Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Novel hemodialysis procedure improves health of cancer patients

A novel hemodialysis procedure helps restore kidney function and increases lifespan in patients with multiple myeloma, according to a study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

1 Apr 2009

Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils kills cancer cells

Docosahexanoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils, has been shown to reduce the size of tumours and enhance the positive effects of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, while limiting its harmful side effects.

1 Apr 2009

New light-based system reveals breast tumor oxygen status

Light directed at a breast tumor through a needle can provide pathologists with biological specifics of the tumor and help oncologists choose treatment options that would be most effective for that individual patient.

1 Apr 2009

Diet and lifestyle choices influence cancer survival

Head and neck cancer patients who smoked, drank, didn't exercise or didn't eat enough fruit when they were diagnosed had worse survival outcomes than those with better health habits, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

1 Apr 2009

New test for a deadly fungal infection in patients with damaged immune systems

A quicker, cheaper and more accurate test for deadly Aspergillus fumigatus fungal infections in patients with damaged or suppressed immune systems was described today, (Thursday 2 April) at the Society for General Microbiology meeting in Harrogate, by Dr Christopher Thornton from the University of Exeter, UK.

1 Apr 2009

Researchers develop mouse models of leukemia that predict response to chemotherapy

Being able to accurately predict how a given cancer will respond to chemotherapy would spare patients with non-responsive tumors the burden of undergoing toxic and ultimately unhelpful treatment.

1 Apr 2009

Genetic engineering breakthrough

In a genetic engineering breakthrough that could help everyone from bed-ridden patients to elite athletes, a team of American researchers - including 2007 Nobel Prize winner Mario R. Capecchi - have created a "switch" that allows mutations or light signals to be turned on in muscle stem cells to monitor muscle regeneration in a living mammal

30 Mar 2009

Improving cancer therapy achieved through taste, odor intervention

Cancer and its therapies, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, may directly alter and damage taste and odor perception, possibly leading to patient malnutrition, and in severe cases, significant morbidity, according to a Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University Comprehensive Cancer Center compilation of various existing studies.

30 Mar 2009

FDA approves Afinitor oral tablets (everolimus) for advanced form of kidney cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Afinitor oral tablets (everolimus) for the treatment of patients with advanced kidney cancer whose disease has progressed after treatment with other cancer therapies.

30 Mar 2009

Angiogenesis inhibitor improves glioblastoma survival by reducing edema

The beneficial effects of anti-angiogenesis drugs in the treatment of the deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas appear to result primarily from reduction of edema - the swelling of brain tissue - and not from any direct anti-tumor effect, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

30 Mar 2009

New marker for breast cancer metastasis

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have identified a new marker for breast cancer metastasis called TMEM, for Tumor Microenvironment of Metastasis.

30 Mar 2009

New high-throughput screening technique makes probing puzzling proteins possible

Understanding the tens of thousands of proteins that compose the human proteome has emerged as a key challenge of this century, and research efforts to date have already enabled major advances in drug discovery and understanding basic biology.

29 Mar 2009

Scientists discover structure of a protein that makes cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy

A research team at the Scripps Research Institute has obtained the first glimpse of a protein that keeps certain substances, including many drugs, out of cells.

29 Mar 2009

Twin nanoparticle shown effective at targeting, killing breast cancer cells

A team of investigators at Brown University has developed a novel way to treat a class of breast cancer cells. The team has created twin nanoparticles that specifically targets the Her-2 tumor cell and unload a cancer-fighting drug directly into it. The result is a boost in antitumor activity while minimizing side effects. The findings of this study have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

26 Mar 2009

Researchers decipher blood stem cell attachment, communication

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have deciphered a key sequence of events governing whether the stem cells that produce red and white blood cells remain anchored to the bone marrow, or migrate into the circulatory system.

25 Mar 2009

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals starts phase II pancreatic cancer trial

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has received FDA approval to begin Phase II trials for Archexin, the Company's leading cancer compound, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

24 Mar 2009

New test for breast cancer metastasis

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have previously shown that the co-mingling of three cell types can predict whether localized breast cancer will spread throughout the body.

24 Mar 2009

Carnitine supplementation appears to prevent development of liver cancer

A study will be published on March 21, 2009 in World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses the question.

24 Mar 2009

3-drug chemotherapy combo increases organ preservation in patients with larynx cancer

Patients with larynx cancer who received a three-drug combination of docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) during induction chemotherapy were more likely to retain larynx function than were patients treated with cisplatin and 5-fluoruracil (PF) alone, according to data from a randomized controlled trial in the March 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

24 Mar 2009

Study finds biological clue in brain tumor development

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have uncovered a vital new biological clue that could lead to more effective treatments for a children's brain tumour that currently kills more than 60 per cent of young sufferers.

20 Mar 2009