Dr. Josh Evans, a Loyola Internal Medicine physician, with WJOL radio – Video

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Dr. Josh Evans, a Loyola Internal Medicine physician, with WJOL radio
Dr. Joshua Evans, a Primary Care physician, chose this field of medicine because he wanted to build long-term relationships with his patients. He talks about...

By: Loyola University Health System

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Dr. Josh Evans, a Loyola Internal Medicine physician, with WJOL radio - Video

Foundation Medicine Identifies Novel, Clinically Actionable Gene Fusion NTRK1 in Lung Cancer; Data Published in Nature …

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Foundation Medicine, Inc. (FMI) today announced that the discovery of a novel and potentially clinically actionable oncogenic gene fusion in lung cancer, NTRK1, using FoundationOne, was published in the current online edition of Nature Medicine1. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in the United States2; however, the use of targeted therapies in lung cancer has led to significant clinical benefit for patients with EGFR mutations and ALK fusions. Therefore, the identification of new, drug-sensitive oncogenes in this disease is of great clinical interest and has the potential to expand treatment options for patients.

Our understanding of cancer complexity is increasing, and lung cancer continues to be dissected into a series of uncommon or even rare diseases based on the molecular alterations driving a patients individual cancer, stated Vincent Miller, M.D., chief medical officer at Foundation Medicine and co-author of the study. By discovering a new and potentially clinically actionable gene fusion in lung cancer, we believe this is an opportunity to explore new and different treatment options for patients harboring this fusion. Based on these findings, we believe clinical studies of selective TRK inhibitors in NTRK1 rearranged non-small cell lung cancer are warranted.

Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and chief executive officer at Foundation Medicine added, In addition to making important contributions to cancer patient care, the discovery of novel gene markers using FoundationOne is an excellent example of how clinical and commercial progress can coincide, especially in collaboration with academic investigators. These discoveries drive the evolution of FoundationOne, support new and ongoing collaborations with our pharma partners, and provide further evidence that our comprehensive approach yields high clinical utility.

In an effort to identify additional potential oncogenes in lung cancer, Foundation Medicine and its collaborators, the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, used FoundationOne to assess cancer-related genes on tumor samples from 36 patients negative for activating alterations in EGFR, KRAS, ALK, and ROS1 using standard clinical assays. Researchers identified novel gene fusions harboring the kinase domain of the NTRK1 gene that encodes the TRKA receptor. Both the MPRIP-NTRK1 and CD74-NTRK1 fusions demonstrated constitutive TRKA kinase activity. Preclinical data show that treatment of cells expressing NTRK1 fusions with inhibitors of TRKA kinase activity (ARRY-470, CEP-701, and crizotinib) inhibited tumor growth. In the study, one patient harboring the MPRIP-NTRK1 fusion demonstrated a minor radiographic response to crizotinib. Three of 91 patients (3.3%) without known oncogenic alterations profiled by FoundationOne harbored an NTRK1 gene fusion. These results suggest that NTRK1 gene fusions are a new oncogenic alteration in lung cancer and TRK inhibitors should be evaluated in clinical trials in patients harboring this gene fusion.

Following the recent publication of our analytic validation study of FoundationOne, the identification of NTRK1 further supports the clinical utility of comprehensive next-generation sequencing as a method to discover novel drug sensitive genomic alterations that would not otherwise be tested for or identified using currently available diagnostic approaches, commented Phil Stephens, Ph.D., vice president, cancer genomics at Foundation Medicine. Additionally, the preclinical data and preliminary clinical data on patient response to TRK inhibitor therapy informed by FoundationOne are very encouraging for further clinical investigation of TRK inhibitors in this patient population.

Foundation Medicine last week announced that results from a 24-month, multi-institution collaboration demonstrating the analytic validation of its cancer genomic profiling assay, FoundationOne, were published in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology3. This publication is the first to apply and extend the guidelines established by the Next-Generation Sequencing: Standardization of Clinical Testing (Nex-StoCT) workgroup to validate a clinical sequencing-based assay for cancer, therefore setting the standard for validation of targeted NGS in cancer.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine (FMI) is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient's unique cancer. The company's initial clinical assay, FoundationOne, is a fully informative genomic profile to identify a patient's individual molecular alterations and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicine's molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit http://www.FoundationMedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).

Foundation Medicineis a registered trademark, and FoundationOneis a trademark of Foundation Medicine, Inc.

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Foundation Medicine Identifies Novel, Clinically Actionable Gene Fusion NTRK1 in Lung Cancer; Data Published in Nature ...

Bingham brothers in medical school recognized for research, volunteering

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Yesterday at 8:14 PM Brandon and Tyler Giberson were recently recognized by the American Heart Association for their volunteer work and research on cardiac arrest at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Both brothers say they plan to return to central Maine one day to practice medicine.

