong. At the same time, a tiny piece of chromosome 9, which included an important cancer-causing gene, had moved to the breakpoint on chromosome 22. Because of this transfer from one chromosome to another, important genes that regulated cell growth and division were no longer located in their normal position on the chromosome. This provided critical evidence that cancer was a genetic disorder.

Rowley and her colleagues subsequently identified several other chromosome translocations that were characteristic of specific malignancies, such as the 14;18 translocation seen in follicular lymphoma, and the 15;17 translocation that causes acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

Quickly picking up on her lead that specific translocations defined specific forms of cancer, scientists around the world joined the search for chromosomes that either exchanged genetic material or in some cases lost it altogether in a process known as a “deletion.” Others used the translocations as road maps to narrow the search for specific genes that were disrupted by chromosome damage, thus opening up the current era of cancer genetics.

Rowley’s contributions to identifying chromosomal abnormalities in leukemias and lymphomas have changed the way these diseases are diagnosed and treated. Today, newer techniques can identify the DNA damage within individual cells, offering a much more precise diagnosis of disease–and more effective treatments.

The research paid other benefits. The development of the drug imatinib (Gleevec)–one of the most successful targeted cancer therapies to date–stems directly from Rowley’s work on the 9;22 translocation. Imatinib blocks the abnormal protein produced by that translocation.

Rowley’s research continues at her lab at the University of Chicago, where she has inspired and generously mentored countless students and postgraduate fellows during the ensuing years. Cancer cytogenetics continues to fascinate–and challenge–her.

“We’re still working on the leukemias,” she says. “There’s a lot of evidence that translocations and other chromosome abnormalities aren’t sufficient to make a cell malignant. We’re looking for the other mechanisms involved.”

“As Chair of this year’s Selection Committee for the Gruber Prize in Genetics, I am delighted that the Committee recognized such a distinguished scientist and individual as Dr. Rowley,” says Elizabeth Blackburn, the Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. “Her major contributions to the understanding of the underpinnings of cancer make her an outstanding choice for this important Prize and truly reflect the goal of this Prize in celebrating the field of Genetics.”

The Gruber International Prize Program honors contemporary individuals in the fields of Cosmology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Justice and Women’s Rights, whose groundbreaking work provides new models that inspire and enable fundamental shifts in knowledge and culture. The Selection Advisory Boards choose individuals whose contributions in their respective fields advance our knowledge, potentially have a profound impact on our lives, and, in the case of the Justice and Women’s Rights Prizes, demonstrate courage and commitment in the face of significant obstacles.

MEDIA CONTACT:

John Easton, 773-702-6241
john.easton@uchospitals.edu

Janet Rowley Awarded Gruber Genetics Prize for Chromosome Studies | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Biological Yin and Yang: An artistic depiction of the proposed competitive binding of Retinoic Acid Receptors (blue) and Estrogen Receptor alpha (purple) to a genomic target site to achieve the antagonistic transcriptional effects indicated by the yin and yang symbol. Artwork by Janet Iwasa for the University of Chicago.

The most common forms of breast cancer are fueled by the female hormone estrogen. By comparing the effects of estrogen and retinoic acid on the entire genome, the researchers found that they have a “yin-yang” effect. They alter the expression of many of the same genes, with estrogen tipping the scales towards cell proliferation and retinoic acid restoring the balance by inhibiting cellular growth.

This balanced control of gene expression regulates fundamental cellular processes, say the authors. When it is dysregulated, it can lead to cancer.

“Understanding all the components of this process could be used against breast cancer care in three ways,” said study leader, Kevin White, PhD, professor of human genetics and director of the Institute for Genomics and System Biology at the University of Chicago. “It suggests new ways to think about preventing the disease in those at high risk. It offers molecular tools that could provide a more precise diagnosis and predict outcomes. It could also be used to enhance current therapies, making existing drugs, such as tamoxifen, that selectively block estrogen’s effects even more powerful, or even to develop new anti-cancer drugs.”

White’s team studies the effects of nuclear receptors, a class of proteins found within cells that control the response to various hormones. When a hormone enters a cell and connects with its receptor, that receptor alters the pattern of expression of specific genes–often hundreds or more.

For this study, White and colleagues Sujun Hua and Ralf Kittler focused on the retinoic acid receptors. Retinoic acid, known for its anticancer effects and already in use to treat a rare form of leukemia, has also been associated with anti-proliferative changes in breast cancer cells.

So the team combined two laboratory techniques–a process known as “ChIP-chip analysis” that blends chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), to see where the retinoic acid receptors bound to the genome, with micro-array gene-chip analysis, to measure expression levels of specific genes.

The combination enabled them to map out all the genetic effects of retinoic acid and its receptors in a cell line derived from patients with breast cancers that were fueled by estrogen.

They found that 39 percent of the genomic regions bound by estrogen receptor alpha overlapped with those bound by retinoic acid. They also found that the binding of estrogen and retinoic acids receptors to target sites were often mutually exclusive. This means the two hormones compete to activate or repress many of the same genes.

The two signaling pathways were mainly antagonistic. Estrogen increased expression of 139 genes that retinoic repressed. Retinoic acid activated 185 genes that estrogen repressed. For about 140 genes, estrogen and retinoic acid had the same effect.

“Collectively, note the authors, “these findings indicate an extensive crosstalk” between the effects of estrogen and retinoic acid. Despite their opposing effects, certain versions of the estrogen and retinoic acid receptors actually activate each other. This provides “an additional level of control,” say the authors, “for achieving a balanced regulation of gene expression.”

This competition between the two signals also provides a new tool to predict outcomes. The researchers compared the effects of retinoic acid on tissues from 295 breast cancer patients against the results from their initial study using a typical breast cancer cell line. They found that the more responsive a tumor was to retinoic acid, the better the odds of long-term relapse-free survival.

Some of the genes that respond to retinoic acid were expressed even in difficult-to-treat tumors, such as those that do not have estrogen receptors or the molecule targeted by the drug Herceptin, the so-called double- or triple-negative breast cancers. “Some of these genes may provide new drug targets,” White said.

Although retinoic acid is approved for treatment of leukemia, it can be quite toxic and patients can develop resistance to the drug. This study suggests a long series of downstream targets that are activated by the RA receptor.

“The goal would be to develop drugs that could activate these cancer-inhibiting targets,” said White. “Retinoic acid itself is probably not the solution because of its side effects and metabolic byproducts,” He cautioned, “but our results provide a molecular justification for finding ways to overcome its limitations in the clinic.”

“This work reveals important insights on the interplay between vitamin A and estrogen action,” said Myles Brown, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. “These insights will hopefully lead to new approaches for the prevention and treatment of the most common form of breast cancer.”

The National Institutes of Health and a grant from the Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) with support from the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust funded the research.

MEDIA CONTACT:

John Easton, 773-702-6241
john.easton@uchospitals.edu

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