Roche aiming to launch 6 new products by end 2014

2010-03-18T04:30:14Z

<div><p>ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG is aiming to launch at least six new products by the end of 2014 and is seeking to further boost its position in areas outside oncology, the Swiss drugmaker said ahead of its investor day.</p><p>Roche, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs, is aiming to build up its strength in the...

New attack on cancer forces cells to grow old and die

2010-03-17T17:15:16Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Instead of killing off cancer cells with toxic drugs, scientists have discovered a molecular pathway that forces them to grow old and die, they said on Wednesday.</p><p>Cancer cells spread and grow because they can divide indefinitely.</p><p>But a study in mice showed that blocking a cancer-causing gene called Skp2 forced ...

Tests for genes don't predict breast cancer better

2010-03-17T14:46:17Z

<div><p>BOSTON (Reuters) - Studying genes linked to breast cancer may someday lead to better treatments, but they do little to improve a doctor's ability to predict who is likely to develop a tumor, researchers reported on Wednesday.</p><p>Their study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that testin...

US launches new breast cancer treatment study

2010-03-17T14:16:13Z

<div><p>Researchers launched a clinical study Wednesday to test new treatments for aggressive breast cancer in a rare alliance between the US government and five major drug companies.</p><p>The new drugs may help boost survival rates for women diagnosed with this type of breast cancer which does not respond to the standard treatments, the Biomark...

Moms post-birth bleeding tied to early radiation

2010-03-17T12:15:17Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who had radiation to the abdomen in childhood to treat cancer may experience excessive bleeding after giving birth, new study findings suggest.</p><p>The study evaluated pregnancy and birth outcomes in 40 women who were 30 years old on average and had been treated when about 7 years old for cancers of the blood, kidney, bone, and other locations.</p><p>T...

michael c hall

2010-03-16T18:16:54Z

Michael C. Hall arrives at a West Hollywood restaurant to meet a friend for lunch. The Dexter star, who has has been battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma, will finish his long and grueling cancer treatment with a chemotherapy session this week. Los Angeles, California - 15.03.10

Myriad breast cancer patent very broad, study finds

2010-03-16T16:00:42Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Myriad Genetics' disputed patent on the BRCA1 breast cancer gene is "surprisingly broad" and could interfere with future research, three experts said on Tuesday.</p><p>Their ongoing research indicates some other gene patents are similarly extensive, covering stretches of DNA that have nothing to do with th...

Age likely a factor in colon cancer chemotherapy

2010-03-16T16:00:19Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Older patients with colon cancer are less likely to receive chemotherapy after surgery than younger people but have fewer serious side-effects when they do get the treatment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>When older patients do receive the treatment, it tends to be at a less toxic dose and over a shorter period than younger patients receive, according to a study in t...

Science wins key battles but could cancer win the war?

2010-03-16T15:17:09Z

<div><p>Despite huge advances in prevention and treatment, cancer is poised to become the leading cause of death worldwide as people refuse to ditch bad habits and the population ages, experts said Tuesday.</p><p>In the United States, medical advances and education campaigns have helped slash the death rate from cancer by nearly 16 percent in 20 years, Reuters) - Genetic tests designed to predict how well lung cancer patients will fare after treatment do very little to guide doctors, government researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>Their review of studies aiming to show a gene signature for lung tumors found serious problems in the design and analysis of the studies.</p><p>Researchers need some clear guidelines to follow in wh...

Vitamin B6 ingredient linked to lower colorectal cancer risk: study

2010-03-16T13:16:32Z

<div><p>Vitamin B6 appears to play a beneficial role in preventing colon cancer, a study published Tuesday concluded.</p><p>Researchers led by Susanna Larsson of Sweden's National Institute of Environmental medicine traced the beneficial effects to pyridoxal-phosphate (PLP), the main active coenzyme form of vitamin B6.</p><p>"Vitamin B6 intake and blood PL...

US 'winning battles but still fighting war on cancer'

2010-03-16T10:17:45Z

<div><p>Despite huge strides in treatment over the past four decades, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of 560,000 people last year, a report said Tuesday.</p><p>The report in a special edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association...

New radiation therapy shows promise in lung cancer

2010-03-16T09:45:59Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Aiming powerful beams of radiation precisely at tumors helped control their growth and helped people with early stage but inoperable lung cancer live longer, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>They said intensive radiation therapy -- done in one to five treatments instead ...

US winning battles but still fighting war on cancer: reports

2010-03-16T08:15:44Z

<div><p>US doctors and scientists have made huge strides in the fight against cancer in the past four decades, slashing the death rate by nearly 16 percent, a report published Tuesday showed.</p><p>But cancer remained the second leading cause of death in the United States last year, striking 1.5 million people and claiming the lives of 560,000 of them, the report in a special edition of the BioSante pancreatic cancer treatment 'orphan drug' designation</div><div><p>BioSante Pharmaceuticals has received orphan drug status for its potential pancreatic cancer treatment, the company said Monday.</p><p>The company said the Food and Drug Administration<...

Growing doubts over standard prostate cancer test

2010-03-13T12:15:38Z

<div><p>The most commonly used prostate cancer screening procedure, PSA, is at the center of a growing debate after its discoverer said it had become a "hugely expensive public health disaster."</p><p>In a commentary in The New York Times, Richard Ablin of the Uni...

Experts say even Obama getting too many med tests

2010-03-12T13:45:11Z

<div id="subtitle">Experts say Americans getting too many medical tests, maybe even President Obama</div><div><p>Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggests that many Americans are being overtreated. Maybe even President Barack Obama, champion of an overhaul and cost-cutting of the health care system.</p><p>Is it doctors practicing defens...

Guidelines: Do medical tests later, less often

2010-03-12T02:45:19Z

<div id="subtitle">Are some medical tests overused? Some guidelines are scaling back on frequency, timing</div><div><p>Recent reports and guideline changes suggest some medical tests should be delayed, avoided, or done less often:</p><p>_ MAMMOGRAM: Most women don't need a mammogram in their 40s and they should get one every two years starting at 50, according to the Pfizer says Sutent fails to meet key goals in 2 late-stage breast cancer studies</div><div><p>Pfizer Inc. said Thursday the cancer drug Sutent did not meet key goals in two late-stage studies focusing on advanced breast cancer.</p><p>The drug is already sold as a treatment for advanced kidney cancer and gastrointestinal stromal cancer, which aff...

News on Cancer