First results from an international comparison of the care of patients with rectal cancer have shown there are substantial differences in the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy between European countries.
The European Registration of Cancer Care (EURECCA) study, initiated by ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation – compared the treatment of 6,597 patients in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands who were diagnosed with rectal cancer between 2008 and 2009. It also compared the numbers of deaths 30 days after surgery.
In a presentation to the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress today, Dr Colette van den Broek MD, a PhD student and research fellow at Leiden University Medical Centre (Leiden, The Netherlands), explained that by using the results from the EURECCA study, she and the other researchers involved in the project, hoped to identify those aspects of cancer care that played a role in improving clinical practice, treatments, survival, and the limiting of undesired side effects. Then, they would be able to develop recommendations for treatment that could lead to more standardised clinical practice across Europe.
The project started three years ago, and the data presented today, which have been obtained from comparisons of cancer registries in the four countries, show that the use of radiotherapy, or radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy, varied enormously between the countries, despite the fact that the patients had comparable stages of disease.
"The use of radiotherapy or chemotherapy or both was the lowest in Denmark at 25 percent, followed by Norway at 50 percent, Sweden at nearly 61 percent and the highest in The Netherlands at 81 percent," said Dr Van den Broek. "Its use varied depending on the stage of the disease in each country. For instance, in Denmark and The Netherlands, patients with stage I, II and III disease received radiotherapy, chemotherapy or both most often; in Sweden it was patients with stage II or III disease, and in Norway patients with stage IV disease, who received it most often."
At present, the researchers are comparing the deaths within 30 days after surgery between countries. "We will be able to compare treatment strategies, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both, for different stages of disease", said Dr Van den Broek.
"It is clear from our results so far, that different countries in Europe have different guidelines for treating rectal cancer patients. An earlier study has shown that radiotherapy, delivered before surgery, reduces local recurrences of the disease. But, in The Netherlands, we use radiotherapy for almost all stages, while in Denmark, for example, they use a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The differences in treatment do not necessarily cause big differences in survival, and recent research has shown that, although radiotherapy decreases deaths from cancer, it increases deaths due to other causes. So we have to find the right balance between the ‘gain and pain’ of radiotherapy and between under- and over-treatment. With this study we hope to be able to give an answer to the ongoing discussion about this and it is a first step towards a single guideline that can be used in different countries."
The EURECCA project is looking at a number of cancers in addition to rectal cancer, and Dr Van den Broek says that the researchers are hoping to look at long-term survival as well. "This is just a first step in the process," she concluded.
ECCO president, Professor Michael Baumann, said: "Cancer professionals know well that treatment practice varies widely in Europe. These differences have many reasons, such as regional experience and expertise as well as available infrastructure. To some extent differences in approach may, therefore, be quite appropriate. On the other hand it appears unlikely that all different approaches could be equally effective and equally well tolerable. Comparison of outcome after different approaches in large cohorts is an evidence-based way to identify shortcomings in specific services. For this reason, ECCO and several of its member societies strongly support the EURECCA study, which provides a show-case on what can be achieved for improved cancer care by such multidisciplinary, multinational clinical research projects."
Professor David Kerr, president of ESMO and Professor of Cancer Medicine at the University of Oxford, said: "This important study gives an insight into one aspect of the reasons underpinning variation in recurrence and survival from rectal cancer – access to optimal treatment around the time of diagnosis. Although heterogeneity in the biology of cancer is accepted and the subject of much research, unwarranted variation in clinical outcome may be related to lack of knowledge, lack of funding, inadequate healthcare systems or failure to apply effective treatment protocols. This report serves as a wake-up call to the European cancer community that further work needs to be done to find how widespread this phenomenon is."
23 September 2011
First Phase III trial of an alpha-pharmaceutical shows improved survival in patients with bone metastases and advanced prostate cancer
This will be the subject of a news briefing by Dr. Chris Parker at 17.00 hrs CEST on Friday 23 September (press conference room, K21, level 1)
First Phase III trial of an alpha-pharmaceutical shows improved survival in patients with bone metastases and advanced prostate cancer
Stockholm, Sweden: Until recently, options for patients with bone metastases from advanced prostate cancer have been very limited. But now the first Phase III study of an alpha-pharmaceutical in these patients has shown that it can prolong survival significantly, according to research reported today (Saturday) at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress.
Dr. Chris Parker, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK, told the congress that the ALSYMPCA international Phase III study of the drug Radium-223 Chloride (Alpharadin TM) in 922 prostate cancer patients who were resistant to hormone treatment and had bone metastases, had been stopped early once an interim analysis by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) in June 2011 had revealed that patients receiving the best standard treatment plus radium-223 were living longer than those who were receiving the same standard treatment plus placebo. The hazard ratio was 0.695, (p = 0.00185), meaning that patients taking radium-223 had a 30% lower rate of death compared to patients taking placebo. Median overall survival for patients taking radium-223 was found to be 14 months, compared with 11.2 months in the placebo group. "It would have been unethical not to offer the active treatment to those taking placebo," Dr. Parker said.
