OOTR Press Release

 

OOTR Breast Check-up Campaign
Launching Ceremony and Press Conference

 

Macao SAR - May 12, 2010 - Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR) announced the kick off of its Breast Check-up Campaign at launching ceremony and press conference held on May 12th 2010, Wednesday, 3 p.m. at Policlinica Guia located at 142-178 Rua das Lorchas, Centro Comercial Hoi Wan 1o Andar, Macau. Officiating the kick-off ceremony were Ms. Chan Yuen-Han, SBS, JP, Vice-President, Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions; Dr. Louis Wing-Cheong Chow, Executive Director, OOTR; and also from the lead sponsors, Ms. Constance Hsu, President, Mocha Clubs; Ms. Cristina S.L. Un, Director General, The Fu Lun Youth Association of Macau; Ms. Akiko Takahashi, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources/Corporate Social Responsibility Officer; Ms. Wu Un-Peng, Executive Director, The Women's General Association of Macau; Mr. Kent Wong, Senior Consultant, Melco Crown Entertainment; and Ms. Sharon Cheong, Director, Community Relations & Projects Melco Crown Entertainment. The officiating guests were joined by volunteers from Yin Hong Club, a non-profit charitable organisation founded by breast cancer patients and survivors, who performed singing before closing of the program.

 

Representing the sponsors of the event, Ms. Constance Hsu said that besides developing a successful business, Mocha Clubs has been building a reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in local community. CSR has always been a main objective for long term development, which in demonstrating it to the full, Mocha Clubs always take its community commitment to heart and into action and to strive everything which believed to be right and morally sound. They work hard to give back to Macau community through continuous participation and contribution. As a responsible corporation, Melco PBL Entertainment also encourages the contribution to the communities. The core charity activities at Melco are based on youth development, education, cultural development, women and environmental protection.

 

The executive director of the OOTR, Dr. Louis Chow said "the organisation is pleased to start the campaign in Macao. As a member of the front line medical team, I feel that it is my responsibility to contribute to the health of our society, and I would like to lead our group to continue our mission in Macao by promoting cancer research. Also I hope to raise the breast health awareness in women by the breast check-up campaign, which makes us one step closer to the breast screening in the future." The success of this worthwhile project was made possible by the sponsors, community organisations, and trade unions. Dr. Chow thanked all of them for their support.

 

Breast Check-up Campaign:
The emphasis of OOTR is to cure cancer by guiding the latest scientific findings toward helping improve cancer treatment and prevention. The organisation wishes to bring hopes to cancer patients and let them know that cancer is no more threatening. A 12-month breast check-up campaign sponsored by Mocha Slot Group and Melco PBL Entertainment will start in May 2010, its aim is to raise the breast health awareness in women.

 

The "Breast Check-up Campaign" will last 12 months starting in May 2010 until April 2011. The aim of the campaign is to raise the breast health awareness in women, and the program includes 1) Free checking for Macanese women; 2) Teaching Macanese women Self-examination; 3) Organizing regular breast health and cancer seminars. For reservation and enquiries, please call 2853-0503 or visit www.ootr.org.

 

About OOTR:
Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR), a registered charitable organization in Hong Kong, was founded to create an international network aimed at promoting clinical and translational research in cancer. The aim of the organization is to help cancer patients by finding better treatment for the diseases through efforts in research and education. Translational research (bed to bench) was crucial in leading a way to find better and new treatment for cancer faster. OOTR activities include scientific annual conferences, education activities, cancer research, patient assistance programs.

 

 

OOTR Selected to Participate in Premiere
LIVESTRONGR Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland

First-ever event to bring together world leaders, advocates and corporations from
more than 60 countries to address the global cancer burden

Hong Kong - August 24, 2009 - Today Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR) announced that Dr. Louis Wing-Cheong Chow, Executive Director of OOTR, will represent the organization at the premiere LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland, August 24 - 26. The Summit is the landmark event of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign, an effort of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). Dr. Chow will represent the organization's commitment to fight cancer in Asia and engage with world media, political leaders, representatives of non-governmental organizations and corporate leadership.

 

"It is my honor to be invited to attend this important event. At the summit, I will be meeting with the world's leaders to discuss about the different actions we will take to fight against cancer. We hope to further increase the awareness of the disease and gain support for our activities undertaken from around the world and in Asia. We also would like to share with our patients in Asia the LIVESTRONG spirits of Mr. Lance Armstrong," said Dr. Chow.

 

"Cancer is a major public health problem that affects every country in every region of the world regardless of economic and social situation," said Lance Armstrong, LAF founder and chairman, cancer survivor and champion cyclist. "Through collective action, we will make a renewed commitment to reducing the burden of cancer around the world and break down the stigma and silence too often associated with the disease."

 

In September 2008, Armstrong announced the Foundation's commitment to making cancer a global priority at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York. The LAF made this commitment after its worldwide research, conducted over 18 months, revealed widespread misconceptions, stigma and lack of awareness associated with cancer.

 

In response, the LAF established the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign to urgently address the burden of cancer worldwide and support the 28 million people living with cancer around the globe. Cancer kills more people every year than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. It is estimated that cancer will be the leading cause of death worldwide by 2010.

 

With such staggering statistics, the LAF recognized that a global challenge like cancer required a global movement. And so it began urging world leaders, leading cancer organizations and cancer survivors to join together by making commitments to take action in their communities to reduce the burden of cancer.

