First Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Management Course

First Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Management Course

Chandigarh,03.04.13:The First Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Management Course is being organized by the department of Pulmonary Medicine at PGIMER, Chandigarh on April 05-06, 2014. This is a unique educational activity and joint effort by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Indian Society for Study of Lung Cancer (ISSLC).

 Lung cancer is an important cause of cancer related morbidity and mortality both globally and within India. According to the recent GLOBOCAN 2012 data, lung cancer is the most common cancer in men with global incidence of 1.2 million (12 lakh) new cases per year and accounting for 16.7% of all new cancers. Worldwide, it is also the most common cause of death from cancer which in absolute terms is 1.59 million (15.9 lakh) deaths annually and in relative terms 19.4% of all cancer related deaths. Compared to cancers at other sites, lung cancer has a very high mortality rate with 87% of all patients diagnosed with this disease ultimately dying due to the disease itself. Even in India, the burden of lung cancer is enormous since here  also it is the most common type of cancer in men (11.3% of all new cancers) and it is also the most common cause of death from cancer (13.7% of all cancer related deaths). Importantly, data from population based cancer registries in India indicate that the burden of disease is still rising in this country in contrast to the developed countries wherein it has either reached a plateau or is declining. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers among males in India and accounts for approximately one of every 10 cancers overall and one fourth of all tobacco related cancers in males.

          ASCO is one of the largest and most renowned professional oncology societies in the world with membership exceeding 30,000. This course will witness participation of three overseas international faculty selected by ASCO:

1)   Dr Ritsuko Komaki – a radiation oncologist. She is currently a distinguished professor in lung cancer research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

2)   Dr. Ana Oton – a medical oncologist. She is currently working asAssociate Professor of Medicine, Thoracic Malignancies Program, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Denver, Colorado, USA

3)   Dr. Florian Strasser – a palliative care. He is currently Associate Professor and Head, Oncological Palliative Medicine, Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine & Palliative Care Centre, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen, Switzerland

 Mr Doug Pyle, Senior Director, International Affairs Division of ASCO is also participating as faculty in this course and will be involved in promoting the concept of multidisciplinary cancer care as well as availability of resources in ASCO that can be potentially utilized in India to enhance the standard of cancer care.

The ISSLC till date remains the only non-profit professional body in India that is dedicated to enhancing awareness as well as promoting research and education in the field of lung cancer. Dr D Behera, Senior Professor in the department of Pulmonary Medicine at PGIMER, Chandigarh is the founder and current president of ISSLC. Dr Navneet Singh, Assistant Professor of Pulmonary Medicine at PGIMER, Chandigarh is the current Secretary of ISSLC and the Course Coordinator.

 The national course faculty has been primarily drawn from PGIMER, Chandigarh and the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. These are two premier government of India funded health care institutes located in the northern and western regions of India respectively. Both these institutes are renowned for the available knowledge and expertise in the field of lung cancer and cater to large sections of the Indian population.

The department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh which is a World Health Organization collaborating centre for research and capacity building in chronic respiratory diseases, runs a special clinic for lung cancer patients and is a reputed referral centre for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. A lot of research in the field of lung cancer has been conducted in this department in the past few decades and been published in literature. Currently, also several intra- and extra-mural research projects in the area of lung cancer are ongoing. Prof Behera and Dr Navneet Singh are in charge of the Lung Cancer Clinic at PGIMER and are responsible for the management of approximately 300 new patients per year who are diagnosed with this disease. Patients are referred from several neighboring states like Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan. The department works in close collaboration with other departments that are involved in multidisciplinary management of lung cancer namely Radiodiagnosis, Nuclear Medicine, Histopathology, Cytology, Radiotherapy and Cardio-thoracic-vascular Surgery.

The TMC, Mumbai is a specialized oncology institute that is well known both within India and abroad for its expertise in diagnosis and treatment of variety of cancers and has two separate wings : the Tata Memorial Hospital which provides the clinical services and is involved in clinical research and the ACTREC which provides the necessary manpower and infrastructure for conduct of basic and advanced cancer research. Dr. CS Pramesh, Professor of Surgical Oncology and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai is one of the two coordinators for this course, the other being Dr Navneet Singh.

