Filed under: Breast Cancer , Research , Daily news Researchers are reporting that a new vaccine designed to treat breast cancer appears to be safe in women with advanced disease. It showed signs of slowing down tumor growth too. The Neuvenge vaccine, made by Dendreon Corporation -- maker of the Provenge prostate cancer vaccine -- targets the aggressive Her-2 positive form of breast cancer, which affects 20 to 30 percent of breast cancer patients. Using immune cells from a cancer patient's own body, Neuvenge is a tailor-made therapy. Reports about Neuvenge, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate the vaccine did not cause any serious side effects and of the 18 women who participated in the Phase I study, there was a reduction in the size of a tumor in one patient. In three other women, the disease seemed to stabilize for as long as a year. Although Neuvenge may not be given the go-ahead for Phase II study for some time, researchers believe their initial findings are promising.

Filed under: Leukemia , Chemotherapy , Clinical Trials Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukemia in adults. According to the National Cancer Society an estimated 60,000 people are living throughout the United States with CLL.

Filed under: Prostate Cancer , Drug , Clinical Trials , Research There's good news for prostate cancer patients who've had the disease spread to other parts of the body -- a new treatments, currently being tried out on hundreds of patients with promising results. The drug is called GVAX and it's referred to as a vaccine, although it doesn't work like most vaccines in the sense that it is administered after diagnosis and progression of the disease. According to this news story , GVAX works by adding prostate cancer cells to the body, but these new cells are unable to replicate. Several members of my family have battled prostate cancer to varying degrees of success, and I know that it's really widespread. So this is great news, and I hope GVAX is the miracle the prostate cancer is looking for. By the way, if you have prostate cancer, they're recruiting patients for their clinical trials. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Colon and Rectal Cancer , Liver Cancer , Clinical Trials , Research A German biotech company has announced positive results from a genetically engineered herpes virus that is designed to kill cancer cells. It not only kills the cancer cells but leaves healthy tissue unharmed. Results from clinical trials has showed promise.

Filed under: All Cancers , Radiation , Cancer Survivors The new approved treatment for spine metastasis uses radiofrequency to kill cancer cells in the spine. After the radiofrequency is delivered to the area with cancer, a type of cement mixture is delivered into the cavity site to fill the empty space which was once occupied by the cancer. This step provides stability to the spine.

Filed under: Stem Cell , Research , Daily news I love it when I find research coming straight from the halls of the very hospital where I received my breast cancer treatment. It reminds me that I'm in good hands, that University of Florida researchers are on the cusp of breaking through the mysteries of cancer, that I may one day be the lucky recipient of cutting-edge discoveries, like this: University of Florida researchers report in a paper to be published in the August issue of Stem Cells that bone marrow stem cells attracted to the site of cancerous growths often take on the appearance of the malignant cells surrounding them. While these cells look like cancer, though, they may not act like cancer. They have the same skin, says lead study author Dr. Chris Cogle. But the question is: do they have the same guts? "Our results indicate these cells act as developmental mimics; they come in and look like the surrounding neoplastic tissue, but they aren't actually the seed of cancer," said Cogle who is affiliated with the cancer center I've called home for more than two years. "At the worst, these cells could help support cancerous tissue by providing it with growth factors or proteins that help the cancer grow and survive. At the very least, these marrow cells are just being tricked into coming into the cancerous environment and then made to walk and talk like they don't usually do." This phenomenon has been termed developmental mimicry and it could have implications for the integrity of the cell lines scientists use to test new cancer drugs.

Filed under: Pancreatic Cancer , Research , Daily news New research may one one day help in the diagnosis and prognosis of the nation's number four cancer killer of men and number five cancer killer of women. The killer: pancreatic cancer. Findings from an Ohio State University study show pancreatic cancer cells may leave signs in gene-related molecules called microRNAs. Published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, this study examined pancreatic tissue from 65 people with the disease and 42 people with chronic inflammation of the pancreas, called chronic pancreatitis. Scientists found 15 microRNAs more common to the cancer patients than those with chronic pancreatitis. Eight microRNAs were less common in the cancer patients, and a microRNA subgroup was linked to increased pancreatic cancer survival, making it possible to identify long-term survivors from those who would live for only about two years. Scientists must now determine what significance these microRNAs play in the pancreatic cancer process.

Filed under: All Cancers , Stem Cell , Research Some scientists think that the reason cancer recurs is because we haven't gotten to the root of the disease. What they mean by the root is -- the cancer stem cells. Stem cells can reproduce and make exact copies of themselves and can live longer than ordinary cells. Embryonic stem cells can have the potential to become many different types of cells, whereas adult stem cells are generally limited to becoming into the cell types of a specific organ.

Filed under: Drug , Research , Daily news The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will take an additional three months to review Wyeth's kidney cancer drug Torisel -- the first of five new medications the company plans to introduce this year. The FDA needs more time to investigate data on tumor growth in patients taking Torisel. If all goes well, the drug will be one of only three to effectively hold off incurable kidney cancer. The other two drugs are Pfizer's Sutent and Bayer AG's Nexavar. Robert Ruffolo, president of Wyeth Research, says he is encouraged by the review process so far. And he is optimistic about launching the product in late 2007. Studies show Torisel, which will cost patients about $30,000 per year, prolonged survival by 50 percent in those faring poorly with kidney cancer. The sickest kidney-cancer patients were essentially kept alive for 10.9 months, compared with 7.3 months with interferon drugs. Torisel also postponed tumor growth for 5.5 months. This is 77 percent longer than with interferon. Sutent and Nexavar, both on the market since last year, also slow tumor growth. All three kidney-cancer medicines are of the variety that block the growth of cancer cells -- different from standard chemotherapy which kills tumors and harms nearby tissues too. Wyeth is relatively new to the oncology market. And soon, the company hopes to launch three more cancer drugs. One, called CMC-544, treats non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Another, SKI-606, is for chronic myelogenous leukemia. And the third, HKI-272, is for breast cancer. About 51,000 Americans will be diagnosed with kidney cancer this year. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: All Cancers , Clinical Trials , Research This is a big question for those in the field of cancer immunotherapy, treatment based upon the concept of adjusting the immune system to reject and destroy tumors.