Leukemia News and Research

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Leukemia (Leukaemia) is a cancer of the blood cells. It is the most common type of blood cancer and affects 10 times as many adults as children. Most people diagnosed with leukemia are over 50 years old. No one knows why some people develop leukemia and others do not. However, scientists have identified some risk factors for the disease. Most people who have known risk factors do not get leukemia, while many who do get the disease have none of these risk factors. During the early stages of leukemia, there may be no symptoms. Many of the symptoms of leukemia don't become apparent until a large number of normal blood cells are crowded out by leukemia cells.

Study: XMRV retrovirus is not present in chronic fatigue syndrome patients

New findings from University of Utah School of Medicine researchers show that the retrovirus called XMRV is not present in the blood of patients who have chronic fatigue syndrome.

5 May 2011

Three hundred neurosurgeons to participate in Central Park softball tournament

With summer just around the corner, that means the Annual Neurosurgery Charity Softball Tournament will take place in Central Park for the eighth consecutive year.

30 Apr 2011

MorphoSys reaches second clinical milestone with OncoMed Pharmaceuticals

MorphoSys AG announced today that it has received a milestone payment from OncoMed Pharmaceuticals in connection with the FDA acceptance of an IND for a HuCAL-derived, fully human antibody. The antibody OMP-18R5, which targets the Wnt signaling pathway, will be evaluated in a Phase 1 trial in the US in patients with advanced solid tumors.

29 Apr 2011

FDA approves orphan drug designation for Cytrx’s INNO-206 to treat pancreatic cancer

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced that its tumor-targeting pro-drug candidate INNO-206 has been approved for orphan drug designation for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer by the Office of Orphan Products Development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). CytRx holds the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to INNO-206.

28 Apr 2011

Tarix begins patient enrollment for TXA127 Phase 1 study in DCBT

Tarix Pharmaceuticals today announced enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical study of TXA127, a pharmaceutical grade formulation of a naturally occurring peptide known to stimulate early hematopoietic precursor cells in the bone marrow.

27 Apr 2011

CSI's cancer cytogenetic testing receives COG approval

CSI Laboratories, a private national cancer diagnostics laboratory, has received approval from the Children's Oncology Group to begin analyzing pediatric cytogenetic cases. The Children's Oncology Group is the world's largest children's cancer research organization and includes more than 210 member hospitals with over 6,500 medical professionals.

26 Apr 2011

Rwanda, QIAGEN and Merck launch comprehensive national cervical cancer prevention program

The Government of Rwanda, together with QIAGEN N.V. and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the launch, in Kigali, Rwanda, of a comprehensive national cervical cancer prevention program that includes vaccination with GARDASIL [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for appropriate girls 12 to 15 years of age and modern molecular diagnostic screening for women between the ages of 35 and 45.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 25 Apr 2011

ARIAD executes three exclusive out-license agreements for ARGENT cell-signaling regulation technology

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced execution of three exclusive out-license agreements for separate aspects of its ARGENT™ cell-signaling regulation technology.

20 Apr 2011

Clontech releases iDimerize inducible dimerization systems

Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., today announced the release of the iDimerize inducible dimerization systems. Based on the widely used ARGENT™ technology developed by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the iDimerize systems enable precise, real-time control of protein-protein interactions using specific cell-permeable chemical ligands, called dimerizers.

20 Apr 2011

Sequencing the genomes of cancer patients help doctors decide the best course of treatment

Two new studies highlight the power of sequencing cancer patients' genomes as a diagnostic tool, helping doctors decide the best course of treatment and researchers identify new cancer susceptibility mutations that can be passed from parent to child.

20 Apr 2011

Whole-genome sequencing could soon improve cancer survival rates

Cancer survival rates could improve soon with whole-genome sequencing, according to two studies published in the April 20, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that describe the first clinical applications of the high-tech process in patients with cancer.

20 Apr 2011

Rituxan receives FDA approval for treating two rare diseases

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Rituxan (rituximab), in combination with glucocorticoids (steroids), to treat patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), two rare disorders that cause blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis).

20 Apr 2011

Biothera's Phase II clinical trials in lung cancer attain stage 1 endpoint

Biothera announced today that its second Phase II non-small cell lung cancer trial, evaluating Imprime PGG® in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin®) and two chemotherapeutic agents, has achieved its stage 1 endpoint and has begun enrolling patients for stage 2 of the study.

20 Apr 2011

FDA approves Rituxan-corticosteroid combination for Wegener's Granulomatosis and Microscopic Polyangiitis

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group and Biogen Idec announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Rituxan® (rituximab), in combination with corticosteroids, as a new medicine for adults with Wegener's Granulomatosis (WG) and Microscopic Polyangiitis (MPA).

20 Apr 2011

BioSante, Aduro BioTech enter license agreement for GVAX cancer vaccines

Aduro BioTech, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, has licensed GVAX Pancreas Cancer Vaccine and GVAX Prostate Cancer Vaccine BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in exchange for milestone and royalty payments after commercialization.

19 Apr 2011

BioSante licenses Pancreas and Prostate cancer vaccines to Aduro BioTech

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced it has licensed its Pancreas Cancer Vaccine and Prostate Cancer Vaccine to Aduro BioTech, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, solely for use in combination with Aduro's proprietary vaccine platform based on Listeria monocytogenes (Lm).

19 Apr 2011

Journal of Clinical Oncology publishes CytRx tamibarotene Phase 2b trial results in APL

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced the publication of a case report in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Oncology documenting the use of tamibarotene in the successful treatment of a patient with recurrent advanced-stage acute promyelocytic leukemia.

19 Apr 2011

Cytonet initiates clinical trial using liver cell infusion to treat urea cycle disorders in children

International biotechnology firm Cytonet recently launched the first ever clinical trial in the United States using an investigational liver cell infusion to treat urea cycle disorders (UCD) in children. The first patient in the Phase II trial, which will seek to enroll 20 patients in 12 medical centers, is a child with citrullinemia, which is a hereditary UCD. He received six liver cell infusions on six consecutive days at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists identify novel small molecules that block human tumor cell growth

Researchers from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified three novel small molecules that interrupt a crucial cellular communication pathway that regulates many aspects of development and cancer.

15 Apr 2011