Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Researchers unveil mechanism of candida infections

More than half of all people are hosts to Candida albicans in their bodies. This species might be located on their skin or mucous membranes or in the intestines frequently without causing any symptoms. However, it can be dangerous to patients whose immunological system has been weakened such as after organ transplants or chemotherapy with cancer. Then, this fungus penetrates into deeper layers of tissue and uses the blood system to spread throughout the body. In Germany alone, several thousand people die from systemic candida infections every year.

29 Sep 2010

Intrauterine devices for treatment of endometrial cancer

Intrauterine devices, originally developed as contraceptives, can also be used to treat and cure cancer of the endometrium according to new research published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology today (Wednesday 29 September). The finding opens the way for young women with the disease, which affects the lining of the womb, to be treated without the need for a hysterectomy, thus preserving their fertility until they have had all the children they want.

29 Sep 2010

Scientists use turmeric extract to target cancer cells

Scientists at the University of Leicester, funded by Hope Against Cancer, are pioneering the use of a common curry cooking ingredient to target cancer cells. The research in the University Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine is making use of actual tissue from tumours extracted from patients undergoing surgery.

29 Sep 2010

Triple-negative breast cancer patients may have unique biomarker to receive targeted therapy: Research

Patients with triple negative breast cancer, one of the hardest subtypes to treat, may have a unique biomarker that would enable them to receive more targeted therapy, according to data presented at the Fourth AACR International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

29 Sep 2010

Clinical study results for patient-specific vaccine therapy to treat metastatic melanoma announced

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian recently announced encouraging clinical study results for patient-specific vaccine therapy to treat metastatic melanoma. The study is ongoing, but the report concludes that patient-specific vaccines can sometimes induce durable complete regression of progressing soft-tissue melanoma metastases, as demonstrated in one particular patient who participated in the trial.

28 Sep 2010

Pfizer ceases SUN 1120 Phase 3 trial of SUTENT in men with CRPC

Pfizer Inc. announced today the discontinuation of the SUN 1120 Phase 3 trial evaluating SUTENT (sunitinib malate) in combination with prednisone for men with advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer that had progressed despite treatment with a docetaxel-based chemotherapy regimen. During a scheduled interim analysis, an independent Data Monitoring Committee found that the combination of sunitinib with prednisone was unlikely to improve overall survival when compared to prednisone alone.

28 Sep 2010

Rockland receives Phase I SBIR grant to develop assay for monitoring Akt pathway activity

Rockland Immunochemicals Inc., a biotechnology company focusing on antibodies and antibody based tools for basic research, assay development and preclinical studies, today announced that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a pharmacodynamic assay to monitor the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

28 Sep 2010

S*BIO initiates SB939 Phase 2 clinical trial for metastatic prostate cancer

S*BIO Pte Ltd today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of SB939, its novel orally-active HDAC inhibitor, in patients with recurrent or metastatic prostate cancer (HRPC).

27 Sep 2010

Breast cancer survivors with functional limitations more likely to die of poorer health: Study

Basic physical limitations following breast cancer treatment can have far-reaching consequences that substantially affect how long a patient lives.

27 Sep 2010

Takeda announces SGN-35 ADC trial results in Hodgkin lymphoma patients

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, today announced positive top line results from the pivotal trial of single agent brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35), an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeted to CD30. The trial was conducted in 102 relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients.

27 Sep 2010

OncoGenex initiates OGX-427 Phase 2 trial for metastatic prostate cancer

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of a randomized, controlled, investigator sponsored Phase 2 trial of OGX-427 in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

27 Sep 2010

Hospira's Nivestim receives Australian TGA approval

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced that it has received Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approval for its biosimilar filgrastim product, Nivestim.

27 Sep 2010

Researchers synthesize molecule to block abnormal protein in cancer cells

In the quest to arrest the growth and spread of tumors, there have been many attempts to get cancer genes to ignore their internal instruction manual. In a new study, a team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists has created the first molecule able to prevent cancer genes from "hearing" those instructions, stifling the cancer process at its root.

27 Sep 2010

College health plans sidestep new health law regulation

The Wall Street Journal explores college health plans and notes that as the health overhaul has progressed they "have managed to sidestep, at least for now, the regulatory clampdown that has sent hospitals, insurers and corporations scrambling.

27 Sep 2010

Genta commences new tesetaxel Phase 2 clinical trial in advanced bladder cancer

Genta Incorporated today announced that the Company has initiated a new Phase 2 clinical trial of tesetaxel in patients with advanced bladder cancer. Tesetaxel is the leading oral taxane in clinical development. The new trial will be conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, and at least one site in the EU.

24 Sep 2010

Amgen announces voluntary recall of certain lots of EPOGEN and PROCRIT

Amgen announced today that certain lots of EPOGEN® and PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) vials are being voluntarily recalled from specialty distributors, wholesalers, pharmacies and healthcare providers as a precaution. The product that is being recalled may contain extremely thin glass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible in most cases. The lamellae result from the interaction of the formulation with glass vials over the shelf life of the product.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers discover new signaling pathway for cell development

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a new cell signaling pathway that controls cell growth and development, a pathway that, when defective, helps promote the formation of several major forms of human cancer, including lymphoma and leukemia.

24 Sep 2010

New federal funds to create first national patient registry for pulmonary fibrosis

During the 8th annual National Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) Awareness Week, Sept. 11 to 18, the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) met with over 45 legislators, both Representatives and Senators, and as of this date there are 139 House co-sponsors for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (PFREA) to fund research on this deadly disease.

24 Sep 2010

CIC proposes criteria to improve endpoints for cancer immunotherapy trials

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CIC), the leading global initiative in advancing the emerging field of immuno-oncology, has proposed criteria for improved endpoints for cancer immunotherapy trials, which were published online on September 8 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

24 Sep 2010

New iPhone application for breast cancer patients

Nonprofit Breastcancer.org has launched an iPhone application for breast cancer patients. The Breast Cancer Diagnosis Guide is a free mobile app that walks users through the breast cancer pathology report a vital report that sets the patient's treatment path.

23 Sep 2010