With “Bridging the Gap”, the Alma J. Cameron Foundation (AJCF) launches its inaugural campaign against cancer. This event catalyzes a much-needed conversation about lung cancer, the benefits of integrative medicine and the dearth of cancer awareness and information. Concurrently, the AJCF is pleased to initiate its Integrative Medicine grant program which provides those cancer patients facing economic challenges $6,000 for six months of treatments at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology.

SKIN CHANGES AND CANCER TREATMENTS: TIPS FOR HEALTHY SKIN AND HAIR – TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2010: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Carolyn Goh, MD, UCLA Clinical Instructor, dermatologist and researcher and Jenny Kim, MD, PhD, UCLA Associate Professor, dermatologist and researcher discuss how skin, (the bodys largest immune system), hair, and nails are affected by the trauma of traditional and newer targeted cancer treatments. General appearance can be altered and affects quality of life. Emphasis is placed on ways to improve skin changes during and after treatment with options available to help maintain healthy skin and hair. Tips for reducing side effects, recovery and looking your best are also presented.

LOCATION:
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (RRMC) Auditorium
757 Westwood Plaza
Room B130 (B Level)
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Parking is available at the RRMC and the Medical Plaza.
Cost is $11.

www.SimmsMannCenter.ucla.edu

RECENT TREATMENT ADVANCES IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY – Tuesday July 13, 2010: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Dr. Percy Lee, MD, UCLA Assistant Professor, radiation oncologist and researcher, discusses radiation therapy as an integral component in the fight against cancer and how recent advances have allowed radiation oncologists to target cancer more precisely by conforming the radiation to the size and shape of tumor thus maximally sparing normal tissue. He explains advances in 3-dimensional conformal therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, as well as stereotactic body radiation therapy which result in improved tumor control rates, survival, and decreases in short and longer term side effects.

LOCATION:
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (RRMC) Auditorium
757 Westwood Plaza
Room B130 (B Level)
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Parking is available at the RRMC and the Medical Plaza. Cost is $11 at both locations.

Mark your calendar for the next Insights Into Cancer lecture on August 10, 2010:

Complementary Medicine in Cancer: A Panel of East West, Manipulative Therapies and Herbalism

Mary Hardy, MD, Medical Director, Simms/MannUCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, moderates a panel discussion with experts in treatment areas that complement conventional oncology on how complementary approaches can be utilized to improve quality of life, reduce symptoms and benefit wellness throughout the continuum of cancer care. Keith Henry, BS, DC, Assistant Professor of the Cleveland School of Chiropractic discusses the advantages and cautions of massage and manual therapies for cancer patients; Ka-Kit Hui, MD, FACP, Director, UCLA Center for East-West Medicine describes how acupuncture and herbs are used to treat symptoms of cancer and its treatments; and Amanda McQuade Crawford, BA MNIMH, author, medical herbalist with 20 years of experience shares knowledge about nutrition and herbs as complements to cancer care..

For additional information contact us at www.SimmsMannCenter.ucla.edu
(310) 794-6644

The genetically engineered stem cells are able to home to the cancer cells, both in culture and in mouse models, and deliver TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), destroying the tumor cells while sparing normal cells.

The research will be presented on May 19, at the American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference in San Diego.

“Present oncological therapies are limited by host toxicity,” said Michael Loebinger, M.D., M.A, who, along with S. M. Janes, M.D., Ph.D., conducted the research at the Centre for Respiratory Research at the University College of London. “They are also limited by cancer resistance and may not destroy cancer stem cells.”

With these experiments, the investigators combined two disparate areas of research that they believed held promise for treating cancer. Studies had shown that MSCs can be used as vectors to deliver anti-tumor therapy, while other studies found that TRAIL killed cancer cells, but not normal cells.

For their experiments, Drs. Loebinger and Janes identified those cells likely to be resistant to therapies (cancer cells that have characteristics of stem cells) and found that they were just as likely to be destroyed as tumor cells by this novel therapy.

In culture, the stem cells caused lung, squamous, breast and cervical cancer cells to die (all p< 0.01), even at low stem cell/tumor cell ratios (1:16).

In mice, the researchers showed that the stem cells could reduce the growth of subcutaneous breast tumors by approximately 80 percent (p< .0001). The stem cells could also be injected intravenously as therapy for mice with lung metastases and could eliminate lung metastases in 38 percent of mice compared to control mice, all of which still had metastases (p=0.03).

It is the first study to intravenously introduce MSCs that have been genetically modified to deliver TRAIL. Drs. Loebinger and Janes chose the breast cancer cells for both models because in their in vitro experiments, the MSCs “demonstrated a particularly strong homing to breast cancer cells.”

“Breast cancer tumors are a good model of metastases,” added Dr. Loebinger, “but our plan is to test the engineered stem cells with other models, including lung cancer.”

While not fully understood, Dr. Loebinger added, the homing of the engineered cells appears to be a characteristic of MSCs themselves.

The authors conclude that, “this is the first study to demonstrate a significant reduction in tumor burden with inducible TRAIL-expressing MSCs in a well-controlled and specifically directed therapy.”

They believe that human trials of TRAIL-expressing MSCs could begin in two or three years.

Funding for this research was provided by the Medical Research Council UK.