The investigational agent ipilimumab is showing promise as a therapy for both treatment-naïve and previously treated patients with late-stage melanoma, according to phase 2 results released here at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

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Physicians now have a powerful new tool with industry-leading technology to ablate soft tissue. The Interventional Oncology business unit of Covidien Ltd. (NYSE: COV, BSX: COV), the world leader in advanced energy-based surgical systems, today announced the global release of the Evident™ microwave ablation system.

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Drais Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Unibioscreen S.A. announced that they have entered into a global agreement to develop and commercialize UNBS5162, one of Unibioscreen’s investigational drug and potential breakthrough treatments for cancer. UNBS5162 was discovered by Unibioscreen and is currently in Phase I trials in the United States in cancer patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced updated survival data from three Phase II studies of ipilimumab in patients with advanced metastatic melanoma (Stage III or IV), who had previously been treated. Study results show that approximately half of patients who received ipilimumab (10 mg/kg) remained alive beyond one year.

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A pilot study has revealed for the first time that comprehensive lifestyle changes increase the levels of the enzyme telomerase, vital for maintenance of the telomeres in cells that control cell ageing. These early findings are published in an Article early Online and in the November edition of The Lancet Oncology.

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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced new data in various cancers for its investigational angiogenesis inhibitor pazopanib. Key trials in soft tissue sarcoma (STS), [1] epithelial ovarian cancer, [2] and non small cell lung cancer [3] demonstrate the potential of pazopanib across multiple tumour types. GSK now plans to investigate pazopanib in a wider Phase III programme. These data were presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm, Sweden.

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ProStrakan Group plc (LSE: PSK) has announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A) approval of SANCUSO® (Granisetron Transdermal System), the first and only patch to provide up to five consecutive days of control of nausea and vomiting for patients receiving a moderately and/or highly nausea-inducing chemotherapy regimen.

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For patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia, adding intravenous iron to treatment with the drug darbepoetin alfa results in a faster and more potent improvement in response with lower doses of the drug, according to data presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

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An investigational drug that combats ovarian cancer by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels has shown promise in a phase II trial, according to a presentation at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

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New research has highlighted stark disparities in access to the latest cancer drugs across European Union nations, according to data presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

While countries like France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland have tended to introduce the new drugs quickly, researchers say, others such as the UK and more recent EU entrants bring them in more slowly.

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