Paclitaxel News and Research

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Paclitaxel is a drug used to treat breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma. It is also used together with another drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer. Paclitaxel is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. It blocks cell growth by stopping cell division and may kill cancer cells. It is a type of antimitotic agent. Also called Taxol.

The Paclitaxel compound is extracted from the Pacific yew tree Taxus brevifolia with antineoplastic activity. Paclitaxel binds to tubulin and inhibits the disassembly of microtubules, thereby resulting in the inhibition of cell division. This agent also induces apoptosis by binding to and blocking the function of the apoptosis inhibitor protein Bcl-2 (B-cell Leukemia 2). Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent.

Immune system hurts as well as fights cancer - discovery could lead to new cancer treatments with fewer side effects

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that some proteins of the immune system can promote tumor growth.

29 Sep 2008

Nanotubes detect tumors and deliver high-potency punch

Researchers at the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response (CCNE-TR), based at Stanford University, have found a new way to target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched.

28 Sep 2008

Multifunctional polymer nanoparticles pass critical in vivo test

In an effort to overcome the drug resistance that often occurs in cancer, a team of investigators has developed a nanoparticle made of a blend of polymers that first releases a powerful anticancer drug and then delivers an agent that tricks a drug-resistant cell into committing suicide. Now, tests in mice with human breast cancer have shown that these blended nanoparticles are effective in maintaining high levels of both drugs in the vicinity of tumors.

28 Sep 2008

Anticancer drug triggers nanoparticle formation, improves stability in vivo

Paclitaxel is a powerful anticancer agent used to treat a variety of malignancies, but severe side effects limit its ultimate effectiveness and utility. To improve this drug's pharmacological properties, researchers have turned to nanoparticle-based delivery agents, although with marginal success; stably trapping large amounts of paclitaxel in most nanoparticles has proven difficult.

28 Sep 2008

New drug substantially extends survival in pancreatic cancer

A new form of chemotherapy that destroys new blood vessels that grow around tumors has produced excellent results in a phase II trial of patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer, researchers report at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.New drug substantially extends survival in pancreatic cancer

16 Sep 2008

Sngle-walled carbon nanotubes used as cancer drug delivery vehicles

The problem with using a shotgun to kill a housefly is that even if you get the pest, you'll likely do a lot of damage to your home in the process. Hence the value of the more surgical flyswatter.

14 Aug 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

Nanoparticles trigger built-in cell-death signal to overcome drug resistance

One of the most vexing problems in treating cancer is the propensity of tumors to develop resistance to a wide range of anticancer drugs. Over 70 percent of ovarian cancer patients, for example, have drug-resistant tumors at the time of their initial diagnosis, and virtually all patients who relapse have drug-resistant tumors.

15 Jun 2008

Paclitaxel Poliglumex/Capecitabine regimen well tolerated and active in metastatic breast cancer

At the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), data were presented from a phase II investigator-sponsored trial paclitaxel poliglumex (Opaxio, CT-2103) in combination with capecitabine in first-line treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

3 Jun 2008

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals updates on Bavituximab breast cancer study

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that results from a Phase I clinical trial of its lead anti-phosphatidylserine (anti-PS) antibody bavituximab in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

2 Jun 2008

Multifunctional nanoparticles image, target, and treat tumors

Encapsulating magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles within a silica shell has yielded a new multifunctional nanoparticle that has the potential to image, target, and treat tumors with water-insoluble anticancer drugs. A report of this work appears in the journal ACS Nano.

20 May 2008

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to present data on Ortataxel in breast cancer at major oncology meeting

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will present Phase 2 data on ortataxel at the 44th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held May 30 to June 3, 2008 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.

19 May 2008

New key mechanism in cell division discovered

Scientists at the IFOM-IEO Campus have revealed the function of a protein that is indispensable for passing on an accurate copy of the genome from mother to daughter cells. This study, published in Cell, opens up new avenues of research to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer.

8 May 2008

Combining sorafenib with carboplatin/paclitaxel adds no benefit in lung cancer

A clinical trial evaluating the benefit of adding the drug sorafenib to the combination of carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy for lung cancer patients has been stopped based on results from an interim analysis, after an independent data monitoring committee concluded that the study would not meet its primary endpoint of improved overall survival.

26 Apr 2008

Drug-releasing stent shows promise for improving outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease

For patients who underwent angioplasty to open narrowed coronary arteries, the use of stents releasing the drug everolimus reduced the rate of renarrowing of the arteries and significantly reduced the risk of major cardiac events, compared to the widely-used paclitaxel-releasing stents, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

22 Apr 2008

Genentech updates on phase III study of Avastin plus chemo in first-line, advanced, non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer

Genentech, Inc. has announced an update for the previously reported Roche-sponsored international Phase III clinical study (AVAiL) of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy, in patients with advanced, non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

21 Apr 2008

Drugs in the pipeline: new therapies that could change treatment strategies

The investigational drug AZD2171 (cediranib) may help shrink tumors and prolong survival of patients with a relatively common, aggressive type of brain cancer, according to results from a clinical trial conducted by Boston researchers.

16 Apr 2008

Two new clinical trials show promise for basal cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer

Clinical researchers at Scottsdale Healthcare and TGen have announced the results of two clinical trials that show promise for patients battling cancer.

16 Apr 2008

Global Alliance for Pharmacogenomics

Leaders at the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Genomic Medicine in Japan have signed a letter of intent creating a Global Alliance for Pharmacogenomics.

15 Apr 2008

Disappointing resuts for pimecrolimus, investigational anti-restenosis drug

A new medication that researchers had hoped would reduce the risk of arterial renarrowing after stenting has turned in a disappointing performance in a multicenter clinical trial, but the multi-reservoir stent that was used to deliver the drug is still considered promising.

1 Apr 2008