In a phase III study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the oral antiangiogenic therapy lenvatinib has shown dramatic improvement in progression-free survival in patients with advanced radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer. Their findings are published by...
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified eight highly specific physical and cognitive signs associated with imminent death in cancer patients. The findings, published by Hui et al in Cancer, could offer clinicians the ability to better communicate with...
In a preplanned interim analysis of the phase III GADOLIN trial, obinutuzumab (Gazyva) plus bendamustine (Trenada) followed by obinutuzumab alone was found to significantly improve progression-free survival compared to bendamustine alone in patients with indolent, refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma....
A new, multidisciplinary approach to managing patients undergoing a colorectal operation results in shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and lower medical costs, according a study published by Thiele et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Currently, patients undergoing...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Surgery, Shapiro et al found that use of radiotherapy in unresectable pancreas cancer has decreased over time and that disparities in use can be identified. Decreasing Use The study involved Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data...
Docetaxel was being widely used by patients with metastatic prostate cancer before phase III evidence that it was more effective than standard-of-care for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to an analysis of Medicare claims from before and after the trial results and...
Individuals previously infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that receive chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment may be at risk of reactivating the virus, according to a report published by Di Bisceglie et al in Hepatology. Reactivation of HBV can be fatal, and researchers suggest routine...
Prostate cancer patients with detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) following radical prostatectomy should receive earlier, more aggressive radiotherapy, according to a study published by Wiegel et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. German ARO ...
Inhibiting the action of a particular enzyme dramatically slows the growth of tumor cells tied to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations that are closely tied to breast and ovarian cancers, according to researchers at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center. Senior investigator Agnel Sfeir,...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Teulings et al found that development of vitiligo in patients receiving immunotherapy for stage III or IV melanoma was a significant predictor of improved progression-free and overall survival. The study...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Perez et al found that an immune function gene profile was associated with significantly improved relapse-free survival among patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who had trastuzumab (Herceptin) added to adjuvant chemotherapy ...
A new study involving researchers at The University of Nottingham has revealed how children with an aggressive cancer predisposition syndrome experience a never-before- seen flood of mutations in their disease in very short periods of time. The findings were published by Shlien et al in Nature...
In patients with iodine-refractory papillary thyroid cancer, the addition of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) therapy was shown to stimulate radioiodine uptake in thyroid cancer cells, according to a report by Rothenberg et al in Clinical Cancer Research. This approach has the potential advantage of requiring ...
In a European open-label noninferiority trial (German Hodgkin Study Group [GHSG)] HD13) reported in The Lancet, Behringer et al found poorer outcomes with omission of dacarbazine or bleomycin from treatment with ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) in patients with...
A large retrospective cohort study of diabetic patients taking metformin, a first-line treatment for type II diabetes, has found that while metformin use was not associated with lower lung cancer risk overall, the risk was 43% lower among diabetic patients who had never smoked. In addition, the...
Targeted biopsy using new fusion technology that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound is more effective than standard biopsy in detecting high-risk prostate cancer, according to a study by Siddiqui et al published in JAMA. More than 1,000 men participated in the research at the ...
Researchers at University of North Carolina School of Medicine have created the first mouse model of the most aggressive form of ovarian cancer and found a potential route to better treatments and much-needed diagnostic screens. Led by Terry Magnuson, PhD, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor and Chair ...
Chemotherapy resistance is one of the most formidable obstacles to treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. Now researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) have designed and developed a new protein-based therapy that may prove highly...
In a Danish retrospective population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bertelsen et al found that complete mesocolic excision resulted in better disease-free survival compared with conventional colon resection in patients with stage I to III colon cancer. Study Details The study...
Investigators with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have discovered genomic differences—with potentially important clinical implications—in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated head and neck cancers. These findings were reported in Nature. The researchers also uncovered ...
A population-based study of women who had undergone surgery for breast cancer has found that many lacked understanding of the basic characteristics of their disease, including stage, grade, and tumor characteristics. Minority patients were less likely than white patients to have the correct...
A new breast imaging technique developed at Mayo Clinic nearly quadruples detection rates of invasive breast cancers in women with dense breast tissue, according to the results of a study published by Rhodes et al in the American Journal of Roentgenology. What Is MBI? Molecular breast imaging...
Data from 25 case-control studies and separate analyses show that head and neck cancers in young adults are more likely to occur as a result of inherited factors rather than lifestyle factors, such as smoking or drinking alcohol, according to a new study by Toporcov et al published in the...
Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a potential treatment targeting a pathway by which several aggressive tumors maintain their ability to proliferate, according to a study by Flynn et al published...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chubb et al found that genetic diagnosis of high-penetrance susceptibility to colorectal cancer can be achieved in a sizeable proportion of familial colorectal cancer cases via exome sequencing for germline mutations. Study Details The...
Taking a hormonal contraceptive for at least 5 years is associated with a possible increase in women’s risk of developing a glioma, according to a study by Andersen et al published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Study Details While little is known about the causes of...
