Cancer Weekly articles from March 2002

Cancer Weekly archives from March 2002

Retinoic acid might be of more harm than benefit to cancer patients.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The use of all trans-retinoic acid (at-RA) may do more harm than good to patients with cancer, investigators in Japan suggest. Working at Gunma University...

Tumor suppressor genes can block leukemic cell proliferation.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Forcing leukemic cells to express tumor suppressor genes impairs their ability to proliferate, researchers in China report. "The tumor suppressor genes p53...

NCI publishes statement on mammography screening.(National Cancer Institute )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recent report in the scientific literature has reawakened debate about the value of screening mammograms. The analysis, which appeared in the Lancet on October 20, 2001, reviewed the large, long-term...

Contrast agent improves some aspects of visualizing tumor vascularity.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Contrast-enhanced ultrasound can improve visualization of tumor vessels unseen in images where contrast agent is not used, but it is not necessarily able to...

Autologous stem cell grafts alter Th1/Th2 balance.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Autologous stem cell transplantation alters the makeup of helper T-cell populations in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients, according to researchers in Japan....

Reduced levels of extracellular enzyme may actually promote cancer growth.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Lowered levels of the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 may, paradoxically, increase rather than decrease tumor angiogenesis, investigators at The Scripps...

Cancer-causing drug safe and effective in treating eye disease.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ophthalmologists at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago (UIC) have found a highly effective treatment for uveitis, a potentially blinding inflammation of the uvea, the pigmented layers...

New treatment uses radiation alternative.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Learning she had breast cancer was bad enough for 40-year-old Marian Norton. Almost as troubling was the burden of 6 weeks of radiation treatment. The mother of two young children didn't like the...

Study finds letrozole tablets more effective than anastrozole in inhibiting estrogen production in advanced disease.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study in the February 2002 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that Femara (2.5 mg o.d.) more effectively inhibits total body aromatization and suppresses plasma estrogen levels compared...

Women with advanced disease sought for unique study at UCLA.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women with advanced breast cancer are being sought to participate in an early phase study at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center that will test two biologically targeted compounds that seek to block the...

Viral vector aids therapies that cause cellular suicide.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers in Germany say the adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV-2) makes cells more receptive to cisplatin chemotherapy. Medical researchers at the German...

Comprehensive platform being developed for chemoinformatics.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- De Novo Pharmaceuticals (De Novo) and Sun Microsystems have announced a joint technology development initiative to codevelop a comprehensive chemoinformatics platform. De Novo and SUN will pool...

First milestone achieved in agreement for CD46 human antibodies against cancer.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dutch antibody and vaccine company Crucell N.V. (CRXL), announced that the first milestone has been achieved under its agreement with Centocor, Inc. The milestone was one of the agreed-upon goals for...

Immunicon completes $29M private equity offering.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immunicon Corp. announced that it has raised $28.75 million through a private offering of convertible preferred equity. Proceeds from the offering will be used to develop further Immunicon's...

Strategic alliance to link cancer treatment network with tumor registry software.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Impath, Inc., (IMPH) and Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (VAR) announced a strategic alliance for the development of software interfaces linking radiation and medical oncology databases with tumor...

Cancer vaccine receives FDA fast track designation.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antigenics Inc. (AGEN) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company's personalized cancer vaccine, Oncophage (HSPPC-96), fast track designation for the treatment of...

Zila previews ViziLite Oral Examination test kit.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Zila Professional Pharmaceuticals, a division of Zila, Inc., (ZILA), previewed the ViziLite chemiluminescent oral examination device at the Yankee Dental Congress, in Boston, Massachusetts. The ViziLite...

AltaRex announces additional phase IIb results for OvaRex.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AltaRex Corp. (AXO.TO) announced positive and statistically significant overall results from further analysis of its 345-patient OvaRex combined U.S. and Canadian phase IIb trial in metastatic...

Blood test may catch disease in early stages.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A sensitive and noninvasive computer-assisted technique that assesses proteomic patterns in blood could be a step toward effective screening for ovarian cancer, conclude authors of a fast-track study...

Phase III clinical trial of Actimmune begins enrollment.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc., (ITMN) has begun enrolling patients in a Phase III clinical trial of Actimmune (interferon (gamma)-1b) as an adjunctive first-line treatment for ovarian cancer. This multicenter,...

Inhibitor TIMP-1 a potential gene therapy target for cancer of pancreas.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Gene therapy causing overexpression of the natural enzyme suppressor tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 represses pancreatic tumor growth,...

Prevention trial will use selenium and vitamin E.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center are enrolling healthy men age 55 and older to participate in a study to determine if two dietary supplements - selenium and vitamin E - can...

