The European Commission has approved vemurafenib (Zelboraf^TM, Roche) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with BRAF V600 mutationpositive unresectable or metastatic melanoma. This form of melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Vemurafenib is designed to target and inhibit mutated forms of the BRAF protein found in about half of all cases of melanoma.



When melanoma is…

Faced with the inevitability of death in late-stage palliative cancer care, relief of distress, optimized well-being and good caregiving during the final stage of life become primary treatment goals. A new study from Karolinska Institutet and Umeå University shows that non-pharmacological caregiving at the end of life in specialized palliative care is not as basic as one might…

The use of an injectable, clot-preventing drug known as Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) to treat patients with advanced cancer complicated by blood clots increased steadily between 2000 and 2007, according to a new study published in The Oncologist (February 14, 2012), funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by Kaiser Permanente…

Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute (Tampa, Florida)  has received a new patent for a computerized system that efficiently selects the right patient for the right clinical trial. The newly patented system matches a registered patient's own molecular profile, warehoused in a database of thousands of patient-donated biological tissue or tumor samples, to the molecular design of the drug aimed at targeting their…

According to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) in January 2012, Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI), also known as Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging or BSGI, can detect cancers missed by the two most common breast imaging studies, mammography and ultrasound. To clearly differentiate between benign from malignant tissue after mammography, phycians perform BSGI/MBI. In this procedure a patient receives a…

A new prospective study of patients with Lynch syndrome, an inherited disorder of cancer susceptibility caused by mutations in specific DNA repair genes, provides the first strong evidence that people with Lynch syndrome face significantly increased risks of breast and pancreatic cancers. The study also provided new, clearer estimates of the risks of cancers already recognized to be associated with Lynch syndrome, including those of the colon, uterus, ovary, kidney, stomach and…

Scientists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute have demonstrated that entinostat (Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a class I benzamide histone deacetylase inhibitor also known as SNDX-275 and MS-275, has novel immunomodulatory properties that contribute to the enhanced activity of cancer immunotherapies in models of renal and prostate cancer.



Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are key enzymes that alter the…

While more men are being diagnosed with the prostate cancer, fewer are dying from the disease. Data from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries and the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in 2012, incidence rates of prostate cancer will increase slightly, while death rates from the disease will decrease. In 2011, 33,720 men died from the disease,…

A new study published in Molecular Therapy shows that JX-594, a first-in-class targeted oncolytic virus products for cancer being developed by Jennerex, Inc selectively targets and kills a broad range of cancer cells.



The study demonstrated that JX-594's cancer-selectivity was multi-mechanistic and…

Soy isoflavone supplements did not decrease breast cancer cell proliferation in a randomized clinical trial, according to a study published in the February 2012 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.



Lead researcher Seema A. Khan, M.D., professor of surgery at the…

A randomized phase III international trial presented at the fourth annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, being held February 2-4, 2012, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, CA, USA, shows for the first time that an investigational oral drug that halts androgen signaling significantly improves overall survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).…

A randomized, phase III, multi-national study, presented at fourth annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, being held February 2-4, 2012, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, CA, USA, shows that a novel radiation-emitting agent that targets bone – and aimed at treating bone metastases – both improved survival and delayed cancer-related bone problems in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The agent, radium-223 chloride or Ra-223…

An analysis of more than 100,000 prostate cancer patients, presented the fourth annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, being held February 2-4, 2012, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, Ca, USA, shows that treatment with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) resulted in higher long-term toxicities and treatment-related costs than prostatectomy and brachytherapy, two other common treatments for the disease. The results provide valuable insight that may…

Researchers at Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) today presented study results in which they conclude that a combination drug therapy may be needed to combat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).



Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is characterized by a remarkable variety of genomic alterations and point…

A large comparative effectiveness study presented at the fourth annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, being held February 2-4, 2012, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, Ca, USA, shows that men with localized prostate cancer who are treated with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or IMRT are less likely to experience cancer recurrences or significant side effects from treatment than those who receive conventional conformal radiation therapy…

Men with early-stage prostate cancer who exercise vigorously at least three hours a week have more than 180 genes that are expressed differently in the prostate gland than those who did not exercise as intensively. These genes include known tumor suppressor genes and DNA repair pathways, suggesting that a better understanding of the molecular effects of exercise may guide development of strategies to prevent or delay cancer progression.



The results of the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vismodegib (Erivedge™, Roche/Genentech), the first medicine for adults with a type of skin cancer, called advanced or metastatic basal cell carcinoma or BCC, that has spread to other parts of the body or that has come back after surgery or that their healthcare provider decides cannot be treated with surgery or radiation. The new drug is a first-in-class Hedgehog Pathway…

Earlier today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency has approved axitinib (Inlyta®, Pfizer Inc) to treat patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who have not responded to another drug for this type of cancer. Axitinib helps keep the cancer from progressing.…

A new study finds the percentage of U.S. citizens screened for cancer remains below national targets, with significant disparities among racial and ethnic populations. The data comes from the first federal study to identify cancer screening disparities among Asian and Hispanic groups. The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of…

Routine use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans in head and neck cancer patient follow-up can detect local recurrences before they become clinically apparent and may improve the outcome of subsequent salvage therapy, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, held from January 26-28, 2012 in the Biltmore, Phoenix, Arizona.



Extracranial head-and-neck carcinomas constitute of less…