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Older men more likely to die from prostrate cancer

Contrary to common belief, men age 75 and older are diagnosed with late-stage and more aggressive prostate cancer and thus die from the disease more often than younger men, according to a University of Rochester analysis published online this week by the journal, Cancer.

20 Oct 2011

Researchers discover peacekeeper-immune cells in outer layers of human skin

There are more bacteria living on our skin and in our gut than cells in our body. We need them. But until now no-one knew how the immune system could tell that these bacteria are harmless.

18 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Screening for prostate cancer, stem cell research and free coverage for Iowa lawmakers

As a practicing internist, I need all the help I can get in diagnosing the many diseases that threaten the life and well-being of my patients. So perhaps you'll understand why I'm angered by the reckless new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (a panel of primary care experts) that I don't use the prostate-specific antigen to screen men older than 40 for prostate cancer.

13 Oct 2011

USPTO issues patent to Oragenics' In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology

Florida-based nutraceutical company, Oragenics, Inc., announced today the issuance of patent number 8,034,571 from the United States Patent and Trademark office for In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology.

13 Oct 2011

Daily vitamin E supplementation may increase risk of prostate cancer

In a trial that included about 35,000 men, those who were randomized to receive daily supplementation with vitamin E had a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer, according to a study in the October 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Oct 2011

FDA grants Advaxis pre-IND meeting for ADXS-HER2 cancer immunotherapy

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, has been granted a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on November 22nd, 2011 to discuss the initial clinical development plan for ADXS-HER2, a construct for the treatment of HER2 expressing cancers.

12 Oct 2011

Two-gene DNA urine test for prostate cancer

In the current debate sparked by the recent USPSTF recommendation on PSA screening, it is clear that better biomarkers than PSA are urgently needed. One new biotechnology that may go a long way in detecting only prostate cancer and reducing unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies and possible subsequent overtreatment, is the development of a new urine test for prostate cancer.

12 Oct 2011

PSA test for prostate cancer may confuse: Experts debate its continued use

According to new research the PSA test for prostate cancer does more harm than good. This week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force is expected to announce its recommendation against routine testing for blood levels of prostate-specific antigen, the protein that can be a signal of prostate cancer.

11 Oct 2011

Aduro initiates CRS-207 and GVAX Pancreas Cancer Vaccine Phase 2 clinical trial

Aduro BioTech, Inc. announces the treatment of the first patient in the Phase 2 pancreatic cancer clinical trial of the sequential administration of two cancer vaccines: Aduro's CRS-207 and GVAX Pancreas Cancer Vaccine.

11 Oct 2011

ImmunoCellular receives U.S. patent allowance for ICT-107 to treat GBM

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, announced the allowance of U.S. patent claims related to ICT-107, the Company's dendritic cell based cancer vaccine candidate targeting multiple tumor antigens for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.

11 Oct 2011

PCEC opposes newly released USPSTF recommendations on PSA screening

The Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) – a national organization committed to men's health and a leader in prostate cancer screening – today announced it strongly opposes the newly released recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force.

11 Oct 2011

LUGPA encourages men to speak out to preserve prostate cancer screenings

The Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA), representing more than 1,800 urologists, encourages men to speak out to preserve prostate cancer screenings.

11 Oct 2011

VGX International, Inovio partner to co-develop SynCon vaccines for hepatitis B and C infections

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of synthetic vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has entered into a product development collaboration agreement with its affiliate, VGX International Inc., to co-develop Inovio's SynCon therapeutic vaccines for hepatitis B and C infections.

10 Oct 2011

Advocates prepare for battle on PSA testing; insurers review options

A day after a government panel said that healthy men should no longer get screened for prostate cancer, some doctors' groups and cancer patients' advocates began a campaign to convince the nation that the advice was misguided. Their hope is to copy the success of women's groups that successfully persuaded much of the country two years ago that it was a mistake for the same panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, to recommend against routine mammograms for women in their 40s.

10 Oct 2011

Preventive task force panel will urge men to skip prostate screening, reports say

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is scheduled to issue this recommendation on Tuesday, but advance press reports indicate the expert panel will urge the federal government to change its current position to recommend that men under age 75 forgo this widely used test.

7 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 7, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about what the Institute of Medicine recommends in terms of the criteria and methods the Department of Health and Human Services should follow in developing the health law's essential benefits package.

7 Oct 2011

La Jolla Institute scientist identifies previously unknown T cell interaction

Most of the time, the immune system is the body's protector, warding off invading viruses and bacteria before they can lead to infection and disease. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system does an about face, turning on the body and attacking normal cells.

3 Oct 2011

Free radical peroyxnitrite linked to failure of cytotoxic T-cells to eliminate tumors

Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues have found that tumor cell resistance to a specific cancer immunotherapy designed to kill cancer cells can be blamed on a mechanism that involves the production of a free radical peroxynitrite (PNT) that causes resistance to therapeutic cancer-killing cells.

30 Sep 2011

Study identifies genetic mutations that affect immune response to measles vaccination

Researchers at Mayo Clinic are hacking the genetic code that controls the human response to disease vaccination, and they are using this new cipher to answer many of the deep-seated questions that plague vaccinology, including why patients respond so differently to identical vaccines and how to minimize the side effects to vaccination.

23 Sep 2011

UCLA's gene-based imaging system can accurately detect metastatic prostate cancers

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a way to image the spread of a particularly dangerous form of prostate cancer earlier than conventional imaging in use today, which may allow oncologists to find and treat these metastases more quickly and give patients a better chance at survival.

23 Sep 2011