Home – Page 84 – The Cancer Letter

MD Anderson Cancer Center President Ronald DePinho’s administration acted in disregard of academic standards and the institution’s internal faculty appointment policy, according to a 23-page final report published April 8 by the American Association of University Professors.

The report is the outcome of a yearlong feud between the cancer center and AAUP, which defends academic freedom and shared governance.

Congress Steps in to Examine FDA Device Regs As Insurers Restrict Coverage of Morcellation

Nearly a year and a half after a surgical tool routinely used by gynecologists disseminated her undiagnosed sarcoma, Amy Reed found herself back in the operating room—this time for removal of a second metastasis.

Reed’s leiomyosarcoma, which had been in remission after a massive surgery and post-morcellation chemotherapy, has spread to her lumbar vertebrae.

Coverage of the Power Morcellation Controversy

	False Positive Mammograms, Overdiagnosis Cost $4 Billion The costs of false-positive mammograms and breast cancer overdiagnoses add up to $4 billion a year, according to a paper in the April edition of the journal Health Affairs. The issue contains a cluster of papers focusing on the cost and quality of cancer care.
	Draft Guideline on Colorectal Cancer Biomarker Published The American Society for Clinical Pathology, the College of American Pathologists, the Association for Molecular Pathology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology released a draft of a clinical practice guideline on the use of molecular marker testing for patients with primary or metastatic colorectal carcinoma. This evidence-based guideline will help establish standard molecular marker testing, guide targeted therapies, and advance personalized care for these patients.
	In Brief Karen Jensen joins Scripps Health as director of the oncology clinical care line Chandini Portteus named president and CEO of LIVESTRONG Foundation Margaret Hamburg, former FDA commissioner, appointed foreign secretary of IOM The NCCN Foundation awarded fifth series of Young Investigator Awards to six oncology researchers Christina Coughlin named chief medical officer of Immunocore Ltd. Gerrit Los named vice president of pharmacology at AnaptysBio Inc.
	Drugs and Targets Vectibix gets European approval for wild-type RAS colon cancer Intrexon Corp. signs cooperative research and development agreement with NCI Rubicon Genomics Inc. extends its clinical supply agreement with Agendia Merck and Pfizer will begin co-promoting Xalkori in eight countries

20150403 - Apr 3, 2015

ISSUE 13 – APRIL 3, 2015

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Over 48 Hours, Power Shifts at NCI, ACS, Dana-Farber and MD Anderson

Over the first two days in April, massive leadership changes occurred at top institutions in cancer research:

• On April 1, the top job at NCI switched from Harold Varmus to Douglas Lowy, with the Lowy being formally named acting director.

• On April 1, Edward Benz announced his plans to leave presidency at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the institution’s board began the search for his successor.

• On April 2, the American Cancer Society announced that the job of CEO would go to former Johnson & Johnson executive Gary Reedy.

• On April 2, the UT System announced that Lynda Chin will be vacating her jobs as head of genomic medicine and scientific director of a research institute she co-founded. Chin, who is married to MD Anderson President Ronald DePinho, came to Houston from Dana-Farber as a team in 2011.

	Resolving Disputes in Precision Medicine: The Question of CYP2D6 Remains Open What does it take to declare that a scientific dispute is resolved? A long-running argument over the role of a biomarker in the treatment of breast cancer illustrates a challenge that runs through the heart of precision medicine: the absence of mechanisms for resolving disagreements between scientists. The story of CYP2D6, a mutation that may (or may not) predict the manner in which the patient metabolizes the cheap, widely used drug tamoxifen, is of the sort that makes insiders shake their heads. The question is relevant to an estimated 150,000 newly diagnosed estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients a year in the U.S. alone.
	A Biomarker Court? Who Should Decide? Answers from: Carmen Allegra, Lisa McShane, Robert Cook-Deegan, Barnett Kramer, Frances Visco, and FDA No pharma company is clamoring to get a response to the question of significance of CYP2D6. Since an estimated 7 percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are poor metabolizers of tamoxifen, perhaps as many as 93 percent are good candidates for receiving this cheap generic drug.
	Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory And North Shore-LIJ to Form $120 Million Collaboration Two New York institutions—Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the North Shore-LIJ Health System—announced a $120 million cancer research collaboration on April 2. The collaboration aims to develop a clinical cancer research unit at the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute’s headquarters in Lake Success, N.Y., support early-phase clinical studies, and recruit and train clinician-scientists. North Shore-LIJ and CSHL will continue as independent organizations governed by their respective boards of trustees. The sources of funds for the collaboration were not disclosed.
	In Brief Lewis Cantley to Deliver Takamatsu Lecture at AACR Annual Meeting Lucille Adams-Campbell to Deliver Minorities in Cancer Research Lecture at AACR Annual Meeting Robert Gentleman appointed vice president of computational biology at 23andMe Inc. Aleksandar Zafirovski named associate director for administration for Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University Scripps Clinic Medical Group acquires three radiation oncology services Aeterna Zentaris to transfer library of 100,000 compounds to center at Medical University of South Carolina GlaxoSmithKline to establish third global center for vaccine research in Rockville, Md.
	Drugs and Targets FDA approves Jadenu, an oral formulation of Exjade FDA grants priority review to Kyprolis FDA updates label for Zytiga plus prednisone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer MD Anderson Cancer Center and Astellas Pharma Inc. sign option agreement for AML research Eli Lilly and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals to evaluate combination of demcizumab and Alimta Merck and Syndax Pharmaceuticals to evaluate combination of Keytruda and entinostat Intrexon Corporation and Merck Serono to collaborate on CAR-T cancer therapies

