Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Statins protect people against death from respiratory illness, infections

The death rate among patients prescribed a statin in a major trial that ended in 2003 is still lower than those given a placebo, even though most participants in both groups have been taking statins ever since. ASCOT, the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial, was stopped early because the statin was so effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes, but a new analysis has shown that eight years on, the most significant difference between the groups is a reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness.

29 Aug 2011

Sutureless method for reconnecting blood vessels

Reconnecting severed blood vessels is mostly done the same way today - with sutures - as it was 100 years ago, when the French surgeon Alexis Carrel won a Nobel Prize for advancing the technique.

29 Aug 2011

Medical engineers develop sensor chip to monitor cancerous tumors

A surgery is usually one of the first therapy options in cancer treatment. However, some tumors, such as brain tumors, can be difficult to operate on if there is a risk of damaging surrounding nerve tissue.

29 Aug 2011

Pfizer's Xalkori receives FDA approval to treat late-stage NSCLC patients with abnormal ALK gene

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xalkori (crizotinib) to treat certain patients with late-stage (locally advanced or metastatic), non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) who express the abnormal anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene.

29 Aug 2011

Individuals with BAP1 gene mutation more likely to develop mesothelioma

Scientists have found that individuals who carry a mutation in a gene called BAP1 are susceptible to developing two forms of cancer - mesothelioma, and melanoma of the eye.

29 Aug 2011

AAO-HNSF's 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to convene in San Francisco

The 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), the largest meeting of ear, nose, and throat doctors in the world, will convene September 11-14, 2011, in San Francisco, CA.

29 Aug 2011

QIAGEN acquires Cellestis

QIAGEN N.V. today announced that its acquisition of all the ordinary shares in Cellestis Limited by a way of a scheme of arrangement has been implemented.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 29 Aug 2011

Low-cost device to help physicians detect and diagnose cancer

An engineering researcher and a global health expert from Michigan State University are working on bringing a low-cost, hand-held device to nations with limited resources to help physicians detect and diagnose cancer.

29 Aug 2011

U.S. medical costs linked with treatment of preventable diseases to reach $66B per year

The rising prevalence of obesity around the globe places an increasing burden on the health of populations, on healthcare systems and on overall economies. A major challenge for researchers is to quantify the effect of these burdens to inform public policies.

29 Aug 2011

Scientists identify six new genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes in South Asians

An international team of researchers led by Imperial College London has identified six new genetic variants associated with type-2 diabetes in South Asians. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, give scientists new leads in the search for diagnostic markers and drug targets to prevent and treat this major disease.

29 Aug 2011

LUNGevity Foundation applauds FDA's recent approval of XALKORI lung cancer drug

LUNGevity Foundation applauds the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent approval of XALKORI (crizotinib) to treat lung cancer. The drug, introduced by Pfizer, Inc. showed such promise in early trials that it was given "fast track" status by the FDA.

29 Aug 2011

GOP trying to turn Medicare, health reform law into political gain

"Republicans are accusing Democrats of using 'scare tactics' to convince Americans the GOP wants an end to Medicare and Social Security. In the party's weekly radio address, Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada says both parties should come together to fix those programs ... 'Let's stop the lies about who wants to end Medicare or eliminate Social Security and fix both programs now,' Heller says".

29 Aug 2011

FDA approves Abbott's Vysis ALK FISH test for NSCLC therapy selection

Abbott today announced it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new molecular diagnostic test designed to detect rearrangements of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene in non-small-cell lung cancer.

29 Aug 2011

Pfizer receives FDA approval for XALKORI capsules to treat ALK-positive NSCLC

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XALKORI (crizotinib) capsules, the first-ever therapy targeting anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is ALK-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test.

29 Aug 2011

Azithromycin can help reduce wheezing, other acute symptoms of COPD

A common antibiotic can help reduce the severe wheezing and other acute symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a large, multicenter clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

29 Aug 2011

Severe combined immunodeficiency treated successfully with gene therapy

Gene therapy can offer a cure for a rare condition that causes children’s immune systems to fail. In this rare condition, known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), inherited genetic mutations mean that babies are unable to fight off infection, severely limiting their chances of surviving more than a few years. Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a rare genetic disorder estimated to affect between 1 in 200,000 and 1 in 1,000,000 live births

26 Aug 2011

Protein that allows Ebola virus to attack cells discovered

A U.S. research team has discovered a protein called Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1), which they found was responsible for allowing Ebola virus to enter and replicate within cells.

26 Aug 2011

New imaging device enables scientists to see tumor cells traveling in the brain

For the first time, scientists can see pathways to stop a deadly brain cancer in its tracks. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have imaged individual cancer cells and the routes they travel as the tumor spreads.

26 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Drug shortages = rationing; Changing forces in health marketplace; Birth control mandate

A widespread shortage of prescription drugs is hampering the treatment of patients who have cancer, severe infections and other serious illnesses. While some Republican politicians have railed against the imaginary threat of rationing under health care reform, Congress has done nothing to alleviate the all-too-real rationing of lifesaving drugs caused by this crisis.

26 Aug 2011

Research roundup: The costs of obesity; Patients' post-hospital medicine; Women and heart failure

Association of ICU or Hospital Admission With Unintentional Discontinuation of Medications for Chronic Diseases -- Researchers examined records of older people admitted to a hospital in Ontario, Canada from 1997-2009 who were already taking medicines for chronic health problems. They measured "failure to renew the prescription within 90 days after hospital discharge," and found that patients "prescribed medications for chronic diseases were at risk for potentially unintentional discontinuation after hospital admission.

26 Aug 2011