Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Scientists show how pluripotent stem cells mobilize in wounded planarian worms

The skin, the blood, and the lining of the gut-adult stem cells replenish them daily. But stem cells really show off their healing powers in planarians, humble flatworms fabled for their ability to rebuild any missing body part. Just how adult stem cells build the right tissues at the right times and places has remained largely unanswered.

1 Sep 2012

Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System initiates Pathway Fit clinical trial in obesity

Pathway Genomics Corporation, a San Diego-based genetic testing laboratory, has announced a clinical trial with the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS).

1 Sep 2012

Dysfunctional RyRs play a role in stress-induced cognitive dysfunction

ARMGO Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative small molecule drugs known as "Rycals™," which act on the ryanodine receptor calcium-release channel (RyR), announced that a study published today in the prestigious scientific journal Cell reveals the underlying role of calcium leak through the RyR as an important contributor to stress-induced cognitive dysfunction.

1 Sep 2012

The safety of trainee surgeons: an interview with Prof Calvin Coffey

Surgical training begins at an undergraduate medical student level where students are involved in operations to a minor degree, and educated using a combination of didactic and problem-based approaches.

31 Aug 2012

VLST, Pfizer enter in-licensing agreement for anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody

VLST Corporation, a Seattle-based biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, today announced an in-licensing agreement with Pfizer Inc. for an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody.

31 Aug 2012

Mammographic density 'unrelated to breast cancer death risk'

Although high-density breast cancer high breast density on mammography is an established risk factor for developing breast cancer, it is not associated with an increased risk for death, say US investigators who suggest different factors may affect risk at different times.

31 Aug 2012

Medicare issue reverberates during convention

As both parties press their views about revamping the program, a National Journal poll says both sides think they can win on the issue. Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that even as the Romney-Ryan ticket seems to be holding its own against Democratic attacks on the issue, some Republicans down the ballot are concerned.

31 Aug 2012

Researchers identify several genetic factors linked to C-reactive protein

African Americans have higher blood levels of a protein associated with increased heart-disease risk than European Americans, despite higher "good" HDL cholesterol and lower "bad" triglyceride levels. This contradictory observation now may be explained, in part, by a genetic variant identified in the first large-scale, genome-wide association study of this protein involving 12,000 African American and Hispanic American women.

31 Aug 2012

Non-pain-related factors predict long-term opioid use after surgery

Non-pain-related factors—including previous use of pain medications, high perceived risk of addiction, and symptoms of depression—increase the risk of continuing to use strong pain-relieving drugs several months after surgery, reports a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

31 Aug 2012

Study explains why some cancer vaccines are not as effective as hoped

A research report published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology offers a possible explanation of why some cancer vaccines are not as effective as hoped, while at the same time identifies a new therapeutic strategy for treating autoimmune problems. In the report, scientists suggest that cancer, even in the very early stages, produces a negative immune response from dendritic cells, which prevent lymphocytes from working against the disease.

31 Aug 2012

Lance Armstrong Foundation, SmartBrief launch new weekly digital media news service

SmartBrief, Inc. launched a weekly digital media news service today in partnership with the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

31 Aug 2012

Weill Cornell Medical College receives three new research grants for translational blood cancer study

Weill Cornell Medical College has been awarded three new research grants from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society totaling $1.8 million. The funds will support critically-needed translational research for blood cancers, accelerating promising discoveries from the laboratory to the patient's bedside.

31 Aug 2012

Study confirms link between hormone replacement therapy use and breast cancer

The Million Women Study is a study, conducted by UK researchers, of women's health analyzing data from more than one million women aged 50 and over. It is a collaborative project between Cancer Research UK and the National Health Service (NHS), with additional funding from the Medical Research Council (UK).

31 Aug 2012

Impulsive and compulsive personality traits linked with traumatic upbringing during childhood

Previous research has shown that personality traits such as impulsivity or compulsiveness are indicators of an increased risk of addiction. Now, new research from the University of Cambridge suggests that these impulsive and compulsive personality traits are also associated with a traumatic upbringing during childhood.

31 Aug 2012

Soligenix’s RiVax induces greater ricin neutralizing antibody levels in humans

Soligenix, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today the results of a Phase 1B clinical trial of an aluminum hydroxide (Alum) adjuvanted formulation of RiVax, designed to improve the immunogenicity of the vaccine.

31 Aug 2012

Researchers discover new immune response mechanism during infection

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a new "first response" mechanism that the immune system uses to respond to infection. The findings challenge the current understanding of immunity and could lead to new strategies for boosting effectiveness of all vaccines. The study, conducted in mice, published online today in the journal Immunity.

31 Aug 2012

Studies examine how PML gene regulates the fatty acid oxidation pathway

Two papers led by scientific teams from the Cancer Genetics Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) shed new light on the genetic mechanisms underlying cellular energy and metabolism and, at the same time, highlight both the challenges and opportunities of genetic approaches to cancer treatment.

31 Aug 2012

MidCap, EpiCept amend Loan and Security Agreement

EpiCept Corporation announced today that it has amended the Company's Loan and Security Agreement with MidCap Financial, LLC effective August 27, 2012.

31 Aug 2012

Bayer submits regorafenib NDA with FDA for treatment of metastatic and/or unresectable GIST

Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals today announced that Bayer HealthCare has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the oral multi-kinase inhibitor regorafenib for the treatment of metastatic and/or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in patients whose disease has progressed despite prior treatment.

31 Aug 2012

U.S. lags three other industrialized nations in potentially preventable death rates

The United States lags three other industrialized nations-France, Germany, and the United Kingdom-in its potentially preventable death rate, and in the pace of improvement in preventing deaths that could have been avoided with timely and effective health care, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published as a web first online today in Health Affairs.

31 Aug 2012