By Rachel Ohm rohm@centralmaine.com Staff Writer

SKOWHEGAN Doctors at Redington-Fairview General Hospital like to joke that they have already put Brandon Giberson on the work schedule for the year 2017, even though Giberson is only in his second year of medical school.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans Brandon Giberson, 26, was recently recognized by the American Heart Association for research on cardiac arrest. Giberson is currently a medical student at the University of New England and is completing his residency at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan.

Hes been here since he was a kid. Its been the ultimate evolution of someone starting as a high school volunteer and now being able to take concepts he has learned and apply them in the same setting, said John Comis, director of the emergency department at the hospital, where Giberson is working on a required residency for medical school.

A student at the University of New England in Biddeford, Giberson and his twin brother, Tyler, recently were recognized by the American Heart Association for their volunteer work and research on cardiac arrest alongside Dr. Michael Donnino at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Both brothers say they plan to return to central Maine one day to practice medicine.

Its kind of funny looking back at the progression from my days as a volunteer, when my chief duty was changing linens and bringing patients in to X-ray, to working in the back of the ambulance and bringing patients in. Its so neat to be at the level where I can critically think and interact with patients almost as a member of the clinical staff, said Brandon Giberson, who said he has always called Redington-Fairview home.

Both brothers, originally from Bingham, worked for the hospitals ambulance service before moving to Boston. Tyler Giberson, who is in his first year at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, said that unlike his brother, he wasnt sure he wanted to be a doctor even though he always enjoyed working on the ambulance. After college, he received an offer of an engineering job at the construction company Cianbro but turned it down at the last minute to move to Boston, where he took the necessary classes to apply to medical school and worked full time with his brother at Beth Israel.

The American Heart Association sets guidelines on best practices hospitals should follow when someones heart has stopped, Brandon Giberson said. At Beth Israel, the brothers worked with Harvard professor Donnino, who worked on writing the most current guidelines and who Brandon Giberson said has helped launch his research career.

When the heart stops, the body starts showing signs of being cut off from oxygen, he said. Without the heart pumping effectively, cells start to die, causing signs that the brain has suffered. Those signs can include liver, kidney and lung failure or loss of consciousness, Giberson said.

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Bingham brothers in medical school recognized for research, volunteering

Liberty Center rolls to dual titles cross country titles

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Published: 10/27/2013 - Updated: 1 minute ago DIVISION III

BY DONALD EMMONS BLADE SPORTS WRITER

TIFFIN Liberty Center made a clean sweep of the Division III regional cross country titles on Saturday at Hedges Boyer Park.

The Tigers defending state champion girls team claimed a regional for the first time in three seasons before the boys came through and won the regional for the first time in school history.

Frankly, it was an all-around unforgettable day for the Tigers.

"It's the first boys regional championship in our school's history, so it's extra special today," said Tim Atkinson, who serves as coach for both teams.

The LC girls won by posting 47 points, edging a strong Coldwater team that ran second with 52. Minster finished third with 60, followed by St. Henry with 146 to clinch a team berth to the state championships along with the top 16 individual runners.

Liberty Center's Brittany Atkinson led the way for the Tigers, who placed four runners in the top 10. She crossed the finish line third with a time of 18:16.94, followed by teammate Paige Chamberlain in fourth at 19:19.35. Olivia Kundo ran sixth (19:24.76) and Jenna Vollmar was 10th (19:40.15). LC's fifth runner, Rachael Pinson, came in at 33rd (20:47.10).

Winning the regional championship is what the Tigers had hoped for.

"Coming into a regional and you score 47 points and you barely win the regional, that tells you the caliber of teams that are in this regional," Tim Atkinson said. "Coldwater and Minster have tremendous programs.

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Liberty Center rolls to dual titles cross country titles

Liberty Property adapts, thrives

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Chris Hepp, Inquirer Staff Writer Posted: Sunday, October 27, 2013, 2:02 AM

Willard G. Rouse III has been gone a decade, but his handiwork - Liberty Property Trust - continues to thrive.

Liberty Property's ongoing success stands as testament to Rouse's forward thinking, but also the mutability of clever corporations, which often must shift and remake themselves to keep ahead.

As Liberty Property is doing now under the leadership of William P. Hankowsky, who served his apprenticeship as president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. (Full disclosure: Hankowsky is part owner of The Inquirer.)

In a conference call last week to discuss Liberty Property's third quarter (funds from operations available to common shareholders were 57 cents per share, compared with 64 cents a year ago) Hankowsky explained where the company was going and why.

Once known for cutting-edge office parks, such as the Great Valley Corporate Center in Chester County, Liberty Property increasingly sees its future in industrial warehouse space.

"Over the last year or so, we've been thinking very much about Liberty Property's strategy for the next five years," Hankowsky said. "The conclusion is we want to be more industrial and less suburban office."

In fact, Hankowsky said Liberty Property's future was about two-thirds industrial and one-third office.

To that end, the company earlier this month spent $1.47 billion to buy the operating partnership of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III, which brings with it 177 properties and 23 million square feet of industrial space.

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Liberty Property adapts, thrives

Libertarian Sarvis injects freshness into Virginia governor’s race forum

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RICHMOND The Republican and the Democrat were there again, along with their well-worn lines. But for once, they shared the stage with the Libertarian, whose very presence Saturday made the race for Virginia governor feel fresh with little more than a week to go before Election Day.

Anyone weary of the campaign same-old, same-old Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) saying, Im the only candidate in the race who wont need on-the-job training, or Democrat Terry McAuliffe declaring, Weve got sequestration here for the year could enjoy these new nuggets Saturday from little-known candidate Robert Sarvis: Quoting Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Advocating an end to the war on drugs. Discussing abortion as a metaphysical disagreement. And saying flatly that contracting policies that favor minority-owned businesses violate the rule of law.

It was a revelation to even the most dedicated politics-watchers because Sarvis, who has been polling around 10percent, has been shut out of every debate. He has participated in some forums with McAuliffe and Cuccinelli, but they were small ones that brought out the candidates sequentially, not together. On Saturday, Sarvis was allowed to take the stage with his major-party competition at a forum sponsored by Radio One and 8News, Richmonds ABC television affiliate.

He seems genuine, and I like that he doesnt appear to be backed by big money, said Felicia Kalber, 43, who came to the event inclined to vote for Sarvis and left convinced that she would. Kalber, who does accounting work, picked up a Sarvis pin and put it on before leaving.

Sarviss opportunity came about a week after his wife, Astrid Sarvis, issued a tearful, 15-minute video describing how disappointed she was that her husband had not been allowed to participate in Thursdays candidates debate at Virginia Tech.

The Richmond forum, which drew more than 100 people to the Virginia War Memorial, was not a formal debate. The candidates sat side by side and took turns answering questions posed by a moderator. There was no back and forth.

McAuliffe and Cuccinelli stuck to their usual themes, with McAuliffe stressing the benefits of expanding Medicaid and Cuccinelli touting his plan to create jobs by cutting business and personal income taxes by $1.4billion a year.

McAuliffe seemed eager to double down on a statement he made at the Virginia Tech debate, volunteering that he had been given an F rating by the National Rifle Association. He brought up the F on his own and declared, Im not running to be president of the NRA.

Cuccinelli, who has spent most of the campaign questioning McAuliffes ethics, seemed especially focused on the idea that McAuliffe was offering platitudes rather than concrete plans.

It was Sarvis who grabbed the most attention, if only because he had so rarely been in the limelight. He said that both major parties had failed the country and that it was time for something new: someone who supports both smaller government, as Cuccinelli does, and socially liberal policies, as McAuliffe does the only candidate, as Sarvis put it, who is both open-minded and open for business.

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Libertarian Sarvis injects freshness into Virginia governor’s race forum

Ken Cuccinelli's policies show a strong libertarian streak

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Virginia's Ken Cuccinelli would arguably be the most libertarian governor in the United States if...

Virginias Ken Cuccinelli would arguably be the most libertarian governor in the United States if he wins on Nov. 7 which makes it odd that hes become a top target for many libertarians.

Cuccinelli trails Democrat Terry McAuliffe in all polls, while Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis is pulling 10 percent of the vote. One national libertarian group is spending big to back Sarvis and attack Cuccinelli.

But Cuccinelli has libertarian bona fides: As attorney general he led the states aiming to kill Obamacare, with all its mandates, taxes, regulations, subsidies and intrusions. He wants to cut the state income tax rate by 15 percent for individuals and 33 percent for corporations.

Cuccinelli has an A rating from the NRA earned while representing Fairfax County in the state Senate. He opposed smoking bans as a senator.

To a libertarian, all of the above looks good, but not extraordinary for a Republican. But there's more.

Republican governors who sing paeans to the free market almost always make exceptions in order to be more pro-business. Cuccinelli, meanwhile, has angered much of his states business lobby by running against corporate welfare, opposing the tax hikes that Northern Virginia developers are seeking to pay for roads and public services and pledging to put special-interest tax credits on the chopping block.

Cuccinelli also often chooses government restraint over law and order.

When Virginias GOP tried to expand the death penalty in 2009, Cuccinelli was the only Republican to vote no during a competitive GOP primary for attorney general.

Although not ready to support drug legalization like Sarvis, Cuccinelli has criticized the drug war as overzealous, and he said jailing marijuana dealers is a waste of taxpayer money. He told me hes open to legalizing pot in Virginia if things go well in Colorado and Washington.

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Ken Cuccinelli's policies show a strong libertarian streak