Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. have recently received approval from the FDA for using Alimta (a drug originally approved in 2004 for the treatment of mesothelioma) for maintenance therapy of advanced/metastatic non-smell cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Read more
Sometimes it seems that medical research in America has to jump through so many hoops that the possibility for real innovation is stifled. Great Britain and Japan have made great strides in novel approaches towards treating cancer, and now Aussie researchers from the land down under are beginning human trials using a “Trojan Horse” nano-cell loaded with cancer drugs which can be targeted directly at cancer cells. Read more
A recent Institute of Cancer Research study published in the New England Journal of Medicine describes a novel way of treating BRCA-gene based cancers. Mutations in the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes are routinely linked with higher incidence of breast and ovarian cancers in women; however, in healthy cells, the aforementioned genes are involved in a repair mechanism. Read more
Most of us have heard of Daniel Hauser, the thirteen-year-old boy who (with the support of his parents) has refused conventional chemotherapy to treat his Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer. The justification for their decision is rooted in their American Indian religion’s belief of natural remedies over the voluntary injection of “poison” (ie, chemo-drugs) into the body. We’re also familiar with the classic example of religion interfering with medical treatment – Jehovah’s witnesses refusing blood transfusions.
