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''.

Patients with advanced NSCLC predict their overall survival rates

Research published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has found that an individual's quality of life prior to treatment can help predict the overall survival of patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

3 Sep 2009

Annexin-Vivo 750 imaging agent for measuring cell death in vivo

VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced today the commercial launch of its new Annexin-Vivo 750 imaging agent for measuring and monitoring apoptosis and cell death in vivo.

2 Sep 2009

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System deployed at the CHUM

In operation since recently at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System, is revolutionizing the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body. Used in radiation oncology, the CyberKnife System is the latest word in radiosurgery technology. Designed to destroy tumours using radiation beams, it is the first system of its kind to treat tumors non-invasively to be installed in Canada.

2 Sep 2009

BioDelivery Sciences International to integrate its Newark operations with company’s headquarters in Raleigh

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDSI), today announced the consolidation of the company’s laboratory and other operations in Newark, New Jersey to the company’s headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. BDSI will vacate its Newark facility by September 30, 2009.

2 Sep 2009

Strategy to enhance diabetes management across Canada

Research being driven by The University of Western Ontario that will enhance diabetes management across Canada recently received support from two of Canada's leading pharmaceutical companies in the form of a $500,000 contribution.

2 Sep 2009

FDA: Randomized clinical trial necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in adult AML

Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced today that the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9 to 3 that a randomized, controlled trial is needed to support the currently proposed label expansion for Clolar® (clofarabine) in adult myeloid leukemia (AML). The committee found that the single-arm clinical study results submitted to support the label expansion showed Clolar was an active agent in acute AML patients, but concluded that a randomized clinical trial should be necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in the proposed patient population.

2 Sep 2009

CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System provides pain-free, non-surgical option for patients with tumours

The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), invites media representatives to discover the first autonomous robotic radiosurgery device installed in Canada, the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System. This device provides a pain-free, non-surgical option for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.

2 Sep 2009

TRAF6 protein plays a role in cell growth and carcinogenesis, says researchers

The mainstay immune system protein TRAF6 plays an unexpected, key role activating a cell signaling molecule that in mutant form is associated with cancer growth, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Aug. 28 edition of Science.

2 Sep 2009

New findings on molecular imaging and prostate cancer

A new study published in the September issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET)/computer tomography (CT) scans with the imaging agent choline could detect recurring prostate cancer sooner than conventional imaging technologies in some patients who have had their prostates surgically removed.

2 Sep 2009

New ARRA-funded research on white blood cell functioning

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided funding for new research to learn more about how white blood cells work. Jonathan Reichner, PhD, of the department of surgery at Rhode Island Hospital has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health with funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Reichner's hope is that the research will lead to new immune-enhancing therapies, with potential implications for improvements in both cancer treatment and controlling inflammation accompanying injury and infection.

2 Sep 2009

Policymakers need to be educated on the radical difference between radiation therapy and diagnostic testing

Concerned members of the cancer community, including physicians, patient organizations and other care advocates, spoke out today in opposition to a proposed federal policy under consideration by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would lump life-saving radiation therapy in with diagnostic testing services in receiving major Medicare funding cuts.

2 Sep 2009

JAMA study reveals the genetic signature of brain cancer

A pair of studies in the July 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) spell out how much closer science has come to unraveling the genetic signature of brain cancer, according to a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Boris Pasche, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAB Division of Hematology and Oncology, believes these studies represent a new vanguard in the still-changing field of DNA analysis.

2 Sep 2009

NF-kappa B inhibitors protect against toxicity during radiation treatment

Directly inhibiting the activity of a key protein mediator of inflammation reduced radiation toxicity in zebrafish embryos, and may ultimately be of help to patients receiving radiation therapy, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

2 Sep 2009

Telephone counseling and referral service launched for ovarian cancer affected women

Women with ovarian cancer can now find immediate assistance to better cope with their diagnosis by calling 877-OV-HOPE-1 (877-684-6731), a new, free telephone counseling and referral service launched today by a unique partnership: L'Oreal Paris and its charitable partner, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), and CancerCare, a national non-profit which provides free counseling and education services to individuals and families affected by cancer.

1 Sep 2009

Circulating endothelial cells play a fundamental role in the development of cancer in children

Endothelial progenitor cells may play a role in the start and progression of metastatic disease in children with cancer, according to study results published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

1 Sep 2009

GS-101 effective in inhibiting and regressing corneal neovascularisation

Gene Signal, a company focused on developing innovative drugs to manage angiogenesis based conditions, today announced the publication of interim results from a phase II study suggesting that the antisense oligonucleotide GS-101 (eye drops) is safe and effective at inhibiting and regressing corneal neovascularisation (abnormal new blood vessel growth).

1 Sep 2009

Fox Chase becomes the seventh cancer center to receive the CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation

Fox Chase Cancer Center has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the organization’s commitment to the health of their employees and family members by certifying their efforts to meet an exceptionally high standard of cancer prevention, screening and care guidelines.

1 Sep 2009

Intrexon purchases assets and operations of Avalon Pharmaceutical

Intrexon Corporation, a privately held life sciences company focused on modular DNA control systems for biotherapeutics and other industry sectors, today announced the purchase of assets and operations of Avalon Pharmaceutical, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clinical Data, Inc.

1 Sep 2009

Clinical Data raises funds by selling certain assests to Intrexon Corporation

Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA) today announced the sale of certain assets to Intrexon Corporation, a transaction that is consistent with the Company’s ongoing plan to focus resources on its valuable late-stage and preclinical drug programs.

1 Sep 2009

NASDAQ Stock Market issues noncompliance letter to Encorium Group

Encorium Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENCO), a full service multinational clinical research organization (CRO) conducting studies in over 30 countries for many of the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, today announced that on August 25, 2009, it received a letter from The NASDAQ Stock Market notifying the Company that, based on its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2009, NASDAQ has determined that the Company's stockholders' equity does not comply with the minimum $2.5 million stockholders' equity requirement for continued listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market as required by NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5550(b)(1).

1 Sep 2009