Melanoma News and Research

Latest Melanoma News and Research

Skin cancer patients may benefit from smaller surgical margins

Many skin cancer patients fare just as well when surgeons remove about one inch of normal-looking tissue around the lesion instead of a larger safety margin, according to a new systematic review.

7 Oct 2009

PDS Biotechnology's Versamune-based immunotherapy drug demonstrates safety in preclinical studies

PDS Biotechnology Corporation today announced that the company has completed GLP toxicology studies of its lead HPV-cancer product. The studies, which included pharmacokinetic (PK) and adsorption, bio-distribution and excretion (ADE) studies in addition to the evaluation of toxicity, all demonstrated a very safe profile of the drug and PDS Biotech's platform Versamune((TM)) technology.

6 Oct 2009

FDA Advisory Committee approves Peginterferon alfa-2b for treating metastatic melanoma

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the FDA Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee voted in favor of recommending approval of PEGINTRON® as a treatment in addition to surgery in patients with metastatic melanoma.

6 Oct 2009

Schering-Plough receives FDA recommendation approval for PEGINTRON

Schering-Plough Corp. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended approval by a vote of six to four for PEGINTRON® (pegylated interferon alfa-2b) in the adjuvant treatment of patients with Stage III malignant melanoma.

6 Oct 2009

Ontario government's promise regarding UV radiation from artificial tanning equipment not fulfilled

The Ontario government made a promise last year to look into protecting our youth from the harmful effects of UV radiation from artificial tanning equipment.

3 Oct 2009

NEDD9 protein stimulates aggressive metastatic breast cancer

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have demonstrated that a protein called NEDD9 may be required for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to grow. Their findings, based on the study of a mouse model of breast cancer, are presented in a recent issue of Cancer Research, available on-line now.

3 Oct 2009

Phase 1b clinical trial results of PEG-Interferon lambda to be presented

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZGEN) announced that final results from a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with hepatitis C (HCV) treated with PEG-Interferon lambda, a new class of interferon, in combination with ribavirin will be presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) annual meeting October 30–November 3, 2009, in Boston.

3 Oct 2009

Provectus Pharmaceuticals commences Phase 1 study of PV-10 for liver cancer

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has initiated a Phase 1 study of PV-10 for liver cancer. The study will enroll up to six subjects with cancer metastatic to the liver or with recurrent liver cancer. PV-10 is the company’s lead oncology drug candidate that is also currently undergoing Phase 2 study for metastatic melanoma.

1 Oct 2009

Scientists report new development for diagnosing malignant melanoma

Scientists in Australia are reporting development and testing in laboratory animals of a potential new material for diagnosing malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Their study is scheduled for the September 10 issue of the ACS' Journal of the Medicinal Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

1 Oct 2009

Plexxikon commences patient dosage in PLX4032 trials for metastatic melanoma

Plexxikon Inc. announces that enrollment has been initiated and the first patient has been treated in the first of two pivotal trials of PLX4032 (RG7204) in patients with metastatic melanoma. PLX4032 is a novel, oral and highly selective drug that targets the BRAFV600E cancer-causing mutation occurring in about 50 percent of melanomas and about eight percent of all solid tumors.

30 Sep 2009

World’s first Cesium-131 implant for recurrent head and neck cancer performed

IsoRay, Inc. (Amex: ISR) announced today that on August 5, 2009, Dr. Bhupesh Parashar from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. David Kutler of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, and Dr. Jason Spector of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world’s first Cesium-131 implant for a recurrent head and neck cancer (buccal mucosa).

28 Sep 2009

Non-AIDS-defining malignancies more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that non-AIDS-defining malignancies such as anal and lung cancer have become more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients since the introduction of anti-retroviral therapies in the mid-1990s.

25 Sep 2009

NCI awards Altor Bioscience a $3 MM grant to develop its targeted cancer therapeutic ALT-801

Altor BioScience Corporation announced today that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Bridge Grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The award of $3 MM over three years will help Altor further its clinical development of ALT-801, a novel tumor-targeted immunotherapeutic designed to improve the efficacy and safety of the FDA-approved anticancer cytokine, interleukin-2 (IL-2).

25 Sep 2009

Research study supports reovirus and cisplatin combination for cancer treatment

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. ('Oncolytics') reported today that research led by Prof. Hardev Pandha of the Royal Surrey County Hospital, U.K., was published September 22, 2009 in the online version of Clinical Cancer Research.

25 Sep 2009

CTRC commences patient enrolment in Phase 2 clinical trial of REOLYSIN for metastatic melanoma

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced today that the Cancer Therapy Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center (CTRC) has started patient enrolment in a U.S. Phase 2 clinical trial using intravenous administration of REOLYSIN(R) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with metastatic melanoma.

24 Sep 2009

Researchers make significant advances in the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma

Researchers have made significant advances in the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma - one of the most difficult cancers to treat successfully once it has started to spread - according to a study to be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 - ESMO 34, in Berlin on Thursday.

23 Sep 2009

Phase 1 extension study results of Plexxikon's PLX4032 in metastatic melanoma patients encouraging

Plexxikon Inc. today announced encouraging clinical data from a Phase 1 extension study of PLX4032 (RG7204) in metastatic melanoma patients, which expand the results announced from the initial phase of the study. PLX4032 is a novel, oral and highly selective drug that targets the BRAFV600E cancer-causing mutation that occurs in about 50 percent of melanomas and about eight percent of all solid tumors.

23 Sep 2009

Melanoma patients could be spared from unnecessary surgery

Researchers have shown for the first time that patterns of ultrasound signals can be used to identify whether or not cancer has started to spread in melanoma patients, and to what extent. The discovery enables doctors to decide on how much surgery, if any, is required and to predict the patient's probable survival.

23 Sep 2009