http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For women with metastatic, HER2-positive breast cancer, the amount of HER2 on their tumor might determine how much they benefit from a drug called trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), according to data from a subanalysis of the phase III clinical trial that led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug on Feb. 22, 2013. These findings were presented by José Baselga, M.D., Ph.D., physician-in-chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, N.Y., at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-biomarker-analysis-women-benefit-t-dm1.html Cancer Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:13:12 EST news284573584 Previous research has shown that a family of genes, proteins and enzymes called the uPA system (for urokinase plasminogen activator) plays an active role in different facets of cancer's biology, including tumor cell invasion, the spread of metastases, and the growth of a primary tumor. Mesupron® is a new small molecule inhibitor, taken as a pill, that inhibits the uPA system. The results from a recent phase II clinical study suggest that the drug could be a safe and first-line treatment that extends progression-free survival for metastatic breast cancer patients, when combined with the chemotherapeutic drug Capecitabine. Results will be presented by Lori J. Goldstein, MD, Director of the Breast Evaluation Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center, at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Friday, December 7, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-small-molecule-inhibitor-safe-first-line.html Cancer Sat, 08 Dec 2012 02:21:27 EST news274155663 Results from a phase III clinical trial comparing a newer chemotherapy agent called eribulin mesylate with capecitabine, a standard drug used for chemotherapy today in women with previously treated metastatic breast cancer, showed that eribulin demonstrated a trend toward improved overall survival. This study was presented today by Peter A. Kaufman, M.D., during the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-standard-treatment-women-breast-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:40:18 EST news274098654 (HealthDay)—Secondary prophylaxis with diltiazem may offer cancer patients relief from capecitabine-induced chest pain and dyspnea and allow them to tolerate capecitabine treatment, according to a study published in the Dec. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-diltiazem-relieves-capecitabine-induced-chest-pain.html Cardiology Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:10:01 EST news272301741 The sizeable and increasing proportion of women with advanced breast cancer whose disease has spread to the brain could be effectively treated systemically with a combination of two drugs, sparing them the debilitating neurological side effects of whole brain radiotherapy, suggests new research published Online First in The Lancet Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-combination-secondary-brain-tumours.html Cancer Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:30:06 EST news271000939 Eribulin (trade name: Halaven) was approved in March 2011 for women with locally advanced or metastasizing breast cancer in whom the disease has progressed despite prior drug therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-added-benefit-eribulin-breast-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:48:06 EST news264329278 The addition of high doses of erlotinib to the treatment regimen of bevacizumab and capecitabine with radiotherapy seems to benefit patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, according to results of a phase I study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference, held here June 18-21. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-adding-erlotinib-bevacizumabchemoradiotherapy-regimen-pancreatic.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:30:17 EST news259332674 A phase I clinical trial examining the safety of combining temsirolimus and capecitabine in advanced malignancies suggests the two agents can be given safely to patients. In addition, the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers conducting the study in cancer patients whose tumors have resisted multiple treatments say the combination demonstrates "promising evidence" of disease control and should be studied in a phase II trial. Their clinical findings and additional data from the study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, June 1 through 5, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-phase-temsirolimus-capecitabine-safe-positive.html Cancer Wed, 16 May 2012 18:00:03 EST news256406984 Rectal cancer patients who use a new combination of the chemotherapy, Capecitabine, together with five weeks of radiation (50 Gy) before surgery have an 88 percent chance of surviving the cancer three years after treatment, according to randomized trial presented at the plenary session, October 3, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-chemo-surgery-tumor-response-rectal.html Cancer Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:36:38 EST news236262991