Chemotherapy in Medical News

JNCI news brief: Antibody linked to chemotherapy drug inhibits ovarian cancer in lab

A novel anticancer agent, consisting of a monoclonal antibody linked to a chemotherapy drug, showed substantial antitumor activity in ovarian cancer cell lines and in mice, according to a study published online July 29 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute . The agent, known as an im...

Oral Chemotherapy Offers Patients a More Convenient, Less Invasive Treatment Option

Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey has new oral chemotherapy program in place LOS ANGELES, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The increasing availability of oral chemotherapy for treating a variety of cancers--along with projections from the ...

Nexavar in Combination with Chemotherapy Shown to Extend Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer

WAYNE, N.J. and EMERYVILLE, Calif., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX ) today announced that their first cooperative group-sponsored randomized Phase 2 trial in advanced metastatic breast cancer met...

Fluorescent probes may permit monitoring of chemotherapy effectiveness, Stanford study shows

STANFORD, Calif. Going out like a brilliant flame is one way to get attention. If physicians could watch tumor cells committing a form of programmed suicide called apoptosis, a desired effect of workhorse cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they could more quickly pick the mo...

Elderly breast cancer patients receive chemotherapy if treated in private practices

July 6, 2009 -- In a study to determine the non-medical factors that may be associated with the decision to treat nonmetastatic breast cancer, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health evaluated the association between oncologist characteristics and the receipt of chemothe...

Study shows chemotherapy improves survival among older breast cancer patients

The average age of a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is 63, so it is critical to have effective proven, therapies for an older patient population. But older women with breast cancer are underrepresented in clinic trials, so there is little data on the effects of chemotherapy used in addition to...

Retrospective Analysis Finds Treatment of Cancer Chemotherapy Patients With Epoetin Alfa Associated With Lower Drug Cost Than Darbepoetin Alfa

HORSHAM, Pa., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Data from a study of managed-care cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and newly treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) found that the cumulative ESA cost with Epoetin alfa (EPO) was 29 percent lower than treatment with darbepoetin alfa (DARB)....

3-drug chemotherapy combination increases organ preservation in patients with larynx cancer

Patients with larynx cancer who received a three-drug combination of docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) during induction chemotherapy were more likely to retain larynx function than were patients treated with cisplatin and 5-fluoruracil (PF) alone, according to data from a randomized co...

Sequential and alternating chemotherapy and radiation equally effective in larynx cancer therapy

Larynx cancer patients treated with alternating cycles of chemotherapy and radiation have similar outcomes to patients treated with chemotherapy followed by radiation, according to data from a randomized controlled trial in the January 27 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institu...

How chemotherapy drugs block blood vessel growth, slow cancer spread

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered how a whole class of commonly used chemotherapy drugs can block cancer growth. Their findings, reported online this week at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, suggest that a subgroup of...

Intense chemotherapy wards off recurrence in half of mantle cell lymphoma patients after seven years

SAN FRANCISCO - More than half of younger mantle cell lymphoma patients who received an intensive regimen of chemotherapy as frontline treatment remain in remission seven years later, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report today at the 50th annual meeting of the...

Studies show novel device may enhance chemotherapy treatment in brain tumors

NovoCure Ltd. presented results yesterday evaluating the Novo-TTF device in vitro and in a pilot clinical trial that showed the device enhanced the efficacy of standard chemotherapy (temozolomide) treatment in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. When used in combination with st...

Iressa as Good as Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer

Daily pill easier to take, has fewer side effects than chemotherapy, experts say FRIDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The cancer-fighting pill Iressa works as well as chemotherapy as a second-line treatment for lung cancer, researchers report. Although neither therapy prolongs survi...

SANCUSO(R), the First and Only Patch for Preventing Nausea and Vomiting in Chemotherapy Patients, Now Available

ProStrakan's First U.S. Product Will Be Sold by A Uniquely-Trained Sales Force BEDMINSTER, N.J., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ProStrakan Group plc (LSE: PSK) today announced that SANCUSO(R) (Granisetron Transdermal System) is now available by prescription fo...

Erectile dysfunction drugs allowed more chemotherapy to reach brain tumors in laboratory study

LOS ANGELES (July 28, 2008) In a study using laboratory animals, researchers found that medications commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction opened a mechanism called the blood-brain tumor barrier and increased delivery of cancer-fighting drugs to malignant brain tumors. The experiments w...

CSHL scientists correlate enzyme expression levels with chemotherapy drug response

Why do cancer patients develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs, sometimes abruptly, after a period in which the drugs seem to be working well to reduce tumors or hold them in check? Although largely a mystery to scientists, the result when this occurs is all too familiar: patients relapse and in...

Solid tumor cells not killed by radiation and chemotherapy become stronger

DURHAM, N.C. Because of the way solid tumors adapt the body's machinery to bring themselves more oxygen, chemotherapy and radiation may actually make these tumors stronger. "In a sense, these therapies can make the tumor healthier," said Mark W. Dewhirst, D.V.M., Ph.D., professor of radiation ...

Study suggests chemotherapy diminishes fertility in breast cancer patients

CHICAGO--Pre-menopausal breast cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy following surgery were more likely to have diminished ovarian reserve - the capacity of the ovaries to provide eggs capable of being fertilized - compared to women who have never had breast cancer, according to a st...

Targeted therapy plus chemotherapy may pack 1-2 punch against melanoma

DURHAM, N.C. -- By targeting and disabling a protein frequently found in melanoma tumors, doctors may be able to make the cancer more vulnerable to chemotherapy, according to a new study by researchers in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. We tested a compound that can weaken the tumor by ta...

Blacks not receiving chemotherapy for rectal cancer, despite seeing cancer specialists

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Black patients and white patients are seeing rectal cancer specialists at similar rates, but blacks are still less likely to receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study found blacks ...

