Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

House Committee expected to vote Wednesday to repeal CLASS Act

The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to approve, along party lines, a measure to repeal the long-term care insurance program. Meanwhile, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is being pressed to lift his hold on legislation to fund children's hospitals. He has been blocking the measure's progress because he still hopes to add an amendment that would expand it to children's psychiatric hospitals.

1 Dec 2011

Compugen's Antibody Target Discovery Platform presented at 7th Annual European Antibody Congress

Speaking today at the plenary session of the 7th Annual European Antibody Congress in Geneva, Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag, President and CEO of Compugen Ltd., presented Compugen's Antibody Target Discovery Platform, one of the Company's predictive discovery platforms for novel therapeutic targets.

1 Dec 2011

Immune system stimulant used as suppressor to treat chronic graft-versus-host disease

In a study that seems to pivot on a paradox, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have used an immune system stimulant as an immune system suppressor to treat a common, often debilitating side effect of donor stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The effect, in some cases, was profound.

1 Dec 2011

Harvard SEAS, BASF to co-host symposium on pharmaceutical nanoformulations

From targeted cancer chemotherapy to the guarantee of successful organ transplants, the 21st century may prove to be the age of big ideas in medicine. The drugs themselves, though, will be miniscule. Experts in chemistry, applied physics, materials science, and pharmaceutical science are gathering this week for the BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard University's symposium on pharmaceutical nanoformulations.

1 Dec 2011

Potential test to diagnose membranous nephropathy in early stages

Research conducted by a pair of physicians at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) has led to the development of a test that can help diagnose membranous nephropathy in its early stages.

1 Dec 2011

Joslin study uncovers potential targets for soft-tissue sarcomas

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston have uncovered important molecular and genetic keys to the development of soft-tissue sarcomas in skeletal muscle, giving researchers and clinicians additional targets to stop the growth of these often deadly tumors.

30 Nov 2011

Genentech announces results from pertuzumab studies on HER2-positive breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced the company will present results from studies of its investigational medicine pertuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium December 6-10.

30 Nov 2011

Lapatinib could extend survival in women with Her2-positive breast cancer

Treatment with lapatinib could extend survival in women with Her2-positive breast cancer that has spread to the brain, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

30 Nov 2011

DNA gyrase B could rapidly eliminate TB, shorten treatment time

In research at SRI International, scientists evaluating new drug targets against tuberculosis (TB) recently validated the preclinical effectiveness of a target that could rapidly eliminate infections and potentially shorten treatment time. The new drug target is a protein called DNA gyrase B, found in bacteria that cause TB infections.

30 Nov 2011

Seizure drug slows spread of uveal melanoma

A drug commonly used to treat seizures appears to make eye tumors less likely to grow if they spread to other parts of the body, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

29 Nov 2011

CINJ experts available to discuss cancer-related fatigue

Between 70 and 100 percent of cancer patients receiving treatment suffer from fatigue related to their condition, according to the American Cancer Society, and up to one-half of all survivors have reported fatigue lasting months or even years after treatment. Fatigue can be one of the most distressing side effects of cancer treatment and can sometimes be overlooked by patients, caregivers and doctors.

28 Nov 2011

FDA grants IND for AEZS-130 Phase 2A trial in cancer cachexia

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Jose M. Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine and Michael I. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center, in Houston Texas, an Investigational New Drug approval for the initiation of a Phase 2A trial to assess the safety and efficacy of repeated doses of the Company's ghrelin agonist, AEZS-130, in patients with cancer cachexia.

28 Nov 2011

Micromet commences blinatumomab phase 2 trial for r/r B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Micromet, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a phase 2 trial of its lead product candidate blinatumomab (MT103) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is the first of a new class of agents called BiTE® antibodies, designed to harness the body's T cells to kill cancer cells.

28 Nov 2011

Two-drug combination may alleviate radiation sickness in people

A combination of two drugs may alleviate radiation sickness in people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation, even when the therapy is given a day after the exposure occurred, according to a study led by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston.

24 Nov 2011

GPS at WUSTL now offers new cancer genetic test

Physicians can now take advantage of a new genetics test -- one of the first of its kind to be offered in the United States -- that can help determine the best treatment for cancer patients.

23 Nov 2011

Researchers pinpoint cancer-fighting potential in bat plant

In a new study published this month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have pinpointed the cancer-fighting potential in the bat plant, or Tacca chantrieri.

23 Nov 2011

IsoRay receives Washington State approval for GliaSite system to treat brain cancer

IsoRay, Inc. announced today it has received final approval from the State of Washington Department of Health to manufacture its GliaSite radiation therapy system, a balloon catheter device used in the treatment of brain cancer. In conjunction with the previously announced FDA clearance, the Washington State approval represents IsoRay's final regulatory hurdle to commence the sale of its GliaSite brain cancer treatment in the United States.

22 Nov 2011