The precursor for nerve growth factor (proNGF) is expressed in some cancers but its clinicopathological significance is unclear. The present study aimed to define the clinicopathological significance of proNGF in thyroid cancer. ProNGF expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry in two cohorts of cancer versus benign tumors (adenoma) and normal thyroid tissues. In the first cohort (40 thyroid cancers, 40 thyroid adenomas and 80 normal thyroid tissues), proNGF was found overexpressed in cancers compared to adenomas and normal samples (p<0.0001). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.84 (95% CI 0.75-0.93, p<0.0001) for cancers versus adenomas, and 0.99 (95% CI 0.98-1.00, p<0.0001) for cancers versus normal tissues. ProNGF overexpression was confirmed in a second cohort (127 cancers of various histological types and 55 normal thyroid tissues) and using a different antibody (p<0.0001). ProNGF staining intensity was highest in papillary carcinomas compared to other histological types (p<0.0001) and there was no significant association with age, gender, tumor size, stage and lymph node status. In conclusion, proNGF is increased in thyroid cancer and should be considered as a new potential diagnostic biomarker.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

On April 14, 2016 NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products,reported reported the introduction of nCounter Vantage, a portfolio of assays that power 3D Biology experiments in cancer research, including immuno-oncology (Press release, NanoString Technologies, APR 14, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510827]). The nCounter Vantage portfolio provides a deeper view of cancer and immune biology by enabling multiplexed, digital analysis of DNA, RNA and protein simultaneously in a single experiment. Designed for flexibility, nCounter Vantage products can be mixed and matched, creating many new ways for cancer researchers to apply 3D Biology technology.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"The nCounter Vantage portfolio will enable researchers to extract much more information from each patient sample to better understand a particular tumor at the genomic and proteomic level as well as its interaction with the immune system," said Dr. Jerome Galon, Research Director of INSERM. "This may lead to the identification of insightful new biomarkers and signatures that could become diagnostics with important clinical utility."

NanoString plans to unveil multiple new nCounter Vantage products at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, to be held in New Orleans, from April 16 through April 20, 2016. These include:

For RNA, two new panels for the detection of fusion genes in lung cancer and leukemia samples
For proteins, two new panels covering solid tumor biology and immune-cell signaling
For DNA, the first of three new panels for the detection of single nucleotide variations
The company will also showcase a new version of its nSolver data analysis software, which will support 3D Biology experiments with new data merging capabilities for combining and comparing multiple panels, analyte types, and custom CodeSets in a single view.

"Because of the complexity of the immune response and tumor biology, it is likely that the next generation of biomarkers in immuno-oncology will need to integrate measurements of DNA, RNA, and protein," said Dr. Alessandra Cesano, Chief Medical Officer of NanoString Technologies. "Using Vantage assays, together with an nCounter instrument, researchers can achieve these multi-analyte measurements simultaneously on a single sample. We believe that this novel capability will pave the way for development of an exciting and more informative new category of clinical diagnostics."

New nCounter Vantage Products Featured at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)
The nCounter Vantage Lung Gene Fusion Panel and nCounter Vantage Leukemia Gene Fusion Panel products have been developed for Research Use Only applications, enable highly multiplexed analysis of key disease-driving gene fusions in RNA transcripts, and are commercially available now. The Lung Gene Fusion Panel includes 63 probes targeting fusions involving the ALK, ROS, RET, and NTRK1 genes. The Leukemia Gene Fusion Panel includes 42 probes targeting gene fusions and other key biomarkers expressed in ALL, AML, and CML.

Two new protein panels are initially being made available under product evaluation programs, and are expected to be commercially launched by the end of this year for use separately or in combination with other Vantage RNA and DNA panels. The first new protein panel will analyze 30 key intracellular proteins involved in immuno-oncology, and will form the nCounter Vantage RNA:Protein Immune Cell Signaling Panel when used in combination with the 770 RNA measurements included in the PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel. The second new protein panel is focused on key cancer pathways, and will form the nCounter Vantage RNA:Protein Solid Tumor Pathways Panel when used in combination with the 770 RNA measurements included in the PanCancer Pathways Panel.

In addition, the first of three new nCounter Vantage DNA panels for the detection of single nucleotide variations will be featured at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) meeting. The nCounter Vantage DNA Solid Tumor Panel is designed for highly multiplexed profiling of key cancer driver mutations as well as insertions and deletions (INDELs) from as little as 5 ng of DNA. Several customers are currently involved in a product evaluation program, which will be expanded prior to commercial launch of the panel expected later this year.

At the 2016 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, NanoString will showcase nCounter Vantage capabilities at booth #2412.

On April 13, 2016 PharmaTimes reported that Rising levels of obesity among UK women have helped drive a 54 percent jump in womb cancer rates over the last two decades, according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK (Press release, PharmaTimes, APR 13, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510735]).

