Join the 'Vidaza' group to help and get support from people like you. How it works
Vidaza Blog
| Tweet |
Drugs Previously Thought to Be Toxic May Stop Spread of Cancer
Posted 30 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, March 30 – Two drugs previously thought to be too toxic for human cancer treatment may stop the growth of cancer cells without killing healthy cells and damaging DNA when used in small doses, researchers have found. Unlike conventional chemotherapy drugs, which poison and kill any rapidly dividing cells by damaging cellular machinery and DNA, these drugs – azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DAC) – specifically target cancer stem cells, which cause cancer to spread and are resistant to most drugs. "Low doses of AZA and DAC may reactivate genes that stop cancer growth without causing immediate cell killing or DNA damage," Dr. Stephen Baylin, a professor of oncology and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, said in a news release from Hopkins. Although AZA and DAC were dismissed as too toxic for the treatment of common cancers, the drugs have ... Read more
Related support groups: Lung Cancer, Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Dacogen, Vidaza, Decitabine, Azacitidine
Cancer Patients Should Ask Doctors to Use Simple Terms
Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 – Cancer patients are often faced with many difficult-to-understand treatment choices that can have serious side effects and even mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's crucial that patients insist doctors use plain language in explaining the options, advised Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "People are making life and death decisions that may affect their survival and they need to know what they're getting themselves into. Cancer treatments and tests can be serious. Patients need to know what kind of side effects they might experience as a result of the treatment they undergo," Fagerlin said in a university news release. She and her colleagues outlined a number of tips to help patients get the information they need ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Methotrexate, Provera, Breast Cancer, Lupron, Accutane, Depo-Provera, Prostate Cancer, Tamoxifen, Femara, Arimidex, Lupron Depot, Medroxyprogesterone, Claravis, Fluorouracil
Bone Marrow Cancer Patients May Benefit From Drug Combo
Posted 29 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 29 – The drugs azacitidine and lenalidomide provide a highly effective combination treatment for bone marrow cancer, according to the results of a new study. The phase 1 study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, included 18 higher-risk patients, median age 68, with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In people with this cancer (which is similar to leukemia), stem cells fail to mature into healthy red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. This leads to infection, anemia and bleeding complications. The patient response rate to the combined drug treatment was 67 percent, and the treatment was well-tolerated. The combined treatment had a better response rate and remission rate than either drug used alone. This is the first time that two U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs have been combined for the treatment of MDS. The findings were ... Read more
Related support groups: Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Revlimid, Vidaza, Azacitidine, Lenalidomide