Biologics, Inc. has announced that a new oral medication for relapsed small cell lung cancer, Hycamtin (topotecan) Capsules, is now available through its oncology pharmacy. Doctors specializing in cancer treatment choose Biologics for dispensing prescriptions to their patients because as it offers clinical expertise in oncology and exceptional service. Biologics, Inc. helps patients, clinicians, manufacturers and researchers throughout the United States in management of cancer. The company’s expertise is in reimbursement, distribution and patient management. Its pharmacy has more than 60 drugs used in treating cancer.

Accuray Inc. and IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc. will be collaborating for development of inter-operability between the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System and the MOSAIQ® oncology information system. Treatment plan and delivery information from the CyberKnife System will be fed directly into the electronic medical record of IMPAC with the use of DICOM standard interface protocols. This will facilitate clinicians who will have all the data in a single, easily-accessible and readily available to make timely and informed medical decisions.

An emerging nano-medicine company, Nanobiotix,  with its focus on development of therapies for cancer, has announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued a patent for its “novel activable particles” which can be useful in the medical sector.
The patent seeks to protect composite particles which have ability to generate heat when energized by X-rays. There use in the development of treatments for diseases in particularly human beings is also patented. Designed to destroy cancer cells precisely through the controlled application of an external source of energy, the NanoXray will advance the treatment of cancer in human body.

A research at University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine has concluded that massage therapy can relieve the patients of advanced cancer from pain and depression. However, these improvements didn’t last over time. Massage had an impact in the immediate time frame, without any sustained benefits. The study included 380 adults suffering from different types advanced cancer as lung, breast, pancreatic, colorectal and prostate. A massage from a trained therapist can be definitely soothing. It must be noted, however, that may insurance companies do not reimburse the cost of massage therapy.

A research conducted at Wayne State University has found a breast cancer vaccine that completely eliminates cancers that are resistant to current anti-HER2 therapy – without any toxicity in mice. The study suggests the vaccine could treat women with HER2-positive breast cancer. The vaccine has the potential to eliminate the need to depend on use of current therapies. It consists of naked DNA – genes that produce the HER2 receptor along with an immune stimulant.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to Novartis’ RAD001 (everolimus) on the basis of the drug’s potential to benefit patients suffering from advanced kidney cancer who showed no improvement after the standard treatment. The data collected from a trial shows that RAD001 curbs tumor growth, reducing the risk of disease progression by 70%.Novartis has already applied for marketing authorization for RAD001 with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic). EMEA has even accepted the proposed brand name for RAD001, Afinitor®.

VELCADE (bortezomib) has received Health Canada approval for treatment of multiple myeloma, a fatal form of blood cancer. As part of combination therapy, VELCADE has been indicated for the treatment of patients who are suffering from previously untreated multiple myeloma and are unsuitable for stem cell transplantation. Following this approval, patients with multiple myeloma can now receive VELCADE earlier that may prove helpful in slowing the progression of the disease. Multiple myeloma is an aggressive disease that advances very swiftly, with the patient’s condition worsening exponentially.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc., on the 30th of August, 2008, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for use of DAVANAT® in combination with 5-FU to treat a patient of breast cancer at the Brown Cancer Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Also, DAVANAT is being administered in Phase II clinical trials for first-line treatment of colorectal and biliary cancer patients. Studies showed that DAVANAT®, when given along with chemotherapy, reduced tumor growth and toxicity considerably in mice implanted with metastatic human breast cancer. It also lowered the levels of side effects.