Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results announced by Celsion

Celsion Corporation, a leading oncology drug development company, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. Management also highlighted the progress made in clinical trials of ThermoDox®, Celsion's heat activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, including the Company's pivotal Phase III trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer, and recurrent chest wall breast cancer.

17 Feb 2010

Soligenix' LPM oral drug delivery technology receives Hong Kong patent

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biotechnology company, announced today that it has received a Hong Kong patent which addresses its Lipid Polymer Micelle (LPM™) technology for the improved oral delivery of drugs. The issued Hong Kong patent, HK 1071054, entitled "Stabilized Reverse Micelle Compositions and Uses Thereof" covers lipid structures (reverse micelles) that promote the intestinal absorption of peptides and other sensitive drugs that cannot otherwise be given orally.

17 Feb 2010

Phase Forward board authorizes additional $25M share repurchase program

Phase Forward Incorporated, a leading provider of data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, announced today that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of an additional $25.0 million of its common stock, to be completed by December 31, 2010. This follows the completion of the Company’s previously announced $40.0 million share repurchase program.

17 Feb 2010

Infants and toddlers face increase risk from 'third-hand smoke'

Nicotine that accumulates on indoor surfaces long after a person has put out their cigarette is converted into cancer-causing chemicals, US scientists have warned.

17 Feb 2010

OTRC: Secondhand smoke exposure is a serious health hazard

New research by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC) shows that concentrations of secondhand tobacco smoke inhaled in smoking rooms of restaurants and bars are exceptionally high and hazardous to health.

17 Feb 2010

Purdue officials report double-digit increases in research funding

Richard O. Buckius, Purdue's vice president for research, reported a record $342.2 million in sponsored research programs for fiscal year 2008-09. That represents an 18 percent increase in federal support and a 2.2 percent increase in industry research support from the previous year.

17 Feb 2010

Role of surgery and subsequent need for RT in treatment of stage I SCLC

Research published in February's edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology investigates the utilization of surgery and the subsequent need for radiotherapy (RT) when treating stage I small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Traditionally, SCLC treatment regimes include chemotherapy and radiotherapy for limited stage disease; however, the study concludes that in selected patients with early stage disease a lobectomy (removal of lung) had an excellent overall survival without additional treatment.

17 Feb 2010

Phase III study: GARDASIL prevents 77.5% of pre-cursor lesions to anal cancer

In a new phase III study, GARDASIL(R) (Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Recombinant Vaccine) prevented 77.5 per cent of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18 in 16-to-26 year-old men who have sex with men.

17 Feb 2010

Researchers discover new strategy to overcome drug resistance in breast cancer

Combining tamoxifen, the world's most prescribed breast cancer agent, with a compound found in the flowering plant feverfew may prevent initial or future resistance to the drug, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

17 Feb 2010

Directing gold nanoparticles into nucleus can kill cancer cells

Taking gold nanoparticles to the cancer cell and hitting them with a laser has been shown to be a promising tool in fighting cancer, but what about cancers that occur in places where a laser light can't reach? Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that by directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells, they can not only prevent them from multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk. The research appeared as a communication in the February 10 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

17 Feb 2010

Phase II clinical trial result of abiraterone drug shows promise for advanced prostate cancer

New results from a phase II clinical trial of the prostate cancer drug abiraterone suggest that it may help men with advanced disease who have tried standard treatments.

17 Feb 2010

ACT's research on therapeutic cell types obtained from iPS cells featured in leading news media outlets

Advanced Cell Technology or “ACT” announced today that its research involving therapeutic cell types obtained from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has been featured in several leading news media outlets: Scientific American, USA Today and Newsweek.

17 Feb 2010

Disparities in breast cancer treatment: African-American women diagnosed in later stages of disease

Cancer, the peer-reviewed international journal of the American Cancer Society, has published a study conducted by HealthCore, Inc. in its Jan. 1 edition, demonstrating disparities in breast cancer treatment between commercially insured African-American and white women.

17 Feb 2010

Study demonstrates usefulness of salivary diagnostics in finding pancreatic cancer

The good news is that there may soon be a new weapon in the battle against the so-called "worst" cancer - cancer of the pancreas. A multidisciplinary group of investigators from the UCLA School of Dentistry, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA School of Public Health and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has demonstrated the usefulness of salivary diagnostics in the effort to find and fight the disease.

17 Feb 2010

UWM engineer creates software program that foresees outcome before stem cell divides

A software program created by an engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) can not only predict the types of specialized cells a stem cell will produce, but also foresee the outcome before the stem cell even divides.

17 Feb 2010

Orexo AB reports year-end 2009 financial results

Sales of Abstral continue to show robust growth, with royalty revenues rising sharply during the fourth quarter – up threefold from the preceding quarter. Our partner, ProStrakan, launched during 2009 Abstral in UK, Germany, France, Spain and Greece, and product launches in additional markets are imminent. Sales growth confirms that there is a substantial medical requirement in the case of cancer patients suffering from breakthrough pain.

17 Feb 2010

Researchers use new strategy to develop cancer vaccines

Researchers at National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine have used a new strategy to develop cancer vaccines that are remarkably effective in mice. In the February 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Kimberly Jordan, PhD, Jill Slansky, PhD, and John Kappler, PhD, report that 100 percent of the mice vaccinated with a peptide they developed remained alive and tumor-free for at least 60 days after inoculation with colon cancer cells.

17 Feb 2010

FDA approves risk management program on ESA's for treating anemia due to chemotherapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a risk management program to inform healthcare providers and their patients about the risks of a class of drugs called Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs). For patients with cancer, the program is also designed to help ensure the appropriate administration of these drugs, which they receive to treat anemia that can occur as a result of chemotherapy.

17 Feb 2010

Medical journal finds divide between doctors and patients on new mammogram recommendations

News outlets explore confusion about cancer screening guidelines and questions raised about the effects of high tech procedures on health care costs and quality.

17 Feb 2010

GeneNews granted second U.S. patent for Sentinel Principle technology

GeneNews Limited, a company focused on developing blood-based biomarker tests for the early detection of diseases and personalized health management, today announced that it has been granted a second U.S. patent for its core platform technology, the Sentinel Principle(R). U.S. Patent # 7,662,558, entitled "Method of profiling gene expression in a human subject."

17 Feb 2010