NEW: MNYCSG NEWSLETTER --- A MUST READ !!! The latest Metro New York Carcinoid Support Group Newsletter is now available. This newsletter is the May 2008 edition.
This issue has information about CCF's 11th annual patient symposium held on April 13 in NYC, and the Pennsylvania Carcinoid
Cancer Advocacy Network(PCCAN), in cooperation with the Carcinoid CancerAwareness Network, Inc (CCAN) held their patient conference on Saturday, April 26t ..........., and much more.
To contact the author of this fabulous newsletter click on the following link (Jim Weiveris) For past newsletter and other relevant information visit the MNYSG website at http://www.carcinoid.us
THE MERRILL FAMILY HELD THEIR THIRD FUNDRAISING EVENTThe B3 Affair, San Diego, CA ON MARCH 7, 2008 in memory of Lois Merrill to further the CCF and carcinoid community's goals to increase AWARENESS, EDUCATE PATIENTS AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, AND SUPPORT RESEARCH,............. with the ultimate goal of finding a cure.
THIS EVENT BROUGHT IN $ 28'000
.
Special thanks to Angela Merrill, her family, and friends.
A heartfelt thank you to all who participated and continue to support all our goals. AWARENESS, EDUCATION, RESEARCH , HOPE AND A LONG GOOD QUALITY LIFE.......WITH A CURE DOWN THE ROAD.
NEW Support Groups It's All About The Stripes Delaware Valley Carcinoid & NET Connection (Philly Connection) A new group supporting carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumor patients and their advocates with the opportunity to join others to gather information and share experiences.This group serves the Delaware Valley which encompasses Philly and the five surrounding counties, Northern Delaware, and southwestern NJ.(New Jersey communities nearby Philadelphia are welcome and encouraged to attend.)
For meeting schedule and location visit their website http://www.phillycarcinoid.org/
For more information contact Suzi F. Garber (Founder, patient and advocate) at info@phillycarcinoid.org
NEW Colorado Carcinoid Cancer Support Group A support/advocacy group started in 2008 to share experiences and information, to network, to educate health care providers, and spread public awareness of carcinoid/NETs. For more information contact:: Lesley Stabinsky Compton PhD ronnierc1@msn.com
Conference Video Recordings
Carcinoid NeuroEndocrine Patient and Physician Annual Conference
September 27-29, 2007 Norfolk, VA
To view the conference recordings, Click
here NOTE:These videos are best viewed with ADOBE FLASH PLAYER.
If you are unable to view pictures of the lecturers(from high speed broadband connection) make sure that you use Adobe Flash Player (to download click here )and that Real Player is disabled.
(for more videos and lecture transcripts since year 2000, please see our Lectures page)
Novartis Oncology launch of a new online program for people with carcinoid cancer.
This new program, Carcinoid Link, provides enrollees with a series of customized E-mails and online support resources to educate them about metastatic carcinoid cancer. Immediately upon enrollment, participants will also receive an article about the importance of biochemical marker monitoring, including excerpts from an in-depth interview with carcinoid specialist Dr. Larry Kvols. Please click on the link below to learn more about Carcinoid Link and how to sign up online. Please feel free to forward this link to all of your members so they can benefit from the program as well. www.CarcinoidLink.com/learnmore
NEW CLINICAL TRIALfor neuroendocrine patients: Location and Contact Information Please refer to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00501540 United States, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin, 53792, United States;
Recruiting
Cancer Connect 800-622-8922
Kelly Richie 608-263-7283
Kyle D Holen, MD, Principal Investigator
Study chairs or principal investigators:
Kyle D Holen, MD, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center
Herbert Chen, MD, Study Chair, University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center
For more informationClick here
"US Pet Scan" Progress Notes July 2007
Letter from
Stanley J. Goldsmith, MD
Director of Nuclear Medicine
Professor of Radiology and Medicine
New York Presbyterian Hospital-Well Cornell Medical Center
New York, NY
Progress Notes February 26, 2006:
The first of its kind in North America, the 11C-5-HTP-PET scan also known to the carcinoid community as the PET SCAN PROJECT (not to be confused with the standard FDG PET scan) is now in clinical trials since December 2005. We are happy to announce that the scan IS WORKING and the first results from the ongoing trials was presented at the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation's patient symposium on April 2 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Due to the generosity of hundreds of members of the carcinoid community from coast to coast, with a matching grant from The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, a new 11C-5-HTP-PET scan will be available for the first time in the United States. A total of $30,000 enabled Shankar Vallabhajosula, Ph.D., chief of radiochemistry at Cornell University's Weill Medical College, Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center (CBIC), to officially begin a research project entitled Synthesis of [11C] 5-Hydroxy Tryptophan (HTP)in December 2004 (See for more information).
For Medical Professionals New Peer Review Articles
CONCLUSION: Pancreatoduodenectomy for adenocarcinoma in the head of pancreas can provide long-term survival in a subset of patients, particularly in the absence of lymph node metastasis. One of 8 patients can achieve 10-year survival with a potential for cure.
