WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lung cancer is often dramatically different in women than it is in men, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday in another study that suggests ways to tailor treatment for cancer patients.

They also found that some elderly patients have forms of lung cancer that make them likely to benefit from chemotherapy, even though the treatments can be harsh.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the latest in a string of experiments that show cancer is far more complex genetically than doctors dreamed of even a few years ago.

Together, the studies may open better ways to target the hit-and-miss treatments that can sicken some patients while saving the lives of others.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Lung cancer is often dramatically different in women than it is in men, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday in another study that suggests ways to tailor treatment for cancer patients.

They also found that some elderly patients have forms of lung cancer that make them likely to benefit from chemotherapy, even though the treatments can be harsh.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the latest in a string of experiments that show cancer is far more complex genetically than doctors dreamed of even a few years ago.

Together, the studies may open better ways to target the hit-and-miss treatments that can sicken some patients while saving the lives of others.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The popular antidepressant drug Paxil may interfere with breast cancer treatments, making patients more likely to relapse and die, researchers in Canada reported on Monday.

Women who took GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil while taking tamoxifen at the same time were more likely to die of their breast cancer, the researchers found. The longer the overlap between Paxil and tamoxifen, the more likely the patients were to die, they reported in the British Medical Journal.

It is likely because Paxil, sold generically as paroxetine, interferes with the compound the body uses to process tamoxifen, the researchers said.

“There is probably a better choice of antidepressants for women taking tamoxifen but (any change) should be done gradually with a doctor,” said Dr. David Juurlink of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) – The popular antidepressant drug Paxil may interfere with breast cancer treatments, making patients more likely to relapse and die, researchers in Canada reported on Monday.

Women who took GlaxoSmithKline’s <GSK.L> Paxil while taking tamoxifen at the same time were more likely to die of their breast cancer, the researchers found. The longer the overlap between Paxil and tamoxifen, the more likely the patients were to die, they reported in the British Medical Journal.

It is likely because Paxil, sold generically as paroxetine, interferes with the compound the body uses to process tamoxifen, the researchers said.

“There is probably a better choice of antidepressants for women taking tamoxifen but (any change) should be done gradually with a doctor,” said Dr. David Juurlink of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Roche AG’s <ROG.VX> Genentech unit has licensed an experimental new technology that uses antibodies to fight influenza, including H1N1 swine flu, Harvard’s Dana Farber Cancer Institute said on Monday.

Dana-Farber said it and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute had signed a license agreement with Genentech, giving the company exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses.

Dr. Wayne Marasco at Dana-Farber, Robert Liddington at Sanford-Burnham and Ruben Donis of the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered the antibody technology and reported on it a year ago this month.

The antibodies — immune system proteins that attach to invaders such as viruses — can be used as direct treatment for flu. They also might be used to protect front-line workers and others at high risk during pandemics.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – H1N1 swine flu is still circulating around the world and still killing people, although it is on the decline everywhere, global health officials said on Friday.

The H1N1 strain is the dominant form of influenza globally, but some seasonal strains are starting to emerge in China and Africa, the World Health Organization reported.

The United States remains one of the hardest hit countries, but many Americans seem unconcerned and most have rejected the vaccine, according to a poll by the Harvard School of Public Health released on Friday.

“Many people believe the outbreak is over and I think it is too soon for us to have that complacency,” Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing. “This pandemic isn’t over yet.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – H1N1 swine flu is still circulating around the world and still killing people, although it is on the decline everywhere, global health officials said on Friday.

The H1N1 strain is the dominant form of influenza globally, but some seasonal strains are starting to emerge in China and Africa, the World Health Organization reported.

The United States remains one of the hardest hit countries, but many Americans seem unconcerned and most have rejected the vaccine, according to a poll by the Harvard School of Public Health released on Friday.

“Many people believe the outbreak is over and I think it is too soon for us to have that complacency,” Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing. “This pandemic isn’t over yet.”

