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Study to test efficacy of lapatinib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Use of the molecularly targeted agent lapatinib to delay tumor growth and improve the survival of patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer, only benefited certain subgroups of patients. While results of this study were largely negative, patients that exhibited toxicity from the drug in the form of a skin rash appeared to have a greater tumor response and longer survival.

9 Sep 2009

New procedure used for breast cancer surgery

Breast cancer surgeons and radiation oncologists at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange performed a new procedure combining removal of a patient’s breast tumor with the power of electron beam radiation in the operating room.

8 Sep 2009

Scientists use advanced technology to find about composite structure of skin

Leeds scientists are using the most sophisticated techniques to tackle a question almost as old as mankind itself - what makes skin feel good, and why?

8 Sep 2009

Valeant develops an acne drug with a low concentration of BPO combined with clindamycin

One of the most widely prescribed drugs for acne vulgaris is benzoyl peroxide (BPO). However, at concentrations of 5-10%, BPO has the potential for skin irritation and dryness leading to poor patient compliance. Increasingly, BPO is combined with clindamycin in a fixed combination where the efficacy effects of the two ingredients are synergistic.

8 Sep 2009

Preliminary results of Phase III Gvhd trials announced by Osiris Therapeutics

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR) today announced preliminary results for two phase III trials evaluating Prochymal for the treatment of acute graft versus host disease (GvHD). GvHD, the most common complication of bone marrow transplantation, is a life-threatening disease for which there is currently no approved treatment. Prochymal showed significant improvements in response rates in difficult-to-treat liver and gastrointestinal GvHD, however neither trial reached its primary endpoint.

8 Sep 2009

FDA undecided on safety guidelines for hydroquinone use

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the US market for physician-dispensed cosmeceutical pigment control products will experience considerable growth in sales over the next five years. MRG's US Markets for Physician-Dispensed Cosmeceuticals 2009 report finds, however, that product safety issues involving hydroquinone, the active ingredient in many pigment control products, have led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to second guess the use of the compound in such products.

8 Sep 2009

Increased public awareness of cancer symptoms necessary to prevent avoidable deaths

One in seven people cannot name a single symptom of cancer, according to a Cancer Research UK survey published today (Monday).

8 Sep 2009

Household sun exposure in the UK increases skin cancer prevalence

More than 50 per cent of people who suffered sunburn last summer were burnt while at home in the UK, according to a Cancer Research UK survey released today as Bank Holiday temperatures are expected to soar.

8 Sep 2009

Presence of virus linked with malignant human prostate cancer cells

In a finding with potentially major implications for identifying a viral cause of prostate cancer, researchers at the University of Utah and Columbia University medical schools have reported that a type of virus known to cause leukemia and sarcomas in animals has been found for the first time in malignant human prostate cancer cells.

7 Sep 2009

Nanotubes destroy kidney tumors

By injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, a multi-institutional team of researchers from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSOM), Wake Forest University Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, Rice University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has developed a new type of therapy that effectively kills kidney tumors in nearly 80% of treated mice. Researchers say that the findings, which were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, suggest a potential future cancer treatment for humans.

7 Sep 2009

Molecularly targeted nanocarriers deliver the cytolytic peptide melittin specifically to tumor cells in mice, reducing tumor growth

When bees sting, they pump into their victims a peptide toxin called melittin that destroys cell membranes. Now, by encapsulating this extremely potent molecule within a nanoparticle, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have created a potential new type of anticancer therapy with the potential to target a wide range of tumors. This work was reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

7 Sep 2009

American Laser Centers offers complementary treatment

American Laser Centers, http://americanlaser.com, the premier provider of aesthetic services in the United States, today invited Illinois clients of the now-closed Hair Today Gone Tomorrow organization to visit American Laser Centers locations for a complementary treatment.

5 Sep 2009

Bloodstream infections can be avoided with a daily scrub solution bath

Giving critically ill hospital patients a daily bath with a mild, soapy solution of the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation can dramatically cut down, by as much as 73 percent, the number of patients who develop potentially deadly bloodstream infections, according to a new study by patient safety experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and five other institutions.

5 Sep 2009

StrataTest to be launched in the European market

Stratatech Corp., a privately-held regenerative medicine company, today announced that it will launch its StrataTest full-thickness human skin model to the European market at EUROTOX 2009, the annual meeting of the Federation of European Toxicologists and the European Societies of Toxicology. This year’s meeting is being held in Dresden, Germany, Sept. 13-16.

4 Sep 2009

Giant Eagle offers generic prescription antibiotics for free at its in-store pharmacies

At a time when many families affected by a difficult economy are struggling with the costs of prescription medications, supermarket retailer Giant Eagle, Inc. is making ten broadly used generic prescription antibiotics in 46 common dosages available for free every day at all of its 210 in-store pharmacies.

4 Sep 2009

Lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical and Walgreen

St. Louis-based law firm Carey & Danis LLC announces the filing of four civil lawsuits on behalf of twenty plaintiffs against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc., the makers of the powerful antibiotic Levaquin, as well as the Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG), which sells the drug.

4 Sep 2009

Results of Phase 2 rheumatoid arthritis clinical trial announced

Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) announced its preliminary analysis of results from a study examining ARRY-162, a small molecule MEK inhibitor, in a 12-week Phase 2 clinical trial with 201 patients.

4 Sep 2009

MPI Research appoints Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing

MPI Research announced today that Thomas Laughlin will join the company as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and will be a member of the company’s Corporate Management Team. Laughlin’s 30+ years of executive experience span several of the world’s largest and most successful healthcare products companies.

3 Sep 2009

Sheller, P.C helps to settle the largest whistleblower complaint

Pfizer Inc. ignored a 2005 FDA Warning Letter to stop promoting its antibiotic Zyvox(R) as clinically superior to the significantly less expensive, generic vancomycin when its own FDA-approved label indicated otherwise. The drug giant also defrauded federal and state taxpayers by marketing Zyvox off-label, according to a qui tam whistleblower complaint filed by Philadelphia law firm Sheller, P.C. and other documents unsealed with today's $2.3 billion Pfizer settlement.

3 Sep 2009

Damprid's recommendations for tackling seasonal allergy

For America’s 60 million seasonal allergy sufferers, fall can be one of the most difficult times of year as ragweed begins to release its pollen into the air and mold and fungus spores increase due to the decay of leaves and other plants. Each ragweed plant produces one billion pollen grains per average season. This generally continues until the first frost, usually in October.

3 Sep 2009