News on Reuters Group Plc

Bristol-Myers liver cancer drug fails trial

2011-12-22T17:00:06Z

(Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Thursday its liver cancer drug brivanib failed to meet the primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial.

Brivanib failed to meet the main goal of improving overall survival versus placebo in liver cancer patients who failed or are intolerant to sorafenib. Sorafenib is use...

Bristol-Myers, J&J team up against hepatitis C

2011-12-02T10:30:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Johnson & Johnson plan to jointly develop experimental treatments for hepatitis C in a market worth billions of dollars.

The drugs being developed by the two companies work by blocking different proteins than those attacked by traditional treatments for...

Wisconsin clinic may have exposed patients to bloodborne disease

2011-08-29T14:30:08Z

MADISON, Wis (Reuters) - A Wisconsin health clinic said on Monday it was notifying 2,345 patients that a former employee may have exposed some of them to blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis or HIV from 2006 through 2011.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based Dean Clinic said it h...

Gregg Allman cancels tour due to respiratory illness

2011-08-08T13:30:20Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gregg Allman, the southern rock legend and frontman for The Allman Brothers Band, has canceled a series of summer concerts due to a lingering upper respiratory condition, his representatives ...

J&J warns doctors of Doxil cancer-drug shortage

2011-07-21T14:30:15Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson has cautioned doctors not to begin treatment with its Doxil cancer drug because of shortages of the medicine made by an outside manufacturer.

The company had informed doctors last month about a potential shortage of the injectable medicine, made by a unit of German drugmaker Reuters) - A recently-discovered gene may be responsible for the proliferation of liver cancer cells, a study in Hong Kong has found, and researchers hope this finding may offer new ideas for therapy.

In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers said the gene needed to be switched on by the male se...

Hepatitis C cases rising among Massachusetts youth

2011-05-06T11:00:17Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hepatitis C infections are rising quickly among white youth in Massachusetts, fueled by increases in the use of heroin and other injection drugs, local and federal health researchers said Thursday.

Cases of the infection -- a leading cause of liver damage and cancer -- ...

Vertex hep C drug achieves 75 pct cure rate: study

2010-05-25T14:30:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A closely watched experimental hepatitis C treatment being developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc led to a 75 percent cure rate in a pivotal late-stage trial of previously untreated patients, the company said on Tuesday.

The results from the first Phase III study of telaprevir were roughly in line with expectat...

Sex hormone explains higher liver cancer risk in men

2010-05-19T20:00:19Z

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Male sex hormones may explain why men who suffer from the hepatitis B liver disease are more likely to develop liver cancer than women, researchers in Taiwan have found.

In a paper published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday, the researchers said hepatitis B viruses attach themselves to receptors of the male sex hormone androgen before goi...

Bollywood star Bachchan says has cirrhosis

2010-04-26T12:00:32Z

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Amitabh Bachchan, one of India's top actors, whose disciplined, teetotaling life is somewhat rare in Bollywood, has said his liver has been partially destroyed by cirrhosis, requiring constant medical attent...

Jailed China activist Hu Jia may have cancer-wife

2010-04-08T02:45:05Z

BEIJING (Reuters) - Imprisoned Chinese AIDS activist Hu Jia is suffering from a serious disease, possibly liver cancer, his wife said on Thursday after making a formal appeal to security forces to release him on medical parole.

Hu's mother saw a suspected diagnosis of liver cancer on a consent form she was asked to sign when he ...

Team finds potential path for hepatitis C drugs

2010-04-16T07:28:58Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. scientists have identified a new class of drugs that appear to block the hepatitis C virus from replicating in laboratory experiments, researchers said on Wednesday.

The team discovered activity within a key protein of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) essential for the virus to reproduce, they reported in the online journal Science Translational Medicine.

The researchers also identified s...

Coffee may slow liver damage from hepatitis

2010-04-16T09:37:54Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A few cups of coffee everyday may help slow the progression of liver disease associated with long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus, a new study hints.

Researchers found that among 766 patients with hepatitis C-related liver damage, those who drank three or more cups of coffee per day were 53 percent less likely than non-drinkers to see their liver disease progress over four years....

Both hepatitis C drugs work about the same: study

2010-04-16T11:12:17Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two standard treatments for hepatitis C work equally well at knocking down the virus for most patients, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

The findings, from a 3,000-patient comparative effectiveness study, are meant to help guide doctors' decisions about which treatments work best -- an idea at the center of Present Reuters Health) - The amount of fat accumulated around internal abdominal organs appears to affect the likelihood of a recurrence of liver cancer following treatment, Japanese researchers report.

Dr. H. Yoshida of the University of Tokyo and colleagues came to this conclusion after following 62 patients who had undergone treatment for liv...

Valuev v Chagaev WBA heavyweight title fight cancelled

2010-07-14T14:41:44Z

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The WBA heavyweight title fight between Nikolai Valuev of Russia and Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan scheduled for Saturday has been canceled, a...

Pollution may contribute to rise in liver disease

2010-04-16T12:03:35Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Pollutants may be contributing to a sharp increase in the number of cases of liver disease, U.S. researchers said on Friday.

They said as many as a third of U.S. adults showed signs of having liver disease not caused by normal triggers such as alcohol abuse and viral hepatitis.

While obesity is the primary driver of the increase, environmental po...

Natalie Cole receives new kidney

2010-04-16T12:12:50Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rhythm and blues singer Natalie Cole, who has been battling Hepatitis C, received a new kidney in Los Angeles and is resting comfortably, her spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Cole, the 59-year-old daughter of R&amp;B legend Na...

Wikileaks Berkeley

2010-12-14T22:31:11Z

Beverly Dove holds a sign as she speaks during a city council meeting in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The council in this famously liberal city is considering a resolution Tuesday night bestowing hero status on Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier at the center of the