Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest treatment options for colorectal cancer highlighted at NCCN Annual Conference

Despite statistics stating that colorectal cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and women in the United States, mortality from colon cancer has decreased slightly over the past 30 years, possibly because of earlier diagnoses through screening and better treatment modalities.

15 Mar 2010

Discovery of MiR-451 molecule may serve as a biomarker for brain tumor

Cancer cells in rapidly growing brain tumors must adjust to periods of low energy or die. When energy levels are high, tumor cells grow and proliferate. When levels are low, the cells grow less and migrate more.

15 Mar 2010

Prioritizing end of life care for cancer patients

Despite the advances and groundbreaking research being performed in the area of cancer treatment, sometimes cancer cannot be cured. In this situation, patients and their families are faced with complex emotions and a variety of end of life issues and decisions.

15 Mar 2010

Pro-Pharmaceuticals reports net loss applicable to common stock of $1.3M for fourth-quarter 2009

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer of therapeutics that target Galectin receptors to treat cancer and fibrosis, today reported its financial results for full year and fourth quarter, ended December 31, 2009. These results are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K which has been filed with the SEC.

12 Mar 2010

Development of promising new cancer therapies: OICR announces $1M investment

Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) today announced an investment of $1 million towards the development of two new promising cancer therapies.

12 Mar 2010

Genentech announces topline results from Phase III trial of Avastin

Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, announced today the topline results of a Phase III trial led by the U.S. Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute investigating the use of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy and prednisone in men with late stage prostate cancer (hormone-refractory / HRPC).

12 Mar 2010

Pro-Pharmaceuticals announces closing of $335,000 tranche of private placement

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it has closed a $335,000 tranche of a private placement of up to $6.0 million with 10X Fund, L.P., which is purchasing unregistered Series B convertible preferred stock and warrants. This tranche brings the total raised to date from the 10X Fund to approximately $5.1 million.

11 Mar 2010

USPTO issues patent related to Seattle Genetics' ADC technology

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent related to its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology. U.S. Patent No. 7,659,241 covers cleavable linkers and potent auristatin drug payloads used in certain of Seattle Genetics’ ADC programs, most notably brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35), as well as many ADC programs in development by its collaborators.

11 Mar 2010

Fewer injections to treat neutropenia in childhood cancer patients

For patients like 10-year-old Sabrina Jo Spence, new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators meant fewer injections to combat the drop in white blood cells following her recent chemotherapy.

11 Mar 2010

Platelet dosage can be lowered in transfusions for cancer and bone-marrow transplant patients

Physicians may be able to safely lower the platelet dosage in transfusions for cancer and bone-marrow transplant patients without risking increased bleeding, according to new research involving UT Southwestern Medical Center and 28 other medical institutions.

11 Mar 2010

Extreme or moderate heat may help cure malignant and benign tumors

Aided by ultrasound guidance, treating tumors with extreme heat or moderate heat may provide a possible therapeutic option, according to early research presented at the second AACR Dead Sea International Conference on Advances in Cancer Research: From the Laboratory to the Clinic, held March 7-10, 2010.

11 Mar 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals announces net income of $3.9M for fourth-quarter 2009

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

10 Mar 2010

Obesity linked to increased risk of cancer recurrence and death

It’s long been known that obesity is linked to increased risk of developing colon cancer, but now researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Minnesota have found that obesity is associated with worse outcomes in patients who have already been diagnosed and treated for the cancer.

10 Mar 2010

Obese patients with colon cancer are at greater risk for death

Obese patients with colon cancer are at greater risk for death or recurrent disease compared to those who are within a normal weight range, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

10 Mar 2010

Growing human therapeutic proteins in algae can help reduce cancer treatment cost

Pharmaceutical companies could substantially reduce the expense of costly treatments for cancer and other diseases produced from mammalian or bacterial cells by growing these human therapeutic proteins in algae-rapidly growing aquatic plant cells that have recently gained attention for their ability to produce biofuels.

9 Mar 2010

Herceptin as add-on to standard chemotherapy for gastric cancer earns Decision Resources' gold standard status

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, for the treatment of gastric cancer, Roche/Genentech/ Chugai's Herceptin as an add-on to standard chemotherapy earns Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard status in 2013, following its approval for the first-line treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive gastric cancer in 2010.

9 Mar 2010

Positive results from INSYS Therapeutics' phase III trial for Fentanyl SL Spray

INSYS Therapeutics, Inc. announces positive results from the pivotal phase III efficacy trial for patients utilizing the Fentanyl Sublingual Spray technology to treat breakthrough cancer pain. All primary and secondary endpoints were achieved in the study, and the drug is the first product to ever show statistically significant pain relief when measuring the summary of pain intensity difference at five minutes in a phase III breakthrough cancer pain trial using Fentanyl.

9 Mar 2010

Positive results from international study of Oncotype DX breast cancer RS

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced the publication of positive results from a large international study which demonstrated that the Oncotype DX® breast cancer Recurrence Score® (RS) result is a significant independent predictor of distant recurrence in both node-negative and node-positive, hormone receptor-positive, postmenopausal breast cancer patients who are treated with either anastrozole or tamoxifen.

9 Mar 2010

Fenwal receives FDA marketing clearance for Amicus blood cell separator

Fenwal, Inc., a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fenwal 510(k) clearance to market its Amicus® blood cell separator for collecting human platelets stored in InterSol® platelet additive solution (PAS 3). Fenwal's InterSol® solution was approved by the FDA in December 2009 under a new drug application. It is the first and only platelet additive solution now available in America.

9 Mar 2010

Prostate-specific dietary supplements discouraged during radiation therapy treatments: Study

Prostate-specific dietary supplements should not be taken during radiation therapy treatments because they have been shown to increase the radiosensitivity of normal prostate cell lines, leading to normal tissue complications, according to a study in the March issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

8 Mar 2010