Back in the early 1990s around 19 women in every 100,000 developed the disease, but that has now risen to 29 women in every 100,000, with obesity being the most likely driving force behind the increase, according to the charity.
Related Links
UK womb cancer rates highest in 30 years

In the UK around 9,000 women are now diagnosed with womb cancer every year, and around 2,000 die from the disease, a marked difference from the 4,800 annual new cases and 1,500 deaths recorded twenty years ago.

"It’s worrying that womb cancer cases are going up so sharply," said Professor Jonathan Ledermann, director of the Cancer Research UK and UCL Cancer Trials Centre. "We don’t know all the reasons why. But we do know that about a third of cases are linked to being overweight so it’s no surprise to see the increases in womb cancer cases echo rising obesity levels."

On the plus side, the figures also show that survival is improving. "In the 1970s, almost six in 10 women diagnosed with the disease survived for at least 10 years. Now almost eight in 10 women survive," said Prof Lederman. "But we need more research to understand the biology of the disease better and to know more about how it is caused so that we can improve the treatment of these women as well as preventing more cases."

Why extra weight can cause cancer is not entirely clear, but there is evidence to show that extra fat in the body can increase the risk by producing hormones and growth factors that promote cell division, the charity noted.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

On April 13, 2016 Celprogen reported they successfully completed their pre-clinical evaluation of CEP1430 and CEP1507 compounds as selectively targeting Pancreatic Cancer stem Cell population that contribute to treatment related resistance (Press release, Celprogen, APR 13, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510892]). Both compounds demonstrated growth inhibition of pancreatic tumors in patient derived xenograft (PDX) cancer models by 80% to 85%. The results of the study will be presented in an abstract format on Monday, April 18, 2016 at American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting in New Orleans. These compounds are Celprogen’s propriety compounds for targeting Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) and Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) in patients with advanced stages of pancreatic cancer.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The present invention relates to Drug Discovery programs at Celprogen that identify potential drug candidates for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. At present Celprogen is exploring partnership with Pharmaceutical Industry to move promising drug candidates forward to the clinical development and increasing the armament of drugs against pancreatic cancer. CEP1430 is a selective inhibitor of CSC that can be administrated orally and does not exhibit sign of toxicity. The mechanism of cell death also indicates that these molecules will greatly enhance the efficacy of immune based approaches to improve outcome in pancreatic cancer patients. These pancreatic Stem Cell selective inhibitors are expected to eradicate tumors, improve quality of life and prolong and/or overall survival and patients bearing pancreatic tumors.

On April 13, 2016 Pharmatines reported that Boehringer Ingelheim’s Giotrif has beaten AstraZeneca’s Iressa on a number of clinical measures investigated in a head-to-head study involving patients with EGFR mutation-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (Press release, PharmaTimes, APR 13, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510736]).

The company says data from the Phase IIb LUX-Lung 7 trial, published in The Lancet, show that Giotrif (afatinib) significantly cut the risk of lung cancer progression and treatment failure, and boosted the overall response rate versus Iressa (gefitinib), "without compromising overall health-related quality of life, safety and tolerability".
Related Links
AZ’ Iressa bags US nod for first-line use
New EU lung cancer indication for Boehringer’s Giotrif

Giotrif reduced the risk of disease progression by 27 percent compared to Iressa, and, after two years’ treatment, more than twice as many patients taking the drug were alive and progression free than those taking AZ’ drug (27 percent vs 15 percent after 18 months, and 18 percent vs 8 percent after 24 months).

In addition, Giotrif-treated patients had a significantly longer time on treatment and risk of treatment failure was reduced by 27 percent, while significantly more patients had an objective tumour response compared to Iressa (70 percent vs 56 percent), with a median duration of response of 10.1 months and 8.4 months, respectively.

Both drugs showed similar improvements in patient-reported outcome measures with no significant differences in health-related quality of life. Treatment with both was generally tolerable, leading to an equal rate of treatment-related discontinuation in both arms (6 percent). The overall frequency of serious adverse events was 44.4 percent for Giotrif and 37.1 percent for Iressa.

"The totality of the efficacy data from LUX-Lung 7 clearly differentiates the second-generation inhibitor afatinib from the first-generation inhibitor gefitinib with no significant differences observed in overall safety, tolerability and health-related quality of life between the two TKIs," noted Professor Klaus Dugi, medical director and managing director, Boehringer Ingelheim UK & Ireland. "This is really good news for patients, and it will provide clinicians with further evidence to guide treatment practice in EGFR mutated NSCLC."

Data for the co-primary endpoint of overall survival are not yet mature and will be presented in the future, BI said.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Read more at: View Source#ixzz45iJQ5rGl
Follow us: @PharmaTimes on Twitter