The presence of PIK3CA missense mutation appears to be associated with shorter disease-specific survival in grade 3 endometrioid but not serous endometrial carcinoma, according to a study in Gynecologic Oncology. Although McIntyre et al found this type of mutation across all histologic types of...
A study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that overweight or obese men with prostate cancer whose tumors were positive for the TMPRSS2:ERG genetic mutation had more than a 50% increased risk of dying...
The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-31 trial suggested that efficacy of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) extended to patients with HER2-negative breast cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Pogue-Geile et al identified and...
A phase II trial to evaluate the combination of bendamustine (Treanda) with bortezomib (Velcade) and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma “showed a remarkable response rate of 60.9%, and, when minor responses were included in 75.9% of patients,”...
Disease-free survival is an acceptable surrogate for overall survival in trials of cytotoxic agents for gastric cancer in the adjuvant setting, the GASTRIC group concluded after conducting a meta-analysis of data from 3,288 individual patients enrolled in 14 randomized clinical trials. The trials...
In a post hoc analysis reported in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, Galet et al analyzed the effects of diet on men with prostate cancer. They found that men who were on a low-fat diet and fish oil supplementation had lower cell-cycle progression scores, which are associated with less...
In a study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Smith-Bindman et al evaluated the ability of ultrasound imaging characteristics to determine risk of thyroid cancer associated with thyroid nodules. They found that a strategy of using two abnormal nodule characteristics as an indication for biopsy...
PARP inhibition appears to be an effective way to shrink PTEN-deficient endometrial tumors with low levels of estrogen but is ineffective in those with high levels of estrogen, according to preclinical study results reported by Janzen et al in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. The findings suggest...
A team of researchers looking into the interplay of the immune system and cancer have found a link between a history of airborne allergies—in particular to plants, grass, and trees—with risk of blood cancers in women. The same association was not found in men, suggesting a possible...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted regular approval for crizotinib (Xalkori) for the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test. Today’s...
Two studies using whole-exome sequencing of treatment-resistant BRAF-mutated melanomas have identified multiple gene alterations, mostly affecting the MAPK pathway. Molecularly profiling BRAF-mutated melanoma patients at the time of resistance may improve their care by tailoring combinations of...
Combining gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) with conventional chemotherapy may improve the outcome of bone marrow transplantation for some children battling high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a study led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The results appear in the...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jia-Xing Zhang, MD, of Sun Yat-sen University, and colleagues identified a six-microRNA (miRNA) signature that predicted risk of recurrence after surgery for stage II colon cancer and that may help to identify patients most likely to benefit from adjuvant ...
Approximately 50% of metastatic melanomas harbor the BRAF mutation, and although most of these melanomas respond dramatically to treatment with BRAF inhibitors, such as vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and dabrafenib (Tafinlar), nearly all develop resistance to the drugs within 7 to 8 months. While previous...
In a randomized noninferiority trial (TARGIT-A) reported in The Lancet, Jayant S. Vaidya, PhD, and Michael Baum, MD, of University College London, and colleagues compared risk-adapted radiotherapy using single-dose targeted intraoperative radiotherapy vs fractionated external-beam radiotherapy in...
In the phase III Z1041 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Aman U. Buzdar, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues compared neoadjuvant therapy with FEC-75 (fluorouracil [5-FU], epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide) followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab (Herceptin) ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Susan Halabi, MD, of Duke University Medical Center, and colleagues developed and validated a prognostic model predicting prostate cancer survival in patients receiving second-line chemotherapy for castration-resistant...
Additional data for the investigational anti–PD-1 immunotherapy lambrolizumab (MK-3475) were presented yesterday at the 10th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research in Philadelphia. In patients with advanced melanoma, lambrolizumab demonstrated an estimated 1-year overall...
Results from a University of Colorado Cancer Center study indicated that bevacizumab (Avastin) resistance in patients with colorectal cancer may be due to increases in growth factors other than the targeted VEGF-A. The study, led by Christopher Lieu, MD, and published in the journal PLoS One,...
In a study reported in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, Eileen Danaher Hacker, PhD, APN, AOCN, of the University of Illinois College of Nursing, and colleagues attempted to identify and quantify nocturnal care disruptions in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. They ...
In a study reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mei-Yin C. Polley, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues assessed intralaboratory and interlaboratory variability in Ki67 scoring. They found high intralaboratory reproducibility but only moderate interlaboratory...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Edward S. Kim, MD, of Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, and colleagues investigated whether the addition of cetuximab (Erbitux) to pemetrexed (Alimta) improved progression-free survival in patients with recurrent or...
A single session of intraoperative radiotherapy with electrons permits delivery of a radiotherapy dose equivalent to that of conventional postoperative whole-breast irradiation. In the ELIOT trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Umberto Veronesi, MD, of the European Institute of Oncology, and...
Data suggest that Src kinase-mediated interactions between prostate cancer cells and osteoclasts might promote bone metastasis and that the Src kinase inhibitor dasatinib (Sprycel) might exhibit synergy with docetaxel in prostate cancer. In a phase III trial (READY) reported in The Lancet Oncology, ...