PMID: 18376190 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
NEW Early and Late Results of Valvular Surgery for Carcinoid Heart Disease Javier G. Castillo, Farzan Filsoufi, Parwis B. Rahmanian, Anelechi Anyanwu, Jerome S. Zacks, Richard R.P. Warner, David H. Adam Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Volume 51, Issue 15, 15 April 2008, Pages 1507-1509 Pages 1507-1509 Full Text
NEW The European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society ENETS held their
FIFTH annual conference in Paris on March 6-8 2008 in Paris.
The program included the following topics; Test TNM cases; modeling MEN X; minimal requirements for work-up and diagnosis; pitfalls in NET diagnosis and treatment; and, inherited tumors
The Paris meeting included two abstract sessions, one for basic science, the other for clinical research. Please continue to visit the ENETS website for more information.
Readers will be able to find answers to debated questions for specific tumors, such as the diagnostic procedure for midgut classic carcinoids, follow-up for appendix carcinoids, or the algorithm for liver metastasis treatment of patients with extrahepatic spread from gut neuroendocrine carcinomas. Table of Content
For full text articles contact CCF at carcinoid@optonline.net
Population-based study of islet cell carcinoma (Full Text) Online full text Yao JC, Eisner MP, Leary C, Dagohoy C, Phan A, Rashid A, Hassan M, Evans DB. Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. jyao@mdanderson.org
Ann Surg Oncol. 2007 Dec;14(12):3492-500. Epub 2007 Sep 26.
CONCLUSION: Patients with malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors commonly present with advanced disease. Although, curative resection is not frequent, survival benefit may be obtainable with aggressive surgical management even in the face of metastatic disease.
Note: Acknowledgments Supported by gifts from Raymond Sackler, the J. Stuart Foundation, and the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.
Requests for reprints: Massimo Rugge, Cattedra di Anatomia Patologica, Università degli Studi di Padova, Istituto Oncologico Veneto-IRCCS, Via Aristide Gabelli, 61, 35121 Padua, Italy. Phone: 39-0498-272-252; E-mail: massimo.rugge@unipd.it
.
Purpose: The histologic distinction between low-grade typical and intermediate-grade atypical bronchopulmonary carcinoids basically lies on cellular differentiation, mitotic activity, and presence of "neoplastic" necrosis; at single patient level, however, none of these features enables a reliable prediction of the clinicopathologic outcome.
Conclusions: Mib1 and Bcl2 significantly discriminate between recurrent versus nonrecurrent tumors, producing a biologically plausible, diagnostically suitable immunohistochemical pattern.
BACKGROUND: We have shown previously that activation of the Raf-1/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 signaling pathway by ZM336372 inhibits carcinoid cells growth. In the present study, we further characterize the molecular details of the growth inhibition by the signaling-based compound ZM336372 in neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). METHODS: NEN cells were treated with ZM336372 (20 to 100 mumol/L) or carrier (DMSO). Western Blot was used to determine the activation of the Raf-1/MEK/ERK, other pathways activation, and cellular bioactive hormone production.
CONCLUSION: This is the first description of a novel compound ZM336372 that regulates multiple pathways in NEN cells.
Andrew S. Kennedy; Richard Warner, Patrick McNeillie,
William A. Dezarnl, Doug Coldwell, Charles Nutting , Dennis
Carter , Ravi Murthy, Steven Rose, David Liu, Carroll
Overton, Riad Salem
Cancer Investigation, 25(S 1):55-56,2007
ISSN: 0735-7907 print/ 1532-4192 online
Surgery in malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.(Full text) Abstract J Surg Oncol. 2007 Oct 1;96(5):397-403 Nguyen SQ, Angel LP, Divino CM, Schluender S, Warner RR. Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029-6574, USA. scott.nguyen@mountsinai.org BACKGROUND: Because of their rarity and indolent nature, optimal management of malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors remains controversial. The purpose of this study is to review a series of patients with these tumors and investigate the role of surgery in the treatment. METHODS: A retrospective study of 73 patients (ages 24-86 years; 36 women) undergoing treatment at a tertiary academic medical center was performed. Patient demographics, diagnostic tests, operations, pathologic findings, adjuvant treatments, and survival were reviewed. RESULTS: Seventy-four percent of patients had advanced disease with hepatic metastases and 30% had functional tumors. Fifty-seven percent of the patients underwent pancreatic resections. Two 60-day mortalities occurred and the postoperative complication rate was 27%. Overall 5-year survival rate was 44%. There was no difference in survival between patients with functional and nonfunctional tumors. Patients undergoing resection, even in metastatic disease, had better survival than patients who had no resection (60% vs. 30%, P = 0.025). Recurrence occurred in 20% of patients who underwent a curative resection. CONCLUSION: Patients with malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors commonly present with advanced disease. Although, curative resection is not frequent, survival benefit may be obtainable with aggressive surgical management even in the face of metastatic disease.
