Scientists have successfully targeted a malfunctioning immune system enzyme to kill diseased cells from patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a precursor to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Reporting their results in Cancer Cell, researchers say their successful laboratory tests in human MDS...
Different factors influence delay between diagnosis and first course of treatment for breast cancer for African American and white women, according to a recently published study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The study used data from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS)...
According to research published in PNAS, scientists have used an efficient new screening strategy to identify gene mutations in tumor cells that are possible drug targets for the most common form of lung cancer. Researchers from the Cancer Research UK’s Paterson Institute for Cancer Research ...
Pharmacyclics, Inc, today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the investigational oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib, for two relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancy indications: mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and...
A cohort study of 2,238 men who were evaluated for infertility at a clinic in Texas from 1989 to 2009 found that those men who had azoospermia, a condition in which no measurable sperm is present, had a 2.2-fold higher cancer risk compared with those who were nonazoospermic. The study was published ...
New evidence suggests that using advanced genetics technologies to monitor for remaining cancer cells after treatment may soon become an effective tool to inform treatment decisions and ultimately predict patient outcomes for patients with a particularly aggressive form of acute lymphocytic...
Nearly half the surgical procedures for sarcoma done at 85 academic medical centers were performed by surgeons untrained in oncology, according to national data analyzed by researchers from the University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento. Orthopedic oncologists and surgical...
There is evidence that diets high in red and processed meat are associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer. In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Marjorie L. McCullough, ScD, and colleagues from the Epidemiology Research Program of the American Cancer Society examined the...
Although aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to reduce cancer mortality by 20%, exactly why these drugs reduce the number of cancer incidences and deaths is not known. Now, a small longitudinal study of 13 patients with Barrett’s esophagus is...
The growth rates and clinical importance of small colorectal polyps have not been well established. In a study reported in Lancet Oncology, Perry J. Pickhardt, MD, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and colleagues found that volumetric growth rate on computed...
Timothy Henrich, MD, Associate Physician in the Division of Infectious Disease at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, reported that two patients with long-standing HIV infections have no detectable levels of the disease in their blood cells, even though they stopped taking their...
A jointly signed letter by ASCO and more than 50 other cancer and health-care organizations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius and Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) Seth D. Harris asks that they provide clear federal regulations and guidance on...
Although patients with early-stage type I endometrial cancer have very good prognosis, a substantial proportion experience recurrence and die from the disease. In a study published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Alain G. Zeimet, MD, PhD, of Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, and...
A biomarker reflecting expression levels of two genes in tumor tissue may be able to predict which women treated for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer should receive a second estrogen-blocking medication after completing tamoxifen treatment. In a report published online in the Journal...
Recurrence of melanoma skin cancer 10 or more years after initial treatment is more common than previously thought, occurring in more than 1 in 20 patients. However, according to a new study, these patients tend to live longer after their cancer returns than patients whose melanoma recurs in the...
A study using a novel “co-clinical” approach that integrates data from hundreds of genetically engineered mouse models with clinical data from tissue samples of hundreds of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, has identified several molecular pathways underlying...
A study of more than 1,800 men aged 52 to 62 suggests that African Americans diagnosed with very low-risk prostate cancers are much more likely than white men to actually have aggressive disease that goes unrecognized with current diagnostic approaches. Although prior studies have found it safe to...
A new study by an international team of scientists provides the first statistically based guidelines for determining whether a stem cell transplant is appropriate for older patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the most common blood disorders in people over 60 years of age, and frequently...
In studies to identify prognostic factors in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, Thierry J. Molina, MD, PhD, of Paris Descartes University, and colleagues assessed expression of MYC, BCL2, MYC/BCL2, IgM, and germinal center B-cell–like and non–germinal center B-cell–like subtypes in a ...
In two large studies, the association between aspirin use and risk of colorectal cancer was affected by BRAF mutation status, with regular aspirin use associated with a lower risk of BRAF wild-type colorectal cancer but not with risk of BRAF-mutated cancer. The findings, published today in JAMA,...
Use of advanced treatment technologies for prostate cancer, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and robotic prostatectomy, has increased among men with low-risk disease, high risk of noncancer mortality, or both, a population of patients who are unlikely to benefit from these...
Postmenopausal women who follow at least five Recommendations for Cancer Prevention from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) cut their risk of developing breast cancer by more than half, compared to those who meet none, suggests a new study that adds to previous research showing...
Researchers have found that antibodies against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help identify individuals who are at greatly increased risk of HPV-related cancer of the oropharynx, In their study, at least one in three individuals with oropharyngeal cancer had antibodies to HPV, compared to...
It has been shown that CD4 and CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in follicular lymphoma have impaired function and suppressed recruitment of critical signaling proteins to the immunologic synapse, and a number of studies have indicated the prognostic importance of the immune microenvironment in...
A new government study investigating the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in females aged 14 to 59 before and after the introduction in 2006 of the HPV vaccine found that the rate of the HPV infection dropped by 56%, decreasing from 11.5% in 2006 to 5.1% in 2010 among female...
