Cancer Research UK’s Run 10k launches ‘Take 5 challenge’ to help busy people train for the events

THE economic downturn is having a detrimental effect on the health, fitness and wellbeing of the nation, according to a new survey released today by Cancer Research UK to launch its Run 10k series.

The findings reveal that a quarter of people (25 per cent) are spending more hours at work compared to this time last year and over half of those that are currently working (56 per cent) admit that work affects the level of exercise they do. Worryingly, a quarter of those currently working (26 per cent) admit they don’t regularly exercise.

In light of these findings, Cancer Research UK has launched the ‘Take 5 Challenge’ - five easy steps designed to help people incorporate exercise and fitness into their busy lives, redress work/life balance issues and provide great preparation for a Run 10k event this autumn.

The survey shows how job cuts and a looming fear of redundancy are affecting people’s lifestyles. Over half (56 per cent) of those who are clocking up extra hours have an increased workload, while a third (34 per cent) say they are over stretched staff-wise and a quarter (25 per cent) are worried about their job security. More than a third (38 per cent) of workers are unhappy with their work/life balance as they are working too much.

In terms of nutrition, 82 per cent of workers say that being busy at work affects their diet, with 41 per cent of workers going for speed over health when choosing food options. Four out of five (81 per cent) of all adults admit they do not get their five portions of fruit and vegetables every day.

The ‘Take 5 Challenge’ easy-to-follow steps, which include tips on extra activity, stretching and hydration, have been designed to help people improve their general health and fitness and get them in the right mind set to take part in a Run 10k. With 43 events taking place across the UK this autumn, Cancer Research UK’s Run 10k series offers people the opportunity to feel good, do something positive and raise money for a great cause.

Cancer Research UK has worked closely with celebrity fitness expert Steve Halsall to create the step-by-step plans, which can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.Run 10k.org/take5challenge. A plan for the less experienced jogger, as well as an in-depth plan for the more seasoned runner keen to beat their personal best, can be downloaded from the site.

Steve Halsall said of Cancer Research UK’s Take 5 Challenge: “Doing the ‘Take 5 Challenge’ and making five small changes to your everyday routine, which require little or no extra time, can have a huge beneficial effect on your fitness levels and general well-being, and even show you how easy it is to take that next step and sign-up for a Run 10k this year. Taking part in a Run 10k will also give you that feel-good factor and sense of achievement that is second-to-none!”

Birmingham City Football Club MD Karen Brady, who is backing the ‘Take 5 Challenge’ adds: “Encouraging a good work/life balance is crucial in keeping morale high and increasing motivation, commitment and engagement. Cancer Research UK’s Run 10k ‘Take 5 Challenge’ encourages people to incorporate health and fitness into their busy lives, which is a great way for workers and their bosses to boost their sense of wellbeing. And by signing up to a Run 10k this year, people will be raising money for a fantastic cause at the same time.”

To view and download the ‘Take 5 Challenge’ plans, please go to http://www.Run 10k.org/take5challenge

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2030 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19th - 22nd June 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

About the ‘Take 5 Challenge’

The Take 5 Challenge offers a beginners plan: available for the less-experienced runner, alongside an advanced plan for the more developed runner. Each plan covers five easy steps to improve general health and well-being:

- Commitment
- Stretching
- Activity
- Hydration
- Attitude

To view or download the ‘Take 5 Challenge’ plans visit http://www.Run 10k.org/take5challenge

About Run 10k

- Run 10k for Cancer Research UK, supported by Tesco, is a series of 43 events held in stunning and unique locations through the UK this autumn.
- This year we hope 60,000 men and women will come together to raise just over £6m to help fund Cancer Research UK’s life saving work.
- For further information about the Run 10K series or details of event locations please visit Run 10k

Source
Cancer Research UK

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM: SPPI) and Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) today announced that the U.S. http://www.spectrumpharm.com.

Source
Allergan, Inc.

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, announced that treatment with its cancer drug candidate INNO-206 resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the average primary tumor size in an animal model of pancreatic cancer, outperforming the broadly used chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, as well as the current standard of care in pancreatic cancer treatment, gemcitabine.