20150327 - Mar 27, 2015

ISSUE 12 – MARCH 27, 2015

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“All Pull; No Push”—Varmus Describes his Reasons for Leaving In Farewell Town Hall

In a farewell town hall meeting March 24, NCI Director Harold Varmus reflected on statements he made during his first day on the job, July 12, 2010, summarizing the proceeding four-and-three-quarter years; listing goals met and lamenting work left unfinished.

After Varmus steps down March 31, he will be replaced by Deputy Director Douglas Lowy, who will become the acting director.

Varmus’s remarks ranged from his reasons for leaving NCI—“All pull; no push”—to the accomplishments of the institute during his tenure, and lessons learned from obstacles unforeseen.

He discussed his Provocative Questions initiative and sequestration; the RAS initiative and the Frederick National Lab; as well as the formation of the National Clinical Trials Network and the completion of the National Lung Screening Trial.

Highlights from the Varmus Years

	Guest Editorial How the Lung-MAP Clinical Trial is Responding to Rapidly Changing Science By Roy S. Herbst, David Gandara and Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou When the Lung Master Protocol clinical trial (Lung-MAP or S1400) (1) was launched in June 2014, the goal of this first-of-its kind trial was simple: find effective treatments for seriously ill patients suffering from a specific type of lung cancer. Lung-MAP is unique—a biomarker driven, multi-drug, multi-arm, study design, using a targeted screening approach, with state-of-the-art genomic profiling of neoplastic cells to match patients with sub-studies testing investigational new drugs and immunotherapies, based on their unique tumor profiles. See Also: FDA’s Activism Changes the Landscape In Treatment, Trials of Squamous NSCLC
	Seventeen Percent of MD Anderson Faculty Signed Petition Disagreeing with Faculty Senate Executive Committee About 17 percent of the faculty members at MD Anderson Cancer Center signed a petition that disagreed with the institution’s Faculty Senate in its efforts to step in and improve morale at the Houston-based institution. The Faculty Senate recently sent out a letter requesting that the UT System officials and the Board of Regents “provide guidance” to the MD Anderson administration “in establishing milestones and timelines to implement measures to improve the morale of the faculty and the general health of the Institution.”
	Republican Budgets Propose $5 Trillion Cut, On Top of Sequestration, Through 2025 The Senate passed its 2016 budget early Friday morning in a marathon voting session—an event called “vote-a-rama” in Washington-speak—that split along party lines with a 52-46 Republican margin. The Senate budget resolution would slash $5.1 trillion in federal spending over the next decade, mirroring the resolution passed by the House 228 to 199 March 25, which cut spending by $5.5 trillion over the next nine years. Both budgets agree on keeping sequestration cuts in place, and on repealing the Affordable Care Act.
	House Votes to Repeal Sustainable Growth Rate; Senate Delays Action The House voted 392-37 to approve legislation that would eliminate the Sustainable Growth Rate, a method currently used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to control spending by Medicare on physician services. While the House voted on March 26, the Senate adjourned for spring recess without acting on the bill. Physicians are now faced with the prospect of a 21 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement when the current SGR payment patch expires next week on March 31.
	Report: 2 in 5 Cancer Patients “Seriously Concerned” About Bankruptcy Out-of-pocket costs for health care remain a top concern for many people living with cancer, according to a report by the Cancer Support Community, an international nonprofit. The study, “An Insight into Patient Access to Care in Cancer,” surveyed 511 cancer patients, 480 of whom live in the U.S. Nearly 90 percent of the respondents were women, and nearly two-thirds were between the ages of 45 and 64.
	Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and UPMC Form Big Data Alliance Three Pittsburgh institutions—Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center—are pooling their electronic medical records to form the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance. The alliance is funded by UPMC and designed to support applied research and commercialization, along with basic foundational research in medicine and computer science. UPMC Enterprises, the commercialization arm of UPMC, will lead the effort.
	In Brief FDA’s Richard Pazdur named one of 50 World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine Elizabeth Jaffee receives clinical care research award from AACR Jimmie Holland receives Women of Influence award Gairdner Foundation names 2015 award winners Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch Data for Health system
	Drugs and Targets CHMP grants positive opinion to Gardasil 9 HPV vaccine EMA grants orphan designation to Reolysin Teikoku Pharma USA submits NDA for alcohol-free docetaxel formulation Rich Pharmaceuticals plans to launch clinical trials at Khon Kaen University in Thailand

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