Scientists have discovered gene mutations that are the main cause of the inherited version of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. In addition, the researchers found that the same mutations play a significant role in high-risk forms of non-inherited neuroblastoma, the more common form of the disease.

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Clinicians from the Image Guided Radiation Therapy program at Community Care Physicians in Latham have commenced treating cancer patients using RapidArc™ radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), an advancement that delivers a highly-precise image-guided, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment in two minutes or less.

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Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the start of a Phase III study with Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets in liver cancer. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is evaluating Nexavar as an adjuvant therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer. An adjuvant treatment is given as an additional systemic therapy after the initial tumor treatment, e.g. surgery, to fight cancer cells that may have spread.

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Chemotherapy drugs often never reach the tumors they’re intended to treat, and radiation therapy is not always effective, because the blood vessels feeding the tumors are abnormal “leaky and twisty” in the words of the late Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology program at Children’s Hospital Boston. Now, Vascular Biology researchers have discovered an explanation for these abnormalities that could, down the road, improve chemotherapy drug delivery. Their findings were published in the August 12 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation is pleased to announce the convening of the first major International Symposium dedicated to the current and future use of magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) — a breakthrough therapeutic technology for treating a variety of serious medical conditions including cancer, neurological disorders, and uterine fibroids.

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A new study from the US suggests that people who have had nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) may be at increased risk of developing other cancers, including those that affect other parts of the body.

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Urodynamix Technologies Ltd. (TSX-V:URO) announced that it has received a non-refundable financial contribution from the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) to help accelerate the development and commercialization of new NIRS technology for the detection of prostate cancer during the digital rectal examination, or DRE.

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Many people hold mistaken beliefs about what causes cancer, tending to inflate the threat from environmental factors that have relatively little impact while minimizing the hazards of behaviours well established as cancer risk factors, according to the first global survey on the topic.

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Genmab A/S (OMX: GEN) announced plans to begin four studies of ofatumumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) this year.

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Asian-American/Pacific Islanders with early-stage stomach cancers have an overall median survival rate that is higher than those of other races or ethnicities, according to new research, Reuters Health reports.

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