MsC1210

Andrea I cannot answer your question but wanted to let you know that you and your family remain in my thoughts and prayers. Chris

Peggy, I am so glad to hear your son is home with you! Prayers continuing for his continued recovery. Hugs, Chris

Test predicts chemotherapy benefit for lung cancer Sep 08 (Reuters) - The presence or absence of a protein in lung cancer cells can help doctors predict whether chemotherapy will help patients live longer after surgery, European researchers reported on Wednesday. The study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine could help doctors determine which patients can benefit from a type of chemotherapy before treatment starts. "The results suggest that we may have a tool that can distinguish between patients who can benefit from platinum-based chemotherapy and those who cannot," said Eddie Reed of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, in an editorial that accompanies the study. "In theory, our discovery is applicable to other tumor types, although this is not proven in our analysis," coauthor Jean-Charles Soria of the Institut Gusatve Roussy, in Villejuif, France, told Reuters. Volunteers with undetectable levels of the protein ERCC1, which is important in repairing DNA, had a five-year survival rate of 47 percent when treated with the platinum-based class of chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin. The survival rate dropped to 39 percent without treatment after surgery to remove the tumor. When the tumors had plenty of ERCC1, the situation was reversed. Those who received no chemotherapy did better than those who did. The survival rate was 46 percent for untreated patients, compared with 40 percent for those who got cisplatin. "A low level of expression of ERCC1 by tumor cells was associated with longer survival" after cisplatin-based chemotherapy, said the team, led by Ken Olaussen of the University of Paris. Lung tumors are, by far, the commonest form of cancer, striking over 174,000 people in the United States each year and killing 162,000. Smoking causes most lung tumors. The new study, involving 28 medical centers in 14 countries, looked at non-small-cell lung cancer, which makes up about 87 percent of all lung cancer cases. The researchers wanted to see if there was a better way to predict who would benefit from chemotherapy. They focused on ERCC1 because it is involved in repairing the tumor DNA that cisplatin seeks to destroy. In the 426 people with undetectable levels of the ERCC1 protein, average survival was 56 months if they received chemotherapy and 42 months if they did not. When ERCC1 was present in the tumors, the 170 patients who received no additional treatment after their surgery typically survived 55 months, compared with 50 months for the 165 who got cisplatin. Soria said the test should be widely available in medical centers. Publish Date: September 08, 2006

Sis, Have a safe trip. We will be waiting to hear from you. Sending tons of prayers!! Chris

Shirley I am sorry this update is not better but at least the fevers are lower. That is a positive. Hopefully once they figure out the source of the infection and get it treated a new game plan can come into play. Keep positive, as difficult as that is. Sending tons and tons of prayers and postive thoughts, Hugs Chris

