Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, is the most well-known member of the carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumor community. He was diagnosed with an islet cell pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET) in 2004 for which he had surgery, followed by a liver transplant in April 2009. He talked publicly about his liver transplant yesterday (March 20, 2010) “for the first time at a press conference where California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced new legislation to encourage and make easier organ donation.” Watch the video here (Jobs’ speech is around the 13 minute mark): http://mashable.com/2010/03/19/steve-jobs-liver-transplant-2/



(Special note: since this blog was written the video that was then on the Internet is no longer online. Click here for a transcript of his remarks.)

To read more about islet tumor cells of the pancreas, go the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation website and download the PowerPoint presentation by Michael J. Demeure, MD, MBA. Dr. Demeure is the Director of the Endocrine Tumor Center at Scottsdale Healthcare and Senior Investigator at TGen (Translational Genomics Institute) Clinical Research Service in Arizona.

Dr. Demeure will be the featured speaker at the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s April 11, 2010 symposium for carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumor patients, family, friends, and healthcare professionals. His presentation, Determining Molecular Signature: A Guide for Targeted Therapy of Neuroendocrine Tumors, is a fascinating look at the development of new treatments for patients with rare cancers including tumors of the neuroendocrine system, such as carcinoids and pancreatic NET. Dr. Demeure and his team use a personalized genomic analysis of a patient’s tumor and then select drugs targeting particular mutations found in a patient’s tumor.

What are the benefits of genomic analysis? According to Dr. Demeure, “All genetic material is encoded in the chromosomes which serve as a blueprint for all the genes and functions of cells in the body. It is known that abnormal genes result in cancer. Soon, we will be able to sequence the genetic code of a patient’s tumor rapidly and at a cost that makes in practical for clinical use.”

The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s symposium will be presented at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City on Sunday, April 11 from 1:00 – 4:30 pm. Click here for more information and to register: http://carcinoid.org/events/index.shtml.