An excellent article in the New York Times by the always astute and well-informed medical and health writer Gina Kolata sheds light on how cancer research is driven by a grant system that rewards cautious thinking more than promoting bold ideas of how to cure and treat cancer. The article is a nice look at a portion of the “medical industrial complex” that appears to be a self-sustaining enterprise and an embedded part of how health care and research are conducted in the United States.

In a related story …

With indictments against executives at two companies for conducting unauthorized clinical trials and with another trial voluntarily halted by a major university, Emory, because of poor record-keeping discovered after an audit, it’s interesting to see that the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Bulletin has an article advocating for a more streamlined clinical trials system to increase enrollment of subjects, at least in cancer trials… The apparent focus on recruitment as the first priority and on reducing regulatory oversight as the second priority of many institutions that conduct or sponsor trials is disturbing. In the words of Casey Stengel, “Doesn’t anyone here know how to play this game?”…

Norian, Synthes, executives charged with conducting medical trials … Bizjournals.com – Charlotte, NC, USA – The indictment charges that from May 2002 until fall 2004 Norian conspired with others, including Synthes, to conduct unauthorized clinical trials of two …See all stories on this topic

A Closer Look: A Sense of Urgency: Rethinking the Clinical Trial … National Cancer Institute – NCI Cancer Bulletin – Bethesda, MD, USA – Low enrollment of adult cancer patients in clinical trials is an ongoing challenge in cancer research. Only about 3 to 5 percent of adults diagnosed with … See all stories on this topic

Emory halts enrollment in cancer clinical trials – Atlanta Journal Constitution – GA, USA – By Craig Schneider – Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute has stopped accepting new patients into clinical trials after a critical audit … See all stories on this topic

There is some fascinating and potentially breakthrough news about cancer treatment vaccine trials that was reported in the National Cancer Institute Bulletin. Recent trials could reshape the field of cancer research and the quest for a cure. Whatever is accomplished is no doubt a long way off but it’s worth keeping your eyes on. I’ll continue to keep you informed as this topic develops but here is the lead on a new story…

Treatment vaccines that boost the immune system’s response to tumors may have important clinical benefits for patients with various types of cancer, according to results from several clinical trials presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Orlando.

To many in the field, the findings represent an emergence of sorts for therapeutic cancer vaccines. Treatment vaccines have been the subject of intense study for more than 2 decades, but they have produced little in the way of FDA-approved cancer treatments. That could change based on the recent clinical trial results…