Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Patent applications continue to alter medical landscape to improve patient care

Over the past 40 years, more than 2,400 patents and patent applications-pioneering modern medicine with the devices and drugs that advance minimally invasive treatments-have been filed by members of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

17 Mar 2010

Pathway Genomics' personal Genetic Health Report now available

Pathway Genomics Inc., a U.S. based genetic testing company, announced the immediate availability of its personal Genetic Health Report. This customized and innovative personal genetic health report contains information on more than 70 health conditions, including pharmacogenetics (prescription medication response), propensity for complex disease, and carrier status (pre-pregnancy health).

17 Mar 2010

Colon cancer patients often not treated with recommended level of chemotherapy

New results from a major initiative on the quality of cancer care in the United States show that patients with a common type of colon cancer -- especially older patients -- often are not treated as aggressively with chemotherapy as research shows is necessary to improve survival.

17 Mar 2010

Sunbeds Bill to prevent under-18s from using tanning salons receives high-profile support

A Bill to prevent under-18s from using tanning salons has cleared its stages in the House of Commons, and will now go for consideration in the House of Lords.

17 Mar 2010

NCCN Guidelines translated into Japanese

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology have been further recognized as the global standard in oncology with the announcement that select NCCN Guidelines™ are being translated into Japanese. The Translational Research Informatics Center Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation, under the supervision of the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum, has translated the NCCN Guidelines for Colon Cancer and Rectal Cancer, which are now available online.

17 Mar 2010

Delphi Screener devices help detect HPV in women

More cases of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection - the major cause of cervical cancer - could be detected if home-testing kits were given to women who cannot attend conventional cervical screening, a Dutch study has found.

17 Mar 2010

Novel procedure opens door to new and future treatment for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer-known as the most fatal cancer with no known effective treatment-requires a radical new therapy. A promising approach may come in the form of tiny gold nanoparticles-loaded with a therapeutic agent to kill cancer-in a novel procedure called "nanoembolization," said researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

17 Mar 2010

Cancer news coverage should also focus on hospice and end-of-life care

Newspaper and magazine reports about cancer appear more likely to discuss aggressive treatment and survival than death, treatment failure or adverse events, and almost none mention end-of-life palliative or hospice care, according to a report in the March 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 Mar 2010

New heart-healthy omega-3 crops on horizon

A new heart-healthy, essential omega-3 fatty acid is about to improve an American pantry staple: soybean oil. The new scientific advance will move biotechnology onto the average consumer's daily radar.

17 Mar 2010

Antidepressants effective against depression in patients suffering from physical illnesses

Antidepressants are effective against depression in patients suffering from physical illnesses, according to a new systematic review by Cochrane researchers at King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre in the UK. The researchers found the drugs were more effective than placebos at treating depression in these patients.

17 Mar 2010

Study provides new perspective on cell movements

When cells move about in the body, they follow a complex pattern similar to that which amoebae and bacteria use when searching for food, a team of Vanderbilt researchers have found.

17 Mar 2010

MedSolutions launches oncology management program for cancer patients

MedSolutions (www.medsolutions.com), a leading provider of medical cost management services, today announced the launch of its oncology management program, which uses evidence-based guidelines to ensure appropriate use of diagnostic imaging, radiation therapy and drugs for cancer patients.

17 Mar 2010

Human Genome Sciences to deploy Aegis Analytical's Discoverant manufacturing intelligence solution

Aegis Analytical Corp., the leading provider of Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence software, announced today that Human Genome Sciences, Inc. will deploy Aegis’ Discoverant® as its data management, analytics and reporting solution in the scale-up and production of BENLYSTA™ (belimumab), an investigational drug for the treatment of systemic lupus that has successfully completed Phase 3 trials.

17 Mar 2010

Genentech submits ACTEMRA sBLA to FDA

Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, today announced that the company submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab) for the prevention of structural joint damage (as assessed by radiograph) and improvement in physical function in adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

17 Mar 2010

Boosting radiation dose for prostate cancer patients does not increase severity of side effects

Boosting the radiation dose given to prostate cancer patients to a level that cut tumor recurrence in half did not increase the severity of side effects reported by patients up to a decade later. The study led by Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center researchers also found that patients characterized the impact of continuing side effects on their quality of life as considerably less bothersome than would be expected, based on earlier studies.

17 Mar 2010

IDSA calls for global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020

As the deaths and suffering caused by antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections continue to rise around the world, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is urging a global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020, known as the 10 x '20 initiative, to address this public health crisis and safeguard patients' health.

17 Mar 2010

California jury rules insurer should pay for out-of-state operation; Mass. probe shows insurers' payments can vary widely

The Los Angeles Times: "A Los Angeles jury concluded Monday that Anthem Blue Cross should cover the cost of an out-of-state liver transplant that a California man paid for after the insurer balked. In addition, the jury ordered Blue Cross to pay plaintiff Ephram Nehme's legal expenses, which could dwarf the $206,000 cost of the transplant. Blue Cross approved Nehme's liver transplant in late 2006, and he was on the waiting list at UCLA Medical Center.

17 Mar 2010

Celerus Diagnostics to present Wave RPD totally automated HC staining system at annual USCAP meeting

Celerus Diagnostics will introduce a totally automated immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining system, the much-anticipated Wave RPD, at the United States and Canadian Association of Pathologists (USCAP) annual meeting being held in Washington DC, March 22–24. The new system is the first of its kind, capable of delivering totally automated IHC results in one hour.

17 Mar 2010

Women on oral contraceptive pills live longer

Women who are taking or have taken the contraceptive pill in their lifetimes are not at an increased risk of death, Scottish researchers say. In fact, the pill may help to prolong life.

17 Mar 2010

Gardasil vaccine may protect women from post-surgical recurrence of cervical cancer

A vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer also may protect females from post-surgical recurrence of the disease, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

17 Mar 2010