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''.

Next-generation drugs may prevent skin lesions in BRAF mutation-positive melanoma

Findings from preclinical studies in a skin cancer model showed that next-generation BRAF inhibitors used alone, or first-generation BRAF inhibitors used in combination with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, may have the potential to prevent drug-induced skin lesions in BRAF mutation-positive patients treated for melanoma.

14 Nov 2011

ZIOPHARM announces darinaparsin preclinical data on prostate cancer

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today that results from preclinical studies of darinaparsin (Zinapar or ZIO-101), a novel organic arsenic, in prostate cancer were presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, taking place November 12-16 in San Francisco.

14 Nov 2011

Combination of REGN910 and aflibercept inhibits tumor angiogenesis in animal models

Combining the investigational agents REGN910 and aflibercept yielded statistically significant improvements in antitumor effects in animal models compared with either agent alone, according to results presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Nov. 12-16, 2011.

14 Nov 2011

Amplification of ALK gene may drive rapid breast cancer metastasis

Amplification of anaplastic lymphoma kinase, which has been reported in other cancers such as non-small cell lung cancers, may be a primary driver of the rapid metastasis that patients with inflammatory breast cancer experience.

14 Nov 2011

Researchers show how ER-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen

Researchers have shown how estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen, the only approved hormonal therapy for premenopausal patients with this type of breast cancer.

14 Nov 2011

Exelixis reports cabozantinib phase 2 trial data on bone metastases

Exelixis, Inc. today reported interim data on pain relief and related reduction in narcotic analgesic use with cabozantinib in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients with bone metastases.

14 Nov 2011

Researchers identify new cancer drug discovery approach

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center have identified a new drug discovery approach enabling the destruction of the most highly proliferative tumors.

14 Nov 2011

Patients with KRAS mutant NSCLC should respond well to antifolates

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have mutations in the KRAS gene should respond well to the antifolate class of drugs, according to results of a recent study conducted by Quintiles comparing human lung cancer cell lines and patients.

14 Nov 2011

HealthONE to lease and operate Memorial Health System

HCA-HealthONE LLC on Monday will submit a response to the Request for a Proposal (RFP) to lease and operate Memorial Health System in Colorado Springs. A Colorado Springs City Council-appointed Task Force will evaluate all proposals to determine which hospital operator is best suited to be Memorial's strategic partner.

14 Nov 2011

Conference highlights advances in evidence-based integrative therapies for cancer

Today the Society for Integrative Oncology highlighted top research findings presented at the Eighth International Conference this week in Cleveland, Ohio. More than 80 abstracts will be presented at the annual meeting, which will be keynoted by National Institutes of Health Director, Francis Collins, MD, PhD.

11 Nov 2011

NCCN ORP to evaluate clinical effectiveness of Boehringer Ingelheim's Afatinib in solid tumors

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Oncology Research Program (ORP) has been awarded a $2 million grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop a program to scientifically evaluate and define the clinical effectiveness of Afatinib (BIBW 2992) in solid tumors, including breast, head and neck, and non-small cell lung (NSCL) cancers.

11 Nov 2011

Provectus announces data from Phase 2 PV-10 metastatic melanoma study

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announces that data from its Phase 2 PV-10 metastatic melanoma study will be presented at the 2011 International Melanoma Congress on November 12, 2011, during the 5th Meeting of Interdisciplinary Melanoma/Skin Cancer Centres meeting.

11 Nov 2011

First large scale trial of acupuncture for prevention of xerostomia

When given alongside radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, acupuncture has shown for the first time to reduce the debilitating side effect of xerostomia, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center.

11 Nov 2011

Alcohol consumption may decrease risk of death from coronary artery disease

In a prospective, observational study of approximately 150,000 Norwegians, the investigators found that alcohol consumption was associated with a large decrease in the risk of death from coronary artery disease.

11 Nov 2011

ArQule, Daiichi Sankyo enter license agreement for development of new AKT inhibitor

ArQule, Inc. and Daiichi Sankyo, Co. Ltd. announced today the execution of a license agreement for the development of a new AKT inhibitor called ARQ 092, the first compound to emerge from the companies' November 2008 agreement to collaborate on research utilizing the AKIP (ArQule Kinase Inhibitor Platform) technology to generate novel, selective and potent small molecule kinase inhibitors.

10 Nov 2011

U.S. News names three Women & Infants physicians among Top Doctors list

Three physicians on the staff at the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island were recently named to the U.S. News & World Report Top Doctors list of reproductive endocrinologists.

10 Nov 2011

CCCBD scientist to receive 2011 V Foundation Translational Research Grant

Scientists at the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases (CCCBD) and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, have been awarded a highly competitive translational research grant of $600,000 from The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

10 Nov 2011

Experimental drug selectively destroys blood supply of fat tissue and decreases body fat

Obese rhesus monkeys lost on average 11 percent of their body weight after four weeks of treatment with an experimental drug that selectively destroys the blood supply of fat tissue, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in Science Translational Medicine.

10 Nov 2011

Combination of azacitidine and entinostat shows promise against NSCLC

A new type of therapy aimed at reversing the gene-silencing that promotes cancer-cell growth has shown promising results in a small clinical trial conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

10 Nov 2011

U of T, UHN launch Techna Institute to develop new healthcare technologies

The Techna Institute, an innovation hub poised to integrate and fast track research, development and commercialization of new healthcare technologies, launches today at University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto.

10 Nov 2011