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Most Common Brain Cancer May Originate In Neural Stem Cells
Findings in mice suggest greater hope for targeting brain cancer, but also greater caution in pursuing stem cell treatments for degenerative diseases

Family Of Murdered Abortion Provider Tiller Announces Permanent Closure Of Clinic
The family of murdered Kansas abortion provider George Tiller announced on Tuesday that his Wichita clinic will not re-open, leading some abortion-rights advocates to voice concern about access to the procedure, the New York Times reports. Tiller was one of a handful of abortion providers who performed the procedure in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and women for decades have traveled to the clinic from across the U.S. and other countries. The clinic, Women"s Health Care Services, also was Kansas" only clinic outside the Kansas City area (Davey, New York Times, 6/10). The Tiller family said in a statement that the clinic will be "permanently closed" effective immediately. The family also said it does not plan to be involved "in any similar clinic" but will "honor Dr. Tiller"s memory through private charitable activities" (Slevin/Stein, Washington Post, 6/10).While abortion-rights advocates expressed empathy for the family, some added that they also are concerned that the clinic"s closure could have devastating effects for women who learn of fatal health problems late in their pregnancies, the Times reports. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said, "It is unacceptable that antiabortion intimidation and violence has led to the closing of Dr. Tiller"s clinic." She added, "Not only have we lost a fearless defender of women"s fundamental health and rights in Dr. Tiller"s murder, but the closing of his clinic leaves an immediate and immense void in the availability of abortion" (New York Times, 6/10). Suzanne Poppema, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health and a retired ob-gyn who performed abortions, said that abortions later in pregnancy would still be available, including through university hospitals that do not advertise the service. The closing is "not going to stop people who want to provide the service, but it will slow them down," she said. Marla Patrick, Kansas coordinator for the National Organization for Women, said abortion-rights advocates are working to open another Wichita-based clinic that provides abortions later in pregnancy (Bello, USA Today, 6/10). The AP/Yahoo! News reports that Kansas state law permits abortion after 21 weeks" gestation only if continuing the pregnancy would endanger the woman"s life or cause a "substantial and irreversible impairment" of a major bodily function, which courts have interpreted to include the mental health of the woman (Hegman/Hanna, AP/Yahoo! News, 6/9).According to the Times, some abortion-rights advocates had hoped other abortion providers would take over Tiller"s work at the clinic. LeRoy Carhart, a Nebraska abortion provider who also worked with Tiller, said he is "currently exploring every option to be able to continue to make second- and early, medically indicated third-trimester abortions available." Warren Hern, a Colorado abortion provider who performs procedures later in pregnancy, said, "Where does it end? The antiabortion fanatics got exactly what they wanted" (New York Times, 6/10). According to the Wall Street Journal, abortion-rights opponents" response to the closure was "subdued." Some expressed concern that antiabortion-rights extremists would think that violence "gets results where legal protest doesn"t," the Journal reports (Simon, Wall Street Journal, 6/10). Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, said that while the group is "thankful" that the clinic is closed, they "wish it would have come through the peaceful, legal channels that we were pushing" (New York Times, 6/10).Broadcast CoverageMSNBC"s "The Rachel Maddow Show" on Tuesday reported on the clinic"s closure and included a discussion with Susan Hill, president of the National Women"s Health Organization, about violence against abortion providers and an increase in the hostility of protesters outside abortion clinics since Tiller"s murder (Maddow, "The Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 6/9). NPR"s "All Things Considered" on Tuesday also reported on the clinic"s closure ("All Things
News of the day
AMS 700(R) With INHIBIZONE(R) Approved By FDA As The Only Inflatable Penile Prosthesis Proven To Reduce Infection
American Medical Systems, Inc. (AMS) (NASDAQ: AMMD) a trusted provider of medical solutions for restoring men"s and women"s pelvic health, announced that its AMS 700® with INHIBIZONE® has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the only inflatable penile prosthesis with clinical evidence showing a significant reduction in the rate of revision surgery due to infection.
Medical Devices

ABRAXANE Approved For Advanced Breast Cancer Patient Treatment In Quebec

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABII), an integrated biotechnology company, announced the listing of ABRAXANE® for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) 100 mg in Quebec for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer with a recommendation from the Quebec Conseil du Mç©dicament and approval from the Quebec Ministry of Health. ABRAXANE is approved and commercially available in Canada for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, including first-line disease. The listing of ABRAXANE in Quebec offers an important new treatment option to Quebec women with advanced breast cancer. "Based on clinical study results to date and my first-hand experience, I believe that ABRAXANE represents a very important and needed new treatment option for breast cancer," said Dr. Andrç© Robidoux, Director of the Breast Cancer Research Group of the CHUM Research Center. "ABRAXANE is the only taxane that is solvent free and is approved to treat metastatic breast cancer." The Conseil"s approval was based upon comparative clinical trials demonstrating the tumor response rate of ABRAXANE was nearly double for patients who received ABRAXANE compared to those who received solvent-based paclitaxel. Patients treated with ABRAXANE experienced a significant improvement in progression-free survival and prolonged time to tumor progression compared to patients treated with solvent-based paclitaxel.i Additionally, a recently published Phase II study demonstrated that ABRAXANE (administered weekly at 150 mg/m2) nearly doubled progression-free survival over docetaxel injection (14.6 months versus 7.8 months respectively p=0.012).ii ABRAXANE is indicated in Canada at a dose of 260 mg/m2 every three weeks for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. ABRAXANE uses the natural properties of a human protein, albumin, to deliver the drug more effectively to tumors. By wrapping the albumin around the active drug, ABRAXANE can be administered to patients at higher doses without the use of toxic solvents - often the cause of significant treatment-related side effects with other taxane chemotherapies. Unlike most taxane chemotherapies, ABRAXANE eliminates the patient"s need for premedication during treatment to avoid allergic reactions caused by solvents . Additionally, patients can receive treatment in as little at 30 minutes compared to more than three hours needed for solvent-based paclitaxel. "With this approval, Quebec doctors and patients now have another effective treatment option to help women in their fight against advanced breast cancer," said Lyndal Walker, Vice President and Managing Director, Abraxis BioScience Canada. According to Canadian Cancer Society statistics, an estimated 5,900 Quebec women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.iii With an average of 437 women diagnosed with breast cancer every week, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among Canadian women.iv ABRAXANE has now been approved in 36 countries across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Abraxis is continuing to expand its clinical experience with ABRAXANE and its potential in treating a variety of tumor types at multiple stages of disease as a single agent and in combination. About ABRAXANE® ABRAXANE is a solvent-free chemotherapy treatment option for metastatic breast cancer which was developed using Abraxis BioScience"s proprietary nab® technology platform. This protein-bound chemotherapy agent combines paclitaxel with albumin, a naturally-occurring human protein. By wrapping the albumin around the active drug, ABRAXANE can be administered to patients at higher doses, delivering higher concentrations of paclitaxel to the tumor site than solvent-based paclitaxel. ABRAXANE is currently in various stages of investigation for the treatment of the following cancers: expanded applications for metastatic breast, non-small cell lung, malignant melanoma, pancreatic, gastric and head and neck. In June 2006 ABRAXANE was approved by Therapeutic Products Directorate of Health Canada under a Notice of Compliance for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in Canada. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ABRAXANE for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) in January 2005 for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within six months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated. References i Gradishar WJ, Tjulandin S, Davidson N, et al. Phase III trial of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel compared with polyethylated castor oil-based paclitaxel in women with breast cancer. J. Clin Oncol. 2005;23(31):7794-803. ii Gradishar et al. Significantly Longer Progression-Free Survival With nab-Paclitaxel Compared With Docetaxel As First-Line Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2009; 0: JCO.2008.18.5397v1. iii Canadian Cancer Society. Breast cancer: the facts. October 2008. Available here. iv Canadian Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Stats. 16 April 2009. Available here. Abraxis BioScience, Inc.


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