News

Research Highlights

BY Ruth Cook, Vera Bradley Classic Steering Committee Volunteer

Fort Wayne, Indiana (June 1, 2009) —

Clinical Research:

1. Antibody identified that may be helpful for differentiating malignant from non-malignant cells.
2. Molecular modeling leads to discovery of a cancer protein pocket.
3. Parthenolide analog in trials now may help increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Translational Oncology:

1. Technologies are being developed that will help minimize side effects and maximize the effectiveness of drugs.
2. Gene directed chemotherapy, analyzing by using predictive markers, becomes a standard part of treatment.
3. Highly specialized targeting of tumor vessels delivers treatment directly to the source of cancer.

Surgical Oncology:

1. Chemotherapy administered before surgery may result in an excellent long-term prognosis.
2. Intraductal chemotherapy, drug therapy applied directly into the milk ducts using nanotechnology targeting the tumor directly, is explored.

The Future is Now
Sweeping Changes In Cancer Treatment Are Within Reach

“We’re conducting research at the genome level and analyzing cancer in ways only once imagined in the realm of science fiction. Making treatment decisions at that level changes everything and we are now moving to that point at light speed,” says Linda Malkas, Ph.D., Vera Bradley Chair in Oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. This will allow us to tailor chemotherapy and other therapies to match what is written in individual tumor’s genes. With state-of-the-art information at their fingertips—biology, etiology, prevention, diagnosis, therapy of breast cancer and pre-malignant breast disease—the team at the IU Simon Cancer Center is exploring genetically tailored care in breast, colon, ovarian, leukemia, brain, prostate, kidney, bladder and lung cancer.

In the past, trial-and-error was the primary method of selecting treatments beyond the simplest and earliest stage cancers. Those days are coming to a close as oncologists of varying specialities are moving down the same path, looking for common threads in the treatment of malignancies and tumors. This is not about simply testing to see if an individual carries so-called cancer genes that make them prone to illness. Instead, it is about finding a tumor’s genetic signature, a pattern of gene and protein activity that signals if the cancer will grow quickly or slowly, be more or less likely to recur, whether it would be susceptible to treatment, and which genes or proteins will reject or accept drug therapies. “Our dreams are now becoming a reality. The foundation of research that has taken place over the past 30 years will result in sweeping treatment changes in the next few years, with a shift to targeted rather than blanketed treatments,” says Robert Goulet, M.D., a surgical oncologist at IU School of Medicine. “Dr. Malkas’ work is a wonderful example of how cancer ‘keys’ can in fact be turned off. I believe that eradicating breast cancer is well within the realm of possibility.”

News Flash

George Sledge, M.D., Robert Hickey, Ph.D., Kathy Miller, M.D., and Linda Malkas, Ph.D., are on a research project that aims to improve the treatment of women with breast cancer by making it possible to match the appropriate treatment regimen to a patient’s genetic makeup—bringing closer the promise of individualized care.

Why it’s important: The reality of cancer is that advanced breast cancer patients often become resistant to therapy, or were not good candidates for the therapy to begin with. Therapeutic individualization addresses the problem of declining effectiveness and increasing toxicity.

What it means for the future: Dr. Sledge’s project focuses on individualized therapies—developing technologies that will get the right drugs to the right patients, minimizing side effects and maximizing effectiveness of the drugs.

Dr. Malkas and Dr. Hickey have begun work on a therapeutic strategy with Dr. Sledge. Using molecular modeling, they scanned 6.5 million small molecules for those that would recognize the cancer domain, and have discovered a cancer protein pocket. To date they’ve discovered 110 compounds, some occurring naturally and others lab-created, that are fit to fight cancer. Testing of the compounds in non-malignant and malignant breast cells has begun.

Congratulations, Dr. Sledge!
George W. Sledge, M.D., a nationally recognized pioneer in the development of innovative therapies for breast cancer and co-leader of the Breast Cancer Program at the IU Simon Cancer Center, has been elected president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for a one-year term beginning in June. “ASCO institutes real change by uniting all members of the oncology community with the goal of improving cancer care and prevention,” Dr. Sledge says.

Editor's Note: Dr. Malkas has since moved on to continue her work at City of Hope’s Beckman Institute in California.