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''.

Eli Lilly to buy SGX Pharmaceuticals

Eli Lilly and Company and SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the companies have signed a definitive merger agreement providing for the acquisition of SGX in an all-cash transaction. SGX, based in San Diego, California, is a biotechnology company focused on drug discovery and development in the area of oncology.

8 Jul 2008

Natural substance Argyrin shows promise for new cancer therapies

The effective treatment of many forms of cancer continues to pose a major problem for medicine. Many tumours fail to respond to standard forms of chemotherapy or become resistant to the medication.

8 Jul 2008

UAB joins elite brain cancer research group

Brain cancer experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have been selected for membership in the Ivy Genomics-Based Medicine Project. The project is a national consortium of cutting-edge hospitals and academic centers working to improve treatment and survival for patients with a kind of malignant brain tumor called a glioma.

8 Jul 2008

Discovery of molecule that kills kidney cancer cells

Kidney cancer patients generally have one option for beating their disease: surgery to remove the organ. But that could change, thanks to a new molecule found by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers that kills kidney cancer cells. Ideally, the researchers said, a drug created from this molecule would help fight the life-threatening disease while leaving patients' kidneys intact.

7 Jul 2008

Treatment delays result in poor outcomes for men with breast cancer

Men who develop breast cancer are often not treated until the disease has spread to the point that treatment becomes difficult, new results show.

6 Jul 2008

Counting tumor cells in blood predicts treatment benefit in prostate cancer

Counting the number of tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer can accurately predict how well they are responding to treatment, new results show.

6 Jul 2008

Modified chemotherapy regimen promising for lymphoma patients in the developing world

Preliminary results suggest that patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the developing world might benefit from a modified chemotherapy regimen, researchers say.

6 Jul 2008

Report says cancer clinicians should understand and consider the economic impact of new interventions

Cancer clinicians should understand and consider the economic impact of new interventions, which often have substantial costs, according to a report appearing in the July/August issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

2 Jul 2008

Symptom screening plus a simple blood test equals a 20 percent jump in early detection of ovarian cancer

Women's reports of persistent, recent-onset symptoms linked to ovarian cancer - abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and abdominal bloating - when combined with the CA125 blood test may improve the early detection of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published online today in CANCER.

1 Jul 2008

Cancer cells revert to normal at specific signal threshold

Cancer starts when key cellular signals run amok, driving uncontrolled cell growth. But scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine report that lowering levels of one cancer signal under a specific threshold reverses this process in mice, returning tumor cells to their normal, healthy state. The finding could help target cancer chemotherapy to tumors while minimizing side effects for the body's healthy cells.

1 Jul 2008

WHO says smoking bans work and benefit everyone

A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the effectiveness of smoking bans and their benefit for everyone.

30 Jun 2008

Dogs successfully detect ovarian cancer through scent

Ground-breaking research in the June issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies published by SAGE explored whether ovarian cancer has a scent different from other cancers and whether working dogs could be taught to distinguish it in its different stages.

26 Jun 2008

New clinical trial for patients with asbestos-associated lung cancer

The Mesothelioma Center within the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center is now recruiting patients for a clinical research study of a new targeted radiation and chemotherapy protocol for pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung's lining that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos.

26 Jun 2008

First comprehensive report on colorectal cancer care in Europe and Australia reveals need for action

The first cross-country report on the management and funding of colorectal cancer (CRC) reveals an urgent need for action to improve the survival of patients diagnosed with this common cancer in Europe and Australia.

25 Jun 2008

Symptom screening plus CA125 blood test improves early detection of ovarian cancer

24 Jun 2008

FDA lifts clinical hold on Genta's Tesetaxel

Genta Incorporated announced that the Company has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that Genta may resume clinical trials with tesetaxel, a leading oral taxane in Genta's oncology product portfolio.

23 Jun 2008

Radiation therapy prolongs life in men with recurrent prostate cancer

Men whose tumors recur after prostate cancer surgery are three times more likely to survive their disease long term if they undergo radiotherapy within two years of the recurrence. Surprisingly, survival benefits were best in men whose new tumors were growing fastest, according to results of a 'look-back' study of 635 men by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions researchers reported June 18 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

17 Jun 2008

Hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell underused by doctors

Uncertainties about proper use and possible long-term effects of hydroxyurea in the treatment of sickle cell anemia may be wrongly influencing doctors to avoid prescribing it to those in serious need, according to results of a literature review by specialists at Johns Hopkins.

17 Jun 2008

Nuclear medicine imaging test could aid children suffering from reflux disease

A nuclear medicine imaging test was used to confirm that children with respiratory problems may be more likely to develop gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to researchers at Society of Nuclear Medicine's 55th Annual Meeting.

16 Jun 2008

Industry supports international melanoma research

Provectus Pharmaceuticals and the Australia and New Zealand Melanoma Trials Group (ANZMTG) have joined forces to advance cutting edge melanoma research at the University of Sydney.

15 Jun 2008