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People with Down syndrome may have more cancer-protective genes

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it's been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes.

20 May 2009

Genentech and Biogen Idec submit applications to FDA for Rituxan in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genentech, Inc. and Biogen Idec today announced that the companies submitted two supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Rituxan (rituximab) plus standard chemotherapy for people with previously untreated or treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

20 May 2009

Adult stem cells from bone marrow can deliver cancer-killing proteins to tumors

Researchers in London have demonstrated the ability of adult stem cells from bone marrow (mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs) to deliver a cancer-killing protein to tumors.

19 May 2009

Genetic signature predicts clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a gene signature that may help predict clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer.

19 May 2009

Relationship discovered between tumors and depression

In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers at the University of Chicago have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative mood changes.

18 May 2009

Discovery in colon cancer prevention

A new study finds that individuals who have low expression of the "Celebrex gene," 15-PGDH, are actually resistant to Celebrex treatment when used to prevent colon cancer.

18 May 2009

Discovery of molecular pathway behind invasive prostate cancers

University of Cincinnati (UC) cancer and cell biologists have identified a new molecular pathway key to the development of invasive prostate cancers.

18 May 2009

Disruption of immune-system pathway key step in cancer progression

Human immune cells communicate constantly with one another as they coordinate to fight off infection and other threats.

18 May 2009

Computer model predicts how brain tumors grow and evolve

Researchers from Brown University and other institutions have developed a computational computer model of how brain tumors grow and evolve.

18 May 2009

Nanodiamonds for drug delivery

A research team at Northwestern University has demonstrated a tool that can precisely deliver tiny doses of drug-carrying nanomaterials to individual cells.

18 May 2009

Genetic basis for environmental and occupational respiratory diseases

Exposure to particulate matter has been recognized as a contributing factor to lung cancer development for some time, but a new study indicates inhalation of certain particulates can actually cause some genes to become reprogrammed, affecting both the development and the outcome of cancers and other diseases.

17 May 2009

Transplant patients experience worse outcomes from cancer

After comparing two patient cancer registries - one featuring transplant patients and the other the general population - researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that transplant patients experience worse outcomes from cancer.

17 May 2009

Pazopanib shows promise for aggressive thyroid cancer

A medication that helps stop the growth of new blood vessels has produced dramatic benefits for some patients with aggressive thyroid cancer, research from Mayo Clinic indicates.

17 May 2009

Combining two chemotherapy drugs with Herceptin shows promise for metastatic HER2+ breast cancer

At the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), researchers from the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida report that using a combination of capecitabine, vinorelbine, and trastuzumab offers a treatment option that is at least as beneficial as other current options - and doesn't cause hair loss in patients.

17 May 2009

Low oxygen levels in prostate tumors can predict recurrence

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have discovered that low-oxygen regions in prostate tumors can be used to predict a rise in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, a marker of tumor recurrence in prostate cancer.

17 May 2009

Genetic marker predicts earlier onset of prostate cancer in Caucasian men

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have identified a genetic marker that is associated with an earlier onset of prostate cancer in Caucasian men who have a family history of prostate cancer. If the data are confirmed, the marker may help clinicians personalize prostate cancer screening.

17 May 2009

New system to deliver siRNA into primary cells

In technology that promises to one day allow drug delivery to be tailored to an individual patient and a particular cancer tumor, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have developed an efficient system for delivering siRNA into primary cells.

17 May 2009

Genetic signature may predict patient response to GIST therapy

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center uncovered a genetic pattern that may help predict how gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients respond to the targeted therapy imatinib mesylate (Gleevec). Moreover, their findings point to genes that could be suppressed in order to make these tumors respond more readily to imatinib.

15 May 2009

A relationship found between cancer stem cells and prognosis in primary breast cancer

Breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy prior to surgery had heightened levels of cancer-initiating stem cells in their bone marrow, and the level of such cells correlated to a tumor's lymph node involvement, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

15 May 2009

Cimzia approved in U.S. for rheumatoid arthritis

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cimzia, the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

13 May 2009