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''.

Advaxis files investigational new drug application for Lovaxin C

Advaxis Inc. completed its filing of a new investigational new drug ("IND") application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). This filing follows the successful completion of a Phase I study overseas.

20 May 2008

Targeted therapy can improve outcomes for lung tumors

The first U.S. clinical trial using genetic screening to identify lung tumors likely to respond to targeted therapies supports the use of those drugs as first-line treatment rather than after standard chemotherapy has failed.

20 May 2008

NIH launches undiagnosed diseases program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced a new clinical research program that will aim to provide answers to patients with mysterious conditions that have long eluded diagnosis. Called the Undiagnosed Diseases Program, the trans-NIH initiative will focus on the most puzzling medical cases referred to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., by physicians across the nation.

19 May 2008

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to present data on Ortataxel in breast cancer at major oncology meeting

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will present Phase 2 data on ortataxel at the 44th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held May 30 to June 3, 2008 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.

19 May 2008

Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca announce innovative deal for promising anti-cancer compound

Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Technology (CRT) - the charity's development and commercialisation arm - today announced an innovative new arrangement to progress into clinical development a potential anti-cancer compound from AstraZeneca.

19 May 2008

Finasteride for prostate cancer

A comprehensive re-evaluation of the largest prostate cancer prevention study ever completed produced new findings suggesting that men and their doctors should consider a more aggressive approach that includes finasteride to prevent the development of prostate cancer.

19 May 2008

Nurse-administered prevention and management strategies can decrease incidence of lymphedema and improve quality of life in patients

A poster session presented by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the Oncology Nurses Society 33rd Annual Congress, found that early nursing intervention and implementation of effective strategies can lead to a decrease in the incidence of lymphedema, better management of chronic lymphedema and improved quality of life in breast cancer patients.

19 May 2008

Pfizer and Peter MacCallum support the future of cancer research in Australia

Australia's reputation for excellence in cancer research has been strengthened with the launch of the Peter MacCallum Pfizer Translational Oncology Research Collaborative Hub (TORCH) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon. Kim Carr.

18 May 2008

Study finds patients overestimate cancer screening history

A new American Cancer Society study finds female African American patients tend to overestimate their level of cancer screening, indicating that current estimates of screening based on self-reported data may be lower than reported.

15 May 2008

Length of telomeres in blood cells tied to breast cancer survival rates

Researchers at Umea University in Sweden have shown that the length of telomeres in blood cells in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients is tied to survival rates. The study, published in the journal Cancer Research, was carried out by a research team headed by Professor Goran Roos at the Department of Medical Bioscience, Pathology.

15 May 2008

New Wilmot Cancer Center offers expanded care, research for cures

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) today celebrates the expansion of cancer care and research as it dedicates the new James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. The Center introduces leading-edge technology, greater access to multidisciplinary care, a new model for breast care, and more opportunities to receive tomorrow's therapies today.

15 May 2008

Molecular clock could predict risk for developing breast cancer

A chemical reaction in genes that control breast cancer provides a molecular clock that could one day help researchers more accurately determine a woman's risk for developing breast cancer and provide a new approach for treatment, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

15 May 2008

Previously unseen switch regulates breast cancer response to estrogen

A tiny modification called methylation on estrogen receptors prolongs the life of these growth-driving molecules in breast cancer cells, according to research by scientists at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute.

8 May 2008

New key mechanism in cell division discovered

Scientists at the IFOM-IEO Campus have revealed the function of a protein that is indispensable for passing on an accurate copy of the genome from mother to daughter cells. This study, published in Cell, opens up new avenues of research to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer.

8 May 2008

Discovery of DNA variations in chromosome 6 that gives rise to neuroblastoma

Using advanced gene-hunting technology, an international team of researchers has for the first time identified a chromosome region that is the source of genetic events that give rise to neuroblastoma, an often fatal childhood cancer.

7 May 2008

Nurse practitioners as entrepreneurs: constrained or liberated?

Nurse entrepreneurs today are a wonderful population of liberated professionals. Factors like subordination of nurses to the medical profession, frequent schedule changes, overloads, burnout, shift work, lack of appreciation by superiors and colleagues, lower wages, short staffing and poor working conditions have contributed towards a reduction of nursing professionals in USA and an increase in opportunities for nurse entrepreneurs.

6 May 2008

Adult human stem cells shown not to pose a cancer risk when implanted into different organs

A new study by UC Davis researchers provides evidence that methods using human bone marrow-derived stem cells to deliver gene therapy to cure diseases of the blood, bone marrow and certain types of cancer do not cause the development of tumors or leukemia.

6 May 2008

Researchers find way to make tumor cells more sensitive to hyperthermia-enhanced radiation therapy

Tumors have a unique vulnerability that can be exploited to make them more sensitive to heat and radiation, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

6 May 2008

Biosimilar protein cooperation

A biosimilar protein that can be used to treat neutropenia (a side effect of cancer chemotherapy) is to be developed by Apotex Inc. of Canada in collaboration with Intas Biopharmaceuticals Limited (IBPL).

6 May 2008

Epidermal growth factor receptor protects cancer cells from starving

A growth factor receptor found abundantly on the surface of cancer cells and long known to fuel cancer growth also protects tumor cells from starvation by a newly identified mechanism, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the May 5 issue of Cancer Cell.

5 May 2008