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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:43 GMT

Immune therapies finally working against cancer

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:38 GMT

From the Associated Press via Yahoo News
Excerpt: ... The approach is called a cancer vaccine, although it treats the disease rather than prevents it.

At a cancer conference Sunday, researchers said one such vaccine kept a common form of lymphoma from worsening for more than a year. That's huge in this field, where progress is glacial and success with a new treatment is often measured in weeks or even days.
Experimental vaccines against three other cancers prostate, the deadly skin disease melanoma and an often fatal childhood tumor called neuroblastoma also gave positive results in late-stage testing in recent weeks, after decades of struggles in the lab. ...

... I don't know what we did differently to make the breakthrough," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society.

Instead of a single "A-Ha!" moment, there have been many "ah, so" discoveries about the immune system that now seem to be paying off, said Dr. John Niederhuber, director of the National Cancer Institute.

More Here

Help on Chemo from the Spice Rack

Sat, 16 May 2009 21:18 GMT

From: The Boston Globe
Excerpt: Chemotherapy could soon become a little less grueling.

Simply adding a teaspoon of ginger to food consumed in the days before, during, and after chemotherapy can reduce the often debilitating side effects of nausea and vomiting, a large, randomized clinical trial has found. And a newer type of antinausea drug, when added to standard medications, can help prevent such side effects as well. ...

... In the ginger study, 644 patients, most of them female, from 23 oncology practices throughout the United States received two standard antiemetic medications at the time of chemotherapy. They also were given capsules containing either 0.5 gram, 1 gram, or 1.5 grams of ginger, or placebo capsules. The patients took the capsules containing the placebo or ginger for three days before chemotherapy and three days after the treatment.
All of the patients receiving ginger experienced less nausea for four days after chemotherapy, said study lead author Julie L. Ryan of the University of Rochester Medical Center. Doses of 0.5 gram and 1 gram were the most effective, reducing nausea by 40 percent compared with the patients taking the placebo.

More here

CNTO328 Shown to Stop Growth of Ovarian Tumors

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:26 GMT

From the London Daily Mail

Excerpt: Doctors gave the drug, known only as CNTO328, to 18 ovarian cancer patients from north-east London and Essex in a trial that started in late 2007.

None had been expected to live more than a year because their cancer had returned despite several courses of chemotherapy.

Eight found their tumours stabilised or stopped growing - likely extending their life expectancy.

While the figure may seem small, it is much higher than the five to 20 per cent response rate seen with most experimental cancer drugs.

Lead researcher, Professor Iain McNeish, of Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, said: 'The hope with this group of patients was to slow down the progress of their ovarian cancer, improve their quality of life and possibly make them live longer.

'We have been quite successful in doing that.

'If this becomes a treatment, this is a whole new approach to ovarian cancer.'

Click here for the article

Click here for clinical trials using CNTO328 for different kinds of cancer

San Jose, California ~ 26 Year Old Man Dies After Being Tasered

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:28 GMT

San Jose, California ~ 26 Year Old Man Dies After Being Tasered (Edwin Rodriguez)

Wilmington, North Carolina ~ Undercover Cop Tasers Pallbearer at Father's Funeral

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:14 GMT

Wilmington, North Carolina ~ Undercover Cop Tasers Pallbearer at Father's Funeral

One-Dose Cure for Testicular Cancer

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:09 GMT

From BBC
Excerpt:

A study has concluded that one dose of chemotherapy is the best way to cure testicular cancer in many patients. ...

...The study, led by Southampton University, followed almost 1,500 patients, 904 given radiotherapy, and 573 carboplatin.

The rate of relapse in both groups was roughly the same, and lead researcher Dr Ben Mead said the results were "reassuring" and that carboplatin was the better option.

"Giving patients a carboplatin injection rather than radiotherapy is less unpleasant with fewer long-term risks.

"The initial results of the trial looked encouraging, but we needed to follow patients for another four years before we knew for sure that they had been cured."

Although practice was changing in Europe to include carboplatin, in many other parts of the world, including the US, radiotherapy remains standard treatment, and Dr Mead said he hoped this would now change.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7647007.stm

Brooklyn, New York ~ Nude Man Tasered, Causing Him to Fall to His Death (Iman Morales)

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:37 GMT

Brooklyn, New York ~ Nude Man Tasered, Causing Him to Fall to His Death (Iman Morales)

Garden Grove, California ~ 32-Year-Old "Mentally Disturbed" Man Dies After Being Tasered (Andy Tran)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:12 GMT

Garden Grove, California ~ 32-Year-Old "Mentally Disturbed" Man Dies After Being Tasered (Andy Tran)

Moberly, Missouri ~ 23-Year-Old Dies After Being Tasered (Stanley James William Harlan)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:50 GMT

Moberly, Missouri ~ 23-Year-Old Dies After Being Tasered (Stanley James William Harlan)

Swissvale, Pennsylvania ~ Man Dies After Being Shocked with Taser (Andre Thomas)

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:37 GMT

Swissvale, Pennsylvania ~ Man Dies After Being Shocked with Taser (Andre Thomas)

Winnfield, Louisiana ~ Officer Charged in Death of Tasered Man (Baron "Scooter" Pikes)

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:52 GMT

Winnfield, Louisiana ~ Officer Charged in Death of Tasered Man (Baron "Scooter" Pikes)

Recent Headlines

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:39 GMT

FBI's Evidence in Anthrax Case Said to be Mosty Circumstantial
Congress Probes Electrocutions in Iraq
Police Raid Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs
Botched SWAT Raid Officers Given Medal for "Bravery Under Fire"
Ashcroft Tells Congress Waterboarding Doesn't Constitute Torture
Congress Votes to Ban Contractors from Performing CIA Interrogations
MD State Police Spied on Anti-War & Anti-Death Penalty Groups
Troops Abandon Base where Nine Marines were Killed
Blue Shield Sued for Allegedly Lying about Coverage
Voters to Decide on George W Bush Sewer Plant
Unknown Disease Killing Iraqi Cattle
Iraqi Councilman Kills Two U. S. Soldiers
US Wants Right to Attack Any Country from Iraq
White House Blocking Army's Plan to Overhaul Contracting System

Branson, Missouri ~ Police Taser Teen with Broken Back 19 Times

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:45 GMT

Branson, Missouri ~ Police Taser Teen with Broken Back 19 Times

Long Beach, California ~ 18-year-old Burglary Suspect Dead after Being Tasered

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:38 GMT

Long Beach, California ~ 18-year-old Burglary Suspect Dead after Being Tasered