The world’s first patient to have a malignant rectal tumor removed through the anus, thus avoiding painful abdominal incisions, was a 76-year old woman who was able to leave the Barcelona hospital where she was treated, with no complications. The surgeons are optimistic that the method can now be developed to treat a range of colorectal diseases, including cancer and diverticulitis, offering patients the benefit of fewer postoperative complications and a speedier recovery.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has reported that one of the two Phase III pivotal clinical trials of apaziquone has achieved enrollment target, having enrolled approximately 800 patients. The second Phase III clinical trial of apaziquone is expected to complete enrollment by the end of 2009. The apaziquone registration plan calls for two double blind, randomized Phase III clinical studies, each with 562 patients with Ta G1 or G2 low risk non-invasive bladder cancer.

ProtekMed has launched the Tru-flo(TM) urinary catheter valve, an innovative and economical alternative to the standard tube and bag system prescribed by most urologists. This revolutionary technology eliminates the need for a bag and lengthy tubing, enabling patients who require catheters to regain a sense of normalcy and an improved quality of life. Tru-flo allows patients to drain their bladders in a much more natural way.

Endo Pharmaceuticals has reintroduced Valstar (valrubicin) for the treatment of carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the urinary bladder that is refractory to treatment with Bacillus-Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Valstar represents alternative for patients who have otherwise exhausted all other FDA-approved treatment alternatives, including BCG. Valstar, which is a sterile solution for intravesical instillation of valrubicin, is placed directly into the bladder through a catheter and is administered once a week for six weeks under the supervision of a physician experienced in the use of intravesical cancer chemotherapeutic agents.

Dendreon Corp said it will submit its Provenge prostate cancer drug to the US FDA by the middle of November. The company expects to commercialize the drug by the middle of next year “to the many men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer who currently have few appealing treatment options.” The company also aims to initiate a clinical trial of its Neuvenge drug that will target bladder cancer in late 2010 or early 2011.

Endo Pharmaceuticals introduced VALSTAR(TM) (valrubicin) for the treatment of a distinct form of bladder cancer. VALSTAR is the only FDA-approved intravesical therapy for patients with Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-refractory carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the urinary bladder for whom immediate removal of the bladder would be associated with unacceptable medical risks. VALSTAR represents a new treatment option for these patients who may otherwise have exhausted all other FDA-approved treatment alternatives, including BCG.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer’s growth and spread. These cells use a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. The findings, reported in the July Stem Cells, could help scientists develop new ways of finding and attacking similar cells in other types of cancer.

A scientific team led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer. The findings, reported in August 2 edition in the advance online publication of Nature Genetics, people with the variant had a 30% to 40% higher risk for bladder cancer. Scientists hope the results may help determine high-risk people, leading to better survival rates and the development of chemopreventive interventions.

US health regulators have granted fast-track designation to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc’s EOquin (apaziquone) drug candidate. EOquin is the experimental treatment for bladder cancer that has not that has not yet spread deep into the muscle layer. The non-muscle invasive type of bladder cancer accounts for 70% of the new diagnoses and said it affects more than a million patients in the US and Europe. Fast-track designation is designed to expedite the review of drugs to treat serious diseases and fill unmet medical needs.

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation for Research and Development has developed a new diagnostic tool for the detection and monitoring of bladder cancer. The current tests for bladder cancer have an accuracy rate of only 40%, whereas the new test has established 90% accuracy (100% specificity). The new tool that tests human urine samples confirms the efficacy of a newly discovered cell receptor in diagnosing bladder cancer.