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...
The 17p deletion in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is associated with worse outcome in patients receiving standard chemotherapy. The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib has shown durable antitumor activity in high-risk CLL. Adrian Wiestner, MD, PhD, of the National...
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...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Floortje Mols, PhD, of the Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Tilburg University, and colleagues assessed the prevalence and severity of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and its affect on health-related quality of life in...
Ibrutinib is a first-in-class oral covalent inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), a mediator of the B-cell receptor signaling pathway implicated in the pathogenesis of B-cell cancers. As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Michael L. Wang, MD, of The University...
Members of Congress are considering two bills that could advance cures for breast cancer and provide better education for women grappling with decisions about their treatment options. Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2013 (S. 865/H.R. 1830)...
Researchers have discovered and mapped the signaling network between two previously unconnected proteins, exposing a link that, if broken, could cut off cancer cell growth at its starting point. A team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported the tie between...
A study by the Spanish Myeloma Group comparing the prognostic value of traditional response criteria and minimal residual disease measurement in patients with multiple myeloma found that a sequencing-based method called LymphoSIGHT and multiparameter flow cytometry analysis both accurately...
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 ...
Mutations and amplifications in the KIT oncogene have been identified in mucosal and acral melanomas and in melanomas arising on chronically sun-damaged skin. In a multicenter phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, F. Stephen Hodi, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and...
Crizotinib (Xalkori), a multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is the only agent currently available for treating ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). CH5424802 is a novel selective oral ALK inhibitor with activity in tumor cell lines harboring ALK alterations,...
The phase III open-label PHARE trial, conducted in 156 centers in France, examined whether 6 months of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) was noninferior to 12 months of treatment in women with early HER2-positive breast cancer. As reported by Xavier Pivot, MD, of University Hospital Jean-Minjoz,...
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...
A drug approved in Europe to treat osteoporosis has now been shown to stop the growth of breast cancer cells, even in cancers that have become resistant to current targeted therapies, according to a study presented at the Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The findings ...
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...
Available data suggest that younger age is an independent risk factor for disease recurrence and death in women with breast cancer. However, there has not been adequate study of the interaction of age with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status or anti-HER2 treatment. In an analysis ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expanded the approved use of denosumab (Xgeva) to treat adults and some adolescents with giant cell tumor of the bone, a rare and usually noncancerous tumor. Denosumab, which was granted orphan product designation, was reviewed under the FDA’s ...
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. ...
A study from the University of Colorado Cancer Center shows that the ALK and ROS1 gene rearrangements known to drive subsets of lung cancer are also present in some colorectal cancers. Results imply that drugs used to target ALK and ROS1 in lung cancer may also have applications in this subset of...
A new patient protocol for aggressive and recurrent lymphoma that combines intensive chemotherapy and radioimmunotherapy showed encouraging overall survival rates in some patients preparing for autologous bone marrow transplant, reported researchers at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society of...
A new study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute may help clinicians and drug researchers choose the most promising genetic targets to attack in a common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The report, published in the June 10 issue of Cancer Cellprovides a new, “big picture” view of an...
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...
A study examining trends in x-ray computed tomography (CT) use in children in the United States has found that reducing unnecessary scans and lowering the doses for the highest-dose scans could lower the overall lifetime risk of future imaging-related cancers by 62%. The research was published...
The FDA has approved initiation of a multicenter trial of the DigniCap System, a scalp-cooling device for chemotherapy-related hair loss. The trial is the second and final phase of study for the DigniCap System. A pilot study previously conducted by researchers at the University of California San...
Novel abnormalities in the FGFR gene, called FGFR fusions, were identified in a spectrum of cancers, and preliminary results with cancer cells harboring FGFR fusions suggested that some patients with these cancers may benefit from treatment with FGFR inhibitor drugs, according to data published in...
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 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...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved lenalidomide (Revlimid) for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma whose disease has relapsed or progressed after two prior therapies, one of which included bortezomib (Velcade). Clinical Trial The approval was based on the results ...
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,...
First-line cetuximab (Erbitux) plus FOLFIRI chemotherapy (leucovorin, fluorouracil [5-FU], irinotecan) offered a roughly 4-month survival advantage over bevacizumab (Avastin) plus FOLFIRI for patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer in the German phase III clinical trial FIRE-3. A ...
Spouses and long-term partners of patients diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer were no more likely to test positive for oral HPV infection than people in the general population and have a low risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, according to the Human Oral...
Progression-free survival was significantly improved for patients with metastatic melanoma of the eye (uveal melanoma) treated with selumetinib, according to the final analysis of data from a phase II crossover study presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract CRA9003). Progression-free...
Long-term follow-up results from an expanded phase I study indicate that nivolumab produced long-lasting responses in patients with stage IV melanoma. Overall, 33 out of 107 patients (31%) treated with five different doses of nivolumab experienced tumor shrinkage of at least 30% and responses were...
Adding granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF, Leukine) to ipilimumab (Yervoy) at a 10 mg/kg dose significantly improved survival compared to the same dose of ipilimumab alone, according to results of a proof-of-principle phase II trial. One year after the start of therapy,...
A new study by researchers Fox Chase Cancer Center has identified a disconnect between clinical trials that look at new treatments for metastatic pancreatic cancer and the patient population most likely to be diagnosed with the disease. Clinical trials typically enroll, and base their findings on,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved two new drugs, dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist), for patients with advanced or unresectable melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Dabrafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, is approved to treat patients with melanoma whose tumors...
In order to support high-quality science, the European Hematology Association collaborates with 16 Scientific Working Groups (SWGs) and concentrates on fostering activities directed towards basic and translational research. In simultaneous sessions on Thursday, June 13, during the European...
Under conditions of oxygen starvation often encountered by tumors, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) sends signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs, an international team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered. The...
Mayo Clinic researchers have used next-generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression. The findings appear online today in the journal Cancer Research. Gleason Patterns...
Physicians have more information to share with their patients about the benefits and risks of low-dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening following the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine of the results of the first (of three planned) annual screening examinations from...
Hologic, Inc, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of C-View, a new low-dose two-dimensional (2D) imaging software. C-View 2D images may now be used in place of the conventional 2D exposure previously required as part of Hologic’s FDA-approved...
Researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed a promising method to distinguish between pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis, two disorders that are difficult to tell apart. A molecular marker obtained from pancreatic “juices” can identify almost all cases of pancreatic cancer, their...