Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Medical engineers develop sensor chip to monitor cancerous tumors

A surgery is usually one of the first therapy options in cancer treatment. However, some tumors, such as brain tumors, can be difficult to operate on if there is a risk of damaging surrounding nerve tissue.

29 Aug 2011

Pfizer's Xalkori receives FDA approval to treat late-stage NSCLC patients with abnormal ALK gene

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xalkori (crizotinib) to treat certain patients with late-stage (locally advanced or metastatic), non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) who express the abnormal anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene.

29 Aug 2011

AAO-HNSF's 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to convene in San Francisco

The 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), the largest meeting of ear, nose, and throat doctors in the world, will convene September 11-14, 2011, in San Francisco, CA.

29 Aug 2011

Pfizer receives FDA approval for XALKORI capsules to treat ALK-positive NSCLC

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XALKORI (crizotinib) capsules, the first-ever therapy targeting anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is ALK-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test.

29 Aug 2011

Severe combined immunodeficiency treated successfully with gene therapy

Gene therapy can offer a cure for a rare condition that causes children’s immune systems to fail. In this rare condition, known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), inherited genetic mutations mean that babies are unable to fight off infection, severely limiting their chances of surviving more than a few years. Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a rare genetic disorder estimated to affect between 1 in 200,000 and 1 in 1,000,000 live births

26 Aug 2011

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgery can benefit women with lobular breast cancer

Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna have found that the breast of one in two women with lobular breast cancer can be preserved through chemotherapy prior to a breast operation.

26 Aug 2011

Long-term effects of chemotherapy on women's reproductive health

Current estimates of the impact of chemotherapy on women's reproductive health are too low, according to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study.

26 Aug 2011

US Oncology Research earns RTOG's Full Member status

US Oncology Research, one of the nation's largest networks of community-based researchers, and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), the leader in radiation oncology-focused clinical trials in the United States, announced today that US Oncology Research has earned Full Member status, an accomplishment few institutions achieve.

25 Aug 2011

IGF1 plays key role in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

There are numerous specialized growth factors that are responsible for cells of different tissues of our body to divide and differentiate when needed. These hormone-like factors bind to matching receptors on the surface of their target cells and thus give order for the cell to divide. However, a single genetic alteration can be sufficient for the whole system to get out of control.

24 Aug 2011

Avastin increases tumor response rates in breast cancer patients before surgery

Amid the controversy surrounding the Food and Drug Administration's ruling that Avastin should no longer be used to treat metastatic breast cancer, a new multinational Phase III clinical trial shows that Avastin significantly increased tumor response rates in breast cancer patients when given before surgery.

24 Aug 2011

Seattle Genetics initiates ADCETRIS phase II trial in CD30-positive non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS for patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive non-Hodgkin lymphomas, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, peripheral T-cell lymphoma and other less common lymphoma subtypes.

24 Aug 2011

KU professor to create patient-friendly lung cancer treatment

A Kansas State University professor is trying to create a patient-friendly treatment to help the more than 220,000 people who are diagnosed with lung cancer each year.

23 Aug 2011

Helsinn begins enrollment in anamorelin Phase III trial for NSCLC-associated anorexia/cachexia

Helsinn, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, announced today that its US subsidiary, Helsinn Therapeutics, has enrolled the first patient in the company's pivotal Phase III clinical program of anamorelin HCl for the treatment of anorexia/cachexia in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

23 Aug 2011

Prescription drug shortages forcing docs, pharmacists to scramble

Record shortages of prescription drugs in the United States are forcing pharmacists and doctors to scramble to find medications for their patients, suitable alternatives or to delay potentially lifesaving treatments.

23 Aug 2011

Spinifex secures AU$6.25 million in expanded Series B funding

Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, an Australian pain drug development company, today announced it has secured a further AU$6.25 million of venture capital investment from GBS Venture Partners Limited, Brandon Capital Partners Pty Limited, Uniseed Management Pty Limited and UniQuest Pty Limited to fund the development of its pain management drug, EMA401.

23 Aug 2011

Symphogen initiates Sym004 Phase 2 trial in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cancer

Symphogen A/S today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of Sym004 in patients who have failed anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapy, with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

23 Aug 2011

Radium-223 chloride granted FDA Fast Track designation for treatment of CRPC

Algeta ASA, a company focused on the development of novel targeted cancer therapeutics, today announced that radium-223 chloride has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of castration-resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer in patients with bone metastases.

23 Aug 2011