Small Cell Lung Cancer News and Research

RSS

Small cell lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung. Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive (fast-growing) cancer that can spread to other parts of the body. The cancer cells look small and oval-shaped when looked at under a microscope.

Good results in new lung cancer treatment

Interim analysis of a Phase III study of Avastin (bevacizumab) with paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapies in first-line non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) met its primary goal of improving overall survival, or a reduction in the risk of death, compared to chemotherapy alone.

15 Mar 2005

Combining PET and CT scans leads to more accurate radiation therapy for lung cancer patients

Using Positron Emission Tomography in addition to Computed Tomography can reduce the amount of radiation exposure to normal tissue in some lung cancer patients

8 Mar 2005

Molecule from South American tree Quillaja, helps battle disease

The first synthesis of QS-21A, a medicinally important molecule that helps the body battle disease, has been achieved by chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1 Mar 2005

Why some lung cancers stop responding to the drugs erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa)

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have found an explanation for why some lung cancers stop responding to the drugs erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa).

22 Feb 2005

Experimental drug Revlimid showing promise as treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)

Alan List, M.D., leader of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, recently conducted a phase I/II trial of the experimental drug Revlimid showing promise as an innovative way to treat patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a form of pre-leukemia.

10 Feb 2005

Avastin available across Europe within the next few weeks

Roche has announced that the European Commission has approved Avastin (bevacizumab, rhuMAb-VEGF), the new innovative anti-angiogenesis drug, for the treatment of patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer.

16 Jan 2005

New trial to test cancer smart drugs

Cancer Research UK has launched a major new clinical trial for the most common form of lung cancer, to test the effectiveness of one of the new generation of 'smart' cancer drugs as a first line treatment.

29 Nov 2004

FDA approves Tarceva (erlotinib)

OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved, after priority review, Tarceva (erlotinib) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.

20 Nov 2004

Higher radiation doses helps patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer live longer

Treating patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer more aggressively by giving them higher doses of radiation helps keep the disease from spreading and allows some patients to live longer

28 Oct 2004

Radiation either before or after chemotherapy and surgery just as effective for treating lung cancer

Radiation therapy before chemotherapy and surgery is just as effective in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer as chemotherapy followed by surgery then radiation

5 Oct 2004

Biomira and Merck announce fast track status for liposome vaccine

Biomira and Merck KGaA have announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track status to the investigation of BLP25 Liposome Vaccine (L-BLP25) for its proposed use in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

29 Sep 2004

Tarceva plus Gemcitabine improves survival compared to Gemcitabine alone

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Genentech, Inc., and Roche announced today that results from a randomized Phase III clinical study of the investigational drug Tarceva (erlotinib HCl), in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of improving survival.

20 Sep 2004

New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Tarceva

OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech have announced that OSI completed the submission of a New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Tarceva (erlotinib HCl),

3 Aug 2004

Alimta receives positive endorsement for lung cancer approval from FDA Advisory Committee

Eli Lilly and Company have announced that the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration positively endorsed Alimta® (pemetrexed), an antifolate, for accelerated approval in the second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

29 Jul 2004

CancerVax may increase the survival of patients with advanced stage non-small-cell lung cancer

CancerVax Corporation has announced that its wholly owned subsidiaries, Tarcanta, Inc., and Tarcanta, Ltd. (Ireland), have obtained the exclusive rights to complete the clinical development of three specific active immunotherapeutic (SAI) product candidates that target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway for the treatment of cancer.

19 Jul 2004

Cognitive decline can occur before chemotherapy treatment

In a series of studies in breast cancer patients, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have confirmed the presence of “chemobrain” after chemotherapy treatment – but they also discovered that a significant portion of patients have cognitive declines even before chemotherapy.

21 Jun 2004

Chemotherapy regimen more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients

A chemotherapy regimen commonly used to treat non-small cell lung cancer is both more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients, researchers reported Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists.

7 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Genentech, Inc. and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the first Phase III study of an anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy, showing that the addition of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) to the IFL chemotherapy regimen (5-FU/Leucovorin/ CPT-11) significantly extended survival in patients with first-line (previously untreated) metastatic colorectal cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Study may help oncologists tailor chemotherapy to patients based on their genetic make-up

Genetic variations in an individual’s ability to repair DNA damage may help predict survival in lung cancer patients treated with the common chemotherapy drugs cisplatin or carboplatin, a new study shows.