Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Shingles vaccine for seniors gets the green light

A government advisory panel in the United States has given it's backing for a new vaccine against shingles.

26 Oct 2006

New smart anti-microbial approach to preventing tooth decay

Preventing cavities could one day involve the dental equivalent of a military surgical strike. A team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report they have created a new smart anti-microbial treatment that can be chemically programmed in the laboratory to seek out and kill a specific cavity-causing species of bacteria, leaving the good bacteria untouched.

23 Oct 2006

Race is associated with unfavorable breast cancer tumor biology

African-American women with breast cancer were more likely to have larger, later-stage tumors that were more difficult to treat and also had lower survival rates than Hispanic and Caucasian women who received the same treatment in two independent series of clinical trials examined by researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

23 Oct 2006

Genomic test decides which drug is best for cancers

Scientists at Duke University, North Carolina have developed a panel of tests which are able to analyze a cancerous tumor and then decide which chemotherapy will most efficiently attack the cancer.

23 Oct 2006

16 year old cancer victim dies after overdoses of radiation

A 16 year old cancer victim who was inadvertently given more than 17 overdoses of radiation during treatment for a brain tumour, has died at home nine months later.

23 Oct 2006

Flexible interface between DNA ligase and a heterotrimeric sliding clamp supports conformational switching and efficient ligation of DNA

Scientists investigating an important DNA-repair enzyme now have a better picture of the final steps of a process that glues together, or ligates, the ends of DNA strands to restore the double helix.

20 Oct 2006

New treatment option gives hope to victims of head and neck cancers

More than 640,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year, and more than 350,000 die from the disease annually.

19 Oct 2006

Benefits of breast cancer screening questionable

Danish researchers are claiming that the benefits of breast cancer screening are questionable and that mammograms can lead to women being given unnecessary and harmful treatment.

18 Oct 2006

FDA approves Taxotere for head and neck cancers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Taxotere (docetaxel) Injection Concentrate for use in combination with cisplatin and fluorouracil prior to radiotherapy for the treatment of patients with inoperable, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

18 Oct 2006

Female survivors of childhood cancer: preterm birth and low birth weight among their children

Female childhood cancer survivors may face pregnancy problems, including early deliveries and low birth weight children, according to a study in the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Oct 2006

Elderly breast cancer patients often are underdiagnosed, undertreated

Elderly women often receive substandard breast cancer screenings and treatment and delayed diagnoses compared with younger patients, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association's Archives of Surgery, the Wall Street Journal reports.

17 Oct 2006

Vitamin D may slow down breast cancer

The authors of a new study are suggesting that vitamin D may slow down the progression of breast cancer.

17 Oct 2006

New technique detects signature of metastasizing melanoma with as few as 10 cancer cells present in blood sample

Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound.

16 Oct 2006

Roche asks European Medicines Agency for authorization to market Herceptin

Roche on Friday announced it has submitted an application with the European Medicines Agency to market its breast cancer drug Herceptin as a treatment for women living with an aggressive form of advanced-stage breast cancer, called HER2-positive, and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, AFX/Forbes reports (AFX/Forbes, 10/13).

16 Oct 2006

Membrane targeted chemotherapy with hybrid liposomes for colon tumor cells leading to apoptosis

One of the unusual properties of tumor cells is that their cell membranes are more fluid and less rigid than those of normal cells.

16 Oct 2006

When it comes to the flu, antivirals far more effective than antibiotics

It seems that even though influenza has been shown to be better treated with anti-viral medication doctors and hospitals continue to use antibiotics, often with deadly consequences.

2 Oct 2006

New drug gives hope to lung cancer victims

More people die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer and the prognosis for the disease is poor.

28 Sep 2006

GSK seeks regulatory approval in U.S., Europe for Tykerb

GlaxoSmithKline on Monday said it has submitted its experimental breast cancer drug Tykerb, which is taken orally, for FDA approval and plans to file for approval in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year, Reuters reports.

20 Sep 2006

Chemotherapy, nutrition and metallic flavors

About two million cancer patients currently receiving certain drug therapies and chemotherapy find foods and beverages to have a foul metallic flavor, according to a medical study. In general, more than 40 percent of hospitalized patients suffer from malnutrition due to taste and smell dysfunction.

19 Sep 2006

FDA approves Noxafil (posaconazole) to prevent invasive fungal infections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Noxafil (posaconazole) to prevent fungal infections caused by certain molds and yeast-like fungus called Aspergillus and Candida.

19 Sep 2006