Breakthrough in understanding lung cancer vulnerabilities points the way to new targeted therapy

More effective treatments for one of the deadliest forms of cancer are one step closer thanks to groundbreaking research from an international collaborative study.

Scientists from the Universities of Sheffield and Cologne have identified the dependencies of multiple Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) types ? paving the way for clinical trials of new targeted treatments which could revolutionise the current approach.

Read more

Researchers develop blood test that accurately detects early stages of lung, breast cancer in humans

 

Researchers at Kansas State University have developed a simple blood test that can accurately detect the beginning stages of cancer.

In less than an hour, the test can detect breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer — the most common type of lung cancer — before symptoms like coughing and weight loss start. The researchers anticipate testing for the early stages of pancreatic cancer shortly.

Read more

Stanford scientists find molecule to starve lung cancer and improve ventilator recovery

A new research report published online in the FASEB Journal reveals a connection among sugar, cancer, and dependence on breathing machines–microRNA-320a. In the report, Stanford scientists show that the molecule microRNA-320a is responsible for helping control glycolysis. Glycolysis is the process of converting sugar into energy, which fuels the growth of some cancers, and contributes to the wasting of unused muscles such as the diaphragm when people are using ventilators. Identifying ways to use microRNA-320a to starve tumors and keep unused muscles strong would represent a significant therapeutic leap for numerous diseases and health conditions.

Read more

New immune therapy shows promise in kidney cancer

An antibody that helps a person’s own immune system battle cancer cells shows increasing promise in reducing tumors in patients with advanced kidney cancer, according to researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Read more

Researchers discover new combination of 2 previously approved FDA drugs to treat lung cancer

A team of researchers led by Dr. Goutham Narla at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in collaboration with scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered a previously unrecognized signaling network disrupted in lung cancer that can be turned back on by a novel combination of two previously approved FDA drugs. The drug combination targets a pathway to treat advanced/late stage lung cancer. The work highlights how understanding the basic mechanisms regulating cancer development and progression can lead to new uses for existing FDA approved drugs in the treatment of cancer.

Read more

New therapy on the horizon for ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer

A new compound that targets anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer is well-tolerated by patients and is already showing early signs of activity, including in patients who no longer respond to crizotinib—the only approved ALK inhibitor. Results of this Novartis-sponsored sudy will be presented by a researcher from Fox Chase Cancer Center during the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology on Sunday, June 3.

Read more

Vaccine yielded encouraging long-term survival rates in certain patients with NSCLC

Long-term follow-up of a phase II clinical trial showed encouraging survival in some patients with stage 3B/4 non-small cell lung cancer treated with belagenpumatucel-L, a therapeutic vaccine. The findings were presented here at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held March 31 – April 4.

Read more

New research confirms need for lung cancer testing

Different kinds of lung cancer behave in different ways, suggesting they are fundamentally different diseases. According to a University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in Cancer, the official journal of the American Cancer Society, different subgroups of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) show distinct patterns of spread in the body.

Read more

Milk thistle extract stops lung cancer in mice

Tissue with wound-like conditions allows tumors to grow and spread. In mouse lung cancer cells, treatment with silibinin, a major component of milk thistle, removed the molecular billboards that signal these wound-like conditions and so stopped the spread of these lung cancers, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Carcinogenesis.

Read more

Antifolates show promise against NSCLC subtype

SAN FRANCISCO — Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have mutations in the KRAS gene should respond well to the antifolate class of drugs, according to results of a recent study conducted by Quintiles comparing human lung cancer cell lines and patients.

Read more

Next Page »