Cancer

　　 AACR Hosts Scientific Teleconference for Media Professionals August 4, 2009 PHILADELPHIA - Scientists around the world are on the cusp of breakthroughs in cancer research that will soon translate into the clinic and provide the tools doctors need to curb the burden of cancer. Members of the American Association for Cancer Research are at the forefront of these groundbreaking research efforts. AACR hosted aneducational teleconference with leading experts on microRNA, personalized medicine and progress in the cancer genome on August 4, 2009 (recording of the teleconference available below.) The panelists and discussion topics were as follows: Tyler Jacks, Ph.D.: "MicroRNAs: Controlling Behavior in Cancer Cells" President of the American Association for Cancer Research Director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT MicroRNAs are molecules produced in cells that have the ability to control the activity of multiple genes simultaneously and assess their behavior. This could mean breakthroughs in our ability to diagnose cancer accurately and early, and could potentially lead to effective biologic therapy. Diagnosis with microRNA allows scientists to profile a cancer and properly subdivide it to better understand how microRNA is contributing to genetic malfunctioning that allows cancer to develop. These microRNAs, and by extension all small RNAs, have therapeutic potential. Early pre-clinical research has shown that microRNAs easily travel to the liver, creating potential treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma or cancers that spread to the liver. Clinical trials of small RNAs as therapy, which may be reported within the next year, will need to focus on how best to deliver these biologics to other tumor sites. AACR Background Materials: Cell Cycle Regulation by MicroRNAs in Embryonic Stem Cells Yangming Wang and Robert Blelloch Cancer Res 2009 69: 4093-4096. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-0309 http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/10/4093 MicroRNA Silencing in Primates: Towards Development of Novel Therapeutics Andreas Petri, Morten Lindow, and Sakari Kauppinen Cancer Res 2009 69: 393-395. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-2749 http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/2/393 MicroRNAs and cancer: past, present, and potential future Kristen M. Nelson and Glen J. Weiss Mol Cancer Ther December 2008 7:3655-3660 doi:10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-08-0586 http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/7/12/3655.full Additional Background Materials: Therapeutic microRNA delivery suppresses tumorigenesis in a murine liver cancer model. Kota J, Chivukula RR, O’Donnell KA, Wentzel EA, Montgomery CL, Hwang HW, Chang TC, Vivekanandan P, Torbenson M, Clark KR, Mendell JR, Mendell JT. Cell. 2009 Jun 12;137(6):1005-17. Suppression of non-small cell lung tumor development by the let-7 microRNA family. Kumar MS, Erkeland SJ, Pester RE, Chen CY, Ebert MS, Sharp PA, Jacks T. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Mar 11;105(10):3903-8. Epub 2008 Feb 28. Jacks’ research focuses on the genetic events that contribute to the development of cancer. He is a recent recipient of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Amgen Award and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. Ingo K. Mellinghoff, M.D.: "Personalized Medicine: Greater Efficacy Through Better Understanding" Assistant Professor in the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Personalized medicine is the cutting edge and future of cancer treatment as scientists continue to learn more about the basic biology of tumor growth and develop therapies to target a tumor’s unique characteristics. Although it is unlikely that personalized medicine will ever reach the point where each patient has completely individualized treatment, our biological knowledge continues to transform the way we think about tumor types. Breast cancer, for example, is no longer a single disease but three separate diseases with distinctive prognoses and treatment strategies. Recent research in personalized medicine has given us promising results with EGF inhibitors in lung cancer, B-Raf inhibitors in melanoma and inhibitors in ovarian and breast cancer. More is on the horizon with PI 3-kinase and AKT inhibitors for a myriad of cancers. Increased knowledge of how these agents work on different tumor types with specific molecular features will increase scientist’s ability to get these drugs to the clinic and increase their efficacy. AACR Background Materials: Emerging Biomarkers and New Understanding of Traditional Markers in Personalized Therapy for Breast Cancer Mitch Dowsett and Anita K. Dunbier Clin Cancer Res 2008 14: 8019-8026 doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-0974 http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/14/24/8019 Advances in Breast Cancer: Pathways to Personalized Medicine Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Tatyana A. Grushko, Rita Nanda, and Dezheng Huo Clin Cancer Res 2008 14: 7988-7999 doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-1211 http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/14/24/7988 Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D.: "The Cancer Genome: A Revolution in Knowledge" Professor of Pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School Cancer is a disease of the genome. It is caused by changes in DNA sequence, the number of copies of specific sequences, and the structure of the genome (where these gene sequences are located relative to one another). Advances in genome technology and the advent of large-scale cancer genome projects offer the promise of discovering all cancer causing genome alterations. Scientists often refer to Moore’s law, which claimed computing power would double every 24 months. However, the progress in biology and genome technology is now much faster, almost a quadrupling or even a 10-fold increase every year. Recently, there have been breakthroughs in identifying alterations of the ALK gene in lung cancer and in neuroblastoma, a common form of pediatric cancer, which will allow scientists to target this gene and ultimately treat these diseases. The advancements in The Cancer Genome Atlas have also allowed scientists to identify mutations in the PI 3-kinase pathway. The future will allow cancer experts to map the genome of an entire cancer, as has been done already for several leukemias, glioblastomas and ovarian cancers - the latter in The Cancer Genome Atlas. This whole genome sequencing will also allow for the diagnosis of every cancer on a genetic level. AACR Background Materials: Somatic Mutations of the Protein Kinase Gene Family in Human Lung Cancer Helen Davies, Chris Hunter, Raffaella Smith, et al. Cancer Res 2005 65: 7591-7595 http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/65/17/7591 A Hypermutation Phenotype and Somatic MSH6 Mutations in Recurrent Human Malignant Gliomas after Alkylator Chemotherapy Chris Hunter, Raffaella Smith, Daniel P. Cahill, et al. Cancer Res 2006 66: 3987-3991 http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/66/8/3987 Additional Background Materials: Stratton MR, Campbell PJ, Futreal PA. The cancer genome. Nature. 2009 Apr 9;458(7239):719-24. Review. PubMed PMID: 19360079. Meyerson’s research focuses on identifying and understanding the genomic alterations that cause human cancers, with a particular focus on lung cancer. He recently received a Career Investigator Award from the American Lung Association. Download photos of the scientists: Tyler Jacks, Ph.D. Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D. Multimedia: Listen to the teleconference: Download a mp3 recording* of the teleconference (8.38 MB, 36:38 minutes). *On a PC, right mouse click on the "Download" link and select "Save link as..." in Firefox or "Save Target as..." in Internet Explorer. Media Contact: Jeremy Moore 267-646-0622 jeremy.moore@aacr.org # # # The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present