Researchers in France are taking advantage of the progress in genetic and molecular profiling to analyse the make-up of individual cancer patients’ tumours and, using this information, assign them to particular treatments and phase I clinical trials – an approach that could become part of everyday clinical practice. In research presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR […]
Mesothelioma drug slows disease progression in patients with an inactive NF2 gene
Preliminary findings from the first trial of a new drug for patients with mesothelioma show that it has some success in preventing the spread of the deadly disease in patients lacking an active tumour suppressor gene called NF2. The study was presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in […]
New targeted therapy for advanced prostate cancer shows anti-tumour activity in phase I clinical trials
Few available treatment options exist once prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body and has failed to respond to therapies that involve blocking the male hormone androgen. Patients with advanced, hormone-refractory prostate cancer usually die from the disease after 12 to 18 months, so new therapies are desperately needed. At the 24th […]
Researchers develop non-invasive technique for predicting patients’ response to chemotherapy
Researchers have developed a non-invasive way of predicting how much of a cancer-killing drug is absorbed by a tumour. The preliminary study, which was reported at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland, was conducted in lung cancer patients and it also revealed that less than one per […]
Patients with aberrations in two genes respond better to drugs blocking a well-known cancer pathway
Cancer patients with mutations or variations in two genes – PIK3CA and PTEN – who have failed to respond to several, standard treatments, respond significantly better to anti-cancer drugs that inhibit these genes’ pathways of action, according to research presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland. […]
New monoclonal antibody inhibits tumour growth in advanced solid tumours in a phase I clinical trial
A newly developed antibody targeting a signalling pathway that is frequently active in solid tumours has shown encouraging signs of efficacy in its first trial in humans, researchers reported at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland. [2] A patient with advanced malignant melanoma has shown signs of […]
Scientists test 5000 combinations of 100 existing cancer drugs to find more effective treatments
Scientists in the United States have tested all possible pairings of the 100 cancer drugs approved for use in patients in order to discover whether there are any combinations not tried previously that are effective in certain cancers. Dr Susan Holbeck (PhD), a biologist in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the National […]
Mothers’ age at menopause may predict daughters’ ovarian reserve
A mother’s age at menopause may predict her daughter’s fertility in terms of the numbers of eggs remaining in her ovaries, according to the new research published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. By assessing ovarian reserve with two accepted methods – levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count […]
Acupuncture relieves symptoms of a dry mouth caused by radiotherapy for head and neck cancers
Patients who have received radiotherapy for head and neck cancer often suffer from the unpleasant and distressing side-effect of a dry mouth, caused by damage to their salivary glands from the radiation. Now, a new study has shown that acupuncture can relieve the symptoms of dry mouth (known as xerostomia). The findings from the largest […]
Women whose first pregnancy was ectopic have fewer children and a high risk of another ectopic pregnancy
Women whose first pregnancy is ectopic are likely to have fewer children in the following 20-30 years than women whose first pregnancy ends in a delivery, miscarriage or abortion, according to results from a study of nearly 3,000 women in Denmark. In addition, these women have a five-fold increased risk of a subsequent ectopic pregnancy. […]