An early study of the drug figitumumab has found that in some patients it can curb the growth of Ewing’s sarcoma – a cancer which affects mainly teenage boys. The study was conduted by The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital, and funded by Pfizer, who developed the drug. The promising results have led to the drug’s progression to a Phase II trial in patients with Ewing’s sarcoma.

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University of Washington researchers explored the effectiveness of targeted breast ultrasound showed it was able successfully to tell the difference between benign and cancerous tumors in young women with lumps or other specific, localized signs or symptoms of breast cancer; so much so that the researchers recommended this method as a “tool of choice” for evaluating palpable lumps in women under 40, thus reducing the need for invasive biopsies.

The health experts at the FDA have given their approval for Folotyn (pralatrexate), an experimental cancer drug from Allos Therapeutics Inc for the treatment of patients with a rare form of cancer, such as, relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). Allos, a Westminster, Colorado-based pharmaceutical company is seeking accelerated approval for its new drug for treating a number of aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs).

The FDA is reviewing the safety of Vytorin, which combines the cholesterol-lowering drugs Zocor and Zetia, after a clinical trial SEAS revealed that 4.1% of patients taking the drug died of some form of cancer. Although the impact is small, the FDA has alarmed doctors and patients about it. Meanwhile it has asked the manufacturers for further data. However, the FDA and the American Heart Association have said that the patients should not stop taking Vytorin or any other cholesterol drug as that may add to the risk of having a heart attack.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received FDA approval for Levoleucovorin as a treatment for osteosarcoma. The drug has been approved for use after high-dose methotrexate therapy and to counteract the effects of impaired methotrexate elimination and an overdose of folic acid antagonists. The company intends to apply for FDA approval of Levoleucovorin in colon cancer and as an oral tablet by mid 2008.