A team of scientists from the US and China have discovered that grape-seed extract kills laboratory leukemia cells by making them commit suicide, thus showing the potential value of natural compounds in the treatment of cancer.

This is a good resource for understanding the genetics of cancer cells etc.... link to site here

Novartis Oncology, the manufacturer of Gleevec® & Tasigna® has established this Pregnancy Drug Exposure Registry to learn about pregnancy outcomes and the health of women who have taken Gleevec® and/or Tasigna® within six months prior to conception or during pregnancy. The information gathered in this Registry may supplement other sources of data and assist clinicians and patients in weighing the risks or benefits of being exposed to these medications around conception and during pregnancy.

Rarer Cancer Forum have produced a booklet to advice consultants on appealing negative funding decisions from PCT's...download booklet here

Capsule Summary CCO Independent Conference Coverage of the American Society of Hematology 2008 Annual Meeting*

Cytogenetic Response to Dasatinib Predictive for Progression-Free Survival in Imatinib-Resistant/Intolerant CML Patients
Posting Date: December 12, 2008

Analysis[1] of pooled data from 2 phase II clinical trials: SRC-ABL Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition Activity Research Trial (START)–C and START-R
Summary of Key Conclusions
Cytogenetic responses rapidly attained with dasatinib 70 mg twice daily in imatinib-resistant/intolerant patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
89% of all complete cytogenetic responses achieved within first 12 months of treatment
47% of responses achieved within first 3 months of treatment
Cytogenetic responses highly durable with dasatinib therapy
91% of complete cytogenetic responses maintained during 24 months of follow-up
Achieving both major cytogenetic response and complete cytogenetic response at 12 months highly predictive for PFS

....read more

Summary Friday, December 19, 2008
Capsule SummaryCCO Independent Conference Coverage of the American Society of Hematology 2008 Annual Meeting*

*CCO is an independent medical education company that provides state-of-the-art medical information to healthcare professionals through conference coverage and other educational programs.

CCO Independent Conference Coverage of the American Society of Hematology 2008 Annual Meeting*

*CCO is an independent medical education company that provides state-of-the-art medical information to healthcare professionals through conference coverage and other educational programs.

These letters are templates which you can use when writing to your PCT and MP when challenging negative funding decisions for alternatives to imatinib. f You should change the wording to suit your individual details and situation.

Scientists may be able to stop cancer spreading round the body
Scientists have discovered how cancer spreads round the body raising the possibility it could be stopped.

New RCF report reveals striking postcode lottery in the chances of having an exceptional request for cancer treatment approved
Monday, August 11, 2008

Rarer Cancers Forum carried out an audit of the policies and processes used by PCTs to determine exceptional funding requests. The audit found that: