Latest from The Zen of Bass
UCSF’s Elizabeth Blackburn joins an elite group of women scientists that has received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Her award brings the number of female recipients to 10, out of a total of 195 scientists who have received the award since it was established in 1901. Watch the video of today’s Nobel press conference:
Dr. Laura Esserman, director of UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Breast Care Center is spearheading the development of a clinical trials model designed to accelerate and improve the efficiency with which experimental breast cancer therapies are assessed. The strategy, which involves the use of molecular markers and MRI, utilizes “adaptive design,” in which drugs are assessed over the course of months – rather than decades – and the information used in real time to direct the course of a trial.
The series of studies are known as I-SPY (investigation of serial studies to predict therapeutic response with imaging and molecular analysis) and are being carried out in patients with locally advanced i.e., aggressive – breast cancer. The goals of I-SPY are to establish a clinical trials model that supports the identification of drugs targeting the molecular profiles of aggressive cancers, and to reduce the duration of the drug-assessment process from the current 15 to 20 years down to a few years.
Dr. Esserman’s team presents several findings at ASCO today. One provocative finding shows that large, locally advanced forms of breast cancer often emerge between regular mammogram exams. These “interval” cancers present an important opportunity for doctors and patients to take advantage of neoadjuvant therapies in advance of surgery, with the hope they would be responsive. The other finding is that using molecular markers, UCSF researchers identified a subset of patients who do well regardless of how they respond to neoadjuvant treatment. They also identified a subset with poor prognosis for whom response to neoadjuvant therapy is a good predictor of long term outcome.
Read the press release:
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Susan Desmond-Hellmann, one of FORTUNE’s Most Powerful Women in Business, will become the first woman to serve as UCSF chancellor. The appointment, unanimously approved by the UC Board of Regents today, takes effect August 3, 2009.
Desmond-Hellmann, 51, brings a deep clinical, research, and executive leadership background and commitment to high-quality patient care to the position of UCSF chancellor. She is a board-certified physician in internal medicine and medical oncology who has dedicated much of her career to cancer research. She was with South San Francisco-based Genentech for 14 years – as clinical scientist, chief medical officer, executive vice president and president – where she has overseen successful trials for therapeutic drugs, including Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan, targeting a range of cancers and other diseases. Says Desmond-Hellman:
I began my career at UCSF, and my heart has never left it..My life’s work has been focused on making a difference for patients, and I cannot think of a better place than UCSF to carry that work forward. As the health needs of the world continue to change, UCSF will continue to play a pivotal role in developing solutions through its research, teaching and clinical care across all the health disciplines.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that increase the risk of hereditary ovarian cancer, as well as hereditary breast cancer. Testing for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can predict cancer risk, and can now possibly be used to guide treatment and entry into clinical trials. Dr. Mary S. Beattie, Director of UCSF’s Cancer Risk Program, discusses who should have genetic counseling and why.
A new approach to delivering gene therapy to the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, was revealed in research findings published in the February 4 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
UCSF neuroscientist Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz has developed a promising way to get nerve cells to help disperse gene therapy to targeted brain cells. He uses a technique called convection-enhanced delivery. The fluid containing the gene therapy is injected under pressure, delivered in pulses. Says Bankiewicz:
For the first time, specific regions of the cortex can be supplied with therapeutic agents by targeting defined regions of the thalamus…Translational experiments now are in progress to evaluate the potential of this unique gene delivery technology for the treatment of cortical dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease…
Bankiewicz’s research at UCSF has a strong focus on the development of practical approaches to gene and cell replacement therapies; he synthesizes several individual technologies into powerful new approaches to the treatment of such serious disease as brain cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease.
Source: Science Cafe
Associated Press’ Lauran Neergaard reports today that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer. She had surgery at Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
In 1999, Ginsburg had surgery for colon cancer and had chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The new cancer was discovered during a routine, annual exam late last month at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
A CAT scan revealed a tumor measuring about 1 centimeter across at the center of the pancreas, the court said.
Ginsburg had recently told her former law clerks and others that she envisioned serving on the court into her 80s, although those comments were made before the latest diagnosis.
In her previous bout with cancer, Ginsburg received treatment throughout the court’s term and never missed a day on the bench.
The justices hold their next private conference on Feb. 20 and return to the bench from their winter break on Feb. 23.
The court’s announcement offered few details about the surgery.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the United States. It is a silent killer, as its symptoms are so insidious that most people are not diagnosed until the disease has advanced beyond the stage where surgical resection is possible. Even among surgical candidates, removal of the diseased pancreas and surrounding tissues is rarely curative.
For more on the latest cancer research, visit Science Cafe.
“From Bench to Bedside to Market — Envisioning How Translational Research Will Make a Difference for Women With Breast Cancer” — UCSF’s 2009 Breast Oncology Program Scientific Retreat — was held this week. The focus was on experimental therapeutics, molecular markers, clinical trials and early detection. Among the topics discussed was “How siRNA will Change Cancer Therapy.” Here are a few take-aways:
To learn more, visit UCSF’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center site.
Frank Scurley 2:23 pm on October 15, 2009 Permalink |
I don‘t know If I said it already but …Cool site, love the info. I do a lot of research online on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,
…..Frank Scurley