This course is being attended by approximately 150 delegates from all over India. These include postgraduate residents who are undergoing training in the fields of pulmonary medicine, medical oncology, radiation oncology and surgical oncology as well as practicing physicians who wish to get an update about the current developments in the field of lung cancer especially those related to personalized treatment and multimodality management strategies. Attending this course is expected to help delegates possess the necessary skills for practicing multidisciplinary management of lung cancer.

Source:http://www.indianewscalling.com/news/13911-first-multidisciplinary-lung-cancer-management-course.aspx

5 April-                                                                 

Indian doctors successfully cure 'rare' cancer by naturally reconstructing wind pipe

Indian doctors successfully cure 'rare' cancer by naturally reconstructing wind pipe

The oncology team of Artemis hospital has successfully cured a patient suffering from a rare type of cancer called Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of Trachea.

An exceptional and 'one of its kind' surgery was successfully performed at Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon by a team of doctors, which comprised of Surgical Oncologists, Otolaryngologist and Anesthesiologists, who naturally reconstructed the 33-year-old patient, Hamid Taha's wind pipe.

For the past 2 years Taha could not speak or eat properly, or even, breathe through his nose due to cancer in the wind pipe, but the doctors eliminated the tumor by clipping 7.8 cm of his wind pipe and later reconstructed it naturally with the help of muscle flaps and pericardium.

Discussing the procedures involved, Dr. Mandeep Singh, Head - Surgical Oncology, said, "This is a first time incident in India, wherein, such a large length of the cancerous wind pipe was cut off and reconstruction was intricate because the usual method of joining the two parts of wind pipe was not an option".

 

GE to invest $120 mn to improve cancer care in India - BioSpectrum Asia

The approach will take global standard cancer care closer to the patient and help optimize patient spend through the treatment cycle. Today, a patient from a small town or a rural area spends over 50% on travel and logistics for treatment. The GE-CTSI partnership provides hospitals with cutting edge solutions that cover clinical and technical aspects necessary to offer cancer care to patients found at top hospitals throughout the United States and Europe, including clinical technology, medical physics services and a worldwide IT network. "CTSI's centralized model features a comprehensive approach to care that combines evidence-based protocols and robust administrative support to promote consistent clinical decision-making and a patient-centric environment. In our experience, this leads to the best outcomes and service for patients," commented Mr Andrew Shogan, COO, CTSI. "The partnership between GE and CTSI reflects our shared commitment to tackling cancer earlier and will offer Indian patients the same caliber of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic options found at any leading cancer center around the world but at affordable price points for patients in India. The Indian healthcare landscape is evolving rapidly. GE and our partners at CTSI are looking forward to being at the vanguard of this progress by setting up a complete oncology ecosystem," concluded Ms Terri Bresenham, President and CEO, GE Healthcare South Asia. GE Healthcare has committed USD 1 billion towards accelerating research and development of advanced oncology solutions. GE Healthcare offers a wide portfolio for oncology and a strategy that combines cellular research, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, and information technology. Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) is a provider of university-level, comprehensive treatment for cancer patients with a main focus on medical oncology and radiation oncology. CTSI provides innovative and technologically-advanced treatment solutions through IT-based model that allows integration and centralization of core services. The company currently operates centers and has development projects in both domestic and international markets.

The partnership underscores four critical points to elevate the access, affordability and standard of cancer care in India. First, modern management of oncology patients requires a multidisciplinary approach, meaning that delivering cancer care according to top world standards demands interplay between a team of personnel from a wide range of medical specialties. Second, offering world-class cancer care requires adherence to well-defined, evidence-based medical protocols derived from the world's latest medical research. Third, providing the latest therapeutic options for cancer requires expert use of cutting-edge imaging, treatment and digital record-keeping technologies. Finally, reducing patient effort and spend through a comprehensive and transparent approach in a local, patient-friendly environment.

