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Combination of PD-991 and letrozole improves survival in patients with HER2- breast cancer

Pfizer Inc. today announced randomized Phase 2 data that showed PD-0332991 (PD-991) in combination with letrozole significantly extended progression free survival (PFS) compared with letrozole alone in post-menopausal patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

6 Dec 2012

NICE reject intravitreal implant for diabetic macular edema

The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has not recommended a fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant for individuals with diabetic macular edema who do not respond to existing therapies.

5 Dec 2012

Combination of ketogenic diet and radiation therapy effectively treats malignant gliomas

A team of brain cancer researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has effectively treated brain tumor cells using a unique combination of diet and radiation therapy.

5 Dec 2012

Innovative stem cell technique for heart tissue revealed

Researchers have found that stem cell cultures infused with growth factors could be used to repair damaged heart tissue without the threat of patient rejection.

3 Dec 2012

Topical simvastatin may be answer to nonhealing diabetic wounds

Topical simvastatin significantly accelerates wound healing in mice and may be a good treatment option for diabetic patients with nonhealing wounds, say researchers.

30 Nov 2012

Fn14 gene plays a role in growth and spread of non-small cell lung cancer tumors

Lung cancer researchers at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz., in collaboration with researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and other institutions, have identified a gene that plays a role in the growth and spread of non-small cell lung cancer tumors, opening the door for potential new treatment options.

30 Nov 2012

Topically applied simvastatin enhances wound recovery in diabetic mice

Delayed wound healing is a major complication of diabetes because the physiological changes in tissues and cells impair the wound healing process. This can result in additional disease outcomes such as diabetic foot ulcer, a significant cause of morbidity in the growing population of diabetic patients. A new study has found that topically applied simvastatin accelerates wound healing in diabetic mice, suggesting important implications for humans with diabetes.

28 Nov 2012

Paper illuminates importance of PKM2 in cancer development and progression

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have tracked down a cancer-promoting protein's pathway into the cell nucleus and discovered how, once there, it fires up a glucose metabolism pathway on which brain tumors thrive.

26 Nov 2012

Nonfunctional MED12 gene linked to chemotherapy resistance

Research published in Cell shows that people with tumors that have a nonfunctional version of the mediator 12 gene are resistant to drugs used to treat lung and colon cancer such as gefitinib.

26 Nov 2012

Lymphopenia driven diseases and the orphan drug industry: an interview with Damian Marron, CEO of Cytheris

Lymphopenia is when you lack the T cells of your immune system. T cells are very important for controlling infection. Probably the most known cause of lymphopenia is HIV.

23 Nov 2012

TGF-betaR inhibitors may counter drug resistance in cancer patients with MED12 mutations

Cancer therapies often have short-lived benefits due to the emergence of genetic mutations that cause drug resistance. A key gene that determines resistance to a range of cancer drugs has been reported in a study published by Cell Press November 21st in the journal Cell.

22 Nov 2012

New approach could help orthopaedic surgeons better deal with battlefield injuries

Bones are resilient and heal well after most fractures. But in cases of traumatic injury, in which big pieces of bone are missing, healing is much more difficult, if not impossible. These so-called "large segmental defects" are a major clinical problem, and orthopaedic surgeons struggle to treat them, especially among the military in places like Afghanistan.

22 Nov 2012

Bevacizumab ruled out for stage III colorectal cancer

Findings from the AVANT trial do not support the use of bevacizumab in patients receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for resected stage III or high-risk stage II colon carcinoma.

19 Nov 2012

Study: Regular exercise before, during pregnancy could have beneficial effects for women

Contrary to popular thought, regular exercise before and during pregnancy could have beneficial effects for women that develop high blood pressure during gestation, human physiology professor Jeff Gilbert said, summarizing a new study by his research team that appears in the December issue of Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association.

16 Nov 2012

Trastuzumab increases risk of heart failure in older women with breast cancer

Heart failure is a relatively common complication in older women with breast cancer, but the risk is even higher in those patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin-), Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

15 Nov 2012

Medulloblastomas that arise from different cell types might require personalized treatments

Cancers arise when a normal cell acquires a mutation in a gene that regulates cellular growth or survival. But the particular cell this mutation happens in-the cell of origin-can have an enormous impact on the behavior of the tumor, and on the strategies used to treat it.

14 Nov 2012

Taiho Pharmaceutical announces early stage data for eight novel oncology compounds

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the developer of the first orally available fluorouracil (FU) Chemotherapeutic treatment (TS-1/S-1), is presenting early stage data for eight novel oncology compounds, including potential first-in-class therapies.

7 Nov 2012

Celldex to present results from CDX-301 Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced an upcoming data presentation at the American Society of Hematology 54th Annual Meeting and Exposition to be held in Atlanta, GA from December 8 through December 11, 2012.

6 Nov 2012

Inhibition of NOX4 enzyme plays an important role in liver fibrosis

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have led a study published in PLoS One showing that the inhibition of a family member of NADPH oxidase enzyme, NOX4, plays an important role in liver fibrosis.

5 Nov 2012

MED1 plays a central role in mediating tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer

A University of Cincinnati (UC) cancer biology team reports breakthrough findings about specific cellular mechanisms that may help overcome endocrine (hormone) therapy-resistance in patients with estrogen-positive breast cancers, combating a widespread problem in effective medical management of the disease.

3 Nov 2012