LungBlog

CHICAGO (Reuters) – An Abbott Laboratories Inc unit that makes genetic tests will work with Pfizer Inc to develop a test to screen non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors to determine which patients are good candidates for a novel cancer therapy being developed by Pfizer.

… The first talk is scheduled for Sept. 8; its title is “Lung Cancer: The Latest Findings on Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention.”

The genes that may contribute to drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be predicted. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Cancer found good correlation between genes believed to be involved in drug sensitivity and resistance and actual in vitro chemosensitivity.

On this day of Ted Kennedy’s passing, I don’t want to take away from the stories of his life and accomplishments. But – since my focus is lung cancer and empowering survivors – I had to share a story I am not seeing in the headlines.

All of us at Lung Cancer Alliance – the members of our Boards, our staff and advocates, patients and caregivers – are greatly saddened by Senator Kennedy’s death… During his 46 years in the U.S. Senate he became a recognized leader on civil rights, education, labor and health policy issues, and in particular, cancer policy. From his work on the National Cancer Act of 1971 to the new Access to Life-Saving Early Detection and Research and Treatment (ALERT) Act legislation he was working on at the time of his diagnosis, Senator Kennedy was deeply committed to changing the course of this devastating disease.

The women are characters in island author Nancy Thayer’s ultra-popular book “The Hot Flash Club,” which was published in 2003, and met with such reader enthusiasm that Thayer has since published three sequels to the novel. Her characters will come to life at The Chicken Box tonight when Seaside Shakespeare actors will perform the roles at a benefit for lung cancer research.

Mesothelioma tumours develop on the lung’s surface and are hard to treat with chemotherapy. They are thought to be caused when people have inhaled dust expelled by asbestos.

BAGHDAD—Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the scion of a revered clerical family who channeled rising Shiite Muslim power after the fall of Saddam Hussein to become one of Iraq’s most influential politicians, died Wednesday in Iran, the country that was long his key ally. He was 59.

The calm, soft-spoken al-Hakim, who died of lung cancer, was a kingmaker in Iraq’s politics, working behind the scenes as the head of the country’s biggest Shiite political party.

At the fourth annual Strides For Life 5K Run/Walk, The Lung Cancer Research Foundation raised more than $350,000 for its research grant program. The 1,000-plus competitors could attest that, quite appropriately, their lungs were put to good use on their tour of Southampton on a sweltering Sunday morning.

Oncimmune LLC has introduced a blood test for early detection of lung cancer…The test, EarlyCDT-Lung, is performed exclusively at the United Kingdom-based company’s De Soto laboratory, which uses high-precision, liquid-handling robots and other instruments to produce an accurate test result, the company said in a Tuesday release. The lab is registered through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988, enacted by Congress to ensure that U.S. laboratories meet standards for accuracy, reliability and timeliness.