Chemotherapy News and Research

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

More women are surviving advanced breast cancer

Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, (Vol. 22, No. 16: 3302-3308), doctors from 3 French hospitals reported on 724 women whose first diagnosis was breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body (stage 4). It is rare for women to be diagnosed with such late stage disease.

27 Aug 2004

Phase 1 clinical trial of new anticancer drug from Human Genome Sciences

Human Genome Sciences has begun dosing patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial of HGS-TR2J, a novel agonistic human monoclonal antibody to TRAIL Receptor 2, in patients with advanced solid malignancies.

25 Aug 2004

Researchers have identified multiple changes in the gene-expression patterns of cells involved with tumor progression in liver cancer patients

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified multiple changes in the gene-expression patterns of cells involved with tumor progression in liver cancer patients and in those with cirrhosis, which may help scientists predict a person’s risk of developing primary liver cancer.

25 Aug 2004

Powerful new cancer-fighting property of Herceptin

For many patients with advanced breast cancer, the cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) has offered new hope when traditional cancer drugs failed to work, shrinking tumors and sending some patients into remission.

23 Aug 2004

New database about a group of genes associated with multidrug resistance in cancerous tumors

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute, have created a database of information about a group of genes associated with multidrug resistance in cancerous tumors.

23 Aug 2004

Limb-sparing technique called rotationplasty helps very young children with bone cancer

The current issue of New England Journal of Medicine illustrates a case of a five-year-old girl with Ewing’s sarcoma, a cancerous tumor, behind her left knee. Surgeons at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia used a limb-sparing technique called rotationplasty to remove the diseased portion of bone, turn the shortened portion of the leg bone in a half-circle and reattach it, with the ankle joint functioning as a knee.

18 Aug 2004

More tumour cells in the blood leads to quicker deterioration in women with breast cancer

A new study of women with advanced breast cancer who have more tumor cells circulating in their blood deterioate and die quicker than women with fewer of these cells, according to the researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and other cancer centers throughout the country.

18 Aug 2004

New link between a specific protein and its role in determining how cancerous cells divide

Biology researchers at Rutgers-Newark have identified a new link between a specific protein and its role in determining how cancerous cells divide, spread and form new tumors in other parts of the human body.

18 Aug 2004

80% of cancer patients use some form of complementary or alternative therapies

Plug the terms "alternative" and "cancer" into Google and the Internet search engine returns a list of 3.27 million - yes, million - sites with information both credible and questionable about nontraditional treatments for cancer. What's a cancer patient to make of such a vast array of options?

18 Aug 2004

Two more drugs added to Medicare demonstration program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced it is adding two more drugs to the list of drugs covered under a Medicare demonstration program providing substantial savings to beneficiaries with serious diseases, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

17 Aug 2004

New colon cancer guidelines

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has developed a set of recommendations to address whether patients who have had successful surgery for Stage II colon cancer should be offered adjuvant chemotherapy in routine clinical practice.

17 Aug 2004

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combined, slows tumor progression and extends survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy significantly slowed tumor progression and extended survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

17 Aug 2004

Novel pharmacological target for cannabinoid-based therapies

Cannabinoids, the active ingredients in marijuana, restrict the sprouting of blood vessels to brain tumors by inhibiting the expression of genes needed for the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

15 Aug 2004

Could the cure for cancer have been ignored for 30 years?

Over the past 30 years, a qualified surgeon based in Perth, Australia has been treating cancer patients with a novel form of radio-wave therapy. A news story on the popular Australian television show "A Current Affair", hosted by Ray Martin has sparked great interest from the Australian general public and the wider Australian medical community.

12 Aug 2004

Stanford researchers identify leukemia stem cells

A handful of leukemia cells constantly replenish the supply of cancerous cells, according to new work by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

11 Aug 2004

Genentech announces FDA approval of Avastin manufacturing

Genentech has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the manufacturing of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) bulk drug substance at the company's facility in Vacaville, California.

11 Aug 2004

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have found that combining ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the deadliest type of brain tumor.

9 Aug 2004