Cancer Research Progress Spotlights Cruel Irony

To hear the words "cancer" and "cure" in the same sentence from experienced cancer researchers is both breathtaking and unexpected. Researchers and top oncologists are usually cautious to a fault.



To hear that Congress is again trying to squeeze cancer research budgets is breathtaking but predictable. They've become frugal, also to a fault.

Such is the cruel irony facing cancer patients and researchers today.

Building on over 50 years of scientific progress, research leaders from cancer centers across the country are achieving stunning results that have led even the most guarded of them to use such formerly forbidden words as "breakthrough," "miracle," and "cure" in describing patient reactions and the potential outcomes of their virology and immunology cancer work. Much of this work has been supported by federal grants (National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute). Along the way, the continuance of many promising ventures has been jeopardized by Congressional refusal to sustain funding, even for breakthrough projects whose outcomes are already exceeding clinical expectations.



Virology and immunology research sounds mysterious but can be described in simple terms. Most cancers have mechanisms that make them invisible to the body's immune system. In other words, the immune system can't recognize them as dangerous and so doesn't attack them.



Researchers are now genetically modifying viruses that -- if left unchanged -- would have had the power to paralyze or kill their hosts. The genetic modifications turn formerly harmful and even lethal viruses (such as measles, polio, rabies, and HIV) into therapeutic agents. Rather than harming normal cells and spreading disease throughout the body, modified virus particles or virus-infected cells (in the case of HIV) are injected into solid tumors or delivered intravenously into the blood stream.

William C. Phelps, Ph.D., Director of Preclinical and Translational Cancer Research at the American Cancer Society, describes recent research developments as "one of those scientific situations where two fields (virology and immunology) collide to provide a breakthrough. Fifty years of studying viruses in excruciating detail has allowed us to understand how to engineer viruses in clever and useful ways to accomplish what immunotherapy needs to create cancer-fighting weapons."

Some of these therapies inject direct cancer-killing "oncolytic viruses" directly into tumors while others stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells. Dramatic clinical trials of such new combination therapies are underway at leading cancer centers nationwide with patients who have exhausted traditional therapies for recurrences of potentially lethal cancers. A sampling of these include:

• Mayo Clinic's use of a modified measles virus in treating glioma (brain cancer) has been so successful in Phase 1 trials (usually intended to test only for safety and dosage of a new treatment) that it is being expanded to explore its applicability to other solid tumors like lung, breast, and ovarian cancers and even for multiple myeloma.


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• Duke University's use of a modified polio virus for treatment of glioblastomas (fast-growing and previously lethal brain cancers) and potential other cancers. The first two patients on this trial have now been cancer-free for three years, but work continues to determine optimal dosages in order to optimize both safety and therapeutic impact. Similar extensions to other solid tumors (lung, breast, and pancreas) are in process.


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• MD Anderson Cancer Center is modifying the adenovirus (common cold) to treat brain tumors, with considerable success and is now hosting a Phase 2 trial.


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• Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) has been altering HIV to achieve breakthrough treatments against leukemia. This work, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, has achieved 90 percent remission in patients suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Similar work is also underway at other cancer centers across the country but may have received less visible press coverage. Many of the resulting therapies could -- if current outcome trends continue -- be eligible for "fast track" or "breakthrough" designation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Both of these FDA programs offer a framework for accelerating broad market approvals.



"So what?" you might ask. "Doesn't this show that we're winning this war?"



On the contrary, much of this breakthrough work is still in the research pipeline and not widely available. Statistics from the American Cancer Society show that the need for such treatments is still greatly outstripping their availability.



In this country, over 1.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer and almost 600,000 will die each year. There are currently almost 15 million survivors, many of whom worry about whether their cancers will return. Millions more, both patients and family caregivers, are in the midst of prolonged treatments and unpredictable disruptions of their work and family lives. The costs to the economy in health care expenses and lost work time are massive.



