Colorectal Cancer News and Research

Latest Colorectal Cancer News and Research

Knome incorporates HGMD information into its genome interpretation services

Knome, a recognized pioneer in the personal genomics industry, announced today that it is incorporating information from The Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD® - Cardiff University, UK) distributed by BIOBASE, into its genome interpretation services.

8 Oct 2009

Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund supports genetic study of inflammatory bowel disease and cancer

The first two research projects supported by the Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund will investigate differences in the genetic code for inflammatory bowel disease and metastatic colorectal cancer. This research could lead to improved diagnosis and the development of individualized treatments for these diseases. These innovative projects are marshalling multidisciplinary teams of seasoned researchers from major Quebec research institutions.

8 Oct 2009

GlobeImmune to present an abstract of GI-5005 drug at AASLD's annual meeting

GlobeImmune Inc. today announced that a late breaking abstract related to GI-5005, its investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) product candidate, has been accepted for presentation at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), which will take place Oct. 31 through Nov. 4, 2009, in Boston, Mass.

7 Oct 2009

New tool to help reduce cost and time factors for colonoscopies

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, leading to over 50,000 fatalities every year. But it can be prevented with early screening using a procedure called a colonoscopy. Now researchers from North Carolina State University, Mayo Clinic and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) have created a tool to help colonoscopy facilities operate more efficiently, ultimately lowering costs and leading to shorter waiting times for patients.

7 Oct 2009

Clinical Genomics extends collaboration with CSIRO

Sydney-based Clinical Genomics Pty Ltd and CSIRO have entered into a new phase in their collaboration to develop improved diagnostics for cancers of the colon and rectum (bowel cancer).

7 Oct 2009

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center receives 60 research grants totaling nearly $40.4 million

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have been awarded 60 research grants totaling nearly $40.4 million under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The totals reflect data available as of Oct. 1 and reported by the National Institutes of Health.

6 Oct 2009

Scientists identify new interference method to target cancer cells

Professor Jo Milner and Dr Shafiq Ahmed, from the YCR P53 Research Unit in the Department of Biology, used a process called RNA interference to target the JNK2 gene in both cancer and healthy cells. The cancer cells died but the healthy cells were unaffected.

6 Oct 2009

Group Health Research Institute to receive federal stimulus funds from ARRA

Group Health Research Institute, formerly Group Health Center for Health Studies, will receive more than $15 million in federal stimulus funding from ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

6 Oct 2009

Diagnocure signs agreement with Lab21 for marketing its Previstage test

DiagnoCure Inc., a life sciences company commercializing high-value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering laboratory services, announced that it signed an exclusive agreement with a new partner, Lab21, a global provider of diagnostic products and services, for the promotion, marketing and selling of its Previstage(TM) GCC Colorectal Cancer Staging Test in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

5 Oct 2009

Screening and diagnostic tests contribute to health care value across spectrum of care

Amidst ongoing debate in Congress over reforming the nation's health care system, a new report from the Lewin Group finds that screening and diagnostic laboratory tests are central to achieving some of the most important goals of health care reform.

1 Oct 2009

Bristol-Myers announces availability of ERBITUX for metastatic colorectal cancer treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada is pleased to announce that the Ontario government has made ERBITUX(TM) (cetuximab) available to patients suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer. This decision makes Ontario the second province, after British Columbia, to introduce funding for this important treatment option and represents encouraging news for those patients who rely on provincial drug coverage and stopped responding to standard treatments for metastatic colon cancer.

1 Oct 2009

Plexxikon commences patient dosage in PLX4032 trials for metastatic melanoma

Plexxikon Inc. announces that enrollment has been initiated and the first patient has been treated in the first of two pivotal trials of PLX4032 (RG7204) in patients with metastatic melanoma. PLX4032 is a novel, oral and highly selective drug that targets the BRAFV600E cancer-causing mutation occurring in about 50 percent of melanomas and about eight percent of all solid tumors.

30 Sep 2009

Younger women with metastatic colorectal cancer live longer than younger men

Younger women with metastatic colorectal cancer lived longer than younger men. However, this survival advantage disappeared with age, suggesting a benefit from estrogen or other hormones, according to results of a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

30 Sep 2009

MabCures develops monoclonal antibodies against Colorectal Cancer

MabCure, Inc., a biotechnology company that has developed a series of highly specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to combat various types of cancers, has reached another development milestone, with the creation of its MAbs against Colorectal Cancer (CRC). After further characterization the company plans to explore the utility of these MAbs in terms of both the early diagnosis of CRC (in blood or feces specimens), as well as imaging agents for detecting micrometastatic disease during surgery and the detection of cancerous polyps during colonoscopy.

29 Sep 2009

Response Genetics launches new genetic diagnostic test for gastric cancer

Response Genetics, Inc., a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, announced today the availability of its ResponseDX: Gastric™ genetic test panel, a proprietary PCR-based diagnostic test. By analyzing the expression of genes that correlate with response to commonly used chemotherapy agents, physicians can better tailor treatment for their patients with gastric cancer and gastroesophageal (GE) junction cancer.

29 Sep 2009

Phase 2 clinical trial results of IMO-2055 announced

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the presentation of final data from a clinical trial evaluating IMO-2055, an agonist of Toll-like Receptor (TLR) 9, as monotherapy in patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). The data are being presented during the Eighth International Kidney Cancer Symposium being held in Chicago, September 25-26, 2009.

28 Sep 2009

Careful follow-up after eradication therapy for peptic ulcer needed

Although it has been demonstrated that Helicobacter pylori causes gastric cancer, it is still controversial that whether H. pylori eradication therapy is effective in primary prevention of gastric cancer. This is especially important for Yamagata Prefecture, a region of Japan with the second highest incidence of gastric cancer in the world.

25 Sep 2009

Research study links cancer to excess body weight

At least 124,000 new cancers in 2008 in Europe may have been caused by excess body weight, according to estimates from a new modelling study. The proportion of cases of new cancers attributable to a body mass index of 25kg/m2 or more were highest among women and in central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

From The University of Manchester 24 Sep 2009

Results of Phase 3 CRYSTAL study of mCRC patients announced

The retrospective CRYSTAL analysis was conducted as a result of an effort to increase the tissue ascertainment rate to determine the K-ras status of patients’ tumors. The analysis included extended patient follow up of nearly 1.5 years and doubled the tissue ascertainment rate from 45% to 89%. These data are an update from the overall survival results from CRYSTAL that were published in the April 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Sep 2009

Phase 2 trial results of Bayer's Nexavar in combination with capecitabine announced

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) today announced the full results from their first collaborative group-sponsored randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial showing that Nexavar(R) (sorafenib) tablets in combination with the oral chemotherapeutic agent, capecitabine, significantly extended progression-free survival in patients with advanced breast cancer.

23 Sep 2009