Melanoma News and Research

Latest Melanoma News and Research

Provectus Pharmaceuticals commences compassionate use program of PV-10 for cancer

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has expanded its compassionate use program for PV-10, making the agent, which is being developed as a therapeutic agent for a broad spectrum of cancers, available for select cancer patients in the United States. The program is already in progress in Australia, where it was initiated in June 2009.

14 Oct 2009

NY Senators co-sponsors bill to establish comprehensive program for lung cancer

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) hailed the support of Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) who have signed on as co-sponsors of a bill to establish the first ever multi-agency, comprehensive program targeted at lung cancer.

14 Oct 2009

Provectus Pharmaceuticals completes initial treatment in Phase 2 trial of PH-10 for plaque psoriasis

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has completed patient accrual and initial treatment in its Phase 2 trial of PH-10 for the treatment of plaque psoriasis. This milestone marks the third Phase 2 clinical trial for which Provectus has completed patient accrual since May 2009.

13 Oct 2009

Synta Pharmaceuticals updates its Phase 3 SYMMETRY trial results at the Melanoma XIII Conference

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that additional results from its Phase 3 trial (SYMMETRYSM) of elesclomol in combination with paclitaxel in metastatic melanoma was presented at the Perspectives in Melanoma XIII Conference by Steven O’Day, M.D., principal investigator and Chief of Research and Director of the Melanoma Program at the Angeles Clinic in Santa Monica, California.

12 Oct 2009

Plexxikon commences patient dosing in PLX3397 Phase 1 clinical trial

Plexxikon Inc. today announced that dosing of cancer patients with PLX3397 has started in a Phase 1 clinical trial. PLX3397 is a novel, oral investigational drug for treating multiple diseases, including metastatic cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

9 Oct 2009

Destination Cellars supports skin cancer awareness campaign

Destination Cellars, the first and only luxury destination wine club, today announced that it is helping to raise awareness for early detection of and finding a cure for melanoma -- one of the nation's most deadly, fastest growing cancers.

9 Oct 2009

NIH grants over $3.8 million to Asuragen

Asuragen, Inc. announced today that it has received over $3.8 million in new grant funding for 2009 from the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded initiatives of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further its development of molecular diagnostics for oncology and genetic disease.

8 Oct 2009

Panel Intelligence expands patient focused market research service

Panel Intelligence, LLC, is pleased to announce expanded capabilities for patient focused market research. For 10 years, Panel Intelligence has provided actionable market intelligence in the form of primary research from clinicians and other healthcare professionals.

7 Oct 2009

Skin cancer patients may benefit from smaller surgical margins

Many skin cancer patients fare just as well when surgeons remove about one inch of normal-looking tissue around the lesion instead of a larger safety margin, according to a new systematic review.

7 Oct 2009

PDS Biotechnology's Versamune-based immunotherapy drug demonstrates safety in preclinical studies

PDS Biotechnology Corporation today announced that the company has completed GLP toxicology studies of its lead HPV-cancer product. The studies, which included pharmacokinetic (PK) and adsorption, bio-distribution and excretion (ADE) studies in addition to the evaluation of toxicity, all demonstrated a very safe profile of the drug and PDS Biotech's platform Versamune((TM)) technology.

6 Oct 2009

FDA Advisory Committee approves Peginterferon alfa-2b for treating metastatic melanoma

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the FDA Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee voted in favor of recommending approval of PEGINTRON® as a treatment in addition to surgery in patients with metastatic melanoma.

6 Oct 2009

Schering-Plough receives FDA recommendation approval for PEGINTRON

Schering-Plough Corp. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended approval by a vote of six to four for PEGINTRON® (pegylated interferon alfa-2b) in the adjuvant treatment of patients with Stage III malignant melanoma.

6 Oct 2009

Ontario government's promise regarding UV radiation from artificial tanning equipment not fulfilled

The Ontario government made a promise last year to look into protecting our youth from the harmful effects of UV radiation from artificial tanning equipment.

3 Oct 2009

NEDD9 protein stimulates aggressive metastatic breast cancer

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that a protein called NEDD9 may be required for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to grow. Their findings, based on the study of a mouse model of breast cancer, are presented in a recent issue of Cancer Research, available on-line now.

3 Oct 2009

Phase 1b clinical trial results of PEG-Interferon lambda to be presented

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZGEN) announced that final results from a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with hepatitis C (HCV) treated with PEG-Interferon lambda, a new class of interferon, in combination with ribavirin will be presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) annual meeting October 30–November 3, 2009, in Boston.

3 Oct 2009

Provectus Pharmaceuticals commences Phase 1 study of PV-10 for liver cancer

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has initiated a Phase 1 study of PV-10 for liver cancer. The study will enroll up to six subjects with cancer metastatic to the liver or with recurrent liver cancer. PV-10 is the company’s lead oncology drug candidate that is also currently undergoing Phase 2 study for metastatic melanoma.

1 Oct 2009

Scientists report new development for diagnosing malignant melanoma

Scientists in Australia are reporting development and testing in laboratory animals of a potential new material for diagnosing malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Their study is scheduled for the September 10 issue of the ACS' Journal of the Medicinal Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

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

World’s first Cesium-131 implant for recurrent head and neck cancer performed

IsoRay, Inc. (Amex: ISR) announced today that on August 5, 2009, Dr. Bhupesh Parashar from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. David Kutler of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, and Dr. Jason Spector of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world’s first Cesium-131 implant for a recurrent head and neck cancer (buccal mucosa).

28 Sep 2009

Non-AIDS-defining malignancies more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that non-AIDS-defining malignancies such as anal and lung cancer have become more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients since the introduction of anti-retroviral therapies in the mid-1990s.

25 Sep 2009