The U.S. cancer care system faces tremendous turbulence while dealing with growing numbers of cancer patients and survivors, mounting pressures to control rising health-care costs, and widespread oncology practice transformation, reports a new study by the American Society of Clinical Oncology...
Patients treated with definitive concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy for stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have longer overall survival when treated by highly experienced facilities, whether or not they are academic or community cancer centers. Researchers from the Yale...
A higher intake by postmenopausal women of lycopene, an antioxidant found in foods like tomatoes, watermelon, and papaya, may lower the risk of renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer. A study describing these findings was published by Ho et al in Cancer. In 2014, 63,920 estimated new cases...
New clinical trial findings provide further evidence that combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy is the best treatment for people with a low-grade form of brain cancer. The findings come from a phase II study co-led by a researcher at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer...
Although blacks were diagnosed at younger ages than whites for nearly every cancer type, after adjustments for population structure shifted the comparisons toward older ages among blacks, only six statistically significant differences of 3 or more years remained, according to a study reported by...
In a single-center study reported in JAMA Oncology, Maddocks et al found that Richter’s transformation accounted for early progression-related discontinuation of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and that CLL progression but not Richter’s...
A prospective, multicenter, observational study involving 992 consecutive patients with one to four asymptomatic, sonographically or cytologically benign thyroid nodules found that “the majority of nodules exhibited no significant size change during 5 years of follow-up or they actually...
At a median follow-up of 3 years, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) demonstrated continued activity with durable responses that improved in quality with extended treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In addition, grade 3 toxicity and adverse events leading to discontinuation diminished ...
Using a novel polymerase chain reaction assay “to efficiently assess” epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in circulating free DNA (cfDNA) from blood samples of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the Spanish Lung Cancer Group has “shown...
A study by Brohl et al investigating the case incidence of unexpected uterine sarcoma following surgery for presumed benign leiomyoma (fibroids or myomas) has found that the risk of unexpected uterine sarcoma varies significantly across age groups, with a more than fivefold difference between the...
In an advance that could lead to better identification of malignant pediatric adrenocortical tumors, and ultimately to better treatment, researchers have mapped the genomic landscape of these rare childhood tumors. Their genomic mapping has revealed unprecedented details, not only of the aberrant...
In a retrospective analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rhoads et al found that treatment of colorectal cancer patients in an integrated health-care system was associated with greater compliance with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, better survival, and no...
Breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of developing thyroid cancer, especially within 5 years of their breast cancer diagnosis, according to a new analysis of a large national database. The study results were presented at the Endocrine Society's 97th Annual Meeting. “Recognition of...
Cancer cells can cloak themselves within tumors by hiding behind a dense layer of cellular stroma. According to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), drugs that target and strip away the stroma would pave the way for other drugs to reach the cancerous cells within the ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved dinutuximab (Unituxin) as part of first-line therapy for pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Dinutuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to the surface of neuroblastoma cells, is being approved for use as part of a...
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have identified the first genetic variation that is associated with an increased risk and severity of peripheral neuropathy following treatment with a widely used anticancer drug. Investigators also found evidence of how it may be possible to...
Family members often play an important role in providing care for patients with cancer, but which patients are more or less likely to involve family members in decisions regarding their care is not well known. A new study published by Hobbs et al in Cancer provides some insights and may help...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hershman et al found that nonadherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy for early-stage breast cancer was more common among black women and patients with lower household net worth, with the latter factor partly accounting for the racial...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), the first biosimilar product approved in the United States. A biosimilar product is a biologic product that is approved based on a showing that it is highly similar to an already-approved biologic. The biosimilar...
In a phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Melichar et al found that the oral aurora kinase A inhibitor alisertib was active in solid tumors, particularly breast cancer and small cell lung cancer. Aurora kinases play central roles in mitosis. Inhibition of aurora kinase A, which is...
In a new study reported by de Leeuw et al in Clinical Cancer Research, researchers found that the novel taxane cabazitaxel (Jevtana) has properties that could make it more effective than docetaxel in some patients with advanced prostate cancer. This hypothesis is currently being tested in a phase...
In a study reported in The Lancet, the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer found that use of menopausal hormone therapy was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer, with the risk being highest among current users. The study consisted of meta-analyses of...
Cancer patients with limited brain metastases (one to four tumors) who are 50 years old and younger should receive stereotactic radiosurgery without whole-brain radiotherapy, according to a study by Saghal et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics....
Patients who received chemotherapy after bladder cancer surgery demonstrated an approximately 30% lower risk of death than those who underwent surgery alone, according to an analysis presented by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Atara Biotherapeutics’ optioned cytotoxic T lymphocytes activated against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-CTL) in the treatment of patients with rituximab...