Autologous bone marrow cells appropriate for directed gene therapies.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Bone marrow cells isolated from patients with acute myelogenous (myeloid) leukemia may prove to play significant roles in directed gene therapies. More...

Rituximab effective for in vivo stem cell graft purging.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab can help purify stem cell grafts used to treat mantle cell lymphoma patients, according to researchers in Italy....

New RNA treatment inhibits growth of solid tumors.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Antisense gene therapy blocks tumor growth and angiogenesis in mice implanted with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Similar therapy could be effective for...

Suicide gene therapy shuts out existing tumors, prevents new ones.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Using suicide gene therapy, scientists in France have been able to treat metastatic tumors and prevent the formation of new ones in rodent models of colon...

Study shows promising use of proteomics and bioinformatics in ovarian cancer detection.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a study published in the The Lancet show that a new method of assessing protein patterns in blood samples was able to detect 100% of ovarian cancer cases, even at the elusive early stage...

Venlafaxine safe, effective for women with and without breast cancer.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Mayo Clinic study indicates long-term use of the antidepressant drug venlafaxine provides women treated for breast cancer with safe and effective relief from hot flashes. It also appears that this...

Mayo Clinic study finds promise in radioactive drug samarium.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Mayo Clinic study indicates the radioactive drug samarium may expand treatment options for osteosarcoma, offering patients with bone cancer further hope of a treatment that specifically targets and...

Another study establishes hormone link.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study adds to the growing body of evidence that recent, long-term use of hormone supplements after menopause may increase the risk of breast cancer. Women who had taken estrogen alone or...

Anticancer therapy in combination with current cancer treatments awarded European patent.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The European Patent and Trademark Office has granted to the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System European Patent No. 0 760 675 titled "Compositions Comprising DNA Damaging Agents and...

Corvas reports new potential targets in anticancer efforts.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Corvas International, Inc., (CVAS) announced that it has successfully expanded the number of potential targets for anticancer drug discovery from an emerging gene family of membrane-bound serine...

New cancer center at St. Clair Hospital to offer advanced radiation therapy.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Officials from St. Clair Hospital, UPMC Health System, and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) have announced plans to construct a new UPMC Cancer Center at St. Clair Hospital that...

PG-CPT set to begin clinical trials.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc.'s, (CTIC) Investigational New Drug application for CT-2106 (PG-CPT - polyglutamate camptothecin) has been reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the company...

Scientists identify a novel drug development target linked to cancer gene.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists from Cell Therapeutics, Inc., (CTIC) described a novel target for anticancer therapy that they have identified and validated. The findings were presented at the Keystone Conferences on...

Antioxidants protect malignant cells in vivo.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United Kingdom may have provided an explanation for the curious survival patterns of some leukemia cells. "Chronic lymphocytic leukemia...

Introgen Therapeutics reports fourth quarter 2001 expectations met.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc., (INGN) announced that its results for the quarter ended December 31, 2001, were consistent with its expectations, during which time Introgen reported progress in its...

AMDL receives approval to market DR-70 in Canada.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AMDL, Inc., (ADL) has received approval to sell and market its DR-70 cancer detection test throughout Canada. The Therapeutic Products Directorate, Medical Devices Bureau, Canada, has licensed the...

Drinking alcohol doubles the risk for liver cancer in hepatitis patients.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A new study of 464 men and women with hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary form of liver cancer, has provided more evidence that drinking can heighten the risk...

FDA approves Gleevec for GI cancer.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Novartis drug Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) for the treatment of patients with Kit (CD 117) positive unresectable and/or metastatic malignant...

Manufacturer seeks European approval for expanded use of Gliadel Wafer.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (GLFD) has filed a submission in Europe seeking an expanded indication for its innovative cancer therapy, Gliadel Wafer, for use during initial surgery for malignant...

Mexico approves natural interferon.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viragen, Inc., (VRA) and Viragen International, Inc., (VERP) have announced that its natural human interferon-(alpha) has been approved for sale in Mexico. The Mexican regulatory authorities...

U.K. Health Service is failing patients.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Less than 10% of lung cancer patients in the United Kingdom receive effective treatment because of a dire shortage of specialist thoracic surgeons, according to an editorial in the February 13, 2002...

Cell Genesys collaboration yields $6 million payment from Japan Tobacco.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cell Genesys, Inc., (CEGE) has received a $6 million payment following the completion of a multicenter phase II clinical trial of GVAX lung cancer vaccine from the pharmaceutical division of Japan...

Idiotype-pulsed dendritic cell vaccination effective.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Dendritic cells (DCs) engineered to carry B-cell, lymphoma-specific antigens can help patients fight off malignancy, researchers in the United States say. ...

