Treating patients with metastatic melanoma with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) caused immune cells called CD8-positive T cells in the patient’s blood to express markers of reinvigoration, according to data being presented at the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer...
An engineered high-affinity programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) small protein that can bind to PD-L1 (PD-1 ligand) on tumors was found to be a more effective anticancer immunotherapeutic than conventional anti–PD-L1 antibodies, and this small protein was more effective in synergizing with...
Among patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), those whose cancer responded to the treatment had a higher frequency of T cells that were positive for the proteins CD8, PD-1, and Bim (CD8+PD-1+Bim+ T cells) in blood samples taken immediately...
A small phase I/IIa study of third-generation CD19 CAR (chimeric-antigen receptor) T-cell therapy combined with chemotherapy pretreatment has resulted in complete responses in 6 of the 11 patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma and leukemia enrolled in the study. Although CAR T-cell...
Changing the infusion delivery method of the monoclonal antibody ch14.18/CHO (dinutuximab-beta, the European counterpart of dinutuximab [Unituxin]) in combination with interleukin-2 and oral 13-cis-retinoic acid from short-term infusion to long-term infusion in the treatment of children with...
Among patients with clinically stage I or stage II melanoma, those treated with the immune system–boosting agent CpG-B were less likely to experience recurrence of their disease than those who received placebo, according to results from two randomized, placebo-controlled phase II clinical...
The social wasp Polybia paulista protects itself against predators by producing venom known to contain a powerful cancer-fighting ingredient. A Biophysical Journal study published by Bueno Leite et al revealed how the venom's toxin—called MP1 (Polybia-MP1)—may selectively kill cancer...
For children with rare, aggressive, and advanced cancer, precision medicine may help doctors determine their best treatment options, a new study found. Using information from a patient's entire genome helped to suggest personalized treatment options for nearly half of children with cancer and...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Surgery, Grenda et al found higher mortality and higher failure to rescue rates in patients undergoing lung resection at hospitals with high vs low mortality rates in major cancer resections. Study Details In the study, hospitals with the lowest...
In a study reported in JAMA, Klco et al found that persistence of leukemia-associated mutations in ≥ 5% of bone marrow cells at remission predicted poorer outcome among patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), including those with intermediate-risk disease. Study Details In the study,...
A new statistical model may help predict which patients are most likely to receive life-extending benefits from surgical treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma, according to a report published by Leuzzi et al in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive...
Assessing blood plasma levels of certain microRNAs (miRNAs) distinguished individuals with noninvasive pancreatic precancers from healthy individuals and discriminated between patients with high-risk and low-risk neoplasms, according to a preliminary, proof-of-principle study published by...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Masters et al, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline update on systemic therapy for stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recommendations are based on an update committee systematic review of randomized controlled trials...
Analysis of a large phase III trial (S0819) suggested that adding the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting monoclonal antibody cetuximab (Erbitux) to chemotherapy benefits survival in patients with squamous cell non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with tumors positive...
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are one of the most common driver oncogenes in lung cancer, typified by high response rates when treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and median progression-free survival of 10 months, commonly due to emergence of T790M. The genomic...
A large European study that combined both population-based and genomic techniques to investigate the heritability of testicular germ cell tumor has found that 48.9% of all the possible factors contributing to risk for the disease are inherited. Rather than being the result of one faulty gene,...
The standard of care for malignant pleural mesothelioma may be poised for change, judging by results from a study (Abstract ORAL11.01) by the French Cooperative Thoracic Intergroup. The addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) in the first-line setting to the current standard of care, pemetrexed...
In an updated analysis of the Italian phase III TRIBE trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cremolini et al found that FOLFOXIRI (fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, oxaliplatin, irinotecan) plus bevacizumab (Avastin) significantly prolonged overall survival in patients with unresectable metastatic...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Feijen et al found that daunorubicin may be associated with reduced risk of late heart failure vs doxorubicin in survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details The study included data from 15,815 survivors of childhood cancer who survived...
In a study assessing placebo effects reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mao et al found that sham electroacupuncture produced a greater reduction in hot flashes than placebo pills and gabapentin, with the greatest reduction being achieved with real electroacupuncture. Study Details In...
Women who are obese have a higher risk and a worse prognosis for breast cancer, but the reasons why remain unclear. A Cornell study published by Seo et al in Science Translational Medicine suggests that obesity changes the consistency of breast tissue in ways that predispose an individual to tumor...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved rolapitant (Varubi) to prevent delayed-phase chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Rolapitant is approved in adults in combination with other antiemetic agents that prevent nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of...
Scientists have developed a blood test for breast cancer that may be able to identify which patients will suffer a relapse after treatment, months before tumors are visible on hospital scans. The test may uncover small numbers of residual cancer cells that have resisted therapy by detecting cancer...
A preclinical study has found that a combination of decitabine and T-cell immunotherapy demonstrated antitumor activity against glioblastomas in mouse models and was about 50% effective at curing the disease. The results, reported by Everson et al in Neuro-Oncology, show an innovative,...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) issued an updated policy statement on genetic and genomic testing for cancer susceptibility. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the statement reviews the ways in which new technologies are transforming the assessment and identification of ...
More than a cause of a simple infection, viruses are often involved in the development of serious diseases. Such is the case with liver cancer, which often develops in an organ that has been weakened by hepatitis B or C virus. Researchers at Inserm, the Paris Public Hospitals (AP-HP), Paris...
Alternative medicines are widely thought to be at least harmless, and very often helpful, for a wide range of discomforts and illnesses. However, although they’re marketed as “natural,” they often contain active ingredients that can react chemically and biologically with other...
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that are currently being tested to treat B-cell malignancies target a specific protein present on leukemia and lymphoma cells, but these immune cells cannot distinguish the cancer cells from healthy cells. However, the side effects from these CAR T cells...
Concerns about fertility kept one-third of young women with breast cancer surveyed in a recent study from taking tamoxifen, despite its known benefit in reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In addition, the study found fertility concerns led one-quarter of women who started...
A study by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet is reportedly the first to suggest that cells in the tumor blood vessels contribute to a local environment that protects the cancer cells from tumor-killing immune cells. The results, published by Hong et al in the Journal of the...
Women who have inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are more likely to develop breast cancer or ovarian cancer, especially at a younger age. Approximately 5% of women with breast cancer in the United States have mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, based on estimates in non-Hispanic white women. ...
The phase III NSABP B-40 (NRG Oncology) trial showed that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to docetaxel-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved pathologic complete response rate, the primary endpoint, in patients with early HER2-negative breast cancer. In a report of secondary outcomes in The...
Research by a Veterans Affairs team has confirmed that longer-lasting colonoscopies are associated with lower cancer rates. Their findings were published by Shaukat et al in Gastroenterology, and were based on nearly 77,000 screening colonoscopies. Experts already know about the link between...
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers demonstrated a benefit in overall survival among patients with epithelial ovarian cancer receiving generic beta-blocker heart medications. Survival was shown to be greatest among those prescribed first-generation nonselective beta-blockers. According to...
People with more than 50 moles have an increased risk of developing melanoma, but those with fewer than 50 moles should still be alert for this disease. In fact, according to new research presented at the American Academy of Dermatology’s 2015 Summer Academy Meeting in New York, those with...
An endovaginal magnetic resonance imaging technique is more accurate at detecting early-stage cervical cancer than the best available external detection technique, a new study reported. Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital found that using an...
A large population-based control study of the use of low-dose aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colorectal cancer risk has found that taking 75 mg to 150 mg of aspirin for 5 years or longer was associated with a 27% reduced risk of colorectal cancer. In addition, 5 or more...
A multi-institutional study has found a new set of genes that may indicate improved survival after surgery for patients with pancreatic cancer. The study also showed that detection of circulating tumor DNA in the blood could provide an early indication of tumor recurrence. In conjunction with the...
New software could speed up breast cancer diagnosis with 90% accuracy without the need for a specialist, according to research published by Dobbs et al in Breast Cancer Research. This method could improve breast cancer management, particularly in developing countries, where pathologists are not...
Non-Hispanic black women with endometrial cancer had worse outcomes than women of other racial/ethnic groups diagnosed with the same subtype of endometrial cancer and at the same stage of disease, according to a study published by Cote et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention....
In a single-center retrospective review reported in JAMA Dermatology, Sanlorenzo et al found that cutaneous adverse events in patients receiving the anti–PD-1 agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda), currently approved for treatment of melanoma, may indicate better treatment response. Study Details...
In women with breast cancer, taxane-based chemotherapy—docetaxel and paclitaxel—did not appear to increase the incidence of lymphedema, according to a study by Swaroop et al in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. However, the investigators did note that adjuvant chemotherapy with...
For children with aggressive brain cancers called high-grade gliomas, the chances of survival are improved when surgery is successful in eliminating all visible cancer, according to a report published by McCrea et al in Neurosurgery. In addition to showing better survival with gross total...
Organ transplant recipients are twice as likely to develop melanoma as people who do not undergo a transplant and three times more likely to die of the skin cancer, suggested new research by a multi-institutional team. The findings, reported by Robbins et al in the Journal of Investigative...
A first-of-its-kind study published by Bradley Palmer et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that music therapy lessened anxiety for women undergoing surgical breast biopsies for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The 2-year study, conducted at University Hospitals (UH) Seidman Cancer Center, ...
Using whole-exome sequencing on newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, British researchers identified 15 genes that were significantly mutated in a subset of patients and mapped how these mutations related to long-term survival. They found 90% of patients with very aggressive disease who...
In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Jagsi et al found that hypofractionation of whole-breast radiotherapy was associated with reduced acute toxicity compared with conventional fractionation. Study Details The study involved data on physician-assessed toxic effects and patient-reported...
Researchers have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect the earliest signs of breast cancer recurrence and fast-growing tumors through detecting micrometastases, breakaway tumor cells with the potential to develop into dangerous secondary breast cancer tumors elsewhere in the body....
A large observational study investigating the effect of coffee consumption on advanced-stage colon cancer and survival has found that patients who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 42% less likely to experience a recurrence than non-coffee drinkers and were 33% less likely to die from...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Howitt et al found that polymerase e (POLE)-mutant and microsatellite-unstable endometrial tumors may be candidates for anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) immunotherapy. Study Details In the study, neoantigen load was predicted on the basis of...