cancer treatment

Pfizer's cancer drug Sutent and Novartis's drug Afinitor have both been found to be effective against the rare form of pancreatic cancer that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was diagnosed with in 2004, according to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Sanofi-Aventis announced its cancer drug candidate iniparib failed in a late-stage clinical trial. Other pharmaceutical companies have also experienced recent setbacks as they scramble to bolster their pipelines ahead of the patent cliff, when they will be forced to compete with cheaper generics.

At the 52nd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, which wraps up Tuesday, Novartis, Celgene and Seattle Genetics revealed the latest news from their studies on blood diseases and cancers. But despite some positive results, all three had down days in the stock market.

General Electric announced today it would shell out $587 million for Clarient, a maker of cancer diagnostic solutions. Clarient shares have soared 33% on the news.

Traditional chemotherapy for cancer patients is as dreaded as the disease itself. But Delcath's "Chemosaturation System," which is doing well so far in tests, promises to deliver treatments far more precisely, thus limiting side effects.

Dendreon's Provenge, which targets prostate cancer, catapulted that company's stock to record highs recently. Prima Biomed's CVac works similarly, but it has the potential to target multiple forms of cancer, giving the company an intriguing future.

The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 9-13, brought mostly good news for breast cancer patients and drugmakers. And that's a welcome development: Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and the second-leading cause of cancer death...