 

OOTR is proud to join the LIVESTRONG movement with Breast Health Campaign in Asia.
The Breast Health Promotional Campaign aims to increase the awareness of breast health among Asian women and provide information on breast cancer to the relatively conservative Asian communities.?With early detection of breast cancer, we believe it could improve the survival rate when breast cancer screening becomes more mature in Asia as it would allow early detection thus treatment of disease. We hope more Asian patients will present the disease at an earlier stage and more lives will be saved.

 

OOTR is looking forward to participating in the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland from August 24-26, 2009 and helping to make the case for acting urgently to address the global cancer burden.

 

Unlike other conferences and forums, the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit is unique in that it will kick off a unified global movement while providing attendees the opportunity to connect with other advocates, network, gain media exposure and access tools and resources to help them mobilize in their own communities. Speakers include honorary Summit chair and former Irish President Mary Robinson, Irish Cancer Chief Professor Tom Keane, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta as well as representatives from the World Health Organization and other global bodies.

 

For more information on the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign and the Summit, please visit www.LIVESTRONG.org.

 

About OOTR:
Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR), a registered charitable organization in Hong Kong, was founded to create an international network aimed at promoting clinical and translational research in cancer.?Our aim is to help our cancer patients by finding better treatment for the diseases through efforts in research and education.?We believe translational research (bed to bench) was crucial in leading our way to find better and new treatment for cancer faster. Our activities include scientific annual conferences, education activities, cancer research, patient assistance programs.
For more information on OOTR, please visit www.ootr.org

 

About the Lance Armstrong Foundation:
At the Lance Armstrong Foundation, we fight for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. There can be - and should be - life after cancer for more people. That's why we kick in at the moment of diagnosis, giving people the resources and support they need to fight cancer head-on. We find innovative ways to raise awareness, fund research and end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face. We connect people and communities to drive social change, and we call for state, national and world leaders to help fight this disease. Anyone anywhere can join our fight against cancer. Join us at www.LIVESTRONG.org.

 

June 5, 2008

 

TRANSITION TO TAILOR-MADE CANCER THERAPY: SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION
INHIBITOR OPEN THE NEW PAGE OF CANCER THERAPY

OOTR Fund-raising Event "Bitter Sweet"

 

5 June 2008, Hong Kong - Cancer is a worldwide health problem because it not only jeopardizes our life, but also is a disease of high mortality rate. Earlier diagnosis of cancer with appropriate and immediate therapy could improve survival. Recently, Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR) has conducted a clinical trial anchored in the development of Tailor-made Cancer Therapy which the result is announced by Dr. Louis Chow, Executive Director of OOTR.

 

"In recent years, targeted therapy becomes the mainstay in treatment for particular types of cancer, for example, HER-2 overexpressive breast cancer. Individualized therapy becomes the future cancer treatment strategy. We have previously conducted a research on using signal transduction inhibitors (STI) to modulate the hormonal therapy for hormone-sensitive breast cancer patients. We found that combining STI with the commonly used aromatase inhibitors, a nowadays widely used therapy for hormone-sensitive breast cancer, could give promising response rate in those patients(*). Signal transduction inhibition seems to be an effective auxiliary therapy for existing hormonal therapy. We hope further investigation on the use of STI could open another page of cancer therapy and, by translational research, we hope more signals and biomarkers could be investigated to polish existing therapies and to create new therapies tailor-made for individuals," Dr. Chow said

 

OOTR has co-organized with the Affiliated NingXia Medical College a symposium on International Guidelines for Clinical and Pathological Diagnosis in Yinchuan, China on May 9-12, 2008. OOTR has brought over a group of renowned faculty including Professors, doctors, and medico-legal experts from U.K., Japan, and Hong Kong to give lectures at the symposium. We provided to the participants the up-to-date clinical and pathological knowledge of breast cancer diagnosis and therapeutics guidelines as well as a workshop to discuss medico-legal issues. The outstanding symposium was well-received. Many medical professionals as well as hospital administrators attended and actively participated at the meetings. The fruitful meeting not only helped the site to take a step closer to international standard, but also achieved our mission of giving fresh impetus to medicine in our country.

 

OOTR believes in the importance of research and education to advance the present cancer prevention and treatment strategies, to get geared to international standards, and to further improve our medical profession in Hong Kong and China. To achieve the above goals and to assist the needy cancer patients with financial difficulties, OOTR is planning a charity musical in September 2008 in which famous actress, Ms. Louise Lee Sze-Ki, will cast as Mrs. Maria Lee, the ex-inaugurator of "Maria's" Bakery and will perform her legendary life story......

 

Charity Musical Bitter Sweet tells the life story of Mrs. Maria Lee who was born with congenital heart condition which made her incapable of doing any exercise but was lastly overcome with her tenacious character. She went through and endured hardships during the wartime. With her talent and creativity, she established a successful billion-dollar bakery business. Unfortunately, the company ran into debts years later but she did not try to run away by declaring bankruptcy and instead she kept to the commitments made to her employees and business partners. At the same time, her husband was found to suffer from cancer...... In face of those hardships and challenges, she never thought of giving up. She continued to lead her life with indomitable and enthusiastic spirits.

 

The Charity Musical will be organized by OOTR and produced by Nonsensemakers. We would like to express our gratitude for the full support from Television Broadcasts Limited and Luk Kwok Hotel. Tickets shall be available for sale in August. Details of the event will be announced in later press conferences.

