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''.

Potent inhibitor of Kinesin CENP-E demonstrates tumor cell inhibition

A first-in-class, targeted investigational therapy specifically designed to inhibit a single protein that functions only during cell division shows potent activity in a broad range of cancer cell lines, say researchers from GlaxoSmithKline.

24 Oct 2007

Combo therapy flavopiridol and cisplatin shows promise for recurrent ovarian cancer resistant to platinum therapy

Mayo Clinic has reported promising interim results from a Phase II trial of a new combination therapy for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer that is resistant to platinum therapy.

24 Oct 2007

Experimental cancer pharmaceuticals under trial

A potent and selective inhibitor of the mitotic kinesin CENP-E (GSK923295A) demonstrates a novel mechanism of inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and shows activity against a broad panel of human tumor cell lines in vitro: Abstract A 111.

24 Oct 2007

Inflammatory breast cancer

Everyone knows to be concerned about a lump as a sign of breast cancer. But there's another type of breast cancer – much more rare and much more lethal – that has as its primary sign redness, sometimes without any lump.

23 Oct 2007

75% of hospitalised patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology

A study of 817 patients conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology at the University of Granada (UGR), in collaboration with the Unit of Nutrition and Dietetics at the hospital Virgen de las Nieves (Granada, Spain) of 817 patients, showed that 75% of hospitalised patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology.

23 Oct 2007

When it comes to cancer 'mind over matter'...doesn't matter

Scientists in the United States have found that a person's emotional state makes little difference to the progression of, or survival from cancer.

23 Oct 2007

Human cytomegalovirus may help doctors treat glioblastoma multiforme

A common human virus may prove useful in attacking the deadliest form of brain tumors, according to a study by researchers at Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.

22 Oct 2007

Avastin and chemo combo may offer hope for glioblastoma multiforme patients

Brain cancer patients with the poorest prognosis -- those with a type of deadly tumor known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) -- may survive longer with a drug that chokes off a tumor's blood supply.

19 Oct 2007

HPV test beats Pap in detecting cervical cancer

A new study led by McGill University researchers shows that the human papillomavirus (HPV) screening test is far more accurate than the traditional Pap test in detecting cervical cancer.

18 Oct 2007

Enhanced DNA-repair mechanism can cause breast cancer

Although defects in the "breast cancer gene," BRCA1, have been known for years to increase the risk for breast cancer, exactly how it can lead to tumor growth has remained a mystery.

16 Oct 2007

A tumor marker Ca 19-9 in diabetics can lead to misdiagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Diabetes is increasing all over the world along with the increase of obesity and associated diseases and is a well-known risk factor for pancreatic cancer. The incidence of pancreatic cancer is also increasing and has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers.

16 Oct 2007

Breast cancer radiation does not affect women's immune system

A new study shows that neither of two commonly used radiation treatments for early-stage, node-negative breast cancer has any effect on a woman's immune system, even though women who receive five-day partial-breast radiation therapy (MammoSite brachytherapy) (PBRT) have improved energy and quality of life compared to women who undergo six weeks of whole-breast radiation therapy (WBRT).

15 Oct 2007

New molecules discovered that block cancer cells from modifying cell DNA

Researchers have discovered new small molecules that may prevent prostate cancer cells from turning off normal genes in a process that transforms normal cells into cancer cells. This significant discovery in the field of epigenetics has immediate implications in the development of new diagnostic tests and cancer medications.

12 Oct 2007

Genome update defines landscape of breast and colon cancers

One year after completing the first large-scale report sequencing breast and colon cancer genes, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have studied the vast majority of protein-coding genes which now suggest a landscape dominated by genes that each are mutated in relatively few cancers.

12 Oct 2007

Legal needs of cancer patients not being met

Cancer patients have significant concerns about legal-medical issues that are not being adequately addressed and impact the quality of their lives, according to a study conducted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Results of the study were published in a recent issue of Cancer and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.

12 Oct 2007

HER-2 status predicts success of chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment

Researchers have found they can potentially target chemotherapy for breast cancer to only those women most likely to benefit, sparing the majority of patients from unnecessary side effects.

10 Oct 2007

18F-DG PET/CT can highly increase the detection of colorectal cancer

Combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) is currently widely used in the clinical diagnosis of cancer to provide functional and morphological imaging.

10 Oct 2007

Intensity modulated radiation therapy better for sparing bladder when treating prostate cancer

When treating early-stage prostate cancer, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) spares the bladder significantly more from direct radiation when compared to 3-D conformal proton therapy (3D-CPT), but the amount of rectal sparing is similar with both treatments, according to a study released in the October issue of the International Journal for Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

10 Oct 2007

Clinical trial for lab-grown neo-bladder to help spinal cord injury patients

Urologists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are studying whether a neo-bladder construct grown from a patient's own cells can improve bladder function for adult spinal cord injury patients.

8 Oct 2007

Researchers create modular, multi-functional drug delivery system

There are two aspects to creating an effective drug: finding a chemical compound that has the desired biological effect and minimal side-effects and then delivering it to the right place in the body for it to do its job.

8 Oct 2007