Fluorouracil News and Research

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Fluorouracil is a drug used to treat symptoms of cancer of the colon, breast, stomach, and pancreas. It is also used in a cream to treat certain skin conditions. Fluorouracil stops cells from making DNA and it may kill cancer cells. It is a type of antimetabolite. Also called 5-fluorouracil and 5-FU.

Stage IV colorectal cancer: Therapy that improves overall survival over IFL/bevacizumab will earn 60% patient share

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that a therapy that would improve median overall survival over IFL (bolus 5-fluorouracil, generics/leucovorin, generics/irinotecan*) plus bevacizumab (Roche/Genentech/Chugai's Avastin), would earn a 60 percent patient share in stage IV colorectal cancer, according to surveyed U.S. oncologists. In Europe, such an agent would earn a 50 percent patient share, according to surveyed European oncologists.

16 Mar 2010

Latest treatment options for colorectal cancer highlighted at NCCN Annual Conference

Despite statistics stating that colorectal cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and women in the United States, mortality from colon cancer has decreased slightly over the past 30 years, possibly because of earlier diagnoses through screening and better treatment modalities.

15 Mar 2010

Obesity linked to increased risk of cancer recurrence and death

It’s long been known that obesity is linked to increased risk of developing colon cancer, but now researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Minnesota have found that obesity is associated with worse outcomes in patients who have already been diagnosed and treated for the cancer.

10 Mar 2010

FDA approves Taro Pharmaceutical Industries' Fluorouracil Topical Cream ANDA

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today reported that it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for Fluorouracil Topical Cream USP, 5%.

8 Mar 2010

Poniard Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $13.2M for fourth-quarter 2009

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative oncology therapies, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

8 Mar 2010

Histone modifications associated with pancreatic cancer development and progression

Specific chemical modifications to proteins called histones, which are found in the nucleus of cells and act as spools around which DNA is wound, can be used to predict prognosis and response to treatment in subsets patients with pancreatic cancer, a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

12 Feb 2010

Research study on epigenetic phenotypes published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology

PrognosDx Health, Inc. announced today that in an independent research study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, cellular levels of histone modifications define previously unrecognized subsets of patients with pancreatic cancer with distinct epigenetic phenotypes and clinical outcomes.

11 Feb 2010

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals reaches agreement with FDA on SPA for Phase 3 trial of KRX-0401

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) on the design of a Phase 3 trial for its PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor, KRX-0401 (perifosine), in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.

3 Feb 2010

Final data from Poniard Pharmaceuticals' randomized Phase 2 trial of picoplatin announced

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative oncology therapies, today announced final data from a randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of picoplatin in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

24 Jan 2010

Four commonly used chemotherapy drugs disrupt birth of new brain cells, shows study

Researchers have developed a novel animal model showing that four commonly used chemotherapy drugs disrupt the birth of new brain cells, and that the condition could be partially reversed with the growth factor IGF-1.

18 Dec 2009

Chemotherapy improves overall survival in postmenopausal breast cancer patients

Chemotherapy generally improves survival in postmenopausal breast cancer patients, according to a landmark study led by Dr. Kathy Albain of Loyola University Health System.

11 Dec 2009

Librax AG version launched by Oceanside Pharmaceuticals

Oceanside Pharmaceuticals, part of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, today announced that it has now launched chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride and clidinium bromide, an authorized generic (AG) version of Librax®. Oceanside has received its first orders and expects to be a significant player in the Librax® generic market.

23 Nov 2009

FISH technology accurate in measuring the HER-2 receptor in human breast tumors

The debate on how to select patients who will respond best to costly drug treatments for aggressive breast cancer now favors fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to measure the HER-2 receptor found in human breast tumors, according to a leading pathologist presenting at the Association for Molecular Pathology annual meeting.

20 Nov 2009

Updated clinical data from Poniard Pharmaceuticals' picoplatin Phase 2 trial announced

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced updated clinical data from its randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of picoplatin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

18 Nov 2009

Capecitabine in chemotherapy regimen reduces early breast cancer recurrence

An analysis conducted by the Finnish Breast Cancer Group and published in The Lancet Oncology shows women at intermediate to high-risk of early breast cancer recurrence who received capecitabine as part of their chemotherapy regimen had a 34% reduction in the risk of the disease returning or death, compared with those taking the chemotherapy combination regimen without capecitabine.

11 Nov 2009

Poniard Pharmaceuticals to present picoplatin Phase 2 trial data at the AACR-NCI -EORTC conference

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Company will present updated clinical data from its randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of picoplatin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) and final results from its Phase 1 cardiac safety trial.

11 Nov 2009

NCCN Guidelines for breast cancer does not recommend prophylactic mastectomy in women

Despite a recent study finding that an increasing number of women who had cancer in one breast are opting to have the other breast removed, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) for Breast Cancer discourages prophylactic mastectomy in women except for those considered high risk.

29 Oct 2009

Clinical trial helps improve prognosis and changes the standard of care for patients with colorectal cancer

In a review article published this month in The Oncologist, UNC's Dr. Richard M. Goldberg and a team of colleagues catalogue how the data collected in a single large comparative clinical trial testing combination chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer has been used not only to benefit the patients that enrolled but also patients who subsequently developed the disease.

27 Oct 2009

Promising results from Cell Therapeutics' phase II OPAXIO study for advanced esophageal cancer

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that, in a study from Brown University to be presented by Howard Safran, M.D., head of the Brown University Oncology Group, in the proffered oral session at the Annual Meeting of the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology (ISGIO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania patients with cancer of the lower esophagus demonstrated a high rate of complete remission (CR) when given OPAXIO(TM) (paclitaxel poliglumex), a biologically enhanced paclitaxel, when administered in combination with standard cisplatin and concurrent radiation.

1 Oct 2009

Bristol-Myers announces availability of ERBITUX for metastatic colorectal cancer treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada is pleased to announce that the Ontario government has made ERBITUX(TM) (cetuximab) available to patients suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer. This decision makes Ontario the second province, after British Columbia, to introduce funding for this important treatment option and represents encouraging news for those patients who rely on provincial drug coverage and stopped responding to standard treatments for metastatic colon cancer.