More Targeted Treatments Key to Progress in War on Cancer: Report (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- More targeted treatments and streamlining clinical trials are among the keys to speeding the pace of progress in finding more effective cancer treatments, a new report says.

On Thursday, the eve of the 40th anniversary of President Nixon's "War on Cancer," the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released a report which pinpoints specific areas that need improvement to advance the cause of "personalized" cancer care.

"If we begin to make the needed changes, we believe that cancer research and patient care can become more targeted, more efficient and more effective," Dr. Neal Meropol, one of the three executive editors of the report, said at a teleconference. "We have a clear opportunity to accelerate the path of progress."

Tremendous progress has been made against cancer since President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act in December 1971, said ASCO President Dr. Michael Link. That includes a record number of cancer survivors, a childhood cancer cure rate of 80 percent and a drop in death rates for many types of cancer.

Still, said Link, a pediatric oncologist at Stanford University, "We have a long way to go."

Researchers have learned that certain cancer drugs work very well in one person, but not in another because of differences in the genetic makeup of the tumor, among other factors. Far more needs to be learned about the molecular pathways and biomarkers that determine who will response best to a particular therapy, and how to best identify those patients.

In one scenario outlined in the report: an oncologist tells a patient he has kidney cancer. Instead of determining treatment based on where the tumor is located, the oncologist runs a genetic test on the patient and the molecular characteristics of the tumor to determine how likely the cancer is to spread, and which of the available medications will work best.

Though researchers are working to make those sorts of advances possible, progress is being hindered by a difficult-to-navigate regulatory maze and "years of under-funding" research, according to the report. Drug companies also lack incentives to share data and collaborate on research.

The blueprint recommends improvements in several key areas.

First, there's a need for developing new therapies based on a better understanding of cancer biology. That includes defining cancer based not just on where it's located in the body, but by the characteristics of the tumor itself and the "environment" the cancer is growing in, or the tissue around the tumor.

"We need to identify and prioritize molecular targets that have the greatest promise for improving survival," said Meropol, chief of hematology and oncology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center & Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland.

Also, more participants for clinical trials need to be recruited and more collaboration needs to occur between the research and industry communities to develop new combinations of drugs that could target multiple pathways at once.

Second is to focus on "smarter, faster clinical trials so that we can move quickly find out if new treatments are effective," Meropol said. Too many current studies are of the "me-too" variety which "don't have the potential to lead to major new advances in survival," he said.

Patients for clinical trials should be selected primarily based on the molecular characteristics of their tumors, said Dr. John Mendelsohn, co-director of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Finally, the system needs to take advantage of innovations in health information technology such as electronic medical records as well as "rapid learning systems," that, among other things, could alert physicians and patients to relevant trials, Meropol said.

More information

To see the progress that has already been made against cancer, visit American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111104/hl_hsn/moretargetedtreatmentskeytoprogressinwaroncancerreport

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Beyonce Expecting a Girl, Kelly Rowland Implies!


Beyonce Knowles announced she was expecting with husband Jay-Z at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. Then then re-confirmed that the pregnancy is not fake.

She's remain mum on the child's gender, however ... but Kelly Rowland may have just spilled the beans. At an awards show Thursday night, she referred to it as a girl.

The former Destiny's Child singer said: "I have no idea what I'm going to buy Beyonce at the baby shower because Jay is going to buy that little girl every single thing possible."

Beyonce confirmed the pregnancy just before her VMA performance:

The mini Sasha Fierce, regardless of whether she is indeed a she, is due in February, and will be the couple's first child. He/she will have some talented genes.

"I feel like it is time," the singer said of her pregnancy. "I'm so happy."

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/beyonce-expecting-a-girl-kelly-rowland-implies/

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Freestyle Releasing co-founder launches new company (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? The co-founder of Freestyle Releasing has launched a new company to place independent movies on VOD, pay TV and specialty markets.

Susan Jackson announced Wednesday that she has formed Freestyle Digital Media.

"We are thrilled to be able to release films day and date in theaters on the same day as they launch on the iTunes store, on Amazon Instant Video, on Dish Networks, the YouTube Movie Store and Android mobile devices, and all other cable and internet VOD services," Jackson said in a written statement.

