Phase III clinical trial results from PRELUDE study, which explored the enzastaurin (Eli Lilly and Company; Lilly Oncology) as a monotherapy in the prevention of relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), failed to show a statistically significant increase compared to placebo…

A new multi-center trial of high dose Interleukin-2 (HD rIL-2; Aldesleukin for Injection/Proleukin®; Prometheus Laboratories Inc, San Diego, CA/Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Emeryville, CA)[1] plus vemurafenib (Zelboraf®, Genentech/Roche) therapy in patients with BRAF ^V600 mutation-positive…

Data from various cancer registries in the United Kingdom shows that Bladder Cancer is a common cancer among men and women in the United Kingdom, with 10.335 new cases diagnosed in 2008. [1][2][3][4] It is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer of the urinary system and accounts for 1 in every 30 new cases. With 7,390 new cases diagnosed in 2008, is a the 4th most common cancer in men [5] and 11th in women (2,945 female cases), giving a male: female ration of…

Date presented at the 2013 Conference of The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) shows promising results for non-surgical cryoablation treatment of breast cancer. The results were presented by Eisuke Fukuma, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Director of Breast Center, Director of Breast Disease Kameda Medical Center in Kamogawa City, Chiba, Japan.

Cryoablation, also be called percutaneous ablation,…

Results of the ASPECCT ('763) trial, a phase III head-to-head study evaluating panitumumab (Vectibix®; Amgen Inc.) versus cetuximab (Erbitux®; ImClone LLC/Eli Lilly and Company and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) as a single agent for the treatment of chemorefractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in patients with wild-type KRAS tumors (n=1,010) met its primary endpoint…

Results from a Phase II trial shows that ibrutinib (also known as PCI-32765; 1-[(3R)-3-[4-amino-3-(4-phenoxyphenyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-1-yl]piperidin-1-yl]prop-2-en-1-one; Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Pharmacyclics), a first-in-class oral therapy that is a selective, irreversible, inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), offers rapid and sustained disease control as a monotherapy in untreated, relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, irrespective of…

In a recently published study, neurosurgeons found that a new MRI-guided laser treatment used for the first time in a human study called NeuroBlate™ Thermal Therapy System (formerly known as AutoLITT™) a from of Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy or LITT, offers them a new, safe and minimally invasive procedure for treating recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), a malignant type of brain tumor.

In the article, published in the April 5, 2013 online edition of the…

In breast cancer screening mammography has been proven to one of the most effective detection mechanisms available. Today, it is considered the only screening options that reduces mortality. However, while mammography is still the gold standard of breast cancer screening, reports show that there is increasing awareness of subpopulations of women for whom mammography has reduced sensitivity. Furthermore, over the last decade, mammography has created much debate because of observed false…

Drugs classified as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have been shown to be promising anticancer agents for breast and ovarian cancers deficient in either BRCA1 or BRCA2. Now, according to data from a preclinical study published in the April 1, 2013 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research,…

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that posttranscriptionally modulate the expression of multiple target genes. They are implicated in a wide range of cellular and developmental processes. The microRNA (miR-155), a short, single strand of ribonucleic acid encoded by the miR-155 host gene, is highly expressed in both activated B and T cells and in monocytes/macrophages. Research has shown that miR-155 levels change dynamically during both hematopoietic lineage differentiation and the…