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A study published in a special issue of Photochemistry and Photobiology examines the emerging practice of drug delivery systems which use the application of light to activate medications in the body. The process uses biocompatible materials that are sensitive to certain physiological variables or external physicochemical stimuli. Changes in external or internal body conditions can be used to achieve control of the delivery.
In a genetic engineering breakthrough that could help everyone from bed-ridden patients to elite athletes, a team of American researchers - including 2007 Nobel Prize winner Mario R. Capecchi - have created a "switch" that allows mutations or light signals to be turned on in muscle stem cells to monitor muscle regeneration in a living mammal.
A recent Montana State University master's graduate is working with doctors at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Tennessee to build a handheld laser microscope that could someday reduce the number of biopsies needed to diagnose skin cancer. Suspicious spots on the skin often prompt dermatologists to remove skin samples for analysis.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirmed that it is to appeal against the decision by NICE to deny NHS funding for Tyverb® (lapatinib), a treatment for an aggressive form of advanced breast cancer (ErbB2-positive).1 If successful the appeal will enable the NHS to offer a similar level of access to lapatinib as other EU countries.
UroToday.com - Dr. William Dale and associates reported on the influence of anxiety when a patient with prostate cancer (CaP) and biochemical recurrence (BCR) initiates androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). A total of 67 patients with a mean age of 68 years participated and 70% of these rated their own health as very good or excellent. Data was collected from surveys and medical records.
Vast improvements in prostate cancer recognition, management and treatment are needed, according to major prostate cancer groups speaking at the European Association of Urology's 24th Annual Congress. The prostate cancer charter for change from 13 influential European and US prostate cancer patient groups, calls for the disease to be treated with the same level of priority as breast cancer is in women.
Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a leader in development of innovative therapeutics for life-threatening and life-debilitating diseases, announced today that it has received FDA approval to begin Phase II trials for Archexin™, the Company's leading cancer compound, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. This will be a multi-center trial with preliminary data in humans expected in 2010.
Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSN), a leading oncology drug development company, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA ) has granted orphan drug designation for its lead compound, ThermoDox®, a proprietary heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), commonly referred to as primary liver cancer.
UroToday.com - Cytokeratin-positive (CK+) staining cells can be detected in the bone marrow of patients with epithelial cancers but not in control patients. In the online version of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a group of German researchers investigated whether genetic analysis of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) at various time points during the disease course correlates with progression and outcomes.
UroToday.com - In the journal Clinical Chemistry, Dr. Pauliina Helo and the group of Dr. Hans Lilja at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center measured circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in prostate cancer patients by the commercially available CellSearch;Veridex assay and compared it to a RT-PCR methodology from their laboratory. As background, CTCs are under intense investigation as a new and more sensitive marker of disease progression in cancer patients.
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