1. Featured Articles

    1. Scripps Research Scientists Illuminate Cancer Cells’ Survival Strategy During Dangerous Dissemination

      Explore The Scripps Research Institute (Jan 31 2012) Preclinical

      Scripps Research Scientists Illuminate Cancer Cells’ Survival Strategy During Dangerous Dissemination

      A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has discovered key elements of a strategy commonly used by tumor cells to survive when they spread to distant organs. The finding could lead to drugs that could inhibit this metastasis in patients with tumors. A cell that breaks away from the primary tumor and finds itself in the alien environment of the bloodstream or a new organ, normally is destroyed by a process known as apoptosis. But tumor cells that express high levels of a certain surface protein are protected from apoptosis, greatly enhancing their ability to colonize distant ...

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    2. Gene linked to pancreatic cancer growth, U-M study finds

      Explore Home (Jan 31 2012) Preclinical

      Gene linked to pancreatic cancer growth, U-M study finds

      A mutant protein found in nearly all pancreatic cancers plays a role not only in the cancer’s development but in its continued growth, according to a new study from University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. The finding suggests a possible target for developing new ways to treat this deadly disease. Researchers have known that mutations in the Kras gene are what cause pancreatic cancer to develop. These mutations are frequently seen in common precancerous lesions, suggesting it has an early role in pancreatic cancer.

      (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   National Cancer Institute   University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

    3. In lab, Pannexin1 restores tight binding of cells lost in cancer

      Explore News and Events (Jan 31 2012) Preclinical

      In lab, Pannexin1 restores tight binding of cells lost in cancer

      First there is the tumor and then there’s the horrible question of whether the cancerous cells will spread. Scientists increasingly believe that the structural properties of the tumor itself, such as how tightly the tumor cells are packed together, play a decisive role in the progression of the disease. In a new study, researchers show that the protein Pannexin1, known to have tumor-suppressive properties, plays an important role in keeping the cells within a tissue closely packed together, an effect that may be lost with cancer. “In healthy tissues, the recently discovered protein Pannexin1 may be playing an important ...

      (Read Full Article)

    4. Argos Therapeutic Arcelis™ Immunotherapy AGS-003 in Combination With Sunitinib Shows Statistically Significant Correlation of Immune System Response to Overall Survival in Phase 2 Study in Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)

      Explore PR Newswire (Jan 31 2012) Clinical

      Argos Therapeutics Inc., today announced that it presented a high resolution immune monitoring analysis of AGS-003-006, a Phase 2 study of its Arcelis™ immunotherapy, AGS-003, in combination with sunitinib in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The results showed a statistically significant correlation between anti-tumor memory T cell responses and overall survival. AGS-003 in combination with sunitinib overcame the immuno-suppressive environment of RCC and induced a tumor-specific multi-functional memory CTL response. The results were presented orally at the Global Technology Community's (GTC) 4th Immunotherapeutics and Immunomonitoring Conference in San Diego.

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    5. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals In-Licenses a Novel, Long-Acting GCSF Drug in U.S. Clinical Trials from Hanmi Pharmaceuticals

      Explore Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Jan 31 2012) Business

      Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: SPPI) announced that it has entered into a co-development and commercialization agreement with Hanmi Pharmaceutical Company for SPI-2012 (formerly known as "LAPS-GCSF"), a drug for the treatment of chemotherapy induced neutropenia based on Hanmi's proprietary LAPSCOVERY™ Technology. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) stimulates the production of white blood cells by the bone marrow. A recombinant form of GCSF is used in appropriate cancer patients to accelerate recovery from neutropenia after chemotherapy, allowing higher-intensity treatment regimens to be given at full-dose and on schedule. Chemotherapy can cause myelosuppression and unacceptably low levels of white blood cells, making patients ...

      (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Amgen   Spectrum Pharmaceuticals

    6. UCSB Researchers Discover the Processes Leading to Acute Myeloid Leukemia

      Explore ia.ucsb.edu (Jan 30 2012) Preclinical

      Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a molecular pathway that may explain how a particularly deadly form of cancer develops. The discovery may lead to new cancer therapies that reprogram cells instead of killing them. The findings are published in a recent paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The UCSB research team described how a certain mutation in DNA disrupts cellular function in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The researchers were prompted to study this process by another research team's discovery that AML patients have a mutation in a certain enzyme, which was reported in the ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Leukemia

    7. Cell Therapeutics Withdraws New Drug Application for Pixuvri(TM) and Plans to Resubmit in 2012

      Explore Investors (Jan 30 2012) Business

      Cell Therapeutics, Inc. ("CTI") (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) announced today that it has voluntarily withdrawn its New Drug Application ("NDA") for Pixuvri (pixantrone) for the treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ("NHL") in patients who failed two or more lines of prior therapy. The NDA was withdrawn because, after communications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), CTI needed additional time to prepare for the review of the Pixuvri NDA by the FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee ("ODAC") at its February 9, 2012 meeting. Prior to withdrawing the NDA, CTI requested that the FDA ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Cell Therapeutics   Lymphoma

    8. Allos Therapeutics Announces Interim Results from Phase 1 Combination Study of FOLOTYN(R) and Bexarotene Demonstrate Activity in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma

      Explore Allos Therapeutics (Jan 30 2012) Clinical

      Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTH) today reported interim results from the Company's ongoing Phase 1 combination study of FOLOTYN(R) (pralatrexate injection) and bexarotene in patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). The combination treatments demonstrated encouraging activity in heavily pre-treated patients (median of 3 prior systemic regimens). Data were presented during an oral presentation at the Fourth Annual T-cell Lymphoma Forum, on January 28 in San Francisco, CA. (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Allos Therapeutics   Lymphoma

    9. CDC: Cancer-Screening Rates Fall Short of Goals

      Explore WSJ Blogs (Jan 30 2012) Clinical

      CDC: Cancer-Screening Rates Fall Short of Goals U.S. cancer-screening rates are falling short of the government’s targets. According to new stats out today from the CDC, not enough people are following the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendations for getting regular breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening tests. And the picture looks even worse when you look at specific racial and ethnic groups, namely Asians and Hispanics. Keep in mind that the USPSTF’s recommendations are generally more conservative than those from other organizations. So, for example, these stats look at how many women aged 50 to 74 years get a mammogram every ... (Read Full Article)

    10. FDA approves Inlyta to treat patients with a type of advanced kidney cancer

      Explore fda.gov (Jan 30 2012) Clinical

      The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Inlyta (axitinib) to treat patients with advanced kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) who have not responded to another drug for this type of cancer. Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer that starts in the lining of very small tubes in the kidney. Inlyta works by blocking certain proteins called kinases that play a role in tumor growth and cancer progression. Inlyta is a pill that patients take twice a day. (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Pfizer

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  3. Recent Articles

    1. FDA approves new treatment for most common type of skin cancer

      Explore fda.gov (Jan 30 2012) Clinical

      Today, Erivedge (vismodegib) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adult patients with basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer. The drug is intended for use in patients with locally advanced basal cell cancer who are not candidates for surgery or radiation and for patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic). Erivedge, reviewed under the agency’s priority review program, is the first FDA-approved drug for metastatic basal cell carcinoma. Erivedge was reviewed under the FDA’s priority review program that provides for an expedited six-month review ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Genentech   Roche

    2. Expecting Catalyst Action for Astex Pharmaceuticals

      Explore Biotech and Healthcare Stock Market News (Jan 30 2012) Business

      Expecting Catalyst Action for Astex Pharmaceuticals Shares of Astex Pharmaceuticals (ASTX), the drug discovery company formed by the acquisition of Astex Therapeutics Ltd by Supergen Inc. in 2011 have been on the move. The firm has a wide variety of products in development, and currently receive substantial royalties from the successful launch and marketing of the drug Dacogen by Eisai. Astex expects roughly $61 million in total royalty revenue in 2011. For the most part, these royalties from Dacogen and other development and license payments have been enough to keep Astex earnings-positive, which should bode well for the stock as Astex’s cash pile remains large. (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   AstraZeneca

    3. ZIOPHARM Oncology Announces Recommendation by Independent Data Monitoring Committee to Continue Phase 3 Study of Palifosfamide in Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcoma

      Explore ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Jan 30 2012) Business

      ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZIOP), a biopharmaceutical company with small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to new cancer therapies, announced today that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) has unanimously recommended continuation of the international, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial (PICASSO 3) of palifosfamide (Zymafos® or ZIO-201) in front-line metastatic soft tissue sarcoma. The IDMC reviewed all available study data and determined that the trial should continue as designed and conducted, which is the third such review and recommendation by the committee. Targeted completion of enrollment for PICASSO 3 is expected by the end of the first quarter of ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Ziopharm   Sarcoma

    4. Cutting off the oxygen supply to serious diseases

      Explore EurekAlert! (Jan 30 2012) Preclinical

      A new family of proteins which regulate the human body's 'hypoxic response' to low levels of oxygen has been discovered by scientists at Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary, University of London and The University of Nottingham. The discovery has been published in the international journal Nature Cell Biology. It marks a significant step towards understanding the complex processes involved in the hypoxic response which, when it malfunctions, can cause and affect the progress of many types of serious disease, including cancer. The researchers have uncovered a previously unknown level of hypoxic regulation at a molecular level in human ...

      (Read Full Article)

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    5. Four-Week Vaccination Regimen Knocks Out Early Breast Cancer Tumors, Penn Researchers Report

      Explore uphs.upenn.edu (Jan 29 2012) Clinical

      Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania report that a short course of vaccination with an anti-HER2 dendritic cell vaccine made partly from the patient’s own cells triggers a complete tumor eradication in nearly 20 percent of women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), an early breast cancer. More than 85 percent of patients treated appear to have a sustained immune response after vaccination, which may reduce their risk of developing a more invasive cancer in the future. The results of the study were published online this month ofCancer ...

      (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Breast Cancer

    6. JAK2 inhibitors for CML called into question.

      Explore ecancer (Jan 29 2012) Preclinical

      There is “no biological rationale” for using JAK2 inhibitors in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) patients, concludes a knock-out mouse model study published in Nature Chemical Biology. In CML the formation of the BCR-ABL oncoprotein is considered a defining molecular event with targeted drugs, such as imatinib, inhibiting the resulting tyrosine kinase. A number of patients, however, experience resistance to imatinib leading to the need for alternative approaches to treatment. The activation of the gene regulatory factor STAT5, which in normal and some malignant cell types is activated by the kinase JAK2, represents another important event in CML. JAK2 TKIs are ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment

    7. Pfizer Announces FDA Acceptance Of New Drug Application For Bosutinib For Patients With Previously Treated Ph+ Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

      Explore Pharmaceutical Company (Jan 27 2012) Clinical

      Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its New Drug Application (NDA) for standard review of bosutinib as a treatment option for adult patients with previously treated Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This submission was based on efficacy and safety data from Study 200, a single-arm study of bosutinib in over 500 patients with previously treated Ph+ CML, including patients resistant or intolerant to imatinib as well as patients who were previously treated with dasatinib or nilotinib. Currently, there are no approved therapies available for CML patients after second-line ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Pfizer   Leukemia

    8. Rivals see no need to match Roche's big gene bet

      Explore reuters.com (Jan 27 2012) Business

      Roche Holding AG's rivals Sanofi SA and Novartis AG see no need to match the Swiss drug maker in buying a gene-decoding business like Illumina Inc and reckon they can do partnerships instead. The relaxed attitude in the face of Roche's $5.7 billion hostile bid for Illumina suggests the chance of a counterbid from big drug makers is slim, although diagnostics and IT companies may yet show interest. "Everybody is thinking about diagnostics but you can get access to this technology without necessarily having to acquire the company," Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez told Reuters at the ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Novartis   Roche

    9. Infinity Reports Update from Phase 2 Study of Saridegib Plus Gemcitabine in Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