Common Chemotherapy Drug Linked to Memory Problems

'Chemo brain' a routine side effect of treatment with drug 5-fluorouracil, study says MONDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with a single, commonly used chemotherapy drug causes memory problems and other cognitive difficulties, a common and unpleasant side effect called "chemo...

High-intensity chemotherapy does not improve survival in small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy did not have better survival rates than those treated with standard doses, according to a randomized controlled trial published online April 8 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute . SCLC accounts for nearly 1...

Researchers study new drug and indications for heated chemotherapy treatment

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Studies have shown that surgery combined with Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (IPHC) can improve survival rates for select patients with peritoneal carcinoma (cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity) that has spread from colorectal or appendix cancer. Researc...

Combined radiation seed, chemotherapy wafer implants show promise in treating cancerous brain tumors

CINCINNATIIn the battle against malignant brain tumors, dual implantation of radioactive seeds and chemotherapy wafers following surgery showed promising results in a study led by specialists at the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and University Hospital. The study, ...

Class of Chemotherapy Drugs Helps Certain Breast Cancer Patients

Anthracyclines increase survival for HER2-positive tumors, but not negative ones, analysis finds,, WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News)-- Chemotherapy drugs known as anthracyclines help boost survival for women with HER2-positive breast cancer who have undergone surgery, but they may no...

Gentler chemotherapy before stem cell transplant causes long-term remission of follicular lymphoma

ATLANTA - Treating relapsed follicular lymphoma patients with a milder chemotherapy regimen before they receive a blood stem cell transplant from a donor resulted in long-term complete remission for 45 of 47 patients in a clinical trial, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer...

Primus Innovations and Health Robotics Launch Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Transformation in Chemotherapy Compounding

Shared vision for improving patient and staff safety and minimizing waste of pharmaceuticals. FRISCO, Texas, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The convergence of a world-class sales and service organization and a manufacturing organization will allow both companies to drive new g...

Jefferson researchers show chemotherapy and radiation together extend lung cancer patients' lives

(PHILADELPHIA) Chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation therapy can help patients with a certain type of lung cancer live nearly 50 percent longer than they might have otherwise if the same treatment was given differently, according to an international teams analysis of several trial resul...

Intra-arterial combination chemotherapy induces long-term survival for hepatocellular carcinoma

Portal venous tumor thrombus (PVTT) is a crucial factor that can worsen the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It often leads to extensive spreading of the tumor throughout the liver, and can increase portal venous blood pressure, resulting in the fatal rupture of esophagea...

Cancer conflict with chemotherapy treatment

Women under the age of forty with breast cancer who are given drugs in addition to lumpectomies or radiotherapy, known as adjuvant chemotherapy, may not be benefiting from these drugs. This is especially true if their tumors respond to changing levels of hormones such as estrogen, according to res...

HER-2 status predicts success of chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment, study finds

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Researchers have found they can potentially target chemotherapy for breast cancer to only those women most likely to benefit, sparing the majority of patients from unnecessary side effects. The multicenter study, led by University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center resea...

Medicare modernization act did not change chemotherapy as feared

DURHAM, N.C. -- Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy have not noticed a restriction in their access to treatment following the enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), despite the act's significant reduction in government reimbursement to onco...

New chemotherapy regimen prolongs survival in difficult-to-treat childhood brainstem gliomas

Barcelona, Spain: Childhood brainstem gliomas (BSGs) are rare but can be very difficult to treat successfully and they tend to have poor survival rates. However, a team of Spanish researchers have found that a chemotherapy regimen of irinotecan and cisplatin (I/C) produced rapid clinical responses...

UCF researcher's nanoparticles could someday lead to end of chemotherapy

Nanoparticles specially engineered by University of Central Florida Assistant Professor J. Manuel Perez and his colleagues could someday target and destroy tumors, sparing patients from toxic, whole-body chemotherapies. Perez and his team used a drug called Taxol for their cell culture studies,...

New Data Support Use of Simple Test to Predict Endometrial Cancer Response to Chemotherapy

Study Presented at 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncologist Annual Meeting ORLANDO, Fla., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- New data presented today at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncologist (ASCO) Annual Meeting support the use of a laboratory test, ChemoFX(R), to help physicians predet...

Compliance and cost: Bitter pills to swallow in the age of oral chemotherapy

(ORLANDO) Though the growing shift toward oral chemotherapy agents offers cancer patients greater freedom and independence during their treatment, physicians say use of the new medications also poses more chances for patients to skip doses, miss prescription refills, and take their drugs in a da...

Lung Cancer Microscopic Appearance Affects Response to Chemotherapy

Tumor Structure Should Be Considered in Treating NSCLC, Says Report in "The Oncologist" DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- A tumor's cellular structure, or histology, improves treatment decisions that may lead to improved outcomes for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the m...

UNC study supports role of circadian clock in response to chemotherapy

CHAPEL HILL For years, research has hinted that the time of day that cancer patients receive chemotherapy can impact their chances of survival. But the lack of a clear scientific explanation for this finding has kept clinicians from considering timing as a factor in treatment. Now, a new stud...

Gene Governs Response to Leukemia Chemotherapy

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is most common pediatric cancer WEDNESDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- A mutation in leukemia cells predicts which children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are more likely to relapse. The discovery, reported online Jan. 7 in the New England Journal of ...

Pneumatosis cystoids intestinalis after fluorouracil chemotherapy

The mechanism of pneumatosis cystoids intestinalis (PCI) is unclear. The mechanical and bacterial factors are most predominant causes of PCI. Several chemotherapeutic agents recently have been reported to be associated with PCI. Fluorouracil-related PCI has not been described previously. This pres...