Contact: Courtney McCrimmon
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
PITTSBURGH, May 30 – Patients undergoing treatment for advanced head and neck cancers may respond well to the addition of gefitinib to chemotherapy, according to a study sponsored by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and chaired by Ethan Argiris, M.D., associate professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Program of the University...
Genetic Changes Outside Nuclear DNA Suspected to Trigger More than Half of All Cancers
Newswise — A buildup of chemical bonds on certain cancer-promoting genes, a process known as hypermethylation, is widely known to render cells cancerous by disrupting biological brakes on runaway growth. Now, Johns Hopkins scientists say the reverse process — demethylation — which wipes off those chemical bonds may also trigger more than half of all cancers.
Specific microRNA levels may predict poor prognosis
March 18, 2009 – (BRONX, NY) – Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified genetic markers that signal poor outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer. These findings could one day lead to a genetic test that could help select or predict successful treatment options for patients with this type of cancer. The results were published in the American Journal of Pathology.
Tarceva® and Avastin® Safe and Effective for Patients with Squamous-cell Head and Neck Carcinoma
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the University of Chicago have reported that the combination of Tarceva® (erlotinib) and Avastin® (bevacizumab) is well tolerated and produces sustained responses in some patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous-cell head and neck carcinoma. The details of this study appeared in the March 2009 issue of Lancet Oncology.[1]
...
Agency needs additional study data on cancer drug co-marketed by Eli Lilly
Star staff and wire report
Eli Lilly and Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Monday the Food and Drug Administration delayed marketing approval for their cancer drug Erbitux and requested additional study data.
In tests submitted with the FDA application, researchers used Erbitux made by Merck KGaA, which sells the cancer treatment in Europe, a Bristol-Myers spokesman said Monday....
