Almost one in four patients (24%) with advanced lung cancer in Europe, Asia, and the United States are not receiving EGFR test results before being started on treatment, researchers reported at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) in Geneva (Abstract LBA2_PR). This lack of test results may...
Cancer DNA circulating in the bloodstream of lung cancer patients can provide doctors with vital mutation information that can help optimize treatment when tumor tissue is not available, an international group of researchers has reported at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) in Geneva...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, McGlynn et al found that statin use was associated with a reduced risk of primary liver cancer in a setting of low liver cancer prevalence. Other studies have shown a preventive benefit of statin therapy in regions of the world...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Treon et al found that ibrutinib (Imbruvica) was highly active and produced durable responses in patients with previously treated Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. Response rates were highest in patients with MYD88 mutation and...
In the phase III VANTAGE-014 study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Krug et al found that treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat (Zolinza) did not improve overall survival vs placebo in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who had progressed on previous chemotherapy....
Men who reported taking muscle-building supplements, such as pills and powders with creatine or androstenedione, reported a significantly higher likelihood of having developed testicular cancer than men who did not use such supplements, according to a study by Li et al in the British Journal of...
A recent commentary published in Annals of Internal Medicine discusses the paradoxical finding that most patients are at below-average risk of disease and can expect to experience less-than-average benefits from a treatment. Yet, argue Vickers et al, too many people are being screened, diagnosed,...
A substantial gap exists between patient expectations and current practices for providing information about medical imaging tests that use radiation, according to a new study published by Thornton et al in the journal Radiology. Researchers said the findings highlight a need for better...
Black and Hispanic women with breast cancer were less likely to choose their surgeon and the hospital for treatment based on reputation compared with white women, according to researchers. These findings suggest minority patients may rely more on physician referrals and health plans in those...
In a survey study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Wang et al found that a minority of responding radiation oncologists and urologists used decision aids for localized prostate cancer in clinical practice. Study Details In the study, a survey regarding use of and attitudes toward decision aids ...
In a new study, UCLA researchers have developed a cognitive rehabilitation program to address post-treatment cognitive changes, sometimes known as “chemobrain,” which can affect up to 35% of post-treatment breast cancer patients. Their findings were reported by Erocli et al in...
In the ENABLE III study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bakitas et al found that early vs delayed initiation of a palliative care intervention did not result in improved patient-reported outcomes or resource use. Early initiation was associated with better 1-year survival. Study...
In the ENABLE III study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dionne-Odom et al found that early vs delayed use of a palliative care intervention for family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer reduced caregiver depression scores and caregiver stress burden. No differences in...
In a study reported in JAMA, Nan et al found that two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer with regular aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use by persons of European descent. Study Details The case-control study...
In a study of Swedish men with prostate cancer reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, O’Farrell et al found that use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists and orchiectomy were associated with a significantly increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease. In patients...
In a study of women with high-grade endometrial cancer, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found sentinel lymph node mapping accurately identified all women with node-positive, high-risk endometrial cancer, when prospectively compared to a complete pelvic and...
In a phase III study of women with ovarian cancer, researchers found that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard chemotherapy extended median overall survival by 5 months compared to standard chemotherapy alone. The bevacizumab combination was also associated with a significant...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rhodes et al found that only about half of screening-age women had awareness of breast density and adequate knowledge of its impact on breast cancer detection and risk. Breast density is an important factor contributing to false-negative...
The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today released a draft of a clinical practice guideline on the use of molecular marker testing for...
In a National Cancer Data Base analysis reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zheng et al found that laparoscopic colectomy was associated with lower 30-day mortality, shorter length of stay, and, in patients with stage III disease, greater use of adjuvant chemotherapy vs open...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fassnacht et al found that linsitinib, an insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) and insulin receptor inhibitor, did not improve overall survival vs placebo in patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic...
The growing use of sophisticated abdominal imaging techniques, which has led to a marked increase in the findings of incidental pancreatic cysts, has prompted the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) to issue new recommendations in the management of asymptomatic neoplastic pancreatic...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stone et al found that the combination of cytarabine and amonafide L-malate, a DNA intercalator and non–ATP-dependent topoisomerase II inhibitor, did not improve complete remission rate compared with cytarabine plus...
Patients with colorectal cancer experience significantly higher rates of numbness/tingling but comparable neuropathic pain relative to patients with other cancers, according to a study by Lewis et al in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. In addition, numbness/tingling was more likely to be ...
