Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Scientists have, for the first time, induced a state of reversible metabolic hibernation in mice

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have, for the first time, induced a state of reversible metabolic hibernation in mice. This achievement, the first demonstration of "hibernation on demand" in a mammal, ultimately could lead to new ways to treat cancer and prevent injury and death from insufficient blood supply to organs and tissues.

23 Apr 2005

Nanoparticles reveal tiny cancerous tumors

Specially designed nanoparticles can reveal tiny cancerous tumors that are invisible by ordinary means of detection, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

22 Apr 2005

Cancer patients may one day benefit from treatment with mixtures of customized antibodies

In a study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), a team of Weizmann Institute scientists have demonstrated how the right combination might form a web that destroys the cancer cell's communication network, ultimately demobilizing the cell.

22 Apr 2005

Enzyme that helps trigger the development of leukemia

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified an enzyme that helps trigger the development of leukemia, a cancer of blood cells.

21 Apr 2005

New drug, RAD001, shown to stop the growth of ovarian cancer cells

A new drug, RAD001, has been shown to stop the growth and movement of certain ovarian cancer cells, according to scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. The research was presented today at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Anaheim, Calif.

20 Apr 2005

Combination chemotherapy shows small survival benefit in advanced stomach cancer

Patients with advanced stomach cancer have the best chance of prolonging their survival with a combination of chemotherapies instead of just one, according to a new review of previous studies.

19 Apr 2005

Searching for the right pharmaceutical agent: survival as the indicator

Tumor cells divide fast. They thus require a high supply of components for their DNA, like purines. The biosynthesis of purines could now be a new point of attack for chemotherapy. However, without a natural model, the search for an inhibitor for a cellular process is like the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack. An American research team has developed a clever way to quickly conjure the desired "needle" out of the hay, presenting several candidates to act as starting points for the design of a purine synthesis inhibitor.

19 Apr 2005

Compound derived from cottonseed oil could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer

The findings, which will be presented Tuesday, April 19, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, could lead to a treatment that provides an effective option to surgically removing the cancer, helping patients preserve vital organs involved in speech and swallowing.

19 Apr 2005

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.

19 Apr 2005

Gene expression pattern predicts multiple drug resistance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital discovery of genetic links to multi-drug resistance gives clinicians new insight into the cause of treatment failure and suggests targets for novel anti-leukemic drugs

19 Apr 2005

New test for cancer, more sensitive than any existing techniques

Speaking at the Institute of Physics conference Physics 2005 in Warwick, scientists will reveal a new test for cancer, more sensitive than any existing technique and capable of predicting for the first time whether a tumour has spread.

12 Apr 2005

New drugs help the immune system kill cancer cells

Researchers at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) announced today that they have discovered an effective way to enlist the immune system to help chemotherapy destroy breast cancer cells. The work, led by LIMR researchers Alexander J. Muller and George C. Prendergast, is reported in the March 2005 edition of the leading international medical journal Nature Medicine.

11 Apr 2005

Oncolytic viruses may one day help treat brain tumors

New research shows that a virus designed to kill cancer cells can significantly increase the survival of mice with an incurable human brain tumor, even in some animals with advanced disease.

7 Apr 2005

DNA packaging linked with cancer

New laboratory findings at the University of Illinois at Chicago suggest that what lies outside cancer cells is at least as important as the genes inside in explaining a tumor's malignancy.

5 Apr 2005

Important trial in the fight against lung cancer

Two University of Kentucky researchers continue their work with a vaccine to prevent lung cancer recurrences in patients following primary treatment of the disease.

5 Apr 2005

Promising new therapy that prompts the immune system to aid in the fight against melanoma tumors

Melanoma is a particularly deadly form of skin cancer very resistant to treatment. Researchers at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and the University of South Florida are testing a promising new therapy that prompts the immune system to aid in the fight against melanoma tumors.

5 Apr 2005

Chemoembolization, first-line treatment for liver cancer

New research by Jeff Geschwind, M.D., director of interventional radiology and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has shown that liver cancer patients, most of whom have inoperable tumours, could benefit from chemoembolization, a nonsurgical treatment option that delivers a high-dose of chemotherapy to the tumour while decreasing blood flow through the arteries feeding the tumour, known as embolization.

4 Apr 2005

Blue light kills gum disease

Scientists at The Forsyth Institute have found that blue light can be used to selectively suppress certain bacteria commonly associated with destructive gum disease.

3 Apr 2005

Chronic pain treatments more effective when taken together

People suffering from chronic, debilitating pain caused by nerve damage or disease report better pain relief at lower doses of a combined drug treatment than from either drug administered individually, a new Queen’s study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) shows.

3 Apr 2005

Cannabis-based medicines given in a highly-controlled clinical environment unexpectedly lead to strong psychotic effects

Volunteers taking cannabis-based therapeutic drugs as part of a controlled trial, which had been approved by an ethics board as safe for the subjects, experienced psychotic effects just as strong as if they had smoked cannabis. These findings, highly unexpected in such a controlled environment, are published today in the peer-reviewed, Open Access journal BMC Psychiatry.

3 Apr 2005