 

Reference:
*Chow LW-C et al. Evaluation of neoadjuvant inhibition of aromatase activity and signal transduction in breast cancer. Cancer Letters, 2008 Apr 18;262(2):232-8.

March 17, 2008

 

HONG KONG PLAYS KEY ROLE IN CLINICAL TRIAL FOR
LATEST TREATMENT FOR ADVANCED BREAST CANCER

Leading Local Expert Invites Patients to Participate in Ground Breaking Clinical Trial

 

17 March 2008, Hong Kong - An international cancer research network, The Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR), in collaboration with medical researchers in Hong Kong, today announced the launch of an international study into a targeted anti-cancer treatment for advanced breast cancer patients. Hong Kong is playing a key role in the study and local experts are inviting Hong Kong based breast cancer patients to take part in the trial, which could have a direct impact on current clinical practice.

 

"In Hong Kong, since 1994, breast cancer has had the highest incidence among all female cancers. There are more than 2,000 new cases diagnosed every year and on average, 6.2 women are diagnosed everyday," said Dr Louis W. C. Chow, Executive Director of OOTR and Medical Director of UNIMED Medical Institute based in Hong Kong.

 

This clinical trial will investigate the efficacy and safety of an oral multi-targeted anti-cancer treatment, sunitinib malate, which has the potential to treat patients with advanced breast cancer. The treatment is designed to attack cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed, which can help to limit side effects and potentially improve survival for patients with an advanced form of the disease.

 

"As yet there are no proven scientific methods to prevent breast cancer," Dr Chow commented. "But we can use different methods to treat it, including radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and biological therapy. It is also essential that we continue to proactively search for other treatments. At present, one of the�@treatments is multi-targeted therapies."

 

Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. The majority of cancers result from mutations or other abnormalities in multiple signalling pathways, as opposed to a single, well-defined mutation or abnormality. Multi-targeted therapy is the latest approach for the treatment of breast cancer, which simultaneously inhibits more than one signalling pathway or process of several important receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) which are all implicated in tumour growth, angiogenesis* and the metastatic progression of cancer.

 

Local cancer expert Dr Chow is inviting advanced breast cancer patients in Hong Kong to take part in the investigational trial. "We are very pleased to be involved in the clinical trials to investigate the efficacy and safety of this new targeted treatment and further establish its clinical benefits for the patients. We cordially invite eligible female patients with advanced breast cancer in Hong Kong to participate in the studies."

 

Breast cancer patients who are interested in learning more about this study are encouraged to call UNIMED Medical Institute's enquiry hotline +852 2861 0286 (please contact Dr Lie) for further information.

 

Notes:
*Angiogenesis means the growth of new blood vessels and is an important natural process occurring in the body, both in health and in disease.

 

Reference:
1. The Angiogenesis Foundation http://www.angio.org/index.html

April 3, 2007

 

Survey from Hong Kong Women on Breast Cancer

70% Women Did Not Have Breast Cancer Screening
& Have No Knowledge of Aggressive Type of Breast Cancer
High Educational Level Not Necessary Means Knowledge

 

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer amongst women in Hong Kong and has lead many women keep alerted and alarmed. In 2004, the no. of newly diagnosed breast cancer case was 2,273 and the no. of death case was 454 while the median age at diagnoses was 52 years of age according to the official government figures. Generally speaking, women aged above 50 years old have a higher-risk of getting breast cancer and there is a trend of women having diagnosed at a younger stage. The thread of breast cancer has been increasing for women and it will be interesting to know the awareness of breast cancer amongst women in Hong Kong? And how well do women understand breast cancer screening and breast cancer types?

 

Only 30% of women had breast cancer screening
In early March, the Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR) commissioned the Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power to conduct a public survey to investigate local women's knowledge and awareness of breast cancer. A total of 1,020 women aged 18 or above were successfully interviewed. It was found that 70% of participants have shown concern of breast cancer in some degrees, in which participants of the age group of 40-49 have shown the greatest concern of breast; followed by the age group of 30-39.

 

Although most of the women have shown concern of breast cancer, only about 30% of the respondents have had breast cancer screening in the past. In addition, there are only 45% of the respondents amongst women age above 40 who were aware of breast cancer screening and also had the test in the past. The survey also found that, the participants aged 20-29 with tertiary or above education tend to be knowledgeable about breast cancer screening compared with elder or less educated women. The data reflected that the health conscious awareness is low amongst the age group 20-29 or high educated women and there is still room for improvement. "If breast cancer can be detected at early stage, the cure rate is relatively high. The finding revealed the fact of some women are lacking the awareness and knowledge of breast cancer. Breast cancer screening programme can identify breast abnormalities that may be cancer at an early stage before physical symptoms develop, therefore, such screening enable women to be diagnosed and treated at early stage" said Dr Louis CHOW, the Executive Director of the OOTR.

 

Suggestion: More promotion education on breast cancer screening is needed in order to let women understand the importance of having such screening. It was suggested that women should have their breast cancer screening starting from the age of 40, which subsequently enable them to be diagnosed and treated at early stage.

