ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. has presented preliminary, promising clinical data from a Phase I trial, evaluating ICT-107, the company’s dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine product candidate for the treatment of glioblastoma. ICT-107 was well tolerated, and no significant adverse events were reported. The Phase I clinical trial of ICT-107 was conducted to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the cancer vaccine in patients with glioblastoma, the most common and malignant type of brain cancer. The trial enrolled 19 patients and was conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

A team led by Stanford University researchers has developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival. The system based on MagArray biodetection chips can find cancer-associated proteins in a blood serum sample in less than an hour. This could be especially helpful for lung cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer, because those cancers are hidden in the body

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, while studying the mechanics of blood clots, have discovered a new enzyme that not only affects the blood, but seems to play a primary role in how cancer tumors expand and spread throughout the body. A research group at OU led by Patrick McKee first discovered the enzyme called sFAP in plasma. After studying the biochemical makeup of the protein and identifying the gene that controlled its function, they began to search gene sequencing databases worldwide to find what it was.

Varian Medical Systems is introducing a new product that makes it easier for clinicians to store, manage and view images generated during cancer treatments. Varian will showcase its new OncoView™ image management and storage solution at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago, November 30 - December 4, 2008. OncoView provides oncology professionals with a reliable, scalable way of archiving and accessing the images and data that impact decisions about a patient’s course of treatment.

National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has announced the launch of a new piece of medical technology aimed at improving the success rates of radiotherapy cancer treatments. The new clinical electron linear accelerator (linac) will help ensure patients are treated with accurate doses of radiation. NPL’s new clinical linac’s ability to provide highly stable beams and accurate doses will enable calibrations with smaller uncertainties. This will allow hospitals to deliver more accurate, and more effective, radiation doses to cancer patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for an Abbreviated New Drug Application for Akorn-Strides‘ Pamidronate Disodium Injection, 3 mg/mL and 9 mg/mL in 10 mL vials. The joint venture between Akorn and Strides was formed to develop liquid, dry powder and lyophilized formulations of generic injectable pharmaceuticals for a wide market with focus on painkillers, anti-infectives and CNS medications. Pamidronate Disodium Injection has received the indication for use in the treatment of hypercalcemia related to tumors and Paget’s disease.

ImClone Systems Inc. has launched its ERBITUX® (cetuximab) in Canadian market in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada. The product will be commercially available for use in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. It has Health Canada’s approval for use in conjunction with irinotecan in the treatment of cancer patients who are intolerant to irinotecan-based chemotherapy alone. The trial supporting this approval was conducted by Merck, Germany, ImClone’s partner for ERBITUX outside North America.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given clearance to Ikonisys’ oncoFISH HER2 test, a fully computerized microscopy application to determine HER2 status in human specimens of breast cancer developed with Abbott’s PathVysion® HER2 DNA Probe Kit. The company’s proprietary CellOptics® platform which features the Ikoniscope® drives the test by providing an earlier and precise indication for amplification of gene. This diagnosis reveals whether a patient is a candidate for Herceptin (trastuzumab) treatment. Higher quantity of HER2 protein can lead to rapid growth of tumor, resistance to some types of treatment, prolonged illness and reduced survival period.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved PharmaMar’s proposal for the process of production of Aplidin®. A novel anti-tumor agent derived from the sea, Aplidin® (Plitidepsin) is in its clinical stage of development and will be used for the treatment of hematological tumors. The starting materials needed to initiate the production process have also got the approval. FDA requires the companies producing drugs to submit all the paperwork regarding the method of production of their products.

A novel drug delivery system has been developed by scientists from the USA, Canada and France which can cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the cancer cells in the brain and kill them. Currently, the technology is in Phase I of its clinical trial. At present, not even 5 % of drugs can cross this barrier. The non-invasive tool is being developed by Angiochem Inc.