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''.

Researchers chart the level of gene expression in melanoma cell lines

Other than visually inspecting the disease, doctors have no genetic blueprint to classify melanomas, a lethal form of skin cancer.

30 Aug 2007

New anti-cancer drug made from corn lillies kills brain tumor stem cells

A drug that shuts down a critical cell-signaling pathway in the most common and aggressive type of adult brain cancer successfully kills cancer stem cells thought to fuel tumor growth and help cancers evade drug and radiation therapy, a Johns Hopkins study shows.

30 Aug 2007

Report on access to cancer drugs across Europe flawed

A leading epidemiologist has attacked Swedish research that looked at inequalities in patients' access to cancer drugs across Europe and the world.

30 Aug 2007

Flaxseed for hot flashes

Data from a new Mayo Clinic study suggest that dietary therapy using flaxseed can decrease hot flashes in postmenopausal women who do not take estrogen.

30 Aug 2007

FDA grants orphan drug designation to TREANDA

Cephalon, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development granted orphan drug designation for the company's investigational therapy, TREANDA (bendamustine HCl), for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

29 Aug 2007

St. Jude discovers factors that accelerate resistance to Gleevec targeted therapy in lymphoblastic leukemia

Results of a study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital provide strong evidence for why the drug imatinib (Gleevec), which has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), is often unable to prevent relapse of a particularly aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

29 Aug 2007

Hypnosis session before breast cancer surgery aids recovery

Researchers say women who undergo surgery for breast cancer may be helped in the recovery process if they have a hypnosis session beforehand.

29 Aug 2007

IDM Pharma receives not approvable letter for Mifamurtide for treatment of osteosarcoma

IDM Pharma, Inc. ( NASDAQ:IDMI ) announced today that it received a not approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after completing the review of the new drug application (NDA) for the investigational drug mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE), formerly known as Junovan, for the treatment of non-metastatic osteosarcoma, a rare and often fatal bone tumor that typically affects children and young adults.

28 Aug 2007

In the junk lies treasure when it comes to DNA

Three micro RNA genes appear to be key partners of protective gene p53; their loss is linked to common type of lung cancer

24 Aug 2007

Study helps predict anesthesia-linked risks for children with chest tumors

Children with mediastinal masses - tumors in their chest outside the lungs - are at special risk for developing breathing problems when they undergo anesthesia. These young patients are of special concern to clinicians who must anesthetize them as part of their medical treatment.

23 Aug 2007

Cancer stem cell scientists get $1.7 million to develop new leukemia drugs

"Modern cancer treatments fail to get to the root of the cancer - the stem cells - which is why many cancers recur despite aggressive treatment."

23 Aug 2007

Pharmion and MethylGene announce orphan drug designation for treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma

Pharmion Corporation, along with its collaborator MethylGene Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the Companies' histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, MGCD0103, as an Orphan Drug for the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma in the United States.

21 Aug 2007

IBA agrees to pay $1.25 million to settle lawsuit alleging it infringed Optivus' patents

Optivus Proton Therapy has announced that Belgium-based IBA has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging IBA infringed on three Optivus proton therapy patents.

21 Aug 2007

Drug topotecan shows promise against Wilms tumor

St. Jude researchers have shown that the drug topotecan holds promise as a treatment for the recurrent form of a kidney cancer called Wilms tumor, a solid tumor of the kidney that arises from immature kidney cells, and the fifth most common tumor among children.

17 Aug 2007

Prophylactic cranial irradiation in small cell lung cancer significantly increases survival

Prophylactic cranial irradiation after chemotherapy significantly reduces the risk of brain metastasis and doubles one-year survival in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to the results of the multicenter phase III randomized EORTC trial 08993-22993, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Aug 2007

New techniques for measuring blood volume

The July issue of The American Journal of Medical Sciences presents a special symposium on the measurement and clinical implications of blood volume and its measurement.

16 Aug 2007

Colon cancer survivors should stick to a 'prudent' diet

A new study has revealed that colon cancer survivors who consume a diet rich in red meat and fatty foods are three times more likely to experience a recurrence of their disease or die from it than those who avoid such foods.

14 Aug 2007

Discovery of new mechanism of resistance to endocrine or anti-hormonal therapies

When a woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis her entire life may change in the blink of an eye.

13 Aug 2007

GeneNews secures $2 million for development of prostate biomarkers

GeneNews Limited, a company focused on developing simple blood-based biomarker tests for the early detection of diseases and personalized health management, today announced it has signed an agreement with an Asian Biomedical consortium to develop blood-based biomarkers for the detection and management of prostate diseases.

13 Aug 2007

New pathway for inflammation-induced cancer

A well-known inflammatory protein spawns an enzyme that inactivates two tumor-suppressing genes, ultimately triggering production of new blood vessels to nourish breast cancer cells, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of the journal Cell .

11 Aug 2007