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Health Care Providers Need Res And Support To Help Female Victims Of Abuse, According To Pitt Study
Health professionals are required to provide help for victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), yet many do not even discuss the issue with their patients, according to a University of Pittsburgh study in the current issue of Violence and Victims.

Charities Launch Groundbreaking Research Cancer Centre In Newcastle, England
The opening of a unique centre will put Newcastle at the forefront of cancer research and bring benefits to patients in the North East.
News of the day
Opinion Pieces Discuss Violence Against Abortion Providers, Future Of Profession
The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post recently published opinion pieces responding to the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller. Summaries appear below.~ Suzanne Poppema, Los Angeles Times: "We must turn [Tiller"s] terrifying end into the beginning of a new era when doctors can save lives without risking their own," Poppema, a former abortion provider and current board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, writes in a Times opinion piece. Poppema, a friend and colleague of Tiller"s, writes that the state and local police, the FBI, the state of Kansas and the federal government all "should have done more to protect" Tiller, who since the 1970s had endured bombings, a nonlethal shooting, harassment of his family and other threats. "We can all pay tribute to [Tiller"s] legacy by treating abortion providers as physicians, not pariahs, and by explaining and openly supporting their work as doctors," Poppema writes, adding, "Wherever women"s access to abortion is in danger, our government, our medical institutions and the public must step forward to protect it." She continues, "A show of strength and support will give courage to doctors who have the training to provide abortions but are afraid to use it." Poppema writes that Tiller "trained hundreds of doctors in abortion procedures," concluding, "We must erase fear as the reason young physicians won"t enter the field that George found so rewarding. ... We owe it to George to let them practice" (Poppema, Los Angeles Times, 6/6).~ Rozalyn Farmer Love, Washington Post: Deciding to terminate a pregnancy is "a very private, intensely personal decision," Farmer Love -- a University of Alabama-Birmingham third-year medical student studying obstetrics and gynecology -- writes in a Post opinion piece. Farmer Love writes that she was raised in a conservative Christian household and used to "believe that abortion is wrong," but now supports abortion rights and hopes to eventually provide abortion services as part of her ob-gyn practice. She adds that she formerly felt that abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy "crossed a line," but she "began to see late-trimester abortions in a very different light" while working in a research job in graduate school. In a case involving a fetus with a lethal congenital abnormality, Farmer Love says she learned how the woman and her partner "needed a caring and compassionate physician to help them through this dark moment, and if they chose not to continue the pregnancy, they also needed a physician who was both skilled enough and brave enough to provide them with the care they needed. They needed Dr. Tiller" (Farmer Love, Washington Post, 6/7).
Nutrition

GTx Presents Phase II Ostarine (MK-2866) Cancer Cachexia Clinical Trial Results At Endocrine Society Annual Meeting

GTx, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTXI) announced results of a Phase II clinical trial evaluating Ostarine™ (MK-2866), an investigational selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), in patients with cancer induced muscle loss, also known as cancer cachexia. In the study, Ostarine treatment led to statistically significant increase in lean body mass (LBM) and improvement in muscle performance measured by stair climb in patients with cancer cachexia compared to baseline in both the Ostarine 1 mg and 3 mg treatment cohorts. These study results were the subject today of an oral podium presentation at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society in Washington. In the study, Ostarine met the primary endpoint of LBM, measured by a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, by demonstrating statistically significant increases in LBM compared to baseline in both the Ostarine 1 mg and 3 mg treatment cohorts. Specifically, the change from baseline in LBM for the placebo, 1 mg and 3 mg treatment groups was 0.1 kg (p=0.874 compared to baseline), 1.5 kg (p=0.001) and 1.3 kg (p=0.045), respectively, at the end of the 16-week trial. "Approximately half of all cancer patients suffer from the devastating effects of cancer induced muscle loss. Increasing lean body mass may improve patients" quality of life and even their response to cancer treatment," said Adrian Dobs, MD, MHS, an investigator in the Phase II clinical trial of Ostarine and Professor of Medicine and Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "These Phase II results demonstrate the potential of a SARM to fill an important unmet need as there are currently no FDA-approved therapies available for cancer cachexia." GTx and Merck & Co., Inc. are collaborating to develop Ostarine as part of a broader SARMs clinical development program. SARMs are a new class of drugs with the potential to treat musculoskeletal conditions including cancer cachexia and sarcopenia-the loss of skeletal muscle mass resulting in reduced physical strength and ability to perform activities of daily living. "We are encouraged by results of this Phase II trial in patients with cancer cachexia, where Ostarine showed significant improvements in lean body mass in both treatment cohorts," said Mitchell S. Steiner, MD, CEO of GTx. "We look forward to our continued partnership with Merck on the SARM program, and to evaluating the full potential of our lead product candidate Ostarine in conditions such as cancer cachexia, sarcopenia, and other muscle wasting conditions." Cancer cachexia is the severe and progressive loss of muscle that occurs in cancer patients and is responsible for at least 20 percent of cancer deaths. An estimated 410,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer cachexia each year. Currently, there are no drugs approved for the treatment of cancer induced muscle loss. Study Summary 159 cancer patients with non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, non-Hodgkin"s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or breast cancer were randomized in the placebo-controlled study at 35 sites in the U.S. and Argentina. Participants received placebo, 1 mg or 3 mg Ostarine once daily for 16 weeks. Average weight loss prior to entry among all subjects was 8.8 percent and patients were allowed to receive standard chemotherapy during the trial. The drop-out rate during the trial was 33 percent, lower than the expected 50 percent rate observed in other cancer supportive care clinical trials. The study also met the secondary endpoint of muscle function (performance) as measured by a 12-step stair climb test measuring speed and calculating power, with each Ostarine treatment arm demonstrating a statistically significant average decrease in time to completion and average percentage increase in power exerted. The change from baseline in stair climb power in the placebo, 1 mg and 3 mg treatment groups was 0.23 watts (p=0.66 compared to baseline), 8.4 watts (p=0.002) and 10.1 watts (p=0.001), respectively. Statistically significant decreases from baseline in stair climb time were also observed. No improvement in speed or power was observed for the placebo group. There were no improvements in the endpoints of grip strength and gait speed. The incidence of serious adverse events, deaths and tumor progression were similar among placebo and the treatment cohorts. The most common side effects reported among all subjects in the trial were fatigue, anemia, nausea, and diarrhea. About Cancer Cachexia Cancer induced muscle loss occurs in about 50 percent of cancer patients and may lead to loss of protein stores, severe weakness and fatigue, immobility, loss of independence, and an inability to tolerate and respond to cancer treatments. Cancer induced muscle wasting is responsible for at least 20 percent of cancer deaths. There are no drugs currently approved for the treatment of cancer wasting. GTx


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