Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Officials at 65th World Health Assembly adopt resolutions on broad range of health issues

"The 65th World Health Assembly concluded Saturday after adopting 21 resolutions and three decisions on a broad range of health issues," a WHO press release reports.

30 May 2012

State roundup: The effects of proposed Calif. budget cuts; Fewer free vaccinations in Texas

Low-income children in rural California communities are in jeopardy of losing their doctors and health care plans under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, state lawmakers, doctors and health advocates say. The governor is proposing to transfer nearly 900,000 children enrolled in Healthy Families, the state's Children's Health Insurance Program, to Medi-Cal – a program aimed at serving the state's poorest families, seniors and disabled residents.

30 May 2012

Scientists show why leukemia often returns

The fight against cancer is not won in a single battle: Long after a cancer has been beaten into remission, it can return. The reason for this is under debate, and much is unclear. New research led by Weizmann Institute scientists shows that, at least for one type of blood cancer, the source of cancer recurrence is in a set of cells that do not proliferate as quickly as regular cancer cells, and thus able to survive chemotherapy.

30 May 2012

Naphthalene exposure may increase risk of chromosomal aberrations in children

According to a new study, children exposed to high levels of the common air pollutant naphthalene are at increased risk for chromosomal aberrations (CAs), which have been previously associated with cancer. These include chromosomal translocations, a potentially more harmful and long-lasting subtype of CAs.

30 May 2012

Cabazitaxel offers added benefit for men with metastatic prostate cancer

Cabazitaxel has been approved since March 2011 in men with metastatic prostate cancer who no longer respond to conventional therapy with hormone blockers and have already been pre-treated with the cytostatic drug docetaxel.

30 May 2012

DFG to establish 20 CRCs by 1 July 2012

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish 20 Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) by 1 July 2012. This decision was taken by the Grants Committee at its spring session in Bonn. The new CRCs will receive funding totalling 176 million euros (including a 20 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs) for the initial 4-year funding period.

30 May 2012

CRI relaunches Cancer Immunity journal

The Cancer Research Institute, Inc. (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 1953 to advance the discovery and development of safe and effective immunotherapies for cancer, today announced the relaunch of the open access, online journal Cancer Immunity, the official journal of the Cancer Research Institute.

30 May 2012

Positive results from RedHill’s RHB-103 bioequivalence trial on acute migraine

RedHill Biopharma Ltd., an emerging Israeli biopharmaceutical company focusing primarily on development of late clinical-stage (Phase II/III), patent protected, new formulations and combinations of existing drugs, announces positive results in a pivotal bioequivalence clinical trial with RHB-103, an oral thin-film formulation of Rizatriptan for the treatment of acute migraine.

30 May 2012

Bananas have healthier blend of sugars than sports drinks

Bananas have long been a favorite source of energy for endurance and recreational athletes. Bananas are a rich source of potassium and other nutrients, and are easy for cyclists, runners or hikers to carry.

30 May 2012

Marshall Edwards initiates ME-344 Phase I trial in solid tumors

Marshall Edwards, Inc., an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapeutics targeting cancer metabolism, announced today that the first cohort of patients has been dosed in a Phase I clinical trial of ME-344, the Company's lead mitochondrial inhibitor drug candidate, in patients with refractory solid tumors.

30 May 2012

Scientists identify 20 distinct gene mutations in patients with FGD

A rare disease which often first presents in newborn babies has been traced to a novel genetic defect, scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have found.

30 May 2012

PKCZ protein could serve as new treatment target for prostate cancer

A newly-discovered protein found only in prostate cancer cells could be used as a marker of the disease and offer a new treatment target, according to a study in the British Journal of Cancer.

30 May 2012

Scientists develop synthetic peptide that overcomes cancer cells’ survival defenses

Scientists at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center have developed an anti-cancer peptide that overcomes the stubborn resistance to chemotherapy and radiation often encountered in certain blood cancers when the disease recurs following initial treatment.

30 May 2012

NAC may be an effective therapy for some features of autism

A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder.

30 May 2012

Possible association between mortality and high levels of vitamin D

Scientists know that Vitamin D deficiency is not healthy. However, new research from the University of Copenhagen now indicates that too high a level of the essential vitamin is not good either. The study is based on blood samples from 247,574 Copenhageners. The results have just been published in the reputed scientific Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

30 May 2012

EPO issues patent to Cytune’s CYP0150 for treatment of cancer

Cytune Pharma, an emerging leader in innovative immunomodulatory agents against cancer and infectious diseases, announced today that it will attend the BIO2012 to present its major achievements over the last 12 months and to foster partnering discussions.

30 May 2012

Secreted vesicles play role in spread of cancer

Cancer researchers have known for well over a century that different tumor types spread only to specific, preferred organs. But no one has been able to determine the mechanisms of organ specific metastasis, the so-called "soil and seed" theory of 1889. New details that could help shed light on this hypothesis have been provided by a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and their collaborators, proposing a new mechanism controlling cancer metastasis that offers fresh diagnostic and treatment potential.

29 May 2012

FDA accepts NDA filing for KYNAMRO to treat HoFH

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing the New Drug Application for KYNAMRO (mipomersen sodium) for the treatment of patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH).

29 May 2012

Fluxion Biosciences announces launch of Discovery Services business

Fluxion Biosciences, a privately held drug discovery tools and services company, announced today that it is launching a Discovery Services business to support growing demand for assay support on Fluxion's unique cell analysis platforms.

From Fluxion Biosciences 29 May 2012

Safety of breast implants

Following the recent scandal, described in May 2012 by the BBC as the “PIP breast implant scandal”, (1) many women may have been put off having breast implants. But how safe exactly is breast enlargement? And how do the different methods compare?

29 May 2012