 

Lack of Knowledge of the Aggressive Types of Breast Cancer
Besides, it was found that as high as 70% of all respondents did not know there are aggressive types of breast cancer which could affect the chance of recurrence. However, 85.5% of all respondents believed that breast cancer patients need to know whether their cancer type is aggressive or not. This finding revealed the fact that most people agreed the importance of know the types of breast cancer. Dr. Louis CHOW explained, "Similar concepts as with human blood groups, there are different types of breast cancer, one of them is known as "HER2 positive breast cancer", and approximately 20-30% of all breast cancers will fall into this group. As high as 95.7% of all respondents have never heard of HER2 positive breast cancer, it means most people were lacking the knowledge of aggressive type of breast cancer. Dr Louis CHOW asserted, "All patients could make the right decision for their treatment. Moreover, the more a patient gets to know her disease, the better chance of her fighting her own battle against the disease and getting benefits from the treatment." On the hand, over 90% of all respondents indicated that patients should consult their doctors for the type of breast cancers that they have.

 

Suggestion: Patients with breast cancer should find out more about their own cancer type proactively because knowing the breast cancer type will help patients making a right decision for the best possible treatment. Consult your doctors proactively about your disease status and different options of treatment.

 

High Education Level Not Necessarily Means Knowledgeable
In general, we think women with higher education levels are likely to be more health conscious and knowledgeable about diseases. However, it was surprisingly to discover in the present survey that the well educated women tend to be less knowledgeable than those with lower educations. For the awareness of breast cancer screening, 80% of the respondents with primary, secondary or preparatory educational level were aware of having breast cancer screening starting from the age of 40 whereas only 65% of the respondents with tertiary or about education who were aware. For the awareness of aggressive type of breast cancer, only 23% of the respondents with tertiary or above education who were aware and such ratio were lower than that of both primary (30.7%), secondary or preparatory (30%) educational levels. Dr Louis CHOW said that the reason of this unexpected finding might be due to the fact that women with tertiary or above education are often busy at work and contribute less time for health related information. He finally stressed that breast cancer is in relation with all women with no discrimination and hope that its awareness could be further enhanced in public.

 

Suggestion: More promotion education on breast cancer screening is needed in order to let women understand the importance of having such screening. It was suggested that women should have their breast cancer screening starting from the age of 40, which subsequently enable them to be diagnosed and treated at early stage.

 

Lack of Knowledge of the Aggressive Types of Breast Cancer
Besides, it was found that as high as 70% of all respondents did not know there are aggressive types of breast cancer which could affect the chance of recurrence. However, 85.5% of all respondents believed that breast cancer patients need to know whether their cancer type is aggressive or not. This finding revealed the fact that most people agreed the importance of know the types of breast cancer. Dr. Louis CHOW explained, "Similar concepts as with human blood groups, there are different types of breast cancer, one of them is known as "HER2 positive breast cancer", and approximately 20-30% of all breast cancers will fall into this group. As high as 95.7% of all respondents have never heard of HER2 positive breast cancer, it means most people were lacking the knowledge of aggressive type of breast cancer. Dr Louis CHOW asserted, "All patients could make the right decision for their treatment. Moreover, the more a patient gets to know her disease, the better chance of her fighting her own battle against the disease and getting benefits from the treatment." On the hand, over 90% of all respondents indicated that patients should consult their doctors for the type of breast cancers that they have.

 

Suggestion: Patients with breast cancer should find out more about their own cancer type proactively because knowing the breast cancer type will help patients making a right decision for the best possible treatment. Consult your doctors proactively about your disease status and different options of treatment.

 

High Education Level Not Necessarily Means Knowledgeable
In general, we think women with higher education levels are likely to be more health conscious and knowledgeable about diseases. However, it was surprisingly to discover in the present survey that the well educated women tend to be less knowledgeable than those with lower educations. For the awareness of breast cancer screening, 80% of the respondents with primary, secondary or preparatory educational level were aware of having breast cancer screening starting from the age of 40 whereas only 65% of the respondents with tertiary or about education who were aware. For the awareness of aggressive type of breast cancer, only 23% of the respondents with tertiary or above education who were aware and such ratio were lower than that of both primary (30.7%), secondary or preparatory (30%) educational levels. Dr Louis CHOW said that the reason of this unexpected finding might be due to the fact that women with tertiary or above education are often busy at work and contribute less time for health related information. He finally stressed that breast cancer is in relation with all women with no discrimination and hope that its awareness could be further enhanced in public.

 

Suggestion: Women at all age and with any occupations should gain knowledge of breast cancer via various different ways in order to protect their own health benefits.

 

Antibody Therapy Brings New Hope to HER2 Positive Breast Cancer Patients
In comparison with one year ago, over 40% of all respondent are now more confident on breast cancer treatments than before and the reason for this is probably because the public has become more knowledgeable of breast cancer therapies. When medicine was not so advanced in the past years, it was very difficult to treat the aggressive type of breast cancers and the response rate has always been unsatisfied as a result. Till recently, more new therapies have been developed, e.g. monoclonal antibodies, and give new hopes to the aggressive type of breast cancer patients. Amongst the available new therapies, a monoclonal antibody call HerceptinR is now available for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer. Dr Chow explained that HerceptinR is a biologically engineered antibody and which has demonstrated efficacy in treating both metastatic (advanced) breast cancer (MBC) and early breast cancer (EBC).

 

A large, randomized trial (HERA - HERceptin Adjuvant), involving over 5,000 women with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer from 39 countries around the world, investigated treatment with HerceptinR for 12 or 24 months versus observation following surgery, and a wide range of primary chemotherapy (and in some cases radiotherapy). After a median two-year follow-up period, data showed that patients treated with HerceptinR had significantly increased disease-free survival (reduced risk of disease recurrence by 36%) and overall survival (reduced the risk of death by 34%).

