Cancer Therapy News and Research

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Breast cancer drug Herceptin a 'stunner'

According to the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) the first trials of the breast cancer drug, Herceptin, tested on women with early stage disease are "simply stunning".

20 Oct 2005

Herceptin therapy highly superior to standard breast cancer treatment

In a joint paper, co-authored by Mayo Clinic's Edith Perez, M.D., and Edward Romond, M.D., of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), researchers report complete and combined results of two trials comparing adjuvant chemotherapy with or without concurrent trastuzumab treatment in women with surgically removed HER2-positive breast cancer.

19 Oct 2005

Yeast cells help show how GSAO (glutathionarsenoxide) angiogenesis inhibitor drug works

The humble yeast has revealed the molecular workings of an anti-cancer drug that stops the growth and spread of tumours in humans by starving their blood supply.

18 Oct 2005

New prostate cancer test far more accurate

At present in order to predict prostate cancer outcomes, doctors rely on measures that suggest how far the tumour has spread and how abnormal the cancer cells appear under the microscope.

18 Oct 2005

Study identifies molecular switch that integrates cell survival signals from multiple intracellular signaling pathways

The finding has substantial clinical significance, as mutations in these cell survival-signaling pathways are associated with many human cancers, and a better understanding of how these pathways converge to regulate the delicate balance between cell proliferation and cell death may lead to development of more effective cancer therapies.

17 Oct 2005

1G8 antibody signals prostate cancer cells to stop growing and die

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have uncovered the mechanism by which an antibody blocks the growth of prostate cancer in animal models, a discovery that could pave the way for development of a new molecularly targeted therapy.

17 Oct 2005

New surgical option for breast cancer patients

A new surgical option for breast cancer patients combines removal of the cancerous tumor with breast reduction in one surgical procedure, called oncoplastic surgery, with benefits that include improved cosmetic outcome and reduced risk of complications.

13 Oct 2005

Discovery of agent that can suppress cancer development

In a case of basic science detective work, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have solved the puzzle of the "inconsistent biomarker" and, in the process, may have discovered an agent that can suppress cancer development.

13 Oct 2005

Why breast black cancer patients experience lower survival rates than other women

Black women with stage I or II breast cancer are more likely than their counterparts of other races to abandon chemotherapy before completing their full course of treatment, according to a recent Columbia University Medical Center study.

12 Oct 2005

Reflexology popular amongst women receiving chemotherapy

Researchers at Michigan State University are finding that many women who are receiving chemotherapy while in the late stages of breast cancer are turning to a complementary therapy known as reflexology to help them cope.

9 Oct 2005

Cancer incidence among women has increased slightly

Overall rates of cancer death for both men and women have declined in the United States, and cancer incidence has remained stable among men. However, overall cancer incidence among women has increased slightly, according to a special article that appears in the October 5 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

4 Oct 2005

Americans' risk of dying from cancer continues to decline

The nation's leading cancer organizations report that Americans' risk of dying from cancer continues to decline and that the rate of new cancers is holding steady. The "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2002," published in the Oct. 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows observed cancer death rates from all cancers combined dropped 1.1 percent per year from 1993 to 2002.

4 Oct 2005

Researchers identify gene defect in mice that causes cyclical hair loss and skin cancer

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and at the Wadsworth Center in New York have identified a gene defect in mice resulting in a range of abnormalities, from cyclical hair loss and skin cancer to severe problems in normal skin development.

4 Oct 2005

Greasing the gears that drive the interferon signal

Interferon -- a critical protein that mediates the body's defense against a wide variety of infectious agents and tumors -- may soon have greater therapeutic value as the result of a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Oct 2005

Microarray technology may help tailor breast cancer therapy

Microarray technology could be used to tailor therapy according to the individual, and prevent breast cancer patients from having to undergo painful unsuccessful therapies.

3 Oct 2005

New Stat1 and interferon findings

By altering a molecule called Stat1, which is involved in cellular immune signaling, scientists have succeeded in making the molecule more responsive and thus more efficient. This old protein with a new twist may eventually be used to improve the body's defense against infection.

28 Sep 2005

Snail, a molecule normally important in embryonic development, can promote breast cancer recurrence

Using a recently developed mouse model of breast cancer, a team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that Snail, a molecule normally important in embryonic development, can promote breast cancer recurrence.

20 Sep 2005

Scientists have discovered a new and potent anti-cancer compound in beans

Scientists have discovered a new and potent anti-cancer compound in everyday food. The collaborative study led by UCL (University College London) shows that the compound - inositol pentakisphosphate - found in beans, nuts and cereals inhibits a key enzyme (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) involved in tumour growth.

19 Sep 2005

New research will play a major role in improving the future of breast cancer treatment

Cancer specialists at University of East Anglia have discovered that several 'ADAMTS' genes are turned off in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue, while others are switched on. These genes could be targets for the development of 'smart' drugs tailored to treat individual patients' tumours.

19 Sep 2005

Workshop - stem cells in reproduction and in the brain

"Once we have found the factors by which body cells can be re-programmed into stem cells, then therapeutic cloning might become superfluous," said Hans R. Scholer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Munster, Germany, at an international scientific symposium on stem cell research in Kobe, Japan.

10 Sep 2005