Liver Cancer News and Research

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Liver cancer is more common in older people. Over half of people newly diagnosed with liver cancer are age 65 and over. Liver cancer is more common in men than in women. Liver cancer rates are highest among Asians and Pacific Islanders, most likely because of higher prevalence of viral Hepatitis infection. Liver cancer rates are lower among whites than Blacks or Asians and Pacific Islanders. At this time, we do not know exactly what causes cancer of the liver. There are several different types of liver cancer. The most common type is associated with long-term excessive alcoholic beverage use, scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), and Hepatitis B virus or Hepatitis C virus infection. Long-term use of anabolic steroids can also increase the risk of getting liver cancer. Smoking is also believed to increase the risk of getting liver cancer.

Hunt for baby denied HBV shot

Authorities in New South Wales, Australia, continue to search for a couple who have refused to have their newborn baby immunised against hepatitis B.

25 Aug 2008

FDA approves Gilead's antiretroviral Viread for hepatitis B

Gilead Sciences on Monday announced that it has received FDA approval to market its antiretroviral drug Viread as a hepatitis B treatment, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (AP/International Herald Tribune, 8/12).

13 Aug 2008

Viread approved for chronic hepatitis B

The FDA has approved Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) as a treatment option for adults with chronic hepatitis B, a serious liver disease.

11 Aug 2008

Lawmakers agree to ban use of phthalates in toys

Lawmakers charged with finalizing the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act agreed yesterday to include a provision that will ban phthalates from children's toys and childcare articles. The legislative action validates the concerns of scientists and parents who have been urging a ban, and will bring federal regulation in line with several states and leading retailers that have already taken action to remove phthalates from toys.

29 Jul 2008

Sorafenib extends life of advanced liver cancer patients

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have found that sorafenib (Nexavar) helps patients with advanced liver cancer live about 44 percent longer compared with patients who did not receive the anti-cancer drug.

23 Jul 2008

Sale of liver disease therapeutic patents

IpAuctions, Inc. will auction the worldwide biotherapeutic patents previously owned by Cell Works Inc., a Maryland-based biotech company, and acquired by CellPoint Diagnostics, Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif. These patents primarily consist of organ-targeted drug delivery systems to combat liver disease.

17 Jul 2008

Enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver

A key enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver - a buildup of excess fat in the liver, which can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers.

10 Jul 2008

Gene radiotherapy system shows promise for fighting treatment-resistant cancer cells

A gene radiotherapy system that detects and treats cancer cells that are resistant to traditional forms of chemotherapy and radiation showed success in the laboratory and could eventually prove beneficial for cancer patients, according to researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 55th Annual Meeting.

16 Jun 2008

Nanoparticles trigger built-in cell-death signal to overcome drug resistance

One of the most vexing problems in treating cancer is the propensity of tumors to develop resistance to a wide range of anticancer drugs. Over 70 percent of ovarian cancer patients, for example, have drug-resistant tumors at the time of their initial diagnosis, and virtually all patients who relapse have drug-resistant tumors.

15 Jun 2008

Study finds increased risk of some cancers among HIV-positive people in U.S.

HIV-positive people in the U.S., many of whom are living longer because of antiretroviral drugs, are at an increased risk for certain types of cancers, according to a study published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Reuters reports.

22 May 2008

DNA modification seen in colorectal tumors helps predict outcomes, John Wayne Cancer Institute researchers find

An international study led by researchers at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center has found that modifications to DNA found on multiple chromosomes in tumors can help to predict outcomes in patients with early-stage rectal cancer.

21 May 2008

Combining sorafenib with carboplatin/paclitaxel adds no benefit in lung cancer

A clinical trial evaluating the benefit of adding the drug sorafenib to the combination of carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy for lung cancer patients has been stopped based on results from an interim analysis, after an independent data monitoring committee concluded that the study would not meet its primary endpoint of improved overall survival.

26 Apr 2008

Hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b shows promise

The hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b, when given as low-dose maintenance therapy, can prevent disease progression in certain patients who failed previous interferon-based hepatitis C therapies and have advanced liver disease, according to findings from a large, four-year study presented today at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

24 Apr 2008

BioAlliance Pharma announces preliminary results from U.S. phase III trial for Loramyc

BioAlliance Pharma SA today announced the preliminary positive results for its US pivotal Phase III clinical trial with Loramyc (miconazole Lauriad), Mucoadhesive Buccal Tablets (MBT) developed for the treatment of OroPharyngeal Candidiasis in immunocompromised population. This trial was conducted to support an NDA filing to market the product in the US.

21 Apr 2008

Raptor Pharmaceuticals initiates phase IIa clinical study for Convivia

Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. has announced that its clinical development subsidiary, Bennu Pharmaceuticals Inc. , has initiated the Company's first clinical-stage program after dosing the first cohort in a Phase IIa study of oral 4-methylpyrazole ("4-MP") in subjects with ALDH2 deficiency, or ethanol intolerance, as the initial development stage of its Convivia program.

21 Apr 2008

Combining liver cancer treatments doubles survival rates

By combining the use of stents and photodynamic therapy, also called SpyGlass, physicians at the University of Virginia have been able to significantly increase survival rates for patients suffering from advanced cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the liver bile duct.

16 Apr 2008

Treatment with sunitinib slows tumor growth and spread of liver cancer

Treatment with sunitinib slows tumor growth and reduces the risk of metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, an aggressive cancer of the liver, researchers report.

15 Apr 2008

Targeted therapy combo overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that combining two targeted therapies overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines.

13 Apr 2008

Targeted therapies overcome treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center reported today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that combining two targeted therapies overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines.

13 Apr 2008

Multipolar radiofrequency ablation for liver cancer proves effective

Use of multipolar radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases is effective and has a relatively low recurrence rate, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Charité, Campus Benjamin Franklin in Berlin, Germany.

13 Apr 2008