Additionally, the company will make DVDs of independent movies available for rent through retail stores, kiosks and through the mail.

Freestyle Digital Media is separate from Jackson's distribution company Freestyle Releasing.

Former Sonic Solutions executive Steve Harnsberger will serve as FDM's executive VP of business development.

Mark Borde, who co-founded Freestyle Releasing, is FDM's executive vice president of theatrical distribution.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111103/media_nm/us_freestyle

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Syrian activists call for more protests

Syrian security forces fired live ammunition to disperse thousands who gathered in the streets in several parts of the country on Friday to test the regime's commitment to an Arab plan aimed at ending a crackdown on dissent, activists said.

The bloodshed is a challenge to the 22-member Arab League, which on Wednesday declared that it had won the regime's support for a plan which involved a cessation of violence against demonstrators.

The opposition has been skeptical about the plan, as well as any other deal which allows President Bashar Assad to retain his position, and called for a large turnout in Friday's protests to test whether or not the regime would in fact refrain from using deadly force.

So far, the security crackdown does not appear to be any more restrained than it has been on previous Fridays, when anti-regime protests are traditionally at their largest.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist network said two people were killed in the morning amid heavy gunfire in the central city of Homs.

Additionally, a protester was killed in the town of Kanaker, 19 miles southwest of Damascus, according to activists.

"Lots of people fell on the ground with bullet wounds and we are afraid that some will not make it," Mohammad, a resident of Kanaker, said by telephone.

Batons, handguns, rifles
Several more were wounded in suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus and the coastal town of Latakia as protesters began to gather after midday prayers.

In Latakia, an activist said he counted 13 security pick-up trucks surrounding the main Arsalan mosque. He said at least three protesters were wounded by security forces firing in front of the Bazar mosque in the center of the city.

"They were hit and taken by the security forces. In front of every mosque in Latakia there are several hundred security personnel touting either batons, handguns, or automatic rifles," he said.

In Maarat al-Numaan, a main town on the Damascus-Aleppo highway, a resident said troops manned roadblocks and snipers took positions on rooftops.

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"Freedom, freedom despite you Assad," shouted thousands of protesters in the town.

At least 18 people were reported to have been killed in a security crackdown in Homs on Thursday.

A resident of Homs said large marches set off following Friday prayers in most districts of the city, despite the heavy security presence and violence of the past days.

"They are big, they are calling for the downfall of the regime and they aim to show that the Arab League agreement is a joke," he said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Arab League accord
Activists said Friday's protests were largest in Homs, Syria's third-largest city and home to some 800,000 people, where the crackdown has been at its deadliest.

Demonstrations were also reported in the southern province of Daraa and in the eastern cities of Deir el-Zour and Qamishli.

In the coastal town of Banias, security forces beat worshippers as they came out of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq mosque, and blockaded dozens more inside the building so that they would not join the march, activists said.

The latest bloodshed cast a pall over the Arab League accord announced Wednesday in Cairo.

Under the plan, the Syrian government agreed to pull tanks and armored vehicles out of cities, stop violence against protesters and release all political prisoners. Syria also agreed to allow journalists, rights groups and Arab League representatives to monitor the situation in the country.

The proposal is the latest in a string of international efforts to ease the crisis, which has led to widespread condemnation of the regime and international calls for Assad to step down.

The uprising shows no signs of stopping despite a government crackdown that the U.N. estimates has killed some 3,000 people.

Assad, 46, still has a firm grip on power, in part because he retains the support of the business classes and minority groups who feel vulnerable in an overwhelmingly Sunni nation.

The government has largely sealed off the country from foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground. Key sources of information are amateur videos posted online, witness accounts and details gathered by activist groups.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45162869/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Troy Flutie Comeback: Doug Flutie's Nephew Leads Natick High School On A Remarkable Comeback (VIDEO)

He did it! He did it! Flutie did it!

We're talking about Troy Flutie, of course.

