RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

The FDA-approved drugs Celebrex® and Lipitor® used respectively for arthritis pain and lowering one’s cholesterol are being tested by investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) to see if they hold any promise in slowing or stopping the growth of prostate cancer when combined. CINJ is a center of excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

In the latest clinical trial for a technique to detect pancreatic cancer, researchers found they could differentiate cells that are cancerous from those that are benign, pre-cancerous, or even early stage indicators called mucinous cystic lesions.

Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells - tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers - are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these conditions.

The National Policy Board of US Oncology, which supports one of the nation’s largest cancer treatment and research networks representing approximately 1,200 oncologists nationwide, adopted its Principles for Reforming Cancer Care, designed to guide the organization’s national legislative agenda.

After identifying an apparent population of cancer stem cells for neuroblastoma, researchers successfully used a reprogrammed herpes virus to block tumor formation in mice by targeting and killing the cells.

An anti-cancer drug shelved because it was thought to be too toxic may be effective in small doses against a devastating pediatric cancer, a new study found.

In tests on animal models, the drug a-difluoromethylornithine, or DFMO, helped prevent the spread of neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system responsible for 15 percent of all pediatric deaths related to cancer.

Nonhormonal treatment regimens, including anthracycline-based regimens and taxanes, have improved overall survival in women with advanced (metastatic or recurrent inoperable) breast cancer over the last 35 years, according to a systematic review published December 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Numerous regimens have been tested in advanced breast cancer.

For the first time since researchers began reporting national data on cancer, the statistics in a new report show that the rate of newly diagnosed cancers is declining in America; at the same time, the death rate for all cancers combined continues to fall.

Blood transfusions used to treat anemia in patients with cancer are associated with an increased risk of life-threatening blood clots, at a similar rate as other treatments for cancer-induced anemia, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.