You don't have to use the word "cure" to appreciate the possibilities. Evidence exists that the dramatic life-saving impact of the newest cancer care treatments can generate massive cost savings if the nation would commit to making "cancer-free" a more common outcome of cancer therapies that are available to an ever-increasing number of patients.



As a nation, we've proven our willingness to defend our homeland against external threats through military defense spending. Perhaps comparable medical defense spending could advance our internal war against cancer. By "piling on" and intensifying research funding now, through increased Congressional support of NIH cancer research budgets, we could finally break the cruel irony of under-funding potential cancer breakthroughs.

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Why Target Vaccines?

Anti-vaccination campaigners have reached the forefront of the news. When a public health issue has reached the Jimmy Kimmel show, you know that it has reached the "big time." Seth Mnookin wrote the book The Panic Virus: The True Story of the Vaccine-Autism Controversy. Both Kimmel and Mnookin mentioned Jenny McCarthy, who has been quite vocal about her concerns about vaccines. More measles outbreaks have occurred in the past year than in the past decade, with the majority occurring among unvaccinated children. Buzzfeed asked vaccine expert Kate O'Brien of the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to comment on the safety and utility of vaccines. A mother's angry Facebook post about anti-vaccine campaigners went viral. Someone even wrote "Melanie's Marvelous Measles," a children's book which, according to the Amazon website author description, "was written to educate children on the benefits of having measles and how you can heal from them naturally and successfully." To date, the book has received over 1,100 one-star reviews on the Amazon website. (One of the one-star reviews continues by saying "If you enjoyed this book, check out these other fine titles from the same author" and lists a slew of titles such as Bennett's Breathtaking Boil, Carol's Colorful Chlamydia, Hillary's Hilarious HIV, and Manuel's Magnificent Meningitis.)



A major question is: Why have anti-vaccination campaigners targeted vaccines for autism and other concerns? There are so many things now in our environment and personal lives that could be contributing to a wide variety of diseases and health problems. For instance, shouldn't the continuing obesity epidemic make everyone concerned that things are changing about the world around us? What about our food environment? Have you looked at food labels and the listed additives and preservatives in many of the things you or others may be eating?







What about the medications and various substances that people are putting into their bodies to change their looks, improve their sex lives, or make themselves feel better? How much evidence is out there about their safety and potential side effects? As an example, check out a study led by Brian Schwartz of our Global Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC) that found a potential association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medications and obesity. What about all the antibiotics being used? What about the effects on the environment of various business practices such as fracking? Or industrial chemicals such as flame retardants, pesticides and plastics, as Lynn Peeples writes?



Perhaps people tend to not know what they can't immediately see. Vaccines in many ways have been a victim of their own success. Many may not be clear on what vaccines are doing when they can't see the diseases that are being prevented. Have you ever seen a case of measles, tetanus, or diphtheria? Unless you are in the health care profession or in a low or middle income country, you probably haven't... because of the success of vaccines. Similarly, was the public as worried about air safety until 9-11 occurred? Did people believe their real estate purchases were risky until the real estate bubble burst? Did my former classmate even care about art until he found out that a woman that he was interested in liked art and then cram-studied art books to prepare for their first date?



By contrast, some of the other things that may be affecting disease risk seem to have immediate benefits that people are less willing to do without. A painkiller removes pain. Food with additives and preservatives may seem more convenient and delicious. Drinking lots of alcoholic beverages may make one (and others) look better and seem to help gain more friends. Male and female "enhancement" medications and similar substances may... well, you get the picture.



But here's the thing. The things that we cannot see can end up being the biggest risks. For example, obesity may seem like just an appearance issue but can lead to a host of problems including deadly diseases.



Those opposed to vaccines do have an important point: Testing everything thoroughly is important. We should not assume that anything is safe without enough data in hand. But why aren't anti-vaccine activists saying this about other things that we eat and use? The amount of testing that a vaccine undergoes is much more than food or dietary supplements or weight loss substances out there.



So skepticism can be healthy, but if you are going to question vaccines, start questioning many of the other things around you like food that may be affecting the lives and health of you and those around you. What you haven't seen may surprise you.

