Oncology News and Research

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Oncology, meaning bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix ''-logy'', meaning "study of") is a branch of medicine that deals with tumors (cancer). A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''.

Merck, Endocyte enter vintafolide development and commercialization agreement

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Endocyte Inc., today announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Endocyte's novel investigational therapeutic candidate vintafolide (EC145).

16 Apr 2012

Immunotherapy may also help elderly cancer patients

Cancer is much more likely in the elderly than the young, and their bodies often are less prepared to fight the disease and the often-toxic side effects of treatment.

16 Apr 2012

Study calls for research into all aspects of follow-up care in lung cancer

Scientist say there is an urgent need for research into all aspects of follow-up care in lung cancer. The study presented in the May 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology focused on different follow-up strategies for patients with lung cancer.

16 Apr 2012

Conformetrix's NMR-based technology to be applied across AstraZeneca's pre-clinical therapeutic pipeline

Conformetrix Ltd, a leader in optimising drug discovery and design, and AstraZeneca announced today that they have signed a research collaboration agreement under which Conformetrix's proprietary NMR-based technology will be applied across AstraZeneca's pre-clinical therapeutic pipeline to enhance lead discovery and hit identification.

16 Apr 2012

Tool predicts response to platinum-based chemotherapy in ovarian cancer

A DNA repair pathway-focused score has the potential to help determine if first-line platinum based chemotherapy can benefit advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients, according to a study published April 13 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

16 Apr 2012

SMART Heart improves cardiovascular surgical outcomes

Two years ago, 57-year-old Allus Brown underwent a simultaneous heart-kidney transplant and spent months in and out of the hospital after battling dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that enlarges and weakens the heart. Now fully recovered, Brown is still in and out of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute each week. Only nowadays when he visits, he's laughing it up, playing board games, and sharing accounts of his own struggles with heart disease as part of the Bluhm Institute's new and innovative program, SMART Heart, stress management and recreational therapy for heart patients.

16 Apr 2012

CT guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration might diagnose pulmonary nodules

Screening for lung cancer with low dose CT scans has been shown to save lives. However, research shows that when CT scans reveal nodules in the lungs, it is not cancerous 96 percent of the time. As a result, scientists are looking for ways to more accurately make a diagnosis. One way is by using a CT guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration.

16 Apr 2012

Physical activity reduces depression, enhances QOL during treatment for breast cancer

Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer might fight off distressing side effects and improve psychological well-being by staying off the couch. According to the University of Miami (UM) study, women who are physically active during treatment have less depression and an enhanced quality of life and report less debilitating fatigue.

16 Apr 2012

New genes may explain individual differences in brain size and intelligence

In the world's largest brain study to date, a team of more than 200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide collaborated to map the human genes that boost or sabotage the brain's resistance to a variety of mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease.

16 Apr 2012

Researchers identify new mechanism by which colon cancer develops

A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a new mechanism by which colon cancer develops. By focusing on segments of DNA located between genes, or so-called "junk DNA," the team has discovered a set of master switches, i.e., gene enhancer elements, that turn "on and off" key genes whose altered expression is defining for colon cancers.

16 Apr 2012

The key to treating AML may lie within FTL3 gene mutations

The key to treating one of the most common types of human leukemia may lie within mutations in a gene called FLT3, according to new research led by physician-scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2012

Study investigates genetic factors and smoking exposure in Japanese lung cancer patients

Previous research has shown that Asian patients with lung cancer are more likely to harbor epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. Furthermore, Asian patients with lung cancer are more likely to be non-smokers than Western patients with lung cancer. Research in the May 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology goes deeper, investigated genetic factors and smoking exposure in Japanese lung cancer patients.

16 Apr 2012

Natural products isolated from marine mollusks and sponges can reverse multidrug resistance in cancer cells

Many marine natural products show anticancer activity, but some can reverse multidrug resistance in cancer cells. A new investigation by Robert J. Capon of the University of Queensland correlates the products' structures with their activity.

12 Apr 2012

DNDi, AstraZeneca enter collaboration on drug-compound screening for NTDs

AstraZeneca and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) today announce an agreement to collaborate on drug-compound screening for leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness, three neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) which together affect nearly 10 million people worldwide.

12 Apr 2012

ALL induction treatment failure should not be an automatic indication for bone marrow transplant

International study that included St. Jude Children's Research Hospital reports some young acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who fail induction therapy can achieve high cure rates without bone marrow transplantation.

12 Apr 2012

AstraZeneca introduces DUTOPROL for hypertension

AstraZeneca today announced the availability of DUTOPROL (metoprolol succinate extended release/hydrochlorothiazide) Tablets, the first and only once-daily antihypertensive agent that contains the active ingredient of TOPROL-XL (metoprolol succinate) plus a low-dose diuretic that provides proven blood pressure lowering at 24 hours.

12 Apr 2012

RiboMed releases multi-marker methylation prognostic test for glioma

RiboMed Clinical Services Laboratory (RCSL), a CLIA-certified subsidiary of RiboMed Biotechnologies, today announced the release of a multi-marker methylation prognostic test for grading gliomas, the most common type of brain cancer.

12 Apr 2012

Austrian scientists challenge the clinical relevance of the term “basal-like” breast cancer subtype

Not all breast cancers are the same. Different types can mean different prognoses for the patient, and a different kind of treatment may be adequate. But how to classify tumors? Are molecular classification methods reliable? Mohammad Ali Lavasani and Farid Moinfar from the Unit of Breast and Gynecologic Pathology at the Medical University of Graz, Austria give a critical review of the literature with focus on “basal-like” carcinoma.

11 Apr 2012

Breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express higher level of PRDX2

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have shown that breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express a higher level of the protein peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2). The study suggests that the modulation of the levels of this protein could be a new therapeutic strategy to prevent lung metastases.

11 Apr 2012

Majority of Michigan oncology practices follow treatment guidelines for common cancers

A majority of Michigan oncology practices participating in a statewide consortium followed treatment guidelines for common cancers, but had gaps in managing symptoms and end-of-life care, according to a new study.

11 Apr 2012