Potential Cancer Drugs From Naturally Occurring Compounds
3/01/2013

Inspired by a chemical that fungi secrete to defend their territory, MIT chemists have synthesized and tested several dozen compounds that may hold promise as potential cancer drugs...

Safety Of IV Fluids Containing Hydroxyethyl Starch, Used By NHS, Questioned
3/01/2013

Starch-based intravenous (IV) fluids used by the NHS to treat seriously ill patients are causing unnecessary deaths, according to a new Cochrane systematic review by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine...

Diabetes Not Found To Impact Infection Risk, Surgical Outcomes
3/01/2013

Patients with diabetes were no more likely to suffer infection, deep vein thrombosis (a deep vein blood clot) or other complications following total knee replacement (TKR) than patients without diabetes, according to new research published online, in advance of its publication in the March 2013 Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS)...

Study Offers Hope In Fight Against Common Skin Cancer
3/01/2013

Hailed as a major step forward in the effort to develop targeted cancer therapies, a recently approved drug for the most common type of skin cancer has been a mixed blessing for patients. Although the initial response is usually dramatic, the tumors often recur as the cancer becomes resistant to treatment...

Leukemia Survival Improved By Infusion Of Stem Cells And Specially Generated T-Cells From Same Donor
3/01/2013

In a significant advance for harnessing the immune system to treat leukemias, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for the first time have successfully infused large numbers of donor T-cells specific for a key anti-leukemic antigen to prolong survival in high-risk and relapsed leukemia patients after stem cell transplantation...

Cancers Resist Treatment By "Shuffling Their Genetic Pack"
3/01/2013

It is well-known in bowel cancer research that because of inherent "chromosomal instability", cancer cells manage to retain the upper hand by being able to "reshuffle" their genetic pack of cards, the chromosomes that hold the cells' DNA information, thus increasing cell diversity in tumors, which makes them difficult to treat...