Gemcitabine News and Research

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Gemcitabine is the active ingredient in a drug that is used to treat pancreatic cancer that is advanced or has spread. It is also used together with other drugs to treat breast cancer that has spread, advanced ovarian cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer that is advanced or has spread. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Gemcitabine blocks the cell from making DNA and may kill cancer cells. It is a type of antimetabolite

Study assesses effect of chemoradiotherapy on survival of locally advanced pancreatic cancer patients

In a study appearing in the May 3 issue of JAMA, Pascal Hammel, M.D., of Beaujon Hospital, Clichy, France and colleagues assessed whether chemoradiotherapy improves overall survival of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer controlled after 4 months of gemcitabine-based induction chemotherapy, and assessed the effect of erlotinib on survival. Gemcitabine and erlotinib are drugs used to treat cancer.

4 May 2016

Genetic modification of common virus gives extra weapon to kill cancer cells

A common flu virus could be used to overcome patients' resistance to certain cancer drugs -- and improve how those drugs kill cancer cells, according to new research from Queen Mary University of London.

16 Apr 2016

Added benefit of crizotinib drug for first-line treatment of advanced bronchial carcinoma not proven

The drug crizotinib (trade name: Xalkori) has been available since 2012 for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (bronchial carcinoma) who have a high activity of the enzyme anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and have already received another treatment. In November 2015, the approval was extended to first-line treatment.

11 Apr 2016

Promising UCLA discovery could lead to new method for improving cancer treatments

A promising new discovery by UCLA scientists could lead to a new method of identifying cancer patients that express high levels of an enzyme and are more likely to respond to cancer treatments.

29 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

Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute awards grants for 10 bladder cancer research projects

A study of obesity and related metabolic changes on bladder cancer incidence and deaths, and a plan to use stem cells to grow novel urinary tubes are among 10 research projects awarded funding by the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute.

7 Mar 2016

Lenalidomide trials show potential for expanding lymphoma, leukaemia indications

Positive findings from two clinical trials have been published for the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide in patients with heavily pretreated mantle cell lymphoma, and in adults with T-cell leukaemia-lymphoma or peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

19 Feb 2016

Implantable device could help deliver toxic cocktail of drugs directly to pancreatic tumors

A highly lethal cancer sometimes requires large doses of highly toxic drugs. However, a blitzkrieg approach can be unfeasible for some patients due to severe side effects. Now a powerhouse team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has revealed that an implantable device can deliver a particularly toxic cocktail of drugs directly to pancreatic tumors to stunt their growth or in some cases, shrink them - all while showing signs that the rest of the body would be spared toxic side effects.

9 Feb 2016

First patients treated in Phase 1b trial of pembrolizumab with REOLYSIN in advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. today announced that the first patients have been treated in a Phase 1b study of pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) in combination with REOLYSIN (pelareorep) and chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (REO 024).

19 Jan 2016

Lancet study compares prices of new cancer drugs in high-income countries

The price of new cancer drugs varies widely (from 28% to 388%) between high-income countries in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, new research published in The Lancet Oncology has found.

8 Dec 2015

Portrazza approved to treat patients with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Portrazza (necitumumab) in combination with two forms of chemotherapy to treat patients with advanced (metastatic) squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not previously received medication specifically for treating their advanced lung cancer.

24 Nov 2015

MD Anderson study reveals why chemotherapy drugs not effective for many pancreatic cancer patients

A study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center may explain why chemotherapy drugs such as gemcitabine are not effective for many pancreatic cancer patients, and perhaps point to new approaches to treatment including enhancing gemcitabine's ability to stop tumor growth.

12 Nov 2015

Advanced pancreatic cancer patients now have access to new FDA-approved drug, Onivyde

Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer now have access to the new FDA approved drug, Onivyde, that produced significant overall survival rates in an international clinical study conducted in part by researchers at HonorHealth Research Institute and the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

27 Oct 2015

Novel therapy gets FDA approval for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Today, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a novel therapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma – the most common form of pancreatic cancer – whose disease has progressed following gemcitabine-based therapy, offering new hope against a disease that will claim the lives of more than 40,000 individuals this year.

23 Oct 2015

New combination treatment approved by FDA for metastatic pancreatic cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Onivyde (irinotecan liposome injection), in combination with fluorouracil and leucovorin, to treat patients with advanced (metastatic) pancreatic cancer who have been previously treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.

23 Oct 2015

OncoGenex reports results from Phase 2 Rainier study in patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today initial results from the Phase 2 Rainier study evaluating apatorsen in combination with ABRAXANE (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) and gemcitabine compared to ABRAXANE and gemcitabine alone in patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer.

23 Sep 2015

Artificial intelligence may improve outcomes in breast cancer patients

Western University researchers are working on a way to use artificial intelligence to predict a patient's response to two common chemotherapy medications used to treat breast cancer - paclitaxel and gemcitabine.

19 Sep 2015

FDA, EMA accept filing applications for Boehringer Ingelheim's afatinib to treat patients with advanced SCC of the lung

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced that both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have accepted filing applications for afatinib for the treatment of patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung progressing after treatment with first-line chemotherapy.

26 Aug 2015

Researchers develop new way to personalize treatments for aggressive bladder cancer

Researchers at UC Davis, in collaboration with colleagues at Jackson Laboratory, have developed a new way to personalize treatments for aggressive bladder cancer.

14 Aug 2015

Study: Omega-3 fatty acids may help improve treatment response, quality of life for patients with cancer

Adding omega-3 fatty acids to anti-tumor medications may improve treatment response and quality of life for cancer patients according to a new study by researchers at the University Hospitals of Leicester in the United Kingdom.

28 Jul 2015