Prostate Cancer

Biomarker Bulletin: October 10, 2011

October 10, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Biomarker Bulletin is an occasionally recurring update of news focused on biomarkers aggregated at BiomarkerCommons.org. Biomarkers are physical, functional or biochemical indicators of normal physiological or disease processes. The individualization of disease management — personalized medicine — is dependent on developing biomarkers that promote specific clinical domains, including early detection, risk, diagnosis, prognosis and predicted response to therapy.

Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery for Parkinson’s disease, a Satellite Symposium at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
A satellite symposium, Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery for Parkinson’s Disease, is being sponsored by Covance on November 13th, 2011 at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
NYAS Symposium: Biomarkers and Brain Imaging of Presymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease
The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) will be holding an afternoon event in January 2012 that focuses on biomarkers and brain imaging of presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
NIH to Support Clinical Trial Implementation or Biomarker Clinical Evaluation Studies
Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health announced that the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Institute will support mission-relevant investigator-initiated Phase I, II, III or IV clinical trial cooperative agreement applications or biomarker evaluation studies that require prospective collection of clinical outcomes and clinical specimens.
NIH to Fund Studies that Adapt Adult Biomarkers to Children
The National Institutes of Health announced Thursday that the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will support studies that propose adapting adult biomarkers to children.
CLC bio to Develop Bioinformatics Tools for Prostate Cancer Biomarker Project
CLC bio is participating in a $4 million Danish collaboration focused on the identification and validation of biomarkers of prostate cancer risk and aggressiveness.

Biomarker Bulletin: March 21, 2011

March 21, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

MedTrust Online, Avantra Biosciences Collaborate to Involve Clinicians in Assay Development
MedTrust Online and Avantra Biosciences recently announced that they will collaborate on involving clinicians in early-stage development of molecular diagnostic assays to run on Avantra Biosciences’ QPDx multiplex immunoassay system.
Biomarker May Prove Useful for Diagnosing Knee Injury
Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine recently discovered a biomarker that may enable doctors to diagnose a common form of knee injury. The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, has identified a specific protein complex in the knee fluid of patients with painful meniscal tears.
OncoTrack Launches Search for Novel Genomic Cancer Diagnostics
A new European consortium called OncoTrack has just launched one of Europe’s largest collaborative academic-industry research projects to develop and assess novel approaches for the identification of new biomarkers for colon cancer. The five year project, Methods for systematic next generation oncology biomarker development, brings together top European academic researchers with a wide range of expertise and partners them with pharmaceutical companies.
Discovery of Diagnostic and Prognostic Prostate Cancer Serum Biomarkers Guided by Cancer Genetics
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from ETH Zurich, University Hospital Zurich and the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallenhas has defined biomarkers in patients’ blood serum that indicates the presence of prostate cancer. The method used has the potential to be applied to other types of tumors.
SciClips Launches Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker Database
In the era of personalized medicine, drugs will be targeted to patients based upon his or her unique genetic profile. Biomarkers are a critical component for tailoring treatments to individual patients. Biomarkers will be used as tools for target discovery, noninvasive early stage diagnosis of diseases, for evaluation of mode of action of a drug, dose determination and prediction of the drug effect. They will accelerate not only the development of effective and non-toxic drugs but also help in monitoring patient health and response to treatment.

Daily Aspirin May Reduce Cancer Risk

February 2, 2011 | by Diana Gitig

It is old news that aspirin is good for your heart. But a recent report published in The Lancet, the premiere medical journal in the United Kingdom, claims that at least 75mg of aspirin every day can also reduce the risk of developing many different types of cancers.

There is already evidence that taking aspirin every day for five years can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Moreover, aspirin has been shown to reduce the incidence and/or growth rate of a number of cancers in animal models. To determine if aspirin can reduce the risk of other cancers in humans, Peter Rothwell and colleagues at the University of Oxford undertook a meta-analysis of eight randomized trials originally performed to study aspirin’s role in preventing vascular events. This study was independent of any commercial interests.

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Cancer Research Blog Carnival #21 – National Cancer Research Month

May 1, 2009 | by Walter Jessen

Welcome to the 21st edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival, the monthly blog carnival that discusses what’s new in cancer research and includes posts covering cancer biology, cancer genetics, cancer diagnostics and cancer therapeutics. Concomitant with this edition is the start of National Cancer Research Month.

There’s a revolution occurring on the Web: those “authoritative” articles written on traditional, static websites are being replaced with blogs, wikis and online social networks. In the sphere of health, medicine and information technology, this “real-time Web” consists of many who are professionals in the field; their posts are listed below.
In the digital age, these are the characteristics of new media: recent, relevant, reachable and reliable.

In 2007, the United States Congress declared May National Cancer Research Month. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) secured resolutions to raise awareness of the critical advances in cancer research made by its 27,000 members and cancer researchers worldwide, and its efforts to ensure a secure future for continued progress against a group of diseases which strike one in every two men and one in every three women.

Today, ten million cancer survivors are alive in America due to advances in cancer research [1]. National Cancer Research Month reminds us that basic, clinical, epidemiological and behavioral research are essential to identifying causes and developing strategies for cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cures.

With that, let’s find out more about what’s happening in cancer research this month.

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Cancer Research Blog Carnival #7

March 7, 2008 | by Walter Jessen

Welcome to the 7th edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival, a blog carnival devoted to cancer research. This edition includes some great articles on cancer research ethics, cancer therapeutics, cancer stem cells, cancer genetics and cancer biology.

I believe it’s important to maintain perspective on the significance of cancer research and the impact it has on patients. As such, this months edition of the Cancer Research Carnival includes narratives from some people affected by the disease. I think their stories will inspire us all with their determination and courage, and serve as motivation to continue searching for therapies to combat cancer.