January 11, 2007. A growth-factor drug commonly used to help cancer patients maintain levels of infection-fighting white blood cells during and after chemotherapy may stimulate growth of tumors in bones, a new study says.

The growth factor, called granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is known by the trade names Neupogen, Neulasta and Granocyte.

G-CSF’s detrimental effect on bone tumors may be cancelled out by adding a bisphosphonate to the treatment.

These findings come from a study by researchers in St. Louis and bear out research years ago that showed that G-CSF weakens bone.

FULL STORY….

Charlie Rose show, midnight Jan 9th/10th, featured three conversations about genetics and diseases, especially cancer. Charlie talked with two Nobel prize winners, DNA co-discoverer James Watson, of Cold Spring Harbor, and cell biologist Paul Nurse, President of Rockefeller University. He also talked with Eric Lander, a leader of the international Human Genome Project, and finally with Craig Venter, President of The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) , a not-for-profit research institute dedicated to the advancement of the science of genomics.

This show may be repeated on your local PBS station in daytime January 10th. Check the PBS website for your area or Charlie Rose’s website, http://www.charlierose.com. Times for his broadcasts are posted top right below a link to the first episode in this science series. Look for video of this show to be posted there shortly.

Scientists have long thought that limiting the calories a person consumes can prevent, or at least slow the progression of certain cancers. But researcher at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) using mice suggests that body composition — whether a person is lean or obese — actually is key to reducing cancer risks.

How the body handles calories, these researchers say, is much more important to controlling cancer risks than how many or how few calories are consumed — a finding that could have strong implications for preventing and treating cancer in humans.

Get your TIVOs ready. Prepare for ads like those for HEADON (“Apply directly to the forehead, HEADON!”). A marketer in New Albany, NY has come up with a nasal spray to prevent prostate cancer. What’s in the spray? Hot pepper. He must be kidding, right?

RRTNews reports today that Cephalon says that their pain medication Fentora gives faster pain relief in cancer patients and people with chronic pain conditions.

“Cephalon Inc. (CEPH) reported positive results from two Phase III clinical trials of its drug Fentora, in the treatment of opioid-tolerant patients with breakthrough pain associated with chronic pain conditions as well as opioid-tolerant patients with cancer.”

“Fentora, approved by the FDA in September 2006, is the first pain reliever in seven years to be approved for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients who are already taking opioids for underlying, persistent cancer pain. In the earlier clinical trials submitted as part of the Fentora New Drug Application, the company evaluated pain relief at 15 minutes. It usually takes 30-45 minutes for other pain medications to take effect.”

Full story from RRTNews.

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) announced today the results of its multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial of MPC-7869 (Flurizan™ R-flurbiprofen) in prostate cancer.

The drug had no side effects but nor did it have any positive effect on the patients’ prostate “ancer. The company will not pursue Flurizan™ further for cancer but will continue to look for other uses, primarily for Alzheimer’s disease.

ZK-Epothilone (ZK-Epo) is a novel chemotherapy drug currently in clinical trials to see if it has an effect against advanced prostate, ovarian and breast cancer. ZK-Epo may work differently than Taxotere and other taxane drugs. It is being tested against all three cancers at centers across the USA and also in Argentina (for ovarian cancer) and Canada (for breast cancer) .

ZK-Epothilone (ZK-Epo) is a novel chemotherapy drug currently in clinical trials to see if it has an effect against advanced prostate, ovarian and breast cancer. ZK-Epo may work differently than Taxotere and other taxane drugs. It is being tested against all three cancers at centers across the USA and also in Argentina (for ovarian cancer) and Canada (for breast cancer) .

One of the medical centers now recruiting prostate cancer patients for this trial is Oregon Health and Science University (OSHU). The chief clinical investigator for the OSHU trial is Tomasz Beer, MD.

What happens to men diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer after primary surgery if they have never received hormonal therapy (androgen blockade) by means of drugs like Lupron, Zoladex or Casodex? In a paper e-published October 30 in European Urology, Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers Peter Scardino, Howard I Scher and O. Yossepowitch et al. look at this issue.

The results may be of interest to those men who wonder if they might be putting themselves at risk by not accepting hormonal blockade before or immediately after primary treatment with radical prostatectomy.

The aim was to follow the “natural history of metastatic prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy (RP) in patients followed expectantly for rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) (noncastrate metastases).”

Michael King, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester, has successfully demonstrated that implants coated with selectins are able to harvest adult stem cells while simultaneously triggering apoptotic signals in circulating cancer cells.
Medgadget.com January 5 2007