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Alzheimer's: A Women's Health Issue

Two-thirds of the 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease are female. A woman at age 60 is twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's as with breast cancer. Even after factoring in that women on average live longer than men, scientists don't fully understand why this most common form of dementia strikes women more often than men.





Congresswoman Speier and Cynthia Guzman who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's on her 63rd birthday.




Perhaps worse is that many don't know they have the disease. The Alzheimer's Association just uncovered that only 45 percent of those with the disease or their caretakers are told by their doctors of the diagnosis. There is no known cure for this cruel, unforgiving disease that kills nerve cells in the brain and robs a person of the ability to function without round-the-clock care.



We need to increase the national dialogue and change the stigma associated with Alzheimer's.



Alzheimer's disease takes a toll on families and our health care system. It could turn us into a nation of caregivers. Here again, the disease falls hardest on women, who make up more than 60 percent of all caregivers. I was a caregiver for my aging parents until they died. Their frailties were not cognitive and my role was part time, although the worry was full time. Data on a disease may be a powerful motivator, but statistics don't rival the personal hardships of caring for someone you love. I can only imagine that this strain is multiplied when the loved one no longer knows who you are.



The caregiving burden placed on women, led by emotional and physical stress, strains family relationships and financial security. Caregivers who stay on the job get less support for elder care than they do for child care. As a result, female caregivers are 2½ times more likely to end up living in poverty and often suffer their own health crises related to stress from providing Alzheimer's care.



Alzheimer's disease could bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid if we don't find new ways to treat and hopefully prevent the disease. The $586 million we invested in 2015 for the National Institutes of Health research funding pales in comparison with the cost of caring for Americans with Alzheimer's and other dementia -- a cost the Alzheimer's Association estimates will reach $226 billion this year and $1.1 trillion in 2050. By contrast, last year we invested more than $5.5 billion in cancer research, and we have seen much improvement in cancer treatment and care over the past decade because of this continued investment. We need to do the same for Alzheimer's.



While finding a cure is the ultimate goal, delaying the disease onset is our best hope. The Alzheimer's Association points to new research that may lead to treatments to extend healthy cognition and delay the onset of Alzheimer's.



With the help of federal investments, there have been tremendous advances in early detection and treatment of breast cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS in the past 20 years. Comparable investments in Alzheimer's are now needed to realize the same successes -- to buy quality time for individuals living with the disease, ease the burden on families, and save billions in health care costs.



By the numbers



Alzheimer's disease is the fifth leading cause of death in California.



It claims almost 11,000 lives in our state each year, a number expected to double in the next 15 years.



Deaths increased nationwide by 68 percent from 2000 to 2010, compared with deaths from heart disease (down 16 percent) and HIV/AIDS (down 12 percent).



Alzheimer's places the burden of care disproportionately on women. Almost 1 in 5 female Alzheimer's caregivers has had to quit work because of the burden imposed by caring for her loved one.



Source: Alzheimer's Association

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Obama: Climate Change Is Harming Americans' Health

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming isn’t just affecting the weather, it’s harming Americans’ health, President Barack Obama said Tuesday as he announced steps government and businesses will take to better understand and deal with the problem.



Obama said hazards of the changing climate include wildfires sending more pollution into the air, allergy seasons growing longer and rising cases of insect-borne diseases.



“We’ve got to do better in protecting our vulnerable families,” Obama said, adding that, ultimately, all families are affected.



“You can’t cordon yourself off from air,” Obama said. Speaking at Howard University Medical School, he announced commitments from Google, Microsoft and others to help the nation’s health system prepare for a warmer, more erratic climate.



Warning of the perils to the planet has gotten the president only so far; polls consistently show the public is skeptical that the steps Obama has taken to curb pollution are worth the cost to the economy. So Obama is aiming to put a spotlight on ways that climate change will have real impacts on the body, like more asthma attacks, allergic reactions, heat-related deaths and injuries from extreme weather.