Chemoembolization and Bland Embolization of
Neuroendocrine Tumor Metastases to the Liver (Full text) J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2007 Jul;18(7):847-55
Ruutiainen AT, Soulen MC, Tuite CM, Clark TW, Mondschein JI, Stavropoulos SW, Trerotola SO.
Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 1 Silverstein, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. (Abstract) CONCLUSIONS: Chemoembolization was not associated with a higher degree of toxicity than bland embolization. Chemoembolization demonstrated trends toward improvement in TTP, symptom control, and survival. Based on these results, a multicenter prospective randomized trial is warranted
Recommendations for radioembolization of hepatic malignancies using Yttrium-90 microsphere brachytherapy.
A consensus panel report from the radioembolization brachytherapy oncology consortium
Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol. 68, No. 1, pp. 13–23, 2007 Full Text PURPOSE: To standardize the indications, techniques, multimodality treatment approaches, and dosimetry to be used for yttrium-90 (Y90) microsphere hepatic brachytherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Members of the Radioembolization Brachytherapy Oncology Consortium met as an independent group of experts in interventional radiology, radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, medical oncology, and surgical oncology to identify areas of consensus and controversy and to issue clinical guidelines for Y90 microsphere brachytherapy.therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Yttrium-90 microsphere therapy is a complex procedure that requires multidisciplinary management for safety and success. Practitioners and cooperative groups are encouraged to use these guidelines to formulate their treatment and dose-reporting policies.
Tumor Suppressor Role of Notch-1 Signaling in Neuroendocrine Tumors
(full text)
Muthusamy Kunnimalayaan, Herbert Chen
Endocrine Surgery Research Laboratories, Department of Surgery, The University of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin,
USA
The Oncologist 2007;12:535/542
ABSTRACT
A growing body of literature is demonstrating that Notch signaling is a more complex process than originally thought. Contradictory findings of notch-1 acting as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor revealed that its role is very specific to the cellular context. In this review we focus on the tumor suppressor role of Notch-1 signaling in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) such as carcinoid and medullary thyroid cancers. NETs secrete various bioactive hormones that can cause debilitating symptoms. Surgery is the only potential curative treatment for the patients with NETs. Notch-1 signaling is absent in these tumors and activation of Notch-1 significantly
reduces tumor growth in vitro. Therefore, identification
of compound(s) that activate the Notch-1 pathway in NETs could be a potential strategy to treat patients with NETs.
An aggressive approach leads to long-term survival in patients with pancreatic endocrine tumors (Abstract) for full text Click here
Fendrich V, Langer P, Celik I, Bartsch DK, Zielke A, Ramaswamy A,
Rothmund M
Department of Surgery, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany. fendrich@med.uni-marburg.de
Ann Surg. 2006 Dec;244(6):845-51; discussion 852-3. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of reoperations in patients with duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PETs) in a tertiary referral center. CONCLUSIONS:We show that an aggressive surgical approach leads to long-term survival in patients with malignant PETs.Although long-term cure can only be achieved in a proportion of patients with malignant PETs, significant long-term palliation can be achieved.
Management of Goblet Cell Carcinoid (Full text)
Journal of Surgical Oncology
Volume 94, Issue 5, Date: 1 October 2006, Pages: 396-402
John C. Byrn, Ju-Lin Wang, Celia M. Divino, Scott Q. Nguyen, Richard R.P. Warner
Background and Objectives: Goblet cell carcinoid, a rare tumor of intermediate malignant potential, is known to account for a significant minority of appendiceal neoplasms. Sixteen new cases of gastrointestinal goblet cell carcinoid were reviewed to describe their presentation, treatment, and outcome. Conclusions: Goblet cell carcinoid is a rare malignant tumor largely affecting the appendix. In patients presenting with appendicitis, our series does not support the recommendation of right hemicolectomy based on pathologic diagnosis alone and surgical intervention must be customized to the individual patient.
Liver metastases of neuroendocrine tumors; early reduction of tumour load lead to improved life expectancy.(for full text Click here) (Technical)
Liesbeth M Veenendaal1, Inne HM Borel Rinkes1, Cornelis JM Lips2 and Richard van Hillegersberg*1 Netherlands.
Published: 26 June 2006 World Journal of Surgical Oncology 2006, 4:35 Review Abstract : Background: Neuroendocrine tumours frequently metastasize to the liver. Although generally slowly progressing, hepatic metastases are the major cause of carcinoid syndrome and ultimately lead to liver dysfunction, cardiac insufficiency and finally death.
Conclusions: Treatment for patients with neuroendocrine hepatic metastases must be tailored for each individual patient. When local ablative therapies are used early in the course of the disease, the occurrence of carcinoid syndrome with end stage hepatic disease can be postponed or prevented.
Human Tumor Assay
Editor Larry Weisenthal, MD, Phd What is Cell culture drug resistance testing (CCDRT) ?
Also known as "chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays" or ("CSRAs")
This journal
describes the CCDRT and its use to identify the best forms of chemotherapy for cancer patients on an individual basis.
