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''.

FTO gene associated with loss of brain tissue: UCLA researchers

Three years ago, geneticists reported the startling discovery that nearly half of all people in the U.S. with European ancestry carry a variant of the fat mass and obesity associated gene, which causes them to gain weight - from three to seven pounds, on average - but worse, puts them at risk for obesity.

20 Apr 2010

EpiCept announces U.K. launch of Ceplene

EpiCept Corporation today announced that the commercial launch of Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride) will take place in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2010 in conjunction with the British Society for Haematology 50th Annual Scientific Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. Ceplene is approved in the European Union for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission.

20 Apr 2010

Updated survival data from Phase I/II trial of nab-paclitaxel, gemcitabine combination for pancreatic cancer

Abraxis BioScience, Inc., a fully integrated biotechnology company, today announced updated overall survival findings from a phase I/II study of nab®-paclitaxel (ABRAXANE® for Injectable Suspension) (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) given in combination with gemcitabine, demonstrated increased survival of the first-line treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

19 Apr 2010

"Brain Port" surgery helps remove colloid cyst in 15-week pregnant woman

A unique device developed to make brain surgery easier and less traumatic has been successfully used on a patient who was pregnant and suffering from a potentially life-threatening brain cyst. The device, called a "Brain Port," was pioneered by renowned neurosurgeon Amin Kassam, MD, Medical Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Saint John's Health Center.

19 Apr 2010

Hospira enters definitive merger agreement to acquire Javelin Pharmaceuticals for $145M

Hospira, Inc., a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company, and Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement providing for the acquisition of Javelin by Hospira for $2.20 per share in cash, or approximately $145 million. Hospira expects to commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Javelin common stock on or about April 21, 2010, in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement.

19 Apr 2010

Myriad Pharmaceuticals terminates merger agreement with Javelin Pharmaceuticals

Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the termination, effective as of Friday, April 16, 2010, of its merger agreement with Javelin Pharmaceuticals.

19 Apr 2010

PRA International expands clinical research operations to New Zealand

PRA International, a leading Clinical Research Organization, announces it has established a legal entity and hired staff in New Zealand, which will complement the firm's extensive network of Asia-Pacific operations and partnerships.

19 Apr 2010

FDA approves Sagent Pharmaceuticals' mesna injection for hemorrhagic cystitis

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced the Company has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market mesna injection (mesna), a prophylactic agent used to reduce the incidence of hemorrhagic cystitis caused by ifosfamide chemotherapy.

19 Apr 2010

Valedictory Symposium to celebrate Professor David Taylor's contribution to Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Medical experts from across the UK are gathering at the University of Leicester on Friday 23rd April in a Valedictory Symposium to celebrate the work of Professor David Taylor.

19 Apr 2010

First US implant of Interventional Spine's RENEW Interspinous Allograft Technology for LSS

Interventional Spine, Inc. today announced the first commercial implant in the United States of its RENEW™ Interspinous Allograft Technology for the Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS).

19 Apr 2010

Radiolabeled hedgehog can differentiate stem-like cancer cells, identify aggressive tumors

At the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010, scientists and clinicians will present more than 6,300 abstracts dealing with innovative aspects of biology, technology and emerging therapies.

19 Apr 2010

Enigma Diagnostics receives patent for amplification consumables

Enigma Diagnostics Limited, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,659,096 with claims that cover the use of amplification consumables in several current real-time and end point PCR instruments.

19 Apr 2010

Stallergenes' US phase III clinical trial of Oralair achieves primary endpoint

Stallergenes S.A. today announced the first results of a phase III clinical trial (VO61.08) conducted in the USA on its sublingual grass pollen immunotherapy tablet, Oralair(R).

19 Apr 2010

New p53 knockout rat model improves timelines for carcinogenicity screening

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services brand of Sigma-Aldrich, today introduced the world's first p53 'knockout' rat model, an important development that is expected to, due to the rat's closer physiological and metabolic similarity to humans, significantly improve timelines for carcinogenicity screening and reduce time to market for therapeutics.

19 Apr 2010

Amgen announces results from pivotal Phase 3 "408" trial of Vectibix

Amgen today announced detailed results from a new biomarker analysis of the pivotal Phase 3 "408" trial of Vectibix® (panitumumab) plus best supportive care compared to BSC alone. The analysis used massively parallel, next-generation sequencing technology to investigate whether mutations in nine genes known to be mutated in colorectal cancer, including the previously unanalyzed exon 3 mutation of the KRAS gene, are predictive of response to Vectibix in metastatic colorectal cancer.

19 Apr 2010

Results of BATTLE Trial presented at AACR 2010

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in men and women, but huge randomized trials of thousands of patients have either failed completely or shown negligible survival differences.

19 Apr 2010

Cell Therapeutics receives feedback regarding proposed filing of MAA for pixantrone

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it met with and received feedback from the rapporteurs and the European Medicines Agency's medical reviewers regarding a proposed filing of a Marketing Authorization Application for pixantrone in the European Union to treat relapsed/refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

19 Apr 2010

Clues to molecular markers on breast tumors that may predict spread of lymph node cancer

Predicting breast cancer spread from a sentinel lymph node removed during surgery is a hit or miss affair, say researchers: there are still many false negatives, which means the node, when analyzed under a microscope, appears clean of cancer cells, but metastasis can still occur in the patient. The sentinel node is the first lymph node in the axilla that cancer spreads to.

19 Apr 2010

Teen drinking increases the risk for breast cancer

What are the chances of you developing breast cancer if you have been drinking alcohol regularly as a teenager? Very high indeed as per the findings of a study called “Growing Up Today” conducted on 6,899 women from the time they were 9 to 15 year old till they turned 18 to 27 years old.

18 Apr 2010

Pre-clinical data on MM-121 and MM-111 to be presented at AACR 2010

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it will present pre-clinical data on MM-121 and MM-111, the two lead candidates in the company's pipeline of five novel cancer antibodies, at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held April 17 – 21, 2010, in Washington, D.C.

17 Apr 2010