The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is pleased to announce our upcoming Boston Awareness Weekend, September 12th and 13th in Boston, MA.  Join us for a weekend of education, celebration and fellowship in CFCF's first opportunity to host patients on the east coast.  The weekend will consist of the Ask the Experts Patient Seminar, Boston Benefit for Carcinoid Research and Jimmy Fund Walk.

Ask the Experts Patient Education Seminar:  This is a unique education day where you, the patient sets the agenda.  Please click here for more information on the patient education seminar and a preliminary agenda including clinicians, researchers, CFCF Directors, patients and others.

CFCF would like to thank our co-sponsor, the Network for Patients and Families at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, for generously sponsoring this educational event!

The weekend will also include our inaugural Boston Benefit for Carcinoid Research and participation in the 2009 Jimmy Fund Walk to support CFCF's large-scale genome study of carcinoid. 

CFCF's Executive Director, Lauren Erb, has written a new blog.  In her blog, she writes about swimming for a cure in Swim Across America Boston Harbor Islands Swim and gives a preview of some of the researchers scheduled to speak at CFCF's upcoming Boston Awareness Weekend.  Click here to read more.

CFCF is pleased to announce that the AGA Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition has chosen the recipient for the Mary Terese Hartzheim (MTH) Award for Neuroendocrine Tumor Research. Funded by CFCF and the MTH Foundation, this is the first award of its kind to attract young investigators to research the biology of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and the development of novel therapeutics for NETs.

The AGA Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition has selected Dr. Michael Choi, M.D., of the Department of Medicine Gastrointestinal Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, as the recipient. The MTH Award will fund Dr. Choi's cutting-edge project focusing on the molecular mechanisms involved in enteroendocrine cell differentiation and neuroendocrine tumorigenesis.

 

Please visit CFCF's website to learn more about this and other promising research funded by the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation.  

Lexicon Initiates Phase II Clinical Trial of LX1032 in Patients with Carcinoid Syndrome.

 

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced that it has initiated a Phase II clinical trial of LX1032, an oral drug candidate for managing gastrointestinal symptoms associated with carcinoid syndrome. LX1032 is designed to reduce serotonin production in patients with metastatic carcinoid tumors. Elevated levels of serotonin contribute to the gastrointestinal and possibly other symptoms experienced by these patients. The study will include up to 28 patients with carcinoid syndrome who are symptomatic despite treatment with currently available therapy. For more information regarding this clinical trial news release, click here.

 

RAD001 And Sandostatin LAR Phase II Data Show Advanced Pancreatic NET Patients Remain Progression-Free For Nearly 17 Months.

 

At the 11th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona, Spain, data from the RADIANT-1 (RAD001 In Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors) Phase II Clinical Trial was released.  The study showed that patients with progressive disease who received everolimus in combination with octreotide, had a median progression-free survival period of 16.7 months; 4% of these patients had a partial response and 78% had stable disease. For patients who took everolimus as monotherapy, the median progression-free survival was 9.7 months, 8% of these patients had a partial response and 69% had stable disease.

For more information regarding the results of this clinical trial, click here.

CFCF is looking for volunteers committed to working hard for a great cause. 

We are currently seeking volunteers to assist with our Boston Awareness Weekend. Volunteer slots exist on Wednesday 9/9, Thursday 9/10, Friday 9/11, Saturday 9/12 and Sunday 9/13. 

To join us, please email ashley.malins@caringforcarcinoid.org