Alpha-pharmaceuticals work by delivering minute, highly charged and targeted doses of damaging radiation to a secondary tumour (metastasis) in the bone. Radium is similar to calcium in that it sticks to bone, and particularly to where new bone is being formed, so it is a highly effective way of delivering radiation to a target. "It takes only a single alpha particle to kill a cell," Dr. Parker explained, "and collateral damage is minimised because the particles have such a tiny range – a few millionths of a metre (micrometres). So we can be sure that the damage is being done where it should be, to the metastasis, and very limited elsewhere."
The researchers chose to study the drug in patients with prostate cancer because of its high tendency to metastasise to bone. Around 90% of all men with prostate cancer will develop bone metastases in the advanced stage, and in many cases there are not detectable metastases elsewhere in the body. The safety profile of radium-223 was found to be highly favourable, the researchers say.
"Compared to chemotherapy, which affects all the tissues of the body, radium-223 is highly targeted to the bone metastases, and it has a completely different safety profile," said Dr Parker.
Side effects with radium-223 are minor. It can cause nausea, and occasional loose bowel movements, and there is a very small effect on the bone marrow. "Although it has never been rigorously compared with chemotherapy, from observing patients in the clinic it is clear that patients tolerate it much better than they do chemotherapy," Dr. Parker said.
The researchers now intend to submit the data for regulatory approval. "I would hope that the authorities will approve radium-223 as a treatment for bone metastases in advanced prostate cancer soon," said Dr. Parker. "This is a common cancer – the second commonest cancer killer in men in the UK – and so it’s a big disease burden. We urgently need effective treatment for it.
"I have no doubt that there will be further trials looking at a combination of radium-223 with other drugs that are currently used in prostate cancer, and that there will also be studies using radium earlier in the disease. In particular, our research was restricted to those men who were not going to receive chemotherapy for prostate cancer. It would be interesting to use radium-223 chloride before chemotherapy, since it might be even more effective in that setting.
"Additionally, the drug could be used in many other types of cancers which metastasise to bone, regardless of the primary site. We believe that our trial may have paved the way for improvements in survival for very many cancer patients," he concluded.
First Phase III trial of an alpha-pharmaceutical shows improved survival in patients with bone metastases and advanced prostate cancer
Stockholm, Sweden: Until recently, options for patients with bone metastases from advanced prostate cancer have been very limited. But now the first Phase III study of an alpha-pharmaceutical in these patients has shown that it can prolong survival significantly, according to research reported today (Saturday) at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress.
Dr. Chris Parker, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK, told the congress that the ALSYMPCA international Phase III study of the drug Radium-223 Chloride (Alpharadin TM) in 922 prostate cancer patients who were resistant to hormone treatment and had bone metastases, had been stopped early once an interim analysis by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) in June 2011 had revealed that patients receiving the best standard treatment plus radium-223 were living longer than those who were receiving the same standard treatment plus placebo. The hazard ratio was 0.695, (p = 0.00185), meaning that patients taking radium-223 had a 30% lower rate of death compared to patients taking placebo. Median overall survival for patients taking radium-223 was found to be 14 months, compared with 11.2 months in the placebo group. "It would have been unethical not to offer the active treatment to those taking placebo," Dr. Parker said.
Alpha-pharmaceuticals work by delivering minute, highly charged and targeted doses of damaging radiation to a secondary tumour (metastasis) in the bone. Radium is similar to calcium in that it sticks to bone, and particularly to where new bone is being formed, so it is a highly effective way of delivering radiation to a target. "It takes only a single alpha particle to kill a cell," Dr. Parker explained, "and collateral damage is minimised because the particles have such a tiny range – a few millionths of a metre (micrometres). So we can be sure that the damage is being done where it should be, to the metastasis, and very limited elsewhere."
The researchers chose to study the drug in patients with prostate cancer because of its high tendency to metastasise to bone. Around 90% of all men with prostate cancer will develop bone metastases in the advanced stage, and in many cases there are not detectable metastases elsewhere in the body. The safety profile of radium-223 was found to be highly favourable, the researchers say.
"Compared to chemotherapy, which affects all the tissues of the body, radium-223 is highly targeted to the bone metastases, and it has a completely different safety profile," said Dr Parker.
Side effects with radium-223 are minor. It can cause nausea, and occasional loose bowel movements, and there is a very small effect on the bone marrow. "Although it has never been rigorously compared with chemotherapy, from observing patients in the clinic it is clear that patients tolerate it much better than they do chemotherapy," Dr. Parker said.
The researchers now intend to submit the data for regulatory approval. "I would hope that the authorities will approve radium-223 as a treatment for bone metastases in advanced prostate cancer soon," said Dr. Parker. "This is a common cancer – the second commonest cancer killer in men in the UK – and so it’s a big disease burden. We urgently need effective treatment for it.
"I have no doubt that there will be further trials looking at a combination of radium-223 with other drugs that are currently used in prostate cancer, and that there will also be studies using radium earlier in the disease. In particular, our research was restricted to those men who were not going to receive chemotherapy for prostate cancer. It would be interesting to use radium-223 chloride before chemotherapy, since it might be even more effective in that setting.
"Additionally, the drug could be used in many other types of cancers which metastasise to bone, regardless of the primary site. We believe that our trial may have paved the way for improvements in survival for very many cancer patients," he concluded.
Infusing chemotherapy directly into the liver delivers extra months of disease-free life for melanoma patients
Melanoma of the eye (ocular or uveal melanoma) frequently spreads to the liver and, once this has happened, there is no effective treatment and patients die within an average of two to four months. Only about one in ten patients live for a year. Now, final results from a phase III study have demonstrated that a new treatment significantly extends the time patients can live without the disease progressing.
James Pingpank, associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (Pittsburgh, USA), will tell the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress on Saturday that, by April 2011, the length of time that patients survived without the metastases spreading further in the liver (disease progression) was an average of 8.1 months for those receiving the new treatment compared to 1.6 months in the group of patients that had been randomised to receive the best alternative care.
The new treatment is called percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) and is designed to saturate the liver with high doses of chemotherapy without affecting the rest of the body. The chemotherapy drug melphalan is infused directly into the liver via an intra-arterial catheter over a period of 30 minutes. Blood in the veins leading out of the liver is then captured and filtered through a specially designed, double-balloon catheter to extract the drug before the cleaned blood is returned to the body. This enables the drug to be delivered directly to the liver to target the melanoma metastases there, but in a minimally invasive manner. The patient is monitored in intensive care before being allowed home. Once the liver has recovered from the toxicity of the treatment, the procedure is repeated every four to eight weeks.
In a phase III, randomised trial that took place in nine US clinics, 93 patients were randomised to receive PHP or best alternative care between February 2006 and July 2009. Best alternative care (BAC) was decided by the patient’s treatment team and could involve interleukin, ipilimumab, transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE), systemic chemotherapy or inclusion in a clinical trial.
As the study was not designed to show an overall survival benefit, and most of the patients had no other treatment options available to them, patients were allowed to cross over from the BAC arm of the study to the PHP arm once the benefits of PHP became apparent.
PHP patients had an overall progression-free survival time of 6.1 months versus 1.6 months in the BAC group. Overall survival at one year was 29% on PHP versus 26% on BAC. Due to the fact that 51% of patients crossed over from the BAC arm to the PHP arm, overall survival was not significantly different between the two groups: 11.4 months on PHP versus 9.9 months on BAC. However, those patients who did cross over seemed to do well despite being amongst the sickest, surviving for 9.2 months without the disease progressing in the liver, and 6.5 months without any overall progression of the disease.
Prof Pingpank will say: "This is the first phase III study of PHP in patients with liver-dominant metastatic melanoma and shows that PHP with melphalan significantly improves overall response rates and progression-free survival, providing a new treatment option for the disease. This report includes all data on patients who are more than one year on from inclusion in the trial and we now have all the final response rates. The only thing that may change over time is the examination of the possible long-term benefits, as all but one of the surviving patients were treated with PHP or crossed over to receive it."
For a disease that currently has few treatment options and no chance of a cure, Prof Pingpank says PHP offers patients extra months of, usually, good quality life. Although the adverse effects of PHP were more severe than BAC, they were short-lived. "Side effects were predominantly neutropenia [low white blood cell count] and thrombocytopenia [low platelet count]. The majority of patients were able to undergo multiple treatments in the PHP arm, as toxicity resolved, whereas the major toxicity in the control arm was liver failure and/or death on treatment from disease progression," he will say.
"This is the first treatment to show a clinical benefit in patients with liver metastases from ocular melanoma. Most patients retain 80% or more of their daily functional status, and return to full performance once therapy is completed. If subsequent recurrence is noted in the liver, retreatment is possible and effective. At this point, it appears that there are groups of patients surviving substantially longer than those control arm of the study, with good quality of liver and preservation of liver function."
PHP potentially could be used for other cancers that have spread to the liver. "We have demonstrated efficacy in a phase II setting for patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours, so the application of this technology is likely to expand to other tumour types," says Prof Pingpank. "In addition, we have previously demonstrated efficacy of high dose regional melphalan for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, albeit through a different circuit."
The device that delivers and filters the melphalan has been approved in Europe for use in all malignant liver tumours, while approval is pending in the USA for melanoma only.
Prof Pingpank will conclude: "Certainly, with 50 percent of melanoma patients with metastatic liver disease dying of liver failure, we see this as a frontline therapy for patients with this disease. There is always controversy surrounding the application of regional therapy to patients with metastatic disease, especially when there is a high risk for metastases elsewhere in the body. However, at present, the dearth of options for patients with metastatic melanoma renders this a moot point, and this therapy will be an early choice for patients with liver-only disease."
Former president of ECCO and Director General of the Institut de CancÈrologie Gustave Roussy (Paris, France), Professor Alexander Eggermont said: "The maturity of the data presented today better depicts the value as well as the limitations of percutaneous hepatic perfusion. One of the interesting points is that, in these relatively good patients, those that crossed over from the BAC arm of the study have good progression-free survival after a ‘late’ PHP that is about the same as when PHP is given upfront. In the absence of identified targets for targeted drugs in uveal melanoma, one might consider testing the role of ipilimumab following a PHP."
ESMO spokesman, Professor Ulrich Keilholz, of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Deputy Director at the CharitÈ Comprehensive Cancer Center, Berlin, Germany, said: "The study by Pingpank is the first phase III trial in uveal melanoma and the first trial to show a benefit of regional treatment for liver metastases in this disease. Given the current lack of targeted drugs in this disease – in contrast to the emerging treatments in cutaneous melanoma – the clinically relevant benefit achieved with melphalan perfusion provides a new reference treatment for patients with hepatic metastases of uveal melanoma."
James Pingpank, associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (Pittsburgh, USA), will tell the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress on Saturday that, by April 2011, the length of time that patients survived without the metastases spreading further in the liver (disease progression) was an average of 8.1 months for those receiving the new treatment compared to 1.6 months in the group of patients that had been randomised to receive the best alternative care.
The new treatment is called percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) and is designed to saturate the liver with high doses of chemotherapy without affecting the rest of the body. The chemotherapy drug melphalan is infused directly into the liver via an intra-arterial catheter over a period of 30 minutes. Blood in the veins leading out of the liver is then captured and filtered through a specially designed, double-balloon catheter to extract the drug before the cleaned blood is returned to the body. This enables the drug to be delivered directly to the liver to target the melanoma metastases there, but in a minimally invasive manner. The patient is monitored in intensive care before being allowed home. Once the liver has recovered from the toxicity of the treatment, the procedure is repeated every four to eight weeks.
In a phase III, randomised trial that took place in nine US clinics, 93 patients were randomised to receive PHP or best alternative care between February 2006 and July 2009. Best alternative care (BAC) was decided by the patient’s treatment team and could involve interleukin, ipilimumab, transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE), systemic chemotherapy or inclusion in a clinical trial.
As the study was not designed to show an overall survival benefit, and most of the patients had no other treatment options available to them, patients were allowed to cross over from the BAC arm of the study to the PHP arm once the benefits of PHP became apparent.
PHP patients had an overall progression-free survival time of 6.1 months versus 1.6 months in the BAC group. Overall survival at one year was 29% on PHP versus 26% on BAC. Due to the fact that 51% of patients crossed over from the BAC arm to the PHP arm, overall survival was not significantly different between the two groups: 11.4 months on PHP versus 9.9 months on BAC. However, those patients who did cross over seemed to do well despite being amongst the sickest, surviving for 9.2 months without the disease progressing in the liver, and 6.5 months without any overall progression of the disease.
Prof Pingpank will say: "This is the first phase III study of PHP in patients with liver-dominant metastatic melanoma and shows that PHP with melphalan significantly improves overall response rates and progression-free survival, providing a new treatment option for the disease. This report includes all data on patients who are more than one year on from inclusion in the trial and we now have all the final response rates. The only thing that may change over time is the examination of the possible long-term benefits, as all but one of the surviving patients were treated with PHP or crossed over to receive it."
For a disease that currently has few treatment options and no chance of a cure, Prof Pingpank says PHP offers patients extra months of, usually, good quality life. Although the adverse effects of PHP were more severe than BAC, they were short-lived. "Side effects were predominantly neutropenia [low white blood cell count] and thrombocytopenia [low platelet count]. The majority of patients were able to undergo multiple treatments in the PHP arm, as toxicity resolved, whereas the major toxicity in the control arm was liver failure and/or death on treatment from disease progression," he will say.
"This is the first treatment to show a clinical benefit in patients with liver metastases from ocular melanoma. Most patients retain 80% or more of their daily functional status, and return to full performance once therapy is completed. If subsequent recurrence is noted in the liver, retreatment is possible and effective. At this point, it appears that there are groups of patients surviving substantially longer than those control arm of the study, with good quality of liver and preservation of liver function."
PHP potentially could be used for other cancers that have spread to the liver. "We have demonstrated efficacy in a phase II setting for patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours, so the application of this technology is likely to expand to other tumour types," says Prof Pingpank. "In addition, we have previously demonstrated efficacy of high dose regional melphalan for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, albeit through a different circuit."
The device that delivers and filters the melphalan has been approved in Europe for use in all malignant liver tumours, while approval is pending in the USA for melanoma only.
Prof Pingpank will conclude: "Certainly, with 50 percent of melanoma patients with metastatic liver disease dying of liver failure, we see this as a frontline therapy for patients with this disease. There is always controversy surrounding the application of regional therapy to patients with metastatic disease, especially when there is a high risk for metastases elsewhere in the body. However, at present, the dearth of options for patients with metastatic melanoma renders this a moot point, and this therapy will be an early choice for patients with liver-only disease."
Former president of ECCO and Director General of the Institut de CancÈrologie Gustave Roussy (Paris, France), Professor Alexander Eggermont said: "The maturity of the data presented today better depicts the value as well as the limitations of percutaneous hepatic perfusion. One of the interesting points is that, in these relatively good patients, those that crossed over from the BAC arm of the study have good progression-free survival after a ‘late’ PHP that is about the same as when PHP is given upfront. In the absence of identified targets for targeted drugs in uveal melanoma, one might consider testing the role of ipilimumab following a PHP."
ESMO spokesman, Professor Ulrich Keilholz, of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Deputy Director at the CharitÈ Comprehensive Cancer Center, Berlin, Germany, said: "The study by Pingpank is the first phase III trial in uveal melanoma and the first trial to show a benefit of regional treatment for liver metastases in this disease. Given the current lack of targeted drugs in this disease – in contrast to the emerging treatments in cutaneous melanoma – the clinically relevant benefit achieved with melphalan perfusion provides a new reference treatment for patients with hepatic metastases of uveal melanoma."
Lilly entrega los Premios EUACC
Lilly, a través de su Comité Europeo para las Relaciones Académicas (EUACC en sus siglas en inglés) ha entregado hoy sus novenos Premios de Investigación para doctorandos en Química, en un acto en el que se han dado cita representantes del mundo académico y que ha tenido lugar en la sede de la compañía en Alcobendas (Madrid). En esta ocasión los premios, que reconocen la labor investigadora de los estudiantes de doctorado en la áreas de Química Orgánica, Farmacéutica o Analítica, han recaído en Andrea-Nekane Roig Alba, de la Universidad de Barcelona, Alicia Casitas Montero, de la Universitat de Girona, y María del Valle Palomo Ruíz, del Instituto de Química Médica-CSIC-Madrid. Cada uno de ellos ha recibido una dotación de 1.500€ en recompensa a su trabajo científico.
El jurado, compuesto por el Comité Científico de Lilly España, ha decidido premiar a estos estudiantes, respectivamente, por sus tesis “Uso de sulfonas como herramienta sintética en organocatálisis asimétrica”, “Estudio de la implicación de compuestos organometálicos de Cobre(III) en transformaciones orgánicas: Activación C-H y formación de enlaces C-heteroátomo.” e “Inhibidores de GSK-3 con potencial terapéutico en enfermedades neurodegenerativas”. Los dos primeros trabajos coinciden en que desarrollan métodos catalíticos innovadores que mejoran la eficiencia en la síntesis de moléculas complejas, que pueden ser implementados en la síntesis de posibles fármacos. El tercero investiga sobre la aplicación de inhibidores selectivos frente al resto de quinasas humanas para el tratamiento de enfermedades neurodegenerativas, como la enfermedad de Parkinson o esclerosis lateral amiotrófica.
Jesús Ezquerra, director del Centro de I+D de Lilly, ha sido el encargado de entregar los premios a los ganadores tras una breve intervención donde transmitió el compromiso de Lilly con las Universidades y Centros de Investigación para la formación de futuros científicos. Ezquerra cree que en el entorno tan difícil en el que vivimos la innovación es la respuesta para encontrar nuevas soluciones que aporten a los pacientes mejoras en su salud. En este sentido afirma que cada vez es más valioso contar con jóvenes brillantes que contribuyan a que el descubrimiento de fármacos se haga de una forma más rápida y eficiente.
En esta edición se han recibido más de 50 candidaturas, correspondientes a trabajos centrados en las tres áreas, Química Orgánica, Farmacéutica o Analítica, en las que se centra este premio.
Además, el jurado ha seleccionado otros siete pósters del resto de las candidaturas, basándose en la alta calidad científica del trabajo, el número de publicaciones y las presentaciones científicas realizadas. Sus autores han podido exponer su trabajo científico en el acto de entrega de los galardones.
A lo largo de nueve ediciones, estos premios se han convertido en un claro ejemplo de la fuerte apuesta de Lilly por la promoción del talento y por reforzar los vínculos de la industria con el mundo académico, además de un referente de la importancia de la promoción de la labor investigadora de los estudiantes de doctorado en áreas fundamentales y básicas de la investigación.
-Conferencia magistral
El profesor Dr.Steve V. Ley, Profesor de Química, Director del Departamento de Química de la Universidad de Cambridge y miembro del prestigioso Trinity College, ha sido el encargado de clausurar el acto con una conferencia titulada “New Tools for Molecule Makers". Steve V. Ley es uno de los más prestigiosos químicos europeos, cuyo trabajo se centra en la síntesis total de las biomoléculas. Su estudio sobre la síntesis total de azadiractina es ampliamente considerado como uno de los principales puntos de referencia en este ámbito. Además, ha sido pionero en el uso de reactivos y técnicas de inmovilización de flujo en varios pasos para la síntesis orgánica.
El jurado, compuesto por el Comité Científico de Lilly España, ha decidido premiar a estos estudiantes, respectivamente, por sus tesis “Uso de sulfonas como herramienta sintética en organocatálisis asimétrica”, “Estudio de la implicación de compuestos organometálicos de Cobre(III) en transformaciones orgánicas: Activación C-H y formación de enlaces C-heteroátomo.” e “Inhibidores de GSK-3 con potencial terapéutico en enfermedades neurodegenerativas”. Los dos primeros trabajos coinciden en que desarrollan métodos catalíticos innovadores que mejoran la eficiencia en la síntesis de moléculas complejas, que pueden ser implementados en la síntesis de posibles fármacos. El tercero investiga sobre la aplicación de inhibidores selectivos frente al resto de quinasas humanas para el tratamiento de enfermedades neurodegenerativas, como la enfermedad de Parkinson o esclerosis lateral amiotrófica.
Jesús Ezquerra, director del Centro de I+D de Lilly, ha sido el encargado de entregar los premios a los ganadores tras una breve intervención donde transmitió el compromiso de Lilly con las Universidades y Centros de Investigación para la formación de futuros científicos. Ezquerra cree que en el entorno tan difícil en el que vivimos la innovación es la respuesta para encontrar nuevas soluciones que aporten a los pacientes mejoras en su salud. En este sentido afirma que cada vez es más valioso contar con jóvenes brillantes que contribuyan a que el descubrimiento de fármacos se haga de una forma más rápida y eficiente.
En esta edición se han recibido más de 50 candidaturas, correspondientes a trabajos centrados en las tres áreas, Química Orgánica, Farmacéutica o Analítica, en las que se centra este premio.
Además, el jurado ha seleccionado otros siete pósters del resto de las candidaturas, basándose en la alta calidad científica del trabajo, el número de publicaciones y las presentaciones científicas realizadas. Sus autores han podido exponer su trabajo científico en el acto de entrega de los galardones.
A lo largo de nueve ediciones, estos premios se han convertido en un claro ejemplo de la fuerte apuesta de Lilly por la promoción del talento y por reforzar los vínculos de la industria con el mundo académico, además de un referente de la importancia de la promoción de la labor investigadora de los estudiantes de doctorado en áreas fundamentales y básicas de la investigación.
-Conferencia magistral
El profesor Dr.Steve V. Ley, Profesor de Química, Director del Departamento de Química de la Universidad de Cambridge y miembro del prestigioso Trinity College, ha sido el encargado de clausurar el acto con una conferencia titulada “New Tools for Molecule Makers". Steve V. Ley es uno de los más prestigiosos químicos europeos, cuyo trabajo se centra en la síntesis total de las biomoléculas. Su estudio sobre la síntesis total de azadiractina es ampliamente considerado como uno de los principales puntos de referencia en este ámbito. Además, ha sido pionero en el uso de reactivos y técnicas de inmovilización de flujo en varios pasos para la síntesis orgánica.
El Consejo Andaluz de Colegios de Médicos y la Unión de Consumidores firman un convenio de colaboración
La sede del Consejo Andaluz de Colegios de Médicos ha acogido hoy la firma del Acuerdo Específico de colaboración entre la Unión de Consumidores de Andalucía-UCA/UCE y dicho Consejo.
Acogidas al Acuerdo Marco, en su día suscrito entre ambas entidades, las actividades previstas contemplan objetivos básicos como los siguientes:
- Constituir un foro de debate sobre la sostenibilidad del sistema sanitario, con el fin de alcanzar un pacto social sobre esta cuestión, que pudiera ser ofrecido o promocionado entre otros agentes sociales, económicos, administrativos o políticos para su impulso y compromiso.
- Desarrollar una línea de formación e información a la ciudadanía en materia de vida activa y dieta mediterránea como hábitos saludables que contribuyen a mejorar las expectativas de salud personal y familiar y reducen la presión sobre la oferta asistencial.
Todas estas actividades se caracterizan por una línea en orden a promover y desarrollar conjuntamente iniciativas que propicien cauces de diálogos fluidos dentro de los respectivos objetos y fines de las entidades firmantes.
Acogidas al Acuerdo Marco, en su día suscrito entre ambas entidades, las actividades previstas contemplan objetivos básicos como los siguientes:
- Constituir un foro de debate sobre la sostenibilidad del sistema sanitario, con el fin de alcanzar un pacto social sobre esta cuestión, que pudiera ser ofrecido o promocionado entre otros agentes sociales, económicos, administrativos o políticos para su impulso y compromiso.
- Desarrollar una línea de formación e información a la ciudadanía en materia de vida activa y dieta mediterránea como hábitos saludables que contribuyen a mejorar las expectativas de salud personal y familiar y reducen la presión sobre la oferta asistencial.
Todas estas actividades se caracterizan por una línea en orden a promover y desarrollar conjuntamente iniciativas que propicien cauces de diálogos fluidos dentro de los respectivos objetos y fines de las entidades firmantes.
El Dr. Juan Bruguera, Director Médico de Mutua MAZ en Navarra, nuevo Secretario General de la Sociedad Europea de Cirugía de Hombro y Codo
El doctor navarro Juan Bruguera, especialista en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología y Director Médico de Mutua MAZ en esta comunidad, ha sido elegido Secretario General de la Sociedad Europea de Cirugía de Hombro y Codo (SECEC - ESSSE). La designación se realizó en el marco del XXIII Congreso de dicha Sociedad Científica.
Juan Bruguera Prieto es licenciado y doctor en Medicina y Cirugía por la Universidad de Navarra. Realizó su formación en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología en el Reino Unido, siendo nombrado posteriormente Jefe de Residentes (Senior Registrar) en Leeds. Después, obtuvo la plaza de Shoulder Fellow en Reading como discípulo de Steve Copeland.
En 1996 volvió a Pamplona siendo nombrado dos años después director Médico para Navarra en 1998. Este último trabajo lo compagina con su actividad en el Hospital San Juan de Dios en donde atiende pacientes con patología de Hombro y Codo, aplicando técnicas quirúrgicas tanto artroscópicas como abiertas dependiendo de la patología: inestabilidad, fracturas, artrosis, etc.
El doctor Juan Bruguera es miembro de la Junta Directiva (Executive Committee) de la Sociedad Europea de Cirugía de Hombro y Codo, actualmente en calidad de Secretario General.
Ha sido Presidente del Comité de Miembros y posteriormente, Presidente del Comité de Educación de la SECEC, además de Delegado Nacional de la Sociedad Europea en España, Presidente de la Sociedad Española de Cirugía de Hombro y Codo y vocal de Medicina Libre y Colectiva del Colegio de Médicos de Navarra.
Juan Bruguera Prieto es licenciado y doctor en Medicina y Cirugía por la Universidad de Navarra. Realizó su formación en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología en el Reino Unido, siendo nombrado posteriormente Jefe de Residentes (Senior Registrar) en Leeds. Después, obtuvo la plaza de Shoulder Fellow en Reading como discípulo de Steve Copeland.
En 1996 volvió a Pamplona siendo nombrado dos años después director Médico para Navarra en 1998. Este último trabajo lo compagina con su actividad en el Hospital San Juan de Dios en donde atiende pacientes con patología de Hombro y Codo, aplicando técnicas quirúrgicas tanto artroscópicas como abiertas dependiendo de la patología: inestabilidad, fracturas, artrosis, etc.
El doctor Juan Bruguera es miembro de la Junta Directiva (Executive Committee) de la Sociedad Europea de Cirugía de Hombro y Codo, actualmente en calidad de Secretario General.
Ha sido Presidente del Comité de Miembros y posteriormente, Presidente del Comité de Educación de la SECEC, además de Delegado Nacional de la Sociedad Europea en España, Presidente de la Sociedad Española de Cirugía de Hombro y Codo y vocal de Medicina Libre y Colectiva del Colegio de Médicos de Navarra.
Estudio español presentado en el congreso ECCO-ESMO 2011 que se celebra en Estocolmo
El tratamiento con 500 mg de Faslodex® (flulvestrant) en mujeres con cáncer de mama metastásico proporciona una mediana de supervivencia libre de progresión (SLP) superior a un año con beneficio clínico en la mayoría (84%) de las pacientes, incluso en las que ya habían sido tratadas previamente y, todo ello, con un adecuado perfil de toxicidad. Esta es la principal conclusión a la que ha llegado un grupo de investigadores españoles, dirigidos por la Dra. Isabel Blancas López-Barajas, especialista en oncología médica del Hospital Clínico San Cecilio, de Granada, y que se ha presentado en el marco del Congreso de la Sociedad Europea de Oncología y la Reunión de la Organización Europea del Cáncer (ECCO-ESMO) que se celebra en Estocolmo del 23 al 27 de septiembre.
Esta investigación va un paso más allá del estudio CONFIRM que ya demostró cómo la dosis de 500mg de Faslodex® era más eficaz que la de 250mg. Así, según explica la Dra. Blancas, “el objetivo de este nuevo estudio era evaluar en la práctica clínica habitual la eficacia de la dosis de 500 mg de Faslodex® en términos de supervivencia libre de progresión y beneficio clínico (BC) en pacientes postmenopáusicas con cáncer de mama metastásico (CMM)”.
Se trata de un estudio observacional prospectivo multicéntrico en el que se incluyeron 56 pacientes con CMM con receptores hormonales positivo tratadas con la dosis de 500 mg de Faslodex®, que se administra mediante inyección intramuscular, los días 0, 14, 28, y a continuación cada 28 días. De estas, finalmente fueron analizables por tener un seguimiento apropiado 44 pacientes, con una mediana de edad de 60 años.
El objetivo principal del tratamiento del cáncer de mama metastásico es prevenir la progresión de la enfermedad a la vez que se mantiene la calidad de vida. Faslodex® tiene un mecanismo de acción diferente a otros tratamientos endocrinos y no sólo reduce el crecimiento y la extensión del cáncer, sino que puede ayudar a reducir o a retrasar la resistencia al tratamiento. “Además, -señala la Dra. Blancas- una ventaja muy importante de este fármaco es su perfil de toxicidad. Faslodex® se tolera muy bien, así lo demuestran los estudios pero lo confirma también su uso en el día a día, en el que observamos una buena tolerabilidad y un muy buen perfil de seguridad, sin efectos secundarios y que ayuda a las pacientes a tener una buena calidad de vida en comparación con otros tratamientos”.
Todas las ventajas que aporta este tratamiento a las pacientes cobran aún más importancia cuando se examinan los datos de incidencia de cáncer de mama en nuestro país. En España se diagnostican entre 17.000 y 20.000 nuevos casos de cáncer de mama anualmente y esta cifra va en aumento. De hecho, este tipo de cáncer es el más frecuente en las mujeres y el que más mortalidad produce en la población femenina. Los casos de cáncer de mama representan un 18% del total de tumores a nivel mundial.
Esta investigación va un paso más allá del estudio CONFIRM que ya demostró cómo la dosis de 500mg de Faslodex® era más eficaz que la de 250mg. Así, según explica la Dra. Blancas, “el objetivo de este nuevo estudio era evaluar en la práctica clínica habitual la eficacia de la dosis de 500 mg de Faslodex® en términos de supervivencia libre de progresión y beneficio clínico (BC) en pacientes postmenopáusicas con cáncer de mama metastásico (CMM)”.
Se trata de un estudio observacional prospectivo multicéntrico en el que se incluyeron 56 pacientes con CMM con receptores hormonales positivo tratadas con la dosis de 500 mg de Faslodex®, que se administra mediante inyección intramuscular, los días 0, 14, 28, y a continuación cada 28 días. De estas, finalmente fueron analizables por tener un seguimiento apropiado 44 pacientes, con una mediana de edad de 60 años.
El objetivo principal del tratamiento del cáncer de mama metastásico es prevenir la progresión de la enfermedad a la vez que se mantiene la calidad de vida. Faslodex® tiene un mecanismo de acción diferente a otros tratamientos endocrinos y no sólo reduce el crecimiento y la extensión del cáncer, sino que puede ayudar a reducir o a retrasar la resistencia al tratamiento. “Además, -señala la Dra. Blancas- una ventaja muy importante de este fármaco es su perfil de toxicidad. Faslodex® se tolera muy bien, así lo demuestran los estudios pero lo confirma también su uso en el día a día, en el que observamos una buena tolerabilidad y un muy buen perfil de seguridad, sin efectos secundarios y que ayuda a las pacientes a tener una buena calidad de vida en comparación con otros tratamientos”.
Todas las ventajas que aporta este tratamiento a las pacientes cobran aún más importancia cuando se examinan los datos de incidencia de cáncer de mama en nuestro país. En España se diagnostican entre 17.000 y 20.000 nuevos casos de cáncer de mama anualmente y esta cifra va en aumento. De hecho, este tipo de cáncer es el más frecuente en las mujeres y el que más mortalidad produce en la población femenina. Los casos de cáncer de mama representan un 18% del total de tumores a nivel mundial.
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