Current smoking and heavy alcohol consumption appear to be risk factors for prolonged use of a gastrostomy tube in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The findings were published in a report by O’Shea et al in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck...
A surgical algorithm developed and implemented by ovarian cancer specialists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center dramatically increases the frequency of complete removal of all visible tumor—a milestone strongly tied to improved chances of survival. The researchers describe...
In a European trial (Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster study group trial ALL-SCT-BFM 2003) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Peters et al found no difference in event-free survival with stem cell transplantation using matched unrelated vs sibling donors in pediatric patients with high-risk...
Increasingly high prices for cancer drugs are affecting patient care, as well as the health-care system overall, in the United States. These findings were published in a special article by Rajkumar and Kantarjian in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. “Americans with cancer pay 50% to 100%...
According to a prospective study led by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, measuring the concentration of leukemia cells in patient bone marrow during the first 46 days of chemotherapy may help boost survival of young leukemia patients by better matching patients with the right...
In a retrospective study in the European EUROS1 cohort reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mazières found that crizotinib (Xalkori) treatment was associated with an 80% response rate in patients with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma with ROS1 rearrangement. Study Details The study...
Despite sharp increases in spending on cancer treatment, cancer mortality rates in the United States have decreased only modestly since 1970. Researchers led by Samir Soneji, PhD, of Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Kang et al found that adding aprepitant to ondansetron with or without dexamethasone was effective in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in pediatric patients receiving moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Study...
In the phase III POEMS/S0230 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Moore et al found that treatment with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist goserelin (Zoladex) reduced risk of ovarian failure during chemotherapy for breast cancer in premenopausal women. Study Details In...
The International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group (ILROG) has issued a guideline outlining the use of three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT)–based radiation therapy planning and volumetric image guidance, specifically to more effectively treat pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma. The...
In a basket trial (CUSTOM) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lopez-Chavez et al performed molecular profiling of tumors in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer, or thymic malignancies and assigned those in any of five actionable...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Jang et al found that palliative care consultation was associated with decreased use of chemotherapy near death and lower risks of ICU admission, multiple emergency department visits, and multiple hospitalizations near death in...
Patients treated with definitive concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy for stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have longer overall survival when treated by highly experienced facilities, whether or not they are academic or community cancer centers. Researchers from the Yale...
Using a novel polymerase chain reaction assay “to efficiently assess” epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in circulating free DNA (cfDNA) from blood samples of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the Spanish Lung Cancer Group has “shown...
A study by Brohl et al investigating the case incidence of unexpected uterine sarcoma following surgery for presumed benign leiomyoma (fibroids or myomas) has found that the risk of unexpected uterine sarcoma varies significantly across age groups, with a more than fivefold difference between the...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved dinutuximab (Unituxin) as part of first-line therapy for pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Dinutuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to the surface of neuroblastoma cells, is being approved for use as part of a...
Patients with larger malignant tumors of the breast who undergo chemotherapy before a breast cancer operation are more likely to undergo a lumpectomy than a mastectomy, according to a study published by Killelea et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Study investigators from...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Krop et al found that ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) had an acceptable cardiac safety profile when used after anthracycline-based (neo)adjuvant therapy in women with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Study Details In the study,...
Bisphosphonate use for treatment or prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women has been associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer, including in a study in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) population. In a WHI study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Newcomb et al...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), the first biosimilar product approved in the United States. A biosimilar product is a biologic product that is approved based on a showing that it is highly similar to an already-approved biologic. The biosimilar...
Immune cells engineered to seek out and attack a type of deadly brain cancer were found to be safe and effective at controlling tumor growth in mice that were treated with these modified cells, according a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Novartis...
Harold Varmus, MD, who has led the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for nearly 5 years, has announced that he will step down from his post, effective March 31, 2015. Dr. Varmus will be joining Weill Cornell Medical College's faculty as the Lewis Thomas...
In a study reported in The Lancet, the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer found that use of menopausal hormone therapy was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer, with the risk being highest among current users. The study consisted of meta-analyses of...
In a study reported in The Lancet, Hersch et al found that use of a decision aid containing information on overdetection in breast cancer screening was associated with an increased rate of informed choice regarding screening, a reduced rate of positive attitudes toward screening, and reduced...
Patients who received chemotherapy after bladder cancer surgery demonstrated an approximately 30% lower risk of death than those who underwent surgery alone, according to an analysis presented by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Atara Biotherapeutics’ optioned cytotoxic T lymphocytes activated against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-CTL) in the treatment of patients with rituximab...