Obama said spending on health — such as preventing asthma — can save more money than it costs, as well as alleviate pain and suffering.



Surgeon General Vivek Murthy noted that people suffering from an increase in asthma-attack triggers lose time at work and school. Murthy, a doctor, said the problem was especially personal for him because he’s seen so many patients struggle to breathe and his own uncle died of a severe asthma attack.



Microsoft’s research arm will develop a prototype for drones that can collect large quantities of mosquitoes, then digitally analyze their genes and pathogens. The goal is to create a system that could provide early warnings about infectious diseases that could break out if climate change worsens.



Google has promised to donate 10 million hours of advanced computing time on new tools, including risk maps and early warnings for things like wildfires and oil flares using the Google Earth Engine platform, the White House said. Google’s camera cars that gather photos for its “Street View” function will start measuring methane emissions and natural gas leaks in some cities this year.



The Obama administration also announced a series of modest steps it will take to boost preparedness, such as expanding access to data to predict and minimize the health effects from climate change.



Obama’s effort to link climate change to health comes as he works to build support for steps he’s taken to curb U.S. emissions, including strict limits on vehicles and power plants. The president is relying on those emissions cuts to make up the U.S. contribution to a global climate treaty that he and other world leaders expect to finalize in December.



___



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Obama: Climate Change Is Harming Americans' Health

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming isn't just affecting the weather, it's harming Americans' health, President Barack Obama said Tuesday as he announced steps government and businesses will take to better understand and deal with the problem.



Obama said hazards of the changing climate include wildfires sending more pollution into the air, allergy seasons growing longer and rising cases of insect-borne diseases.



"We've got to do better in protecting our vulnerable families," Obama said, adding that, ultimately, all families are affected.



"You can't cordon yourself off from air," Obama said. Speaking at Howard University Medical School, he announced commitments from Google, Microsoft and others to help the nation's health system prepare for a warmer, more erratic climate.



Warning of the perils to the planet has gotten the president only so far; polls consistently show the public is skeptical that the steps Obama has taken to curb pollution are worth the cost to the economy. So Obama is aiming to put a spotlight on ways that climate change will have real impacts on the body, like more asthma attacks, allergic reactions, heat-related deaths and injuries from extreme weather.



Obama said spending on health — such as preventing asthma — can save more money than it costs, as well as alleviate pain and suffering.



Surgeon General Vivek Murthy noted that people suffering from an increase in asthma-attack triggers lose time at work and school. Murthy, a doctor, said the problem was especially personal for him because he's seen so many patients struggle to breathe and his own uncle died of a severe asthma attack.



Microsoft's research arm will develop a prototype for drones that can collect large quantities of mosquitoes, then digitally analyze their genes and pathogens. The goal is to create a system that could provide early warnings about infectious diseases that could break out if climate change worsens.



Google has promised to donate 10 million hours of advanced computing time on new tools, including risk maps and early warnings for things like wildfires and oil flares using the Google Earth Engine platform, the White House said. Google's camera cars that gather photos for its "Street View" function will start measuring methane emissions and natural gas leaks in some cities this year.



The Obama administration also announced a series of modest steps it will take to boost preparedness, such as expanding access to data to predict and minimize the health effects from climate change.



Obama's effort to link climate change to health comes as he works to build support for steps he's taken to curb U.S. emissions, including strict limits on vehicles and power plants. The president is relying on those emissions cuts to make up the U.S. contribution to a global climate treaty that he and other world leaders expect to finalize in December.



___



Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://ift.tt/MJRGf2

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Bust-Out

A type of credit card fraud where an individual maxes out the card with no intention of paying the bill.

















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Where Greece hopes to find cash - and why the ECB says no

Cash-strapped Greece had been hoping that the European Central Bank -- which is about to pump billions into the eurozone economy -- would help ease its torment, but so far the ECB has been markedly reluctant to come to its aid. These are the key issues over which they are at loggerheads: The b...





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