Researchers at Drexel University are developing a new portable, low-cost, radiation-free breast cancer detector that can be used in a doctor’s office as a first-line to detect breast cancer in younger women and in women over 40 with mammographically dense-tissue breasts. The detector is based on piezoelectric fingers (an elastic and shear modulus sensor) developed at Drexel. In evaluations on tumor specimens, it has positively identified a 3mm tumor previously missed by mammography, ultrasound and the physician’s palpation.

Roche Holding AG said cancer drug Avastin could play an important role in improving the daily lives of patients with the most aggressive form of brain cancer. An analysis of the phase II BRAIN study of Avastin alone or in combination with irinotecan chemotherapy for the treatment of relapsed or progressive glioblastoma demonstrated that the six months Avastin-based therapy improved patients’ chances of remaining alive without worsening their disease and had additional positive impact on patients.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc has received the FDA approval for its Zevalin as a treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer. Zevalin was previously used only for patients who had tumors that had not responded to other treatments. The FDA approval was granted on the basis of a phase-three study in which 414 patients showed partial or complete response after receiving a first-line chemotherapy regimen and Zevalin.

According to new scientific findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, immune responses has the ability to kill tumors before they can be directed toward normal body tissue. Lead researcher Richard G. Vile, Ph.D said, “There are extremely precise mechanistic methods augmenting the ability of the immune system to distinguish between normal tissues and tumors.” “Understanding the multiple checks and safeguards against autoimmunity should allow us to understand more closely how to generate antitumor immunity,” she added.

A study conducted by Brigham & Women’s Hospital-Dana-Farber Cancer Institute indicated that prostate cancer patients with certain heart conditions who received hormone therapy either before or with radiation therapy were at higher risk of death than equivalent patients who did not have hormone therapy. The study reflected that the risk of death nearly doubled for men with coronary artery disease-induced congestive heart failure or heart attack when they received hormone therapy in addition to radiation therapy.