Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

EC approves Plexxikon's Zelboraf to treat BRAF mutation-positive MM

Plexxikon Inc., a member of Daiichi Sankyo Group, today announced that the European Commission has approved Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for the monotherapy treatment of adult patients with BRAFV600 mutation-positive unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

20 Feb 2012

Penn oncologist to discuss role of autophagy in fighting cancer at AAAS annual meeting

Blocking autophagy -- the process of "self-eating" within cells -- is turning out to be a viable way to enhance the effectiveness of a wide variety of cancer treatments.

19 Feb 2012

OICR launches Phase III Active Surveillance Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Trial

Dr. Nicole Onetto, Deputy Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), today announced the launch of an innovative Phase III clinical trial that aims to determine whether multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coupled with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy (called fusion technology) can accurately identify men with prostate cancer who are at risk of developing aggressive disease.

18 Feb 2012

NPAF commends passage of bill for parity in insurance coverage for orally administered chemotherapy

Representatives of Virginia's patient advocacy community praised the State House of Representatives and State Senate today for voting strongly in support of legislation that, if enacted, will help thousands of Virginia's insured cancer patients who are currently unable to access their physician-prescribed chemotherapy treatment regimens of choice.

18 Feb 2012

RAD51 gene behind the cause of congenital mirror movements

Further work carried out on mice suggests that this gene plays a part in motor network cross-over. Cross-over is a key factor in the transmission of brain signals, because it allows the right side of the brain to control the left side of the body and vice versa. This research has been published in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

18 Feb 2012

Four new drugs can extend survival and prognosis of prostate cancer

After a decade and a half of near stagnation, four new drugs could help make advanced prostate cancer a chronic illness instead of a terminal disease, a leading Colorado prostate cancer expert says.

17 Feb 2012

Study: 3D organization of chromosomes plays a role in cancer genomics

It is well understood that chromosomal translocation - a process whereby pieces of two chromosomes break off and exchange places - is a hallmark of many cancers including leukemia, thyroid cancer and lymphoma and play an important part in how healthy cells become cancerous. The role spatial proximity plays in why certain chromosomal translocations happen repeatedly, however, has been a long-standing area of debate among scientists.

17 Feb 2012

IKK2 enzyme plays a key role in proliferation of lung cancer cells

Drugs targeting an enzyme involved in inflammation might offer a new avenue for treating certain lung cancers, according to a new study by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

17 Feb 2012

Cryoablation increases survival rates in ovarian cancer patients

Ovarian cancer, which killed 15,000 American women last year, is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. A team of Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers recently proved that freezing tumors increases survival rates in ovarian cancer patients.

17 Feb 2012

Researchers test nanoscale carbon clusters for cancer chemotherapy

A mixture of current drugs and carbon nanoparticles shows potential to enhance treatment for head-and-neck cancers, especially when combined with radiation therapy, according to new research by Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Feb 2012

MV-GFP extends survival of animals with medulloblastoma

A strain of measles virus engineered to kill cancer cells prolongs survival in a model of medulloblastoma that is disseminated in the fluid around the brain, according to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic.

16 Feb 2012

Thrombocytosis linked to severity of ovarian cancer

Highly elevated platelet levels fuel tumor growth and reduce the survival of ovarian cancer patients, an international team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center reports in the New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Feb 2012

UC Cancer Institute to enroll up to 60 patients for AMG 595 phase-1 trial

The UC Cancer Institute is one of three centers internationally approved to test an experimental drug's safety and pharmacokinetics and also assess the clinical benefit against recurrent malignant glioma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

16 Feb 2012

Report illustrates great potential of integrative medicine in chronic health issues

A new survey of 29 integrative medicine centers around the U.S. found that 75 percent reported success using integrative practices to treat chronic pain and more than half reported positive results for gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress.

16 Feb 2012

Combination of therapeutic cancer vaccines and chemotherapy shows promise

Therapeutic cancer vaccines, which stimulate the body's immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, are being used in combination with conventional chemotherapy with growing success, as described in several illuminating articles in Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

16 Feb 2012

Cancer cell communication signals may contain pieces of RNA

Researchers have shown that the communication signals sent around the body by cancer cells, which are essential for the cancer to grow, may contain pieces of RNA - these substances, like DNA, are pieces of genetic code that can instruct cells, and ultimately the body, how to form. The same study also found early indications that these genetic instructions can be intercepted and modified by chemotherapy to help prevent cancer cells growing.

16 Feb 2012

Researchers develop new way to culture TB bacteria

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one-third of the world's population is currently infected with tuberculosis bacteria. The bacteria is incredibly resistant to treatment, and despite its prevalence, very little is known about why it is so stress tolerant. But, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have been developing a new way of culturing tuberculosis bacteria, which could lead to new insights and treatments.

15 Feb 2012