Troy, the nephew of legendary Heisman-winning quarterback Doug, used a little of that familial magic to engineer a 21-point, fourth-quarter outburst to lead Natick High School, the alma mater of his famous uncle, to a wild 49-24 victory over No. 16 Needham. Natick trailed Needham, 24-21, in the second half before the young quarterback rallied the team for the big win.

Flutie racked up three total touchdowns in the game, along with 108 yards rushing and 167 yards through the air on 11-14 passing. Also starring for Natick was freshman running back Brian Dunlap, who finished off three scoring drives with touchdowns.

"Our O-line did their jobs, and all our guys knew what they were doing," Flutie told the Boston Globe. "All I had to do was tell them what to do and they did it."

WATCH VIDEO AT TOP

The performance was impressive, but Boston College fans will have to wait on their possible quarterback of the future -- Flutie is only a sophomore.

Troy's football talents aren't only attributable to his uncle. His father, Darren, played in the CFL was named one of the Top 50 Canadian Football League players of all-time by TSN.

While Troy's performance was no last-second Hail Mary to beat a nationally ranked Miami team, it's not bad for a 15-year-old.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/troy-flutie-comeback-doug_n_1074424.html

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France, Germany demand Greek decision on euro (Reuters)

PARIS/ATHENS (Reuters) ? Germany and France told Greece on Wednesday it should make up its mind by mid-December whether it wants to stay in the euro zone when Greeks vote on a 130-billion-euro ($178 billion) bailout.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel summoned George Papandreou for crisis talks in Cannes, before a G20 summit of major world economies, to push for rapid implementation of measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis, which Athens has thrown into doubt.

Sarkozy said Papandreou's announcement of a referendum "took the whole of Europe by surprise" and his prime minister, Francois Fillon, told parliament: "Europe cannot be kept waiting for weeks for the outcome of the referendum.

"The Greeks must say quickly and without ambiguity whether they choose to keep their place in the euro zone or not."

Opinion polls suggest most Greeks think the deal thrashed out by euro zone leaders last week is a bad one, but much will depend on how Papandreou frames the debate, either on the bailout -- and the painful cuts it demands -- or membership of the euro, which remains popular.

Greece's European partners will press for the latter.

German Chancellor Merkel struck the same tone of exasperation and impatience as Fillon in comments before flying to Cannes for hastily arranged meetings of European Union policymakers (1630 GMT) and with Papandreou (1930 GMT).

"We agreed a plan for Greece last week. We want to put this plan into practice, but for this we need clarity and the meeting tonight should help with precisely this," she told a news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Germany's finance ministry hinted that European partners and the International Monetary Fund may withhold the next 8 billion euro aid installment to Athens, due this month, until after the referendum.

"The tranche has not yet been paid. That is the situation today. How things proceed is yet to be seen. But according to everything we hear from Greece, there is no urgent need for the payout until mid-December, more or less," finance ministry spokesman Martin Kotthaus said.

EU leaders endorsed the disbursement of the money last week, but the IMF board has yet to set a date for a decision. An IMF source said the way forward would depend on the outcome of Wednesday's EU talks with Papandreou, which IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde will join.

French officials said Papandreou would be pressed to put the bailout deal to parliament first in hopes of reassuring financial markets which panicked when he called the plebiscite.

WEEKS OF UNCERTAINTY

Win or lose, his gamble guarantees weeks of uncertainty just as the 17-nation European currency area is desperate for a period of calm to implement the remedies agreed to corral its sovereign debt crisis.

Some in Papandreou's party called for him to quit, accusing him of endangering euro membership with his shock decision to call a popular vote, a move that pummeled the euro and stocks.

The Socialist prime minister battled late into the night to win cabinet support, giving him at least a stay of execution before a confidence vote in parliament on Friday.

"The referendum will be a clear mandate and a clear message inside and outside Greece on our European course and participation in the euro," Papandreou told a cabinet meeting that lasted seven hours.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso urged Greeks to unite in support of the bailout plan, warning that the alternative would be too ghastly to predict.

"Without the agreement of Greece to the EU/IMF program, the conditions for Greek citizens would become much more painful, in particular for the most vulnerable. The consequences would be impossible to foresee," he said.

If Papandreou wins the confidence vote, the euro zone faces a period of policy vacuum in which markets can create havoc. If he loses, Greece faces a disorderly default which would hammer Europe's banks and threaten the much larger economies of Italy and Spain, which the bloc may not have the means to bail out.

As a result, the Greek premier's move has aroused anger and surprise in equal measure around the world.

"That's enough now: Greeks out!" Kronen Zeitung, Austria's biggest-selling paper, said on its front page.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Greece could go bankrupt if voters rejected the bailout package and Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said: "Everyone is bewildered."

Juncker, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, IMF chief Christine Lagarde and an ECB official will also attend Wednesday's talks in the southern French resort town.

ECB IN SPOTLIGHT

Doubt about Europe's ability to contain the debt crisis has once more sent markets into a spin and put Italy firmly in the firing line.

The risk premium on Italian bonds over safe-haven German Bunds hit a euro-lifetime high on Tuesday, despite European Central Bank buying of its bonds.

Ireland's finance minister said the ECB would be forced to pledge "a wall of money" to buy bonds, something many of its policymakers are deeply uncomfortable about.

Until the Greek situation is clearer, last week's package of measures is likely to be in limbo, leaving the ECB as the only bulwark against market attacks.

The head of Germany's banking association, Michael Kemmer, said agreement on a 50 percent writedown of Greek debt by its private creditors would have to wait. "I can't imagine a debt exchange taking place before the referendum," he said.

Greek Conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras said Papandreou had acted as a one-man roadblock.

"How can banks accept a haircut on their debt if they don't know if Greece accepts it in the first place?" he told lawmakers in a speech. "Papandreou has put the country in the center of a global storm ... a government in such a state of panic is dangerous and must leave as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, another premier under fire, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi scrambled to come up with measures to placate markets, seeing senior aides and ministers ahead of an expected meeting of the cabinet later.

TIMING, RESULT IN DOUBT

Greek government spokesman Ilias Mosialos said the referendum would take place "as soon as possible, right after the basics of the bailout deal are formulated."

Greek officials had suggested it would probably be held in mid-January but the interior minister said it could happen as early as December.

The Greek press, including dailies traditionally friendly to the government, almost unanimously condemned Papandreou.

Center-left newspaper Eleftherotypia described the prime minister on its front page as "The Lord of Chaos." Ethnos, another pro-government paper, called the referendum "suicidal."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111102/bs_nm/us_greece_referendum

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Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo Has Cancer-Causing ...

TRENTON, N.J. ? Two chemicals considered harmful to babies remain in Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo sold in the U.S., even though the company already makes versions without them, according to a coalition of health and environmental groups.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has unsuccessfully been urging the world's largest health care company for 2 1/2 years to remove the trace amounts of potentially cancer-causing chemicals ? dioxane and a substance called quaternium-15 that releases formaldehyde ? from Johnson's Baby Shampoo, one of its signature products.

Johnson & Johnson said it is reducing or gradually phasing out the chemicals, but did not respond directly to the campaign's demands.

Now the group is ratcheting up the pressure and urging consumers to boycott Johnson & Johnson baby products until the company agrees to remove the chemicals from its baby products sold around the world.

"Johnson & Johnson clearly can make safer baby shampoo in all the markets around the world, but it's not doing it," said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. "It's clearly a double standard, something they can easily fix."

The campaign's new report, "Baby's Tub is Still Toxic," is set to be released Tuesday, when the group was launching the boycott via its Web site, . http://www.safecosmetics.org

Archer said her group has met with Johnson & Johnson representatives three times since spring 2009, and is disappointed the company is not making safer baby shampoo and other products in the U.S. when it does elsewhere.

On Monday, the campaign sent Johnson & Johnson a letter, signed by about 25 environmental, medical and other groups representing about 3.5 million people in the U.S. and other countries. It urges the company to publicly commit by Nov. 15 to removing the chemicals from all personal care products worldwide.

In response, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are safe and approved by regulators in the U.S. and other countries, but that it is gradually phasing them out of its baby products. It said it is also reformulating baby products to reduce the level of dioxane below detectable levels. But it did not say whether it would respond to or meet the campaign's full demands.

