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.

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

More individualized therapy and better supportive care helped push the survival for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to 71 percent three years after diagnosis, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators and reported in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology. The survival rate of 71 percent is 20 percent better than previously reported U.S. rates and is similar to the success achieved in a 2009 Japanese study, said Jeffrey Rubnitz, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Oncology department.

11 May 2010

Increased cholesterol levels can affect microenvironment of bone marrow

Increased cholesterol levels are being increasingly recognised as risk factors for the onset and progression of several cancers. Now researchers in Portugal show that high levels of cholesterol can affect the microenvironment of the bone marrow, so that more cells move from the bone marrow to peripheral, circulating blood.

11 May 2010

Researchers develop new type of drug to kill non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumor cells

Three researchers who are recipients of a collaborative grant from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation have developed a new type of drug designed to kill non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumor cells. The breakthrough could lead to potential non-toxic therapies for cancer patients. The Foundation-funded investigators include Ari Melnick, M.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College, Alexander MacKerell, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland and Gilbert Priv-, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto.

11 May 2010

Ferring to acquire global rights to Xanodyne Pharmaceutical's LYSTEDA

Ferring Pharmaceuticals today announced an agreement that will expand its Women's Health product portfolio with the acquisition of the global rights to Xanodyne Pharmaceutical's LYSTEDA™ (tranexamic acid), a first-in-class, non-hormonal therapy indicated specifically for treatment of women with cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).

10 May 2010

Chemical changes in genetic material regulate activity of many genes

Chemical changes in the genetic material, known as epigenetic modifications, regulate the activity of many genes. Thus, attachment of methyl groups to DNA often inactivates important cellular growth brakes. Therefore, this process called methylation is believed to be a major cause of uncontrolled division of cancer cells. Specific enzymes, the DNA methyltransferases, are responsible for methylation.

7 May 2010

Bioengineers define relationship between key regulatory proteins

With thousands of scientists across the globe searching for ways to use adult stem cells to fight disease, there's a growing emphasis on finding the "master regulators" that guide the differentiation of stem cells. New research from Rice University and the University of Cambridge suggests that a closely connected trio of regulatory proteins fulfills that role in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the self-renewing cells the body uses to make new blood cells.

7 May 2010

Scientists analyze genetic networks of microRNAs in tumors

Genes interact in complex networks that govern cellular processes, much like people connect a social network through relationships. Researchers are now discovering how biological networks change and are rewired in cancer.

6 May 2010

EpiCept provides update on corporate strategy, reports net loss of $4.5M for first-quarter 2010

EpiCept Corporation today announced operating and financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2010, and provided an update with respect to the Company's key business initiatives.

6 May 2010

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can increase risk of AML in children

Although acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is relatively rare in children, drinking alcohol during pregnancy could increase the risk, according to a recent paper published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

6 May 2010

Micromet reports total revenues of $6.3 million for first-quarter 2010

Micromet, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of next-generation antibodies for the treatment of cancer, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

5 May 2010

ARIAD restructures collaboration with Merck for ridaforolimus mTOR inhibitor

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has restructured its July 2007 collaboration with Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Corp. for the development, manufacture, and commercialization of ridaforolimus - ARIAD's investigational mTOR inhibitor.

5 May 2010

NIH awards CSU biochemists $7.8M grant to study gene regulation within cells

A team of top biochemists at Colorado State University will investigate how chromosomes untangle to expose genes that dictate cell behavior - a unique project that could have a significant impact on understanding human health.

5 May 2010

Meda AB's net sales for first-quarter 2010 decrease 14% to SEK 2,943M

After a strong Q4 in 2009, net sales decreased 14% in Q1 to SEK 2,943 million (3,437). Mainly currency effects but also increased competition for Astelin and Optivar reduced sales by more than SEK 400 million, compared with the same period last year.

5 May 2010

Three Hamilton scientists receive cancer research grants from Canadian Cancer Society

Three Hamilton scientists are receiving new funding from the Canadian Cancer Society for their work in innovative cancer research.

5 May 2010

Protein PEA-15 stops T-cell proliferation

New research has identified that a key protein called PEA-15 stops T-cell proliferation by blocking the cell's ability to reproduce. The control of T-cell proliferation is essential in preventing certain blood cancers and autoimmune diseases, as well as the orchestration of the immune response to infection. Findings of the study are reported in a recent online issue of The FASEB Journal, a publication of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

5 May 2010

S*BIO, Onyx Pharmaceuticals expand development, commercialization collaboration for JAK2 Inhibitors

S*BIO Pte Ltd and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the expansion of their development collaboration and option and license commercialization agreement for S*BIO's novel JAK2 inhibitors, SB1518 and SB1578, also known as ONX 0803 and ONX 0805, respectively. The expanded agreement builds upon the development and commercialization collaboration between the two companies announced in January 2009.

5 May 2010

Aethlon Medical plans to initiate patient recruitment for cancer immunotherapy study

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that it plans to initiate patient recruitment for a cancer immunotherapy study by year end. The pilot study seeks to demonstrate an improved immune function in cancer patients as a result of the Aethlon Hemopurifier removing tumor-secreted exosomes from the circulatory system.

4 May 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $9.3 million for first-quarter 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.

4 May 2010

Phase 2 clinical trial data of voreloxin to be presented at 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting: MicroStockProfit.com

MicroStockProfit.com announces an investment report featuring Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

4 May 2010

CBAI signs License and Cooperation agreement with AXM Pharma

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells, a biological insurance policy, to families nationwide and internationally, announced today that an architectural firm has been retained for the new, 200,000 square foot umbilical cord blood processing and storage facility in China.

4 May 2010