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

Combination of TTFields with standard therapies may improve survival in pancreatic cancer patients

Novocure announced today results from the second cohort of its phase 2 pilot PANOVA trial studying Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.

31 Mar 2017

Scientists identify vulnerabilities of highly aggressive pancreatic cancer cells

Researchers have identified a gatekeeper protein that prevents pancreatic cancer cells from transitioning into a particularly aggressive cell type and also found therapies capable of thwarting those cells when the gatekeeper is depleted.

9 Feb 2017

Antivirals that block influenza can also inhibit Zika virus infection, study shows

Researchers from the University of Helsinki have shown that three anti-influenza compounds effectively inhibit Zika virus infection in human cells.

16 Jan 2017

New treatment can halt growth of liver cancer cells, research shows

Scientists have shown that a mutation in a gene called Arid1b can cause liver cancer. The gene normally protects against cancer by limiting cell growth, but when mutated it allows cells to grow uncontrollably.

1 Nov 2016

Super-Resolution Imaging of Biological Specimens

In this interview, News Medical speaks to Dr. Manasa Gudheti of Bruker Nano Surfaces about biological specimens and how to acquire super-resolution images of them.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 27 Sep 2016

Using the immune system to fight cancer: an interview with Dr Charles Akle

We all produce as many as 100,000 different types of cancer cells every day, which are recognized and eliminated by our extraordinarily efficient immune system. However, if something goes wrong with the immune system, and it no longer gets rid of these cells, then that’s when cancerous cells grow and become a problem.

12 Sep 2016

New immunotherapy treatment may offer hope for many pancreatic cancer patients

A new immunotherapy treatment has shown dramatic results in treating advanced pancreatic cancer, a deadly cancer that has seen little progress in treatment over the last 20 years.

8 Sep 2016

Novel marine natural product appears to reduce pancreatic tumor size

Scientists at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute found that a deep-water marine sponge collected off of Fort Lauderdale's coast contains leiodermatolide, a natural product that has the ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells as well as block cancer cells from dividing using extremely low concentrations of the compound.

18 Aug 2016

Necitumumab drug shows minor added benefit in patients with metastatic NSCLC

The monoclonal antibody necitumumab has been approved since February 2016 for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not received prior chemotherapy for this condition.

5 Jul 2016

First-line nivolumab promising in advanced NSCLC

Phase I results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggest that nivolumab, either given alone or alongside platinum-based doublet chemotherapy, could have a role in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

5 Jul 2016

Combining sonoporation with chemotherapy drug may help improve pancreatic cancer treatment

Researchers at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway have combined a laboratory ultrasound technique called "sonoporation" with the commercially-available chemotherapy compound Gemcitabine to increase the porosity of pancreatic cells with microbubbles and to help get the drug into cancer cells where it is needed.

26 May 2016

Combining vitamin A with chemotherapy may offer promise for pancreatic cancer treatment

Around 8,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year. It is known as the UK's deadliest cancer, with a survival rate of just 3 per cent. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy alone are relatively unsuccessful in treating the disease, and while surgery to remove the tumour offers the best chance of survival, most patients are diagnosed when the cancer has already spread to other organs.

25 May 2016

Bayer-new phase 3 liver cancer data

Bayer has announced that a Phase III trial evaluating its oncology compound Stivarga® (regorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has met its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in overall survival. The study, called RESORCE, evaluated the efficacy and safety of regorafenib in patients with HCC whose disease has progressed after treatment with sorafenib. The safety and tolerability were generally consistent with the known profile of regorafenib. Detailed efficacy and safety analyses from this study are expected to be presented at an upcoming scientific congress.

4 May 2016

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