Filed under: Drug , Lung Cancer , Research Antisoma , a biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer, released a statement that the vaccine ASA404 improves anticancer responses and survival for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

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: Cervical Cancer The distribution of the different types of human papilloma virus that cause cervical cancer are consistent across the world, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This means that the vaccines that are currently available to protect against the two most prevalent types of HPV could prevent about 70 percent of invasive cervical cancer cases not just in the U.S, but around the world. The researchers report that HPV16 is the most common and HPV18 is the second-most common typie in all continents. Gardasil by Merck protects against both of these types as does a similar vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline. Lead study author Jennifer Smith, Ph.D cautions, "While having these vaccines represents a significant step forward, HPV-vaccinated women will need to receive clear messages that they still need to obtain their recommended Pap smears for cervical cancer prevention, given that HPV vaccines will not prevent all invasive cancer or high-grade lesions."

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: Drug , Prevention , Research , Daily news , Anal cancer It's not yet clear if the drug Gardasil, the vaccine intended to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV) in females, is effective for men. But some men are signing up for the chance to take the drug. Gay and bisexual men in San Francisco are asking their doctors for the vaccine with hopes it will prevent anal and penile cancer, also caused by HPV. "The prevalence of anal cancer among gay and bisexual men is very high," says Jason Riggs, spokesman for the STOP AIDS Project. "So that's why some people are looking at this as a possible preventive cure for anal cancer and HPV that causes anal cancer." Anal cancer occurs among gay and bisexual men at a rate 35 times higher than that of the general population. And it occurs more in those infected with HIV.

Filed under: Prevention , Cervical Cancer , Research The Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) vaccine called Gardasil can protect from the infection of four types of the HPV virus. Two of these types cause up to 70 percent of all cases of cervical cancer.

Current vaccines against the H5N1 avian influenza virus may protect against some future, genetically evolved strains of the virus, scientists reported Wednesday — additional fuel for the debate about whether to stockpile H5N1 vaccine or prime people’s immune systems before a pandemic. One country has already decided to take the leap. Switzerland announced Wednesday it will [...]

Human trials indicate an H5N1 bird flu vaccine developed using a virus isolated in Vietnam can neutralize antibodies from H5N1 viruses found in other countries, the vaccine’s manufacturer said Wednesday. The preliminary trial results raised hopes that vaccines based on older H5N1 bird flu strains might prove effective against future variants of the virus in the [...]

Filed under: Prevention , Cervical Cancer A thirteen year old London girl has become the first in the country to receive the cervical cancer vaccine. The vaccine, Gardasil, launched in Britain last week, protects against the main viruses that cause cervical cancer. Gardasil targets the human papilloma viruses (HPV), which can be transmitted through sex.

Filed under: Prevention , Cervical Cancer , Research Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. The World Health Organization has estimated that each year over 500,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and over 300,000 women will die of the disease. Cervical cancer is caused by a chronic infection with high-risk subtypes of the human papillomavirus (HPV). Two of these high-risk subtypes cause more than sixty percent of cervical cancers globally.