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Adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to treatment with a HER2-inhibiting drug could improve outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who develop brain metastases. In their report published online in PNAS Plus, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators report the first preclinical study combining antiangiogenic and anti-HER2 drugs in an animal model of brain metastatic breast cancer. Read more here

A combination of a therapeutic cancer vaccine and low doses of a drug that blocks tumor blood vessel growth (an angiogenesis inhibitor) may be an effective treatment for breast cancer, according to a study in mice. In two different mouse models of breast cancer, the combination treatment shrank tumors more than either treatment alone, and in one model it also improved survival. Dr. Rakesh Jain and his colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School published the findings October 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more here

MGH study identifies components responsible for therapy-blocking solid stress, suggests therapeutic strategies It's a high-pressure environment within solid tumors. Abnormal blood and lymphatic vessels cause fluids to accumulate, and the uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells within limited space leads to the buildup of what is called solid stress. Both types of pressure can interfere with the effectiveness of anticancer treatments, but while strategies have been developed that reduce fluid pressures, little has been known about the impact of solid stress or potential ways to alleviate it. Now a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified factors that contribute to solid stress within tumors, suggesting possible ways to alleviate it, and has developed a simple way to measure such pressures. Read more here

Created in 2005, the Science of Oncology Award and Lecture is presented annually by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in recognition of a recipient's outstanding contributions to basic or translational research in cancer. Dr. Rakesh Jain is the 2012 recipient in recognition of his lifetime's dedication and substantial contributions to cancer biology and translational oncologic research. Here is a list of previous Science of Oncology Award and Lecture Recipients 2011 - Robert A. Weinberg, PhD, The EMT and the Pathogenesis of High-grade Carcinomas 2010 - Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, Success and Failure on the Ras Pathway 2009 - Bert Vogelstein, MD, Cancer Genomes and their Implications for Understanding and Managing Cancer 2008 - Mary-Claire King, PhD, Genomic Analysis of Inherited Breast and Ovarian Cancer 2007 - Napoleone Ferrara, MD, VEGF: From Basic Science to Human Therapy 2006- Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, Cancer:A Disease of the Genome 2005- Harold Varmus, MD, Oncogenes Come of Age. Read more: American Society of Clinical Oncology

Combining two strategies designed to improve the results of cancer treatment – antiangiogenesis drugs and nanomedicines – may only be successful if the smallest nanomedicines are used. A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers, appearing in Nature Nanotechnology, finds that normalizing blood vessels within tumors, which improves the delivery of standard chemotherapy drugs, can block the delivery of larger nanotherapy molecules.
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MGH Press Release
Harvard Press Release

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