Oncology News and Research

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Oncology, meaning bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix ''-logy'', meaning "study of") is a branch of medicine that deals with tumors (cancer). A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''.

CA125 blood test may be superior to standard imaging techniques like CT scans

A new study shows that the CA125 blood test, which measures the level of protein produced by ovarian cancer cells in the blood, may be superior to standard imaging techniques like CT scans in predicting survival in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

13 Sep 2004

New treatment for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

IL-7, a hormone-like protein involved in cell-cell interaction, has been associated with increased survival and expansion of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL).

9 Sep 2004

Genomic researchers and Canadian cancer treatment specialists meet in Halifax in order to improve cancer treatment outcomes

The Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists and leading genomic cancer researchers will meet, Thursday, September 9 to 12th, 2004 at the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel in Halifax, to present research studies' results and to confer on methods to zero in on how to begin to utilize genomics, proteomics, and radiation, to improve cancer treatment outcomes for patients.

8 Sep 2004

Gene therapy holds much promise for treating aggressive human superficial bladder cancer

Gene therapy that causes the bladder to act like a “bioreactor” to produce and secrete the anti-cancer agent interferon-alpha has shown dramatic benefits in preclinical tests, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

8 Sep 2004

University of Utah gets patent approval relating to methods of rapid nucleic acid amplification

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued the University of Utah U.S. patent No. U.S. 6,787,338 (the '338 patent) relating to methods of rapid nucleic acid amplification.

8 Sep 2004

Data from over a quarter of cancer clinical trials may never reach the public domain

Doctors are not being armed with all the information they need to make treatment decisions because data from clinical trials is being left unpublished and inaccessible, leading figures from Cancer Research UK warn today.

6 Sep 2004

CT scans may be delivering as much radiation as a low-dose atomic bomb

Those full-body CT scans advertised at some health care centers may be delivering as much radiation as a low-dose atomic bomb, according to a new study. And that means people who get them could be raising their cancer risk, researchers from Columbia University report in the journal Radiology (Vol. 232, No. 3:735-738).

5 Sep 2004

University of Nottingham research developments could mean new drugs will reach cancer patients more quickly

A £3 million grant and the establishment of a specialized business unit that will help new treatments reach cancer patients more quickly, have underlined The University of Nottingham’s place at the forefront of cancer drug development.

2 Sep 2004

Counseling for breast cancer patients means healthier diets, reduced smoking and stronger immune systems

Regular psychological counseling for breast cancer patients may do more than just lower their stress and anxiety. A new study says the right kind of intervention can also mean healthier diets, reduced smoking, and most surprising of all – a stronger immune system.

2 Sep 2004

Chemotherapy experts refute ASCO recommendations on use of drug sensitivity and resistance assays

A group of leading chemotherapy experts assembled as the Clinical Oncologists for Individualized Therapy (COFIT) refute the findings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) technology assessment panel regarding the use of chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays (CSRAs).

1 Sep 2004

MGI PHARMA acquires Aesgen for $32 million

MGI PHARMA today announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which MGI PHARMA will acquire all outstanding equity of Aesgen for $32 million in cash.

1 Sep 2004

Researchers accurately pinpoint the types of lymphoma, Hodgkins or non-Hodgkins

“There are many types and subtypes of lymphoma, some of which are easy to detect, but many that are very difficult to identify,” says Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Sbarro Institute at Temple and one of the study’s principal investigators.

1 Sep 2004

Surgery plus radiation therapy an effective way to treat early breast cancer in women aged 70 and older

For early breast cancer, the standard of care is surgery to remove the cancerous lump followed by radiation therapy, thereby allowing the patient to keep her breast. However, older women are not always offered this option.

1 Sep 2004

Research provides definitive evidence that radiation risk is associated with full-body CT scans

The risk of cancer mortality from a single full-body computed tomography (CT) scan is modest, but not negligible, and the risks resulting from elective annual scans are much higher, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Radiology.

31 Aug 2004

Cinical trial to evaluate breakthrough breast cancer treatment

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center will host 20 medical experts from around the United States on Sept. 9 to prepare for a 3,000-patient phase III clinical trial that will evaluate a breakthrough breast cancer treatment.

30 Aug 2004

More women are surviving advanced breast cancer

Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, (Vol. 22, No. 16: 3302-3308), doctors from 3 French hospitals reported on 724 women whose first diagnosis was breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body (stage 4). It is rare for women to be diagnosed with such late stage disease.

27 Aug 2004

Phase 1 clinical trial of new anticancer drug from Human Genome Sciences

Human Genome Sciences has begun dosing patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial of HGS-TR2J, a novel agonistic human monoclonal antibody to TRAIL Receptor 2, in patients with advanced solid malignancies.

25 Aug 2004

Powerful new cancer-fighting property of Herceptin

For many patients with advanced breast cancer, the cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) has offered new hope when traditional cancer drugs failed to work, shrinking tumors and sending some patients into remission.

23 Aug 2004

More tumour cells in the blood leads to quicker deterioration in women with breast cancer

A new study of women with advanced breast cancer who have more tumor cells circulating in their blood deterioate and die quicker than women with fewer of these cells, according to the researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and other cancer centers throughout the country.

18 Aug 2004

80% of cancer patients use some form of complementary or alternative therapies

Plug the terms "alternative" and "cancer" into Google and the Internet search engine returns a list of 3.27 million - yes, million - sites with information both credible and questionable about nontraditional treatments for cancer. What's a cancer patient to make of such a vast array of options?

18 Aug 2004

Oncology News and Research

Further Reading

CA125 blood test may be superior to standard imaging techniques like CT scans

New treatment for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Genomic researchers and Canadian cancer treatment specialists meet in Halifax in order to improve cancer treatment outcomes

Gene therapy holds much promise for treating aggressive human superficial bladder cancer

University of Utah gets patent approval relating to methods of rapid nucleic acid amplification

Data from over a quarter of cancer clinical trials may never reach the public domain

CT scans may be delivering as much radiation as a low-dose atomic bomb

University of Nottingham research developments could mean new drugs will reach cancer patients more quickly

Counseling for breast cancer patients means healthier diets, reduced smoking and stronger immune systems

Chemotherapy experts refute ASCO recommendations on use of drug sensitivity and resistance assays

MGI PHARMA acquires Aesgen for $32 million

Researchers accurately pinpoint the types of lymphoma, Hodgkins or non-Hodgkins

Surgery plus radiation therapy an effective way to treat early breast cancer in women aged 70 and older

Research provides definitive evidence that radiation risk is associated with full-body CT scans

Cinical trial to evaluate breakthrough breast cancer treatment

More women are surviving advanced breast cancer

Phase 1 clinical trial of new anticancer drug from Human Genome Sciences

Powerful new cancer-fighting property of Herceptin

More tumour cells in the blood leads to quicker deterioration in women with breast cancer

80% of cancer patients use some form of complementary or alternative therapies

Cancer Research - Second Edition eBook

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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