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Brain Stem Cells Against Cancer?
2007-11-06 16:27:00
Gliomas are a group of brain tumors where the most common type is also the most aggressive one. Chemotherapy and radiation have little effect on malignant gliomas, and patients survive only about a year after being diagnosed. But research at Lund University in Sweden provides hope that it may be possible in the future to develop stem cells from the brain into a new way to treat gliomas.Neural stem cells have been shown to have the ability to recognize signals from tumor cells in the brain and migrate there. If stem cells are injected into a part of the brain in laboratory animals with a glioma in another part of their brain, the stem cells migrate over to the tumor area.This has spawned the idea of having stem cells transport drugs or immune stimulants to the tumor. This was the principle the Lund scientists wanted to test. But as it turned out, no extra assistance was needed: the stem cells themselves had the ability to combat the tumor."We were truly amazed when we saw this effect...
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Brain Stem Cells Against Cancer?
2007-05-07 20:05:00
Gliomas are a group of brain tumors where the most common type is also the most aggressive one. Chemotherapy and radiation have little effect on malignant gliomas, and patients survive only about a year after being diagnosed. But research at Lund University in Sweden provides hope that it may be possible in the future to develop stem cells from the brain into a new way to treat gliomas. Neural stem cells have been shown to have the ability to recognize signals from tumor cells in the brain and migrate there. If stem cells are injected into a part of the brain in laboratory animals with a glioma in another part of their brain, the stem cells migrate over to the tumor area. This has spawned the idea of having stem cells transport drugs or immune stimulants to the tumor. This was the principle the Lund scientists wanted to test. But as it turned out, no extra assistance was needed: the stem cells themselves had the ability to combat the tumor. "We were truly amazed when we saw th...
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Researchers Urge Monitoring Of Bone Health During Chemotherapy
2007-05-07 18:04:00
In laboratory tests on mice, researchers found that a medication often used to reduce toxic side effects of chemotherapy induced bone loss and helped tumors grow in bone. So the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are recommending increased awareness of bone health during cancer treatments. The medication studied is a growth factor commonly used to help cancer patients recover healthy blood counts after chemotherapy, which can destroy white blood cells. Low levels of white blood cells leave patients susceptible to infection. "This growth factor encourages bone breakdown, and any therapy that decreases bone density could potentially enhance tumor growth in bone," says senior author Katherine Weilbaecher, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and of cell biology and physiology. "But there are things that can be done to counteract this. Physicians should carefully monitor their cancer patient's bone health with regular bone density scans (DEXA) a...
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High-Power MRI Helps Surgical Team Predict Outcomes In Unusual Tumor Cases
2007-05-07 17:04:00
A Mayo Clinic surgical team has found that using a 3-Tesla MRI in surgical decision making provides a new level of capability to predict surgical outcomes that improves patient care by minimizing the potential for unsuccessful tumor-removal surgeries. The Mayo Clinic report appears in the December issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. In their report, Mayo physicians describe a case study of five patients. Four had neurofibromatosis, a condition with a predisposition to nerve-related tumors. All patients suffered from growths called "sciatic notch dumbbell-shaped" tumors. The tumors were benign, but resulted in neurologic dysfunction and disabling pain. "In the past, if surgeons couldn't tell prior to surgery where the exact location of the large tumor was in relation to the sciatic nerve, it meant they couldn't predict in which cases surgery could be performed safely," explains Robert Spinner, M.D., the lead neurosurgeon on the Mayo Clinic team. The team used an advanced ma...
