http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Growing demand for its cancer medicines and diagnostic tests used by clinical laboratories helped Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG post a modest 2.4 percent increase in full-year profits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-cancer-drugs-roche-profit-boost.html Other Wed, 30 Jan 2013 05:05:29 EST news278744721 (HealthDay News) —For advanced colon cancer patients who have developed liver tumors, so-called "radioactive beads" implanted near these tumors may extend survival nearly a year longer than among patients on chemotherapy alone, a small new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-microbeads-boost-survival-advanced-colon.html Cancer Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:39:40 EST news277994369 (HealthDay)—The drug Avastin (bevacizumab), when added to chemotherapy, does not improve disease-free survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer any better than chemo alone, new research finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-avastin-wont-breast-cancer-survival.html Medications Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:50:01 EST news274099765 Adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to treatment with a HER2-inhibiting drug could improve outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who develop brain metastases. In their report published online in PNAS Plus, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators report the first preclinical study combining antiangiogenic and anti-HER2 drugs in an animal model of brain metastatic breast cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-combination-treatment-survival-breast-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:56:02 EST news271007751 Comparing levels of specific proteins that the drug Avastin targets could identify patients with advanced bowel cancer who will benefit from the treatment, according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-protein-bowel-cancer-patients-benefit.html Cancer Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:00:01 EST news270222109 The cancer drug bevacizumab (Avastin) offers only a modest benefit in delaying disease progression in patients with advanced stage breast cancer, according to a systematic review by Cochrane researchers. The researchers assessed the efficacy of bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy, an established cancer treatment in this indication, and found no overall survival benefit when adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-metastatic-breast-cancer-bevacizumab-impact.html Cancer Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:00:05 EST news261160877 (HealthDay) -- Continuing use of bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with second-line chemotherapy improves overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who have progressed after discontinuation of first-line bevacizumab and chemotherapy, according to the results of a phase III study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from June 1 to 5 in Chicago. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-asco-avastin-2nd-line-chemo-ups.html Cancer Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:30:01 EST news258120168 A drug cocktail that combines chemotherapy with Avastin was shown to double the amount of time patients lived without progression of ovarian cancer, according to research released Saturday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-drug-cocktail-boosts-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:23:52 EST news257862174 VIB researcher Diether Lambrechts, associated with KU Leuven, has discovered a biomarker that might potentially predict which patients will benefit more from treatment with bevacizumab (Avastin). If validated, this discovery could be an important step towards personalized medicine and patient-tailored use of this important cancer drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-biomarker-response-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Mon, 21 May 2012 10:13:41 EST news256813986 The one year results from a study into whether two drug treatments (Lucentis and Avastin), are equally effective in treating neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), have been reported today at an international research meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The findings will also appear online shortly in the leading journal Ophthalmology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-avastin-similar-effect-lucentis-age-related.html Ophthalmology Mon, 07 May 2012 09:28:03 EST news255601669 At two years, Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab injection), two widely used drugs to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), improve vision when administered monthly or on an as needed basis, although greater improvements in vision were seen with monthly administration for this common, debilitating eye disease, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-avastin-lucentis-equivalent-age-related-macular.html Ophthalmology Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:40:01 EST news255013861 (AP) -- Drug maker Novartis says it is taking legal action in Britain to make hospitals use an eye drug that costs 700 pounds ($1,130) per shot instead of a cheaper one that costs 60 pounds ($97). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-novartis-uk-hospitals-drug.html Medications Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:35:08 EST news254471681 (HealthDay) -- Medicare patients who have advanced non-small cell lung cancer appear to get no survival benefit from adding the drug Avastin to standard chemotherapy, researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-avastin-benefit-older-lung-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:47:39 EST news253892752 (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors that a second counterfeit version of the best-selling cancer drug Avastin has been found in the U.S., packaged as the Turkish brand of the medication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-fda-vials-fake-cancer-drug.html Medications Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:14:47 EST news252756879 Combining the experimental drug Avastin (bevacizumab) with the diabetes drug Metformin almost doubles its ability to reduce skin cancer growth, according to a study in Cancer Discovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-diabetes-treatment-skin-cancer-drug.html Cancer Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:12:13 EST news252569526 (AP) -- Counterfeit versions of the popular cancer drug Avastin obtained by European regulators contain a variety of chemicals, but not the active ingredient found in the genuine drug, according to drugmaker Roche. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-fake-avastin-chemicals-drug.html Medications Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:27:07 EST news249661614 (AP) -- The news this week that a fake version of the cancer medicine Avastin has made its way into the United States highlights a longtime concern: There are few safeguards to make sure fake drugs can be spotted before they make it to your doctor's office. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-industry-bickers-fake-drugs.html Medications Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:14:09 EST news248638437 (AP) -- The discovery that a fake version of the widely used cancer medicine Avastin is circulating in the United States is raising new fears that the multibillion-dollar drug-counterfeiting trade is increasingly making inroads in the U.S. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-counterfeit-drugs-big-business-worldwide.html Medications Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:32:42 EST news248589152 (AP) -- The maker of the best-selling cancer drug Avastin is warning doctors and patients about counterfeit vials of the product distributed in the U.S. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-roche-counterfeit-cancer-drug.html Medications Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:50:01 EST news248459944 Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center's VCU Massey Cancer Center and Harold F. Young Neurosurgical Center (Richmond, VA) and Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) have discovered that suppression of Wilms tumor 1 protein (WT1) results in downregulation of CD97 gene expression in three glioblastoma cell lines and reduces the characteristic invasiveness exhibited by glial tumor cells. This finding is announced in the article, "Novel report of expression and function of CD97 in malignant gliomas: correlation with Wilms tumor 1 expression and glioma cell invasiveness," by Archana Chidambaram, Ph.D., and colleagues, published online ahead of print today in the Journal of Neurosurgery. Although further studies must be performed, the authors propose that CD97 may prove to be a new target for anti-glioma therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-cd97-gene-function-wt1-protein.html Neuroscience Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:30:01 EST news247832331 Surprising results from two new studies may reopen debate about the value of Avastin for breast cancer. The drug helped make tumors disappear in certain women with early-stage disease, researchers found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-avastin-early-breast-cancers.html Cancer Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:15:29 EST news246734119 Cancer treatments designed to block the growth of blood vessels were found to increase the number of cancer stem cells in breast tumors in mice, suggesting a possible explanation for why these drugs don't lead to longer survival, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-avastin-sutent-breast-cancer-stem.html Cancer Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:31:17 EST news246706261 Avastin, the blockbuster drug that just lost approval for treating breast cancer, now looks disappointing against ovarian cancer, too. Two studies found it did not improve survival for most of these patients and kept their disease from worsening for only a few months, with more side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-avastin-disappoints-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:43:03 EST news244316573 Treating ovarian cancer with the drug bevacizumab ("Avastin") delays the disease and may also improve survival, show the results of an international clinical trial co-led by Drs. Amit Oza of the Princess Margaret Cancer Program, University Health Network and Timothy Perren, St James's Institute of Oncology, Leeds, UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ovarian-cancer-drug-disease-survival.html Cancer Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:03 EST news244293005 Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new phase 3 clinical trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) showed that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment. The results of the trial appear in the December 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-therapy-progression-free-survival-patients-advanced.html Cancer Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:01 EST news244292529 (AP) -- Regulators on Friday approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug Eylea, an injection designed to treat a common cause of blindness in older people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-fda-regeneron-eye-eylea.html Medications Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:25:44 EST news240924324 US health officials on Friday revoked the authorization of Roche's Avastin for breast cancer treatment, saying it concluded the drug had "not been shown to be safe and effective for that use." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-revokes-roche-avastin-breast-cancer.html Medications Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:11:30 EST news240837079 Amid the controversy surrounding the Food and Drug Administration's ruling that Avastin should no longer be used to treat metastatic breast cancer, a new multinational Phase III clinical trial shows that Avastin significantly increased tumor response rates in breast cancer patients when given before surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-clinical-trial-benefit-adding-avastin.html Cancer Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:47:04 EST news233321197 Targeted therapies that are designed to suppress the formation of new blood vessels in tumors, such as Avastin (bevacizumab), have slowed cancer growth in some patients. However, they have not produced the dramatic responses researchers initially thought they might. Now, research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania might help to explain the modest responses. The discovery, published in the July 14 issue of Nature, suggests novel treatment combinations that could boost the power of therapies based on slowing blood vessel growth (angiogenesis). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-scientists-link-immune-suppression-blood.html Cancer Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:00:09 EST news229780313 (Medical Xpress) -- Tiny tumor proteins circulating in blood may be used to identify which pancreatic cancer patients would benefit from the drug Avastin, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-blood-proteins-vulnerability-pancreatic-cancers.html Cancer Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:47:17 EST news226655214