International Oncology Network - Cancer & Hematology News

Peter Hofland, PhD's Blog – September 2009 Archive (15)

Everolimus (Afinitor®) Licensed in UK for Advanced Kidney Cancer

Everolimus (Afinitor®, Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland) has recently been licensed in the United Kingdom for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer after failure of treatments which prevent the growth of the tumor’s blood vessels. The growth of the blood vessels are essential for the cancer to survive. The European Commission (EC) approved everolimus for this use on 3rd August 2009 for patients with advanced kidney cancer whose disease progressed on or after treatment with VEGF-targeted… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 24, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

FDA approves New Single-Pill Combination of valsartan and aliskiren to Treat High Blood Pressure

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new single-pill combination of aliskiren and valsartan tablets (Valturna; Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland), the first and only medicine to target two key points within the renin system, also known as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system or RAAS, an important regulator of blood pressure.

This is the first approval for the single-pill combination of aliskiren and valsartan, which is indicated for the treatment… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 17, 2009 at 10:29pm — No Comments

Anemic Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes Gain Long-Term Benefits From Erythropoietin and Myeloid Growth Factor Hormones

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), a group of blood disorders that can lead to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in some patients, often cause severe anemia (when the body lacks a sufficient number of functional red blood cells). While certain treatments can help manage the symptoms of anemia, some studies have suggested that they may lead to complications.

Now a new study demonstrates that MDS patients with anemia may benefit from treatment with an erythropoietin (EPO)-based… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 17, 2009 at 10:24pm — No Comments

Effective Cancer Drugs May Increase Risk of Adverse Effects, Report Says

Three drugs, including tamoxifen, reduce a woman's chance of getting breast cancer, but each drug carries distinct potential harms of its own, according to a new report from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Drugs to reduce the risk of breast cancer can be prescribed to women with a family history of breast cancer or other risk factors, but prescribing practices vary widely. The comparative effectiveness… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 15, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Particle Beam Radiation Therapy Promising but Unproven for Treating Cancer

Particle beam radiation therapy, a technology used to treat several types of cancer, is considered by some clinicians to be better than traditional radiation, but there is limited evidence about its safety compared with other types of radiation therapy, according to a new comparative effectiveness report funded by the Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 14, 2009 at 4:55pm — No Comments

Society to Fund Research Focused on Long-Term and Late Effects of Cancer Treatment

Over the past decades, cure rates for many cancers have improved dramatically. The harsh reality is, however, that too many cancer survivors suffer serious side-effects of their curative treatments. Toxic side-effects can occur months or years after the treatments are finished, sometimes as chronic conditions, sometimes life-threatening, but always unacceptably reducing a patient's quality of life.

While research continues to seek new safe and effective drugs, what… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 14, 2009 at 4:30pm — No Comments

New test can help identify Ovarian Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today cleared a test that can help detect ovarian cancer in a pelvic mass that is already known to require surgery. The test, called OVA1, helps patients and health care professionals decide what type of surgery should be done and by whom.

OVA1 identifies some women who will benefit from referral to a gynecological oncologist for their surgery, despite negative results from other clinical and radiographic tests for ovarian… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 11, 2009 at 10:10pm — No Comments

A New Stem Cell Identification Technology Could Potentially Offer a Cure for Breast Cancer

Genova Biotherapeutics (1461 A. First Ave #360, New York, NY 10021-2209, phone +1 646-845-1920) a bioscience company developing novel therapeutic proteins that are designed to disrupt the advance of life-threatening cancers, today, released important information about its innovative method for destroying breast cancer cells, using stem cell technology.

The approach is based on cutting-edge technology that enables… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 11, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

AIP UniPHY, a New Web Tool for Physicists, Promises to Enhance Collaboration and Speed in Science

A physicist created the World Wide Web in 1989 as a tool for helping far-flung scientific collaborators share data, and in the two decades since its invention, the Web has changed the world. Now a new Web-based tool for the physics community, called AIP UniPHY, promises to help physicists change the world again.

Announced today by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and Collexis Holdings, Inc., AIP UniPHY is a scientific networking site geared towards physical… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 8, 2009 at 4:45pm — No Comments

50 Millionth Unique Chemical Substance Recorded in CAS REGISTRY

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society, announced that on September 7 it recorded the 50 millionth substance in CAS REGISTRY, the world's most comprehensive and high-quality compendium of publicly disclosed chemical information. The recently registered substance is a novel arylmethylidene heterocycle with analgesic properties. Reaching the 50 million mark so quickly is an indicator of the accelerating pace of scientific knowledge. CAS registered the… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 8, 2009 at 4:34pm — No Comments

CDC Awards Millions for Colorectal Cancer Screening Program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded a total of $22 million to 26 states and tribal organizations to provide colorectal cancer screening services for low–income people aged 50–64 years, who are underinsured or uninsured. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women aged 50 and older in the United States.

The awards range from $358,283 to $1.1 million. The awardees are expected to begin screening patients… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 8, 2009 at 3:11pm — No Comments

Rituximab (MabThera) approved in Europe for use in patients with previously-treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffman-La Roche (CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland) today announced that the European Commission (European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products/EMEA) has approved rituximab (MabThera, known as Rituxan in the United States, Japan and Canada) for use in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL is is a blood and bone marrow disease that usually se slowly… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 3, 2009 at 10:09pm — No Comments

Valrubicin May Fill Unmet Need In Aggressive Form of Bladder Cancer

Specialty pharmaceutical company Endo Pharmaceuticals (100 Endo Boulevard, Chadds Ford, PA 19317, (610)558-9800) engaged in the research, development, sale and marketing of branded and generic prescription pharmaceuticals used to treat and manage pain, overactive bladder, prostate cancer and the early onset of puberty in children, or central precocious puberty (CPP), today announced the availability of valrubicin (Valstar™) for the treatment of a distinct form of bladder cancer.…

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Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 3, 2009 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Interim Phase II Data Supports Potential of Cotara for Treatment of Brain Cancer

Interim data from a lead clinical site in ongoing phase II clinical study evaluating Cotara, a monoclonal antibody that targets the DNA of cancer cells and carries a radioactive isotope, in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, presented at XIV World Congress of Neurological Surgery (hosted by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) from August 30-September 4, 2009 in Boston, USA), shows that the new treatment is generally well tolerated with… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 2, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

A Fifth of People with Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Die Prematurely Because the NHS Won't Fund New Life-extending Drugs

The results of a new British survey, launched today by the UK MDS Patient Support Group, shows that almost a fifth (18 percent) of patients suffering from myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), malfunctions of the bone marrow in producing the correct quantity and quality of blood cells, could have lived for longer if they had been able to access treatments that are currently not approved by NICE, the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, for treatment on the NHS (UK National… Continue

Added by Peter Hofland, PhD on September 2, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments