2016

Phase I trial shows that a drug that inhibits the Notch signalling process is active in a range of advanced cancers

Munich, Germany: A new anti-cancer drug that inhibits a key cell signalling process involved in many different cancers has shown that it is capable of stopping the progression of cancer and shrinking tumours. Importantly, it has been able to do this in rare cancers that are less well-studied such as adenoid cystic carcinoma. Dr Christophe […]

Advanced soft tissue sarcomas respond to a combination of a new and an existing anti-cancer drug

Munich, Germany: Researchers working to find effective treatments for soft tissue sarcomas have discovered that combining a new anti-cancer drug with an existing one kills cancer cells not only in the laboratory but also in the first two patients treated with it, leading to unusually long-lasting periods without the disease progressing. Soft tissue sarcomas – […]

‘Revolution in our understanding of cancer’ sees dramatic responses to targeted treatments in advanced cancers

Results from three ground-breaking studies show early benefit to patients Munich, Germany: The “revolution in the understanding of cancer at the molecular level” has led to dramatic responses in cancer patients to new therapies that are targeted precisely at their particular type of tumours, according to an expert. Dr Kapil Dhingra, a member of the […]

How highs and lows in testosterone levels ‘shock’ prostate cancer cells to death

Munich, Germany: A strategy of alternately flooding and starving the body of testosterone is producing good results in patients who have metastatic prostate cancer that is resistant to treatment by chemical or surgical castration, according to new findings. In a presentation at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Munich, […]

Promising results from new drug combination in patients with advanced solid tumours

Munich, Germany: An experimental drug called TAS-114, which has the potential to increase the anti-cancer effects of chemotherapy without increasing adverse side effects, has shown promising results in patients with hard-to-treat cancers in a phase I clinical trial. In a presentation at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Munich, […]

Anti-cancer drug, CB-839, in combination with everolimus, stops tumours growing in patients with advanced kidney cancer

Munich, Germany: The first drug to target a key enzyme that cancer cells need to keep them alive has shown that it is effective in controlling disease in patients with advanced kidney cancer when it is used in combination with another anti-cancer drug, everolimus. Dr Funda Meric-Bernstam told the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular […]

World’s largest study shows effects of long-term exposure to air pollution and traffic noise on blood pressure

Long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a greater incidence of high blood pressure, according to the largest study to investigate the effects of both air pollution and traffic noise by following over 41,000 people in five different countries for five to nine years. The study, which is published in the European Heart Journal […]

First results from the world’s oldest group of ICSI men show they have lower semen quantity and quality

First results from the world’s oldest group of young men conceived by means of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) fertility treatment because of their fathers’ infertility have shown that they have lower sperm quantity and quality than men who were spontaneously conceived. The study, which is published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading […]

Deaths from ovarian cancer decline worldwide due to oral contraceptive use

Deaths from ovarian cancer fell worldwide between 2002 and 2012 and are predicted to continue to decline in the USA, European Union (EU) and, though to a smaller degree, in Japan by 2020, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1]. The main reason is the use of oral […]

First randomised trial shows IVF culture media affect the outcomes of embryos and babies

Fertility experts call for full information on composition of culture media to be made available Fertility experts are calling on the companies who make the solutions in which embryos are cultured during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to give a clear list of ingredients following publication of a trial that shows that the composition of these […]