Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Findings may aid in bone marrow transplants, blood diseases

New research sheds light on the biological events by which stem cells in the bone marrow develop into the broad variety of cells that circulate in the blood. The findings may help improve the success of bone marrow transplants and develop better treatments for life-threatening blood diseases.

5 Aug 2008

High dose shot of vitamin C halts the spread of cancer

According to scientists in the U.S., a high dose of vitamin C given in the form of an injection may halt the spread of cancers.

4 Aug 2008

Cannabinoid cell surface receptor plays a tumor-suppressing role in human colorectal cancer

CB1 is well-established for relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules. It now may serve as a new path for cancer prevention or treatment.

3 Aug 2008

Methadone shows promise against leukemia

Researchers in Germany have discovered that methadone, an agent used to break addiction to opioid drugs, has surprising killing power against leukemia cells, including treatment resistant forms of the cancer.

3 Aug 2008

Immunotherapy shows promise in high-risk pediatric sarcomas

Based on a pilot study in children with sarcoma, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) believe that immunotherapy could prove beneficial in treating high-risk forms of this cancer.

3 Aug 2008

Smoking among child cancer survivors highest in most at risk group

Childhood cancer survivors who are most at risk of developing a second cancer are more likely to smoke than other childhood cancer survivors - reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 Aug 2008

Cancer patients not given enough information about survival benefits of palliative chemotherapy

Two thirds of cancer patients receive little or no information about the survival benefits of having palliative chemotherapy before making a decision about treatment, according to a study published today on bmj.com.

31 Jul 2008

What do doctors tell patients about the survival benefits of palliative chemotherapy?

Two thirds of cancer patients may receive little or no information about the survival benefits of having palliative chemotherapy before making a decision about treatment, according to a study by researchers at Bristol University published today on bmj.com.

31 Jul 2008

Twenty percent of British adult survivors of childhood cancer smoke despite hazards

Twenty percent of British adult survivors of childhood cancers are current smokers, and nearly a third have been regular smokers at some point in their lives, according to a study in the July 29 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

29 Jul 2008

Chemo and radiation after surgery prolongs life for pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreatic cancer patients treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation after surgery survive approximately six months longer than those receiving surgery alone, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists report.

24 Jul 2008

Sorafenib extends life of advanced liver cancer patients

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have found that sorafenib (Nexavar) helps patients with advanced liver cancer live about 44 percent longer compared with patients who did not receive the anti-cancer drug.

23 Jul 2008

Visualisation software to aid prostate cancer detection

Visualisation specialists See3D, a spin off company of the University of Aberystwyth, is developing unique, sophisticated computer-generated models that will help doctors to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

22 Jul 2008

Abiraterone new drug for aggressive prostate cancer the best thing in 70 years

Scientists say a new drug which treats aggressive prostate cancer is possibly the most significant development in the field for 70 years.

22 Jul 2008

Suspect protein HMGB1 found to promote DNA repair, prevent cancer

An abundant chromosomal protein that binds to damaged DNA prevents cancer development by enhancing DNA repair, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

21 Jul 2008

First human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants

Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants.

21 Jul 2008

Gene expression test could help determine who needs more aggressive treatment

Researchers from four leading cancer centers have confirmed that an analysis involving a panel of genes can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will have the worst survival. The finding could one day lead to a test that would help determine who needs more aggressive treatment.

21 Jul 2008

Reduced dose anthracycline post-breast cancer surgery has no effect on outcome

Canadian researchers have discovered that there is a low risk of adverse effect from reducing post-op chemo by up to 25%, according to findings published in the online journal ecancermedicalscience.

20 Jul 2008

New discovery on Candida infections

Scientists here have found that certain substances from bacteria living in the human intestine cause the normally harmless Candida albicans fungus to become highly infectious.

17 Jul 2008

New ways of exploiting medicinal uses of cannabis

Research exploring new ways of exploiting the full medicinal uses of cannabis while avoiding unwanted side-effects will be presented to pharmacologists Tuesday, 15 July by leading scientists attending the Federation of European Pharmacological Societies Congress, EPHAR 2008.

From The University of Manchester 15 Jul 2008

Quick formula could forecast which cancers chemo could kill

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have coined a simple formula that predicts how well a certain chemotherapy will work for targeting brain and other nervous system cancers. The formula, which publishes mid-July in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, is pegged to two important proteins that compose such hard-to-kill tumors - one of which, ironically, makes them so drug-resistant in the first place.

15 Jul 2008