Antigen News and Research

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Immunity to cancer stem cells may help protect people with a precancerous condition from developing the full-blown disease

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on "cancer stem cells," which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

2 Apr 2007

Researchers identify gene for osteoporosis

Researchers report the identification of a gene that may play a role in susceptibility to osteoporosis, the crippling disease that leads to bone fractures, especially of the hip and spine.

31 Mar 2007

Natural mechanism for immune suppression may lead to new cancer drugs

A natural mechanism pirated by tumors and HIV to evade the immune response is opening the door to better treatment for these conditions, researchers say.

31 Mar 2007

Immune response to cancer stem cells may dictate cancer's course

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on 'cancer stem cells,' which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

27 Mar 2007

Scientists discover new approach for treating virus-induced lymphomas

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human tumor virus and an etiological agent for Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). PELs are aggressive lymphomas with reported median survival time shorter than six months after diagnosis.

19 Mar 2007

Trial of new therapy for pancreatic cancer

Patients in Liverpool are to trial a new therapy for pancreatic cancer - a disease which sees most sufferers die within a year of diagnosis.

15 Mar 2007

Obesity at the time of prostate-cancer diagnosis dramatically increases the risk of dying from the disease

Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of dying from the disease as compared to men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

15 Mar 2007

Two novel therapies for multiple myeloma

Two novel biologics are currently being investigated for their potential benefit to multiple myeloma patients in separate ongoing clinical trials at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

14 Mar 2007

Interferon gamma identified as one of the signaling proteins involved with tumor relapse

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center studying the interaction between the immune system and cancer cells have identified interferon gamma as one of the signaling proteins involved with tumor relapse.

13 Mar 2007

Islet cell trasnplant without immunosuppressive drugs successful in mice

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College may have reached a breakthrough in the search for a lasting cure for type 1 diabetes.

11 Mar 2007

Bird flu vaccine - experts say let's try harder

Experts on viruses are calling for a bigger effort to be made in developing vaccines to tackle pandemics.

6 Mar 2007

Green tea and COX-2 inhibitors combine to slow growth of prostate cancer

Drinking a nice warm cup of green tea has long been touted for its healthful benefits, both real and anecdotal. But now researchers have found that a component of green tea, combined with low doses of a COX-2 inhibitor, could slow the spread of human prostate cancer.

1 Mar 2007

Stimuvax investigational lung cancer vaccine phase III study starts

Merck KGaA today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its global Phase III clinical study, START (Stimulating Targeted Antigenic Responses To NSCLC), assessing the efficacy and safety of Stimuvax (BLP25 liposome vaccine) as a potential treatment for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

26 Feb 2007

New way to identify which men need a second prostate biopsy

A researcher in the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute and Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center has found a way to identify which men need a second prostate biopsy because they may be harboring life-threatening prostate cancer even though they were given a clean bill of health after their first biopsy.

22 Feb 2007

How T cells attack tumors

Our immune system struggles to eliminate tumors effectively. By unraveling its strategies, we can enhance its effects on tumor cells and so improve the clinical prospects of cancer immunotherapy.

20 Feb 2007

Search for vaccine to prevent Chlamydia

It's the most common bacteria-related sexually transmitted disease in the United States, so researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio's South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center have partnered to discover a vaccine that will prevent Chlamydia.

19 Feb 2007

Promising results on avian influenza vaccines

Experts meeting this week at the World Health Organization (WHO) on advances in pandemic influenza vaccine development reported encouraging progress.

18 Feb 2007

Nanoparticle boost for antitumor vaccines

Researchers have known for some time that certain sequences of synthetic DNA induce potent immune responses when injected into animals and humans.

12 Feb 2007

Cancer breakthrough - first treatment to directly target tumor supply

For the first time, physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City have demonstrated in patients the ability of an antibody to directly target the blood supply of a wide variety of tumors, leaving healthy tissues unharmed.

12 Feb 2007

Determinants of disease presentation and outcome during cryptococcosis

CRNS and the Institut Pasteur conducted research in France on patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis which ranks second among fatal opportunistic infections in patients infected by HIV and who are profoundly immunosuppressed.

12 Feb 2007