Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Viewpoints: GOP dragging heels on payroll tax, doc fix plan; Opinions still heated on contraception rule

Republicans in Congress seem to have forgotten the embarrassment they suffered late last year for trying to block a payroll tax cut for millions of wage-earners.

7 Feb 2012

FGF21 hormone causes significant and rapid bone loss in mice

An endocrine hormone used in clinical trials as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drug causes significant and rapid bone loss in mice, raising concerns about its safe use, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have shown.

7 Feb 2012

Link between inflammation-related genes and risk of ovarian cancer

In a study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues from 11 other institutions in the Unites States and the United Kingdom, genes that are known to be involved in inflammation were found to be related to risk of ovarian cancer.

7 Feb 2012

Roche’s new breast cancer drug Pertuzumab up for FDA review

U.S. health regulators, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has granted a priority review for an experimental Roche breast cancer drug that in clinical trials added six months to the time before the disease worsened. Pertuzumab approval decision is due by June 8th this year. It could be used with Herceptin in HER2-positive patients. This was announced by Roche Holding AG's Genentech unit on Tuesday.

7 Feb 2012

New guidelines for travellers to avoid DVT on long flights

New guidelines for travellers have been issued. Experts warn that those with a higher risk of serious blood clots who opt for the window seat on flights longer than four hours are potentially putting themselves in danger. People who should be most concerned are those who have recently had surgery, cancer patients, those with limited mobility, the severely obese, and travellers over 70. However, healthy women on the pill and those who are pregnant should also be careful, according to the guidelines by the American College of Chest Physicians.

7 Feb 2012

FDA reviews Amgen’s prostate cancer drug Xgeva

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers say that an Amgen drug slowed the spread of cancer to the bone in men with hard-to-treat prostate cancer, though the drug did not extend life and carried significant side effects.

7 Feb 2012

Spectros 2011 sales revenue increases 69%

Spectros announced today that year-over-year sales revenue rose 69% in 2011. This is the fourth year in a row for double-digit revenue growth for Spectros since the current T-Stat Oximeter was launched in 2008.

7 Feb 2012

Clinical Cancer Research publishes results of Aduro's ANZ-100 and CRS-207 Phase 1 studies

Aduro BioTech, Inc. is pleased to announce the publication of two therapeutic cancer vaccine Phase 1 studies in Clinical Cancer Research. In the article, which was featured as one of the highlights of the issue, Dr. Dung Le et al. reported that intravenous administration of ANZ-100 and CRS-207 was well tolerated in subjects with advanced, treatment-refractory cancers.

7 Feb 2012

BD first quarter revenues increase 2.5% to $1.888 billion

BD, a leading global medical technology company, today reported quarterly revenues of $1.888 billion for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, representing an increase of 2.5 percent from the prior-year period, or 2.4 percent on a foreign currency-neutral basis.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 7 Feb 2012

Three new targeted drugs can lead to fatal cancer complications

Treatment with three relatively new "targeted" cancer drugs has been linked to a slightly elevated chance of fatal side effects, according to a new analysis led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They added that the risk remains low, but should be taken into account by physicians and patients.

7 Feb 2012

Women with higher mammographic density more likely to develop breast cancer

A new study analyses the influence that certain birth and infancy characteristics have on mammographic density - an important indicator of breast cancer risk. The results reveal that women born to mothers aged over 39 years and women who were taller and thinner than the average girl prior to puberty have a higher breast density. This brings with it an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

7 Feb 2012

TGen to host Pediatric Cancer Translational Genomics in Scottsdale

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will host Pediatric Cancer Translational Genomics Feb. 6-8 at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, bringing together more than 150 leading pediatric cancer researchers, clinicians and foundations to promote the exchange of information and ideas for advancing pediatric cancer research and treatment.

7 Feb 2012

Closing the 'cancer divide' between developing and developed countries

Noting "there is a huge 'cancer divide' between rich and poor," with more than half of new cancer cases and almost two-thirds of all cancer deaths occurring in developing countries, this year's World Cancer Day theme, "Together It Is Possible," "calls on all individuals, organizations and governments to do their part to reduce premature deaths from cancers by 25 percent by 2025," Felicia Knaul, secretariat for the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, and Jonathan Quick, president of Management Sciences for Health, write in a Huffington Post opinion piece.

7 Feb 2012

Cyclin D1 oncogene may promote chromosomal instability

A team of researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC) led by Richard G. Pestell, M.D., PhD., FACP, Director of the KCC and Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, have shown in a study published online Feb. 6 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the oncogene cyclin D1 may promote a genetic breakdown known as chromosomal instability (CIN). CIN is a known, yet poorly understood culprit in tumor progression.

7 Feb 2012

Inhibiting MET signaling in glioblastoma has major therapeutic value

A recent discovery by Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists enables the prediction of patient sensitivity to proposed drug therapies for glioblastoma - the most common and most aggressive malignant brain tumor in humans.

7 Feb 2012

Novel stem-cell technique to enhance bone growth

A research team led by UC Davis Health System scientists has developed a novel technique to enhance bone growth by using a molecule which, when injected into the bloodstream, directs the body's stem cells to travel to the surface of bones.

7 Feb 2012

Komen Foundation works to regain balance in the wake of Planned Parenthood funding flap

News outlets parse different angles of this story -- which broke last week -- including how the Web and social media affected it and how Komen is working to rebuild its donor list.

7 Feb 2012

Whole-genome sequencing helps trace the path of European E. coli outbreak

Using whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed over 50 people in Germany in summer 2011 and also caused a smaller outbreak in France.

7 Feb 2012

Researchers reveal how molecular imaging can solve breast cancer mysteries

In two new studies featured in the February issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers are revealing how molecular imaging can be used to solve mysteries about difficult cases of breast cancer.

7 Feb 2012