November 2014

‘Utter neglect’ of rheumatic heart disease revealed by results from global study

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) – the most common acquired heart disease in children in many countries of the world – is being neglected and poorly treated, according to new findings from the Global Rheumatic Heart Disease Registry (the REMEDY study), published online in the European Heart Journal [1]. RHD accounts for up to 1.4 million […]

Early results of new drug, ASP8273, show response in Japanese patients with treatment-resistant non-small cell lung cancer

Barcelona, Spain: In a second presentation looking at new ways of treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has both the EGFR and T790M mutations, researchers told the 26th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain, that an oral drug called ASP8273 has caused tumour shrinkage in patients in a […]

Three drugs may be better than one for certain patients with advanced colorectal cancer

Barcelona, Spain: Patients with a form of advanced colorectal cancer that is driven by a mutated version of the BRAF gene have limited treatment options available. However, results from a multi-centre clinical trial suggest that the cancer may respond to a combination of three targeted drugs. Professor Josep Tabernero, head of the medical oncology department […]

Early results show response to new drug in patients with lymphomas and advanced solid tumours

Barcelona, Spain: Patients with B-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphomas and advanced solid tumours have responded to a new drug that is being tested for the first time in humans in a phase I clinical trial. Preliminary results from the trial were presented on Thursday at the 26th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in […]

Researchers pioneer new approach to treating HPV-related cervical cancer

Barcelona, Spain: A drug that is already well established as a treatment for infection of the retina in people with AIDS has been shown, for the first time, to sensitise cervical cancer to chemotherapy and radiotherapy without an increase in toxic side-effects. Cidofovir is an anti-viral drug that is effective against several viruses, including the […]

Researchers identify biological indicator of response to new ovarian cancer drug

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have found a way of identifying which ovarian cancer patients are likely to respond well to a new anti-cancer drug called rucaparib. Results of clinical trials have shown that women with tumours that are sensitive to platinum-based chemotherapy and who carry inherited mutations in the BRCA1/2 genes respond well to rucaparib. But […]

Trial results show treatment-resistant advanced non-small cell lung cancer responds to new drug, rociletinib

Barcelona, Spain: A new drug that targets not only common cancer-causing genetic mutations in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but also a form of the mutation that causes resistance to treatment, has shown promising results in patients in a phase I/II clinical trial. The research will be presented on Friday at the 26th […]

Patients with advanced papillary kidney cancer respond well to a combination of two existing anti-cancer drugs

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have found that patients with an advanced form of kidney cancer, for which there is no standard treatment and a very poor prognosis, respond well to a combination of two existing anti-cancer drugs. Dr Ramaprasad Srinivasan, head of the Molecular Cancer Therapeutics Section, Urologic Oncology Branch, of the National Cancer Institute in […]

Galeterone shows activity in a variant form of castration-resistant prostate cancer

Barcelona, Spain: Results from a trial of the anti-cancer drug galeterone show that it is successful in lowering prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men with a form of prostate cancer that is resistant to treatment with hormone therapy (castration-resistant prostate cancer or CRPC). Associate professor Mary-Ellen Taplin, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA, will […]

First demonstration of anti-cancer activity for AG-120, an inhibitor of the IDH1 mutation, in patients with advanced leukaemia

Barcelona, Spain: A phase I trial of the first drug designed to inhibit the cancer-causing activity of a mutated enzyme known as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1, which is involved in cell metabolism, has shown clinical activity in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with the IDH1 mutation. Professor Daniel Pollyea, M.D. will tell the […]