Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

MRD-directed therapy helps boost survival of young leukemia patients

Measuring the concentration of leukemia cells in patient bone marrow during the first 46 days of chemotherapy should help boost survival of young leukemia patients by better matching patients with the right intensity of chemotherapy. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators led the research, which appears in the March 20 edition of the journal Lancet Oncology.

22 Mar 2015

MED15 may serve as prognostic marker for HNSCC recurrence

A new study provides the first evidence that the mediator complex subunit 15 (MED15) may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). MED15 overexpression was found to be associated with higher mortality rates in HNSCC patients with cancer recurrence, particularly in oral cavity/oropharyngeal tumors, according to the study published in The American Journal of Pathology.

21 Mar 2015

Eli Lilly, Innovent Biologics announce biotech drug development collaborations in China

Eli Lilly and Company and Innovent Biologics, Inc. today announced one of the largest biotech drug development collaborations in China to date between a multi-national and domestic company.

21 Mar 2015

Cosentyx (secukinumab) safe, effective for treating psoriasis patients

Novartis today announced new two-year results demonstrating sustained efficacy with Cosentyx (secukinumab) with an acceptable safety profile for the treatment of psoriasis patients. The data comes from the extension study of the pivotal Phase III FIXTURE and ERASURE trials.

21 Mar 2015

Shp2 enzyme blocks protection program, boosts tumor growth

Cells have two different programs to safeguard them from getting out of control and developing cancer. One of them is senescence (biological aging). It puts cancer cells into a permanent sleep so they no longer divide and grow in an uncontrolled way.

20 Mar 2015

New work flow system may improve patient appointments, reduce time-consuming work

Both patients and physicians may benefit from a "work flow" system developed at military medical facilities and tested at a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center clinic, according to results of an efficiency study.

20 Mar 2015

Cambridge scientists successfully create 'mini-lungs' to study cystic fibrosis

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully created 'mini-lungs' using stem cells derived from skin cells of patients with cystic fibrosis, and have shown that these can be used to test potential new drugs for this debilitating lung disease.

20 Mar 2015

Promising new treatment for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer

European scientists recently discovered a novel therapy to treat a subgroup of patients with hereditary breast/ovarian cancer. Both the EU and the US have approved an accelerated procedure to market this promising new treatment with few side effects.

20 Mar 2015

Chemical found in stinging nettles and ants could improve cancer drug

A cancer drug could be made 50 times more effective by a chemical found in stinging nettles and ants, new research finds.

20 Mar 2015

New strategies to improve screening rates for colorectal cancer in low-income populations

Since the colonoscopy was developed more than four decades ago, the screening procedure for colorectal cancer has undoubtedly saved millions of lives.

20 Mar 2015

New triple combination therapy shows promise in controlling advanced melanoma

Results of a new study by UCLA researchers has found that a groundbreaking new triple combination therapy shows promising signs of more effectively controlling advanced melanoma than previous BRAF + MEK inhibitor or BRAF inhibitor + immunotherapy combos alone, and with increased immune response and fewer side effects.

20 Mar 2015

Researchers develop noninvasive method to detect kidney cancer early

If kidney cancer is diagnosed early — before it spreads — 80 percent of patients survive. However, finding it early has been among the disease's greatest challenges.

20 Mar 2015

RNA molecule can be manipulated to generate more neurons from neural stem cells

A research team at UC San Francisco has discovered an RNA molecule called Pnky that can be manipulated to increase the production of neurons from neural stem cells.

20 Mar 2015

Scientists discover how ALL cells mutate to survive chemotherapy

By genomic sequencing of leukemia cells from relapsed patients at different stages, scientists have discovered key details of how acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells mutate to survive chemotherapy. These mutations enable the cells to proliferate, causing relapse and often death.

20 Mar 2015

Scientists figure out how to turn Bucky-balls into Buckybombs

In 1996, a trio of scientists won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery of Buckminsterfullerene - soccer-ball-shaped spheres of 60 joined carbon atoms that exhibit special physical properties.

20 Mar 2015

New MRI technique from NIST may help diagnose TBI in U.S. veterans

More than 300,000 U.S. veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in recent years, a legacy of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But these numbers don't tell the whole story. While severe TBI can be obvious, milder cases involving symptoms such as memory loss or inability to concentrate are difficult to confirm and treat.

20 Mar 2015

Researchers find way to enhance effects of immunotherapy in glioblastoma

When cancer strikes, it may be possible for patients to fight back with their own defenses, using a strategy known as immunotherapy. According to a new study published in Nature, researchers have found a way to enhance the effects of this therapeutic approach in glioblastoma, a deadly type of brain cancer, and possibly improve patient outcomes.

20 Mar 2015