Content about cancer

SEATTLE — The Food and Drug Administration has approved biotech company Dendreon’s expansion of manufacturing capacity for an immunotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, Dendreon said Thursday.

The company said it would be able to increase the ability of Provenge (sipuleucel-T) manufactured at its plant in New Jersey by increasing the number of workstations to produce it from 12 to 48.

The treatment is designed to induce an immune response against prostatic acid phosphatase, an antigen present in most prostate cancers.

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Dulcolax has teamed up with the Colon Cancer Alliance and American fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo to encourage men and women to be proactive about their colon health by getting a colonoscopy.

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal has announced that it is partnering with the cancer support network Happy Chemo! and now will be recognized as a local cancer resource for natural body products.

Happy Chemo! connects cancer patients with special offers and information in an effort to help before, during and after cancer treatments. The partnership with Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal will provide a network of support and samples exclusively to these patients and their families.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Merck’s vaccine for human papillomavirus is 89% effective in preventing genital warts in teenage boys and young men, according to a new study.

The phase-3 study of Gardasil (human papillomavirus quadrivalent [types 6, 11, 16 and 18] vaccine, recombinant) in boys and men ages 16 to 26 years was published in the Feb. 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Human papillomavirus is the cause of genital and anal warts, and infection can increase the risk of developing cancer later in life.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Patients taking an investigational drug made by Genentech for advanced skin cancer fared better than those receiving standard treatments, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced Wednesday.

The company, part of Swiss drug maker Roche, said patients with advanced melanoma containing a mutated version of a protein called BRAF lived longer when receiving the orally administered personalized investigational medicine RG7204 than those receiving the injected chemotherapy drug dacarbazine.

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. — Abbott has made a pact with a biopharmaceutical company to develop new cancer treatments by making small-molecule inhibitors.

Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will provide EpiTherapeutics with an up-front payment and will receive funding of research activities conducted at EpiTherapeutics. The biopharmaceutical company also is eligible, under certain conditions, to receive milestone payments as well as potential royalties on future revenues.

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly is suspending a late-stage clinical trial of a cancer drug amid safety concerns, the drug maker said Monday.

The company had been conducting a phase-3 trial of the pharmaceutical drug tasisulam as a second-line treatment for patients with melanoma whose cancer could not be removed or had spread to other parts of the body. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is diagnosed in 68,000 people in the Untied States every year, according to the American Cancer Society.

SAN ANTONIO — Despite recommendations, half of women ages 40 years and older do not get annual mammograms, according to a new study by pharmacy benefit manager Medco.

The analysis, from the Medco Research Institute, also found that nearly 40% of women ages 50 years and older don’t get biennial screenings. Data from the study will be presented at the 33rd annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — This is part of the future of health care that Walgreens envisioned when it first began to make a major commitment to specialty pharmacy — it knew it could save payers and patients a whole lot of money.

(THE NEWS: Walgreens promotes big savings via monitored oncology Rx therapy. For the full story, click here)

NEW YORK — Pfizer got promising results from a late-stage clinical trial of a cancer treatment, the drug maker said Friday.

Pfizer announced results of the phase-3 “AXIS 1032” trial of the kidney cancer drug axitinib, saying that it “significantly” extended the lives of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma compared with Nexavar (sorafenib), made by Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

SILVER SPRING, Md. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for breast cancer, the agency said Monday.

The FDA approved Eisai’s Halaven (eribulin mesylate) for patients with breast cancer that has spread and who have received at least two chemotherapy regimens for the disease in its late stages. More than 200,000 women will be diagnosed this year with breast cancer, and nearly 40,000 will die from it, making it the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women, according to the National Cancer Institute.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a biotech drug for treating cancer of the stomach and esophageal junction.

Genentech, a subsidiary of Swiss drug maker Roche, announced Wednesday the approval of Herceptin (trastuzumab) as a treatment for cancer of the stomach that includes the HER2 gene and has spread to other parts of the body, when combined with chemotherapy. The drug has long since had approval as a treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer.