LungBlog

The Phase 3 pivotal trial of Stimuvax in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), START (Stimulating Targeted Antigenic Responses To NSCLC), continues enrollment in 2008. This year Oncothyreon expects to manufacture and to continue to provide to Merck KGaA substantial quantities of both Stimuvax and placebo to support START and potentially other additional trials of Stimuvax. In addition, Oncothyreon will continue the development of a large-scale process in preparation for the manufacture of commercial quantities of Stimuvax. Oncothyreon expects to receive an additional milestone payment related to Stimuvax during 2008.

Studies reported in the New Scientist show that breathing in cow dung could in fact provide protection against cancer.Dairy farm workers breathing in dust laden with dried manure are up to five times less likely to get lung cancer, the New Scientist reports.

A trusted doctor to the Queen has been forced to quit after developing lung cancer, which he claims was caused by exposure to asbestos more than 40 years ago.

The compound has shown “exceptional efficacy” in preclinical studies, according to Serenex Chief Executive Officer Richard Kent. The work with the NCI could lead to the launch of clinical trials in patients with lung cancer, Kent added.

‘Being able to select which patients are more likely to respond to therapy is an important step forward in the treatment of cancer’.

For example, scientists have shown recently that cetuximab, a new treatment for colorectal cancer, is poorly responsive if the tumours carry a mutated K-ras gene.

Similarly, mutations in K-ras also confer resistance to erlotinib, a small molecule treatment for lung cancer.

Serenex, Inc., a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitors, today announced the signing of a Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (M-CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Under this M-CRADA, Dr. Leonard Neckers and his colleagues at the NCI will assess Serenex’s novel, small molecule, orally bioavailable Hsp90 inhibitor SNX-5422 as a potential therapeutic for non-small cell lung cancer.

“Without hesitation, toad venom was the No. 1 drug (Chinese) doctors mentioned when we asked them to suggest the best natural cancer medicines to test,” Lorenzo Cohen, director of M.D. Anderson’s integrative medicine program, said from China. “It may sound wild to Americans, but it’s accepted as a standard of care here.”

It also appears to hold promise. In clinical trials Cohen is leading in Shanghai, the venom secreted by the Asiatic toad has shown some benefit and no apparent side effects in patients with advanced liver, pancreatic and lung cancer — which are not easy cancers to fight.

 Lung cancer specialists from all over Europe are arriving in Dublin to highlight the plight of the killer disease.

Redwood High School students and alumni Tuesday formed a sea of blue and white in support of a teacher battling lung cancer.

China Charity Federation (CCF) is giving out free drugs worth 200 million yuan (about 27.6 million U.S. dollars) in an effort to help cancer sufferers with financial difficulties.    The drugs, IRESSA, also called Jifeitini Tablets, were donated by the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca.