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- Posted Wednesday January 13, 2010
TGen-Scottsdale Healthcare researchers make breakthrough in lung cancer
MicroRNAs are key to identifying patients resistant to
'first-line' chemotherapy
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Jan. 13, 2010 - Researchers for TGen Clinical
Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare (TCRS) have identified a
way to predict which patients with small-cell lung cancer may be
resistant to first-line chemotherapy.
The study, Tumor MicroRNA Biomarkers Associated with De Novo
Chemoresistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer, will be presented today
in San Diego at a joint conference of the American Association for
Cancer Research (AACR) and the International Association for the
Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
This breakthrough is critical since patients with small-cell lung
cancer (SCLC) often do not get a second chance at therapies to
combat this aggressive type of cancer.
"For patients with small cell lung cancer, there are really only
about two chemotherapy options. We need to be more precise with our
treatments and identify who is going to be resistant up front in
order to design better clinical trials that will identify effective
therapies for these at-risk patients," said Dr. Glen J. Weiss,
director of Thoracic Oncology at TCRS, who presented the findings
at AACR-IASLC's Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung
Cancer.
TCRS is a partnership between the Translational Genomics Research
Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare that enables laboratory
discoveries to be quickly turned into targeted therapies that can
be tested with patients at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in
Scottsdale.
Of the nearly 32,000 new cases of SCLC diagnosed in the U.S. every
year, between 15 and 30 percent will be chemoresistant to
first-line therapy, or about 6,500 SCLC patients annually. SCLC
tends to spread much more quickly than non-small cell lung cancer.
There are three types of SCLC: small cell carcinoma (oat cell
cancer), mixed small cell/large cell carcinoma, and combined small
cell carcinoma.
The study led by Dr. Weiss proposed to look at how to best identify
those SCLC patients who would be chemoresistant. By profiling
tumors, he and a team of TGen researchers identified at least three
tumor microRNAs that appear to predict small cell lung cancer
patients who will prove resistant to first-line chemotherapy. In
addition to researchers at TGen, Dr. Weiss was assisted by
scientists at the Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute and the
Van Andel Research Institute.
MicroRNAs are small molecules that regulate gene expression in the
process of making proteins as well as directing the structure and
function of cells. This regulation usually prevents cancer and
other diseases.
Weiss and colleagues evaluated 34 patients at with varying stages
of SCLC. The median age of the patients was 69.1 years, and half
were men. All 34 received systemic chemotherapy. There were two
complete responses and 13 partial responses. Two patients had
stable disease and four had progressive disease.
Three microRNAs biomarkers were identified as being closely linked
with chemoresistance: miR-92a-2*, miR-147, and miR-574-5p. Although
47 percent of the patients presented with hypertension and 32
percent presented with emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, neither of these co-morbidities were linked with
chemoresistance.
These findings should help clinicians design better drug
trials.
Dr. Weiss has received grant funding to support this work from
these charitable organizations: Sylvia-Chase Foundation, American
Cancer Society, IBIS Foundation of Arizona, and the TGen
Foundation.
*
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a
non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking
research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on
helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological
disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. For more
information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
*
About the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale
Healthcare
The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare offers
prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and support services in
its facilities at the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center,
attracting patients from across Arizona and the U.S. Scottsdale
Healthcare is the not-for-profit parent organization of the
Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, Scottsdale Healthcare
Osborn Medical Center and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak
Hospital, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, Scottsdale Clinical
Research Institute and Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation. For
additional information, visit www.shc.org.
Press Contact:
Keith Jones
Public Relations Director, Scottsdale Healthcare
480-882-4910
[email protected]
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