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.

Long term follow up of additional Swedish registry data does not indicate an increased

Four years of follow up including additional patients in the Swedish Coronary angiography and angioplasty registry (SCAAR) does no longer indicate any increased mortality in patients treated with drug eluting stents compared to patients treated with bare metal stents.

2 Sep 2007

Avastin approved in Europe for advanced lung cancer

Avastin (bevacizumab), Roche's innovative anti-cancer drug, was approved today in Europe for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy.

26 Aug 2007

New algorithm matches any tumor cells to best possible anti-cancer treatments

Cancer patients don't have time to waste. Many go through several different treatments, however, to find one that is more effective against their particular type of tumor.

24 Jul 2007

Novel method of drug delivery to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death for men in the U.S. Present treatments for metastatic prostate cancer (cancer cells that spread to other parts of the body) include hormonal therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which frequently have serious side effects.

23 Jun 2007

Novel cellular mechanism that may guide cell movement and possibly cancer cell invasion

Scientists have long thought that microtubules, part of the microscopic scaffolding that the cell uses to move things around in order to hold its shape and divide, originated from a tiny structure near the nucleus, called the centrosome.

23 Jun 2007

Sensitivity to diverse range of chemotherapeutic drugs linked to common pathway

Using a functional genomic screen, scientists have defined elements that impact the responsiveness of cancer cells to drugs commonly used as anticancer therapeutics.

15 Jun 2007

Double-duty nanoparticles overcome drug resistance in tumors

Cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy. In fact, research suggests strongly that multidrug resistant cancer cells that remain alive after chemotherapy are responsible for the reappearance of tumors and the poor prognosis for patients whose cancer recurs.

14 Jun 2007

Study shows combination improves survival of metastatic melanoma patients

Two chemotherapy drugs combined with an agent that prevents the growth of blood vessels significantly delayed the spread of tumors in patients with metastatic melanoma, according to study findings presented at the 2007 American Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

5 Jun 2007

Herceptin does not increase heart failure in patients long-term

Risk of congestive heart failure in women treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and combination chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer did not increase over time according to a five-year follow-up of National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trial B-31, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

5 Jun 2007

Benefits of Herceptin are lasting

An updated analysis of two large randomized clinical trials has found that breast cancer patients who received the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) along with chemotherapy are living longer and with less risk of recurrent disease, compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone.

5 Jun 2007

Studies try to shed light on impact of race

Statistics show lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in African-Americans, with 21,550 new cases expected to be diagnosed and 16,700 deaths expected this year.

3 Jun 2007

Oncolytic viruses deliver a knockout punch to cancers

New scientific evidence is helping to build a compelling case for oncolytic viruses as a first-line and adjunctive treatment for many cancers.

11 May 2007

Viventia Biotech announces results of Proxinium antibody in combinaton with chemotherapy and radiation

Viventia Biotech has announced results of in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies conducted to evaluate the potential for combining its phase III anti-cancer antibody therapeutic, Proxinium, with first-line standard of care therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head & neck (SCCHN).

19 Apr 2007

Micell Technologies presents data on novel drug-eluting stents

Micell Technologies has announced that the Company will be presenting data on use of its supercritical fluid (SCF) surface modification technology for drug-eluting stents at the upcoming Society for Biomaterials 2007 Annual Meeting, April 19-21 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.

19 Apr 2007

Expression Genetics completes phase I trial of lead drug candidate, EGEN-001

Expression Genetics, Inc., has announced the completion of a Phase I clinical study evaluating the Company's lead drug candidate, EGEN-001.

17 Apr 2007

New chemical agent, MCP110, provides synergistic effect to standard drugs

Integrating the use of drugs targeted to specific cancer proteins into current chemotherapy regimens to improve the efficacy of systemic treatment is an important clinical goal at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2007

Massive gene screening points way to more effective chemotherapy

Using a technology that can quickly screen all 20,000-plus human genes for biological activity, scientists have isolated 87 genes that seem to affect how sensitive human cancer cells are to certain chemotherapy drugs.

12 Apr 2007

Cylindrical nanoparticles deliver drugs to tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine & School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered a better way to deliver drugs to tumors.

7 Apr 2007

Long-term safety of drug-eluting stents in off-label use

Research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Innovation in Intervention: i2 Summit 2007 in New Orleans, La, paints a picture of the "real world" use of drug-eluting stents and offers new insight into the connection between blood clotting, or thrombosis, in the stent - a dangerous complication - and adherence and responsiveness to anti-clotting medication.

3 Apr 2007

New understanding of how and why Taxol works in patients with breast cancer

Cancer researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have taken a step towards understanding how and why a widely used chemotherapy drug works in patients with breast cancer.

22 Feb 2007