LungBlog

The treatment cancer patients receive may one day depend on their genes.With an increasing number of biological clues available to help predict cancer, doctors hope they will soon customize patients’ treatments based on their genetic profiles.

The 10th National Conference of Clinical Oncology and the 2007 Annual Meeting of CSCO was kicked off last week, and a press briefing was held on September 20. According to the information revealed at the briefing, the incidence of lung cancer is the highest among all the malignant tumors of male patients, while breast cancer is the top among females. Lung cancer is also the most fatal killer in China.

NSCLC comprises over 75% of all lung cancers. In 2006, more than 338,000 cases of the disease are expected to be diagnosed in the seven major pharmaceutical markets. High unmet needs still persist for this tumor type and despite two decades of extensive R&D and chemotherapy use, the median overall survival of NSCLC patient’s remains below 12 months.

With more states and municipalities banning smoking in public places, including airports, and more hotels adopting no-smoking policies that include bars, restaurants and guest rooms, it is getting tougher for travelers with a nicotine habit to find a place to light up.

Progen Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the Australian developer of oncology medicines, said its leading product candidate failed a study in patients with advanced lung cancer.

A new book argues that chemical waste is as much to blame for cancer as smoking.

Now a major doctors’ group is creating easy-to-fill-out checklists that survivors can hand to future physicians — what checkups to get and when, what late side effects their treatment may trigger, what new symptoms to watch for.

The American Society for Clinical Oncology recently posted the first such documents — for colorectal and breast cancer — on its Web site, free to copy and customize. ASCO is developing guides for other leading malignancies — lung cancer is next — and a more general plan for less common cancers.

Zoledronic acid treatment appears to improve survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and high levels of N-telopeptide, according to data reported here at the 14th European Cancer Conference (ECCO).

Biomoda Inc. of Albuquerque, which develops cancer diagnostic technology, announced that the city’s TriCore Reference Laboratories will test Biomoda’s early lung-cancer detection test as part of its clinical programs.

Trial Lays Road Map for Potential Approval of XYOTAX(R) for Women with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer