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July 2, 2009
Preoperative PET-CT Reduces Number of Thoracotomies but Does Not Improve Survival of Patients with NSCLC
Researchers from Denmark have reported that “The use of PET-CT for preoperative staging of NSCLC [non–small cell lung cancer] reduced both the total number of thoracotomies and the number of futile thoracotomies but did not affect overall mortality.” The details of this study appeared in the July 2, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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July 2, 2009
CIN Associated with Long-term Risk of Recurrence and Invasive Cervical Cancer
Researchers from Canada have reported that women who have undergone treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) have a long-term increased risk of developing invasive carcinoma or a recurrence of CIN and, as such, need long-term surveillance. The details of this study appeared in the May 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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July 2, 2009
PET/CT Improves Detection of Inoperable Lung Cancer
Preoperative lung cancer staging with combined PET/CT imaging allows some patients to avoid futile surgery. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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July 2, 2009
Amgen Helps Reduce Out-of-pocket Costs for Neulasta®
Amgen’s Neulasta FIRST STEP™ Program provides assistance to eligible, low-income, commercially-insured chemotherapy patients who need help with their co-insurance or co-payment requirement for Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim).
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July 2, 2009
Using the Internet to help young smokers quit
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is leading a $2.9 million National Cancer Institute project to increase demand for evidence-based, Internet-based smoking cessation treatment for young adults aged 18 to 24 years.
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July 2, 2009
Suicide warning issued for two anti-smoking drugs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials on Wednesday ordered Pfizer Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC to add strong "black box" warnings on their anti-smoking drugs to highlight the risk of serious mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts.
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July 1, 2009
ANALYSIS-Safety concerns block gains for diabetes drugs
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Heightened concern over the safety of new diabetes treatments is throwing significant roadblocks in front of their use and threatening to discourage development of drugs for the disease.
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July 1, 2009
Two thirds of American adults are too fat
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Obesity rates continued to climb in the past year with 23 U.S. states reporting adults in their states are fatter now than they were a year ago, two advocacy groups said on Wednesday.
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July 1, 2009
Child Abuse May Be Linked with Increased Cancer Risk
Researchers from Canada have reported that children who are physically abused may be at increased risk of developing cancer later in life. These results were published in an early online publication in Cancer on May 26, 2009.
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July 1, 2009
Pesticides Linked to Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS)
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have reported that individuals who apply pesticides to crops are twice as likely as the general population to develop monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), which can lead to multiple myeloma. The details of this study appeared in the June 18, 2009 issue of Blood.
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July 1, 2009
Conflicts of interest common in cancer research
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A "substantial minority" of cancer treatment studies published in major medical journals involve conflicts of interest, according to a new report in the journal Cancer.
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July 1, 2009
Europe approves AstraZeneca lung cancer drug
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's once-daily cancer pill Iressa (gefitinib) has been approved for certain lung cancer patients in Europe, reviving the fortunes of a product that had until recently been largely written off by industry analysts.
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July 1, 2009
Sutent® Fails to Show Benefit in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The combination of the targeted therapy Sutent® (sunitinib) and FOLFIRI chemotherapy did not result in better progression-free survival than FOLFIRI alone among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, prompting a Phase III clinical trial of the combination treatment to be stopped early. This information was made available in a press release from Pfizer.
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July 1, 2009
Sprycel® Superior to High-dose Gleevec® in Gleevec-resistant CML
Sprycel® (dasatinib) produces a higher response rate and improves progression-free survival in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have grown resistant to Gleevec® (imatinib), according to the results of a study published early online in Cancer.
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June 30, 2009
Diabetics urged to stay on popular insulin Lantus
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Dr. Louis Philipson has already started fielding calls from worried diabetics after new studies of 300,000 patients released on Friday suggested the Sanofi-Aventis insulin drug Lantus (insulin glargine) might raise the risk of cancer.
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June 30, 2009
US urged to compare Alzheimer, ADD, other therapies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit disorder, back pain and other conditions should be studied under a new U.S.-funded effort to compare which treatments work best, a report released on Tuesday said.
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June 30, 2009
Dietary fat associated with pancreatic cancer risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Large amounts of saturated and monounsaturated fats in the diet can make you fat, and may also increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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June 30, 2009
Metabolic syndrome linked to breast cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that a set of risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, known as the metabolic syndrome, could be related to the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women.
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June 30, 2009
CIN Associated with Long-term Risk of Recurrence and Invasive Cervical Cancer
Women who have undergone treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) have a long-term increased risk of developing invasive carcinoma or a recurrence of CIN and, as such, need long-term surveillance, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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June 30, 2009
Gene Expression Predicts Neuroblastoma Outcome
Among children with neuroblastoma, a test that assesses the activity of several genes in a sample of tumor tissue provides information about the patient’s prognosis and may help guide treatment decisions. The results of this study were published in Lancet Oncology.
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June 30, 2009
Breast cancer treatments impact work status
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among working women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, those treated with chemotherapy appear more likely to experience a major change in work status, study findings suggest.
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June 30, 2009
Eliminating Preventive Radiation May Benefit Children with ALL
Researchers from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have reported that children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are treated with effective, risk-adjusted chemotherapy regimens have good outcomes and may safely be able to avoid preventive radiation therapy to the brain. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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June 30, 2009
Weight-loss Surgery May Decrease the Risk of Cancer in Women
Researchers from Sweden have reported that weight-loss surgery (bariatric surgery) was associated with a reduced incidence of cancer in obese women but not in obese men. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Lancet Oncology on June 24, 2009.
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June 30, 2009
Wet ear wax, body odor may signal breast cancer risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Wet earwax in combination with foul-smelling sweat are associated with a mutation in theABCC11 breast cancer gene, Japanese scientists report in The FASEB Journal, a publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
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June 30, 2009
EU health chief proposes stricter laws on smoking
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's health chief proposed on Tuesday that uniform laws be drafted for all 27 countries in the bloc to regulate smoking more strictly in public areas and workplaces.
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June 29, 2009
Child Abuse Linked with Increased Cancer Risk
Children who are physically abused may be at increased risk of developing cancer later in life. These results were published in Cancer.
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June 29, 2009
Multigene-expression Signature Predicts Outcome of Patients with Neuroblastoma
Researchers affiliated with the European Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOPEN), the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), and the Gesellshaft fur Padiatrische Onkologie und Haematologie (GPOH) have reported that a multigene-expression signature predicts progression-free and overall survival of children with neuroblastoma. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Lancet Oncology on June 9, 2009.
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June 29, 2009
Medicare Denies Coverage for CT Colonoscopy for Colon Cancer Screening
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently denied coverage of computed tomographic (CT) colonography for cancer screening. They concluded that there had not been enough studies in patients in the Medicare age group to warrant approval.
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June 29, 2009
Sanofi dismissive of "poor quality" Lantus studies
LONDON (Reuters) - Sanofi-Aventis Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher said on Monday that European studies highlighting a possible link between cancer and its long-acting insulin drug Lantus for diabetes were "of poor quality".
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June 29, 2009
Insulin glargine may increase cancer risk
LONDON (Reuters) - Injectable insulin glargine for diabetes, sold under the trade name Lantus by Sanofi-Aventis, may increase the risk of cancer, according to European studies involving some 300,000 insulin-treated patients, prompting a call from experts for more research.
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June 29, 2009
Scientists kill cancer cells with "Trojan horse"
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have developed a "Trojan horse" therapy to combat cancer, using a bacterially derived nano cell to penetrate and disarm the cancer cell before a second nano cell kills it with chemotherapy drugs.
