Combination chemotherapy shows small survival benefit in advanced stomach cancer
...of prolonging their survival with a combination of chemotherapies instead of just one, according to a new review of previous studies. The review also concludes that the best combination is 5-FU, one of the oldest and most commonly used chemotherapy drugs, along with powerful antibiotics called anthracyclines and a ...No improvement in overall survival with lymph node removal in treatment of advanced ovarian cancer
...e effective platinum-based first- and second-line chemotherapies might have diluted the impact of systematic lymphadenectomy on the risk of death," the authors write. In an editorial, Setsuko K. Chambers, M.D., of the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, describes the strengths and weaknesses of this prospective study...Immune therapy could treat leukemias, autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection
...ely to produce far fewer side effects than current chemotherapies -- which can produce secondary malignancies, sterility and growth retardation in children who take them for leukemias. In particular, the researchers' finding that the treatment greatly depletes B cells in the peritoneum -- a major source of autoanti...Primrose oil component cuts levels of cancer-causing gene Her-2/neu
... cell growth, metastasis formation and response to chemotherapies and endocrine therapies," Lupu said. GLA exerts selective toxic effects on cancer cells without affecting normal cells. Menendez's earlier research showed that supplementation with GLA sensitizes breast cancer cells to some chemotherapeutic drugs...Cancer survivors require distinct care
... said. For example, patients treated with certain chemotherapies should be monitored for heart conditions, and some individuals treated with radiotherapy need to be checked for thyroid conditions. Quality assurance programs to monitor and improve cancer survivors' care should be set up as well. The committee reco...Study sets treatment standard for elderly with colon cancer
One of the newest and most potent chemotherapies for colon cancer is as safe and effective for the elderly as it is for younger patients, based on a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-led data review. The analysis focused on nearly 4,000 colon cancer patients who had been enrolled in four...New drugs improve bone marrow cancer outlook
...are. While the development of decitabine and other chemotherapies is making an impact on the lives of patients with MDS, an accompanying editorial argues that these current treatments are palliative at best and will have little additional improvement in survival. MDS is a bone marrow disease of the elderly and one...Drug shows promise against advanced form of lung cancer
...ced disease had been previously treated with other chemotherapies and whose options were limited," Socinski said. According to the UNC thoracic oncologist, among 63 patients treated, there were six confirmed partial responses, with disease stabilized in an additional 27. He said data as to length of survival "are s...Study: Breast cancer in younger black women is more likely to be an aggressive variety
...et for basal-like breast tumors, some of the newer chemotherapies tend to benefit this subtype more than other subtypes. "In addition, there are many new drugs that we will be evaluating in clinical trials to try to provide a targeted treatment for patients with this subtype of breast cancer." Millikan said, "This ...New hope in cancer vaccines emerges as novel therapies are developed and tested
...who is leading the trial at M. D. Anderson. "The chemotherapies that we have now for CLL are very successful in putting patients into remission, but the majority will relapse," says Wierda. "If we are able to stimulate an immune reaction against leukemia cells while there is minimal disease, it could offer us a c...Herceptin effective in breast cancer cells with low HER-2 levels
...astuzumab) used in combination with certain cancer chemotherapies effectively treats breast cancer tumors that produce low or undetectable amounts of the HER-2 oncogene but overexpress the growth factor heregulin (HRG), an activator of the HER-2 cancer oncoprotein. Increased levels of HER-2 are associated with poor...Two central mysteries in genome inheritance solved at UCSD
...rface, studies that could result in improvement of chemotherapies for cancer," said Arshad Desai, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UCSD and investigator with the Ludwig Institute, who is principle investigator of both studies. Cell division is central to the development, maintenance...Survey reveals need for standardized oral chemotherapy prescribing practices, safeguards
...s for oral chemotherapy. "Given how quickly oral chemotherapies have become standard care for a growing number of ...ation required to order prescriptions for six oral chemotherapies found that few centers mandated the inclusion of the patient's diagnosis (26 percent), the treatment...