More than 1.5 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer this year.
Of the many critical decisions they will have to make, none is more important than the type of treatment that will be used to fight their cancer — especially when patient response rates aren’t very promising.
First line or standard therapies for cancer fail, on average, at least 70 percent of the time, and, when they do, studies show that as few as 5 percent of cancer patients respond to the second standard treatment plan they are given.
However, a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that when molecular profiling was used to guide the selection of cancer therapy, a drug known to target the specific biomarkers of a tumor was found in 98 percent of advanced cancer patients studied. Read the rest of this entry »
Now we turn to what is being hailed as a breakthrough in the fight against cancer. A small group of pioneers sending a big ray of hope. An experimental treatment that appears to stop cancer cells in their tracks in some people. And abc’s dr. Rich about bard besser tells us about the big news today. Reporter: David asponte was out of options.
He was being treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia, a rare and often fatal disease in adults. When chemotherapy failed, doctors turned to an experimental treatment. Robin roberts went to visit him last december.
I think I am on the right road, I think I am on the right road. Reporter: Doctors took out millions of david’s disease-fighting white blood cells, then used a retrovirus, which is great at getting into human immune systems to change those cells to targeted cancer fighters. David’s cells went back in and destroyed the cancer like a living drug.
The first patient to have similar experimental treatment was 7-year-old emma whitehead who went through the procedure last year and now is in complete remission. She has a ton of energy. She’s doing wonderful right now. Read the rest of this entry »
Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells cultivated on the surface of nanofibrous meshes could be a novel therapeutic strategy against post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction (ED), conclude the authors of a study presented at the 28th Annual EAU Congress later this week.
The study was conducted by a group of Korean scientists and will be awarded 3rd prize for best abstract in non-oncology research on the opening day of the congress.
During their investigation, the group aimed to examine the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells cultivated on the surface of nanofibrous meshes (nano-hMSCs) into neuron-like cells and repair of erectile dysfunction using their transplantation around the injured cavernous nerve (CN) of rats.
“The objectives of the study reflect a very pertinent need in today’s urology practice,” said the lead author of the investigation Prof. Y.S. Song of Soonchunhyang University School of Medicine in South Korea. “Post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction results from injury to the cavernous nerve that provides the autonomic input to erectile tissue. It is a common complication after radical prostatectomy which decreases the patient’s quality of life”. Read the rest of this entry »
From Africa’s crowded AIDS clinics to the malarial jungles of Southeast Asia, the lives of millions of ill people in the developing world are hanging in the balance ahead of a legal ruling that will determine whether India’s drug companies can continue to provide cheap versions of many life-saving medicines.
The case — involving Swiss drug maker Novartis AG’s cancer drug Glivec — pits aid groups that argue India plays a vital role as the pharmacy to the poor against drug companies that insist they need strong patents to make drug development profitable. A ruling by India’s Supreme Court is expected in early 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
Hyderabad based NATCO Pharma Limited today confirmed that the company has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market lenalidomide capsules in 5, 10, 15 and 25mg strengths prior to the expiration of various U.S. patents. NATCO’s lenalidomide capsules are the generic version of Celgene Corporation’s Revlimid®.
On August 30, 2010, pursuant to the Hatch-Waxman Act, NATCO notified Celgene that its ANDA requesting approval from the FDA for a generic version of Revlimid® contained a paragraph IV certification asserting that various Revlimid® patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or not infringed. Lenalidomide, which is presently marketed as Revlimid by Celgene, is a derivative of thalidomide and is used in the treatment for multiple myeloma. Lenalidomide has also shown efficacy in the class of hematological disorders known as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Read the rest of this entry »
A biotechnology company that holds patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes may lose them after a federal judge ruled that seven of their 23 patents involving the genes tied to breast and ovarian cancers should not have been granted, the New York Times reports. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation filed a suit last year, claiming that patents held by Myriad Genetics kept competitors from creating tests to find mutations in the genes and stifled research.If the court’s decision is upheld, the biotechnology industry would “have to get more creative about how to retain exclusivity and attract capital in the face of potentially weaker patent protection,” said Kenneth Chahine, who filed an amicus brief for Myriad, the Times reports. Read the rest of this entry »
After 2 years of her husband’s death Amanda Bennet examines the cost of keeping one man alive suffering from cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
Eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice may help prevent and slow the growth of some types of breast cancer. A new study shows a group of phytochemicals called ellagitannins found in abundance in pomegranates inhibited the growth of estrogen-responsive breast cancer in laboratory tests. Read the rest of this entry »
Acupuncture not only cools hot flashes that occur as a result of breast cancer treatment but may offer a host of other benefits to boost women’s well-being.
A new study shows acupuncture was as good as drug therapy with Effexor (venlafaxine) at easing hot flashes in breast cancer patients, but it also improved sex drive, energy levels, and clarity of thought. Read the rest of this entry »
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