May 27, 2011

Announcements

Yale Cancer Center Annual Scientific Retreat

Our annual retreat on Tuesday, May 31 will begin at 8 AM on the West Campus.

Yale Cancer Center Participates in ASCO

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at ASCO beginning on June 3.  Below is a list of participants from Yale Cancer Center during education and oral abstract sessions.  If your schedule permits, I hope you will take time to add these to your agenda.

Howard Hochster, Scientific Program Committee

Educational Session

Friday, June 3; 1:00 PM; Arie Crown Theater

High-risk Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma

Francine Foss

Oral Abstract Sessions:

Saturday, June 4; 3:00 PM; Hall D1

Discussion Leader - Gastrointestinal Cancers

Howard Hochster

Saturday, June 4; 3:15 PM; Arie Crown Theater

Discussion Leader - Melanoma

Mario Sznol

Monday, June 6; 3:45 PM; S406

A randomized phase II/III trial of a tumor vascular disrupting agent fosbretabulin tromethamine (CA4P) with carboplatin (C) and paclitaxel (P) in anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC):  Final survival analysis for the FACT trial

Julie Ann Sosa

Poster Discussion Sessions:

Racial disparities in prostate cancer treatment: The contribution of inappropriate care.

C. J. Presley, A. C. Raldow, L. D. Cramer, P. R. Soulos, J. B. Long, D. V. Makarov, J. B. Yu, C. P. Gross

Saturday June 4, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall D2

A phase I study of IPI-926, a novel hedgehog pathway inhibitor, in patients (pts) with advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

C. M. Rudin, A. Jimeno, W. H. Miller, B. J. Eigl, S. N. Gettinger, A. L. S. Chang, K. Faia, J. Sweeney, G. Loewen, R. W. Ross, G. J. Weiss

Saturday June 4, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place S406

Molecular characterization of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) and identification of new drug targets.

H. Beltran, D. Rickman, K. Park, A. Sboner, T. Macdonald, S. T. Tagawa, M. B. Gerstein, F. Demichelis, D. M. Nanus, M. A. Rubin

Saturday June 4, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall D2

Primary dose reduction (PDR) of chemotherapy (chemo) in patients (Pts) older than age 65 with advanced cancer (Ca) and toxicity outcomes.

A. Gajra, M. Hardt, W. P. Tew, S. G. Mohile, C. Owusu, H. D. Klepin, C. P. Gross, S. M. Lichtman, R. Ramani, J. Brown, V. Katheria, R. Jayani, K. Hansen, K. Togawa, S. Klapper, A. Hurria, Cancer and Aging Research Group

Sunday June 5, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

McCormick Place S100bc

Phase I/II trial of bevacizumab (B) and erlotinib (E) with induction (IND) and concurrent (CON) carboplatin (Cb)/paclitaxel (P) and 74 Gy of thoracic conformal radiotherapy (TCRT) in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

T. Stinchcombe, M. A. Socinski, D. T. Moore, S. N. Gettinger, R. H. Decker, W. J. Petty, A. W. Blackstock, G. Schwartz, S. Lankford, D. E. Morris

Monday June 6, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

McCormick Place Hall D2

Safety and activity of IPI-504 (retaspimycin hydrochloride) and docetaxel in pretreated patients (pts) with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

G. J. Riely, S. N. Gettinger, R. G. Stoller, N. Y. Gabrail, G. K. Dy, G. J. Weiss, C. Tunkey, G. Skliris, S. Strychor, J. Dunbar, D. DeLucia, R. W. Ross, J. E. Gray

Monday June 6, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall D2

Poster Sessions:

Understanding patients' attitudes toward communication about the cost of cancer care.

A.

J. Bullock, E. W. Hofstatter, M. Yushak, M. K. Buss

Saturday June 4, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Analysis of dermatologist density and melanoma mortality.

S. Aneja, J. S. Bordeaux

Saturday June 4, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Bevacizumab (Bev) plus chemotherapy for advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GC): Combined U.S. experience.

E. C. Smyth, P. C. Enzinger, J. Li, M. Vincitore, J. Lacy, B. F. El-Rayes, P. L. Kunz, J. M. Ford, E. Robinson, D. P. Kelsen, M. A. Shah

Saturday June 4, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Do cancer survivors follow screening guidelines better?

A. B. Chagpar, T. B. Sanft, C. P. Gross

Saturday June 4, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Global cancer mortality: The effect of health care system resources on survival from cancer.

A. Batouli, P. Jahanshahi, J. B. Yu

Saturday June 4, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Agreement between breast cancer survivors and oncologists on treatments received.

T. B. Sanft, V. Northrup, A. B. Chagpar, M. Irwin

Saturday June 4, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Randomized phase III trial of gemcitabine/carboplatin with or without iniparib (BSI-201) in patients with previously untreated stage IV squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

D. R. Spigel, P. G. Harper, J. D. Hainsworth, F. De Marinis, F. F. Kabbinavar, E. S. Kim, T. J. Lynch, R. Rosell, F. A. Shepherd, M. A. Socinski, A. Vergnenegre

Monday June 6, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

A single-arm multicenter proof-of-concept study of denosumab to treat hypercalcemia of malignancy in patients who are refractory to IV bisphosphonates.

