A study reported by Meghani et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that African American patients with cancer pain are more likely than white patients to receive morphine, with its known 3- and 6-glucuronide neurotoxic metabolites, despite their higher reported risk for chronic kidney...
As reported by Motzer et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the randomized phase II RECORD-3 trial showed that first-line use of everolimus did not achieve noninferiority in progression-free survival vs sunitinib (Sutent) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving sequential...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cohen et al found that induction chemotherapy before chemoradiotherapy did not improve overall survival vs chemoradiotherapy alone in patients with N2 or N3 locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The study...
In a Scottish study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zgaga et al found strong associations between plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer and colorectal cancer–specific and all-cause mortality. Significant interactions of vitamin D...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Xing et al found that the combined presence of BRAF V600E and TERT C228T mutations was associated with increased risk of recurrence and poor disease-free survival in patients with papillary thyroid cancer. The retrospective study included 365...
In a small Norwegian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Paulsen et al found that methylprednisolone treatment improved fatigue, appetite loss, and patient satisfaction but not pain in patients with advanced cancer receiving opioid treatment for pain. Study Details In the study,...
In a population-based cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Prasad et al found that men with depressive disorder prior to prostate cancer diagnosis were significantly less likely to undergo definitive therapy and had worse overall survival across all risk strata compared with...
The antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) is currently indicated in the United States for treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who previously received trastuzumab (Herceptin) and a taxane and who have either received prior therapy for metastatic...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Waller et al found that higher marrow graft, but not peripheral blood graft, levels of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and naive CD4-positive and CD8-positive T cells in unrelated donors were associated with increased overall survival in...
In a retrospective analysis in the HF-ACTION trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jones et al found that a program of aerobic training did not reduce the rate of all-cause mortality or hospitalization in cancer patients with heart failure. Some evidence suggested that patients who...
In a phase II Intergroupe Francophone du Myélome (IFM) trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Roussel et al, induction and consolidation treatment with RVD (lenalidomide [Revlimid], bortezomib [Velcade], and dexamethasone) followed by lenalidomide maintenance was associated...
In a European study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maurichi et al identified lymphovascular invasion and regression as important prognostic factors in thin melanoma. They developed a nomogram including age, mitotic rate, ulceration, lymphovascular invasion, regression, and sentinel...
Lieu et al recently analyzed the effect of age on outcome in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer using the ARCAD (Aide et Recherche en Cancérologie Digestive) database. The findings, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate a U-shaped risk of death and death or...
In the phase II Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)-0234 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Harari et al found that adjuvant chemoradiation with docetaxel or cisplatin plus cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and high-risk...
An analysis of data from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study reported by Siddiqui et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates that vasectomy is associated with a modestly but significantly increased risk of high-grade and lethal prostate cancer. The study involved data from 49,405...
The phase II Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) S0802 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Allen et al showed that adding ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap) to topotecan improved 3-month progression-free survival, but increased toxicity and had no effect on overall survival, in patients...
Risk of severe irinotecan-associated neutropenia is related in part to presence of the UGT1A1*28 variant, which is linked to reduced elimination of the irinotecan active metabolite SN-38. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Innocenti et al identified appropriate irinotecan...
In a retrospective SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results)/Medicare data analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lipitz-Snyderman et al found that long-term central venous catheter use was associated with a three- to sixfold increase in risk of infection in older...
In a European phase III noninferiority trial (Euro-EWING99-R1) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Le Deley et al found that cyclophosphamide was noninferior in event-free survival vs ifosfamide in combination with vincristine/dactinomycin as consolidation therapy in patients with...
The effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy in early-stage esophageal cancer is not clear. In the phase III FFCD 9901 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mariette et al found that neoadjuvant chemoradiation including fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin did not improve R0...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sheppard et al found that frailty was a significant predictor of not starting adjuvant hormonal therapy in breast cancer patients aged ≥ 65 years, but was not predictive of discontinuation of treatment. Study Details The study was...
In the phase III Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 40101/Alliance trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Shulman et al found that noninferiority of adjuvant single-agent paclitaxel was not established vs doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide for relapse-free survival in women with operable...
In the German phase III CONKO-003 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oettle et al found that second-line oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and fluorouracil (5-FU) significantly increased overall survival and time to progression vs leucovorin/5-FU in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer...
Recent retrospective, single-institution analyses have suggested that anatomic segmentectomy results in freedom from recurrence and survival rates similar to those achieved by lobectomy in lung cancer. In a large propensity-matched analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Landreneau...
In the phase III American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z4032/Alliance trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fernando et al found that adjuvant brachytherapy did not improve risk for local recurrence after sublobar resection in patients with high-risk stage I operable...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kuhl et al assessed whether an abbreviated breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol, consisting of one pre- and one postcontrast acquisition and derived images—first postcontrast–subtracted (FAST) and maximum-intensity...
The Ontario Breast Screening Program expanded in July 2011 to include screening of high-risk women aged 30 to 69 years with annual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and digital mammography. As reported by Chiarelli et al in Journal of Clinical Oncology, a study of the initial screen in the program...
HIV-infected people diagnosed with cancer are two to four times more likely to go untreated for their cancer compared to uninfected cancer patients, according to a large retrospective study from researchers in Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The ...
Higher intakes of calcium, vitamin D, and dairy product are associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer, but the effect of such intake on survival in colorectal cancer is unclear. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Yang et al found that higher postdiagnosis intake of...
Obesity is associated with poorer outcome in women with operable breast cancer. In the LISA study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Goodwin et al found that a 24-month telephone-based intervention was effective in reducing body weight in postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zhong et al assessed factors associated with use of immediate breast reconstruction after treatment or prophylaxis for breast cancer among women in the Canadian universal health-care system. Immediate breast reconstruction was more likely in...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is likely to improve insurance coverage for young adults. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Aizer et al examined the association between insurance status and cancer outcomes among young adults, finding that the uninsured...
Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer have reduced risk of progression compared with those with HPV-negative disease, but the effect of HPV status on overall survival after progression has not been clear. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,...
In a Japanese study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fujimori et al found that an oncologist communication skills training program based on patient preferences in receiving bad news was of benefit to both oncologists and patients. Study Details In the study, 30 oncologists were...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Azambuja et al found low rates of trastuzumab (Herceptin)-related cardiac dysfunction over a median of 8 years of follow-up in the HERceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial. The majority of patients with cardiac dysfunction achieved acute recovery. Study...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pollack et al found antigen-specific immune responses and evidence of clinical activity with glioma-associated antigen (GAA) peptide vaccination in children with newly diagnosed malignant brainstem and nonbrainstem gliomas. Study Details In ...
In a European study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Moreau et al developed and validated a combined index for prognosis in patients with multiple myeloma treated with front-line autologous stem cell transplantation. The index, consisting of high lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level,...
A small study of 18 patients with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy has found a significant increase in cognitive complaints and significant correlations between these increases and decreases in multitasking-related brain activation. The study by Deprez et al is published in the Journal of...
In a study of data from an integrated health-care delivery system reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fehrenbacher et al found that patients with T1b node-negative localized breast cancer have a higher risk of distant invasive recurrence than those with T1a disease. Risk was highest among ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eberth et al found that needle biopsy is underused in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, with a number of surgeon factors contributing to underuse. The study involved Medicare data from 89,712 patients with breast cancer seen between...
In the first phase III trial assessing the combination of an insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor with chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced nonadenocarcinoma non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the addition of the fully human immunoglobulin G2 monoclonal...
Weekly paclitaxel is used as second-line treatment in advanced gastric cancer, including HER2-positive disease, in Asian countries. In the phase III TyTAN trial in Asian patients reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Satoh et al assessed the addition of the anti-HER2 agent lapatinib...
The combination of lenalidomide (Revlimid) and rituximab (Rituxan) has shown synergistic activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) preclinical models. In a CLL Research Consortium phase II study of the combination in treatment-naive patients reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, James...
Elevated circulating tumor cells are associated with poor prognosis in metastatic breast cancer. In the phase III Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) S0500 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Smerage et al assessed whether changing chemotherapy after one cycle of first-line treatment in ...
Oncologists now have a new understanding of the toxicity levels of specific chemotherapy regimens used for women with early-stage breast cancer, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The retrospective study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mandelblatt and colleagues attempted to determine whether cognitive impairment is present in older patients with breast cancer prior to systemic therapy. They found that although there were no global differences in cognitive function between...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by O’Connell et al, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) Trial R-04 is assessing four chemotherapy regimens given concurrently with preoperative radiotherapy in order to help identify optimal treatment in patients with ...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has issued an update to its clinical practice guideline on the use of adjuvant endocrine therapy for women with stage I to III hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. The guideline was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Duration...
In a Japanese phase III trial (DELTA) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kawaguchi et al found that erlotinib (Tarceva) was associated with no progression-free survival or overall survival advantage as second- or third-line therapy in EGFR-unselected patients with non–small cell...
Current treatment options for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which carries a very poor prognosis, are generally ineffective. In a phase III trial (CLAVELA) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Roboz et al found that elacytarabine, a novel elaidic acid ester of...