A combination of the myxoma virus and the immune suppressant rapamycin can kill glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and deadliest malignant brain tumor, according to new research published in Neuro-Oncology. Study lead author Peter A. Forsyth, MD, Chair of the Neuro-oncology Program at Moffitt ...
A significant proportion of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have poor performance status, and optimal clinical management of these patients has not been established. In an attempt to help define optimal chemotherapy in such patients, Mauro Zukin, MD, of Instituto...
Although overall mortality rates due to single primary melanomas and multiple primary melanomas appear to be similar, relative mortality for thicker single primary melanomas appears to be greater than that for thicker multiple primary melanomas, according to a study by Anne Kricker, PhD, of the...
Available data suggest that patients with stage II/III colon cancer receive similar benefit from intravenous fluorouracil (5-FU) adjuvant therapy regardless of age. Combination regimens and oral fluoropyrimidine therapy are now standard treatments in this setting. Nadine J. McCleary, MD, MPH, and...
Various studies have suggested that acetyl-L-carnitine, a natural compound involved in neuronal protection, may be effective in preventing and treating sensory neuropathy. Dawn L. Hershman, MD, MS, of Columbia University Medical Center, and colleagues recently assessed whether daily...
Genomic heterogeneity within tumors and among lesions varies widely, and “discordance among lesions could lead to the selection of the ‘incorrect’ targeted inhibitor,” according to David B. Solit, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who spoke at the ASCO/American...
A new molecular pathway involving the gene ZNF365 has been identified, and abnormalities in that pathway may predict worse outcomes for patients with breast cancer, according to data published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Genomic...
A study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) has identified an abnormal metabolic pathway that drives cancer cell growth in a particular glioblastoma...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that isolated human genes may not be patented. However, the creation of synthetic forms of DNA, known as complementary DNA (cDNA), is eligible for patent protection. The decision resolves the question brought before the Supreme Court justices in...
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in or near the genes ZNF423 and CTSO were associated with breast cancer risk among women who underwent prevention therapy with tamoxifen and raloxifene, according to data published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. ...
An Indiana University cancer researcher and his Canadian collaborator have discovered how normal breast precursor cells may be genetically vulnerable to developing into cancer. David Gilley, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the IU School of Medicine and a researcher at ...
A workforce shortage of geriatricians and other health professionals trained and certified in caring for older patients with cancer is colliding with the aging of the population and the increasing number of older Americans with cancer. After describing factors contributing to these dual challenges, ...
For patients with advanced breast cancer, positron-emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can improve quality of life and survival by providing physicians with information on the effectiveness of chemotherapy prior to surgery, according to researchers presenting at the 2013...
Surveillance appears to be sufficient for men with stage I seminoma treated with orchiectomy, sparing patients from side effects of adjuvant radiation or chemotherapy. In a long-term study presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 4502), 99.5% of men followed by surveillance alone...
Scientists have found a molecular "bullseye" for a rare form of melanoma, opening up opportunities for novel targeted treatment, according to new research published in the Journal of Pathology. Whole genome and whole exome sequencing carried out at Cancer Research UK’s Paterson Institute for ...
A large randomized phase II study, GALAXY-1, found that a novel heat shock protein (Hsp) 90 inhibitor, ganetespib, when combined with docetaxel in second-line therapy, leads to longer overall survival compared to standard second-line docetaxel alone in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma...
A European phase III clinical trial found that lymphedema was twice as common among women with sentinel lymph node–positive early breast cancer who had axillary lymph node dissection compared to those who had axillary radiotherapy. Overall and disease-free survival 5 years after treatment...
Low-dose weekly administration of paclitaxel resulted in equal progression-free survival but reduced overall toxicity compared to every-2-week dose-dense administration for women with higher-risk early-stage breast cancer who have undergone surgery, according to a phase III randomized trial....
A study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute suggests that cytomegalovirus, a virus that infects most adults in the United...
A survey of 214 U.S. oncologists and hematologists found that more than 80% encountered cancer drug shortages between March and September of 2012, and many reported that shortages affected the quality of patient care they were able to provide. As physicians were forced to substitute more expensive...
Cervical cancer mortality was reduced by 31% over a period of 15 years among women screened with biennial visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), or vinegar, delivered by primary health workers in a large randomized study conducted among 150,000 women in India. The researchers estimate this...
A randomized phase III study found that the targeted drug sorafenib (Nexavar) stalls disease progression by 5 months in patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer that has progressed despite standard radioactive iodine therapy. If approved in this setting by the U.S. Food and Drug...
A randomized phase III study found no improvement in overall survival after the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard first-line chemoradiation for glioblastoma. Patients who received bevacizumab also experienced more side effects compared to those treated with chemoradiation alone. The...
Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to chemotherapy regimens with or without a platinum drug improved outcomes for women with metastatic or relapsed cervical cancer treated in a randomized phase III study. Presenting the results at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 3), lead author Krishnansu Sujata...
This year’s ASCO Annual Meeting was really exciting in two specific ways. First, we saw the development of high-tech novel therapies and combinations that effectively manipulate the immune system and extend survival in historically difficult-to-treat diseases, like metastatic melanoma (eg,...