Melanoma News and Research

Latest Melanoma News and Research

UCB receives FDA approval for Neupro to treat idiopathic Parkinson's, RLS

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Neupro (Rotigotine Transdermal System) for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of advanced stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and as a treatment for moderate-to-severe primary Restless Legs Syndrome.

3 Apr 2012

Melanoma on the rise especially amongst the young

Women under 40 are hit hardest by the escalating incidence of melanoma, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, out today. Researchers examined records from a decades-long database of all patient care in Olmsted County, Minn., and looked for first-time diagnoses of melanoma in patients 18-39 from 1970 to 2009. Melanoma cases increased eightfold among women in that time and fourfold for men, the authors say. However, death rates from melanoma fell during the same period, suggesting that early interventions may be helping to save some lives, said the researchers.

2 Apr 2012

Clinical data for cabozantinib to be presented at ASCO annual meeting

Exelixis, Inc. announced today that its lead compound, cabozantinib, will be the subject of nine separate data presentations at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

2 Apr 2012

Combination of Avastin and Metformin may effectively reduce melanoma growth

COMBINING the experimental drug Avastin (bevacizumab) with the diabetes drug Metformin almost doubles its ability to reduce skin cancer growth, according to a study in Cancer Discovery.

2 Apr 2012

MEK1 mutation does not necessarily make BRAF mutant melanomas resistant to inhibitors

A second mutation found in the tumors of patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma does not contribute to resistance to BRAF inhibitor drugs, a finding that runs counter to what scientists expected to be true.

2 Apr 2012

Melanoma on the rise among young adults

Even as the rates of some cancers are falling, Mayo Clinic is seeing an alarming trend: the dramatic rise of skin cancer, especially among people under 40. According to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the incidence of melanoma has escalated, and young women are the hardest hit.

2 Apr 2012

Canadian regulatory body recommendation brings melanoma patients closer to life-extending drugs

The Melanoma Network of Canada is pleased that the Canadian regulatory body, pCODR (pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review) has made an initial recommendation that includes positive clinical evaluations for the latest treatments for metastatic melanoma.

31 Mar 2012

Cancer death rates declining but obesity still needs to be tackled

According to a new report from four major national cancer tracking groups there has been a steady decline in cancer death rates for men, women and children from 2004 to 2008. The declines in death and new cases of cancer reflect progress against the disease in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment, but experts say rising obesity may present a new challenge in the fight against cancer.

29 Mar 2012

Latest updates in clinical practice decision-making in cancer care presented at NCCN 17th conference

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) held the NCCN 17th Annual Conference: Clinical Practice Guidelines & Quality Cancer Care, March 14 - 18 at The Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida. The latest updates in clinical practice decision-making in cancer care were presented, including, but not limited to, the new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Lung Cancer Screening and updates to the NCCN Guidelines for Melanoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas.

29 Mar 2012

Sun damage revealed by UV photographs show skin cancer risk

Look at a middle school assembly - during their lifetime one in 50 of these kids will develop melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer that kills 48,000 people every year, worldwide. Now look at these kids again - which are at highest risk? You can't tell, but a study recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that UV photography might provide important information about risk, not visible to the naked eye.

29 Mar 2012

Navidea announces data from Lymphoseek Phase 3 study on oral and squamous cell cancers

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on precision diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, today announced that data from its Phase 3 clinical study investigating 99m-Tc-Tilmanocept in oral and squamous cell cancers (SCC) were presented as a poster presentation at the 65th Annual Cancer Symposium of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) meeting held in Orlando, Florida, March 21-24, 2012.

29 Mar 2012

Therapy Finder - Colorectal Cancer app now available for patients

No one wants to hear the words, "you have colon cancer." For patients diagnosed with an advanced form of the disease, these words can be particularly devastating. The five-year survival rate can be a little as 6 percent. The top-of-mind question becomes, "Which treatment or clinical trial will work for me?"

28 Mar 2012

NY-ESO-1 vaccine shows promise against ovarian cancer, melanoma

An immunotherapy regimen incorporating poxviruses and targeting a particular tumor antigen, NY-ESO-1, has shown promise in treating two types of cancers.

27 Mar 2012

OncoSec to present data from head and neck cancer studies at two upcoming conferences

OncoSec Medical Incorporated., which is developing its advanced-stage OncoSec Medical System (OMS) ElectroOncology therapies to treat solid tumor cancers, today announced that the company has been selected to present data from its Phase III and IV head and neck cancer studies at two upcoming conferences.

23 Mar 2012

Delcath receives first commercial order for CHEMOSAT system from IEO

Delcath Systems, Inc. announced today that it has received the first commercial order for the Company's Hepatic CHEMOSAT Delivery System from the European Institute of Oncology (Instituto Europeo di Oncologia – IEO) –a premier cancer treatment and research center in Europe.

20 Mar 2012

Jennerex initiates JX-594 plus irinotecan Phase 1/2 trial in metastatic colorectal cancer

Jennerex, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class targeted oncolytic virus products for cancer, today announced that the first patient has been treated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of JX-594 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have become refractory to chemotherapy and are either refractory to or ineligible for cetuximab.

20 Mar 2012

Mayo Clinic researchers train mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within

Mayo Clinic researchers have trained mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within, using a genetic combination of human DNA from melanoma cells and a cousin of the rabies virus. The strategy, called cancer immunotherapy, uses a genetically engineered version of the vesicular stomatitis virus to deliver a broad spectrum of genes derived from melanoma cancer cells directly into tumors.

20 Mar 2012

IOB, Delcath to launch CHEMOSAT system for Spanish cancer patients

Delcath Systems, Inc. announced today that the Company has entered into an initial launch and training agreement for the Delcath Hepatic CHEMOSAT Delivery system with the Instituto Oncologico Baselga (IOB), Grupo Quiron—a private hospital located in Barcelona, Spain.

19 Mar 2012

Top-line data from Provectus' PH-10 Phase 2 trial on plaque psoriasis

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announced top-line data for the company's randomized controlled trial (RCT) of PH-10 for mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis.

19 Mar 2012

Oral BRAF inhibitor can extend survival to 16 months for patients with MM

An international team of researchers from the United States and Australia, including researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that the oral BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (PLX4032) when tested in a phase II clinical trial offered a high rate of response in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma and who had the BRAF mutation.

17 Mar 2012