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''.

Gene mutation found in some women may decrease effectiveness of tamoxifen breast cancer drug

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Indiana University and the University of Michigan have found that some women have a gene mutation that may decrease the effectiveness of tamoxifen, a commonly used breast cancer drug.

7 Jun 2004

Chemotherapy regimen more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients

A chemotherapy regimen commonly used to treat non-small cell lung cancer is both more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients, researchers reported Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists.

7 Jun 2004

Atrasentan reduces cancer risk by 20 percent in men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer

Recent clinical studies led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have found that a drug called atrasentan reduces the risk by 20 percent that cancer will progress in men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer.

7 Jun 2004

A biological agent used without chemotherapy appears to offer a disease-free future to patients with rare leukemia

A biological agent — a drug that wraps vitamin A inside bubbles of fat — used without chemotherapy appears to offer as many as one-third of patients with a rare form of leukemia an opportunity for a long-term, disease-free future, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

7 Jun 2004

Herceptin shows real promise in treatment of HER-2 positive breast disease

According to a study conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, more than twice as many women with early stage, HER-2 positive breast disease who received Herceptin as part of their pre-surgery chemotherapy had their tumors completely disappear compared to like patients who received only chemotherapy.

7 Jun 2004

Experimental human monoclonal antibody shows striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma

Early testing of an experimental human monoclonal antibody showed a striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

7 Jun 2004

Gemcitabine may help breast cancer patients with advanced disease live longer

Breast cancer patients with advanced disease live longer when treated with a new drug, gemcitabine, in combination with paclitaxel, a traditional drug, according to results of a landmark global phase III study presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

6 Jun 2004

Multi-targeted anticancer drug shows promise as treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer

A new multi-targeted anticancer drug called SU11248 has shown very promising results in the treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer, one of the most chemotherapy resistant of all cancers.

6 Jun 2004

Velcade major improvement over standard therapy for relapsed multiple myeloma

Early results from a major, international Phase III clinical trial decisively show that recurrent multiple myeloma is more effectively treated with the drug bortezomib (trade name: Velcade TM) than with dexamethasone, a drug that for decades has been the standard therapy for relapsed disease, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report.

6 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Drug helps patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

A drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply, when paired with a chemotherapy combination, resulted in significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the first time in decades that survival times have been extended in patients with this devastating form of advanced cancer.

3 Jun 2004

Uterine cancer, also called endometrial cancer, will strike more than 40,000 U.S. women annually

A Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) study, headed by Cornelia Trimble, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, has revealed that pathologists who evaluate uterine biopsies disagree 60 percent of the time on whether the specimens contain cancerous cells.

3 Jun 2004

Cigarettes damage women’s lungs more than men’s lungs

Noting that lung cancer is women’s number one cancer killer, Loyola medical oncologist Dr. Kathy S. Albain will speak on the molecular differences in lung cancer between men and women, June 4, at the annual meeting of Women Against Lung Cancer.

3 Jun 2004

Drug to extend lives of colorectal cancer patients

A drug designed to cut off a tumor's blood supply, when paired with a chemotherapy combination, resulted in significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the first time in decades that survival times have been extended in patients with this devastating form of advanced cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Genentech, Inc. and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the first Phase III study of an anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy, showing that the addition of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) to the IFL chemotherapy regimen (5-FU/Leucovorin/ CPT-11) significantly extended survival in patients with first-line (previously untreated) metastatic colorectal cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Bone marrow stem cells exposed to damaged liver tissue quickly convert into healthy liver cells

Bone marrow stem cells, when exposed to damaged liver tissue, can quickly convert into healthy liver cells and help repair the damaged organ, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

2 Jun 2004

Study may help oncologists tailor chemotherapy to patients based on their genetic make-up

Genetic variations in an individual’s ability to repair DNA damage may help predict survival in lung cancer patients treated with the common chemotherapy drugs cisplatin or carboplatin, a new study shows.

2 Jun 2004

Acne drug may help treat multiple sclerosis

Dr. Luanne Metz, an associate professor of neurosciences and physician-scientist in the Neuroscience Research Group at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine, has found that minocycline, a drug currently used to treat such conditions as acne, decreases the activity of lesions in the brains of people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

2 Jun 2004

Students win awards for research into liver disease, cancer and insomnia

Targeting a range of diseases and disorders, three University of Houston students won awards at a recent symposium for research in liver disease, cancer and insomnia.

2 Jun 2004

20 cancer survivors, loved ones and experts to join Lance Armstrong in raising cance awareness

Twenty cyclists have been selected by cancer Community leaders to join cancer survivor and five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope.

2 Jun 2004

Oncology News and Research

Further Reading

Gene mutation found in some women may decrease effectiveness of tamoxifen breast cancer drug

Chemotherapy regimen more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients

Atrasentan reduces cancer risk by 20 percent in men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer

A biological agent used without chemotherapy appears to offer a disease-free future to patients with rare leukemia

Herceptin shows real promise in treatment of HER-2 positive breast disease

Experimental human monoclonal antibody shows striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma

Gemcitabine may help breast cancer patients with advanced disease live longer

Multi-targeted anticancer drug shows promise as treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer

Velcade major improvement over standard therapy for relapsed multiple myeloma

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Drug helps patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Uterine cancer, also called endometrial cancer, will strike more than 40,000 U.S. women annually

Cigarettes damage women’s lungs more than men’s lungs

Drug to extend lives of colorectal cancer patients

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Bone marrow stem cells exposed to damaged liver tissue quickly convert into healthy liver cells

Study may help oncologists tailor chemotherapy to patients based on their genetic make-up

Acne drug may help treat multiple sclerosis

Students win awards for research into liver disease, cancer and insomnia

20 cancer survivors, loved ones and experts to join Lance Armstrong in raising cance awareness

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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