Cancer Research

HALIFAX, England and NOVA SCOTIA, Canada, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, unveiled today its DepoVax(TM) platform, a novel depot vaccine delivery system used to increase the efficacy and strength of vaccines. IVT has filed additional patents to protect the DepoVax(TM) concept. "The results from our preclinical studies demonstrate that DepoVax(TM) is highly effective with a single dose," remarked Marc Mansour, vice president of research and development at IVT. "DepoVax(TM) is superior to conventional vaccine formulations in its…

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck Serono (NYSE: SRA), a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and its partner ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGEN) today announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of atacicept in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). "This trial with atacicept underlines Merck Serono's long-term commitment to patients with multiple sclerosis," said Dr. Anton Hoos, Head of Global Development at Merck Serono. "Atacicept has the potential to complement existing MS drugs by offering a novel mode of…

Metastasis, the spread of cancer throughout the body, can be explained by the fusion of a cancer cell with a white blood cell in the original tumor, according to Yale School of Medicine researchers, who say that this single event can set the stage for cancer’s migration to other parts of the body. The studies, spanning 15 years, have revealed that the newly formed hybrid of the cancer cell and white blood cell adapts the white blood cell’s natural ability to migrate around the body, while going through the uncontrolled cell division of the original cancer cell. This causes a metastatic cell…

Maturity, in some respects, brings diminished possibilities. As a fertilized egg cell repeatedly divides to grow into a mature animal, most of the resulting cells become ever more specialized. But a small number of cells, known as stem cells, remain uncommitted even as they spawn more specialized progeny. The most versatile stem cells, taken from days-old embryos, are able to form any cell type — but studying them in people is controversial. Even in adults, however, other types of stem cells persist that have a more limited repertoire. Some replace specific cells as they wear out; others…

LONDON, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite the union has today on Workers' Memorial Day called the approach by the semiconductor industry, in response to the Health and Safety Minister's support for the view that the industry should fund a national study into occupational cancer risk in the computer and semiconductor manufacturing industry, as curious and perplexing. Unite, the largest union in the UK, is pressing for the UK computer components/ semiconductor industry to initiate industry wide research into cancer risks in the industry. The union, in particular, wants the industry to institute…

TORONTO, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Readers in Europe and other parts of the world are enjoying Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story, the debut book from London-born author Shireen Jeejeebhoy. It tells the moving and poignant story of a Canadian woman who made medical history as the first person to live long-term strictly on intravenous feeding without eating any food. The book has just scooped awards in the US for Editor's Choice and Publisher's Choice and won first place in the Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award in the Biography Category. Judy Taylor's doctor was the author's father, Dr…

DUBLIN, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The modern world is entrenched in a love-hate affair with sugar. It proliferates throughout our daily diet, we crave it, we adore it and yet it destroys our health. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/zsweet/32699/ Our passion for the substance has created epidemic levels in such areas as diabetes and obesity. It seems an addiction beyond the control of its victims. There is a solution. Zsweet(R) is a sugar alternative that is proven harmless to blood sugar levels. A clinical study by the Glycemic Index…

TORONTO, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Readers in Europe and other parts of the world are enjoying Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story, the debut book from London-born author Shireen Jeejeebhoy. It tells the moving and poignant story of a Canadian woman who made medical history as the first person to live long-term strictly on intravenous feeding without eating any food. The book has just scooped awards in the US for Editor's Choice and Publisher's Choice and won first place in the Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award in the Biography Category. Judy Taylor's doctor was the author's father, Dr…

Depending on which variant of the gene CYP1A2 a woman has, a coffee consumption rate of at least two cups a day can either reduce the total risk of developing breast cancer or delay the onset of cancer, according to new research from Lund University and Malmö University in Sweden. The effect of coffee is related to estrogens - female sex hormones. Certain metabolic products of these hormones are known to be carcinogenic and various components of coffee can alter the metabolism so that a woman acquires a better configuration of various estrogens. Coffee, of course, contains caffeine, which…

MILAN, Italy, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- - Genomics improves our ability to target experimental cancer treatments - A promising new drug is in hand, and more are on the way - Improved ability to select patients to test particular drugs At today's sessions of this, the final day of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), leading hepatologists described several important advances in understanding and provide novel treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most notably, progress has been made by acquiring data that improve our understanding of…