For the first time, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have isolated adult stem cells from human intestinal tissue. The accomplishment provides a much-needed resource for scientists eager to uncover the true mechanisms of human stem cell biology. It also enables them to ...
Taking a break from hormone-blocking prostate cancer treatments once the cancer seems to be stabilized is not equivalent to continuing therapy, a new large-scale international study finds. Previous smaller studies had indicated that intermittent androgen deprivation therapy might be just as good...
A research team jointly led by scientists from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the University of California, Los Angeles, has enhanced a device they developed to identify and “grab” circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that break away from cancers and enter the blood, often leading to the...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), in conjunction with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Oncology Network/AmerisourceBergen, and the US Oncology Network, issued a joint statement on the crippling effects of sequestration cuts to cancer drugs and services which began April ...
Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) have found that a new formulation of a promising anticancer agent, the small chemical molecule FL118, is even more effective in controlling two types of cancer than a version reported in PLOS ONE 6 months earlier proved to be. Additional evidence...
Men with Lynch syndrome face a higher lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer and appear to develop the disease at an earlier age, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Results of the study appear online in the Journal of Clinical ...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology announced yesterday that it has completed a prototype of CancerLinQ™, the Society’s groundbreaking health information technology (HIT) initiative to achieve higher quality, higher value cancer care with better outcomes for patients. The...
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center have identified a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets and directly kills chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. The findings, published in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of...
New results from a large observational follow-up study conducted in Shanghai, China, indicate that women with lung cancer who consumed more soy food prior to their cancer diagnosis lived longer than those who consumed less soy. The study, published March 25 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,...
A drug that indirectly impairs the function of several cancer-driving proteins, including anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), may be an effective new treatment for patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The drug, ganetespib, may also be effective for treating patients...
New research from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, published in the Journal of Surgical Research, may help clinicians determine which patients are at highest risk for postsurgical blood clots in the legs or lungs. A team led by Robert J. Canter, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery at UC...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) held the NCCN 18th Annual Conference: Advancing the Standard of Cancer Care™, March 13-17, 2013, at The Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida. The latest updates in clinical practice decision-making in cancer care were presented, including, but ...
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a new imaging dye, designed and developed at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, is an effective agent in detecting and mapping cancers that have reached the lymph nodes. The radioactive dye technetium Tc-99m...
A national survey of health professionals showed that drug shortages are taking a heavy toll on cancer patients, forcing treatment changes and delays that for some patients meant worse outcomes, more therapy-related complications, and higher costs. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital...
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have completed a phase II clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of dasatinib (Sprycel) for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, or acute myeloid leukemia resulting from MDS and have failed ...
The overexpression or underexpression of a newly identified set of genes related to lipid metabolism may help physicians identify whether or not a woman is at risk for hormone receptor–positive or hormone receptor–negative breast cancer and to subsequently tailor prevention strategies...
Women with triple-negative breast cancer are more likely to have high levels of the MET biomarker in their tumors, making it a promising new target for cancer drugs according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer. High Levels of MET Expression Scientists from Austria and Greece...
New research published online in Clinical Chemistry, the journal of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, shows that decreased levels of vitamin D may predispose smokers to developing tobacco-related cancer. This study illustrates that simple vitamin D blood tests and supplements have...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office today awarded St. Jude Children's Research Hospital U.S. patent number 8,399,645 for its invention of compositions for genetically modifying human immune cells so they can destroy some of the most common forms of cancer in children and adults. "This...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has announced the results of a national survey of oncology providers about the impact of the sequestration cuts to Medicare payments for cancer drugs and services effective April 1, 2013. The survey revealed that the planned sequestration cuts to cancer...
Women are 30% less likely to die of ovarian cancer if they have guideline-recommended treatment, yet nearly two-thirds of those with the disease do not receive it, often because they are cared for at hospitals that treat a small number of ovarian cancer patients. These are the findings of a study...
Patients with advanced ovarian cancer who undergo intensive treatment with chemotherapy that bathes the abdomen are significantly more likely to live longer than those who receive standard intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, according to a study that analyzed long-term follow-up from two landmark...
The FDA has approved technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept (Lymphoseek Injection), a radioactive diagnostic imaging agent that helps doctors locate lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer or melanoma who are undergoing surgery to remove tumor-draining lymph nodes. Technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept is an...
A team of Canadian and international cancer researchers led by Brenda Gallie, MD,at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (UHN), has discovered a new type of retinoblastoma, a rapidly developing eye cancer that affects very young children—a finding that may...
The National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in conjunction with ASCO, held a workshop in February to discuss a collaborative approach to making the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded clinical trials system more viable and productive. This was a follow-up meeting to...
