Cancer Events

1749
to 1806
Benjamin Bell and Jean Louis Petit are the First to Remove the Affected Breast Tissue and Underlying Chest Muscles in Breast Cancer Patients
Then in 1749-1806 the Scottish surgeon Benjamin Bell and the French surgeon Jean Louis Petit were the first one to remove the affected breast tissue, and underlying chest muscle.
1862 Edwin Smith Buys the Edwin Smith Papyrus, the World's Oldest Surgical Documentation
The earliest known medical document known to man is what is known as the Edwin Smith Papyrus. Edwin Smith was an Egyptologist who bought fragments of the document in London in 1862. Alt...
1882 Dr. William Steward Halsted Performs the First Mastectomy
Dr. William Steward Halsted was the first to remove a breast in 1882 in the effort to overcome the disease. From 1895 to 1970's 90% of women treated for breast cancer underwent mastectomi...
1929 Fritz Lickint Finds Evidence that Links Lung Cancer and Cigarettes
It is interesting to note, however, that in 1929 (presumably too late to be included in the handbook) the German physician, Fritz Lickint published a paper in which he showed that lung ca...
1953 Dec 7 FDA Approves Dava's Methotrexate
Methotrexate interferes with the growth of certain cells of the body, especially cells that reproduce quickly, such as cancer cells, bone marrow cells, and skin cells. Methotrexate is ...
1959 Mar 9 FDA Approves Immunex's Thiotepa
Why would this drug be used? Thiotepa is used to treat lymphoma and cancers of the breast, ovary, bladder, and other cancer types. It may also be used to control the fluid that can b...
1977 Dec 30 FDA Approves AstraZeneca's Nolvadex
NOLVADEX is effective in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in women and men. In premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer, NOLVADEX is an alternative to oophorectomy or ov...
1983 Nov 10 FDA Approves Bristol Myers Squibb's VePesid
Treating patients with lung cancer and recurrent testicular tumors. It is used in combination with other cancer medications. VePesid is an antineoplastic. It works by stopping the tumo...
1987 Lung Cancer Becomes Leading Cause of Cancer Death in Women
Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death among women since 1987, claiming the lives of 70,490 women in 2009.
1991 Jun 28 FDA Approves Pharmacia and UpJohn's Adrucil
Treating symptoms of colon, rectum, breast, stomach, and pancreas cancer. Adrucil is an antimetabolite. It works by interfering with the production of proteins necessary for cell growt...
1992 Dec 29 FDA Approves Bristol Myers Squibb's Taxol
Taxol is one of the newer chemotherapy drugs, and has been around, and in use for some years. It is an extract from the bark and needles of the yew tree, Taxus brevifolia. Taxol is a whit...
1994 Dec 23 FDA Approves Pierre Fabre's Navelbine
NAVELBINE is indicated as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin for the first-line treatment of ambulatory patients with unresectable, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC...
1995 Feb 27 FDA Approves Teva's Toposar
Treating lung cancer and testicular tumors in patients who have not responded to other treatment. It is used in combination with other cancer medications. Toposar is an antineoplastic....
1995 Dec 27 FDA Approves AstraZeneca's Arimidex
Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole) is an aromatase inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat: post-menopausal women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-...
1996 May 14 FDA Approves Sanofi Aventis's Taxotere
Drug Type: Taxotere is an anti-cancer ("antineoplastic" or "cytotoxic") chemotherapy drug. Taxotere is classified as a "plant alkaloid," a "taxane" and an "antimicrotubule agent." (F...
1996 May 15 FDA Approves Lilly's Gemzar
Gemzar is indicated in combination with cisplatin for the first-line treatment of patients with inoperable, locally advanced (Stage IIIA or IIIB) or metastatic (Stage IV) non-small cell l...
1996 May 17 FDA Approves Bristol Myers Squibb's Etopophos
Treating lung cancer and testicular tumors in patients who have not responded to other treatment. It is used in combination with other cancer medications. Etopophos is an antineoplasti...
1996 Jun 14 FDA Approves Pfizer's Camptosar
CAMPTOSAR Injection is indicated as a component of first-line therapy in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin for patients with metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum. CAMP...
1997 May 29 FDA Approves GTx's Fareston
Fareston is a novel SERM - Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (anti estrogen) that is supposedly more powerful than Nolvadex and may have less side effects than other anti estrogens....
1997 Jul 25 FDA Approves Novartis's Femara
This medication is used to treat certain types of breast cancer (such as hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer) in women after menopause. Letrozole is also used to help prevent the canc...
1997 Dec 9 FDA Approves Lilly's Evista
Evista affects the cycle of bone formation and breakdown in the body, and reduces loss of bone tissue. Evista is used to treat or prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. It is al...
