Brain Tumor Blasting Device Clears First Hurdle With FDA - Seattle Patient Advocate Applauds Vote As Victory For Patients
Calling it "a great day for brain cancer patients, " national patient advocate, Dellann Elliott, president and CEO of the Seattle-based Chris Elliott Fund, applauded a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panelК s vote to back a new brain tumor-blasting device called NovoTTF. Elliott testified before the Neurological Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee to the FDA on Thurs., March 17th in Washington, D.C., calling on the panel to "give brain cancer patients more treatment options and more hope for an incurable disease." Final approval of the device is expected within the next 3 months. "This is a great day for brain cancer patients, " says Elliott, "Access to cutting-edge treatments like NovoCureК s NovoTTF means more options and more hope for patients battling brain cancer.
JEVTANA R Cabazitaxel Approved By European Commission For Treatment Of Advanced Second-Line Prostate Cancer
Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced it has received marketing authorization from the European Commission for JEVTANA ® (cabazitaxel) in combination with prednisone/prednisolone for the treatment of patients with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (mHRPC) previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen.1 JEVTANA is the first approved agent to significantly extend overall survival in mHRPC patients whose disease has progressed during or after treatment containing docetaxel (15.1 months median overall survival vs 12.7 months in the mitoxantrone arm; HR=0.70 (95% CI: 0.59-0.83); P<0.0001).1 The approval from the European Commission followed a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Cancer Drug Found Hiding In Sunflower Seed Protein, Australia
UQ scientists have found sunflower proteins and their processing machinery are hijacked to make rogue protein rings in a discovery that could open the door to cheaper, plant-based drug manufacturing. Dr Joshua Mylne, who led the research, has a personal connection with sunflowers - his grandfather, Alan Lemon, introduced them to Australian farms, creating a multimillion-dollar industry. Now, Dr Mylne hopes his research has uncovered another use for these plants through the manufacture of cheap therapeutic drugs. Dr Mylne and Professor David Craik from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience unpicked the way sunflower seeds assemble protein rings, one of which has previously demonstrated potential as a drug for cancer.
Modified MRNA Is The Key To Novel Anti-cancer Therapy
Modern gene therapies raise hopes of combating many diseases until now considered terminal. Nowadays, however, the methods are expensive and carry a risk of severe complications. Modifications of ribonucleic acid mRNA introduced by scientists from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw in collaboration with the Louisiana State University are blazing a trail for safer and more effective gene drugs. Clinical trials of the first new-generation anti-cancer vaccine, developed in Germany with the aid of the Polish invention, will begin already later this year. Gene therapies may be useful for the effective treatment of many diseases, including the most malignant forms of cancer.
New Guidelines Developed For Patients With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Who Are Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy
Men with prostate cancer who are being treated with androgen deprivation therapy are at increased risk of osteoporotic fractures, type 2 diabetes, and possibly, cardiovascular events, a new set of management guidelines states. The guidelines, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, were developed to guide assessment and management of bone and metabolic health in men with non-metastatic prostate cancer who are being treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The guidelines have been endorsed by the Endocrine Society of Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society, and the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand.
HPV Home Tests Could Improve Cervical Screening Uptake
Home tests for the human papillomavirus (HPV) could help increase the take-up of cervical screening among women who do not respond to screening invitations, new research shows today. Despite publicity surrounding Jade Goody who died from cervical cancer at the age of 27, a worrying number of women ignore the opportunity to be screened. The study, * published in the British Journal of Cancer, ** looked at 3000 women from the Westminster Primary Care Trust who had not responded to at least two screening invitations. Self-sample HPV test kits were sent to half the women, while the other half were sent another invitation for cervical screening. Around 10 per cent of women in the first group responded to receiving kits.
Hydro-Stomach CT Imaging Not A Reliable Tool For The Detection Of EGC
Traditionally, both air and tap water have been used as oral contrast agents to achieve adequate gastric distension for preoperative computed tomography (CT) imaging in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC). Despite introduction of multi-detector row CT techniques and the use of multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images, the detection rate of EGC on hydrostomach CT has still been unsatisfactory. A research article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors conducted a comparison study for the detection of EGC on hydro-stomach CT between blinded analysis and unblinded analysis with regard to gastroscopic and surgical-histological findings to see whether the detection rate of EGC on unblinded analysis can be improved as compared to that of blinded analysis.
With New Method, CSHL Team Is Able To Infer How Tumors Evolve And Spread
A new method of analyzing cancerous tumors developed by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) suggests that tumors may not evolve gradually, but rather in punctuated or staccato-like bursts. It is a finding that has already shed new light on the process of tumor growth and metastasis, and may help in the development of new methods to clinically evaluate tumors. The new analytic method, devised by CSHL Professor Michael Wigler and colleagues, features a process called single cell sequencing (SNS), which enables accurate quantification of genomic copy number within a single cell nucleus. Genomic copy number refers to the amount of DNA in the nucleus.
Cancer Research UK Launches Groundbreaking Research Centre In Oxford
A new centre launched today (Tuesday) will cement Oxford's place at the forefront of cancer research, and form one of the final links in a unique chain of Cancer Research UK Centres across the country. These new cancer centres will pull together world class laboratory research with medical expertise to provide the best possible results for cancer patients nationwide. The Oxford Cancer Research Centre is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the University of Oxford and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. It will help set the pace for national and international progress in the understanding and treatment of a variety of cancers, including breast, skin, urological and gastrointestinal.
Combining Two Peptide Inhibitors Might Block Tumor Growth
A new study suggests that combining two experimental anticancer peptide agents might simultaneously block formation of new tumor blood vessels while also inhibiting the growth of tumor cells. This early test of the two agents in a breast cancer model suggests that the double hit can stifle tumor progression, avoid drug resistance and cause few side effects, say researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) who developed the agents and evaluated their effectiveness in laboratory and animal tests. The scientists designed one of the agents to prevent human epithelial growth factor from interacting with HER-2, a molecule that marks a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.