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Blog Carnival Edit
2007-05-07 17:02:00
Cancer blogs carnival Vahid Chaychi presents Coping with Depression When You Have Cancer posted at Cancer and Health Topics.Andrea Dickson presents The Cost of Tanning posted at Wise Bread - Living large on a small budget.Vahid Chaychi presents HPV (cause of cervical cancer) Vaccine Causes Controversy posted at Healthoma.com.See the top online resources for prostate... posted at Prostate cancer treatment
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Newly Released Prisoners At High Risk For Death
2007-05-07 16:05:00
Prisoners who have been recently released from prison have a high death rate, especially in the first two weeks after release, a new study finds. The findings will be published in the Jan. 11 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine . The study was conducted by Ingrid Binswanger, MD, of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center's School of Medicine, Marc Stern, MD, health services director of the Washington State Department of Corrections, and other researchers at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Binswanger conducted the research while taking part in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Washington and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. In the first study of its kind in the U.S., Binswanger analyzed data from 30,237 inmates released from prison between 1999 and 2003 in Washington state. The sample represented almost all prisoners released during that time. Of those individuals, 4...
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Study Shows Potential Of Targeted Microbubbles Using Peregrine's VTA Techno
2007-04-17 01:56:00
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, today announced publication of a study demonstrating that microbubbles targeted to tumor blood vessels can be used to monitor patient response to anti-angiogenesis therapy, identifying at an early stage which cancer patients are benefiting from the treatment. This information could allow oncologists to modify patient treatment regimens soon after starting therapy, so that non-responders could be switched to other therapies that might be more effective for them. The potential of the approach is enhanced by the fact that the targeted microbubbles are "read" using ultrasound technology, which is widely available in most physicians' offices and is minimally invasive, safe and cost-effective. The research, the results of which appear in the January 1, 2007 issue of Clinical Cancer ...
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Aida Pharmaceuticals Receives Approval And Commences Phase II Trials Of Pot
2007-04-17 01:16:00
Aida Pharma ceuticals, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: AIDA), one of mainland China's leading pharmaceutical companies, today announced that the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) of China has officially approved the commencement of Phase II clinical trials of the genetic cancer treatment Rh-Apo2L,the Category A biopharmaceutical currently in development phase by the Company's subsidiary Shanghai Qiaer Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Aida Pharmaceuticals previously announced its plans to begin Phase II trials throughout mainland China this year. These trials will take place in approximately 20 hospitals in major metropolitan candidate areas including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Hefei, Jinan, Chengdu, Changsha, Wuhan, Dalian and Guangzhou. The Phase II trials will analyze the effect of Rh-Apo2L on two types of tumors chosen from the following cancers: advanced inert lymphoma, malignant melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma, pancreatic cancer...
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Curing Kids' Cancer Announces 2006 Pediatric Cancer Research Grants
2007-04-16 23:56:00
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins has been named the primary recipient of the 2006 grants from Curing Kids ' Cancer, the charity that raises money for leading edge pediatric cancer research through kids' sports teams and school children. A $100,000 grant was given to Johns Hopkins for research into new targeted therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. The project, led by Dr. Curt Civin, is part of the combined efforts at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute. "We are thrilled to help fund this promising research at Johns Hopkins," said Grainne Owen, co-founder of Curing Kids' Cancer. "We are determined to help the doctors find cures for childhood cancers -- turning it from a killer disease into just another curable childhood illness -- in our lifetime." "We're honored to receive this grant from Curing Kids' Cancer," said Dr. Civin. "We're especi...
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New Treatment For Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia)
2007-04-16 23:16:00
A significant reduction in parasite burden and pathology by a vinyl sulfone cysteine protease inhibitor suggests a new direction for chemotherapy of human schistosomiasis. Citation: Abdulla M, Lim KC, Sajid M, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR (2007) Schistosomiasis mansoni: Novel chemotherapy using a cysteine protease inhibitor. PLoS Med 4(1): e14. PL EASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT ### PLEASE MENTION THE OPEN-ACCESS JOURNAL PLoS MEDICINE (http://www.plosmedicine.org/) AS THE SOURCE FOR THESE ARTICLES AND PROVIDE A LINK TO THE FREELY-AVAILABLE TEXT. THANK YOU. All works published in PLoS Medicine are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere--to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use--subject only to the condition that the original authorship is properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution ...
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Non-prescription Compound Found In Chillies Destroys Cancer Tumours Safely
2007-04-16 21:50:00
UK scientists have shown that capsaicin, the chemical that burns your mouth when you eat chillies and an active ingredient of over the counter drugs, can kill cancer cells with little or no harmful side-effects. The study is published in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. The team that conducted the research came from the Universities of Nottingham in England and Cardiff, in Wales, and was led by Dr Timothy Bates, who is a member of the Medical Research Council (MRC) College of Experts. The researchers believe that capsaicin, and other similar compounds, attack the mitochondria of cancerous cells, causing them to "switch off" and die (apoptosis, or cell death) without harming surrounding tissue. Mitochondria are organelles (tiny granules of tissue with their own DNA) that live inside the cells of our bodies and convert nutrients into ATP - the chemical fuel that feeds our cells with energy. Dr Bates, who is an international expert i...
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AstraZeneca Announces Recentin(R) As Global Trademark For Novel Cancer Trea
2007-04-16 21:10:00
AstraZeneca today announced RECENTIN™ as the global trademark for AZD2171, its oral, highly potent and selective vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signalling inhibitor. AZD2171 is currently in Phase II/III development for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) - as well as a wide-ranging signal search programme in other tumours. Ian Triggs, Global Brand Strategy Director for AZD2171 commented: "The announcement of a brand name represents a key milestone in the development of AZD2171" Dr Nick Botwood, Global Medical Director for AZD2171, added: "Pre-clinical data shows this compound is a potent suppressor of angiogenesis - an established approach in anti-cancer treatment. More importantly, early clinical trial data has also shown encouraging anti-tumour activity with AZD2171 and a side effect profile that appears to be predictable and manageable. The ongoing trial programme will be important to establish how AZD2171 may add ...
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Young Single Men Are More Likely To Bank Sperm Before Testicular Cancer Tre
2007-04-16 20:19:00
A quarter of men with testicular cancer banked their sperm before treatment, but only six per cent of those actually used the sperm to father a child, according to a study published in the January issue of the urology journal BJU International. Researchers from the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Nashville, USA, surveyed 129 males treated at the institution over a ten-year period. They discovered that 31 of the men (24 per cent) chose to bank their sperm before treatment, at an average cost of US $358. Maintenance fees added an average of US $243.86 a year. Despite the cost, only two of the men use their banked sperm to father a child, one said he might use it in the future and a further 12 had children naturally. Men who banked their sperm had an average age of 26 - ten years younger than those who didn't. They were less likely to have children at the time of diagnosis and more likely to have children after treatment. And single men were twice as likely to bank their...
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Tracing Agent, Ultrasound Combo Helps Test Cancer Therapy's Effectiveness
2007-04-16 20:07:00
An inexpensive tracing agent used in combination with ultrasound can pinpoint how effectively drugs targeting pancreatic cancer work, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have demonstrated for the first time. The study, involving human pancreatic tumor cells implanted in mice, opens a new avenue for real-time imaging of a patient's response to cancer therapies. It appears in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The UT Southwestern research team focused on pancreatic cancer because it is one of the deadliest cancers, characterized by extensive local invasion and metastasis to the liver, said Dr. Rolf Brekken, assistant professor of surgery and pharmacology and the study's senior author. The five-year survival rate ranges from only 1 percent to 4 percent for patients diagnosed with the most severe form of cancer of the pancreas called pancreatic andenocarcinoma. "The current best therapy - including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy - has done lit...
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Turning Green Gunk To Anti-Cancer Gold
2007-04-16 19:28:00
Combining synthetic chemistry techniques with a knowledge of the properties and actions of enzymes, scientists have been able to produce an exciting class of anti-cancer drugs originally isolated from blue-green algae. This accomplishment is expected to make it possible to produce enough of the promising drugs for use in clinical trials. In a study featured on the cover of the January issue of the journal ACS Chemical Biology, a scientific team lead by University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute Research Professor David H. Sherman and researcher Zachary Q. Beck found the trick to turning the green gunk into gold - cancer fighting gold. "It was simply too difficult to use the native blue-green algae for high-level production using traditional fermentation approaches," said Sherman. But the compound, called cryptophycin 1, held so much promise as an anti-cancer drug that organic chemists got busy trying to find ways to make a synthetic form of the compound in large enough quant...
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Homing Nanoparticles Pack Multiple Assault On Tumors
2007-04-16 19:11:00
A collaborative team led by Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at UC Santa Barbara (Burnham) has developed nanoparticles that seek out tumors and bind to their blood vessels, and then attract more nanoparticles to the tumor target. Using this system the team demonstrated that the homing nanoparticle could be used to deliver a "payload" of an imaging compound, and in the process act as a clotting agent, obstructing as much as 20% of the tumor blood vessels. These findings are pending publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and will be made available at the journal's website during the week of January 8, 2007. The promise of nanomedicine is based on the fact that a particle can perform more functions than a drug. Multifuncionality is demonstrated in the current study, in which researchers from Burnham, UC San Diego, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a nanoparticle that combined tumor-homing, self-a...
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Jefferson Scientists Find Guardian Gene's Choices Crucial To Stopping Cance
2007-04-16 18:18:00
Scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have uncovered a novel pathway by which the anti-cancer gene p53 springs into action, protecting a damaged cell from becoming cancer. The gene can either halt the cell's growth or send it spiraling toward certain death. How this choice is made, the researchers say, could have implications for future strategies in chemotherapy drug development. According to Steven McMahon, Ph.D., associate professor of cancer biology at Jefferson Medical College, who led the work, the p53 gene's - or rather its protein's - ability to direct a damaged cell to either stop growing or commit suicide depends on turning on separate groups of target genes. He and his co-workers have found that after a cell's DNA is damaged, the p53 protein's ability to bind to the DNA can be affected. Two enzymes, hMOF and TIP60, can chemically alter an amino acid, lysine 120, at the binding site, in turn influencing p53's decision...
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The Prognostic Significance Of Perineural Invasion In Prostatic Cancer Biop
2007-04-16 18:07:00
UroToday.com- Whether perineural invasion (PNI) identified in prostate cancer (CaP) biopsies is associated with disease recurrence is unclear from the literature. In an attempt to resolve this uncertainty, a systematic review was performed by Dr. Patricia Hamden and colleagues in the UK and published in the online edition of Cancer . What they found was that variable study design, execution and reporting excluded a definitive meta-analysis, but evidence suggests that PNI in biopsies was a significant prognostic indicator. The authors' strategy used 128 search terms to identify articles published between 1990 and 2005. A total of 41,295 titles were reviewed by at least 2 reviewers and 128 articles identified for close evaluation. Ultimately, 10 surgical and 11 radiotherapy articles on PNI in biopsies as it related to patient outcomes were used in the report. Data items specific to biopsy PNI in CaP included biopsy procedure (amount of cores, number of nerves present and ident...
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Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) Files For Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) W
2007-04-16 17:16:00
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (Nasdaq: CTIC; MTAX) today announced it has filed for a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the design of its phase III trial of XYOTAX for women with advanced lung cancer. The trial, PGT306, will focus exclusively on women with normal estrogen levels, the subset where XYOTAX demonstrated the greatest survival advantage in the STELLAR trials. The trial is expected to enroll 300 poor performance status (PS2) women who have advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and have not received prior chemotherapy. Only women with normal estrogen levels either as a result of pre-menopausal age or hormone replacement therapy will be randomized in the follow-on study to the PIONEER trial. "Through our clinical studies in 2006, we have gained important insights into the best lung cancer patient population to target our XYOTAX pivotal trial effort in order to minimize end-of-trial surpri...
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Texas Legislature To Consider Requiring Gardasil For Sixth Grade Girls, New
2007-04-16 16:10:00
The Texas Legislature in the new session that begins on Tuesday will consider two bills (SB 110, HB 215) that would require girls entering the sixth grade to receive Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, KENS 5 Eyewitness News/San Antonio Express-News reports (Rigby, KENS 5 Eyewitness News/San Antonio Express-News, 1/4). Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 approved the vaccine for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/5). The measure would allow parents to apply for an exemption if they do not want their daughters to receive Gardasil. State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D) plans to sponsor the Senate version of the...
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Tumor-Suppressor Gene Critical For Placenta Development
2007-04-16 16:05:00
An important cancer-related gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta, the organ that controls nutrient and oxygen exchange between a mother and her fetus during pregnancy, and perhaps in miscarriages. Those conclusions come from a new study of the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene in mice. In humans, this gene, when mutated, raises the risk of a rare cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma. Two decades ago, it was identified as the first tumor-suppressor gene, a class of genes that protects cells from becoming cancerous. It has since been shown to be inactivated in many cancers. In this study, researchers shut off the Rb gene in stem cells that give rise to most of the placenta, resulting in an abnormal placenta and death of the embryos. The findings provide new insights into development of the placenta and into how the Rb gene blocks tumor growth. They also raise the possibility that this important tumor-suppressor gene might play a role in miscarriages. The s...
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Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Five-Year Survivors 65 And Up Live Nearly As Long
2007-04-16 15:16:00
A new study shows that pancreatic cancer patients 65 or older who live at least five years after surgery have nearly as good a chance as anyone else to live another five years. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia reviewed the records of 890 patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent the standard pancreaticoduodenectomy, or Whipple procedure, which entails the removal of the gallbladder, common bile duct, part of the duodenum, and the head of the pancreas, between 1970 and 1999 at Johns Hopkins University. They identified those who lived for five years, and compared those who lived for at least an additional five years to the "actuarial" - or estimated - survival of the general population beginning at age 70. Reporting in the journal Surgery, they found that 201 patients (23 percent) lived five years after surgery, at least half of whom were 65 years old or older at the time of surgery. ...
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Genetic Factors Associated With Head And Neck Cancer Examined By Study
2007-04-16 15:07:00
Preliminary research indicates that several specific genetic alterations are associated with the development of smoking-related head and neck skin cancers, according to a report in the January 10 issue of JAMA. Despite its slowly declining incidence rate and a modest improvement in 5-year survival, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; a type of cancer similar to the common form of skin cancer) of the head and neck continues to be a clinical challenge. With a worldwide prevalence of more than 1.6 million, it is estimated that in 2006, about 30,990 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States. Even with the use of modern therapeutic options that include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapeutic intervention, 50 percent of all patients will ultimately die of this disease, with more than 7,400 deaths projected for 2006 in the United States, according to background information in the article. Charis Eng, M.D., Ph.D., of the Genomic Medicine Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Founda...
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Black Women Of Faith And Medicine: Working Together To Eradicate Cervical C
2007-04-16 12:39:00
100% Preventable. Spread the Word. Save a Sister. This is the new public education campaign message from the Balm In Gilead's 2007 ISIS Project (Intimate Sessions for Informed Sexuality). National Spokesperson Estelle H. Whitney, MD; Anafidelia Tavares, MD, MPH along with 20 African-American female clinicians came together at a press conference today at the Four Seasons Hotel to support the campaign and to announce the Balm In Gilead's new component of the ISIS Project: Black Women of Faith and Medicine : Working Together to Eradicate Cervical Cancer . The Balm In Gilead also announced its new public education program for this year's ISIS Project, the goal of which is to inform and educate African-American women about cervical cancer and to encourage them to take the HPV test and to become knowledgeable about the HPV vaccine. The ISIS Project encourages African-American women between the ages of 30 and 70 years old to become empowered to safeguard their health by lea...
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High-Power MRI Helps Mayo Clinic Surgical Team Predict Outcomes In Unusual
2007-04-16 12:34:00
A Mayo Clinic surgical team has found that using a 3-Tesla MRI in surgical decision making provides a new level of capability to predict surgical outcomes that improves patient care by minimizing the potential for unsuccessful tumor-removal surgeries. The Mayo Clinic report appears in the December issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. In their report, Mayo physicians describe a case study of five patients. Four had neurofibromatosis, a condition with a predisposition to nerve-related tumors. All patients suffered from growths called "sciatic notch dumbbell- shaped" tumors. The tumors were benign, but resulted in neurologic dysfunction and disabling pain. "In the past, if surgeons couldn't tell prior to surgery where the exact location of the large tumor was in relation to the sciatic nerve, it meant they couldn't predict in which cases surgery could be performed safely," explains Robert Spinner, M.D., the lead neurosurgeon on the Mayo Clinic team. ...
