2012

Children born after infertility treatment are more likely to suffer from asthma

Asthma is more common among children born after infertility treatment than among children who have been planned and conceived naturally, according to findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. The study found that at the age of five, children born to sub-fertile parents – […]

Semen concentration and quality fell in French men between 1989 and 2005

New research shows that the concentration of sperm in men’s semen has been in steady decline between 1989 and 2005 in France. In addition, there has been a decrease in the number of normally formed sperm. The study is published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. The study is important because, […]

Digoxin increases deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation

Digoxin, a drug that has been used worldwide for centuries to treat heart disease, is associated with a significant increase in deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), according to results from a study published online in the European Heart Journal [1]. Digoxin is extracted from the foxglove plant (digitalis) and it helps the heart […]

Relatives of people who die suddenly from heart problems have greatly increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Relatives of young people who have died suddenly from a heart-related problem are at greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal [1]. The authors of the study say these findings have two major implications; firstly, they strongly support the fact that autopsies should always […]

First trial in humans of “minicells”: a completely new way of delivering anti-cancer drugs

A completely new way of delivering anti-cancer drugs to tumours, using “minicells” derived from bacteria, has been tested for the first time in humans and found to be safe, well-tolerated and even induced stable disease in patients with advanced, incurable cancers with no treatment options remaining. The research, which was presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR […]

Molecular ‘portraits’ of tumours match patients with trials in everyday clinical practice

Researchers in France are taking advantage of the progress in genetic and molecular profiling to analyse the make-up of individual cancer patients’ tumours and, using this information, assign them to particular treatments and phase I clinical trials – an approach that could become part of everyday clinical practice. In research presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR […]

Mesothelioma drug slows disease progression in patients with an inactive NF2 gene

Preliminary findings from the first trial of a new drug for patients with mesothelioma show that it has some success in preventing the spread of the deadly disease in patients lacking an active tumour suppressor gene called NF2. The study was presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in […]

New targeted therapy for advanced prostate cancer shows anti-tumour activity in phase I clinical trials

Few available treatment options exist once prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body and has failed to respond to therapies that involve blocking the male hormone androgen. Patients with advanced, hormone-refractory prostate cancer usually die from the disease after 12 to 18 months, so new therapies are desperately needed. At the 24th […]

Researchers develop non-invasive technique for predicting patients’ response to chemotherapy

Researchers have developed a non-invasive way of predicting how much of a cancer-killing drug is absorbed by a tumour. The preliminary study, which was reported at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland, was conducted in lung cancer patients and it also revealed that less than one per […]

Patients with aberrations in two genes respond better to drugs blocking a well-known cancer pathway

Cancer patients with mutations or variations in two genes – PIK3CA and PTEN – who have failed to respond to several, standard treatments, respond significantly better to anti-cancer drugs that inhibit these genes’ pathways of action, according to research presented at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland. […]