Scientists from the National University Hospital of Iceland and the University of Iceland together with researchers at deCODE genetics and Illumina, reported today in the journal Nature[1] that they…

To improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, a more accurate serum diagnostic method is required. Now researchers have developed a new diagnostic test that uses a scientific technique known as metabolomic analysis that may be a safe and easy screening method.The researchers believe that this new test may improve the prognosis, offering patients with pancreatic cancer a real survival advantage through earlier detection.

According to data from the…

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center have identified a humanized monoclonal antibody specific for CD44 (RG7356) that targets and directly kills chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. The adhesion molecule CD44 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is overexpressed in a number of solid tumor and hematologic malignancies and is associated with a poor prognosis. The findings, published in…

Earlier today the first patient has been enrolled in the pivotal pediatric phase III study to evaluate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of recombinant fusion protein linking coagulation factor IX with recombinant albumin (rIX-FP) in previously treated children (up to age 11 years). The study site for this first enrollment is the Czech Republic.

Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder characterized by prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, especially into the muscles…

Deferasirox (Exjade®, Novartis) is the first oral treatment approved in the EU for chronic iron overload in patients with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT) syndromes. A pivotal placebo-controlled study data shows that the drug significantly decreases iron burden in NTDT patients versus placebo, with similar overall adverse event rate[1]

Worldwide, at least…

A glass plate with a nanoscale roughness could be a simple way for scientists to capture and study the circulating tumor cells (CTC) that carry cancer around the body through the bloodstream (illustration). Engineering and medical researchers at the …

Clinical and pre-clinical data presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in Atlanta, GA, December 8 - 11, 2012, demonstrates that the investigational agent PCI-32765 (ibrutinib; Pharmacyclics®) offers prolonged progression free survival with a manageable and predictable safety profile in high unmet need indications in relapsed and refractory, high risk, advanced CLL/SLL and MCL patients and…

Researchers conducting a preclinical study in mice successfully used targeted molecular therapy to block mostly untreatable nerve tumors that develop in people with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report their findings online December 10, 2012 in the Journal of Clinical…

Results of the Phase III AMPLIFY-EXT trial (Apixaban after the initial Management of PuLmonary embolIsm and deep vein thrombosis with First-line therapY-EXTended Treatment) evaluating the prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in 2,486 patients who had already completed 6 to 12 months of anticoagulation treatment for VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) shows that apixaban (Eliquiq®, Bristol-Myers…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for eltrombopag (Promacta®/Revolade®; GSK/GlaxoSmithKline), a thrombopoietin receptor agonist.  The new indication approves eltrombopag for the treatment of thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet counts) in patients…

Research led by a team of researchers working at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN and the Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project have identified a fusion gene responsible for nearly 30% of a rare subtype of childhood leukemia with an extremely poor prognosis.

This unique finding offers the first evidence of a mistake that gives rise to a significant percentage of acute megakaryoblastic…

New findings that highlight the challenges of managing thromboembolic events in patients being treated for cancer were released at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna (September 28 - October 2, 2012).

Venous thromboembolism causes symptoms in about 3 to 4% of cancer patients whose chemotherapy drugs are delivered via a central venous catheter, commented Fausto Roila, M.D. from Medical Oncology Department, Terni,…

A new educational approach helps children with sickle cell disease complete MRI tests without sedation. Sitting still is tough for young children, making MRI scans a challenge. The scans require that patients remain motionless for extended periods. Findings from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital showed that a brief, targeted intervention dramatically increases the likelihood that children as young as 5 years old will be able to undergo testing without sedation.

That is…

Research published in Nature Medicine shows that boosting a protein pathway in the body's blood making system protects mice from otherwise fatal radiation poisoning. Scientists in the multi-institutional study – posted online by the journal on June 24, 2012 – say their findings open the potential for new treatments against radiation toxicity during cancer treatment or environmental…

An experimental treatment that combines intense chemotherapy with a radioactive isotope linked to synthesized neurotransmitter is being tested in newly diagnosed cases of high-risk neuroblastoma – a deadly, hard-to-cure childhood cancer.



The experimental radiopharmaceutical, 131I-MIBG, has already been tested in children with relapsed and resistant neuroblastoma, with encouraging results in reducing tumor size. This has prompted doctors in a new…

The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare has added a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplant cancer treatment program through its new Cancer Transplant Institute.



The new cancer treatment program is expected to attract transplant patients from greater Phoenix, across Arizona and the southwestern United States. HSC transplants are primarily used to treat patients with aggressive…

The China State Food & Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved the CellSearch® circulating tumor cell (CTC) test (Veridex) as an in vitro diagnostic for women with metastatic breast cancer. This makes CellSearch® the first and only approved CTC test for cancer patients in China, which is…

A study of community-based exercise for cancer survivors that focused on strength training found such exercise is both safe and effective in terms of physical and psychosocial benefit. The findings are published online in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.



Karen Syrjala, Ph.D., co-director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Survivorship Program, led the study of 221 cancer survivors who took…

The first patients in a Phase I clinical trial of Baxter's lead investigational candidate, BAX 855, a longer-acting (PEGylated) form of a full-length recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) protein received the new drug earlier today. BAX 855 is based on ADVATE (Antihemophilic Factor Recombinant Plasma/Albumin-Free Method) full-length rFVIII molecule and plasma/albumin-free (PAF) manufacturing process marketed by the…

Interim results from a phase I clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin(SGN-35, Adcetris™, Seattle Genetics/Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients were…