Content about cancer

NEW YORK — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new cancer drug made by Pfizer, the drug maker said.

The FDA approved Pfizer's Xalkori (crizotinib) capsules, a treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer that has advanced locally or spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastasis. The drug specifically is designed to target NSCLC containing the enzyme anaplastic lymphoma kinase, as determined by a companion test also approved by the FDA.

LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Temperatures eclipsed 90 degrees Fahrenheit for the second annual Jersey Shore Undy 5000 5-km race held here last month, where Team Dulcolax joined 665 people who turned out to support the colon cancer awareness-raising event. All told, participants generated more than $80,000 to help fight colon cancer. 


A portion of the funds raised from the Jersey Shore Undy 5000 will be locally distributed to fund services for those diagnosed with colon cancer.


NEW YORK — A new study published in the Annals of Oncology found that a certain breast cancer drug may pose an increased risk of heart problems in elderly patients with a history of heart disease and/or diabetes.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug and companion diagnostic test for the most dangerous type of skin cancer, the agency said Wednesday.

The FDA announced the approval of Genentech's and Daiichi Sankyo's Zelboraf (vemurafenib), for patients with late-stage melanoma that can't be removed by surgery. Genentech is the U.S. division of Swiss drug maker Roche.

WASHINGTON — The surgeon general on Monday issued a release promoting breast-feeding in support of World Breast-feeding Week, Aug. 1 through 7.

DENVER — The Colon Cancer Alliance’s Denver Undy 5000 5K run held at City Park last month had more than 1,300 people wearing underwear, boxer shorts or silly costumes helping to bring greater awareness to colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

INDIANAPOLIS — Cancer patients taking a drug made by Eli Lilly extended the amount of time they survived without their disease worsening, according to results of a study announced Sunday.

Lilly said results of the phase-3 “PARAMOUNT” study of the injected drug Alimta (pemetrexed) extended progression-free survival in patients with nonsquamous nonsmall-cell lung cancer. The study focused on continuation maintenance when one of the same drugs used as a first-line treatment for cancer is continued as maintenance therapy in an effort to control the disease.

WASHINGTON — Despite the promise of oral drugs for treating cancer, high costs and the burden of taking multiple medications drive 10% of patients prescribed the drugs not to fill their initial prescriptions, according to a new study published in the Journal of Oncology Practice and the American Journal of Managed Care.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — A cancer drug made by Amgen reduced the chances of prostate cancer spreading to the bones, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial presented at the American Urological Association’s annual meeting in Washington.

The phase-3 “Study ‘147” of Xgeva (denosumab) showed that men taking the drug survived for four months longer without the cancer spreading to their bones, compared with those taking placebo.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Genentech is seeking approval for a new drug to treat skin cancer, the company said Wednesday.

PARIS — An investigational drug helped patients survive longer when combined with chemotherapy as a second-line treatment for colorectal cancer that had spread to other parts of the body, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced by French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis and U.S.-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

The phase-3 trial combined the drug Zaltrap (aflibercept) with a combination of the chemotherapy drugs folinic acid (leucovorin), 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan, also known as the FOLFIRI regimen.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Breast cancer survivors who experience large weight gain have an increased risk of death after diagnosis, according to research released Tuesday by scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

Breast cancer survivors who experienced severe weight gain (10% or more over their pre-diagnosis weight) were 14% more likely to experience a cancer recurrence, compared with women whose weight remained stable (within 5% of pre-diagnosis weight) following diagnosis.