      Explore CCBN is now a part of Thomson Financial (Jan 27 2012) Clinical

      Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) today announced interim data from its double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study comparing saridegib (also known as IPI-926) in combination with gemcitabine to placebo plus gemcitabine in 122 patients with previously untreated, metastatic pancreatic cancer. The primary endpoint of the Phase 2 study is overall survival. While the final analysis is not complete, a preliminary analysis of data from the study that was completed yesterday showed a difference in survival favoring the placebo plus gemcitabine arm due to a higher rate of progressive disease in the saridegib plus gemcitabine arm. The median survival for patients ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   National Cancer Institute

    10. Diagnostic brain tumor test could revolutionize care of patients with low-grade gliomas

      Explore UT Southwestern (Jan 27 2012) Preclinical

      Diagnostic brain tumor test could revolutionize care of patients with low-grade gliomas Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed what they believe to be the first clinical application of a new imaging technique to diagnose brain tumors. The unique test could preclude the need for surgery in patients whose tumors are located in areas of the brain too dangerous to biopsy. This new magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique provides a definitive diagnosis of cancer based on imaging of a protein associated with a mutated gene found in 80 percent of low- and intermediate-grade gliomas. Presence of the mutation also means a better prognosis. (Read Full Article)

      Comment

    11. Seattle Genetics Announces Data from Adcetris™ in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma and Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

      Explore Seattle Genetics (Jan 26 2012) Clinical

      Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SGEN) today announced that interim results from an investigator-sponsored phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were presented at the T-Cell Lymphoma Forum being held January 26-28, 2012 in San Francisco, CA. In addition, case studies were presented on two patients with relapsed peripheral T-cell lymphoma-not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) who were treated with ADCETRIS. ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed to CD30. ADCETRIS is not approved for use in CTCL or PTCL-NOS. (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Daiichi Sankyo   Bayer   Astellas

    12. Seattle Genetics and Millennium Report Data from Phase I Trial of Adcetris™ in Front-line Mature T-Cell Lymphomas

      Explore Seattle Genetics (Jan 26 2012) Clinical

      Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SGEN) and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced interim results from 32 patients treated to date in a phase I clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) administered in combination with or sequentially with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) and other CD30-positive mature T-cell lymphoma patients. The data are being presented at the T-Cell Lymphoma Forum being held January 26-28, 2012 in San Francisco, CA. ADCETRIS is not approved for use in front-line mature T-cell lymphoma. (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Daiichi Sankyo   Bayer   Astellas

    13. Roche: Avastin-Based Regime Helps Colorectal Cancer Patients

      Explore Home - FoxBusiness.com (Jan 26 2012) Clinical

      Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) Thursday said a phase III study in metastatic colorectal cancer met its primary endpoint of overall survival, and patients who received Avastin plus standard chemotherapy as initial treatment cancer and then continued on Avastin with a different chemotherapy after their cancer progressed lived significantly longer than those who received only chemotherapy in the second-line setting. Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/01/26/roche-avastin-based-regime-helps-colorectal-cancer-patients/#ixzz1kb650HP0 (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   Roche

    14. Mutated Kras Spins a Molecular Loop that Launches Pancreatic Cancer

      Explore Cancer Treatment and Cancer Research (Jan 26 2012) Preclinical

      Scientists have connected two signature characteristics of pancreatic cancer, identifying a self-perpetuating “vicious cycle” of molecular activity and a new potential target for drugs to treat one of the most lethal forms of cancer. The research, reported in the journal Cancer Cell and led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, connected the molecular dots between: Mutated versions of Kras, a gene that acts as a molecular on-off switch but gets stuck in the “on” position when mutated. Heightened activity of a protein complex called NF-κB that controls activation of genes. Kras is mutated in 80 ... (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

    15. Radiation plus chemotherapy provides long-term positive results for head and neck cancer patients

      Explore American Society for Radiation Oncology (Jan 26 2012) Clinical

      Radiation plus chemotherapy provides long-term positive results for head and neck cancer patients A select subgroup of advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation therapy plus the chemotherapy drug cisplatin had more positive outcomes than patients treated with radiation therapy alone and continued to show positive results 10 years post-treatment, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. (Read Full Article)

      Comment Mentions:   SNM   ASTRO   ASCO

    16. See all articles >>