Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Experimental chemo shows promise in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer

A combination of chemotherapy agents that have been tested in other tumor types appears to be a promising alternative to standard treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to a report in the August 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

12 Aug 2008

Precisely targeted radiation therapy can control limited cancer spread

Precisely targeted radiation therapy can eradicate all evidence of disease in selected patients with cancer that has spread to only a few sites, suggests the first published report from an ongoing clinical trial.

12 Aug 2008

Medulloblastoma in children - two studies find clues to treatment

Medulloblastoma is one of the most common and most malignant brain tumours among children and teenagers. These tumours grow very rapidly, and fifty percent of patients in the long term die from the condition. The details of the processes that lead to the growth of these tumours have remained unknown until now.

12 Aug 2008

Finding cancer's original cell key to treatments

Cancer biologists are turning their attention to the normal cells that give rise to cancers, to learn more about how tumor growth might be stopped at the earliest opportunity.

11 Aug 2008

Medulloblastoma originates in normal brain "stem" cells that turn malignant

An aggressive childhood brain tumor known as medulloblastoma originates in normal brain "stem" cells that turn malignant when acted on by a known mutant, cancer-causing oncogene, say researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

11 Aug 2008

Researchers solve structure of enzyme vital for DNA repair

When dividing cells copy their DNA, mistakes can - and do - occur. To compensate, cells have a built-in system to correct these errors. That correction process isn't thoroughly understood, but researchers are piecing it together bit by bit.

11 Aug 2008

Researchers show how new chemotherapy drugs kill cancerous tumors

Dr Stephen Taylor and Karen Gascoigne at the University of Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences have taken a new systematic approach to studying anti-mitotic drugs, which are used extensively for breast or ovarian cancer in the UK.

From The University of Manchester 6 Aug 2008

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