Leukemia :: Researchers identify cells that make relapse inevitable in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Scientists in Australia have discovered that in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) there are “good” and “evil” clones of the same type of ALL cell. The “evil” cells are clones that have a pre-existing resistance to drugs used for treating ALL, and their presence in a patient means that person will inevitably relapse after chemotherapy, according to research presented at the 18th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

Kidney Cancer :: Systemic treatment before surgery for kidney cancer prolongs patients’ survival

Preliminary results from a phase II clinical trial have provided the first evidence that treating people with kidney cancer with bevacizumab and erlotinib before surgery is safe, effective and may prolong patients’ survival, the 18th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics heard on Thursday.

Melanoma :: Scientists harness diptheria toxin and interleukin 2 to help the immune system attack melanoma

Researchers investigating ways of prompting the immune system to recognise and kill tumour cells have found that a drug containing parts of the diptheria toxin appears to work well in patients with advanced melanoma, according to research presented at the 18th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics on Thursday.

Osteosarcoma :: IDM Pharma’s Mepact, mifamurtide – Junovan in the Treatment of Osteosarcoma

IDM Pharma (NASDAQ:IDMI) announced today that the company has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) in eCTD format (electronic common technical document) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for Mepact (mifamurtide for injection), requesting approval for its use in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed resectable high-grade osteosarcoma following surgical resection in combination with post-operative multi-agent chemotherapy. This announcement follows the October 25, 2006 submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for Junovan (mifamurtide for injection) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

Skin Care :: The Bile Soap – Galltval

A new bath soap is launched for skin care. One of the main ingredients in this soap is fresh ox bile. This does not sound very fancy, but the fact of the matter is the soap is very pleasant on the skin. It is said to be effective, too, since bile is a natural fat dissolving substance.