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NEWS ABOUT: cancer drugs

In Case of 2 Cancer Drug Shortages, Relief

FDA OKs imports of doxorubicin, methotrexate substitutes

(Newser) - Though the FDA cautions that "we're not out of the woods," it today announced that dangerous shortages of two cancer drugs are being addressed. Stores of the drugs in question—doxorubicin and methotrexate—became dangerously low after the company that made them closed its Ohio manufacturing facility... More »

Cancer Med Works Wonders Against Alzheimer's in Mice

Bexarotene removes plaque built up on brain

(Newser) - Scientists were "shocked and amazed" at the effects of a common cancer drug in battling Alzheimer's in mice. The disease causes a buildup of plaque in the brain—but just hours after mice received bexarotene, the plaque began to disappear and the mice got smarter, AFP reports. The... More »

Researchers Fight Cancer With Bacteria Found in Soil

C. sporogenes can activate drugs in cancer, leave body unharmed

(Newser) - A bacterium found in soil could be a useful tool in fighting many types of cancer, reports the BBC . The Clostridium sporogenes bacterium, a relative to botulism and tetanus, produces spores that only grow when there is no oxygen. The human body is full of oxygen, but solid cancer tumors,... More »

US Sees Dangerous Shortage of Cancer Drugs

Lawmakers, health officials trying to find solutions: New York Times

(Newser) - The New York Times today raises the alarm about serious shortages of drugs needed to treat common forms of cancer and other diseases. A record 180 such drugs have been deemed to be in short supply this year, and lawmakers, doctors' groups, and the drug industry itself are looking for... More »

Lockerbie Bomber Kept Alive by Pricey Wonder Drug

Hormone-based cancer drug ironically developed in UK

(Newser) - How is Abdel Basset al-Megrahi still breathing? UK doctors gave the convicted Lockerbie bomber just three months to live when he was released two years ago, but Libyan doctors have kept him alive with a brand-new hormone-based cancer drug called Abiraterone , a medic in Tripoli tells the Daily Telegraph . Abiraterone... More »

Two Skin Cancer Drugs Hailed as 'Breakthroughs'

Both can significantly increase survival for those with metastatic melanoma

(Newser) - Two new drugs offer new hope to patients with metastatic melanoma, the typically lethal advanced form of skin cancer. The trial of PLX4032, or vemurafenib, was so successful that the study was halted after three months so that all patients could receive the new drug, the Los Angeles Times reports.... More »

How Nanodiamonds Can Boost Cancer Drugs

New research shows the particles make drugs more effective

(Newser) - Cancer treatment could get a boost thanks to nanodiamonds, small carbon-based particles whose shape is similar to diamonds. Chemotherapy drugs often become ineffective, because cancer cells spit them out of cells too quickly. But by attaching anticancer drugs to nanodiamonds, the cancer cells are thwarted because they're unable to pump... More »

New Breast Cancer Drug Hails From Briny Deep

Natural drug discovery on the decline

(Newser) - Halaven, the new breast cancer drug the FDA approved in November, has an origin that’s rare in today’s pharmaceutical industry: It’s natural. Halaven is derived from halichondrin B, a chemical found in a species of black sponge that lives off the coast of Japan, the Wall Street ... More »

Scientists Hail Advances on Melanoma, Lung Cancer

New drugs show significant promise for treatment

(Newser) - Scientists say they've made notable progress against two of the most difficult cancers to treat—lung cancer and melanoma, reports the New York Times . On lung cancer, a drug in study of 82 people shrank the tumors of most participants, a result so remarkable that it will be featured at... More »

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