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Hyper sensitized to pessimism have become the majority of investors, hence negatively overreacting towards good news or little disappointments. This attitude might be creating opportunities but only to those who will still be in when the rebound will occur. It will.  “WILL YOPU BE IN WHEN MONEY WILL FLOW” is the title of the upcoming end of the week E-letter  where subscribers will learn about the déjà vu   phenomenon  and about what’s behind the irrelevant bottoming of the biotech sector.

ENBREL FOR CANCER?

Good news is brought to Amgen by researchers who found evidence that combining Enbrel (etanercept) used to treat rheumatoid arthritis with chemotherapy might help reduce fatigue and muscle wasting in cancer patients. The findings are reported in the April 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “Even though this was a small study, we found that we could deliver more chemotherapy when combined with the drug etanercept,” said lead author Miguel A. Villalona-Calero, an associate professor of hematology and oncology and of pharmacology at Ohio State.

In addition, it seems that the drug might increase the cancer patients’ ability to tolerate higher doses of chemotherapy on a more frequent basis. Patients' fatigue – the state of overwhelming and sustained exhaustion that is not relieved by rest – often hinders physicians' ability to deliver chemotherapy to them on schedule.

Why Enbrel works for those patients?

The drug erases the extra tumor necrosisf factor (TNF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers now believe that the fatigue and muscle wasting associated with cancer are largely caused by increased TNF. Although TNF has been studied for its anticancer properties, recent studies indicate that TNF probably promotes tumor growth instead of hindering it.

Enbrel soaks up” TNF and lowers its amount, which would decrease tumor growth and help reduce fatigue.

Researchers tested the idea in cancer patients reated with docetaxel.Initially, 12 patients with a variety of advanced solid malignancies that were resistant to conventional treatment, or for which no effective treatment existed, were randomly assigned to two groups, one receiving docetaxel, and one receiving docetaxel along with etanercept. Subsequently, an additional 12 patients who were later added to the study received higher doses of docetaxel combined with etanercept.

Patients who received docetaxel without Enbrel had increased fatigue compared to the patients who received the drug. .the addition of Enbrel was safe and had no impact on the concentration of the chemotherapy in the body. The finding suggests that the use of drugs to block TNF might improve the effectiveness of cancer therapies.

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