Accuray Inc. and IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc. will be collaborating for development of inter-operability between the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System and the MOSAIQ® oncology information system. Treatment plan and delivery information from the CyberKnife System will be fed directly into the electronic medical record of IMPAC with the use of DICOM standard interface protocols. This will facilitate clinicians who will have all the data in a single, easily-accessible and readily available to make timely and informed medical decisions.

A research conducted at Wayne State University has found a breast cancer vaccine that completely eliminates cancers that are resistant to current anti-HER2 therapy – without any toxicity in mice. The study suggests the vaccine could treat women with HER2-positive breast cancer. The vaccine has the potential to eliminate the need to depend on use of current therapies. It consists of naked DNA – genes that produce the HER2 receptor along with an immune stimulant.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to Novartis’ RAD001 (everolimus) on the basis of the drug’s potential to benefit patients suffering from advanced kidney cancer who showed no improvement after the standard treatment. The data collected from a trial shows that RAD001 curbs tumor growth, reducing the risk of disease progression by 70%.Novartis has already applied for marketing authorization for RAD001 with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic). EMEA has even accepted the proposed brand name for RAD001, Afinitor®.

Oncothyreon has filed an INDA with the FDA for PX-866, a small molecule phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3-kinase) inhibitor for the treatment of advanced cancers. The compound has been shown to have good single agent in vivo antitumor activity and works well in combination with other agents in a number of human tumor models, the company said. Following FDA review, the company plans to initiate a Phase I clinical trial.

Data presented by Celldex Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AVANT Immunotherapeutics, from its Phase 2 ACT II study in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) indicated that temozolomide, the standard chemotherapy agent for this disease, may potentiate the effect of AVANT’s vaccine candidate, CDX-110. All patients vaccinated with CDX-110 in the Phase 2a ACT II extension study showed a tumor-specific immune response, a significant improvement over previous vaccines and over CDX-110 alone.

Pre-clinical studies conducted by Yale scientists have indicated that the NV-128 compound can induce the death of chemo-resistant ovarian cancer cells by halting the activation of a protein pathway called mTOR. mTOR signals enhance tumor growth in cancerous cells and inhibition of mTOR could shut down many of these survival pathways, including proteins that protect the mitochondria of cancer cells. NV-128, developed by Novogen Limited, holds promise as a more targeted therapy for ovarian cancer because it works differently from traditional therapies that are dependent on enzymes, known as caspases, to trigger cell death.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers say that a rare genetic cancer syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), was detected with the help of full-body PET/CT scanning. Earlier, there were no screening tests recommended for the condition. According to the research, periodic scans, along with physical exams, would be able to detect more tumours at a curable stage than was possible earlier.