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''.

A combination of chemotherapy drugs could double survival rates for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. More than 80% of patients present with advanced disease at diagnosis, and mortality is high. A single chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine, is regarded as the standard treatment, but it has lead to a 1-year overall survival of only 17—28% in clinical trials.

9 May 2005

pSivida's BrachySil takes first step in regulatory programme leading to product approval

pSivida Limited has announced that current data from its lead cancer product BrachySil will be presented at this year's European Society for Therapeutic and Radiation Oncology Conference in Budapest on May 5, 2005. The conference is an opportunity to share and validate the Company's promising findings with an international scientific, clinical and industrial audience.

3 May 2005

Monitoring program has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious and often-fatal drug reactions

A monitoring program developed by a Northwestern University researcher has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious and often-fatal drug reactions associated with 15 commonly used drugs, including Plavix®, thalidomide and drug-coated cardiac stents.

3 May 2005

Gene variant that increases colon cancer risk

A paper published in this week's Journal of Clinical Oncology says Transforming Growth Factor Beta Receptor 1*6A (TGFBR1*6A) - a mutated gene present in nearly one in eight people and the most commonly inherited cancer susceptibility gene identified so far - might be responsible for a significant proportion of familial colorectal cancers.

2 May 2005

New drug may help treat certain forms of leukemia

A new experimental drug may be effective against a certain form of leukemia resistant to current treatments, research at UT Southwestern Medical Center shows.

2 May 2005

New prognostic markers help identify risk of relapse

A recently completed clinical study has found new prognostic markers that may help clinicians identify those children with leukaemia who are at high risk of relapse and are most in need of intensified treatment to improve their chance of survival.

1 May 2005

Japanese women have lower recurrence of breast cancer

Early-stage breast cancer patients of Japanese descent that are treated with a lumpectomy and radiation therapy are more likely to be cured of their cancer than women of other ancestries, according to a new study published in the May 2005 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

1 May 2005

New clinical trial focuses on quality of life for men with prostate cancer

A new Australian prostate cancer clinical trial hopes to provide clear evidence to men with prostate cancer about the best time to start hormone treatment in terms of prolonging life, balanced against the effects on their quality of life.

27 Apr 2005

National clinical trial examines new option for kidney cancer patients

The trial, which opened last September, offers research subjects who qualify a new, targeted therapy in addition to standard immune therapy. The drug combination is being studied in a national Phase II clinical trial led by OHSU Cancer Institute researcher Christopher Ryan, M.D., through the Southwest Oncology Group, one of the largest clinical trial cooperative groups in the United States.

27 Apr 2005

Herceptin in combination with chemotherapy reduces risk of breast cancer recurrence in women with with early-stage breast cancer

Results from two clinical trials show that patients with early-stage breast cancer who received trastuzumab (Herceptin) in combination with chemotherapy had a 52 percent decrease in risk for breast cancer recurrence, compared with patients who received the same chemotherapy without the drug. The difference is statistically highly significant.

26 Apr 2005

Herceptin provides hope to new breast cancer sufferers

According to new research, Herceptin, Genentech's breast cancer treatment has shown promise in treating the early stages of breast cancer.

25 Apr 2005

Pattern of gene expression predicts multiple drug resistance, treatment failure in pediatric leukemia

The discovery of a specific pattern of gene expression linked to multiple-drug resistance of leukemic cells is giving researchers crucial information into why standard therapies fail to cure some children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This finding, from investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, could lead to development of drugs that would overcome that resistance.

24 Apr 2005

Demoralization: A syndrome which should not be confused with depression

A group of Italian researchers headed by Prof. Giovanni Fava (University of Bologna) has published a multicenter investigation on demoralization in the setting of medical disease. Demoralization was defined according to diagnostic criteria encompassing unpleasant, distressing feelings of personal failure and inadequacies, with a loss of continuity in the sense of sequence between past and future.

23 Apr 2005

Aging population correlates with a switch from acute infectious diseases to chronic diseases as the major cause of morbidity and mortality

Some diseases like ulcers and certain types of cancer, once thought to be primarily related to lifestyle factors, are now known to be caused by microorganisms, and many more syndromes, including some psychiatric conditions, may have a connection to infection, according to a report released today by the American Academy of Microbiology.

22 Apr 2005

Clinical study of MDX-010/MDX-1379 combination shows durable responses in patients with metastatic melanoma

Medarex, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today that complete or partial responses in seven of 56 patients with metastatic melanoma showed durability ranging from four months to the longest still ongoing at over 34 months, with five of the seven responses ongoing for more than two years.

20 Apr 2005

Breast cancer gene may play a major role in the recurrence of prostate cancer

A gene associated with breast cancer also may play a major role in the recurrence of prostate cancer, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

20 Apr 2005

ASTRO public awareness campaign wins award

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s public awareness campaign to educate cancer patients on their treatment options has won an Award of Distinction from The Communicator Awards in their 2005 Print Media competition. ASTRO also received Awards of Distinction for its quarterly magazine, ASTROnews, and its Annual Meeting Guide magazine supplement.

20 Apr 2005

Compound derived from cottonseed oil could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer

The findings, which will be presented Tuesday, April 19, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, could lead to a treatment that provides an effective option to surgically removing the cancer, helping patients preserve vital organs involved in speech and swallowing.

19 Apr 2005

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.

19 Apr 2005

Gene expression pattern predicts multiple drug resistance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital discovery of genetic links to multi-drug resistance gives clinicians new insight into the cause of treatment failure and suggests targets for novel anti-leukemic drugs

19 Apr 2005

Oncology News and Research

Further Reading

A combination of chemotherapy drugs could double survival rates for pancreatic cancer

pSivida's BrachySil takes first step in regulatory programme leading to product approval

Monitoring program has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious and often-fatal drug reactions

Gene variant that increases colon cancer risk

New drug may help treat certain forms of leukemia

New prognostic markers help identify risk of relapse

Japanese women have lower recurrence of breast cancer

New clinical trial focuses on quality of life for men with prostate cancer

National clinical trial examines new option for kidney cancer patients

Herceptin in combination with chemotherapy reduces risk of breast cancer recurrence in women with with early-stage breast cancer

Herceptin provides hope to new breast cancer sufferers

Pattern of gene expression predicts multiple drug resistance, treatment failure in pediatric leukemia

Demoralization: A syndrome which should not be confused with depression

Aging population correlates with a switch from acute infectious diseases to chronic diseases as the major cause of morbidity and mortality

Clinical study of MDX-010/MDX-1379 combination shows durable responses in patients with metastatic melanoma

Breast cancer gene may play a major role in the recurrence of prostate cancer

ASTRO public awareness campaign wins award

Compound derived from cottonseed oil could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Gene expression pattern predicts multiple drug resistance

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