Lungs News and Research

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Ultrasound helps provide rapid treatment of DVT

Scientists in the United States have discovered that ultrasound waves help dissolve blood clots in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) faster than clot-busting drugs.

24 Nov 2008

Mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and cancer give clues to new therapies

Cardiovascular conditions leading to heart attacks and strokes are treated quite separately from common cancers of the prostate, breast or lung, but now turn out to involve some of the same critical mechanisms at the molecular level.

21 Nov 2008

Lung cancer facts

Lung cancer kills more than four times as many Americans as breast cancer. But while pink ribbons trumpet Breast Cancer Awareness Month throughout October, little attention is paid to lung cancer in November, which is that disease's awareness month.

21 Nov 2008

Long-term use of a macrolide antibiotic reduce COPD exacerbations, raise questions

Long-term use of a macrolide antibiotic may reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by as much as 35 percent, according to a London-based study.

21 Nov 2008

Reminder, signs of a heart attack can be subtle

You know the drill: join the family for feasting on a high-fat, carbohydrate-filled meal followed by a generous slice of pumpkin pie

21 Nov 2008

Effective anti-tobacco public service announcements should either scare or disgust viewers

Now's the perfect time to increase anti-smoking campaigns - Nov. 20 is the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.

20 Nov 2008

Gefitinib just as effective as chemotherapy for lung cancer

Gefitinib, also known as Iressa, the once-promising targeted therapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, has proven as effective as chemotherapy as a second-line therapy for the disease with far fewer side effects, according to an international Phase III clinical trial, led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

20 Nov 2008

Carbon nanotubes detect lung cancer markers in the breath

Using an array of nanotube devices, each coated with a different organic material, researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology have developed diagnostic system that may be able to diagnose lung cancer simply by sampling a patient's breath. The results of this study, which was led by Hossam Haick, Ph.D., appear in the journal Nano Letters.

20 Nov 2008

Nanoparticle targets melanoma with siRNA

Research has shown that a particular receptor for the blood protein thrombin is overexpressed by highly metastatic melanoma cells.

20 Nov 2008

Survival of head and neck cancer patients is greatly affected by coexisting ailments

Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Siteman Cancer Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

19 Nov 2008

Gentium S.p.A. updates on phase 3 trial of Defibrotide for severe veno-occlusive disease

Gentium S.p.A. announced today interim results from an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) review of the Company's Phase 3 treatment trial of Defibrotide for Severe Veno-Occlusive Disease (VOD).

19 Nov 2008

First trachea transplant and first tissue transplant without immunosuppression

After 4 years of going from consultation to consultation, Claudia Castillo finally found a solution to her respiratory problems.

19 Nov 2008

REOLYSIN shown to benefit some sarcoma patients

New data shows that some sarcoma patients are benefiting from treatment with REOLYSIN, developed from a harmless virus called the reovirus that most people are exposed to at some point in their lives.

19 Nov 2008

Amgen, Takeda and Millennium update on phase 3 trial of Motesanib in non-small cell lung cancer

Amgen and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , today announced that enrollment in the Phase 3 MONET1 trial evaluating motesanib (AMG 706) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin for the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been temporarily suspended following a planned safety data review of 600 patients by the study's independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC). Motesanib is part of a broad co-development program between Amgen and Takeda.

19 Nov 2008

Ten years after tobacco master settlement agreement, much work to be done to combat tobacco use

November 23, 2008 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between the tobacco industry and 46 states. Despite a commitment by the states to use proceeds from the settlement to combat tobacco use, states have unfortunately devoted the funds to other priorities at the same time the tobacco industry has increased spending on marketing and promotions. The tragic result is that after five years of decline, youth smoking rates have stalled since 2003.

19 Nov 2008

Cancer drug bevacizumab linked to significantly increased risk of blood clots

An analysis of randomized controlled trials indicates that use of the cancer drug bevacizumab is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or in the lungs), according to an article in the November 19 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Nov 2008

Trial of Gore-tex-type material to stop strokes

A study is under way at Rush University Medical Center using a small, soft-patch device made of a Gore-tex-type material - often used to make durable outerwear - to close a common hole found in the heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in order to prevent recurrent strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) in adults.

18 Nov 2008

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis - tick-borne disease found in China

It appears that for the first time human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), an emerging tick-borne infectious disease found in the U.S. and Europe, has been identified in China and apparently was transmitted from person to person, according to a study in the November 19 issue of JAMA.

18 Nov 2008

Cruciferous vegetables may lower lung cancer risk in smokers

The cancer preventive properties of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables appear to work specifically in smokers, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.

18 Nov 2008

First tissue-engineered windpipe transplant

The first tissue-engineered trachea (windpipe), utilising the patient's own stem cells, has been successfully transplanted into a young woman with a failing airway.

18 Nov 2008