 

Besides, HerceptinR produces less side effects than chemotherapy and does not cause hair loss. All these attributes could well fulfill the survey respondents for their requirements of a new treatment - lower chance of recurrence and less side effects. According to Dr Chow's clinical experience in past years, new treatments not only help maintaining patients' quality of life but also bringing them the hope of survival which encourages them to be positive and more confident in their treatment.

 

About the Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR)
The Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR) was registered with the Hong Kong Government as a non-profit organization in December 2002. It is one of the first international organizations promoting translation research in Asia Pacific Region. It was founded to create an international network aimed at promoting clinical and translational research in oncology and strengthening and augmenting its members' research capability. OOTR seeks to help facilitate and coordinate the efforts of clinical researchers around the world.

October 26, 2006

 

Hong Kong and Global Studies Marks New Milestone For Breast Cancer Treatment

Recent Studies Show Anti-Aromatase Inhibitors Can Significantly
Improve the Overall Survival and Reduced Side Effects

 

26 October 2006, Hong Kong - A treatment switch for postmenopausal breast cancer patients from traditional tamoxifen to anti-aromatase inhibitors, proven to demonstrate significant efficacy benefits, including improvement in overall survival, higher disease-free survival and reduction in both tumour size and side effects, should become the consensus treatment guidelines, according to Dr Louis Chow, Executive Director of The Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR).

 

Latest results released from two clinical studies, the Hong Kong-based Celecoxib Anti-Aromatase Neoadjuvant (CAAN) study and the global Intergroup Exemestane Study (IES), have provided reliable data that anti-aromatase inhibitor has good efficacy benefits for hormonally responsive breast cancers.

 

Results from the CAAN study involving 90 Hong Kong patients showed that using anti-aromatase inhibitors in neoadjuvant treatment has positive clinical response including a reduction of tumour size, thus can be safely used preoperatively. At the same time, the mature analysis of a global landmark IES also showed comparative advantages of 17 percent risk reduction for overall survival (OS) and 31 percent better probability for disease free survival (DFS) in estrogen receptor (ER) positive and unknown patients when switching to anti-aromatase inhibitors occurred after 2 years of tamoxifen. IES also showed reduced side effects with anti-aromatase inhibitors such as positive effect on bone mineral density when compared to tamoxifen.

 

Dr Louis Chow said, "Results from both the local and global studies are very clear. Switching from tamoxifen to anti-aromatase inhibitors brings superior efficacy benefits to postmenopausal patients pre- and post-operatively. I believe switching from tamoxifen to anti-aromatase inhibitors will become major consensus treatment guidelines in Hong Kong and globally."

 

Breast cancer ranks no. 1 in women cancers in Hong Kong. One in every 23 women will have breast cancer in their lifetime. Postmenopausal endocrine receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer patients are currently prescribed tamoxifen after surgery, which was designed to prevent recurrence and thus reducing risk for overall survival. However, the treatment is linked to side-effects including increased risk of endometrial cancer and thromboembolic event. The significance of the CAAN and IES studies means switching to anti-aromatase inhibitors will achieve much better treatment outcome, whether it is pre-operatively or post-operatively.

 

CAAN results are significant because of its neoadjuvant therapy focus. Purposes of CAAN study are to study their response to anti-aromatase inhibitors and to determine biomarkers which are crucial for verification of treatment efficacy and finding of a novel treatment algorithm. Results of CAAN showed that all subjects achieved clinical response and decrease in tumor area with either antiaromatase inhibitor alone or together with celecoxib.

 

At the same time, the IES trial results focused on longer-term post-operative results that are also scientifically significant. The study sample group reflects balanced patient demographics and includes patient type reflective of clinical practice. There are a total of 4,724 patients in 20 cooperative groups, from 367 centers across 37 countries and territories, including Hong Kong, participating in the double-blind randomized trial with mature follow-up of 55.7 months.

 

Besides improvement on OS and DFS, anti-aromstase inhibitors are also associated with fewer gynaecologic and thromboembolic events as well as other primary cancers. In early 2005, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) had issued treatment recommendations stating that "adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer should include an aromatase inhibitor in order to lower the risk of tumor recurrence" and "appropriate as initial treatment for women with contraindication to tamoxifen(*)."

 

The switch to anti-aromatise inhibitors is now approved in over 40 countries and is recommended in major consensus guidelines.

 

(*) Reference: Winer EP et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 23 (3) Jan 2005.

March 29, 2006

 

OOTR Launches Pre-operative Chemotherapy Trial for Breast Cancer Patients in Asia

 

Hong Kong, 29 March 2006 - Breast cancer patients in Hong Kong and Korea are now invited to take part in a large scale neoadjuvant [also known as pre-operative chemotherapy] clinical trial, organized by the Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR). By applying chemotherapy prior to operation, neoadjuvant therapy helps reduce the tumor's size prior to operation, thus lowering patient's pain and size of wounds.

 

Known as OOTR-N001, this Phase II study targets to recruit 150 patients - 70 from Hong Kong and 80 from Korea, and other cities in Asia - to undertake a six-month clinical trial on the use of neoadjuvant therapy on patients with invasive breast cancer. All participating patients will receive a pre-operative docetaxel based chemotherapy regimen with concurrent oral celecoxib prior to surgery. Since cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-II) is involved in the progression of cancer, COX-II inhibitor (Celecoxib) is used in the chemotherapy. In addition to evaluating the response rate and safety of the pre-operative chemotherapy regimen, OOTR-N0001 also studies the cardiac toxicity of the regimen given together with concurrent celecoxib.

 

"Adjuvant therapy has been used in the western countries for some years. According to PACS 01, a former clinical trial by the Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte contre le Cancer which involved 1,999 breast cancer patients in France and Belgium, it is reported that patients who receive the anthracycline based chemotherapy, followed by three cycles of docetaxel experienced a 17% reduction in risk of relapse and 23% reduction in the risk of death at five-years of follow-up," said Dr Louis Chow Wing-cheong, Principal Investigator, Founder and Executive Director of OOTR. Therefore, a similar regimen will be used to provide a means to reduce the size of bigger tumors to a size suitable for breast conserving surgery (BCT).

 

"In addition to deepen our understanding of neoadjuvant therapy on breast cancer patients in Asia, this study allows us to collect patients' tumor samples and study their responses to the chemotherapy treatment - a start in building our tumor database which is essential for development of novel therapeutics". From the database, we will be able to determine predictive biomarkers, response biomarkers, and resistance biomarkers which are crucial for verification of treatment efficacy and finding of a novel treatment algorithm.

 

Prior to the launch of this large scale study, a pilot study has been done by OOTR in 2004. Twelve patients were recruited from May to December 2004 to receive doxetaxel based chemotherapy with concurrent use of celecoxib. Results show that primary tumor area was reduced by 73% on average and ten of them had more than 50% in tumor size shrinkage. Ten patients had tumor size less than 2cm in longest diameter after treatment and, hence, they were suitable for breast conserving surgery (BCT). In this study, chemotherapy-induced side effects were commonly observed among patients and were manageable.

 

The sample size of this pilot study is small. Therefore, the large scale study is necessary to provide in-depth investigation on the benefit of the neoadjuvant therapy. It is believed that the addition of celecoxib therapy will give more clinical benefits to patients.

February 25, 2005

 

OOTR to Set Up OOTR KPS Medical Fund to Help Needy Breast Cancer Patients

New translational research on cancer treatment to be conducted in 2005
to develop more effective treatment for cancer patients

 

Hong Kong, 29 March 2006 - Breast cancer patients in Hong Kong and Korea are now invited to take part in a large scale neoadjuvant [also known as pre-operative chemotherapy] clinical trial, organized by the Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR). By applying chemotherapy prior to operation, neoadjuvant therapy helps reduce the tumor's size prior to operation, thus lowering patient's pain and size of wounds.

 

Known as OOTR-N001, this Phase II study targets to recruit 150 patients - 70 from Hong Kong and 80 from Korea, and other cities in Asia - to undertake a six-month clinical trial on the use of neoadjuvant therapy on patients with invasive breast cancer. All participating patients will receive a pre-operative docetaxel based chemotherapy regimen with concurrent oral celecoxib prior to surgery. Since cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-II) is involved in the progression of cancer, COX-II inhibitor (Celecoxib) is used in the chemotherapy. In addition to evaluating the response rate and safety of the pre-operative chemotherapy regimen, OOTR-N0001 also studies the cardiac toxicity of the regimen given together with concurrent celecoxib.

 

"Adjuvant therapy has been used in the western countries for some years. According to PACS 01, a former clinical trial by the Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte contre le Cancer which involved 1,999 breast cancer patients in France and Belgium, it is reported that patients who receive the anthracycline based chemotherapy, followed by three cycles of docetaxel experienced a 17% reduction in risk of relapse and 23% reduction in the risk of death at five-years of follow-up," said Dr Louis Chow Wing-cheong, Principal Investigator, Founder and Executive Director of OOTR. Therefore, a similar regimen will be used to provide a means to reduce the size of bigger tumors to a size suitable for breast conserving surgery (BCT).

 

"In addition to deepen our understanding of neoadjuvant therapy on breast cancer patients in Asia, this study allows us to collect patients' tumor samples and study their responses to the chemotherapy treatment �V a start in building our tumor database which is essential for development of novel therapeutics". From the database, we will be able to determine predictive biomarkers, response biomarkers, and resistance biomarkers which are crucial for verification of treatment efficacy and finding of a novel treatment algorithm.

 

Prior to the launch of this large scale study, a pilot study has been done by OOTR in 2004. Twelve patients were recruited from May to December 2004 to receive doxetaxel based chemotherapy with concurrent use of celecoxib. Results show that primary tumor area was reduced by 73% on average and ten of them had more than 50% in tumor size shrinkage. Ten patients had tumor size less than 2cm in longest diameter after treatment and, hence, they were suitable for breast conserving surgery (BCT). In this study, chemotherapy-induced side effects were commonly observed among patients and were manageable.

 

The sample size of this pilot study is small. Therefore, the large scale study is necessary to provide in-depth investigation on the benefit of the neoadjuvant therapy. It is believed that the addition of celecoxib therapy will give more clinical benefits to patients.

October 15, 2004

 

International Cancer Specialists Participate in
1st Annual Conference of OOTR

to discuss new approach in the treatment of
breast cancer - angiogenesis treatments and cytotoxic agents

 

Prominent international cancer specialists from countries such as Japan, Israel, USA, Netherlands, Sweden and Hong Kong are participating in the 1st Annual Conference of the Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research ("OOTR") from October 15 -16, 2004. Translational Research is a new trend and the latest method in cancer research.

 

The theme of this conference is angiogenesis, its inhibition and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity in oncology. This is the latest treatment direction for cancer, according to Dr. Louis CHOW Wing Cheong, a breast cancer specialist and the Executive Director of OOTR. Established in Hong Kong in November 2003 by Dr. Chow, Dr Masakazu Toi and other medical professionals, OOTR is the first organization in Asia to conduct translational research. The two main areas of translational research are angiogenesis treatment and cytotoxic agents that work along new pathways.

 

"This 1st OOTR Annual Conference is an important step in the treatment of breast cancer in terms of contributions to the medical field and to the treatment of breast cancer patients," said Dr Chow, who presented a paper on his translational research on COX-e Inhibition in the treatment of breast cancer. Dr Chow's research, which focused mainly on evaluating the synergistic effects of using COX-2 inhibitors and chemotherapy, shows that the response is better after adding COX-2 inhibitors.

 

On the role of OOTR in developing and promoting cancer research and treatment, Dr Chow said: "Although current treatment for cancer is effective, it has many side effects. OOTR was created as a research network to conduct translational research, investigate new treatment methods, improve the efficacy of treatment and set new standards in cancer therapy. OOTR aims to promote cancer research among Asian and Japanese investigators to improve the more conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. With links to other related international organizations and societies, and having established OOTR's research terms in Japan, USA, Korean and Hong Kong, OOTR can effectively serve as a bridge to develop and promote global therapeutic strategies to combat cancers."

 

"We are very encouraged by the enthusiastic response to the 1st OOTR Conference, which shows the strong interest in translational research in the fight against cancer," said Dr. Chow. "The OOTR conference will be an annual event as it is an effective way to help OOTR achieve its ultimate goal of developing and evaluating new compounds using the latest scientific findings, and bringing cutting edge laboratory research on anti-cancer therapies to patients."

 

In Hong Kong, breast cancer cases, which constituted 21% of all cancer cases detected in women in 2001, is rising. Breast Cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Hong Kong, and it is the most common of female cancers with a life time risk of 1 in 23, that is, one in 23 women in Hong Kong will be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 74. Breast cancer is the second killer among women cancer patients in Hong Kong. The chance of recovery is much better if the cancer is detected at the early stage. In view of this situation, OOTR also aims to educate women in Hong Kong, in particular those in the high risk group, about prevention of breast cancer.

 

About Translational research
Translational research is a two-way bridge that conveys new ideas and discoveries between the laboratory and the clinic. In this manner, advances in areas such as molecular genetics, regulatory proteins and cellular signaling can be applied to new diagnostic technologies, targeted treatments and prevention strategies to help the cancer patient. Physician-scientists play a crucial role in the continuum of research that ensures a free flow of information and new treatments from the laboratory to the patient bedside and back again.

 

The significant advantage of this method is that as research is targeted for the patient, the drug can be given faster and the oncologist can find out the effectiveness of the drugs faster too.

August 11, 2004

 

Newly established Organisation for Oncology and Translational
Research to hold 1st Annual Conference in October 2004
to discuss the new approach in the treatment of Oncology -
Angiogenesis treatments and COX II agents

Hong Kong breast cancer specialist Dr. CHOW Wing Cheong to present
his new breast cancer research at this Conference

He urges women to be aware of the impact of breast cancer

 

Breast cancer cases, which constituted 21% of all cancer cases detected in women in 2001, is rising. Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Hong Kong, and it is the most common female cancers with a life time risk of 1 in 23, that is, one in 20 women in Hong Kong will be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 74.

 

From 1997 to 2001, an average of 1,792 breast cancer cases were detected each year. Specifically in 2001, a total of 1,997 breast cancer cases were detected with 393 resulting in deaths. Breast cancer is the second killer among women cancer patients in Hong Kong, according to Dr. Louis Chow Wing Cheong, breast cancer specialist and founder and Executive Director of the Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR).

 

Dr. Chow expressed sadness that many breast cancer patients were not diagnosed earlier. "Early detection followed by immediate treatment is considered the most promising approach in attempting to reduce breast cancer mortality. Also, the chance of recovery is much better if the cancer is detected at the early stage. Therefore, I call on women to be aware of breast cancer and I encourage them to go for regular breast cancer screening which consists of a mammogram and a clinical assessment. Females from the age of 50 are encouraged to go for annual or bi-annual breast cancer screening," he said.

 

In view of the impact of cancer and its rising trend in Hong Kong, Dr. Chow set up OOTR with other medical professional. "One of the objectives of the newly established OOTR is to promote and educate women, in particular those in the high risk group, about prevention of cancer," he explained. "Educational activities will include exhibitions, public health and road shows. In addition, OOTR intends to launch fund-raising activities to help women without the financial means to obtain the vital breast screening in an attempt to reduce the incidence of breast cancer and to enable early detection of the disease."

 

Continued Dr. Chow: "The parallel objective of OOTR is to conduct translational research, a new trend and the latest method in cancer research in recent years. Translational research is a two-way bridge that conveys new ideas and discoveries between the laboratory and the clinic. In this manner, advances in areas such as molecular genetics, regulatory proteins and cellular signaling can be applied to new diagnostic technologies, targeted treatments and prevention strategies to help the cancer patient. Physician-scientists play a crucial role in the continuum of research that ensures a free flow of information and new treatments from the laboratory to the patient bedside and back again.

 

"The significant advantage of this method is that as research is targeted for the patient, the drug can be given faster and the oncologist can find out the effectiveness of the drugs faster too. Patients participating in a clinical trial contribute invaluable information and we can anticipate a better outcome, for example, less toxicity from subsequent trials," he said.

 

"Therefore, this 1st OOTR Annual Conference is an important step in the treatment of cancer in terms of contributions to the medical field and to cancer patients. The theme of this conference is Angiogenesis, its inhibition and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity in oncology. This is a new treatment direction for cancer," he pointed out.

Dr. Chow elaborated, "Once a nest of cancer cells reaches a certain size (1-2 mm in diameter), it must develop a blood supply in order to grow larger. Cancer cells secrete substances that promote the formation of new blood vessels and this process is called angiogenesis. Research has shown that new blood vessels in a cancerous growth provide nutrition to the cancer and act as channels for cancer cells to spread. These channels can also carry signals from the primary cancer to other cancerous growths in neighboring organs caused by the spreading of cancer cells from the initial growth. By cutting off the blood supply to the tumor and thus depleting it of nutrition and other essential factors for cell survival, the cancer will shrink and may eventually disappear."

 

"Angiogenesis is a relatively new subject in oncology. COX-2 is an enzyme that can slow down or eliminate the formation of blood vessels. By inhibiting the activities of COX-2 enzyme, it may be possible to reduce blood vessel formation and thus the growth of the tumor," explained Dr. Chow.

 

Dr. Chow has been conducting clinical research on Angiogenesis and COX-2 in the treatment of cancer and will be presenting a paper on his translational research in this field. Besides Dr. Chow, an impressive list of speakers have confirmed their participation, including Dr. Masakazu Toi, Director, Department of Clinical Trials and Research, Department of Surgery, Breast Cancer Research Program, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Centre, Komagome Hospital, Japan and prominent oncologists from Israel, USA, The Netherlands and Sweden.

 

"Since COX-2 is involved in the progression of cancer, the conference will discuss the actions of COX-2 enzyme in the pathogenesis and development of cancer. The application of COX-2 inhibitors in different ways of treating cancer including chemotherapy and radiation therapy will also be discussed," Dr. Chow said.

 

"Our research is mainly focused on evaluating the synergistic effects of using COX-2 Inhibitors and Chemotherapy. We have shown that the response is better after adding COX-2 Inhibitors. We have also studied the addition of COX-2 inhibition in the pre-operative treatment of breast cancer using hormonal therapy. The results have been collected and are pending analysis," he said.

 

Dr. Chow further revealed that clinical studies had also been conducted on using an antibody developed to specifically block the action of molecule called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a substance that promotes Angiogenesis. Based on results recently released, the antibody is perhaps effective.

 

On the role of OOTR, Dr. Chow said, ��Cancer is a major health care issue worldwide. It is not only life threatening, but also has high morbidity. The current treatment is effective but with many side effects. There are increasing research efforts to develop more targeted, effective, and better-tolerated medicines for cancer. In order to improve the efficacy of treatment and set new standards in cancer therapy, OOTR was created as a research network to investigate new treatment methods and strategies for cancer therapy.

 

"As we are entering the era of 'Molecular Medicine', it becomes a high priority to understand why some patients benefit from the therapies and some do not. We now have new and powerful tools, such as genomics and proteomics that should greatly facilitate this task and lead to greatly improved treatment individualization."

 

But this dream will never become a reality of translational research is not facilitated. In other words, individual tumor profiles must be obtained in the context of clinical trials, analyzed in the laboratory and correlated to clinical outcome.

 

"It is OOTR's mission to bring together from around the world clinicians and laboratory scientists who share the common goal of streamlining the development of new therapeutics from conception to early stage clinical trial. The ultimate goal of OOTR is to develop and evaluate new compounds using the latest scientific findings, and bring cutting edge laboratory research on anti-cancer therapies to patients. I hope oncologists in Asia will fully embrace translational research," he said.

 

Dr. Chow concluded: "Medical professionals will continue to put all their resources into developing and researching new treatments for cancer. However, the best thing is still that the general public should pro-actively get to know about the disease and then know how to prevent it. It will save a lot of lives."

 

About cancer
Cancer is not a single disease. It is a family of diseases with similar origin, progression and treatment strategy. Cancer is caused by abnormal, rapid growth of cells. These cells divide and multiply unchecked, often becoming tumours that invade healthy tissue. They also quickly adapt to changes in their environment and are capable of developing resistance to accepted treatment regimens. For these reasons, current research is focused on new approaches to treating the disease and on agents that work along new biological pathways. The two main areas of translational research are Angiogenesis treatments and Cytotoxic agents that work along new pathways.

 

About Organisation for Oncology and Translational Research (OOTR)
Registered with the Hong Kong Government as a charitable organization, OOTR was set up in December 2002 and is the first organization in Asia to conduct translational research. One of the objectives of OOTR is to promote cancer research among Asian investigators. OOTR also aims to improve the more conventional therapies such as Chemotherapy and Hormonal therapy. With its links to other international organizations and societies, OOTR also serves as a bridge to develop and promote global therapeutic strategies to combat cancers. OOTR now has medical professional participating in their researches respectively in Japan, USA, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.