As Americans celebrate National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the Colon Cancer Alliance, COLONTOWN—a survivor/patient support group for colorectal disease, including cancer—and the American College of Radiology call on Congress to pass the CT Colonography Screening...
A study from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research has found that many older adults are hesitant to halt cancer screenings even when the screenings may no longer be beneficial or may even be potentially harmful. The study is among the first to explore older...
For patients with kidney tumors, a new study shows the health and economic advantages to removing just the tumor as opposed to the entire kidney. Robotic surgery, including the daVinci Surgical System and Firefly fluorescence imaging that lights up kidney tumors, are among the latest techniques to...
Two Indiana University researchers have been awarded a multiyear, $3.2 million grant to develop and improve therapies for pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Mark R. Kelley, PhD, Betty and Earl Herr Professor of Pediatric Oncology Research, and Melissa ...
New research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey suggests that more stringent criteria may be needed for African American men with prostate cancer when considering active surveillance of the disease. The findings, published in the latest online version of Urology found that the prevalence ...
A new immunoassay that tests for the presence of three biomarkers appears to be a valid screening method for the early detection of malignant kidney cancer, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research....
Endometrial cancer survivors are more likely to complete physical activity, and for longer durations, when their daily self-efficacy is higher, according to a study published online in the journal Health Psychology, a publication of the American Psychology Association. “Sedentary behavior is ...
Combatting the tobacco industry’s tactics in the world’s poorest countries as well as ensuring the best cancer vaccines are available to those most in need are key in order to reduce the number of cancer deaths worldwide, according to a new report published in the journal Science...
Men with low-risk prostate cancer who previously had to choose between aggressive treatment, with the potential for significant side effects, and active surveillance, with the risk of disease progression, may have a new option. Focal laser ablation uses precisely targeted heat, delivered through a...
As baby boomers age and the number of people with serious chronic illnesses continues to rise, the demand for experts in palliative medicine is sure to outstrip the supply, according Timothy E. Quill, MD, Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Medical Humanities in the Center for Ethics, Humanities...
A series of microRNA expression signatures that may help to define progression of the precancerous condition Barrett’s esophagus into esophageal adenocarcinoma was reported recently in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Once a rare...
A new study led by a researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania adds support to current medical recommendations stating that colonoscopy screening substantially reduces an average-risk adult’s likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced colorectal...
New results from a prospective clinical trial conducted in France show that children with low-risk retinoblastoma do not need adjuvant chemotherapy to prevent disease recurrence or metastasis; the results also suggest that certain patients with intermediate-risk disease can receive less aggressive...
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have found that healthy adolescent females have predetermined expectations for becoming parents in the future, but have concerns about fertility and childbearing should they develop a life-threatening illness, such as cancer. The...
A study of older patients with advanced head and neck cancers has found that where they were treated significantly influenced their survival. The study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and published in the March 1 online edition of Cancer, found that patients who...
Statement by ASCO President Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, American Society of Clinical Oncology: Today marks the beginning of sequestration, the unprecedented automatic budget cuts that immediately take effect across the federal government—after months of futile negotiations by the President...
Royal Philips Electronics today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its MicroDose SI system, a full-field digital mammography system that has the capability to enable future single-shot spectral imaging applications. High Breast Density High breast density is a known...
An increasing body mass index (BMI) was associated with a higher risk for colorectal cancer with a specific molecular characteristic, and inversely, physical activity was linked to a decreased risk for that same cancer, according to data published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American...
Women who have had the lymph nodes under their arm surgically removed during breast cancer treatment are warned to avoid certain practices that can cause lymphedema. Now, a new study published in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that the vast majority of...
The FDA has expanded the approved use of regorafenib (Stivarga) to treat patients with metastatic or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) that no longer respond to treatment with imatinib (Gleevec) or sunitinib (Sutent). Regorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, blocks several enzymes...
The FDA approved ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), referred to as T-DM1 during clinical research, for patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer who were previously treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and taxane chemotherapy. “[Ado-trastuzumab emtansine] is trastuzumab...
Launch of a website created to educate newly diagnosed patients, their families, and health-care providers about uveal melanoma, was announced recently by Castle Biosciences, Inc, a developer of prognostic tests for rare cancers. The website, MyUvealMelanoma.com, addresses the treatment of uveal...
Low-grade serous ovarian cancer is less common and aggressive than the high-grade variety, but the disease is exceptionally difficult to treat when front-line therapy fails. "After surgery, with or without presurgical chemotherapy, when low-grade serous ovarian cancer persists or returns,...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) hosted a briefing on February 12 for members of Congress and their legislative staffs that highlighted progress in cancer research and treatment as well as challenges created by decreased levels of funding. The briefing was held in the Rayburn...
A new, large-scale study of triple-negative breast cancer shows that small molecules called microRNA can be used to define four subtypes of this aggressive malignancy. The findings, by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and...