New Cancer Treatment

In the 12 years since Arthur D. Levinson took over as CEO of Genentech (DNA), the company has released seven new drugs, including three multibillion-dollar cancer treatments. But Wall Street types are still breathing down Levinson's neck, nagging him to come up with the next big idea. On Dec. 4, the pressure intensified when advisers to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration voted against approving Genentech's colon cancer drug, Avastin, for breast cancer. The company's stock plunged 10%. The need to innovate has led other pharmaceutical CEOs to hire consultants and craft new management strategies in a desperate effort to come up with more blockbusters. This approach irks the 57-year-old ex-biochemist. "I'm sick of the word 'innovation,'" he said earlier this year.

As the drug industry grapples with patent expirations and a chronic lack of exciting drugs in the pipeline, Levinson faces a unique challenge—living up to his own track record.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital Completes Move Into Its New Prentice ...

CHICAGO, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly eight years of planning and preparation culminated today following the carefully executed move from the existing facility into the new state-of-the-art Prentice Women's Hospital. The new one million square foot hospital brings together comprehensive care for women through all stages of life. From women's cardiovascular health to the Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center, gynecologic oncology and obstetrics, the hospital offers care tailored to the unique needs of women. In addition, there are two floors dedicated to the care and treatment of medical oncology and hematology patients in the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

"We moved 217 patients, a tremendous undertaking and significant achievement for all of our patients and employees," says Dean M.

Wyeth's TORISEL Receives European Commission Approval for the ...

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) , announced today that the European Commission has approved TORISEL(TM) (temsirolimus) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have at least three of six prognostic risk factors. TORISEL is the only approved cancer therapy that specifically inhibits the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) kinase, an important regulator of cell proliferation, cell growth and cell survival. TORISEL was approved in the United States in May 2007 for the treatment of advanced RCC.

Renal cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 85 percent of the estimated 85,000 new cases of kidney cancer diagnosed in Europe annually. TORISEL is the only renal cancer therapy proved to extend median overall survival compared with interferon-alpha in patients with advanced RCC.

Texas Oncology

MIDLAND Texas Oncology has set a patient open house today at its new location, which opened for patient care earlier this month. The new, state-of-the-art facility houses the latest technology in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, including the only Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy technology in Midland and a new CT scanner. The open house runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the new location, 400 N. Garfield Ave. .

Celebrating life: Newburyport man shares cancer survival story to help ...

Being a Newburyport firefighter for 32 years may seem like a risky lifestyle. But Leo Rocco's toughest battles weren't fighting fires, but surviving mantle cell lymphoma - not once, but twice.

Rocco, 66, was first diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma - a cancer that affects the lymph nodes - in 2001. It was a lingering sore throat that provided the early clue that something was wrong. But after six months of chemotherapy, he was considered in remission.

When his cancer returned in 2003, his family sought alternative treatment. In 2004, Rocco participated in an experimental trial and became the fourth umbilical cord blood cell transplant recipient at a Boston hospital.

Cord blood cell transplant involves matching donated umbilical cord blood, which is rich in blood-forming cells, and implanting them in patients with diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma.