Workers compensation insurance and GOP hypocrisy | BlueNC

In response to the news that thousands of NC businesses are not complying with workers comp insurance requirement:

House Speaker Pro Tem Dale Folwell, a Winston-Salem Republican, said the investigation illuminates a need for more reform of the workers comp system and pledged to call together people stakeholders to talk about possible solutions.

The only solutions you're interested in is screwing workers even more than you did the last time:

In June, North Carolina amended its Workers' Compensation Act. The original bill was a business initiative, but the new law is a compromise among all participants in the workers' compensation system. While there is a little something for everyone, several provisions should be beneficial to employers:

The new law allows employers to obtain relevant medical records without the express authorization of the employee.

The term "suitable employment" can be key to the value of many workers' compensation claims, because an employee who is offered, and refuses to accept, such employment can lose benefits. The new law adds a definition of "suitable employment" for all claims filed after the law's enactment. Before the employee reaches maximum medical improvement ("MMI"), the term includes rehabilitative or other noncompetitive employment, i.e., a job that does not exist in the labor market. After MMI, "suitable employment" means any job the employee is capable of performing considering his limitations, vocational skills, education, and experience and that is located within a 50-mile radius of his residence. The new job can carry a lower wage rate and still be deemed suitable.

That last part is especially sweet, isn't it? You can cut an injured employee's wage, and transfer them to another facility with a 100 mile round-trip per-day gasoline expense, and if they refuse the job their workers comp benefits can be taken away. With friends like that...

Republicans don't give a crap about businesses not complying with WC insurance compliance, but when it comes to you and me, well:

AN ACT TO allow law enforcement agencies and officers to USE ADVANCED electronic verification TECHNOLOGY to IDENTIFY MOTOR VEHICLES being OPERATed ON THE PUBLIC streets and HIGHWAYS and public vehicular areas WITHOUT the required FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Liability. ? The registered owner of a vehicle cited for a financial responsibility violation detected by an electronic verification system shall be responsible for any penalty imposed under this section unless, within 30 days of service of the notification of violation, the owner provides to the Division of Motor Vehicles a sworn affidavit containing the information listed in one of the subdivisions of this subsection. If the registered owner fails to pay the civil penalty or fails to respond to the notice within 30 days of service of the violation of notification, the owner waives the right to contest responsibility for the violation, is subject to the civil penalty of three hundred dollars ($300.00), and shall have the registered owner's drivers license and registration revoked indefinitely until the civil penalty is paid and proof of financial responsibility is provided to the Division.

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Ian Thompson: President Obama, Sign Nondiscrimination Executive Order, Say Dozens of Members of Congress

On Tuesday, April 3, over 70 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama urging him to sign an executive order to ensure that federal contractors receiving tax dollars do not discriminate against applicants and employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The ACLU views this executive order as the single most important step that President Obama could take this year to eradicate anti-LGBT discrimination from American workplaces. The impact of such an executive order would be immense and provides the opportunity to create a tipping-point moment with employment protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity covering more than half of the American workforce.

The letter, which was organized by Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and Lois Capps (D-Calif.), is a clear indication that the ACLU's view of the historic importance of this executive order is one that is widely shared on Capitol Hill, particularly among the core supporters of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. (Frank is a longtime champion and lead sponsor of ENDA.) As the representatives write in their letter to President Obama, "This order would extend important workplace protections to millions of Americans, while at the same time laying the groundwork for Congressional passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a goal that we share with you."

The need for this executive order could not be clearer. The reality remains that in 29 states it is legal to fire or refuse to hire someone based on their sexual orientation. Those who are transgender can be fired or denied employment in 34 states solely based on their gender identity. An executive order on contractors, when combined with existing workplace protections provided by state laws in many states and by federal law for federal workers, would likely mean that, for the first time in history, more than half of all American workers would have legally binding workplace rights. And with federal contractors employing people in all 50 states, there would be at least some workplaces in every state where employees would have legally binding protections against discrimination.

This executive order would be a critical and essential advancement. Voices urging President Obama to sign this executive order grow louder with each week, and Tuesday's letter is a tremendous demonstration of congressional support. Protecting employees and applicants for employment against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination through this executive order would be a historic step forward and would help fulfill the nation's commitment to equality in the workforce, particularly when federal funds are being spent.

Please join the ACLU in urging President Obama to sign this executive order to eradicate anti-LGBT discrimination in the workplaces of federal contractors.

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Thursday, April 5, 2012: Economy, health insurance and mining ...

Keep dreaming

Rufus Wanning?s column, ?Higher taxes on the rich spark the economy? (BDN March 31 ? April 1), might more realistically have been titled, ?Dream Economics 101.? While his plan for refueling our economic engine is as realistic, simple and clear as any conceivable, he assumes or maybe just dreams that the rich will have a sudden change of heart and a reversal of interest from hoarding dead money to breathing divine life into it by applying it to ?rebuilding our [and their] infrastructure, expanding higher education, and to other investments in our [and their] future? essentially through charitable, differential taxation.

For until the rich can sense the real power and joy of driving this spaceship?s societal evolution into the Aquarian age, our politicians are bound by the chains of ?stagnant cash from the rich? who haven?t yet understood Wanning?s last and major point that, ?Paradoxically, by creating more demand, this plan also will help the entrepreneurs. By the end of two years, our economy will be humming again, tax receipts will increase and government spending on the poor will decline. Politicians will be arguing about what to do with the surplus.?

What a dream, but so was electricity and the light bulb and electrified homes, streets and cities.

Glenda Bell

Mars Hill

Level health insurance

As a cancer survivor, I don?t want to be treated unfairly in the health care system. My premiums shouldn?t be significantly higher than a healthy person ? especially if it creates a barrier for me to access care.

The key to avoiding inequity is to create a level playing field for health insurance companies. If one health plan is less expensive because it has fewer benefits it will likely entice younger, healthier people and force someone like me into a more expensive plan with other older people or those fighting a chronic disease.

There is relief in sight in Maine. By 2014, every state is required to establish a state-run marketplace, or exchange, for people purchasing health insurance on their own. If set up and run properly, these marketplaces will allow people to easily compare health plans online and choose the one that is best for them.

What the Maine Legislature needs to ensure is that all insurance companies, regardless of whether they sell products inside or outside the marketplace, are subject to the same rules. Otherwise, plans sold outside the exchange could design their plans to attract healthy people, leaving those who are less healthy and with high medical bills in the exchange and driving up rates that would make coverage unaffordable to those who need it most.

Let?s make sure there is a level playing field, so everyone has access to the coverage they need regardless of their health status.

Marianne Moore

Volunteer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Calais

Mining and education

Mining at Bald Mountain will bring not only jobs to our region, but it will bring hands-on experience for our students. New legislation will bring forth more economic opportunity, sustainable income for hundreds and an environment that will host real world experience for those participating in academia.

Valuable educational experience can be gained from passing LD 1853. Students will have the ability to learn skills from professionals in the field. Engineering and construction, lab work and water quality standards are all part of the process in which students can be involved.

Mining development at Bald Mountain will bring hundreds of new jobs to a region that has one of the highest unemployment rates in Maine. The County is a region that survives on natural resources and has struggled through these tough times. Maine people are resilient and loyal. We are a hard-working bunch who know the value of our land and take great pride is its preservation.

Legislation that will allow for new laws and regulations on mining in Maine is a necessity for students, workers and the region in its entirety. The benefits that will be reaped by students alone are astounding. Very few have access to such a unique resource, and this will surely prepare our students to go out and excel in the work force.

Mainers know the value of hands-on experience. Mining on Bald Mountain will secure hundreds of jobs, put food on the table, and create value for our students.

Samuel Weymouth

Stetson

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Internet Business Websites Take Pleasure In The Advantages Of A ...

Many people learned just how shopping online can be an efficient way of saving money. ?During the recession, ecommerce websites took on the obstacle of steadily supplying consumers intelligent penny-pinching ways to work tremendously for that more restrictive family budget. Discount coupons started to be significantly sought after and also ecommerce sites became the best supply for these discount coupons which instantly saved consumers as much as seventy-five percent on specific items.

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Because of the increased interest in these types of coupons, cheaper offers as well as giveaways, ecommerce sites had to improve their particular online shopping cart system to accommodate the frequent use of their their clients. ?This specific shopping cart software normally had the particular icon of the traditional shopping cart we see in grocers but in reality, they are the complete shopping system. They hold the merchandise, present the available offers, deal with the whole payment process as well as deliver all of the essential notices, not only to the customer but the business owner as well.The online shopping cart furthermore accommodates non-material products like downloadable games, gym subscriptions, half-priced coupons, spa treatments, shoe rentals and many other solutions that most consumers don?t think about when they go to a regular grocery store.

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A highly efficient online shopping cart?is compatible with the different applications in which technical devices have. The majority of hand phones have access to the world wide web and more people are usually choosing of going about their shopping on their own phones and tablets especially for promotions which are always time-sensitive. Fortunately although, most hand phones or smartphones come with an application that is suitable for the complex aspects of online shopping and many shopping cart software is actually designed to accommodate the shopping applications of these phones. No more need to print coupons! Certain establishments would likely have consumers show their phones with the needed codes or details for the special discounts or other deals.

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There were instances in the past when the web sites have been easily accessible and all the merchandise have been really enticing, but the buying method concerned so many steps (and worse required customers to download the specific program of the shopping cart). ?They were such a turn-off, especially for those who had very little patience or time and the worst thing was when there were bargains which were just supposed to keep going for a couple of minutes. It?s a fantastic advancement how ecommerce web sites chose to make the shopping process easily manageable by adding really great online shopping cart systems into their site. Clients are inspired to come back again in the future and also discuss their secret to family and friends.

Related posts:

  1. The Ecommerce Shopping Cart Which Will Fulfill Every Online Business Need
  2. Online Shopping Cart Systems: Characteristics To Look For
  3. Shopping Cart Software & Ecommerce Hosted Web Store
  4. What Do You Specifically Need In A Web Shopping Cart?
  5. Turning To The Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Solutions

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GOP campaign: What we learned

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney pauses while speaking at a primary election night rally in Milwaukee, Tuesday, April 3, 2012, after he won the Wisconsin Republican presidential primary. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney pauses while speaking at a primary election night rally in Milwaukee, Tuesday, April 3, 2012, after he won the Wisconsin Republican presidential primary. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

(AP) ? Republicans in the District of Columbia, in Wisconsin and in Maryland gave Mitt Romney a trio of wins Tuesday that put him closer to clinching his party's presidential nomination. We learned a few things, too:

___

Republicans increasingly view Romney as their nominee.

Four in five Wisconsin voters expect that the former Massachusetts governor will eventually win the 1,144 delegates needed to face off against President Barack Obama in the fall election, according to exit poll results. And about two-thirds of all Wisconsin Republicans said they would be satisfied with Romney as the nominee.

That's good news for a presumptive nominee who has struggled to energize the party and win over the conservative core of the GOP. In Wisconsin, Romney won among very conservative Republicans, middle-class voters and noncollege graduates who had previously been chief rival Rick Santorum's base. Romney also narrowed his margin among self-identified evangelical voters, who remains with Santorum but will likely vote Republican come November.

___

Obama also expects Romney to prevail.

Even before Tuesday's results were known, the president returned to campaign form in a speech to news executives. Obama assailed Romney as though he had already won the nomination, following up on a critical TV ad the re-election campaign rolled out a day earlier. On Tuesday night, Obama's campaign manager also sent an email to supporters tying Romney to "giant oil companies" and "their record profits."

"They and their allies are trashing President Obama ? and spending $3 million on TV ads to do it," campaign chief Jim Messina warned Obama supporters of energy companies. "Why? Because, unlike Mitt Romney, President Obama is proposing to end their taxpayer giveaways."

___

Romney is focusing on the general election.

He never once mentioned his GOP rivals in his remarks. He instead focused on Obama, his likely rival in November.

"Out-of-touch liberals like Barack Obama say they want a strong economy, but they really don't like businesses very much," Romney said in Milwaukee. "But the economy is simply the product of all the nation's businesses added together. So it's like saying you love omelets but don't like eggs."

He added: "Join me. And take another step every day until Nov. 6."

___

Santorum isn't quitting despite three more losses.

"Who's ready to charge out of the locker room in Pennsylvania for a strong second half?" the former Pennsylvania senator asked supporters in Mars, Pa.

He's promising to press on even though he dramatically lags in the hunt for delegates. His campaign organization is a fraction of Romney's and he wasn't even on the ballot in Washington, D.C. He would have to win 76 percent of remaining delegates to reach the threshold to capture the nomination ? an almost impossible task for his ragtag campaign.

But he isn't stopping.

"We're hitting the field. The clock starts tonight. We've got three weeks to go out here in Pennsylvania and win this state and after winning this state, the field looks a little different in May," he said.

___

Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are not just non-factors in the GOP race, they're footnotes.

Gingrich, the former House speaker, issued a short statement as the returns came in, insisting he was "committed to carrying the banner of bold conservative colors all the way to Tampa."

Meanwhile, Paul was rallying supporters at California State University, Chico, one stop on a three-day campaign swing in California.

Associated Press

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Video: Budget takes center stage in presidential fight

Harkins: Catching, the toughest job in sports

Harkins: The baseball catcher is a scout and a coach. He's a psychiatrist and a self-help therapist. He?s the first one to sacrifice his body and the last line of defense. He?s got the responsibilities of a quarterback, yet receives the notoriety of an offensive lineman. Want to be a catcher? Good luck. You won?t find any sporting venture that?s tougher.

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World News - Muslim Brotherhood shocks Egypt with presidential run

Nariman El-Mofty / AP

The Muslim Brotherhood's presidential nominee Khairat el-Shater is seen here in a Jan. 24, 2012 file photo.

By Ayman Mohyeldin , NBC News correspondent

NEWS ANALYSIS

CAIRO ? Few events have captured the attention of the global media like Egypt's revolution. Culminating, like an earthquake, with the departure of Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011, the world was transfixed.

Since then, Egypt has gone through a series of political aftershocks. From the rise of Islam-centered ultra-conservative political parties to deadly street riots and the missteps of the country's ruling generals, Egypt's transition (or intransigence) has been the subject of intense speculation and analysis.

Nothing, though, has piqued interest as much as the move by the Muslim Brotherhood to nominate a candidate for the country's presidency.


Political U-turn
Things have come to full boil in the past few days. And what has emerged, according to analysts and commentators, is a rupture in trust between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian people. To say the Brotherhood has lost its base of support is inaccurate, but Egyptians across the political spectrum feel a sense of disappointment to come face to face with the duplicity of politics ? common the world over and now seen and practiced openly in Egypt.?

The culmination of this mood came on Saturday, when the Brotherhood, long a socio-charitable and religious organization, announced that it was nominating one of its own for Egypt's top job, a move that sent shock waves through the nascent political establishment.

Muslim Brotherhood says it will run candidate for president in Egypt election

Why the shock? Well, for the past year, the Muslim Brotherhood has categorically denied it would field a presidential candidate and repeatedly has tried to assuage fears that it was seeking control of Egyptian political life.

The signs, though, were there. Shortly after Mubarak's ouster, the Brotherhood embarked on a process of "translating" its popular social support into mainstream politics. To do so, it launched a political party, called the Freedom and Justice Party, ostensibly aimed at putting a political face on a traditional image.

At the time,?the Brotherhood was, at least in public, keen on showing that it was just a part of the quilt that makes up the Egyptian political fabric; it did not want to be too much in the background while at the same time it did not want to appear to be the quilt-maker.

That image was crushed on Saturday, according to analysts and commentators, who say the move has exposed the movement?s true aspirations.

Notably, the decision to nominate a president didn't happen at the Freedom and Justice Party?s headquarters ? it took place at the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters. In addition, the announcement that Khairat el Shater was their presidential candidate was not made by the head of the political party (although he was present) but by the Brotherhood's leader, Dr.? Mohammed el Badie.

Fueling fears
The decision by the Muslim Brotherhood to seek control of the executive branch highlights a potentially dangerous political reality that has many worried in Egypt.

Already with control of the parliament and as the majority in the constitutional convention tasked with writing a new constitution, the Brotherhood is ubiquitous in Egypt's political life. Add the presidency and they would control virtually the whole political system.

Critics say such a move would allow the Brotherhood to steamroll its conservative agenda across Egypt. They compare the monopolization of power by a single party to the Mubarak-era rule of the National Democratic Party, which also controlled all three branches of government and thousands of local councils.

Proponents say the democratic consolidation of power will allow the Brotherhood to implement change at a time when political fragmentation threatens to paralyze a country in transition. They say that with a single cohesive voice in control, Egypt could take the hard decisions needed to bring about speedy reform.

But even prominent members of the Brotherhood have expressed their disappointment in the decision to put forth a candidate. It has been described by many in the organization as the single gravest threat in its nearly 80-year history.

In particular, they suggest that the organization has set itself up for failure because if it does not bring about the desired change in Egypt, it will burden full responsibility for the failure. (Others point out, though, that if the Muslim Brotherhood can turn Egypt around, it will have cemented its place in the nation?s politics.)

Back room deal making?
Part of the concern is role of the military and the possibility that a deal was struck between the generals and the Brotherhood.

One theory suggests the Brotherhood was given the green light to nominate a candidate so long as, once in power, it directs attention away from the military, the generals and their economic interests.

On the other hand, others theorize that the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling military council have been engaged in bitter accusations and power struggles behind closed doors. And that as a result of the mistrust brewing between the two groups, the Brotherhood was trying to force the military's hand by showing it had enough political clout to defy the ruling generals.

Others even speculated that the Muslim Brotherhood sought the approval of Washington before it nominated el-Shater as a presidential candidate. In a statement issued in Cairo, the U.S. Embassy categorically denied that Washington or Congress had been asked or sought to give any explicit or tacit approval to the Muslim Brotherhood?s move.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

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Vaccine yielded encouraging long-term survival rates in certain patients with NSCLC

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Apr-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
215-446-7109
American Association for Cancer Research

CHICAGO Long-term follow-up of a phase II clinical trial showed encouraging survival in some patients with stage 3B/4 non-small cell lung cancer treated with belagenpumatucel-L, a therapeutic vaccine. The findings were presented here at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held March 31 - April 4.

"This is a novel immunotherapy that appears to show unusually long survival in some patients," said Lyudmila Bazhenova, M.D., associate clinical professor at the University of California-San Diego Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla, Calif.

These findings represent an updated long-term survival analysis on patients treated with belagenpumatucel-L, a cell-based allogeneic vaccine derived from four lung cancer cell lines. The open-label study included 75 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) two patients with stage 2 disease, 12 with stage 3A, 15 with stage 3B and 46 with stage 4. The researchers randomly assigned patients to three dose cohorts: 1.25, 2.5 or 5 107 cells/injection.

For all patients, median survival was 14.5 months, and the five-year survival rate was 20 percent. The 40 patients with stage 3B/4 cancer enrolled in the second and third dose cohorts had a median survival of 15.9 months and a one-year survival rate of 61 percent, a two-year survival rate of 41 percent and a five-year survival rate of 18 percent.

Patients with stage 3B/4 nonprogressive disease after chemotherapy had a median survival of 44.4 months; five-year survival was 50 percent, which is "unheard of for patients with NSCLC," Bazhenova said.

In contrast, patients who progressed after front-line chemotherapy had a median survival rate of 14.1 months and a 9.1 percent five-year survival rate.

Bazhenova said that although these results are intriguing, they must be confirmed in a phase III clinical trial, which is currently under way in eight countries.

###

Press registration for the AACR Annual Meeting 2012 is free to qualified journalists and public information officers: http://www.aacr.org/PressRegistration.>

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr

Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

About the AACR

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR's membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 18,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policy makers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.

For more information about the AACR, visit http://www.AACR.org.

Presenter: Lyudmila Bazhenova, M.D.

Abstract Number: 5367

Title: Long-term survival in a phase II atudy of belagenpumatucel-L (TGF-? antisense modified tumor cell vaccine) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Author Block: Lyudmila Bazhenova1, Ewa Carrier2, Daniel Shawler2, Habib Fakhrai2. 1UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; 2NovaRx, San Diego, CA

Background: Cancer therapeutics vaccines continue to be investigated in a variety of solid malignancies. Belagenpumatucel-L (Lucanix), a therapeutic vaccine comprised of 4 TGF-?2 antisense gene-modified allogeneic NSCLC cell lines. Phase II trial finished its enrollment in March of 2004 and was published in 2006. We now report an updated survival analysis with over 5 years of follow up.

Methods: Three arms, open label clinical trial enrolled seventy-five subjects. 2 stage II, 12 stage IIIA, 15 stage IIIB, and 46 stage IV patients were randomized into three dose cohorts of 1.25, 2.5, or 5 107 cells/injection. Several cellular (ELISPOT and cytoplasmic cytokine expression) and humoral (antibody ELISA) immunity assays were also performed and correlated with survival.

Results: Median follow up for all patients was 14.5 months and for patients with stable disease 44 months. Median survival for all subjects was 14.5 months and one-year, two-years and five-year survival were respectively 55%, 35% and 20%. Stages IIIB/IV subjects enrolled into cohorts 2 and 3 (N=40) had a median survival of 15.9 months and one-year, two-year and five-year survivals were respectively 61%, 41% and 18%. For stage IIIB/IV patients with non progressive disease following frontline chemotherapy, median survival was 44.4 months and five-year survival was 50%. For subjects who progressed following frontline chemotherapy, median survival was 14.1 months and five-year survival was 9.1%. Subjects who demonstrated an increase in both cellular and humoral immune reactivity following treatment had a significant survival advantage over subjects who showed an increase in only one measure of immunity with a median survival of 32.5 months vs. 11.6 months (p = 0.015).

Conclusion: Long term follow up of a phase II clinical trial confirmed encouraging survival for patients with stage IIIB/IV disease. Based on these data, we have instituted an international, randomized, pivotal Phase III trial to evaluate the efficacy of belagenpumatucel-L in a maintenance setting in stage III/IV NSCLC patients who have stable disease or better following frontline chemotherapy. The trial is designed to enroll 506 patients and is powered to measure a 3.5 month survival difference. There are two planned interim analyses. To date, 285 patients have been enrolled in 8 countries. Confirmation of the phase II data in a randomized, phase III setting would provide an important improvement for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.



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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 4-Apr-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
215-446-7109
American Association for Cancer Research

CHICAGO Long-term follow-up of a phase II clinical trial showed encouraging survival in some patients with stage 3B/4 non-small cell lung cancer treated with belagenpumatucel-L, a therapeutic vaccine. The findings were presented here at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held March 31 - April 4.

"This is a novel immunotherapy that appears to show unusually long survival in some patients," said Lyudmila Bazhenova, M.D., associate clinical professor at the University of California-San Diego Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla, Calif.

These findings represent an updated long-term survival analysis on patients treated with belagenpumatucel-L, a cell-based allogeneic vaccine derived from four lung cancer cell lines. The open-label study included 75 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) two patients with stage 2 disease, 12 with stage 3A, 15 with stage 3B and 46 with stage 4. The researchers randomly assigned patients to three dose cohorts: 1.25, 2.5 or 5 107 cells/injection.

For all patients, median survival was 14.5 months, and the five-year survival rate was 20 percent. The 40 patients with stage 3B/4 cancer enrolled in the second and third dose cohorts had a median survival of 15.9 months and a one-year survival rate of 61 percent, a two-year survival rate of 41 percent and a five-year survival rate of 18 percent.

Patients with stage 3B/4 nonprogressive disease after chemotherapy had a median survival of 44.4 months; five-year survival was 50 percent, which is "unheard of for patients with NSCLC," Bazhenova said.

In contrast, patients who progressed after front-line chemotherapy had a median survival rate of 14.1 months and a 9.1 percent five-year survival rate.

Bazhenova said that although these results are intriguing, they must be confirmed in a phase III clinical trial, which is currently under way in eight countries.

###

Press registration for the AACR Annual Meeting 2012 is free to qualified journalists and public information officers: http://www.aacr.org/PressRegistration.>

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr

Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

About the AACR

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR's membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 18,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policy makers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.

For more information about the AACR, visit http://www.AACR.org.

Presenter: Lyudmila Bazhenova, M.D.

Abstract Number: 5367

Title: Long-term survival in a phase II atudy of belagenpumatucel-L (TGF-? antisense modified tumor cell vaccine) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Author Block: Lyudmila Bazhenova1, Ewa Carrier2, Daniel Shawler2, Habib Fakhrai2. 1UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; 2NovaRx, San Diego, CA

Background: Cancer therapeutics vaccines continue to be investigated in a variety of solid malignancies. Belagenpumatucel-L (Lucanix), a therapeutic vaccine comprised of 4 TGF-?2 antisense gene-modified allogeneic NSCLC cell lines. Phase II trial finished its enrollment in March of 2004 and was published in 2006. We now report an updated survival analysis with over 5 years of follow up.

