International Oncology Network - Cancer & Hematology News

December 2009 Blog Posts (40)

First Novel Dual mTOR Inhibitor for the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Patients with advanced (PR)-negative/HER-2-negative tumors present a therapeutic challenge for oncologists. Although advances in early detection and adjuvant therapy have made a favorable impact, there are currently no effective therapeutic cures. Treatment is primarily aimed at palliation of symptoms as well as improving overall survival. Hormonal, targeted and chemotherapeutic strategies largely depend on the expression of their cognate receptors and are often accompanied by intolerable… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 31, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Scientists Unveil Genetic Code for Skin and Lung Cancer

Research teams led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute announced that they have sequenced the malignant melanoma and lung cancer cell genomes. Their data has been reported in back to back publications in this months issue of Nature. The studies reveal for the first time essentially all the mutations in malignant melanoma and lung cancer.

To map the cancer genomes, the researchers sequenced a… Continue

Added by Roxanne Engel, PhD on December 29, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Understanding How New Health Care Reform Will Have Major Impact on Oncology Practice

Federal legislation on health care reform and coverage expansion is expected to have a major impact on healthcare and, especially, cancer care in the United States. The potential impact could be severe as some of the reforms will fundamentally change the way how the federal government pays for cancer care. Although the magnitude of proposed changes are not yet clear, community oncology professionals need to know how this legislation impacts them, their community practice and their… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 24, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Treats 10,000th Patient with Leksell Gamma Knife Radiosurgery System

On the morning of December 17, 2009, Physicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) used Gamma Knife® surgery to treat the center's 10,000th patient, an 81-year-old male with a tumor deep in his brainstem, a site where traditional surgery would have been impossible. Gamma Knife surgery was performed using Elekta's Leksell Gamma Knife system, which directs up to 201… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 22, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Europe Grants Orphan Drug Designation for Pixantrone in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has granted an orphan drug designation for pixantrone (BBR 2778, pixantrone dimaleate), an experimental topoisomerase II inhibitor with an aza-anthracenedione molecular structure, used for the treatment of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 21, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

John Theurer Cancer Center Present Cutting-Edge Research Results at ASH Annual Meeting

Doctors and researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, management, research, screenings, and preventive care as well as survivorship of patients with all types of cancer, recently presented research updates and clinical trial results of more than 20 innovative studies during the annual meeting of the… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 18, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Brachytherapy Used for the First Time in United States to Treat Lung Cancer

A 58-year-old man who lives in Corona, Queens came to the emergency room of New York Hospital Queens (NYHQ) with extreme pain and tingling in his left arm. Although he did not realize it at the time, he had lung cancer. Recently, he made medical history as the first patient in the United States to be treated for lung cancer through the use of radioactive pellets placed directly in the tumor, and today his recovery is going well. Known as brachytherapy, this treatment approach is commonly… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 17, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Defense Appropriations Bill Includes New Cancer Research Program

As a result of advocacy efforts of C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization seeking to eliminate suffering and death due to colorectal cancer, $15 million for a new peer reviewed cancer research program is included in the final Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill. This new cancer research program will research cancers, like colorectal cancer, that are not addressed in the… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 16, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Denosumab Superior to Zoledronic Acid in Reducing Incidence of Skeletal-Related Events in Breast Cancer Patients with Bone Metastases

Data presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium demonstrates that treatment with denosumab is superior to the standard of care in advanced breast cancer patients. The trial results show that among patients with bone metastasis from breast cancer, denosumab was superior to zoledronic acid in reducing the incidence of complications from bone metastases.

"Denosumab prevented more events, was better tolerated and is more convenient for patients," said Alison… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 15, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Bisphosphonates and the Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer

Bisphosphonates are routinely given to women with postmenopausal breast cancer, but new data suggest that these agents may play an important role in reducing recurrent breast cancer as well. Results of a new trial demonstrated that the use of bisphosphonates was associated with a 29% reduction in the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. The results were presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 15, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Study Finds Racial Disparities Exist in Radiation Therapy Rates for Early Stage Breast Cancer

Black women are less likely than white women to receive radiation therapy after a lumpectomy, the standard of care for early stage breast cancer, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The largest of its kind and the first to examine such racial disparities in radiation therapy, the study was published today in… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 14, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Alcohol Consumption May Increase Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence – Greater Risk for Obese Women

Women who drink alcohol have an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence, a study shows. Moderate to heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages (at least three to four drinks per week) is associated with a 1.3-fold increased risk of breast cancer recurrence. Women who are postmenopausal or overweight may be most susceptible to the effects of alcohol on recurrence.

Drinking fewer than three drinks per week was not associated with an increased risk.

Marilyn L. Kwan,… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 14, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Oral Bisphosphonates May Significantly Reduce Breast Cancer

Results of a new analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) observational study showed that women who used bisphosphonates, which are commonly prescribed bone-strengthening pills, had significantly fewer invasive breast cancers than women who did not use bisphosphonates. These findings were presented at the CRTC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 14, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

New Targeted Drug for Advanced Thymic Cancer May Bring Hope to Patients

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking medical research in oncology, neurological disorders and diabetes, and Scottsdale Healthcare are testing a new drug specifically for thymic cancer. The new drug candidate is designed to stop abnormal cell division and duplication, a common feature of cancer.

The thymus, a small organ that lies in the upper chest under the… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 12, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Final Follow-Up of Z-FAST Study Shows that Zoledronic Acid May Benefit Postmenopausal Woman with Aromatase Inhibitor-Associated Bone Loss

Zoledronic acid is both safe and effective in preventing bone loss in postmenopausal women with breast cancer who are treated with aromatase inhibitors, according to data presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"Women who take aromatase inhibitors need some sort of bone protection, and this five-year data show that zoledronic acid is a… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 12, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

DM1, an Investigational Antibody-Drug Conjugate, Shows Encouraging Results in Women With Highly Advanced HER2-positive Breast Cancer

Results of a Phase II study of trastuzumab (Herceptin®, Genentech) in combination with DM1 (T-DM1), an investigational HER2 antibody-drug conjugate being developed by Genentech, in collaboration with Roche and Immunogen, Inc., shows encouraging results in… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 12, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

FDA Grants BSI-201 Fast Track Designation for Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-aventis and its wholly-owned subsidiary, BiPar Sciences, announced today that the clinical development program in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) for the investigational PARP1 inhibitor, BSI-201, progresses as planned with the Phase III study meeting expectations on patient accrual and trial site coverage in the United… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 11, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Treatment Combination Improves Breast Cancer Survival Rates

Patients who are being treated for a certain type of advanced breast cancer for the second time may get better results if a drug that interferes with the blood supply to tumors is added to their therapy, according to a University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) study presented on earlier today during the 2009 during the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 11, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Eating Pistachios Increases Serum Levels of Gamma-tocopherol, May Help in Reducing Lung Cancer Risk

A diet that incorporates a daily dose of pistachios may help reduce the risk of lung and other cancers, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9.

"It is known that vitamin E provides a degree… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 8, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Xanthohumol From Hops Has Anti-androgenic Activity, May Prevent Prostate Cancer

The natural compound xanthohumol blocks the effects of the male hormone testosterone, therefore aiding in the prevention of prostate cancer.

"We hope that one day we can demonstrate that xanthohumol prevents prostate cancer development, first in animal models and then in humans, but we are just at the beginning," said Clarissa Gerhauser, Ph.D., group leader of cancer chemoprevention in the Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Risk Factors at the German Cancer Research… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on December 8, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments