untitled JUNE 2012�CANCER DISCOVERY | 477 NEWS IN BRIEF 100%. Additionally, the pharmacoki- netics of the nanoparticle-encapsulated drug were similar in mice, rats, and monkeys, a good sign that the drug will behave the same way in humans. At the core of the drug is a polymer sphere loaded with docetaxel. Jutting from the surface is a coating of poly- ethylene glycol molecules, which serves 2 purposes. The polymer coating helps the drug circulate in the bloodstream. Also, at the tips of some of these poly- ethylene glycol molecules are ligands that bind tightly and specifi cally to PSMA, which is found on prostate tumor cells and on their vasculature. BIND Biosciences combinatorially creates large libraries of nanoparticle- encapsulated drugs, each with slightly different properties. Researchers then test the resulting designs in rodents, and iteratively redesign the ones that perform the best, until a drug with good performance emerges. With BIND-014’s basic nanoparti- cle-encapsulated delivery structure in place, the company expects to develop targeted therapies for other diseases in fewer steps, by plugging in different drugs and cell-targeting molecules. The potential benefi ts of nano- medicine “are vast but the complexity of the system can be vast, too,” says Sara Hook, PhD, a projects manager in the National Cancer Institute’s offi ce of Cancer Nanotechnology Research. There are many parameters to tune—for example, how hydrophobic, rigid, big, or small the particle is; how it’s attached to the drug; and how it will bind to target cells. It’s also diffi cult to predict how changing each of these properties will affect a nanoparticle drug’s behavior in the body. The positive early results with BIND- 014 demonstrate the promise of BIND Bioscience’s approach in addressing these challenges, Hook says. ■ BEAUTY Combines Sequencing, Avatars Researchers at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, MN, have launched a clinical study that pairs whole-genome sequencing with mouse “avatars” in an effort to bring clinical care closer to individualized treatment. The Breast Cancer Genome Guided Therapy (BEAUTY) study involves 200 women with nonmetastatic breast cancer receiving chemotherapy prior to surgery. Before starting chemotherapy, investigators will sequence both cancer- ous and healthy cells to identify tumor- specifi c changes for each patient. For patients with disease that is resistant to standard chemotherapy, tumor cells will also be sequenced to determine which mutations helped them survive. Study co-leaders, Judy Boughey, MD, a breast surgeon, and Matthew Goetz, MD, an oncologist, expect to fi nd known mutations for which drugs already exist as well as targets for new drugs. In parallel, the investigators will implant tumor samples taken before and after chemotherapy into 2 immuno- suppressed mice, creating individualized mouse avatars, or stand-ins, that repre- sent each patient. The avatars immortal- ize the tumors in live animals to factor in complexities such as the role of the microenvironment in the progression and metastatic potential of a cancer cell. For a patient with recurring disease, the researchers plan to increase the number of avatars so that they can test multiple drug candidates at once. Further, if a new drug emerges in the future, it can also be tested in that patient’s avatars. “We’re not ready yet to introduce tumor genome sequence-based selec- tion of drugs into the neoadjuvant setting, but the avatars give us a way to prospectively study these patients and rationally move towards more individualized therapy,” says Goetz. ■ For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://CDnews.aacrjournals.org. •  The NIH extramural budget will drop by 11.1% ($2.8 billion) in January 2013 if the Budget Control Act of 2011’s “se- questration” mechanism kicks in, sug- gested an analysis from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. •  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the antiangiogenesis agent pazopanib (Votrient; GlaxoSmith- Kline) for the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. “The approval of pazopanib for this general class of tumors is the first in decades,” noted Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. •  Women have a 30% relative advantage over men in all aspects of the progression of localized melanoma, in an analysis of 2,672 patients (J Clin Oncol online ahead of print 2012 Apr 30). •  As Congress studies reauthorization of the Pediatric Research Equity Act, the Alliance for Childhood Cancer has asked that the revised bill require pediatric on- cology studies when a relevant target or pathway is explicitly included in the prod- uct label for a new adult oncology drug and is highly relevant to any pediatric cancer. •  The European Patent Office has awarded Rosetta Genomics of Philadelphia, PA, a patent covering the use of the microRNA miR-34a in drugs for treating p53-nega- tive cancers. The company says that miR- 34a is a direct transcriptional target of p53 and that perturbation of miR-34a ex- pression may contribute to tumorigenesis. •  “Investigators with a PhD have a slightly lower [NIH] funding rate than those with medical degrees,” noted Sally Rockey, PhD, NIH’s Deputy Director for Extramural Research. “To keep these data in context, remember that about 30% of principal in- vestigators hold MDs or MD/PhDs.” •  Turning data from cancer research into discoveries will require fundamental changes in the way researchers share data, access patient samples, and gather informed consent, remarked John Quackenbush, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the Bio-IT World Conference and Expo 2012 in Boston in April. “The biggest barriers are not tech- nical or intellectual; the biggest barri- ers are cultural,” said Quackenbush. NOTED Grant Success for New Investigators 0% RO1 R21 3% 6% 9% 12% 15% National Cancer Institute funding approval rates for applications during fi scal year 2011 for RO1 and R21 grants. The R21 exploratory/developmental research grants are limited up to 2 years and typically to $275,000 for direct costs. The striking difference in success rates is because these investigators are given preferential consideration over existing investigators for RO1s, NCI says. CD-11-FM.indd 477CD-11-FM.indd 477 22/05/12 5:37 PM22/05/12 5:37 PMon April 5, 2021. © 2012 American Association for Cancer Research. cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org Downloaded from Published OnlineFirst April 19, 2012; DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-NB2012-039 http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/ 2012;2:477. Published OnlineFirst April 19, 2012.Cancer Discovery BEAUTY Combines Sequencing, Avatars Updated version 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-NB2012-039doi: Access the most recent version of this article at: E-mail alerts related to this article or journal.Sign up to receive free email-alerts Subscriptions Reprints and .pubs@aacr.org To order reprints of this article or to subscribe to the journal, contact the AACR Publications Department at Permissions Rightslink site. 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