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Imatinib-like agents on way to treat CML
Small signs of resistance to imatinib (Gleevec, Novartis) emerged soon after the drug's approval in 2001 as the first oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). But second-generation drugs with similar mechanisms of action were already in the pipeline, according to studies presented at the recent 2005 ASH annual meeting, held in Atlanta. Generally about 20% of CML chronic-phase patients relapse after three years of imatinib therapy, researchers pointed out.
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Implementing the gains in cancer prevention
Cancer is now the leading cause of death among Americans younger than 65 years. That statement is less alarming than it first appears, because deaths attributable to heart disease dropped dramatically in recent years. In fact, the number of cancer deaths has also fallen during the same period, but less rapidly than heart disease deaths.
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Developing a 'vaccine' for melanoma
One of the hottest areas of cancer research today is "vaccines," or immunotherapy, to stimulate and direct the body's own anti-cancer activity. Most of the research uses dendritic cells, a principle antigen-presenting cell of the immune system, exposed to a cocktail of various combinations of antigens and cytokines to guide the immune response in taking on tumors.
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Long-awaited drug fights renal cancer
For the first time in more than 10 years, the Food & Drug Administration has granted marketing approval to a drug for kidney cancer. Sorafenib (Nexavar, Bayer/ Onyx) was recently approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of the disease. Sorafenib is currently available through specialty pharmacies.
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