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – H1N1 swine flu is still circulating around the world and still killing people, although it is on the decline everywhere, global health officials said on Friday. The H1N1 strain is the dominant form of influenza globally, but some seasonal strains are starting to emerge in China and Africa, the World Health Organization reported. The United States remains one of the hardest hit countries, but many Americans seem unconcerned and most have rejected the vaccine, according to a poll by the Harvard School of Public Health released on Friday. "Many people believe the outbreak is over and I think it is too soon for us to have that complacency," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing. "This pandemic isn’t over yet." The CDC said nine more children had been reported killed by H1N1 last week. It estimates that as many as 80 million Americans have been infected with swine flu and about 11,000 people have died. Schuchat said 70 million Americans had been vaccinated against H1N1, which leaves the U.S. government with millions of unused doses because 155 million have been shipped and 229 million ordered from five makers — AstraZeneca <AZN.N> <AZN.L> unit MedImmune, Sanofi Aventis <SASY.PA>, Novartis <NOVN.VX>, GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> <GSK.N> and CSL <CSL.AX>. Schuchat said it is easy to be vaccinated now, after severe shortages of vaccine last year, and she urged Americans to get the vaccine. "It’s just impossible for me to say whether we will have a very large peak in disease," she said. "But we don’t seem to be seeing the disappearance of this virus, and we haven’t seen the emergence of the seasonal strain … so I think this virus is going to be finding susceptible people." The Harvard poll found that 44 percent of Americans believe the H1N1 flu outbreak is over. It also found that 40 percent of parents had gotten the vaccine for their children and 13 percent more planned to. Schuchat said only 37 percent of children who needed to get two doses for full protection had received the second dose. Sixty-one percent of the 1,400 adults polled by Harvard at the end of January said they had not received a swine flu vaccine and had no intention of getting one. (Editing by Xavier Briand)

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – H1N1 swine flu is still circulating around the world and still killing people, although it is on the decline everywhere, global health officials said on Friday.

The H1N1 strain is the dominant form of influenza globally, but some seasonal strains are starting to emerge in China and Africa, the World Health Organization reported.

The United States remains one of the hardest hit countries, but many Americans seem unconcerned and most have rejected the vaccine, according to a poll by the Harvard School of Public Health released on Friday.

“Many people believe the outbreak is over and I think it is too soon for us to have that complacency,” Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing. “This pandemic isn’t over yet.”

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – H1N1 swine flu is still circulating around the world and still killing people, although it is on the decline everywhere, global health officials said on Friday. The H1N1 strain is the dominant form of influenza globally, but some seasonal strains are starting to emerge in China and Africa, the World Health Organization reported. The United States remains one of the hardest hit countries, but many Americans seem unconcerned and most have rejected the vaccine, according to a poll by the Harvard School of Public Health released on Friday. "Many people believe the outbreak is over and I think it is too soon for us to have that complacency," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing. "This pandemic isn’t over yet." The CDC said nine more children had been reported killed by H1N1 last week. It estimates that as many as 80 million Americans have been infected with swine flu and about 11,000 people have died. Schuchat said 70 million Americans had been vaccinated against H1N1, which leaves the U.S. government with millions of unused doses because 155 million have been shipped and 229 million ordered from five makers — AstraZeneca <AZN.N> <AZN.L> unit MedImmune, Sanofi Aventis <SASY.PA>, Novartis <NOVN.VX>, GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> <GSK.N> and CSL <CSL.AX>. Schuchat said it is easy to be vaccinated now, after severe shortages of vaccine last year, and she urged Americans to get the vaccine. "It’s just impossible for me to say whether we will have a very large peak in disease," she said. "But we don’t seem to be seeing the disappearance of this virus, and we haven’t seen the emergence of the seasonal strain … so I think this virus is going to be finding susceptible people." The Harvard poll found that 44 percent of Americans believe the H1N1 flu outbreak is over. It also found that 40 percent of parents had gotten the vaccine for their children and 13 percent more planned to. Schuchat said only 37 percent of children who needed to get two doses for full protection had received the second dose. Sixty-one percent of the 1,400 adults polled by Harvard at the end of January said they had not received a swine flu vaccine and had no intention of getting one. (Editing by Xavier Briand)