| Substance In Tree Bark Could Lead To New Lung-Cancer Treatment
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined how a substance derived from the bark of the South American lapacho tree kills certain kinds of cancer cells, findings that also suggest a novel treatment for the most common type of lung cancer.
The compound, called beta-lapachone, has shown promising anti-cancer properties and is currently being used in a clinical trial to examine its effectiveness against pancreatic cancer in humans. Until now, however, researchers didn't know the mechanism of how the compound killed cancer cells.
Dr. David Boothman, a professor in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior author of a study appearing online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has been researching the compound and how it causes cell death in cancerous cells for 15 years.
Study Presented at ASCO Shows Encouraging Preliminary Results for ...
VANCOUVER and CARLSBAD, CA, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OncoGenex Technologies Inc. and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced preliminary data from a Phase II clinical trial of OGX-011 in combination with docetaxel and prednisone in patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Data were presented by Dr. Kim Chi, Study Chair and a medical oncologist at BC Cancer Agency - Vancouver Centre, representing the National Cancer Institute of Canada - Clinical Trials Group at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.
Eighty-one patients with metastatic or locally recurrent prostate cancer refractory to hormone therapy were randomized to one of two treatment arms to receive either 640 mg OGX-011 per week in combination with docetaxel and prednisone or docetaxel and prednisone alone.
Edward Cancer Center Treats Lung Cancer With Novel Adaptive
Naperville, IL - Clinicians at Edward Hospital here are using Trilogy technology from Varian Medical Systems to offer some cancer patients a novel treatment that adapts to changes in the tumor so that more healthy tissue can be preserved. This is particularly promising in the treatment of lung cancer, when breathing is already compromised and the doctor must spare as much healthy lung tissue as possible. In one case, doctors discovered a very large, fast growing tumor in a 69-year-old former smoker who had developed a persistent cough and wheezing. Tests revealed that she had small cell lung cancer, an aggressive form of the disease. "We needed to use radiation right away to shrink the tumor quickly, because it was collapsing her lung and making it difficult for her to breathe," said Vasudha Lingareddy, MD, medical director of the Edward Cancer Center Department of Radiation Oncology.
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