The use of assay-sensitive treatment significantly improved both progression-free survival and overall survival compared with nonsensitive treatment in women with recurrent ovarian cancer, according to the results of a prospective clinical trial reported in Gynecologic Oncology. Thomas Rutherford,...
Available data suggest that risk of febrile neutropenia is greatest during the first two cycles of chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maureen J. Aarts of Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and colleagues...
Use of a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure to remove superficial, early-stage esophageal cancer is as effective as surgery that takes out and rebuilds the esophagus, according to a study by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The research, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and...
On October 31, 2013, Ariad Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of ponatinib, agreed to an FDA request to suspend marketing and sales of the drug due to the risk of life-threatening blood clots and severe narrowing of blood vessels. The FDA states that it will continue to evaluate ponatinib to further ...
Hopes are high that TAS-102, a novel oral nucleoside agent, will turn out to be an advance in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, said Howard Hochster, MD, of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, speaking at the Chemotherapy Foundation...
Preliminary results of an ongoing clinical trial suggest that the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf)—indicated for the treatment of metastatic melanoma with BRAF V600E mutation—may have an important role in the treatment of hairy cell leukemia. The cornerstone of therapy for this...
Advanced imaging techniques may be able to distinguish which patients' tumors will respond to treatment with antiangiogenic drugs and which will not. In a report published online in PNAS, researchers studied patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma who were treated with the antiangiogenic agent...
The strategy of autologous stem cell transplantation as consolidation in high-intermediate– or high-risk diffuse aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has not been specifically examined in the rituximab (Rituxan) era. In a phase III trial (Southwest Oncology Group 9704) reported in The New...
Because statins exhibit immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects that may ameliorate graft-vs-host disease, they may be a safe strategy following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mehdi Hamadani, MD, and colleagues ...
The investigational anti–PD-1 immunotherapy MK-3475 showed promising objective response rates in patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The interim data were presented by Edward Garon, MD, Director of Thoracic Oncology at Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center ...
Results from the Costa Rica HPV16/18 Vaccine Trial (CVT) has found that 4-year efficacy against 12-month HPV16/18 persistent infection was similarly high among women who received one, two, or the recommended three doses of the bivalent HPV16/18 L1 virus-like particle vaccine (Cervarix). The...
The inclusion of multiple hormones—rather than just adding one or two individually—in breast cancer risk prediction models may improve prediction of the disease and could help better identify women who would benefit from chemoprevention, according to a study by Shelley S. Tworoger, PhD, ...
Teenagers and young adults are at increased risk of suicide after being diagnosed with cancer, according to a study published today in Annals of Oncology. A study of nearly 8 million Swedes aged 15 and over found that among the 12,669 young people diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and...
A new educational tool for oncologists may enhance compliance with quality care standards and improve the value of cancer care, ultimately resulting in big cost savings for health-care systems, according to Karen Fields, MD, and colleagues from H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute,...
In a phase I trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, and colleagues assessed the effects of nivolumab—a human immunoglobulin G4-blocking antibody against the T-cell programmed death 1 checkpoint ...
Both pemetrexed (Alimta) and gefitinib (Iressa) are standard second-line treatments for advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in East Asia. In a phase II trial (CTONG 0806) reported at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s 15th World Conference...
Men who spend the most time engaged in sedentary behaviors are at greatest risk for recurrence of colorectal adenomas, benign tumors that are known precursors of colorectal cancers, according to results presented at the 12th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention...
Vaccines currently available to prevent the two most common strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV 16 and 18, responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers, may not be protective in African American women, according to a study by Cathrine Hoyo, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor in the Obstetrics...
Men with short-ended chromosomes in the immune cells in their blood were at increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer compared with men with long-ended chromosomes in blood immune cells, according to results presented at the 12th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer...
Measuring the presence and amount of the protein Vav2 may help identify breast precancers that will progress to invasive cancers, according to results presented at the 12th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held October 27 to 30 in National Harbor,...
Since 1994, many thousands of women with breast cancer from families severely affected with the disease have been tested for inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, and the vast majority of those patients were told that their gene sequences were normal. With the development of modern genomics...
A newly discovered potential gene-diet interaction for colorectal cancer may shed light on the statistically significant increased risk of colorectal cancer that is associated with consumption of red and processed meat, according to a study reported yesterday at the American Society of Human...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Patricia G. Moorman, PhD, of Duke University Medical Center, and colleagues evaluated risk of ovarian and breast cancer among oral contraceptive users with BRCA1/2 mutations. The study showed a significantly reduced risk of ovarian...
New research ties preparative procedures and complications associated with blood or bone marrow transplant with diminished sexual health in both men and women who have undergone the procedure. Study data, published today in Blood, confirm chronic graft-vs-host disease as a potential source of...
Treating aggressive lung cancer with the diabetes drug metformin along with radiation and chemotherapy may slow tumor growth and recurrence, suggested new preliminary findings from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings will be presented by...
In a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine, Ségolène Hescot, MD, of Université Paris Descartes, and colleagues reported evidence of irreversible pancreatic atrophy in two patients after long-term sorafenib treatment. Both patients received cumulative doses of sorafenib...