Melanoma News and Research

Latest Melanoma News and Research

Merck and CNIO sign agreement to collaborate in area of cancer drug development

The Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) and the German chemical and pharmaceutical company Merck today signed an agreement in Madrid to collaborate in the area of cancer drug development.

19 Dec 2013

Merck signs license agreement with CNIO for cancer drug development

Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck, today announced that a license agreement has been signed with the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid in the area of cancer drug development. The global agreement will build upon CNIO research discoveries to encourage the development and commercialization of new compounds in the field of oncology.

18 Dec 2013

Merck initiates clinical trial to evaluate MK-3475 and pazopanib in advanced renal cell carcinoma

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the initiation of a clinical trial to evaluate the combination of the company's investigational anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, MK-3475, and GlaxoSmithKline's orally administered kinase inhibitor, pazopanib, in advanced renal cell carcinoma.

18 Dec 2013

Researchers discover that adult stem cells suppress cancer during dormant phase

Researchers at UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have discovered a mechanism in adult stem cells by which the cells suppress their ability to initiate cancer during their dormant phase, an understanding that could be exploited for better cancer prevention strategies.

18 Dec 2013

Navidea seeks FDA approval for marketing Lymphoseek Injection for SLN detection

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on precision diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, announced today that it has submitted a Supplemental New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval for the marketing and sale of Lymphoseek (technetium 99m tilmanocept) Injection for sentinel lymph node detection in patients with head and neck cancer, an indication for which Lymphoseek was also granted Fast Track designation earlier this month.

17 Dec 2013

New report shows death rates for lung cancer dropping at a faster pace

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, covering the period 1975, showed death rates for lung cancer, which accounts for more than one in four cancer deaths, dropping at a faster pace than in previous years. The recent larger drop in lung cancer deaths is likely the result of decreased cigarette smoking prevalence over many years, and is now being reflected in mortality trends. The lung cancer death rate decline, as well as declines in colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer death rates, has also helped drive decreases in death rates for all cancers types combined, a trend that began about 20 years ago.

17 Dec 2013

OncoSec Medical reports positive interim data from OMS-I100 Phase 2 trial for metastatic melanoma

OncoSec Medical Inc., a company developing its advanced-stage ImmunoPulse DNA-based immunotherapy to treat solid tumors, today announced positive interim data from its ongoing Phase 2 trial of OMS-I100 in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. The results were presented by principal investigator Adil Daud, MD, at the Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy meeting at the University of California San Francisco.

16 Dec 2013

Scientists reveal how two genes interact to kill broad range of cancer cells

Scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have revealed how two genes interact to kill a wide range of cancer cells. Originally discovered by the study's lead investigator Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., the genes known as mda-7/IL-24 and SARI could potentially be harnessed to treat both primary and metastatic forms of brain, breast, colon, lung, ovary, prostate, skin and other cancers.

14 Dec 2013

MD Anderson researcher earns Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Basic science research that exposed vital details of cancer's defense against the immune system, revealing an entirely new way to combat these diseases, has earned Jim Allison, Ph.D., a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

14 Dec 2013

Navidea receives Fast Track designation for Lymphoseek injection

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NAVB), a biopharmaceutical company focused on precision diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to Lymphoseek® (technetium 99m tilmanocept) Injection for sentinel lymph node detection in patients with head and neck cancer.

11 Dec 2013

MELA Sciences participates in skin cancer diagnostic workshop in Germany

MELA Sciences, Inc., designer and developer of MelaFind®, an FDA and CE Mark approved non-invasive optical device that assists dermatologists in diagnosing melanoma at its most curable stage, participated in a two-day hands-on skin cancer diagnostics workshop in Augsburg, Germany, where leading dermatologists examined "high-risk" melanoma patients with MelaFind® and also participated in an imaging devices exhibit.

6 Dec 2013

Cancer survival rates still vary widely between European countries

Cancer survival still varies widely between European countries despite major improvements in cancer diagnosis and treatment during the first decade of the 21st century, according to the latest EUROCARE-5 reports covering over 50% of the adult and 77% of the childhood population of Europe.

6 Dec 2013

18F-FDOPA imaging can help distinguish radiation-induced lesions in patients with brain metastases

Imaging with the molecular imaging tracer 18F-FDOPA can help distinguish radiation-induced lesions from new tumor growth in patients who have been treated with radiation for brain metastases, according to new research published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Using this amino acid tracer, researchers found that physicians could accurately differentiate the two types of lesions 83 percent of the time. Progression-free survival could also be predicted through evaluating the 18F-FDOPA imaging results.

4 Dec 2013

Scientists receive $12.5M NIH grant to continue research on targeted therapies for melanoma

Despite recent advances in therapy, melanoma remains the deadliest, most aggressive form of skin cancer as incidence rates continue to climb. Now, a team of melanoma scientists from The Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania received a $12.5 M, five-year program project grant (P01) from the National Institutes of Health to continue trailblazing research on targeted therapies in melanoma.

4 Dec 2013

Director of Scheie Eye Institute honored with WIO's Suzanne Veronneau Troutman Award

Joan M. O'Brien, MD, the George E. de Schweinitz and William F. Norris Professor of Ophthalmology, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the Scheie Eye Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was recently presented with the Women in Ophthalmology's Suzanne Veronneau Troutman Award.

26 Nov 2013

SillaJen executes definitive merger agreement to acquire Jennerex

SillaJen, Inc., a privately-held biotherapeutics and contract research company focused on the development of targeted biological products for cancer, announced today that it had executed a definitive merger agreement to acquire San Francisco-based Jennerex, Inc.

26 Nov 2013