The letter, addressed to CEO William Weldon, was signed by groups including the Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, American Nurses Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Green America.

"Even though the chemicals may be low-level, why risk it?" said Tracey J. Woodruff, an associate professor and director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at University of California-San Francisco.

Woodruff, who is not involved in the campaign, noted that the chemical levels in the baby products add to other chemicals infants are exposed to every day.

According to the report, obtained by The Associated Press, one of the suspect chemicals, quaternium-15, is a preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde, used as a disinfectant and embalming fluid, was declared a known human carcinogen this past June by the U.S. National Toxicology Program. Formaldehyde also is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant.

Quaternium-15 is still an ingredient on Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo sold in the U.S., Canada, China, Indonesia and Australia, but the campaign's research this summer found it's not in the same product sold in at least eight other countries, from the U.K. and Denmark to Japan and South Africa.

The second chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is considered a likely carcinogen. It's a byproduct of a process for making chemicals more soluble and gentler on the skin.

The campaign's May 2009 report, called "No More Toxic Tub," stated that studies by an independent laboratory it hired, Analytical Sciences LLC of Petaluma, Calif., found that 1,4-dioxane was contained in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Oatmeal Baby Wash, Moisture Care Baby Wash and Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash.

According to the report, the company has since launched a baby shampoo called Johnson's Naturals, sold in the U.S., that does not include 1,4-dioxane. But original Johnson's baby shampoo, which costs about half as much, has not been reformulated for the U.S. market, according to the campaign.

Analytical Sciences tested multiple J&J baby product samples from the U.S. for the first report, finding low levels of the chemicals. After that, according to Archer, consumer groups in South Africa, Sweden and Japan contacted her group to note that quaternium-15 was not being used in products in their countries. The updated report was based on an examination of label ingredients for Johnson & Johnson baby products in 13 countries.

Archer noted that some of the countries where the products did not contain the harsh chemicals had bans on them in personal care products, but others didn't.

Woodruff, who researches health effects of chemicals, said there is evidence that formaldehyde is associated with nose, lung and blood cancers such as leukemia. She said an infant's scalp is more permeable than an adult's, so exposure to the chemicals could cause more harm for babies than adults.

"You're exposing a child during a very vulnerable period of development, when the effect may be worse," Woodruff said.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/johnson-johnson-baby-sham_n_1069123.html

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Is Google sharing your Facebook comments?

Twitter

By Helen A.S. Popkin

Used to be if you wanted to get yourself Facebook fired or say, get yourself estranged from your mate, family or friends, you had to leave your dumb, stupid and otherwise inflammatory comments on Facebook, which ? depending on how savvy you are about your security settings ? would be the only place anyone could find them. But no more!

Google is now indexing comments left in those popular Facebook comment engines that blogs and websites ? including TODAY? ? use to increase their social media footprint. This means your words of wisdom (or otherwise) can show up in Google search results.

This latest update in your potential Internet humiliation ? pointed out by Digital Inspiration and confirmed by Google?engineer?Matt Cutts??? applies to comments you leave on blogs and websites using your Facebook login.?Digital Inspiration adds that you (your mate or potential employer) can search for specific comments via names and titles.?As an example, the blog searched for well-known tech blogger Robert Scoble ? "Robert Scoble * Chief Learning Officer at Rackspace" ? and found this comment on tech news site TechCrunch:

Google via Digital Inspiration

This is great news for stalkers websites ? if potentially not for you ? because comments can help boost a site's Google search ranking as long as Google is able to see those comments.?Previously, that wasn't possible as Google's search engine?couldn't read the code on comment engines powered by JavaScript within an?IFRAME ? an inline frame that holds content external to the host page.

This is no longer a problem.

"Googlebot keeps getting smarter. Now has the ability to execute AJAX/JavaScript to index some dynamic comments," Googler Cutts posted on Twitter following Digital Inspiration's discovery.

Technology marches on!

More on the annoying way we live now:

Helen A.S. Popkin?goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook.?Also, Google+.

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/02/8597218-is-google-sharing-your-facebook-comments/

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