Small Cell Lung Cancer News and Research

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Small cell lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung. Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive (fast-growing) cancer that can spread to other parts of the body. The cancer cells look small and oval-shaped when looked at under a microscope.

Tarceva shown to extend survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer when used after initial chemo

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced further results from the Phase III SATURN study showing that Tarceva® (erlotinib) extended the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when used as single agent, maintenance therapy in patients who did not progress following first-line treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.

2 Aug 2009

Surgery after chemotherapy and radiation can be an option for patients advanced lung cancer

In recent years, oncologists have debated whether patients with a certain type of advanced lung cancer would benefit from surgery.

26 Jul 2009

Thalidomide does not improve survival in small cell lung cancer

Treating patients with thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) did not improve their survival but did increase their risk of blood clots, according to a new study published online July 16 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Jul 2009

FDA approves Alimta (pemetrexed) for advanced lung cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Alimta (pemetrexed), the first drug available for maintenance therapy of advanced or metastatic lung cancer.

6 Jul 2009

Prophylactic cranial irradiation prevents early lung cancer metastases to the brain

A national Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center physician at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee has found that a course of radiation therapy to the brain after treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reduced the risk of metastases to the brain within the first year after treatment. The study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, June 1.

3 Jun 2009

Research looks at relationship between death rates from lung cancer and how much a person smoked

It's common knowledge that smoking raises risks of lung cancer. And yet researchers haven't known whether continued smoking by lung cancer patients would increase the risk of the cancer's spread.

3 Jun 2009

Vandetanib shows clinical benefit when combined with docetaxel for lung cancer

When combined with standard chemotherapy, an international Phase III trial has shown that the oral targeted therapy vandetanib improves progression-free survival for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

1 Jun 2009

Drug combo improves outcome for advanced non-small cell lung cancer

A new, international study found that the combination of two drugs delays disease progression for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

1 Jun 2009

Cancer drugs erlotinib and gefitinib might treat alcoholism

A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects' response to alcohol.

22 May 2009

FDA approves Avastin (bevacizumab) for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) when this form of brain cancer continues to progress following standard therapy.

7 May 2009

New findings on how lithium may help radiation target cancer

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators have uncovered a mechanism that helps explain how lithium, a drug widely used to treat bipolar mood disorder, also protects the brain from damage that occurs during radiation treatments.

4 May 2009

Women more vulnerable to tobacco carcinogens than men

According to researchers in Switzerland women are more vulnerable to tobacco carcinogens than men.

3 May 2009

Women more vulnerable to the cancer-causing effects of smoking tobacco

Women may be more vulnerable than men to the cancer-causing effects of smoking tobacco, according to new results reported this week at the European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology (EMCTO), Lugano, Switzerland.

3 May 2009

Clinical and scientific cooperation to fight lung cancer

Prevention, personalized therapies and closer collaborations between surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists will result in better outcomes for lung cancer patients and those at risk, a leading European expert says.

27 Apr 2009

Nanosensor arrays ''sniff out" cancer

In 2006 researchers established that dogs could detect cancer by sniffing the exhaled breath of cancer patients. Now, using nanoscale arrays of detectors, two groups of investigators have shown that a compact mechanical device also can sniff out lung cancer in humans.

27 Apr 2009

AEterna Zentaris presents results for AEZS-112 in advanced cancer and lymphoma

AEterna Zentaris Inc. has presented a poster outlining Phase 1 results for its orally-active tubulin and topoisomerase II inhibitor compound, AEZS-112, in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma, which may potentially provide a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer.

22 Apr 2009

Racial disparities persist in the treatment of lung cancer

Black patients suffering from lung cancer are less likely to receive recommended chemotherapy and surgery than white lung cancer patients, a disparity that shows no signs of lessening.

13 Apr 2009

Experimental vaccine shows promise for the treatment of early lung cancer

An experimental vaccine that triggers the patient's immune system to identify and attack specific tumor cells is showing new promise for the treatment of early lung cancer.

6 Apr 2009

Avastin safe and effective at delaying tumor progression

The use of Avastin alone to treat a subgroup of recurrent Grade 3 brain tumors showed it was safe and effective at delaying tumor progression, according to a retrospective study of 22 patients conducted by a researcher at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

6 Apr 2009

Lung cancer: Molecular scissors determine therapy effectiveness

In the past few years, a number of anti-cancer drugs have been developed which are directed selectively against specific key molecules of tumor cells.

17 Mar 2009