A somatic mutation in the ATRX gene has recently been identified as a potential molecular marker for gliomas, neuroblastomas, and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that the same mutated gene may serve...
Among patients who had an unidentifiable lung nodule detected by a chest computed tomography (CT) scan, testing sputum for a panel of three microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers successfully distinguished early-stage lung cancers from nonmalignant nodules most of the time, according to a study reported by...
A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center characterizes the genetic underpinnings of phyllodes tumors, a rare type of breast tumor. The study offers the first comprehensive analysis of the molecular alterations at work in these tumors, according to Cani...
ASCO released its report, Clinical Cancer Advances 2015: An Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer, today, and for the first time announced its cancer Advance of the Year: gains made in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). ASCO credits the improvements in CLL care with the...
It is estimated that approximately 2% to 7% of U.S. adult patients with cancer participate in clinical trials, and poor geographic accessibility of clinical trial sites contributes to this low participation. In a study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Galsky et al found that approximately 40% to ...
A simple change to a two-drug therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer provides similar cancer control while significantly improving quality of life and reducing the cost of care, according to data reported by researchers at the The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur...
Patients with early-stage breast cancer still undergo imaging for distant metastases despite evidence-based local, national, and international guidelines, and a recommendation from ASCO to avoid such imaging, according to a retrospective review of staging imaging for distant metastases in patients...
The annual rate of primary tumor removal for stage IV colorectal cancer has decreased since 1988, and the trend toward nonsurgical management of the disease noted in 2001 coincides with the availability of newer chemotherapy and biologic treatments, according to study reported by Hu et al in JAMA...
Although scientists know that all cancers contain a mixture of both rapidly and slowly proliferating cancer cells, which complicates the detection and treatment of patients with cancer and may cause disease relapse long after apparently curative treatment, the circumstances and molecular details of ...
Updated results from TRIBE, an Italian phase III study of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, indicate that FOLFOXIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil [5-FU], oxaliplatin, irinotecan) chemotherapy in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) is superior to the standard FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-FU,...
New findings from an international phase III study of 1,072 patients with advanced colorectal cancer whose disease progressed on or after initial therapy indicate that a combination of the targeted drug ramucirumab (Cyramza) and FOLFIRI (irinotecan, fluorouracil, leucovorin) chemotherapy provides a ...
A retrospective review of clinical data on 145 patients with stage I to III rectal cancer indicates that patients who achieved complete response after treatment with chemoradiation and systemic chemotherapy had similar 4-year survival rates regardless of whether they had immediate surgery or...
A prospective analysis of data from a phase III study of patients newly diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer indicates that patients with higher vitamin D levels have better outcomes after treatment with chemotherapy and targeted therapy. The median overall survival for patients with the...
Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who receive neoadjuvant radiation therapy with either irinotecan plus capecitabine or oxaliplatin plus capecitabine have a 4-year overall survival rate of 85% and 75%, respectively, according to a study reported by Wong et al in the International Journal ...
Oral infection with human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16), which is the type of HPV most frequently linked to HPV-driven head and neck cancers, was more likely to persist 12 or more months in men older than 45 than in those younger than 45, according to a study reported by Pierce Campbell et al in...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klotz et al found that 1.5% of prostate cancer patients in a Canadian active surveillance cohort died from the disease during up to 16 years of follow-up. Study Details The study involved 993 men with favorable-risk prostate cancer who were ...
Retrospective analyses of the ATAC, TEAM, and BIG 1-98 adjuvant endocrine therapy trials in breast cancer have suggested that treatment-emergent endocrine symptoms may be associated with superior survival outcomes. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stearns et al found no...
A clinical trial that combined stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with erlotinib chemotherapy more than doubled survival rates for certain patients with stage IV lung cancer patients, reported Iyengar et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. SBRT is a type of radiation therapy in which a ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted accelerated approval to nivolumab (Opdivo) for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who no longer respond to other drugs. Nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, is intended for patients who have been previously treated with ipilimumab...
Next-generation sequencing in malignant pleural mesothelioma tumors shows a complex mutational setting with a high number of genetic alterations in genes involved in DNA repair, cell survival, and cell proliferation pathways, according to a study by Lo Iacono et al in the Journal of Thoracic...
Men with localized prostate cancer who walked or cycled for 20 minutes or more a day had a 30% decreased overall mortality and a 39% decreased prostate cancer–specific mortality compared with men who spent less time engaging in those activities, a large Swedish study has found. The study...
In the phase III EORTC 30994 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sternberg et al found no overall survival difference between immediate and delayed adjuvant chemotherapy after radical cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Immediate treatment was...
Racial disparities in colon cancer survival rates may be explained by differences in the health of the patients at diagnosis—both in the stage of the cancer and comorbid conditions—rather than by differences in subsequent treatment, a new study has found. Focusing efforts on prevention...
In a study to identify causative mutations in patients with Gorlin syndrome without PTCH1 mutations, Smith et al found that germline mutations in SUFU were associated with Gorlin syndrome and with increased likelihood of Gorlin syndrome–associated childhood medulloblastoma. The study is...