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''.

Nanoparticle-mediated targeting of MAPK signaling predisposes tumor to chemotherapy

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Division of Health Sciences and Technology has demonstrated a better way to deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors.

28 Jun 2009

Harnessing nanoparticles to track cancer cell changes

The more dots there are, the more accurate a picture you get when you connect them. Cancer researchers adopting that philosophy have developed a new imaging technology that could give scientists the ability to simultaneously measure as many as 100 or more distinct features in or on a single cell. In a disease such as cancer, that capability would provide a much better picture of what is going on in individual tumor cells.

28 Jun 2009

Early detection of pancreatic cancer closer thanks to multifunctional nanoparticles

Pancreatic cancer has a devastatingly low survival rate (less than 5 percent after 5 years) because it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. The initial symptoms, such as pain, jaundice, or weight loss, often do not allow the disease to be caught early enough for surgery and chemotherapy to be effective.

28 Jun 2009

Computer-guided nanoparticle therapy destroys tumors

Gold nanoshells are among the most promising new nanoscale therapeutics being developed to kill tumors, acting as antennas that turn light energy into heat that cooks cancer to death. Now, a multi-institutional research team has shown that polymer-coated gold nanorods one-up their spherical counterparts, with a single dose completely destroying all tumors in a nonhuman animal model of human cancer.

28 Jun 2009

HPV testing for cervical screening investigated

New research, published in The Lancet Oncology, has found that combining human papillomavirus (HPV) testing with routine liquid-based cytology (LBC) screening does not increase the detection of cervical cancer compared with LBC screening alone. The trial funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme aimed to determine whether testing for HPV in the cervix might increase the effectiveness of the cervical screening programme.

25 Jun 2009

Strong link between high body mass index, pancreatic cancer

In reviewing the weight history of pancreatic cancer patients across their life spans, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have determined that a high body mass index in early adulthood may play a significant role in an individual developing the disease at an earlier age.

23 Jun 2009

New biomarker predicts brain tumor's response to cediranib therapy

A report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, highlights a new biomarker that may be useful in identifying patients with recurrent glioblastoma, or brain tumors, who would respond better to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, specifically cediranib.

23 Jun 2009

Discovery of potent metastasis inhibitor

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have isolated a potent inhibitor of tumor metastasis made by tumor cells, one that could potentially be harnessed as a cancer treatment.

23 Jun 2009

At VA hospital, a rogue cancer unit

The New York Times reports that a "rogue cancer unit" at a veteran's hospital in Philadelphia "operated with virtually no outside scrutiny and botched 92 of 116 [prostate] cancer treatments over a span of more than six years - and then kept quiet about it, according to interviews with investigators, government officials and public records."

22 Jun 2009

Seattle Genetics starts trial of SGN-35 for anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), has announced that it has initiated a phase II clinical trial of SGN-35 for patients with relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). SGN-35 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that utilizes Seattle Genetics’ proprietary technology to empower antibodies by linking them to potent cell-killing drugs.

18 Jun 2009

Whole-genome searches unlock secrets of a childhood cancer

Two new studies from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia advance the search for genetic events that result in neuroblastoma, a puzzling, often-deadly type of childhood cancer.

17 Jun 2009

Circadian Technologies granted significant European patent

Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX:CIR) announced today that its subsidiary company, Vegenics Limited, has been granted European Patent 1749836 covering the use of VEGF-D protein and antibodies to VEGF-D in a broad spectrum of therapeutic indications, including the treatment of cancer.

17 Jun 2009

Genome-wide map shows precisely where microRNAs do their work

MicroRNAs are the newest kid on the genetic block. By regulating the unzipping of genetic information, these tiny molecules have set the scientific world alight with such wide-ranging applications as onions that can't make you cry and therapeutic potential for new treatments for viral infections, cancer and degenerative diseases. But the question remains: How do they work?

17 Jun 2009

Discovery of the cell's water gate may lead to new cancer drugs

The flow of water into and out from the cell may play a crucial role in several types of cancer. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have now found the gate that regulates the flow of water into yeast cells.

17 Jun 2009

Minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors on the horizon

Duke University engineers have taken a first step toward a minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors by combining chemotherapy with heat administered from the end of a catheter.

17 Jun 2009

Case study: Paying for health care in a recession

NPR reports on the health care struggles of Howard County, Maryland, a well-off and generally liberal area with hospital fees set by the state and a county program for the uninsured. "But like the rest the country, Howard County is facing the impact of the recession: Employers have to cut back on benefits, so employees cut back on their coverage."

17 Jun 2009

RNA snippet reduces the spread of aggressive breast cancer

A low cellular level of a tiny fragment of RNA appears to increase the spread of breast cancer in mouse models of the disease, according to researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

15 Jun 2009

Novel method directs and separates cancer cells from normal cells

The vast majority of cancer deaths are due to metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from its primary site to other parts of the body. These metastatic cells tend to move more than their non-metastatic variants but this movement is poorly understood. Scientists are studying cancer cells intently with the hope they can learn to control the movements of the dangerous cells.

15 Jun 2009

New form of radiotherapy could revolutionize treatment for recurrent prostate cancer

A new study shows that an alpha-particle emitting radiopeptide - radioactive material bound to a synthetic peptide, a component of protein - is effective for treating prostate cancer in mice, according to researchers at SNM's 56th Annual Meeting in Toronto.

15 Jun 2009

Non-toxic radioactive patch successfully treats skin cancer

A new study shows that a radioactive skin patch can safely and successfully treat basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common types of skin cancers, according to researchers at the SNM's 56th Annual Meeting. The skin patch, which delivers the radioactive phosphorus-32, is nontoxic and could be an excellent alternative to surgery or radiotherapy in cases where carrying out these treatments is difficult.

15 Jun 2009