Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Researchers develop new ways for splitting dangerous pair of cancer proteins

A research team led by U of T Mississauga scientists has developed a new way to split up a dangerous pair of cancer proteins, a finding that could ultimately lead to chemotherapy that is more effective and has fewer side effects.

21 Aug 2009

NY-ESO-1 recombinant proteins to be used in clinical trials for treating melanoma and ovarian cancer

The Bioproduction Facility at Cornell University has produced the first batch of NY-ESO-1 recombinant protein-a cancer vaccine-that will be used in clinical trials for patients facing either ovarian cancer or melanoma. The facility was developed as a partnership between The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Cornell University.

21 Aug 2009

Chemical components of elderberry, cinnamon and green tea extracts block HIV viruses from infecting cells

The development of new antiviral drugs has had a tremendous impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of HIV-positive and AIDS patients, as the drugs effectively disrupt the replication cycle of the HIV virus. Yet the regular use of those drugs - such as zidovudine (also known as azidothymidine or AZT), protease inhibitors, and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) involving multidrug therapies - has led to resistant HIV strains.

20 Aug 2009

Poniard Pharmaceuticals may sell up to $60 million of its registered common stock to finance its picoplatin clinical development and commercialization programs

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20 Aug 2009

Scientists develop new technique to target brain cancer cells

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago's Brain Tumor Center have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material.

20 Aug 2009

Nano-bio material kills cancer cells, leaves healthy cells in unharmed

19 Aug 2009

Gentium reports results from phase 3 trial of defibrotide for severe veno-occlusive disease

Gentium S.p.A. has announced top-line results from a historically controlled, multicenter, open label, Phase III trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 25 mg/kg/day of Defibrotide for the treatment of severe veno-occlusive disease (sVOD) in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) patients.

19 Aug 2009

BioAlliance Pharma's new drug application for oropharyngeal candidiasis treatment accepted by the FDA

BioAlliance Pharma SA (Paris:BIO), a company dedicated to the treatment and supportive care of cancer and AIDS patients, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the new drug application (NDA) for miconazole Lauriad® (Loramyc®) Mucoadhesive Buccal Tablets (MBT) to treat oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC). Miconazole Lauriad® delivers the antifungal miconazole via a mucoadhesive buccal tablet that is designed to enable once-daily dosing of the active ingredient at the site of infection.

19 Aug 2009

Discovery of key factor that stimulates brain cancer cells to spread

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the activity of a protein in brain cells helps stimulate the spread of an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In a move toward therapy, the researchers showed that a small designer protein can block this activity and reduce the spreading of GBM cells grown in the laboratory.

19 Aug 2009

Low-dose estrogen effective for metastatic breast cancer

When estrogen-lowering drugs no longer control metastatic breast cancer, the opposite strategy might work. Raising estrogen levels benefited 30 percent of women whose metastatic breast cancer no longer responded to standard anti-estrogen treatment, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.

19 Aug 2009

Disrupting the DNA-repair process

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have uncovered the mechanism behind a promising new approach to cancer treatment: damaging cancer cells' DNA with potent drugs while simultaneously preventing the cells from repairing themselves.

18 Aug 2009

4SC starts phase 2 trial in hepatocellular carcinoma with 4SC-201 (resminostat)

4SC AG, the German drug discovery and development company, today announced the dosing of the first patient in its Phase II trial with 4SC-201 (resminostat), a pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, as a new potential treatment option for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most frequent form of liver cancer.

18 Aug 2009

Genentech announces Phase III study results for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemo in HER2-negative breast cancer

Genentech, Inc. today announced that a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy increased the time women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer whose initial chemotherapy had stopped working lived without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS), compared to chemotherapy alone.

18 Aug 2009

Aspirin improves survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis

Men and women who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and began regular use of aspirin had a lower risk of overall and colorectal cancer death compared to patients not using aspirin, according to a study in the August 12 issue of JAMA.

18 Aug 2009

U.S. District Court rules against Lilly regarding Gemzar patent

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has granted a motion by Sun Pharmaceuticals for partial summary judgment.

17 Aug 2009

Protein Huwe1 may be an important factor in the development of brain cancer

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that activates brain stem cells to make new neurons - but that may be hijacked later in life to cause brain cancer in humans. The protein called Huwe1 normally functions to eliminate other unnecessary proteins and was found to act as a tumor suppressor in brain cancer.

17 Aug 2009

Discovery of inherited gene variants that account for 37 percent of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified inherited variations in two genes that account for 37 percent of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), including a gene that may help predict drug response.

16 Aug 2009

Medical imaging: The good, the bad and the ugly

In the political minefield of healthcare reform, medical imaging has emerged as a microcosm of this contentious debate. Congress has been charged with a high stakes, high wire balancing act: to create a bill preserving quality and access while trimming unethical and unnecessary spending. Medical imaging represents such a challenge, with its undeniable benefits tainted by inappropriate use.

13 Aug 2009

Antigenics’ Oncophage cancer vaccine trial starts enrolling patients

Antigenics Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) today announced that the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, has begun enrolling patients into a Phase 2 clinical trial of Oncophage (vitespen) in combination with the standard of care - radiation therapy plus Temodar (temozolomide) - for newly diagnosed glioma patients.

13 Aug 2009

Transcript: President Obama Town Hall meeting in New Hampshire

President Barack Obama continued his press for public support of health reform initiatives at what the White House called a "Health Insurance Reform Town Hall" meeting at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

12 Aug 2009