Methods: Three arms, open label clinical trial enrolled seventy-five subjects. 2 stage II, 12 stage IIIA, 15 stage IIIB, and 46 stage IV patients were randomized into three dose cohorts of 1.25, 2.5, or 5 107 cells/injection. Several cellular (ELISPOT and cytoplasmic cytokine expression) and humoral (antibody ELISA) immunity assays were also performed and correlated with survival.

Results: Median follow up for all patients was 14.5 months and for patients with stable disease 44 months. Median survival for all subjects was 14.5 months and one-year, two-years and five-year survival were respectively 55%, 35% and 20%. Stages IIIB/IV subjects enrolled into cohorts 2 and 3 (N=40) had a median survival of 15.9 months and one-year, two-year and five-year survivals were respectively 61%, 41% and 18%. For stage IIIB/IV patients with non progressive disease following frontline chemotherapy, median survival was 44.4 months and five-year survival was 50%. For subjects who progressed following frontline chemotherapy, median survival was 14.1 months and five-year survival was 9.1%. Subjects who demonstrated an increase in both cellular and humoral immune reactivity following treatment had a significant survival advantage over subjects who showed an increase in only one measure of immunity with a median survival of 32.5 months vs. 11.6 months (p = 0.015).

Conclusion: Long term follow up of a phase II clinical trial confirmed encouraging survival for patients with stage IIIB/IV disease. Based on these data, we have instituted an international, randomized, pivotal Phase III trial to evaluate the efficacy of belagenpumatucel-L in a maintenance setting in stage III/IV NSCLC patients who have stable disease or better following frontline chemotherapy. The trial is designed to enroll 506 patients and is powered to measure a 3.5 month survival difference. There are two planned interim analyses. To date, 285 patients have been enrolled in 8 countries. Confirmation of the phase II data in a randomized, phase III setting would provide an important improvement for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.



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NRA's Hudson Riehle shares 2012 restaurant industry insights

OAK BROOK, Ill.-- Retail foodservice, which includes c-stores and supermarkets, will see a sales growth rate well above the industry average this year, according to data from the National Restaurant Association (NRA). In such a competitive market, you might be quick to wonder from whom these retailers will be stealing share. But the NRA?s Hudson Riehle believes there is still ample opportunity for consumers to shift more money into the industry.

?Our consumer research indicates there?s substantial pent-up demand for restaurant usage among consumers. Two out of every five adults report they?re not using restaurants as much as they?d like in their daily lives,? says Riehle, senior vice president, research & knowledge group, for NRA.

The number of actual meal periods that are commercially prepared out of the 21 in a week is about five. Even given that a few meals might be skipped, ?That still leaves 14 at-home meal periods. From a foodservice provider perspective ... the challenge is to move the labor out of the home kitchen,? says Riehle.

At the same time, NRA has recently found an increase in consumer confidence levels, which Riehle expects will help move some of that pent-up money over from the home kitchen to the restaurant industry.

?The predisposition for customers to shift their dollars away from home is definitely there,? he says.

NRA's Hudson RiehleFor its part, retail foodservice is giving these pent-up consumers just what they?re looking for. Improved quality and variety, convenience, value price points and simply more locations offering foodservice are the factors helping to boost consumer interest and satisfaction in retail foodservice. The fact that two-thirds of total restaurant traffic is off-premises further props up retail foodservice to fill consumers? needs.

Retail host restaurants -- how the NRA categorizes c-stores, supermarkets and other retailers -- will post sales in excess of $35 billion this year, nearly a 6% increase over 2011 levels and well above the industry average. By comparison, QSRs are expected to see a 3.1% increase.

Regardless of whether a particular segment is up or down this year, says Riehle, nothing beats a well-thought-out, well-executed business plan.

?One of the hallmarks and great success attributes of the restaurant industry is its extreme flexibility and the rapidity with which it can respond to consumers? wants and needs,? he says. ?Obviously c-store operators are much more cognizant of the potential of foodservice and that it is a different type of operation vs. their traditional retail offerings.?

In 2012, total restaurant industry sales nationwide are expected to reach a record high of $632 billion, up 3.5% over 2011 and the third consecutive year of sales growth.

?The growth rates aren?t what they were prior to the onset of the recession,? says Riehle, ?but the trend is definitely moving in the right direction.?

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Kutcher to play Steve Jobs in biopic

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