Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive. Combination chemotherapy has been the treatment mainstay for advanced disease. Now this approach is being questioned.

People living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) are at greater risk of various forms of cancer. In fact, when these cancers appear, it means the virus has turned into full-blown AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are known as soft tissue sarcomas. They can appear anywhere along the digestive tract. They most commonly start in the stomach. A new drug to treat GIST is headed for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Drug research takes years of development, and there comes a day when hard data reveals whether the drug actually works the way it did in the lab.

Sometimes when you go to the doctor, you wonder - how do they keep up with all the recent research and treatment options for all of this stuff? How do they know how chemotherapies stack up against each other?

A recent presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology expanded on several molecular breakthroughs concerning head and neck cancers, and a team of doctors gave an overview of recent conclusions from their respective fields.

An early study looking at a treatment for cancers involving a certain gene mutation had better results than expected, with findings showing that no traces of cancer are detectable in some of the patients in the drug trial.

Genetic studies in a laboratory favorite, zebrafish , have shown that a pediatric cancer has more than one type of cell involved. Some cancer cells specialize in metastasis while others are content to stay where they are.

Despite being tailor-made for specific targets, some of the newer cancer drugs are useful in other types of cancer. A new kidney cancer drug has shown to be effective in metastatic cancer.

Chemotherapy is effective for cancers that have spread out, but that's a double edged sword. You don't want the drugs harming cells in places without cancer, so it would be nice if you could direct it a little.