Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Blood test may be effective for diagnosing lung cancer

Of the nearly 150,000 abnormal chest X-rays performed each year in the United States, 25 percent of patients will display only benign lung pathologies on further surgical examination.

13 Jan 2010

Karolinska Institutet receives donation to advance breast cancer research

"We are very happy to be donating money to the fight against breast cancer, especially in light of our own family history," says M-rit Rausing. "Hans's mother and grandmother both died of the disease, and his father, Ruben, put considerable effort into finding a cure. Of course, it's also important when you think that breast cancer is one of the most common diseases."

13 Jan 2010

Congress expected to shun mammography recommendations in final health bill

The Wall Street Journal: "The final health-care bill is likely to require coverage for more mammograms than the new guidelines recommend after women's groups, doctors and imaging-equipment makers stepped up pressure on lawmakers -- one of many threads of the bill negotiated behind the scenes." In November, the federally funded U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a report saying that "routine mammograms weren't necessary for women in their 40s who have normal cancer risk.

13 Jan 2010

BDSI to discuss planned BEMA Granisetron IND with the FDA

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. announced that the company has been granted a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the planned Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BDSI’s antiemetic (anti-nausea and vomiting) product candidate, BEMA Granisetron. The meeting will take place on March 17, 2010. The company will discuss with the FDA clinical development and regulatory plans for BEMA Granisetron, which is anticipated to enter Phase 1 studies in the second quarter of 2010.

13 Jan 2010

Scientists discover new protein function that helps control cell behavior

Carnegie Mellon University's Philip R. LeDuc and his collaborators in Massachusetts and Taiwan have discovered a new function of a protein that could ultimately unlock the mystery of how these workhorses of the body play a central role in the mechanics of biological processes in people.

13 Jan 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals achieves its enrollment target in second of two apaziquone Phase 3 trials

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals today announced that the second of two Phase 3 pivotal clinical trials of apaziquone has achieved its enrollment target. The two trials enrolled more than 1600 patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. As per the collaboration agreement with Allergan, a $1.5 million milestone payment will be paid to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.

13 Jan 2010

Bevacizumab drug shows promise to slow tumor growth in lung cancer patients

Phase II study results of the agent ASA404 showed promise in patients with either squamous or non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

13 Jan 2010

European trial casts doubt over the viability of prostate cancer screening

A large European trial has cast doubt over the viability of prostate cancer screening, concluding that one in eight men receive a positive test result when they do not have the disease.

13 Jan 2010

TD2 and COTI work together to obtain approval of clinical trials for COTI-2

TGen Drug Development (TD2) and Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. (COTI) (TSXV:COT) announced today that they will work together to obtain approval of clinical trials for a promising new anti-cancer drug called COTI-2.

12 Jan 2010

Preliminary results from Nektar Therapeutics' NKTR-102 Phase 2 study in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

Nektar Therapeutics today announced preliminary results from the first stage of a two-stage Phase 2 clinical study evaluating NKTR-102 in women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. In the first stage of the study, 39 patients enrolled with platinum-resistant disease were evaluable for the primary endpoint of overall response rate using Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) criteria, i.e., a combination of response by tumor imaging

12 Jan 2010

TTI enters into definitive license agreement with Biogen Idec

Trillium Therapeutics Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immune-based biologics, today announced that it has entered into a definitive license agreement with Biogen Idec , granting the latter exclusive worldwide rights to one of Trillium's development programs.

12 Jan 2010

Thames Valley Cancer Network implements ARIA system for Medical Oncology

A chemotherapy software solution that enables patients to become more involved in managing their own care has been successfully rolled out across a network of hospitals in the UK. The Thames Valley Cancer Network has implemented Aria for Medical Oncology™ from Varian Medical Systems and already has more than 850 clinical staff routinely using the system.

12 Jan 2010

Abraxis Bioscience awards John Wayne Cancer Institute $1M grant for identifying new cancer biomarkers

A $1 million grant from Abraxis Bioscience, Inc. to a world-famous research laboratory at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center could help save lives of cancer patients by helping doctors more rapidly assess whether a treatment is working or not.

12 Jan 2010

Phase I clinical trial of XRX-001 for yellow fever initiated

Xcellerex, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of XRX-001, a novel, prophylactic vaccine against yellow fever, a tropical virus disease that is often fatal.

12 Jan 2010

Enrollment complete in Dune Medical Devices' MarginProbe pivotal clinical trial

Dune Medical Devices today announced the completion of patient enrollment in the MarginProbe™ pivotal clinical trial. The MarginProbe procedure provides surgeons with real-time detection of cancer at the edges of the tissue removed during breast conservation surgery (BCS), which is the only way to ensure the complete removal of the tumor from the breast. The randomized, controlled trial includes 664 women who underwent BCS at one of 21 leading medical facilities, with 18 in the US and three in Israel.

12 Jan 2010

Life Technologies to acquire AcroMetrix

Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of innovative life science solutions, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AcroMetrix, for an undisclosed amount.

12 Jan 2010

3D structure of PI3Kdelta: An important drug target for a wide range of diseases

Intellikine announced today the publication of an article entitled, "The p110delta structure: mechanisms for selectivity and potency of new PI(3)K inhibitors," now available as an advanced online publication at Nature Chemical Biology.

12 Jan 2010

Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia may benefit from decitabine drug

Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) might benefit from a drug that reactivates genes that cancer cells turn off, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.

12 Jan 2010

Increased doses of erlotinib drug may lead to better outcomes in lung cancer patients

Although erlotinib is an approved second-line therapy for lung cancer, its management is complicated by side effects that get worse as the dose increases.

12 Jan 2010

Evidence-based care for lung cancer patients results in an average cost savings of 35%, says study

A study recently conducted by US Oncology and Aetna finds that evidence-based care for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) results in an average cost savings of 35 percent over 12 months while demonstrating equivalent health outcomes. The study, which compared patients treated with evidence-based guidelines (also known as ‘on pathway’) to those treated with non-evidence-based guidelines (also known as ‘off pathway’), was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Oncology Practice.

12 Jan 2010