1998 Apr 30 FDA Approves Bedford's Adriamycin
Adriamycin is a chemotherapy drug that is administered for the treatment of several types of cancer, including multiple myeloma, bladder cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, and lymphomas. It...
1998 Apr 30 FDA Approves Hoffmann La Roche's Xeloda
The panel discussed Xeloda in the treatment of patients with locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer following failure of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Taxol (paclitaxel) and an anthracycli...
1998 Sep 25 FDA Approves Genentech's Herceptin
Some breast cancer cells make (overexpress) too many copies of a particular gene known as HER2. The HER2 gene makes a protein known as a HER2 receptor. HER2 receptors are like ears, or an...
1999 Sep 15 FDA Approves Pfizer's Ellence
Ellence is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body. The exact way it works is not fully understood. Ellence is...
1999 Oct 21 FDA Approves Pharmacia and UpJohn's Aromasin
Aromasin (Exemestane) is a steroidal suicide aromatase inhibitor, which means that it lowers estrogen production in the body by blocking the aromatase enzyme, the enzyme responsible for e...
2001 Mar 21 FDA Approves BARR's Trexall
Treating certain types of cancer, severe psoriasis, or rheumatoid arthritis in certain patients. It may be used alone or with other medicines. It may also be used for other conditions as ...
2002 Apr 25 FDA Approves AstraZeneca's Faslodex
Faslodex® (fulvestrant) is an oestrogen receptor antagonist, indicated for the treatment of postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor-positive, locally advanced or metastatic breast ca...
2002 Aug 9 FDA Approves Sanofi Aventis's Eloxatin
Eloxatin is the trade name for the generic drug name Oxaliplatin. In some cases, health care professionals may use the trade name Eloxatin when referring to the generic drug name Oxalipla...
2003 May 5 FDA Approves AstraZeneca's Iressa
IRESSA is indicated as monotherapy for the continued treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer after failure of both platinum-based and docetaxe...
2004 Feb 4 FDA Approves Lilly's Alimta
Alimta® is the very first chemotherapy drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma cancer. Also known as ...
2004 Feb 12 FDA Approves ImClone's Erbitux
Erbitux is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body. Erbitux is used to treat cancers of the colon and rectum. ...
2004 Feb 26 FDA Approves Genentech's Avastin
Avastin is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth of cancer cells by blocking the formation and growth of new blood vessels in the tumor which slows their growth. Avastin is...
2004 Nov 18 FDA Approves OSI Pharms' Tarceva
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) TARCEVA monotherapy is indicated for the maintenance treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose disea...
2005 Jan 7 FDA Approves Abraxis's Abraxane
Abraxane® is a chemotherapy drug indicated for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, in particular patients for whom previous forms of chemotherapy treatment have proven unsuccessful...
2006 Sep 27 FDA Approves Amgen's Vectibix
Drug Type: Vectibix is classified as a "monoclonal antibody" and "signal transduction inhibitor" by binding to epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR). What Vectibix Is Used For: ...
2007 Mar 13 FDA Approves GlaxoSmithKline's Tykerb
GlaxoSmithKline plc [NYSE: GSK, LSE: GSK] announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TYKERB® (lapatinib), in combination with Xeloda® (capecitabine...
2007 Oct 16 FDA Approves Bristol-Myers Squibb's Ixempra
Ixempra gained FDA approval as a stand-alone treatment for patients who've failed other chemotherapy and for use with Roche's Xeloda in patients whose cancer has spread. Ixempra is a micr...
2008 Jan Patrick Swayze is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Swayze was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in late January 2008, and underwent chemotherapy and other treatments at the Stanford University Medical Center. On March 5, 2008, a R...
2009 Sep 14 Patrick Swayze Dies
Annett Wolf said that the US actor, who had been battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years, died with family at his side on Monday. Swayze was diagnosed with advanced stage four ...
2010 Jun 12 Tel Aviv University Study Finds Diabetes Doubles Cancer Risk in Women
Women suffering from diabetes are at a greater risk of developing cancer, a new study has revealed. The researchers at Tel Aviv University's Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Med...
2010 Jun 13 Blood Pressure Drugs Linked to Increased Risk of Cancer
A blood pressure drug used by millions of adults could be increasing their risk of cancer, a study has revealed. The use of ARB drugs to treat hypertension is associated with a 'modestly...
2012 May 4 Beastie Boys founder Adam Yauch dies of cancer
Various news outlets are reporting that Adam Yauch (A.K.A. MCA) of the Beastie Boys has passed away after a long bout with cancer at the age of 47. Beyond his music with the Beastie Boys,...
2012 May 20 Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees dies
Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb has died aged 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer. The announcement was made by his family with "great sadness". British-born Gibb's musical career bega...