Results from the trial, which was conducted under the direction of INNO-206 inventor Felix Kratz, Ph.D., Department of Medical Oncology, Clinical Research, at the Tumor Biology Center in Freiburg, Germany, were presented in a poster, “INNO-206 Shows Superior Efficacy Compared to Doxorubicin in an Orthotopic Pancreas Carcinoma Model,” at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on April 21, 2009.

“Few drugs show any benefit for patients suffering from this rapidly progressing and deadliest of cancers, and I am personally delighted that INNO-206 effectively treated tumors in these experimental animals,” said Steven A. Kriegsman, CytRx President and CEO. “We now have further evidence that the putative targeting mechanism of INNO-206 could have significant therapeutic benefit in multiple types of cancer.”

CytRx has exclusive worldwide rights to INNO-206, which is a proprietary derivative of doxorubicin. CytRx believes that INNO-206, which is a so-called pro-drug designed to control the release of doxorubicin and to target it specifically to tumors throughout the body, may prove to be more effective and less toxic in cancer patients than doxorubicin. Earlier this month, CytRx announced that INNO-206 caused a dramatic destruction of implanted tumors in an experimental animal model of breast cancer, performing considerably better than doxorubicin.

In the animal trial, human AsPC1 pancreatic cancer cells were implanted directly into the pancreas (orthotopic implantation) of 30 experimental mice that lacked a normal immune system that would otherwise reject these cells. This model accurately reflected the hallmarks of the human disease, such as early cancer cell invasion of the surrounding pancreatic tissue and tumor spread to the spleen, liver and peritoneum that surrounds the internal organs. Eighteen days after implantation, the experimental animals were randomized into three treatment groups. Each group received two cycles of weekly intravenous injections with the previously optimized dose of either doxorubicin or INNO-206, or a solution lacking either drug to serve as a control. Tumor growth was monitored continuously. Two weeks after therapy initiation, measurements were taken of the primary tumor volume and the spread of the tumor to the liver, spleen, stomach and peritoneum.

Treatment with CytRx’s INNO-206 resulted in a statistically significant (p<0.005) three-fold reduction in the average primary tumor size, compared to the control. Treatment with doxorubicin showed only a 30% primary tumor reduction, which was not statistically significant - a response that was not surprising as pancreatic tumors are typically unresponsive to doxorubicin. In a parallel experiment, treatment with gemcitabine, the approved and most commonly prescribed drug for pancreatic cancer, resulted in activity comparable to doxorubicin, with an approximate 30% primary tumor volume reduction.

Although no statistically significant inhibition of tumor spread was demonstrated by either INNO-206 or gemcitabine, due to large variability between individual animals in the control, a substantial trend was observed in the INNO-206 group with an approximate 10-fold decrease in tumor spread to the liver and stomach. The toxicity associated with drug treatment was comparable among the treated groups, resulting in an average weight loss over the two treatment cycles of about 10% compared to the control group.

“It is truly exciting that in this animal trial our doxorubicin-derivative INNO-206, possibly due to its known tumor-targeting capabilities, inhibited growth in tumors that were not affected by doxorubicin itself,” said CytRx’s Chief Scientific Advisor Joseph Rubinfeld, Ph.D., co-founder of Amgen and a world-renowned expert in cancer drug development. “This raises the possibility that INNO-206 could have even broader applicability as a cancer treatment than highly prescribed doxorubicin. INNO-206 also demonstrated significantly better tumor reduction capabilities in this model than gemcitabine, the current clinical standard of pharmaceutical care in this cancer.”

About Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer, although a relatively rare form of cancer, is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. with only a 20% one-year survival rate, according to the American Cancer Society. This year in the U.S., the American Cancer Society estimates approximately 42,000 new pancreatic cancer cases and more than 35,000 deaths due to this disease. One in 76 people is expected to develop pancreatic cancer sometime in their life.

About INNO-206

INNO-206 is a prodrug of the commonly prescribed chemotherapeutic doxorubicin and was designed to reduce adverse events by controlling release and preferentially targeting the tumor. In a Phase 1 study, doses were administered at up to six times the standard dosing of doxorubicin without an increase in observed side effects over those historically seen with doxorubicin. The Company is evaluating options for a possible Phase 2 clinical trial.

Source
CytRx Corporation