Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Bacterial pathogens require vitamin B6 biosynthesis enzymes for virulence: Study

Scientists have determined that Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes peptic ulcers and some forms of stomach cancer, requires the vitamin B6 to establish and maintain chronic infection, according to research published this week in the online journal mBio-. This finding, along with the identification of the enzyme the microbe requires to utilize the vitamin, could lead to the development of an entirely new class of antibiotics.

20 Aug 2010

SRI and Taiho collaborate to advance clinical development of TAS-108 breast cancer program

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it has assumed responsibility for further clinical development of the TAS-108 breast cancer program, in cooperation with Taiho Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company. Further clinical development will focus on the lead compound's registration for the treatment of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitor-resistant breast cancers.

20 Aug 2010

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

The New York Times: "In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

20 Aug 2010

Scientists discover genetic flaw that causes facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Nearly two decades after they identified the specific genetic flaw that causes a common type of muscular dystrophy, scientists believe they have figured out how that flaw brings about the disease. The finding by an international team of researchers settles a longstanding question about the roots of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy or FSHD.

20 Aug 2010

Celgene receives Japan's MHLW approval for REVLIMID in deletion 5q myelodysplastic syndrome patients

Celgene International Sàrl announced that REVLIMID (lenalidomide) has been granted full marketing authorization by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) associated with a deletion 5q cytogenic abnormality. REVLIMID was also approved in June 2010 in combination with dexamethasone, for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior standard therapy.

20 Aug 2010

Renin test can predict appropriate drugs for BP patients: Study

Commonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect-raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem-and select drugs most suitable for their patients-by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available. The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.

20 Aug 2010

Muscle mass plays key role in cancer survival: Research

In the vast majority of patients with advanced cancer, their muscles will gradually waste away for reasons that have never been well understood. Now, researchers reporting in the August 20 issue of Cell, a Cell Press Publication, have found some new clues and a way to reverse that process in mice. What's more, animals with cancer that received the experimental treatment lived significantly longer, even as their tumors continued to grow.

20 Aug 2010

MUH performs first intracranial radiosurgery with Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system

Macquarie University Hospital (MUH) performed Australia's first Gamma Knife surgery with its new Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system, making it the country's first and only center capable of providing dedicated intracranial radiosurgery.

20 Aug 2010

Research marks new direction to treat Pneumocystis, inflammatory diseases

A drug to treat inflammation plays a surprising role reducing the level of infection caused by an opportunistic bug that is deadly for AIDS and cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems.

20 Aug 2010

Study on multisensory processing in autistic children

A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children.

20 Aug 2010

Intake of green leafy vegetables reduces risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Eating more green leafy vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, finds research published today on bmj.com.

20 Aug 2010

Muscular Dystrophy Association awards $14.1M in new grants

The Muscular Dystrophy Association, which has invested almost $39 million in 2010 in worldwide research seeking treatments and cures for muscle diseases, today announced that it has awarded $14.1 million in new grants.

20 Aug 2010

Schwarzenegger announces Calif. health IT network plan

Los Angeles Times: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a high-tech vision for his state Tuesday, including an unprecedentedly broad computer network. "Schwarzenegger joined U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at the UC Davis Cancer Center on Tuesday to announce the launch of the country's largest 'telehealth' system, which organizers say will one day connect patients to hundreds of hospitals and clinics statewide using broadband technology." The broadband network will be devoted entirely to the health care sector (Hennessy-Fiske, 8/18).

20 Aug 2010

Bioniche provides update on Urocidin clinical development program for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today provided an update on the clinical development program for its proprietary product for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer - Urocidin.

20 Aug 2010

Study reports uneven decline of colorectal cancer mortality rate

Black patients die from colorectal cancer at much higher rates than whites do and new research points to unequal health care as the cause. While deaths from colorectal cancer have declined over the past 40 years, the declines have been uneven, said lead author Samir Soneji, Ph.D., of the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 Aug 2010

FDA grants Acceleron's ACE-031 orphan designation for treatment of DMD

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, today announced the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan designation for ACE-031 for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a fatal neuromuscular disease in which patients experience a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. ACE-031 is an investigational protein therapeutic being developed to increase muscle mass and strength.

20 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Vouchers and Medicare; The shortage of doctors; Eliminating health system's disparities; Protecting cancer patients

With the ambition of reducing the federal debt, Congressman Paul Ryan has offered a proposal to convert Medicare to a voucher-based program. … Though rarely described this way, the private Medicare Advantage plans are a (voluntary) voucher system (Austin Frakt, 8/19).

20 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 19, 2010

In the news today, modest premium increases are ahead for Medicare drug plans while a survey finds that big employers expect health cost hikes in 2011.

20 Aug 2010

New avenues for stem cell research

According to researchers at the University of NSW a new way has been found to generate stem cells from human skin - known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. A paper outlining the breakthrough was published this week in the US-based international online journal PLoS One.

19 Aug 2010

Stars line-up for Stand Up To Cancer's translational research initiative

An extraordinary line-up of actors, musicians, athletes and journalists have banded together for Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the groundbreaking initiative aimed at raising funds to accelerate innovative cancer research bringing new therapies to patients quickly that will saves lives now.

19 Aug 2010