Phase I clinical trial of Tapet-CD, company's first armed vector, begins.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (VION) has launched a phase I trial of Tapet-CD, its first armed vector, for patients with an advanced or metastatic solid tumor that is no longer considered responsive to...

Exposure to organic dissolvents may cause carcinogenic mutations.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study led by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona researchers has shown that exposure to hydrocarbon-based organic dissolvents may provoke mutations in the k-ras oncogene, a gene which facilitates the...

Study maintains endostatin gene therapy could treat glioma.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Endostatin gene therapy can reduce glioma tumor volume by up to 70%, medical researchers at the University of Australia report. Although tumor reduction...

Transrectal gene delivery offers direct targeting of prostate cancers.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Research performed on larger animal models have demonstrated the efficacy of delivering gene therapy for prostate cancer directly to its intended target. ...

Presence of protein may signal metastases.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Cancer Institute have found that a protein in human breast cancer indicates the disease has or will likely spread throughout the body. ...

Radiation makes even healthy breast tissue cancerous.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New experimental findings show that exposure to ionizing radiation creates a microenvironment in the tissue surrounding breast cells that can cause even nonirradiated cells and their progeny to become...

Docetaxel strength greater than paclitaxel for antiangiogenesis.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Although paclitaxel and its analog docetaxel are both strong antiangiogenic agents, cancer researchers in Italy have concluded the strength of docetaxel is...

Genetic pathway found for common bone tumors.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Toronto, Canada-based Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto have identified the genetic pathway that causes enchondromas, a common form of bone...

Social factors may affect survival in patients.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- African Americans are more likely to develop and die from cancer than people of any other racial and ethnic group. A new study suggests that socioeconomic status and other social circumstances are...

More people try to quit following introduction of over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Since nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) became available as a nonprescription treatment to help Americans stop smoking, the number of adults attempting to quit smoking significantly increased to...

Raloxifene following tamoxifen may not offer further risk reduction.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study done in mice suggests that taking raloxifene after 5 years of tamoxifen therapy may not further prevent the growth of breast cancers. What's more, raloxifene may stimulate the growth of...

Anticancer product Angiocol set for phase I clinical trial.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BioStratum, Inc., has successfully filed an investigational new drug application (IND) for its anticancer drug candidate, Angiocol, and has received clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

FDA gives orphan drug status to antimesothelin monoclonal antibody toxin SS1-PE38.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoPharm, Inc., (NEOL) announced that it has been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company's antimesothelin monoclonal antibody toxin, SS1-PE38, for...

US Patent Office makes Advexin a registered trademark for cancer drug.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc., (INGN) announced that it has received notification from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the name Advexin is now a registered trademark in connection with its...

Pharmaceutical companies to reveal data to Congress.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Six of the seven pharmaceutical companies asked by a congressional committee for records of the negotiations they held with ImClone Systems, Inc., planned to hand over the data by the February 28,...

Research sheds new light on molecular switch that turns genes off.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research in yeast cells may have pinpointed a key enzyme in the molecular circuitry that silences genes. The new enzyme, Set2, could prove critical for helping regulate gene expression in the...

NCI starting large-scale HPV vaccine trials.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - Large-scale efficacy trials are being initiated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a vaccine to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV). ...

Computed tomography allows diagnosis at earliest stage.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a study that screened 1520 individuals age 50 and over at high risk for lung cancer, low-dose computed tomography detected 23 cases alone while sputum cytology analysis detected 2 alone, according...

FDA approves anticancer cell drug.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a long-awaited treatment for lymphoma - a drug that uses a "smart bomb" approach to bring radiation directly to cancer cells. Idec...

Breakthrough pain in cancer associated with need for increased medical services, higher medical costs.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study reports that patients who suffer from breakthrough pain in cancer, which affects as many as two-thirds of cancer patients, require increased medical services that result in higher medical...

Cancer doctors could benefit from training in communication skills.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Senior doctors working in cancer medicine could benefit from intensive communication-skills training to assist the often complex and distressing issues surrounding cancer care, conclude authors of a...

PET tracer detects early disease.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new test may help doctors more accurately diagnose prostate cancer in the early stages of disease. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in...

Shareholders, cancer patients upset over ImClone Systems' problems.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Shareholders are not the only ones upset by ImClone Systems, Inc.'s, falling stock price and its problems with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and an angry corporate partner. Desperately ill...

Risk of sunburn still exists in winter.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most people assume the winter sun is weaker and less dangerous than the summer sun and therefore do not wear proper sun protection. However, two recent studies show that if you're at a higher...

Balancing act between growth factor and receptor predicts breast cancer.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists in Japan say the intratumoral balance between a key angiogenic growth factor and a soluble form of its receptor may predict outcomes in breast...