GE and CTSI will configure the network in a hub-and-spoke fashion, with all centers linked by a sophisticated IT network to a hub, and supported by a multi-national group of clinicians, and administrators. The hub will be a centre of excellence with full diagnostic imaging and treatment capabilities while the spoke will have the ability to deliver a range of screening, staging and treatment options. The centers will use globally proven clinical pathways and protocols to standardize the care for every patient. The first hub center, American Oncology Institute, CTSI's international brand, is already operational in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. The first spoke or remote centre is being set up in Andhra Pradesh. The partners will provide a comprehensive oncology service line to interested healthcare providers in small and large cities to accelerate and expand the network across India.

The approach will take global standard cancer care closer to the patient and help optimize patient spend through the treatment cycle. Today, a patient from a small town or a rural area spends over 50% on travel and logistics for treatment. The GE-CTSI partnership provides hospitals with cutting edge solutions that cover clinical and technical aspects necessary to offer cancer care to patients found at top hospitals throughout the United States and Europe, including clinical technology, medical physics services and a worldwide IT network. "CTSI's centralized model features a comprehensive approach to care that combines evidence-based protocols and robust administrative support to promote consistent clinical decision-making and a patient-centric environment. In our experience, this leads to the best outcomes and service for patients," commented Mr Andrew Shogan, COO, CTSI. "The partnership between GE and CTSI reflects our shared commitment to tackling cancer earlier and will offer Indian patients the same caliber of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic options found at any leading cancer center around the world but at affordable price points for patients in India. The Indian healthcare landscape is evolving rapidly. GE and our partners at CTSI are looking forward to being at the vanguard of this progress by setting up a complete oncology ecosystem," concluded Ms Terri Bresenham, President and CEO, GE Healthcare South Asia. GE Healthcare has committed USD 1 billion towards accelerating research and development of advanced oncology solutions. GE Healthcare offers a wide portfolio for oncology and a strategy that combines cellular research, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, and information technology. Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) is a provider of university-level, comprehensive treatment for cancer patients with a main focus on medical oncology and radiation oncology. CTSI provides innovative and technologically-advanced treatment solutions through IT-based model that allows integration and centralization of core services. The company currently operates centers and has development projects in both domestic and international markets.

Vitamin A may turn back the clock on breast cancer

Vitamin A may turn back the clock on breast cancer

A derivative of vitamin A, known as retinoic acid, found abundantly in sweet potato and carrots, helps turn pre-cancer cells back to normal healthy breast cells, a new study has found.

The research could help explain why some clinical studies have been unable to see a benefit of vitamin A on cancer: the vitamin does not appear to change the course of full-blown cancer, only pre-cancerous cells, and only works at a very narrow dose.

Since cells undergo many changes before they become fully aggressive and metastatic, Sandra V Fernandez, Assistant Research Professor of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, and colleagues, used a model of breast cancer progression composed of four types of cells each one representing a different stage of breast cancer: normal, pre-cancerous, cancerous and a fully aggressive model.

When the researchers exposed the four breast cell types to different concentrations of retinoic acid - one of the chemicals that the body converts vitamin A into - they noticed a strong change in the pre-cancerous cells.

Not only did the pre-cancerous cells begin to look more like normal cells in terms of their shape, they also changed their genetic signature back to normal.

The pre-cancerous cells had 443 genes that were either up or downregulated on their way to becoming cancerous. All of these genes returned to normal levels after treatment with retinoic acid.

"It looks like retinoic acid exerts effects on cancer cells in part via the modulation of the epigenome," said Fernandez.

"We were able to see this effect of retinoic acid because we were looking at four distinct stages of breast cancer. It will be interesting to see if these results can be applied to patients," said Fernandez.

The cells that were considered fully cancerous did not respond at all to retinoic acid, suggesting that there may be a small window of opportunity for retinoic acid to be helpful in preventing cancer progression.

In addition, the researchers showed that only one concentration of retinoic acid (about one micro Molar) produced the anti-cancer effects. Lower concentrations gave no change, and higher concentrations produced a smaller effect.  

The next step will be to try to learn whether the amount of retinoic acid required can be maintained in an animal model, and if that concentration will have the same effects as Fernandez observed in cells.