Peregrine To Initiate Bavituximab Combination Therapy Trial In India With Multiple Cancer Chemotherapy Regimens 12 Sep 2006 Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, clinical stage products for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection and cancer, today announced that it is completing plans to initiate a clinical trial in India of bavituximab in combination with chemotherapy. The trial is primarily designed to test the safety and tolerability of bavituximab with several standard chemotherapy regimens commonly used for treating major cancer types, including breast, lung and pancreatic cancer. The company is collaborating with an experienced Indian contract research organization with recent success in managing a registration clinical trial for a novel monoclonal antibody therapeutic. The new cancer trial will be conducted according to internationally accepted ICH GCP guidelines. Peregrine expects that results from this study, along with data from its ongoing U.S. Phase I cancer trial, will help support advancing bavituximab into Phase II cancer trials in 2007. "Preclinical studies have repeatedly demonstrated the exciting potential of bavituximab plus chemotherapy for the treatment of solid cancers," said Steven W. King, president and CEO of Peregrine. "This new study, which complements our ongoing Phase l cancer trial in the U.S., will be an important milestone enabling us to accelerate the clinical assessment of bavituximab's anti-cancer potential." Mr. King continued, "In recent years global pharmaceutical firms including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche and Eli Lilly have been conducting an increasing number of major clinical trials in India, taking advantage of the country's world-class clinical research facilities that leverage India's large cadre of Western-trained medical personnel and enormous pool of patients eager to participate in clinical trials. We look forward to working with our Indian collaborators to advance the bavituximab cancer program that we believe has significant potential for patients." Bavituximab is currently being studied in Phase l clinical trials in the U.S. for the treatment of solid tumors and chronic hepatitis C infection. Clinical data collected to date has shown that bavituximab is safe and well-tolerated, and the company has reported promising signs of anti-viral activity in the hepatitis C trial. The new multi-center cancer trial is a pilot safety and pharmacokinetic study, with patients scheduled to receive bavituximab along with docetaxel, gemcitabine or carboplatin/paclitaxel for eight weeks. These chemotherapies are part of the current standard-of-care for a number of solid tumor types including breast, lung and pancreatic cancers. Study endpoints include safety and drug pharmacokinetics, and patients will be evaluated for tumor response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria. Peregrine has completed an investigator meeting in India to prepare for trial initiation, and the trial has already been cleared to proceed at one of the three sites. Clearance from the other sites is on schedule and expected shortly. Numerous preclinical studies have confirmed that bavituximab acts synergistically when administered in combination with chemotherapy. In the past 12 to 18 months, researchers associated with Peregrine have presented and published multiple studies demonstrating the promising anti-cancer potential of bavituximab and chemotherapy in major tumor types. Preclinical studies presented at the AACR annual meeting showed the potential of a bavituximab equivalent plus chemotherapy or radiation to increase survival in resistant breast and brain cancer, a very positive result in these models of advanced disease. A study published in the International Journal of Cancer demonstrated that a bavituximab equivalent given in combination with gemcitabine showed encouraging efficacy in animal models of pancreatic cancer, including reductions in the metastatic disease that actually kills most victims. And an article in Cancer Research reported that a bavituximab equivalent plus docetaxel inhibited tumor growth by 93% in a model of advanced breast cancer. "A growing body of research suggests that bavituximab acts synergistically with chemotherapy to kill cancer cells and possibly eliminate metastases far more effectively than either agent alone," said Dr. Philip Thorpe, an inventor of the bavituximab technology and scientific advisor to Peregrine. "We believe the excellent preclinical activity we have seen in a variety of tumor types reflects in part the fact that chemotherapy and radiation up-regulate bavituximab's phospholipid target. I am very pleased that this new trial in India will soon get underway and thereby speed up the timeline for the clinical development of bavituximab as a potentially major new cancer therapy." About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative product candidates in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The company is pursuing three separate clinical trials in cancer and HCV infection with its lead product candidates bavituximab and Cotara®. Peregrine also has in-house manufacturing capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc. ( http://www.avidbio.com ), which provides development and bio-manufacturing services for both Peregrine and outside customers. Additional information about Peregrine can be found at http://www.peregrineinc.com. Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risk. that bavituximab's safety profile in a combination therapy trial will not be at the same safety level as was found in the phase Ia trial, the risk that the results of future trials will not correlate to the results from the phase Ia trial, the risk that bavituximab will not be as well tolerated at ascending doses or show promising results in other viral indications and the risk that results of human studies using bavituximab plus radiation or chemotherapy will not correlate to the results of the preclinical studies. It is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties associated with completing preclinical and clinical trials for our technologies; the early stage of product development; the significant costs to develop our products as all of our products are currently in development, preclinical studies or clinical trials; obtaining additional financing to support our operations and the development of our products; obtaining regulatory approval for our technologies; anticipated timing of regulatory filings and the potential success in gaining regulatory approval and complying with governmental regulations applicable to our business. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2006. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. disclaims any obligation, and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. http://www.peregrineinc.com Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medical ... wsid=51603

New Approaches To Cancer Research Using Nature's Most Primitive Anti-viral Defense System 12 Sep 2006 The humble fruit fly and a grant from the AICR - the Association for International Cancer Research - are helping a leading scientist in London identify potential targets for drugs that block the spread of cancer. In one of the first studies of its kind, Dr Buzz Baum of the UCL Branch of the global Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) is using the tiny fruit fly, Drosophila, as a simple genetic system in which to identify genes that may impact on the spread of human cancer cells. He explains: "Long ago a cellular defence system evolved in our single-celled ancestors to protect them from viruses. This system, called RNAi, is still present today in humans, plants and animals. Recently, we have learnt how to harness this anti-viral system, so that we can use it to silence the function of any normal or mutant gene at will. This new technology has the potential to change forever the way researchers and doctors fight cancer and other diseases. "By combining the benefits of Drosophila RNAi screens with the functional analysis in human cell culture models of metastasis, we expect to identify novel, conserved proteins involved in cell migration and invasion, some of which could prove to be good anti-cancer drug targets." According to Dr Mark Matfield, AICR's scientific adviser: "Metastasis of tumours (the spread of cancer cells around the body) is the cause of mortality in the majority of human cancers and it is a complex, multi-step process. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie each stage is therefore an important goal for cancer scientists. Dr Baum's research builds on his earlier work when, in collaboration with others, he completed a full study of the function of every one of the fruit fly's genes in cells. This is allowing him now to compare those to similar genes in human cell lines to help him understand why some cancer cells invade and spread to other parts of the body." Derek Napier, AICR's Chief Executive says the grant awarded to Dr Baum and worth £136,000 has been given in line with the charity's policy of funding the most exciting and novel approaches to research worldwide. "We believe it important to fund work that pushes the boundaries of science, and Dr Baum and his team are charged with tackling one of the greatest scientific challenges of all." ### The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) is a totally independent charity based in St Andrews in Scotland. It has no commercial ties, no links with any particular research institutions and no commitment to follow any particular line of research. It funds what it considers to be the best researchers and the most valuable studies, wherever they are in the world. This innovative approach to funding research has enabled AICR to contribute significantly to furthering man's understanding of cancer. Head office Madras House, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9EH Website The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) is the largest international not-for-profit institute dedicated to understanding and controlling cancer. With nine Research Branches and one Centre for Clinical Sciences in seven countries, the scientific network that is LICR quite literally spans the globe. LICR has developed an impressive portfolio of reagents, knowledge, expertise, and intellectual property, and has also assembled the personnel, facilities, and practices necessary to patent, clinically evaluate, license, and thus translate, the most promising aspects of its own laboratory research into cancer therapies. Contact: Dr. Mark Matfield Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medical ... wsid=51558