M. I. Hu, R. Gucalp, K. L. Insogna, I. Glezerman, H. G. Bone, A. Jaccard, W. Misiorowski, B. W. Yu, H. Yeh

Monday June 6, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Salvage stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) after previous whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for breast cancer brain metastases: Outcomes and prognostic

factors including tumor phenotype.

P. J. Kelly, N. U. Lin, E. B. Claus, S. E. Weiss, B. M. Alexander

Monday June 6, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Complete responses (CR/CRu) on a phase II study of romidepsin in relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (R/R PTCL).

S. M. Horwitz, B. Coiffier, F. M. Foss, H. M. Prince, L. Sokol, M. Greenwood, D. Caballero, P. Borchmann, F. Morschhauser, M. Wilhelm, L. C. Pinter-Brown, S. Padmanabhan, A. R. Shustov, J. Nichols, J. Balser, S. Carroll, B. Pro

Monday June 6, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

McCormick Place Hall A

Electronic Abstracts:

A phase I study of biweekly capecitabine and the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) vorinostat in advanced breast cancer (BC).

M. M. Abu-Khalaf, T. Kim, G. G. Chung, M. DiGiovanna, S. Radke, D. Cornfeld, L. Harris

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e13609)

Learn More >>

Carboplatin (Cb), weekly nanoparticle, albumin-bound paclitaxel (wAb), and bevacizumab (Av) neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in HER2-negative breast cancer (BrCA): A BrUOG study.

N. Sinclair, M. M. Abu-Khalaf, B. J. Sakr, T. Rizack, D. R. Lannin, J. S. Gass, R. Strenger, V. Bossuyt, M. A. Fenton, L. Harris, W. M. Sikov

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e11573)

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Outcome of intravenous calcium and magnesium (Ca/Mg) in oxaliplatin-containing regimens compared with no Ca/Mg.

J. Chaves, K. Patel, O. Abdelghany, C. Coleman, J. Lacy, H. S. Hochster

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e19681)

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The effect of intraperitoneal administration of clostridium perfringens enterotoxin on chemotherapy-resistant CD44+ human ovarian cancer stem cells in mice.

J. Varughese, F. Casagrande, E. Cocco, S. Bellone, C. E. Richter, M. Bellone, P. Todeschini, L. Carrara, F. Guzzo, E. Siegel, D. Silasi, M. Azodi, T. Rutherford, S. L. Pecorelli, P. E. Schwartz, A. Santin

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e13077)

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In vitro chemosensitivity assay for patients with gynecologic sarcoma.

A. Santin, J. Varughese, J. Lea

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e20513)

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p16 protein status and response to treatment in a prospective clinical trial (ECOG 2303) of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

A. Psyrri, M. S. Ghebremichael, E. Pectasides, A. T. Dimou, B. Burtness, D. Rimm, H. J. Wanebo, A. A. Forastiere, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e16032)

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Long-term outcomes after neoadjuvant trastuzumab and chemotherapy for HER2+ breast cancer.

A. Gropper, H. J. Burstein, L. Harris, K. S. Anderson, J. M. Gold, W. J. Younger, C. A. Bunnell, J. S. Najita, E. P. Winer, E. L. Mayer

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e11074)

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Phase II trial of carboplatin, abraxane, and bevacizumab in NSCLC.

R. S. Heist, G. D. Duda, D. Sahani, M. Ancukiewicz, P. Fidias, L. V. Sequist, A. T. Shaw, J. S. Temel, I. T. Lennes, J. W. Neal, N. A. Pennell, T. J. Lynch, J. A. Engelman, R. K. Jain

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e18016)

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Polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medications, and chemotherapy-related adverse events among older adults with cancer.

R. J. Maggiore, C. P. Gross, M. Hardt, W. P. Tew, S. G. Mohile, H. D. Klepin, S. M. Lichtman, C. Owusu, A. Gajra, R. Ramani, V. Katheria, J. Brown, R. Jayani, A. Hurria, Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG)

J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr e19501)

Learn More >>

Smilow Cancer Hospital  

Yale Interventional Endoscopy Clinic

T

he Yale Interventional Endoscopy Clinic

eighth floor of the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven.

Interventional Endoscopy Program Highlights:

• Confocal Microscopy for early cancer diagnosis
• SO Manometry
• Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) for early cancers
• Enteral Stenting
• Radiofrequency Ablation of dysplastic Barrett's esophagus
• EUS for diagnosis and staging of esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, rectal, and mediastinal cancers
• Routine Colonoscopy and difficult polypectomy

In addition to newly expanded space, we have also added a dedicated patient care coordinator to our staff to oversee all patient scheduling and coordination of care.

Notables  

Dr. Vincent T. Devita, Jr

. is co-editor on three recently published books: the 9th edition of the most popular cancer text in the world

Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology

,

Primer of the Molecular Biology of Cancer

, and

Annual Advances in Oncology

, Volume 2.

