Small Cell Lung Cancer News and Research

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Small cell lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung. Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive (fast-growing) cancer that can spread to other parts of the body. The cancer cells look small and oval-shaped when looked at under a microscope.

MedUni Vienna researchers identify reason for chemoresistance in small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer is not usually detected until it is at an advanced stage, when metastases have already formed. Chemotherapy is very effective initially but, within a year, cancer recurs and this time does not respond to a course of chemotherapy. The research group headed by Gerhard Hamilton, University Department of Surgery at MedUni Vienna, has now managed to identify the reason for this chemoresistance.

4 Apr 2016

HDAC inhibitors could improve activity of immunotherapeutic antibodies in lung cancer patients

Several new immunotherapeutic antibodies that inhibit checkpoint receptors on T cells to restimulate the immune system to target tumors have been approved to treat advanced stage lung cancer and melanoma; however, only 20 percent of lung cancer patients show a response to these agents.

2 Apr 2016

New tool interprets whole-exome tumor sequencing data for better cancer therapies

A University of Colorado Cancer study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association describes a new tool that interprets the raw data of whole exome tumor sequencing and then matches the cancer's unique genetics to FDA-approved targeted treatments.

30 Mar 2016

Research findings offer new way to differentiate, treat patients with lung cancer

Research in Manchester has identified mutations in lung cancer that is key to tumour growth, offering a new way to differentiate and treat some patients with the disease.

23 Mar 2016

Novel compound shows promise as potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

A novel compound has shown promise in preclinical studies as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, more than doubling median days of survival even in a drug-resistant form of the disease.

21 Mar 2016

Value of PD-L1 testing in NSCLC debated

Two viewpoint articles published in JAMA Oncology provide opposing opinions on the benefit of testing for programmed death-ligand 1 expression in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with checkpoint inhibitors.

18 Mar 2016

Halozyme Therapeutics doses first patient in Halo-301 | Pancreatic study

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel oncology and drug-delivery therapies, today announced the first patient has been dosed in its Halo-301 | Pancreatic study, a Phase 3 clinical trial in previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer patients.

16 Mar 2016

Experimental drug improves survival rate of majority of lung cancer patients compared to standard chemotherapy

In global clinical trials, patients with advanced metastatic lung cancer who were treated with a targeted immunotherapy drug lived significantly longer and with fewer side effects than those who received standard second-line chemotherapy, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published today in the journal The Lancet.

15 Mar 2016

FDA approves Xalkori (crizotinib) to treat patients with ROS-1 positive NSCLC

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xalkori (crizotinib) to treat people with advanced (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have an ROS-1 gene alteration. Xalkori is the first and only FDA approved treatment for patients with ROS-1 positive NSCLC.

13 Mar 2016

Conserved gene can act to inhibit lung cancer development, study finds

Scientists believe that "conserved" genes — those found in life forms that range from bacteria to plants, insects and humans — perform vital biological functions across species. And limited research on one of those genes, Nitrilase 1 (Nit1), suggested it acts to inhibit cancer development.

11 Mar 2016

Patients with early-stage NSCLC and low SMARCA4 expression may benefit from platinum-based chemotherapy

The activity level of a particular gene in lung tumors might identify lung-cancer patients who will likely be helped by a particular chemotherapy regimen given to prevent recurrence after surgery.

11 Mar 2016

Rice university researchers uncover elusive lung cancer cells

Researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have uncovered a trick used by lung cancer cells to hide from the body's immune system.

3 Mar 2016

FDA-approved VENTANA anti-ALK CDx more accurate than commonly used IHC assay for patient selection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved VENTANA anti-ALK(D5F3)CDx performed more accurately than another commonly used immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay, based on the use of the 5A4 clone, for the selection of patients eligible to receive ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment.

23 Feb 2016

Sanford Health clinical trial testing effectiveness of investigational cancer drug nivolumab

People with Merkel cell, gynecological, gastric and head and neck cancers may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial at Sanford Health testing the effectiveness of an investigational drug called nivolumab.

18 Feb 2016

New drug combination shows promise for patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States resulting in more than 158,000 deaths each year. With a 5-year survival rate at only 18 percent, the development of new and improved treatment options is needed.

18 Feb 2016

Helsinn, Mundipharma sign distribution, license and supply agreements for anamorelin

Helsinn, the Swiss pharmaceutical Group focused on building quality cancer care, today announce that they have entered into distribution, license and supply agreements with Mundipharma and its network of independent associated companies granting exclusive rights to anamorelin in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.

16 Feb 2016

AstraZeneca’s TAGRISSO (osimertinib) approved in EU for metastatic EGFR T790M mutation-positive NSCLC

AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted conditional marketing authorisation for TAGRISSO™ (AZD9291, osimertinib) 80mg once-daily tablets for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

4 Feb 2016

New drug cocktail may show promise in NSCLC patients

A drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for melanoma in combination with a common cholesterol-lowering drug may show promise in controlling cancer growth in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to new research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

3 Feb 2016

Mutation or amplification of HER2 gene may lead to lung cancer

A joint study by University of Colorado Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows two distinct causes of HER2 activation in lung cancer: mutation of the gene and amplification of the gene.

29 Jan 2016

Quest Diagnostics to offer in vitro diagnostic test for use in detection of PD-L1 expression for melanoma

Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced it will offer clinical laboratory testing using the PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx qualitative test from Dako, an Agilent Technologies company.

From Quest Diagnostics 27 Jan 2016