This is PRECIOUS!!! Congratulations!!! Chris

Don Glad to see your update and very glad to hear there is SOME improvement. Prayers for all continue.. Chris

Don and Lucie My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family. Chris

Such a wonderful and thoughtful as well as generous gesture! Your daughter is just awesome! Chris

My prayers and condolences on the loss of your friend.. Chris

Lisa, Just sending you and your dad prayers and positive thoughts. Please keep us posted and let us know how we can help. Chris

Cancer rates down in young men Sep. 12, 2006. 01:00 AM MEGAN OGILVIE HEALTH REPORTER The number of young men who are diagnosed with cancer is falling in Canada, but the rates of new cancer cases among young women have not changed in the last three decades, according to a report by Cancer Care Ontario. Improvements in screening and treatment techniques led to fewer young men and women dying of cancer during the 1980s and 1990s. But the report shows that young Canadians are still at risk for some types of common cancers, including testicular cancer and lung cancer. This is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of cancer in young adults aged 20 to 44, says Terry Sullivan, president and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario. The report identifies cancer trends in Canada between 1983 and 1999. Cancer in young men and women is understudied, even though 10 per cent of cancers occur in this age group, says Sullivan. "Most people think of the young adult age group as the healthiest period of life," he says. "And generally speaking that is true. So that's why there hasn't been much of a focus on this group." Until now. Sullivan says this report, Cancer in Young Adults in Canada, will help steer cancer research in Canada. Fewer young men have been diagnosed with melanoma, colorectal and lung cancers since 1992, and death rates for these same cancers have also decreased. But the report reveals that testicular cancer, the most common type of cancer for young men, is on the rise, at an increase of 2.2 per cent per year, says Sullivan. Risk factors for testicular cancer are still unknown, he says. For the first time, the report shows more women than men being diagnosed with lung cancer — and dying from the disease. Loraine Marrett, director of the Ontario Cancer Care Surveillance Unit, says this finding is related to the high number of adolescent women who smoked during the 1970s. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Conten ... 8332188774

Kim I am so happy for you!!! Now get a good nights sleep as I am sure you haven't had one in recent nights! Hugs Chris

Kim Sending more prayers your way.... Chris

I was at home getting the days lessons in order as I home schooled my daughter at that time. My youngest son was only about 18 months old and was settled on the floor watching Sesame Street. For some reason he picked up the remote and turned the channel as the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower. I had no idea what I was witnessing. My husband and I were both volunteer fire fighters at that time and immediate thoughts were OH GOD.. I guess I need not say more. Prayers to all of those who lost their lives, to those who lost loved ones and for the rest of us whose lives changed on that day... Chris

Hi Sis, You have some wonderful advice here already. I will add that in addition to asking to SEE the test results, request copies and more importantly, if there is ANY doubt as to whether everyone understands what is being said, ask the Doctor to explain it in terms that are basic. And if it still is unclear, ask them to repeat it or write it down for you. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers, Chris

Peggy Just continued prayers for you and Mike.... Chris

Lori How touching. Still praying and will continue to.. Hugs Chris

Don and Lucie My prayers are with you both and will continue to be. Chris

Although I do not know Charlie, I am sending lots of prayers to him and his family.. Chris

Hello Ned and welcome! I see you have gotten some very good information already here. I cannot really add to that but will give you a suggestion that you might hear a few times. Get a notebook to keep track of those questions you are assembling as well as to have a record of tests, results, notes from your appts etc. Keeping them in an organizer makes it easier to have things in one place for future use. Please keep us informed of your progress and let us know how else we can help you along the way. All the best to you, Chris

Donna, No words really as they always sound hollow, but I do understand. So many of us understand all too well. Hugs, Chris

Kelli My condolences on the loss of your mother. I am so very sorry. Chris