Medical News Today: Oncology News

A new study from Sweden suggests that the of risk of prostate cancer in men with a known family history of the disease could be inflated because such men are more likely to seek a diagnosis, further intensifying the controversial debate on whether PSA testing does more harm than good...

NICE is issuing a second consultation document as part of its appraisal of bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with chemotherapy (oxaliplatin and either 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine) for treating metastatic colorectal cancer. This second draft of the guidance does not recommend bevacizumab for this indication. This draft guidance has been issued for consultation...

The protein Hsp90 plays a significant role in the survival of cells that are exposed to stress. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) uncovered this protein's mode of operation some time ago - but now Hsp90 has surprised even the experts with an unexpected pattern of motion...

Chemotherapy, while an effective cancer treatment, also brings debilitating side effects such as nausea, liver toxicity and a battered immune system. Now, a new way to deliver this life-saving therapy to cancer patients - getting straight to the source of the disease - has been invented by Dr...

By creating a unique system of blood vessels that is engineered to interact with the tissue surrounding an implanted device, the longevity and function of these devices may be better preserved, according to a study led by researchers in the University of Louisville/ Jewish Hospital's Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (CII)...

Regular alcohol intake raises the risk of developing lobular and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, but does not appear to be linked to invasive ductal carcinoma risk, says a report published in JNCI (Journal of the National Cancer Institute), August 23rd issue...

The SUN 1087 trial of Stutent (sunitinib malate) combined with erlotinib versus just elrotinib did not improve overall survival in patients with previously treated NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer), Pfizer Inc. informs. However, the combination therapy did demonstrate a significant improvement in progression free survival....

Steffi Oesterreich, Ph.D., an expert in estrogen receptor biology and action, has been appointed director of education for the newly formed Women's Cancer Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI). Her appointment was effective Aug. 1. "We are excited to have Dr. Oesterreich join the UPCI family," said Nancy E. Davidson, M...

Workers at a Scottish semi-conductor plant are not at increased risk of developing occupational cancers, new research suggests. An independent investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) has concluded that earlier concerns about occupational cancer at the National Semiconductors UK (NSUK) factory in Greenock were unfounded...

A new analysis has found that short-term and long-term costs of prostate cancer care vary considerably based on which treatment strategy a man initially receives. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study finds that treatments that may be less expensive in the short-term may have higher long-term costs...

Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for a number of diseases and thus, is a growing concern worldwide, as approximately one billion people may be vitamin D deficient. However, the biological basis for vitamin D deficiency predisposing to disease is poorly understood...

After decades of dreaming the drug developer's impossible dream, scientists finally are reporting progress in making drugs that target the "untouchables" among the body's key players in health and disease. They are the hundreds of thousands of proteins that many scientists considered to be "undruggable," meaning that previous efforts to develop a drug against them had failed...

Archimedes Pharma, an emerging specialty pharma company focused on oncology, pain, neurology and critical care sectors, announced the location of its new US headquarters in Bedminster, New Jersey. Archimedes has offices in a number of European countries and markets a range of therapeutics in Europe...

A new analysis has found that while colon cancer rates have remained steady over the past several decades among people under the age of 40, rectal cancer rates are increasing in this population across races and in both sexes...

Changes to proteins in a cell underlay many cancers. Rui Martinho at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, in collaboration with researchers in Ghent (Belgium) and Bergen (Norway) will use the fruit fly to understand exactly how changes to proteins, identified in the test-tube, impact on the way cells divide in a living organism...

EpiCept Corporation (Nasdaq and Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange: EPCT) announced that it received a refusal to file letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the New Drug Application (NDA) for Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride)...

The Melanoma Research Alliance ("MRA") today announced $5.2 million in grants to support six multidisciplinary teams pursuing innovative, translational research approaches designed to benefit melanoma patients...

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center have identified two drugs that, when combined, may serve as an effective treatment for HIV...

A precedent-setting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, August 19 demonstrates definitively that early referrals to palliative care prolongs life for patients living with metastatic lung cancer...

A combination of radiotherapy and drug treatment can be substantially more effective in treating cervical cancer that radiotherapy alone, says an audit published by The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR). The audit, appearing in the September 2010 edition of the RCR journal, Clinical Oncology, looked at over 1200 patients treated with radiotherapy in UK cancer centres in 2001 and 2002...