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Veracyte announces completion of Series B round

Veracyte, Inc. announced today the successful completion of its Series B round, a key milestone toward the company's first product launch later this year. The South San Francisco biotechnology company is committed to pioneering molecular cytology diagnostics to improve patient care and lower health care costs. This round was led by Domain Associates with significant participation from Veracyte's founding investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), TPG Biotech (TPG), and Versant Ventures.

10 Jun 2010

Breast tomosynthesis holds promise for early breast cancer detection

In the U.S., one out of eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. The earlier the breast cancer is found, the more likely a woman will live a normal life, said Stephen Rose, M.D., a breast radiologist at Memorial Hermann Memorial City.

9 Jun 2010

FDA approves City of Hope's neural stem cell-based therapy study for recurrent high-grade gliomas

City of Hope researchers received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct the first-in-human study of a neural stem cell-based therapy targeting recurrent high-grade gliomas, the most aggressive type of brain tumor. Karen S. Aboody, M.D., associate professor in City of Hope's Department of Neurosciences, leads the research team that developed this treatment strategy. Jana Portnow, M.D., assistant professor and assistant director of the Brain Tumor Program at City of Hope, is the principal investigator for the clinical trial.

9 Jun 2010

GE Healthcare to present anti-[18F]FACBC phase 1 study results at Society of Nuclear Medicine annual meeting

GE Healthcare, a unit of the General Electric Company, today will present results of a phase 1 study of anti-[18F]FACBC at the 57th annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine in Salt Lake City, Utah. The presentation closely follows the launch of the phase 2 clinical development program for anti-[18F]FACBC, which was initially discovered and developed by Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, and was licensed to Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd. (NMP) of Japan.

9 Jun 2010

VARI researchers identify enzyme that could help diagnose and treat cholangiocarcinoma

In collaboration with the National Cancer Centre, Singapore, Van Andel Research Institute researchers have identified an enzyme that could help diagnose and treat cholangiocarcinoma, a form of liver cancer that strikes up to 3,000 new patients each year in the United States.

9 Jun 2010

HPV-positive tumor status is strong prognostic factor for head, neck cancer

Oropharyngeal cancer patients whose tumors in the upper part of the throat test positively for the human papillomavirus (HPV) have better overall survival than patients with HPV-negative disease, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

8 Jun 2010

Combined cardiac bypass and liver tumor surgery performed on 63-year-old Nigerian

Adding another feat to the history of cardiothoracic surgery at Fortis Hospitals Bangalore, the team of experts led by noted Dr. Vivek Jawali, Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Dr. Ramcharan Thiagarajan, Consultant Surgical GI & Hepato-Pancreatic Biliary Surgoen has performed a combined cardiac bypass and liver tumor surgery on a 63 year old Nigerian.

8 Jun 2010

Elotuzumab shows promise in treating multiple myeloma: Study

A drug designed to target cancerous plasma cells appears promising in treating multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. A multi-center study looked at the drug elotuzumab, an antibody which is designed to target CS1, a protein on the surface of malignant plasma cells. The antibody has the potential to attach to malignant plasma cells and eliminates them by an immune mechanism.

8 Jun 2010

Experimental drug that targets genetic makeup of tumor shows early signs of efficacy against medulloblastomas

Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology the findings of a pediatric brain tumor study using an experimental drug that targets the underlying genetic makeup of the tumor. The research focused on a new way to attack the tumors by blocking the Hedgehog pathway that is linked to approximately 20 percent of medulloblastomas.

8 Jun 2010

Chemotherapy drug sunitinib promising for HIV-positive cancer patients

Preliminary findings from a unique study with sunitinib suggest that it might be possible to tweak the dosage of chemotherapy drugs used to treat HIV-positive cancer patients to achieve therapeutic benefit. Given the type of drug cocktail patients use to treat their HIV, much more or considerably less chemotherapy may be warranted, say the researchers, part of the NCI-supported AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC). The trial design is being presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

8 Jun 2010

Polaris' ADI-PEG 20 novel anticancer drug inhibits growth of metastatic melanoma cells: Study

Physicians attending the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) presented evidence that pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20), a novel anticancer drug that targets ASS(-) tumors, and which is being developed and manufactured by Polaris Group, was effective in inhibiting the growth of metastatic melanoma cells.

8 Jun 2010

Clinical data from two separate Phase 2a combination drug studies of Azixa presented at ASCO 2010

Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of clinical data from two separate Phase 2a combination drug studies of AzixaTM (MPC-6827, verubulin) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2010 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Results from studies in both recurrent glioblastoma multiforme and stage 4 metastatic melanoma demonstrated that Azixa, in combination with standard treatments, resulted in durable responses with no added toxicity compared with chemotherapy alone.

