Skin rash in patients treated for liver cancer determines survivalJune 05, 2006ATLANTA— In a study of a new chemotherapy drug for liver cancer, researchers found that the development of a skin rash correlated directly with the patient's response to treatment. Patients who developed a rash lived twice as long as those who did not, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute presented today at the 42nd American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Atlanta. The study included 57 patients with advanced liver, gallbladder and bile duct cancers who were not candidates for surgery and who received a new agent called lapatinib that prevents two epidermal growth factors receptor (EGFR) pathways from becoming activated in cancer cells. The EGFR pathway has been implicated in the growth and spread of many cancers. When the researchers evaluated the toxic effects of treatment with lapatinib, they found that twenty of the patients treated had developed a skin rash. Patients who developed the rash lived for an average of 10 months, compared to five months for those patients who did not develop a rash. "While we don't yet know exactly why this has been reported here and in other studies, it has implications for predicting the growth of cancer and could be a method to identify patients with advanced cancer who would be most likely to respond to this treatment," said Ramesh K. Ramanathan, M.D., principal investigator of the study and associate professor of hematology and oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. According to the study results, lapatinib was well-tolerated by the patients. Two of the patients with primary liver cancer in the study had a partial response to treatment and the disease was stabilized in an additional 17 patients. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center |
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| Related Liver Cancer Current Events and Liver Cancer News Articles Researchers Identify Role of Gene in Tumor Development, Growth and Progression Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates -- hitting men harder than women. Largest-ever database for liver proteins may lead to treatments for hepatitis Scientists at a group of 11 research centers in China are reporting for the first time assembly of the largest-ever collection of data about the proteins produced by genes in a single human organ. 1 disease, not 1 demographic The Asian continent has nearly four billion people living in 47 different countries, and each of these groups has their own unique set of health issues. But when they come to the United States, they're often lumped into one large demographic: "Asian/Pacific Islander." Parasite growth hormone pushes human cells to liver cancer Scientists have found that the human liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) contributes to the development of bile duct (liver) cancer by secreting granulin, a growth hormone that is known to cause uncontrolled growth of cells. Certain cancers more common among HIV patients than non-HIV patients Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that non-AIDS-defining malignancies such as anal and lung cancer have become more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients since the introduction of anti-retroviral therapies in the mid-1990s. Discovery could improve hepatitis C treatment Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers are part of an international team that has discovered a genetic variation that could identify those people infected with hepatitis C who are most likely to benefit from current treatments. Sorafenib significantly improves the length of time before breast cancer worsens ne of the first of a series of trials to investigate the use of sorafenib - a targeted anti-cancer drug - for the treatment of advanced breast cancer has found that if it is combined with the chemotherapy drug, capecitabine, it makes a significant difference to the time women live without their disease worsening. Penn State College of Medicine research isolates liver cancer stem cells prior to tumor formation Penn State College of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southern California, have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer. New biomarker predicts response to hepatitis C treatment Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference. More Liver Cancer Current Events and Liver Cancer News Articles |
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