Oncology News and Research

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Oncology, meaning bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix ''-logy'', meaning "study of") is a branch of medicine that deals with tumors (cancer). A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''.

MDRNA granted Chinese patent for use of nucleic acids in cancer treatment

MDRNA, Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, today announced that the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has issued a Notification of Granting Patent Rights for PRC 200480018784 which includes the use of nucleic acids, e.g., an siRNA, for the treatment of cancer. The patent describes modulation of claudins, which are proteins implicated in tumor progression and metastasis.

27 Jan 2010

NCCN updates the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines for Oncology for Ovarian Cancer

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently updated the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines for Oncology™ for Ovarian Cancer to reflect the addition of two preferred combination regimens for a specific cohort of patients based on data from recent clinical research studies.

27 Jan 2010

Prometheus Laboratories executes commercialization agreement with Novartis

Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, today announced the execution of a commercialization agreement with Novartis under which Prometheus acquired exclusive rights to distribute, promote and sell PROLEUKIN® (aldesleukin) in the United States.

27 Jan 2010

EpiCept's NP-1 for treatment of PHN receives FDA orphan drug designation

EpiCept Corporation announced today that EpiCeptTM NP-1 has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). NP-1 is a prescription topical analgesic cream designed to provide long-term relief from the pain of peripheral neuropathies.

27 Jan 2010

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals closes $6.17M Series B-4 private equity financing

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held, clinical stage oncology-focused pharmaceutical company, has announced the closing of its Series B-4 private equity financing of $6,175,000. The Company plans to use the proceeds for its on-going phase I/II clinical trials of its lead cancer drug--CPI-613, research and development, and general corporate purposes.

27 Jan 2010

Neoprobe completes license amendment with The Dow Chemical

Neoprobe Corporation, a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, announced today that it has completed a license amendment with The Dow Chemical Company for a variety of antibodies used in its proprietary surgical oncology system called radioimmunoguided surgery or RIGS®.

27 Jan 2010

Radiation therapy safe and effective for cancer treatment

In response to the issues raised by the Jan. 24 New York Times article, "Radiation Offers New Cures and Ways to Do Harm," US Oncology, Inc. wants to ensure that cancer patients and the general public understand that the benefits received from radiation therapy in cancer care far outweigh the risks, and that cancer patients fighting their disease with help from the US Oncology physician network, and their loved ones, can rest assured that extensive quality control measures are put in place to minimize risks.

27 Jan 2010

ZIOPHARM receives Notice of Allowance for palifosfamide from U.S. patent office

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for Application Serial No. 11/257,766 entitled “Salts of Isophosphoramide mustard and analogs thereof as anti-tumor agents” with claims directed to compounds, pharmaceutical compositions, and lyophilisates. These claims cover the Company’s proprietary palifosfamide composition (ZIO-201 or ZymafosTM). The Company has recently reported positive randomized Phase II sarcoma interim data for intravenous palifosfamide at the Annual Meeting of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) on November 6, 2009 and expects, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, to initiate a registration trial the first half of 2010.

27 Jan 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to submit additional data for FUSILEV sNDA

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that it has met with the FDA regarding it’s supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for FUSILEV® (levoleucovorin) for injection for the treatment of patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer. In October 2009, the FDA issued a Complete Response letter regarding its sNDA for FUSILEV.

25 Jan 2010

CEO Cancer Gold Standard: Four organizations receive accreditation

The American Cancer Society’s Mid-South Division, LiDestri Foods, MDU Resources Group, Inc. and WCA Hospital have received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the commitment of these organizations to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle.

25 Jan 2010

New online resource to help people with Oral Mucositis launched

From today, a new resource is available to help people with Oral Mucositis: http://www.mouthsmadegood.com. Oral Mucositis (OM) is a side effect of cancer therapy and is characterised by a red, swollen and ulcerated mouth and tongue.

25 Jan 2010

Halozyme Therapeutics and BioAtla sign research collaboration agreement

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix, today announced the signing of an exclusive, worldwide, contract research collaboration agreement with BioAtla, LLC for the development of novel high throughput recombinant protein screening libraries directed against targets in oncology, aesthetic dermatology and inflammation.

25 Jan 2010

Erbitux improves survival of mCRC patients with KRAS wild-type tumors

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that Erbitux® (cetuximab) provided an improvement in overall survival (OS) when added to the standard 1st-line FOLFIRI chemotherapy regimen for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with KRAS wild-type tumors in the CRYSTAL study.

24 Jan 2010

Researchers identify new gene signature that predicts cancer recurrence in certain breast tumors

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a gene activity signature that predicts a high risk of cancer recurrence in certain breast tumors that have been treated with commonly used chemotherapy drugs.

24 Jan 2010

Final data from Poniard Pharmaceuticals' randomized Phase 2 trial of picoplatin announced

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative oncology therapies, today announced final data from a randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of picoplatin in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

24 Jan 2010

Pfizer reports final results from randomized Phase 3 trial of Sutent

Pfizer Inc. today announced final results from a randomized Phase 3 trial of Sutent (sunitinib malate) in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, a type of cancer which originates in the hormone-producing area of the pancreas.

23 Jan 2010

IsoRay expands market awareness program by joining www.StockProfile.com

IsoRay, Inc., announced today that they have expanded their market awareness program by joining www.StockProfile.com, a customized web-based platform showcasing emerging growth stocks.

23 Jan 2010

Æterna Zentaris receives notification letter over non-compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule

Æterna Zentaris Inc. (the "Company"), a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrinology, today announced that on January 21, 2010, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The NASDAQ Stock Market indicating that the minimum closing bid price of its common shares had fallen below US$1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days, and therefore, Æterna Zentaris was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the "Rule").

22 Jan 2010

Data from GenVec's trial in esophageal cancer showcased at 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium

GenVec, Inc. announced today that data from the Company's trial in esophageal cancer were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Florida on January 22, 2010.

22 Jan 2010

Researchers discover genetic variations that predict clinical outcomes in patients with stomach cancer

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time, identified specific genetic variations that predict clinical outcomes in patients with gastric (stomach) cancer.

22 Jan 2010