8 Jun 2010

Form of epigenetics may play role in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Researchers

A rare but fatal disease of blood vessels in the lung may be caused in part by aberrant silencing of genes rather than genetic mutation, new research reports. Pulmonary arterial hypertension, a syndrome characterized by gradual blockage of blood vessels in the lungs, has been linked to genetic causes in a small percentage of patients. But University of Chicago researchers have now found that a form of epigenetics - the modification of gene expression - causes the disease in an animal model and could contribute to the disease in humans.

8 Jun 2010

Angiochem presents positive Phase 1/2 clinical data of ANG1005 for brain cancer at ASCO 2010

Angiochem, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing drugs that are uniquely capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) through LRP-1 targeting, announced today that complete phase 1/2 clinical data in two clinical studies of its lead oncology program, ANG1005, for the treatment of brain cancers, including glioblastoma (GBM) and brain metastases, were presented at the 2010 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, June 4-8, in Chicago, IL.

7 Jun 2010

Microscopic image sensor to speed up detection of tumors

To diagnose cancer reliably, doctors usually conduct a biopsy including tissue ana-lysis - which is a time-consuming process. A microscopic image sensor, fitted in an endoscope, is being developed for in vivo cancer diagnosis, to speed up the detection of tumors.

7 Jun 2010

Exelixis reports updated interim data from trials of XL765 small molecule inhibitor of PI3K and mTOR

Exelixis, Inc. today reported updated interim data from three ongoing trials of XL765 (SAR245409), an orally available small molecule inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and mTOR. Activation of the PI3K pathway is a frequent event in human tumors, promoting cell proliferation, survival, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

7 Jun 2010

Selenium not beneficial in reducing risk of lung cancer development

Selenium, a supplement taken daily by millions in hopes of protection against cancer and a host of other diseases, has proven to be of no benefit in reducing a patient's risk of developing lung cancer - either a recurrence or second primary malignancy, according to results of an international Phase III clinical trial.

7 Jun 2010

Positive phase III clinical trial data of NovoCure's NovoTTF device for recurrent GBM presented at ASCO

Data from the first phase III clinical trial of NovoCure's NovoTTF device for treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) were presented today as a late breaking abstract during the Neuro-Oncology session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. Study results show that NovoTTF, a novel, non-invasive, portable medical device, may be as or more effective than the best available chemotherapies for GBM, but without the toxicity usually associated with cytotoxic or targeted treatments.

7 Jun 2010

Alder Biopharmaceuticals reports positive data from ALD518 Phase 2a clinical trial for NSCLC

Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed improvement in cancer-related anemia and symptoms of the disease in a Phase 2a clinical trial of ALD518, a monoclonal antibody directed against interleukin-6 (IL-6).

7 Jun 2010

Positive results from new analyses of denosumab Phase 3 trials

Amgen today announced positive results from several new analyses of two Phase 3 trials studying denosumab compared with Zometa® (zoledronic acid), the current standard of care, for the treatment of bone metastases in patients with advanced breast cancer ("136 study") and solid tumors or multiple myeloma ("244 study"). Results from these trials reinforce denosumab's consistent ability to delay the complications of bone metastases in patients with advanced cancer. These results are being presented during the 2010 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago.

5 Jun 2010

Malignant News and Research

Veracyte announces completion of Series B round

Breast tomosynthesis holds promise for early breast cancer detection

FDA approves City of Hope's neural stem cell-based therapy study for recurrent high-grade gliomas

GE Healthcare to present anti-[18F]FACBC phase 1 study results at Society of Nuclear Medicine annual meeting

VARI researchers identify enzyme that could help diagnose and treat cholangiocarcinoma

HPV-positive tumor status is strong prognostic factor for head, neck cancer

Combined cardiac bypass and liver tumor surgery performed on 63-year-old Nigerian

Elotuzumab shows promise in treating multiple myeloma: Study

Experimental drug that targets genetic makeup of tumor shows early signs of efficacy against medulloblastomas

Chemotherapy drug sunitinib promising for HIV-positive cancer patients

Polaris' ADI-PEG 20 novel anticancer drug inhibits growth of metastatic melanoma cells: Study

Clinical data from two separate Phase 2a combination drug studies of Azixa presented at ASCO 2010

Form of epigenetics may play role in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Researchers

Angiochem presents positive Phase 1/2 clinical data of ANG1005 for brain cancer at ASCO 2010

Microscopic image sensor to speed up detection of tumors

Exelixis reports updated interim data from trials of XL765 small molecule inhibitor of PI3K and mTOR

Selenium not beneficial in reducing risk of lung cancer development

Positive phase III clinical trial data of NovoCure's NovoTTF device for recurrent GBM presented at ASCO

Alder Biopharmaceuticals reports positive data from ALD518 Phase 2a clinical trial for NSCLC

Positive results from new analyses of denosumab Phase 3 trials

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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