Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Novel pharmacological target for cannabinoid-based therapies

Cannabinoids, the active ingredients in marijuana, restrict the sprouting of blood vessels to brain tumors by inhibiting the expression of genes needed for the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

15 Aug 2004

Could the cure for cancer have been ignored for 30 years?

Over the past 30 years, a qualified surgeon based in Perth, Australia has been treating cancer patients with a novel form of radio-wave therapy. A news story on the popular Australian television show "A Current Affair", hosted by Ray Martin has sparked great interest from the Australian general public and the wider Australian medical community.

12 Aug 2004

Stanford researchers identify leukemia stem cells

A handful of leukemia cells constantly replenish the supply of cancerous cells, according to new work by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

11 Aug 2004

Genentech announces FDA approval of Avastin manufacturing

Genentech has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the manufacturing of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) bulk drug substance at the company's facility in Vacaville, California.

11 Aug 2004

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have found that combining ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the deadliest type of brain tumor.

9 Aug 2004

Aggressive treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer shown to be more effective

Radiation therapy (RT) has been the most important treatment modality with curative potential in treating patients with cancer of the nasopharynx, the part of the pharynx that lies above the soft palate.

9 Aug 2004

Knowledge about oral and head and neck cancer is severely lacking in the American public

Most adult Americans know how to light a cigarette and order a drink, but a great number of them are clueless about the consequence of these two destructive habits – oral and head and neck cancer.

9 Aug 2004

Promising families of drugs combat the spread of tumors in different ways

Pharmaceutical companies seeking to design more effective cancer chemotherapy agents may have an easier road ahead than was previously believed.

9 Aug 2004

Physicians offer several promising and unique approaches to brain tumor treatment

An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

5 Aug 2004

New screening test for oesophageal (food pipe) cancer

A new screening test for oesophageal (food pipe) cancer could dramatically improve survival from the disease, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer this week.

5 Aug 2004

Moderate exercise helps beat fatigue from prostate radiation

Men who get a moderate amount of exercise during radiation for prostate cancer are better able to cope with the fatigue the treatment can cause, researchers from Scotland report in the journal Cancer.

5 Aug 2004

Smart drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor

The use of a "smart" drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor may provide treatment that can extend the survival of people with the most common form of primary malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

3 Aug 2004

Entirely new approach to the treatment of aging

Dispelling the belief that the only way to treat such conditions is by fixing or replacing damaged genes, they instead focused on the field of epigenetics—the study of changes in gene silencing that occur without changes in the genes themselves.

3 Aug 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

New screening technique to look for genes that change patients' responses to cancer drugs and other medications

Scientists have developed a new screening technique to help them look for genes that change patients' responses to cancer drugs and other medications.

3 Aug 2004

Recommendation against the use of chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays

A new technology assessment from the American Society of Clinical Oncology states that the use of chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays (CSRAs) to select chemotherapeutic agents for cancer patients should not be undertaken outside of the clinical trial setting.

3 Aug 2004

Adhering to established guidelines improves survival and reduces the risk of breast cancer

The first study to compare survival between women with breast cancer whose treatment was based on consensus guidelines and those whose treatment was not shows that adhering to established guidelines improves survival and reduces the risk of recurrence.

3 Aug 2004