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June 26, 2009
Hodgkin’s Survivors at Increased Risk of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack
Researchers from the Netherlands have reported that patients who have been treated with radiation therapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) have an elevated risk of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). These results were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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June 26, 2009
Obesity Related to Incidence and Outcomes of Pancreatic Cancer
Researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have reported that obesity during early adulthood increases the risk of pancreatic cancer and that obesity at an older age was associated with a lower survival from pancreatic cancer. The details of this study appeared in the June 24, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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June 26, 2009
Eliminating Preventive Radiation May Benefit Children with ALL
Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are treated with effective, risk-adjusted chemotherapy regimens have good outcomes and may safely be able to avoid preventive radiation therapy to the brain. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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June 26, 2009
Bariatric Surgery Reduces Cancer Risk in Women
Obese women who undergo weight-loss surgery are significantly less likely to develop cancer than obese women who do not receive such surgery. These results were published in Lancet Oncology.
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June 26, 2009
Diet may lower breast cancer risk before menopause
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who want to protect themselves from developing breast cancer before menopause should be sure to eat their carrots, the results of new research suggest.
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June 26, 2009
Declines in US breast cancer rates not uniform
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Between 2001 and 2004, new cases of breast cancer declined more than 8 percent in the United States. However, new research suggests that the decline was significantly less pronounced among poor women and among women living in rural areas.
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June 26, 2009
Ovarian tissue transplant may restore fertility
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even after highly concentrated cancer treatment of the ovaries, long-term ovarian function and fertility can be restored by repeated ovarian transplant with tissue taken from the patient before treatment, researchers in Korea and the US report in the current issue Fertility and Sterility.
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June 26, 2009
Psychiatric symptoms can be first sign of cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that for some patients with cancer, especially brain tumors and small-cell-lung cancer, the first manifestation is a psychiatric symptom.
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June 26, 2009
Obesity surgery safe and effective for seniors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Gastric bypass conducted using laparoscopic techniques is just as safe and effective in patients over 65 years of age as it is in younger patients, according to study findings presented Thursday at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
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June 26, 2009
White House: 7 years enough to shield biotech drugs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seven years is an appropriate time period to protect brand-name biotechnology medicines from cheaper generic rivals, White House officials said in a letter released on Thursday.
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June 26, 2009
Alcohol kills over half of Russians in their prime
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Cheap and illicit alcohol kills more than half of Russian men and women in their most productive years, and the government must act urgently to reverse the trend, a study to be published in The Lancet at the weekend said.
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June 25, 2009
Sanofi says diabetes drug Lantus safe
PARIS (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis defended its blockbuster Lantus drug on Thursday after an analyst note raised concerns over the diabetes drug's safety, pushing the company's shares lower.
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June 25, 2009
Radiation not needed in common childhood cancer
BOSTON (Reuters) - Children can be treated for a common form of childhood leukemia without bombarding the brain with radiation, reducing the risk that they will suffer additional tumors and thinking problems, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
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June 25, 2009
Farrah Fawcett, 1970s sex symbol, dies aged 62
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Farrah Fawcett, the "Charlie's Angels" television star whose big smile and feathered blond mane made her one of the reigning sex symbols of the 1970s, died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer. She was 62.
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June 25, 2009
Japan approves first generic biotech drug
ZURICH (Reuters) - Japanese regulators approved a human growth hormone from Novartis AG, the first green light in Japan for a biosimilar or generic version of a biotech drug, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.
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June 25, 2009
Formaldehyde Exposure May Increase Risk of Blood and Lymphatic Cancers
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have reported that industrial workers who are exposed to formaldehyde may be at an increased risk of dying from blood and lymphohematopoietic malignancies, particularly myeloid leukemia but also Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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June 25, 2009
Survivors of Childhood Cancer at Risk for Second Cancers Later in Life
Researchers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have reported that survivors of childhood cancers remain at risk for developing second primary cancers throughout their lives. The details of this large study were published in the June, 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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June 25, 2009
Obesity Increases Pancreatic Cancer Risks
Overweight or obesity during early adulthood increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer and is also linked with a younger age at diagnosis. Overweight or obesity later in life is linked with worse pancreatic cancer survival. These results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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June 24, 2009
Drug combo cuts pancreatic tumour size
ZURICH (Reuters) - A combination of two drugs from Novartis AG cut the size of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours in more than 80 percent of patients in a mid-stage study, the Swiss group said on Wednesday.