Abhijit Patel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Therapeutic Radiology, has been awarded a Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).  The award totals $200,000 over two years and will support his research

to develop tumor-derived DNA in the blood as a cancer biomarker.  Dr. Patel had received a Yale Cancer Center Pilot Award to initiate the project and will continue his work with the ASTRO funding.

An abstract prepared by Yale Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office Associate Director, Hank Durivage, and Yale Cancer Center biostatisticians, Xiaopan Yao and Fang-Yong Li, was one of three abstracts selected for presentation at the annual Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Clinical Research Initiative meeting in July.  Along with colleagues from Indiana University, they will present Protocol Performance Metrics and Resource U

tilization of Phase II Investigator-Initiated Trials.

Dr. Anees Chagpar and Dr. Francine Foss have been selected as two of 21 mentors nationwide for the 2011 ASCO IDEA (International Development and Education Award) Program.

Following next week's ASCO meeting, both Dr. Chagpar and Dr. Foss will host a mentee from India at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital from June 8-10. Dr. Chagpar will host Anand Kumar Mishra from CSM Medical University and Dr. Foss will mentor Indranil Ghosh from ARI Hospitals.

Ann Corris will join Yale Cancer Center on June 1st as our Associate Administrator for Medical Oncology and Hematology.  Ann comes to us from the Provost's Office where she served as Associate Director of Faculty Compensation for the last year.  Prior to that she was on Central Campus as an accountant in the Shared Business Center and also as an accountant in the Internal Medicine Department.   

Qin Yan, PhD and Tae Kim, PhD

were selected as Stewart Fellows and will receive two years of funding to support their cancer research, totaling $150,000 per faculty member. The Alexander & Margaret Stewart Trust is a charitable foundation supporting nonprofit organizations researching, treating, and preventing cancer and pediatric illnesses. 

Capitol Hill Day

Roy Herbst, Chad Ellis, and Kevin Vest attended the ASCO/AACR/AACI/FOCR Capitol Hill Day, on Wednesday, May 11 to advocate for sustaining cancer research funds in the federal 2012 budget. They met with staffers from all five Connecticut house congressional offices, as well as Senator Lieberman. The visit provided Yale Cancer Center an opportunity to increase the awareness of our NCI designation and the advances in cancer research at Yale resulting from government funding.

Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital will invite each congressional office to tour Smilow, our research labs, and meet with clinicians and scientists at Yale Cancer Center in the coming months.

Funding and Award Opportunities

Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences

Internal Deadline:  June 7, 2011 

• For basic and clinical investigations relevant to the advancement of human health. Strong preference for creative and innovative approaches; risk-taking is encouraged.
• November 1, 2011, but who will not have been in such an appointment for more than 3 years as of July 1, 2012.
• $60,000 per year for 4 years.  ($240,000)

Learn More >> (PDF)

Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research Medical Research Grants

Internal Deadline:  June 7, 2011 

• To support the conduct of innovative and insightful medical research on the hematologic malignancies.
• cancers of the blood.  Such therapeutic approaches could include alternative or complementary medicine.
• For junior faculty with their MD or PhD.
• $225,000 to be used over a period of 3 years. ($225,000)

Learn More >> (PDF)

Searle Scholars Program

Internal Deadline:  June 7, 2011 

• To pursue independent research careers in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, or related areas in chemistry, medicine, and the biological sciences.
• For assistant professors who began their first appointment on or after July 1, 2010.
• $100,000 per year for 3 years.  ($300,000)  

Learn More >> (PDF)  

Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation: Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Education
Internal Deadline:  June 7, 2011 

• To support promising young scientists engaged in new and innovative research in all areas of basic biomedical science.
• Investigators in physics, chemistry, and engineering with biomedical research projects are also encouraged to apply.  
• Clinical research is beyond the scope of this program.
• independent investigators who have completed not more than 2 years of a junior faculty appointment and will have been appointed to their first independent appointment between July 1, 2009 and December 1, 2011.
• $300,000 to be used over a period of 3 years. ($300,000)

Learn More >>

Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Grants for Translational Breast Cancer Research
Only innovative cancer research projects designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new agents to treat breast cancer and/or for pre-clinical research with direct therapeutic intent will be accepted.

Laboratory-based projects must present plans with clinical collaborators indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic. Similarly, clinical studies must show how the work was derived from basic preclinical work and how results will be channeled back to laboratory-based collaborators.

Letter of Intent Deadline:June 13, 2011
Learn More >>

AACR Calls for Letters of Intent for a Stand Up To Cancer-Melanoma Research Alliance Dream Team
The SU2C-MRA Melanoma Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant will provide funding of a minimum of $6 million over a three-year period for a cancer research project that will accelerate the application of new preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic agents to the clinic. Proposals for Melanoma Dream Team projects must present plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic.

To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the Dream Team must include laboratory and clinical researchers, senior and young investigators and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past, as well as patient advocates. This Dream Team will span multiple disciplines and utilize the new tools of modern biology to attack research questions in a coordinated way. Mechanisms to foster collaboration within and among the Dream Teams should be employed - an approach that promotes the sharing of information and a goal-oriented focus on measurable milestones of progress.

Idea Submission Deadline:June 20, 2011
Learn More >>