Cancer Treatment

Sandostatin LAR Depot Controls Rare Gastrointestinal Tumor Growth

Sandostatin LAR Depot (octreotide acetate suspension for injection) demonstrated antitumor benefit in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the midgut, according to interim data presented today at the 2009 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. After six months of treatment, patients receiving Sandostatin LAR had a 66% reduction in risk [...]

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RAD001 Trial Results Positive In Patients With Advanced Gastric Cancer

Data show RAD001 (also known as everolimus; proposed brand name Afinitor) halted tumor growth in 55% of patients with advanced gastric cancer, a condition for which there are limited treatment options. In addition, 45% of patients in the study demonstrated some tumor shrinkage. The data will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s [...]

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Oral Xeloda Plus Oxaliplatin Is Comparable To FOLFOX As Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Overall survival results from a 14-month follow-up of the international, Phase III NO16966 study confirm that oral Xeloda plus oxaliplatin (XELOX) is comparable to a current standard treatment, FOLFOX-4 (infused 5-FU/leucovorin plus oxaliplatin) in the first-line treatment of advanced (metastatic) colorectal cancer. In the study, patients receiving XELOX lived for a median of 19.0 months, [...]

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Abnormal DNA repair genes may predict pancreatic cancer risk

Abnormalities in genes that repair mistakes in DNA replication may help identify people who are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a research team from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. Defects in these critical DNA repair genes may act alone [...]

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Teenage Immigrant Survived Cancer, Built A New Life

No one who survives life-threatening cancer emerges from that dark tunnel the same person who entered. In her new memoir, “It Gets Better!”, Maria Machado Munroe draws together her experiences as a teenage cancer patient and her struggles and joys in building a new life for herself. By telling her story in clear and powerful [...]

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Dartmouth researchers identify potential cancer target

Dartmouth Medical School researchers have found two proteins that work in concert to ensure proper chromosome segregation during cell division. Their study is in the January 2009 issue of the journal Nature Cell Biology. This finding is relevant for solid cancerous tumors treatment that lose the ability to accurately segregate their chromosomes. Tumors that shuffle [...]

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Scientist Presents New Breast Cancer Imaging Method

Flemming Forsberg, Ph.D., professor of Radiology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, presents updated results on the effect of using subharmonic imaging (SHI) in determining a breast cancer diagnosis at the Fifth Era of Hope meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. SHI – a new breast cancer imaging technique – appears to improve the diagnosis [...]

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Cancer Killing Viruses Influence Tumor Blood-Vessel Growth

Viruses genetically designed to kill cancer cells offer a promising strategy for treating incurable brain tumors such as glioblastoma, but the body’s natural defenses often eliminate the viruses before they can eliminate the tumor. The findings of an animal study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center help explain why this happens [...]

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Gardasil Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting To CDC

On June 8, 2006, the FDA licensed Gardasil, the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer caused by certain kinds of human papillomavirus (HPV). Since then, more than 12 million doses of Gardasil vaccine have been distributed. However, CDC also received 7,802 reports on side effects of Gardasil. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) [...]

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Complaints Cause Gardasil Cervical Cancer Vaccine Scrutiny

Cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil is not as safe as we thought. I woke up this morning to CNN American Morning and the breaking news that the Gardasil HPV vaccine has been implicated in deaths and various illnesses across the country. According to the CDC, the vaccine has been the subject of almost 8,000 complaints, ranging [...]

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Cancer Drug Avastin’s Quality, Price Questioned

Cancer drug Avastin is found to cost more than it should, taking into consideration the fact that it doesn’t significantly improve quality of life or prolong. Avastin or bevacizumab is a drug made by Genentech. It is already approved by FDA for breast, lung, and colon cancers. This cancer treatment drug works by inhibiting vascular [...]

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Method Evaluates Variations Identified In Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes

Using mouse embryonic stem cells, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a new method to evaluate which mutations, or changes, in a gene known to increase breast cancer susceptibility, may lead to cancer. The new test, called a functional assay, is more comprehensive and reliable [...]

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