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New results help predict treatment response in colorectal cancer

Genetic testing can identify a group of patients with advanced colorectal cancer who are likely to survive on average twice as long if treated with the drug cetuximab, late breaking results show.

16 Sep 2008

Benefits of combined treatments against cancer

In cancer therapy, the best results are often achieved by combining treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. This multidisciplinary approach is the focus of special symposia at the meetings of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology (ESTRO) taking place in Sweden this month.

16 Sep 2008

Pain-relieving gel makes mammograms a less painful experience

Women dreading the prospect of another painful mammogram can, according to researchers, relieve some of the breast discomfort by using a pain-relieving gel.

16 Sep 2008

An 'HIV-test' equivalent for early detection of lung cancer

A team of researchers led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reports online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology the validation of a potential "HIV-test" equivalent for the early detection of lung cancer. The test, which relies on immune-system signals, much like an HIV test, can detect the presence of lung cancer a year prior to diagnosis, long before symptoms appear.

15 Sep 2008

Vaccine against HER2-positive breast cancer offers complete protection in lab

Researchers at Wayne State University have tested a breast cancer vaccine they say completely eliminated HER2-positive tumors in mice - even cancers resistant to current anti-HER2 therapy - without any toxicity.

15 Sep 2008

Inherited one-hit gene mutation provides new opportunity for colon cancer prevention

More than 30 years ago, Alfred Knudson Jr., M.D., Ph.D., revolutionized the field of cancer genetics by showing that a person must lose both their paternal and maternal copies of a particular class of cancer-inhibiting genes, called tumor-suppressor genes, in order to develop cancer.

15 Sep 2008

Investigational drug shows promise in ovarian cancer

An investigational drug that combats ovarian cancer by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels has shown promise in a phase II trial, according to a presentation at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

15 Sep 2008

DNA vaccine developed at the Karmanos Cancer Institute fights HER2-positive cancers

Researchers at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine have developed a HER2 DNA vaccine that has shown to be effective on drug resistant tumors in mice. The study was reported in the September 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Sep 2008

Inovio Biomedical achieves 75% complete response rate in preclinical testing of DNA-based cancer vaccine using its electroporation DNA delivery system

Inovio Biomedical Corporation announced today that it achieved positive results from its proprietary research and development program for DNA-based cancer vaccines delivered using the company's electroporation-based DNA delivery technology.

15 Sep 2008

Significant benefits in non-small-cell lung cancer from customizing erlotinib treatment

Lung cancer patients whose tumors carry specific genetic mutations can achieve significantly longer survival when treated with targeted therapies such as erlotinib, Spanish researchers report.

15 Sep 2008

Scientists develop nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' to target and destroy tumors

Scientists have developed nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' that can sail throughout the body via the bloodstream without immediate detection from the body's immune radar system and ferry their cargo of anti-cancer drugs and markers into tumors that might otherwise go untreated or undetected.

11 Sep 2008

Congressional Democrats will not vote on SCHIP expansion legislation this session amid veto threats, increased cost estimates

Congressional Democrats said they will not hold a vote on legislation to renew and expand SCHIP this year, citing an inability to override a promised veto by President Bush, among other issues, the New York Times reports.

9 Sep 2008

The Cancer Genome Atlas reports first results

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) has reported results from its first comprehensive study which focused on the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma.

8 Sep 2008

Gold nanorods for medical applications

Gold nanoparticles are under consideration for a number of biomedical applications, such as tumor treatment. A German-American research team at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Hunter College in New York, and the RWTH Aachen has now developed a new method for the production of nanoscopic gold rods. In contrast to previous methods, they have achieved this without the use of cytotoxic additives.

8 Sep 2008

Atomic structure of the mammalian "fatty acid factory" determined

Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have determined the atomic structure of a mammalian fatty acid synthase. Their results have just been published in Science magazine.

7 Sep 2008

Trastuzumab-DM1 - a 'smart bomb' for breast cancer treatment

Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) investigators have found that "smart bomb" therapies are effective in treating breast cancer patients while minimizing side effects.

7 Sep 2008

FDA forces manufacturers of TNF-blockers to highlight risk of fungal infections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that the manufacturers of Humira, Cimzia, Enbrel, and Remicade must strengthen the existing warnings, in the Warnings and Precaution sections of the drugs' prescribing information and Medication Guides, on the risk of developing opportunistic fungal infections. Some patients with invasive fungal infections have died.

5 Sep 2008