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IU investigators find how cancer-induced bone destruction triggers skeletal muscle weakness

Cancer researchers at Indiana University and their colleagues have discovered how cancer-induced bone destruction causes skeletal muscle weakness.

12 Oct 2015

Pregnant women with elevated blood-sugar levels more likely to have babies with heart defects

Pregnant women with elevated blood-sugar levels are more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects, even if their blood sugar is below the cutoff for diabetes, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Children's Health.

12 Oct 2015

Scientists map EGFRvIII mutant that causes brain cancer

A team of Ludwig Cancer Research scientists has mapped out how a mutant version of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) known as EGFRvIII specifically drives critical processes that alter the reading of the genome to fuel the growth of the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and--most important--how each process is linked to the other.

9 Oct 2015

FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Lilly's abemaciclib for treatment of metastatic breast cancer

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to abemaciclib, a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 and 6 inhibitor, for patients with refractory hormone-receptor-positive (HR+) advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

8 Oct 2015

Cabozantinib, nivolumab ‘bring hope’ for advanced RCC patients

Clinical trial results suggest significant benefits with the use of cabozantinib or nivolumab over everolimus for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, researchers reported at the European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria.

6 Oct 2015

Paradigm failure is primary reason for lack of progress in cancer research, says cancer biologist

A recent publication, which received sustained media attention, claimed that most cancers are just “bad luck”. Its authors stated that only about one-third of cancer mutations are caused by known lifestyle or environmental factors.

6 Oct 2015

New research identifies genetic variants, causal links associated with polycystic ovary syndrome

In the largest genome wide association study (GWAS) into polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to date, new research conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge and ten other institutions, including 23andMe, has identified genetic variants and causal links associated with PCOS, some of which might be relevant to informing positive lifestyle and treatment choices for women.

30 Sep 2015

Tailorx trial data supports use of Oncotype DX test in patients with early stage breast cancer

Initial results were announced today from the Trial Assigning IndividuaLized Options for Treatment (Rx), or TAILORx, a multi-center prospectively conducted trial of more than 10,000 women with early stage breast cancer sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and led by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group with support from Genomic Health, Inc.

29 Sep 2015

New drug works better than current treatments for advanced kidney cancer

A new drug has been found superior to current treatments in slowing the growth of advanced kidney cancer in patients who became resistant to the first-line therapies that had kept it in check, according to results from a clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

29 Sep 2015

Roche launches the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 for use with either plasma or tumour tissue samples

Roche has announced the commercial availability in countries that accept the CE mark1 of the cobas® EGFR Mutation Test v2, the first oncology assay from Roche that utilises either plasma or tumour tissue as a sample. The test identifies 42 mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, the most of any In-vitro Diagnostic (IVD) on the market, and can also be used as an aid in selecting eligible patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for therapy with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 28 Sep 2015

ILUVIEN continues to show positive results in Europe

Alimera Sciences Limited, the European subsidiary of Alimera Sciences, Inc., a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, announced the availability of real world data from 28 injections of ILUVIEN (Fluocinolone Acetonide 190 micrograms intravitreal implant in applicator) in Europe, presented in a review paper authored by Fahd Quhill, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Department of Ophthalmology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, U.K.

28 Sep 2015

Nivolumab drug improves survival for non-SQ NSCLC patients

Patients with a type of lung cancer called non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (non-SQ NSCLC) have limited treatment options and a dismal prognosis once their disease has advanced and initial treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy has failed. Second-line treatment is usually with another chemotherapy drug, such as docetaxel or pemetrexed.

28 Sep 2015

Patients with advanced kidney cancer benefit from cabozantinib treatment

Patients with advanced kidney cancer live for nearly twice as long without their disease progressing if they are treated with cabozantinib, a drug that inhibits the action of tyrosine kinases - enzymes that function as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular processes, including cancer.

26 Sep 2015

Alimera Sciences announces results from ongoing study on ILUVIEN

Alimera Sciences, Inc., a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, announced that Alimera Sciences Limited, its European subsidiary based in London, revealed interim six-month data on ILUVIEN (Fluocinolone Acetonide 190 micrograms intravitreal implant in applicator) from the ongoing study referred to as RESPOND, a non-Randomised, open-label, multicenter phase 4 pilot study on the Effect and Safety of ILUVIEN Fluocinolone Acetonide in chronic diabetic macular edema Patients cOnsidered iNsufficiently responsive to available therapies with or without intravitreal corticosteroiD therapy.

24 Sep 2015

New genetic cause identified for congenital heart arrhythmia

Scientists at The Ohio State University Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute have identified a new genetic cause for congenital heart arrhythmia. The results of their research are published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

23 Sep 2015

New findings on amitriptyline drug could help develop antidepressants with novel mechanisms

Researchers in Japan have shown that several different classes of antidepressants increase early growth responses in astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells, which could help develop new treatments.

16 Sep 2015

Inhibition of FGFR3 receptor could be a new way of treating patients with liver cell cancer

In a recent study, scientists from the Institute for Cancer Research at MedUni Vienna have shown that the growth factor receptor FGFR3 increases the rate of growth and aggressiveness of hepatocellular carcinomas (liver cell cancer). Inhibition of this receptor could be a new and effective way of treating patients.

15 Sep 2015