Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Multiple behavioral risk factors among adolescent cancer survivors

A significant number of young survivors of childhood cancers smoke, are physically inactive and/or don't use sunscreen, according to researchers at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

23 Jan 2007

New guidelines for assessing lymphoma response to treatment

The guidelines will provide clinicians worldwide with uniform criteria to compare and interpret clinical trials of lymphoma treatments and should facilitate the development of new therapies.

23 Jan 2007

Scientists find surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division

Scientists at the University of Oxford have identified a surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division.

22 Jan 2007

No clear connection between mobile phone use and brain cancer

According to a study conducted in five Northern European countries, there is no clear connection between mobile phone use and malignant brain tumours.

22 Jan 2007

Researchers to study use of carbon monoxide in treating disease

Scientists at the University of York have won a grant of £110,000 to investigate potential uses of carbon monoxide in treating disease.

22 Jan 2007

AstraZeneca makes $100 million investment in Boston

AstraZeneca has announced a $100 million research investment to strategically boost work in the infectious disease area and continue its incremental growth in cancer research at its research center near Boston, Massachusetts.

22 Jan 2007

Access Pharmaceuticals receives MuGard patent allowance

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc has announced that the Company has received a "Notice of Allowance" letter from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its patent application entitled "Liquid Formulations for the Prevention and Treatment of Mucosal Diseases and Disorders."

22 Jan 2007

Sequella receives FDA fast track status for pulmonary tuberculosis drug

Sequella, Inc. has announced it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SQ109, the company's proprietary lead drug candidate for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

22 Jan 2007

Nanoscale "egg" to deliver platinum to tumor cells

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a nanoscale "egg" that could safely deliver platinum, a known anticancer agent, to tumor cells.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoparticles from crab shells show promise for drug delivery

Nanoparticles made of chitosan, a naturally occuring polymer isolated from crab and shrimp shells, have shown promise as carriers of anticancer drugs, antitumor genes, and other novel therapeutic agents.

22 Jan 2007

Artificially engineered magnetic nanoparticles for ultra-sensitive molecular imaging

Iron oxide nanoparticles have shown promise as agents for detecting tumors using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but such efforts have been limited by the relatively weak magnetic signal generated by these nanoparticles.

22 Jan 2007

Dendrimer-based targeted delivery of an apoptotic sensor in cancer cells

Taking a critical step toward the development of a multifunctional nanoscale anticancer agent that can detect cancer, treat it, and then report on the success or failure of that treatment, investigators at the University of Michigan have developed a nanoscale sensor of cell death.

22 Jan 2007

Referral management schemes pose a serious threat to patients' interests

Referral management schemes are springing up across the NHS as a means of reducing primary care trusts' spending on secondary care services.

18 Jan 2007

Combination therapy spares some head and neck patients from surgery

Giving patients with head and neck cancer a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy controls the cancer and allows many patients to avoid additional surgery to the neck.

18 Jan 2007

Cetuximab may prolong survival for head and neck cancer patients

Preliminary findings show adding the chemotherapy drug cetuximab (brand name Erbitux) to radiation therapy and chemotherapy may help some patients with head and neck cancer live longer, according to a study presented at the plenary session of the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, co-sponsored by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society for Clinical Oncology and the American Head and Neck Society.

18 Jan 2007

Cetuximab with radiotherapy does not increase side effects for head and neck cancer patients

The addition of Cetuximab (brand name Erbitux) to radiation therapy treatments does not increase the rate or duration of some side effects in the treatment of advanced head and neck cancers, according to a study presented at the plenary session today at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, co-sponsored by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society for Clinical Oncology and the American Head and Neck Society.

18 Jan 2007

New screening process helps better diagnose oral cancers

Patients with early stage oral cancer may benefit from a more advanced screening process allowing for a more accurate diagnosis, according to a study presented at the plenary session at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Rancho Mirage, Calif., co-sponsored by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Head and Neck Society.

18 Jan 2007

Simple diagnostic test detects genetic signs of lung cancer in sputum

DNA coughed up along with phlegm could point to lung cancer, say researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who are developing an inexpensive and non-invasive gene probe to help diagnose early stage lung cancer in current and former smokers.

18 Jan 2007

More aid required for chronic conditions in developed world

In an article published in the January 18, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Gerard Anderson, PhD, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, highlights the need for more international assistance to address chronic non-communicable conditions affecting people living in low and middle income countries.

18 Jan 2007

Microfluidics gives boost to protein crystallization

Proteins produced by cancer cells are among the common targets for anticancer agents, and thanks to efforts in proteomics and cancer genomics, the number of potential protein targets is increasing exponentially.

16 Jan 2007