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''.

Algeta partners with Bayer for development and commercialization of Alpharadin drug

Algeta Retains Option for Co-promotion and Profit Sharing in USA - Potential deal value of $800 million (EUR560m*) plus tiered double digit royalties - Algeta to receive $61 million (EUR42.5m) cash upfront, followed by development and sales milestones - Algeta retains option for co-promotion and profit-sharing in USA - Algeta and Bayer will jointly develop Alpharadin, with Bayer contributing a substantial majority of the costs of future development

3 Sep 2009

Alternative device for increased specificity of bronchoscopic lung cancer detection

Research published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has found that narrow-band imaging bronchoscopy increases the specificity of bronchoscopic early lung cancer detection and can serve as an alternative detection device.

3 Sep 2009

Thermo Fisher Scientific to acquire B.R.A.H.M.S. for $470 million

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire B.R.A.H.M.S. AG for €330 million (approximately $470 million USD). B.R.A.H.M.S. is a leading provider of specialty in-vitro diagnostic tests based on its patented biomarkers for sepsis, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, as well as intensive care treatments and prenatal screening.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 3 Sep 2009

IGRT offers improved treatment results for obese prostate cancer patients

Moderately to severely obese prostate cancer patients may have improved treatment outcomes when treated with image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) over traditional external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) because IGRT corrects for prostate shifts, which, if not planned for, can lead to incorrect doses of radiation to the disease site, according to a study in the September 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

3 Sep 2009

Avastin increases survival rates in recurrent glioblastoma affected patients

The targeted therapy Avastin, alone and in combination with the chemotherapy drug CPT-11, significantly increased response rates, progression-free survival times and survival rates in patients with a deadly form of brain cancer that had recurred.

3 Sep 2009

New therapy for advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer

A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine reports a potential new investigational therapy for advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer tested at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare and other sites appears to demonstrate tumor shrinkage and limited side effects in patients.

3 Sep 2009

Patients with advanced NSCLC predict their overall survival rates

Research published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has found that an individual's quality of life prior to treatment can help predict the overall survival of patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

3 Sep 2009

Annexin-Vivo 750 imaging agent for measuring cell death in vivo

VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced today the commercial launch of its new Annexin-Vivo 750 imaging agent for measuring and monitoring apoptosis and cell death in vivo.

2 Sep 2009

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System deployed at the CHUM

In operation since recently at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System, is revolutionizing the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body. Used in radiation oncology, the CyberKnife System is the latest word in radiosurgery technology. Designed to destroy tumours using radiation beams, it is the first system of its kind to treat tumors non-invasively to be installed in Canada.

2 Sep 2009

BioDelivery Sciences International to integrate its Newark operations with company’s headquarters in Raleigh

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDSI), today announced the consolidation of the company’s laboratory and other operations in Newark, New Jersey to the company’s headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. BDSI will vacate its Newark facility by September 30, 2009.

2 Sep 2009

Strategy to enhance diabetes management across Canada

Research being driven by The University of Western Ontario that will enhance diabetes management across Canada recently received support from two of Canada's leading pharmaceutical companies in the form of a $500,000 contribution.

2 Sep 2009

FDA: Randomized clinical trial necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in adult AML

Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced today that the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9 to 3 that a randomized, controlled trial is needed to support the currently proposed label expansion for Clolar® (clofarabine) in adult myeloid leukemia (AML). The committee found that the single-arm clinical study results submitted to support the label expansion showed Clolar was an active agent in acute AML patients, but concluded that a randomized clinical trial should be necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in the proposed patient population.

2 Sep 2009

CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System provides pain-free, non-surgical option for patients with tumours

The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), invites media representatives to discover the first autonomous robotic radiosurgery device installed in Canada, the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System. This device provides a pain-free, non-surgical option for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.

2 Sep 2009

TRAF6 protein plays a role in cell growth and carcinogenesis, says researchers

The mainstay immune system protein TRAF6 plays an unexpected, key role activating a cell signaling molecule that in mutant form is associated with cancer growth, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Aug. 28 edition of Science.

2 Sep 2009

New findings on molecular imaging and prostate cancer

A new study published in the September issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET)/computer tomography (CT) scans with the imaging agent choline could detect recurring prostate cancer sooner than conventional imaging technologies in some patients who have had their prostates surgically removed.

2 Sep 2009

New ARRA-funded research on white blood cell functioning

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided funding for new research to learn more about how white blood cells work. Jonathan Reichner, PhD, of the department of surgery at Rhode Island Hospital has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health with funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Reichner's hope is that the research will lead to new immune-enhancing therapies, with potential implications for improvements in both cancer treatment and controlling inflammation accompanying injury and infection.

2 Sep 2009

Policymakers need to be educated on the radical difference between radiation therapy and diagnostic testing

Concerned members of the cancer community, including physicians, patient organizations and other care advocates, spoke out today in opposition to a proposed federal policy under consideration by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would lump life-saving radiation therapy in with diagnostic testing services in receiving major Medicare funding cuts.

2 Sep 2009

JAMA study reveals the genetic signature of brain cancer

A pair of studies in the July 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) spell out how much closer science has come to unraveling the genetic signature of brain cancer, according to a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Boris Pasche, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAB Division of Hematology and Oncology, believes these studies represent a new vanguard in the still-changing field of DNA analysis.

2 Sep 2009

NF-kappa B inhibitors protect against toxicity during radiation treatment

Directly inhibiting the activity of a key protein mediator of inflammation reduced radiation toxicity in zebrafish embryos, and may ultimately be of help to patients receiving radiation therapy, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

2 Sep 2009

Telephone counseling and referral service launched for ovarian cancer affected women

Women with ovarian cancer can now find immediate assistance to better cope with their diagnosis by calling 877-OV-HOPE-1 (877-684-6731), a new, free telephone counseling and referral service launched today by a unique partnership: L'Oreal Paris and its charitable partner, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), and CancerCare, a national non-profit which provides free counseling and education services to individuals and families affected by cancer.

1 Sep 2009