Noted

The National Cancer Institute has added an International Collaboration in Clinical Trials portal (www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/international) as a resource for cancer researchers across the world. In addition to connecting users with U.S. cancer centers and international clinical trials, this site offers step-by-step instructions and explanations for concerns that arise among research groups.

In Citeline's 2011 Annual Review of Trends in Pharmaceutical Research and Development, cancer drugs led the way, accounting for 28% of all drugs in the research and development pipeline. Of the 2,719 cancer therapies, 773 are immunologic agents.

Scientists from the University of Liverpool have unlocked the genome of the naked mole rat, a creature whose life expectancy is 7 times longer than that of other rodents such as mice and which displays a unique resistance to cancer.

The government of Australia's New South Wales is dedicating $30 million (Australian) to 7 Translational Cancer Research Hubs that aim to stimulate collaboration among doctors, researchers, and clinicians.

iTunes released the “Genome Wowser,” an iPad application that puts the human genome at one's fingertips. Developed by the Center for Biomedical Informatics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, this app is said to let you navigate the entire genome with the ease and convenience of web tools such as Google Maps.

Phase III clinical trials: Roche intends to submit pertuzumab for FDA approval following its CLEOPATRA phase III clinical trial, which concluded that patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who took the drug with Herceptin and docetaxel experienced a significantly better survival rate than those who were treated with Herceptin and docetaxel alone. Novartis claimed success in a phase III clinical trial involving its Afinitor (everolimus) for treating postmenopausal breast cancer.