Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Smart cancer drug on sale in the UK

A new "smart" cancer drug will be available to patients in Britain today which works by deploying two chemical 'bullets' that attack specific molecular targets, starving tumours of nutrients and inhibiting the enzyme that signals cells to multiply.

31 Jul 2006

Heat treatment may zap cancer cells

Scientists believe they have discovered a clue as to why so many men with testicular cancer survive against the odds.

26 Jul 2006

Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy after the surgical removal of cancer in the pancreas improves survival

Patients with pancreatic cancer, a historically difficult-to-treat cancer with poor survival rates, may benefit from treatments studied in an international, multi-center research trial.

26 Jul 2006

Heat sensitivity may make testicular cancer cells more susceptible to standard treatments and die off more readily

Experts at Johns Hopkins have linked scientific evidence spanning more than 30 years to suggest an explanation for why testicular cancer patients like seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong survive far better than patients with other advanced cancers.

26 Jul 2006

FDA expands use of Oncaspar to include treating children and adults with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approved use of Oncaspar to include treating children and adults with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as part of a multiple drug chemotherapy regimen.

25 Jul 2006

Basal tumours may originate from breast stem cells that have undergone genetic mishaps

Findings support previous speculation that breast stem cells, or very early descendents, are the cells from which basal tumours arise.

24 Jul 2006

Genetic key to treating deadly fungal infections

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered how a prevalent fungal pathogen that causes 10,000 deaths per year in the United States overcomes the effects of antifungal drugs by duplicating a section of one of its chromosomes.

24 Jul 2006

Researchers identify potential ovarian cancer stem cells

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified potential ovarian cancer stem cells, which may be behind the difficulty of treating these tumors with standard chemotherapy.

21 Jul 2006

Exercise improves physical health, quality of life for breast cancer survivors

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found that exercise decreases pain and helps breast cancer survivors feel healthier and increase participation in daily activities.

18 Jul 2006

FDA gives the green light for Gemzar to treat recurrent ovarian cancer

Drug company Eli Lilly has been given approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its drug Gemzar to be used by women living with recurrent ovarian cancer.

18 Jul 2006

Researchers isolate rare cancer stem cells that cause leukemia

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston and their colleagues have isolated rare cancer stem cells that cause leukemia in a mouse model of the human disease.

18 Jul 2006

FDA approval for Gemzar for ovarian cancer

Eli Lilly and Company announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Gemzar (gemcitabine HCl) for use in the treatment of women living with recurrent ovarian cancer.

18 Jul 2006

New hope for ways to overcome drug resistance in lung cancer

Scientists have suggested it may be possible to reverse drug resistance in lung cancer patients, thereby improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy, according to research published in the EMBO Journal.

13 Jul 2006

Bones rendered more vulnerable following radiation therapy

Researchers have found that mice who were given one therapeutic dose of radiation equal to that received by human cancer patients, lost as much as 39 percent of the spongy portion of their inner bone.

12 Jul 2006

Determining the genetic composition of brain cancers informs treatment, predicts outcome

Research confirms that determining the genetic composition of brain cancers can better inform doctors and patients for treatment options and prognosis.

11 Jul 2006

New findings on cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

A growing number of cystic fibrosis patients are battling a second, often deadly complication: a unique form of diabetes that shares characteristics of the type 1 and type 2 versions that strike many Americans.

10 Jul 2006

Early menopause on the cards for childhood cancer survivors

In a new study researchers have found that girls who survive childhood cancer are more likely to experience an early menopause when they mature than other women.

6 Jul 2006

Pomegranate juice helps fight prostate cancer

Drinking an eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily increased by nearly four times the period during which PSA levels in men treated for prostate cancer remained stable, a three-year UCLA study has found.

4 Jul 2006

Women who survive childhood cancer are more likely to suffer premature menopause

Women who survive childhood cancer are more likely to suffer premature menopause, according to a study in the July 5 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

4 Jul 2006

Liver cancer is likely caused by cycles of liver cell death and renewal

Research at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine shows that liver cancer is likely caused by cycles of liver cell death and renewal.

27 Jun 2006