Certain Side Effects In BRAF Mutation-Positive Melanoma May Be Prevented By New Approaches
11/15/2011
Findings from preclinical studies in a skin cancer model showed that next-generation BRAF inhibitors used alone, or first-generation BRAF inhibitors used in combination with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, may have the potential to prevent drug-induced skin lesions in BRAF mutation-positive patients treated for melanoma...
A More Effective Clot Buster? Gelatin-Based Nanoparticle Treatment
11/15/2011
A targeted, nanoparticle gelatin-based clot-busting treatment dissolved significantly more blood clots than a currently used drug in an animal study of acute coronary syndrome presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011. The new drug-delivery system used gelatin to deactivate the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, to treat acute coronary syndrome...
Canadian Researchers Find Potential New Leukemia Treatment With Old Antibiotic Drug
11/15/2011
Clinician-scientists in the Princess Margaret Cancer Program have found a promising approach to treating leukemia, using an old drug in a new way. The proof-of-concept research published today in Cancer Cell (10.1016/j.ccr.2011.10.015) describes how the Canadian team discovered that the antibiotic tigecycline targets and destroys leukemia stem cells by cutting off the cell's energy production...
Antifolates Show Promise Against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Subtype
11/15/2011
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have mutations in the KRAS gene should respond well to the antifolate class of drugs, according to results of a recent study conducted by Quintiles comparing human lung cancer cell lines and patients...
More Effective Way Developed To Discover And Test Potential Cancer Drugs
11/15/2011
Researchers have created a new phenotypic screening platform that better predicts success of drugs developed to prevent blood vessel tumor growth when moving out of the lab and onto actual tumors. "This platform allows us to predict what's going to happen in preclinical models," said Enrique Zudaire, Ph.D...
Potential Treatment For Tumors Resistant To VEGF Therapy Offered By Novel Monoclonal Antibody
11/15/2011
Despite the widespread use of current antiangiogenic cancer therapies, many tumors escape this blockade, which is designed to shut down growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors and spread cancer cells...
Resistance To Common Breast Cancer Drug May Be Overcome By Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor
11/15/2011
Researchers have shown how estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen, the only approved hormonal therapy for premenopausal patients with this type of breast cancer. They also found that introducing a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor in hormone therapy treatment can overcome resistance to hormonal therapy...
In Mouse Model, Combination Therapy Shows Potent Tumor Growth Inhibition
11/15/2011
Combining the investigational agents REGN910 and aflibercept yielded statistically significant improvements in antitumor effects in animal models compared with either agent alone, according to results presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, being held Nov. 12-16, 2011...
Mammograms: How Often Should Women Have Them?
11/15/2011
While most women already undergo mammograms to check for breast cancer, there has been considerable debate about how frequently women need to be screened. To help answer that question, researchers at the University of Virginia Health System are developing a personalized risk model to recommend how often a woman should have a mammogram based on her unique risk factors...
Newly Identified Gene Mutation Adds To Melanoma Risk
11/15/2011
A major international study has identified a novel gene mutation that appears to increase the risk of both inherited and sporadic cases of malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. The identified mutation occurs in the gene encoding MITF, a transcription factor that induces the production of several important proteins in melanocytes, the cells in which melanoma originates...