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Expanded Use For TheraSphere(R) Offers Physicians An Innovative Alternative
2007-04-16 11:49:00
MDS Nordion, a leading global provider of medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals used to diagnose and treat disease, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of TheraSphere(R) to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who have partial or branch portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and have been identified as suitable candidates by their physicians. HCC is the most common form of primary liver cancer. Portal vein thrombosis is a blockage, by a blood clot, of the portal vein, which brings blood to the liver. TheraSphere(R) is the first medical device approved in the U.S. to treat primary liver cancer patients with this condition. This expanded use extends the current approval of TheraSphere(R) as a Humanitarian Use Device for the treatment of HCC. Treating HCC patients who have PVT using traditional therapies is often difficult or impossible. Some treatments can slow or even stop blood flow altogether, potentially leadin...
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Soy Compound May Fight Breast, Ovarian Cancers, Says Tulane Cancer Research
2007-04-16 11:37:00
A compound produced by specially grown soy beans may prove to be successful in fighting the growth of breast and ovarian cancers, says Tulane cancer researcher Matthew Burow. Burow tested the compound, known as glyceollin, on mice with ovarian and breast cancer tumors that are stimulated by the hormone estrogen. Over time, the compound stopped further growth of the tumors by interfering with the tumor's ability to respond to estrogen. According to Burow, the finding is significant because of the lack of effective therapies available to women with advanced breast or ovarian cancer. Unlike some of the available therapies, the glyceollins did not stimulate uterine cancer growth. The results of the research were published in the December 2006 issue of Clinical Cancer Research . Burow has collaborated in the past with the United States Department of Agriculture and other institutions to fully understand the potential of glyceollins. In related research in pr...
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Moffitt Named Melanoma Center Of Excellence
2007-04-16 10:48:00
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute's Cutaneous Oncology Program has been recognized as one of the first top ten Melanoma Centers of Excellence named by the Melanoma Hope Network. The network works to recognize melanoma treatment centers across the United States that offer exceptional care, knowledge and compassion to patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma. ?  "We are particularly pleased to receive this designation because it recognizes the contributions and collaborations of all the members of the Cutaneous Program - dermatologists, pathologists, surgeons and medical and radiation oncologists - that have to work together in a Melanoma Center of Excellence," said Dr. Vernon Sondak, program leader of the Cutaneous Oncology Program. "We think this is just the beginning of what we can achieve as a group, and the better we work together the better it is for our melanoma patients and our patients with other skin cancers." ?  The program's comprehensive care at Moffit...
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Washington, D.C., Council Members Propose Measure To Require Girls Entering
2007-04-16 10:37:00
Washington, D.C., City Council Members Mary Cheh (D) and independent David Catania on Tuesday proposed a bill that would require girls entering the sixth grade to receive Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, the Washington Post reports (Stewart/Stein, Washington Post, 1/10). Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 approved the vaccine for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/9). According to the legislation, female students would be required to show proof of vaccination before enrolling in the sixth grade in District of Columbia Public Schools, unless their parent or legal guardian chose to "opt out" of the requir...
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South Dakota To Provide HPV Vaccine Gardasil At No Cost To Girls, Women Age
2007-04-16 09:42:00
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) on Monday said the state will provide Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil at no cost to girls and women ages 11 to 18, the AP/Yankton Press & Dakotan reports (Brokaw, AP/Yankton Press & Dakotan, 1/8). Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 approved the vaccine for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women 's Health Policy Report,1/9). The South Dakota Department of Health plans to purchase the vaccine using $1.7 million in state funds and $7.5 million in federal funds, state Health Secretary Doneen Hollingsworth said. State officials aim to provide Gardasil to physician offices and health department clinics by ...
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