Researchers investigating whether tumor genotype correlates with benefit from immune therapy in melanoma has found that patients whose tumors had NRAS mutations had better response to immunotherapy and better outcomes than patients whose tumors had other genetic subtypes. The results suggest that...
A retrospective study by Pekar-Zlotin et al investigating fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for detecting EML4-ALK rearrangement in patients with lung cancer has found that FISH may miss a significant number of patients who tested positive with...
Preliminary results from the phase II STAND trial have demonstrated a robust immune response with sipuleucel-T (Provenge) that continues 2 years after completing treatment in men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. The findings, along with data from an ongoing phase IV registry related to ...
Researchers have developed a lab test called Dynamic BH3 Profiling (DBP) to measure early changes in net proapoptotic signaling at the mitochondrion induced by chemotherapeutic agents in cancer cells. In cell-line and clinical experiments, the test accurately predicted chemotherapy response across...
Findings from a federally funded study suggest that patients with locally advanced kidney cancer should not be treated with either adjuvant sorafenib (Nexavar) or sunitinib (Sutent). The average period to disease recurrence was similar between those who received sorafenib or sunitinib after surgery ...
A case-control study of close to 180,000 men suggests that the incidence of prostate cancer is higher among men with a history of testicular cancer (12.6%) than among those without a history of testicular cancer (2.8%). Men who have had testicular cancer were also more likely to develop...
In the phase III CEREBEL study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pivot et al compared lapatinib (Tykerb)-capecitabine vs trastuzumab (Herceptin)-capecitabine in the prevention of central nervous system (CNS) metastases as first relapse site in patients with metastatic HER2-positive...
An analysis of data on roughly 87,500 men treated for prostate cancer since 2005 found a notable increase in higher-risk cases of the disease between 2011 and 2013. The retrospective analysis of patient data found the proportion of men diagnosed with intermediate- and high-risk disease increased by ...
Findings from a small prospective study suggest that androgen receptor V7 (or AR-V7) status does not significantly affect response to taxane chemotherapy in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Treatment outcomes were largely similar for the 17 patients with...
Certain rare epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are associated with tobacco smoking, worse prognosis, and poor response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, compared with more common, classic EGFR mutations. However, as not all rare mutations are the same, testing and therapy...
In a Japanese study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kinoshita et al found that death at home vs palliative care units or hospitals was better for terminally ill cancer patients and was not associated with an increased caregiver burden. Study Details The study included two...
Improved prognosis for women with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer who experience a large reduction in mammographic density following the initiation of tamoxifen treatment extends to premenopausal as well as postmenopausal women, researchers reported in the Journal of the National...
Emergency room visits and hospitalizations are common among patients with early breast cancer receiving chemotherapy, particularly among those receiving a regimen containing docetaxel, according to a report by Enright et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice. “In this population-based cohort ...
Sensor technology has the potential to significantly improve the teaching of proper technique for clinical breast exams, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The results of the study were published in a correspondence in The...
Increases in medical costs are often attributed to ‘demanding’ patients. In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Gogineni et al found that approximately 9% of patient encounters in outpatient oncology clinics included patient demands or requests for tests or treatment, that the majority...
“In routine clinical practice, laparoscopic colectomy is associated with lower 30-day mortality, shorter length of stay, and greater likelihood of adjuvant chemotherapy initiation among stage III colon cancer patients when compared with open colectomy,” according to an analysis of data...
Cancer researchers at University College London (UCL) have found that a cancer false alarm could discourage patients from checking out cancer symptoms they develop in the future. More than 80% of patients with potential cancer symptoms are given the all-clear after investigations. But according to ...
In a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysis of randomized trials in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Blumenthal et al found a strong correlation between response rate and progression-free survival at the trial level and a...
Decades after undergoing cranial irradiation for childhood cancer, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators found that adult survivors of pediatric cancer remain at risk for pituitary hormone deficiencies, which may diminish their health and quality of life. Chemaitilly et al published...
Common surgical procedures used to diagnose and treat precancerous cervical lesions do not decrease women's chances of becoming pregnant, according to a study conducted by Kaiser Permanente Northwest, which followed nearly 100,000 women for up to 12 years. In fact, researchers found that women ...
Last December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved olaparib (Lynparza) in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. Now, a laboratory study by Ceccaldi et al has found that the drug may also be effective in breast and ovarian tumors that...
In an analysis from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, de Batlle and colleagues found reduced risks of estrogen receptor–negative and progesterone receptor–negative breast cancer for highest...
In a Children’s Oncology Group study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wasserman et al found that germline TP53 mutations are common in children with adrenocortical carcinoma, with mutations encoding proteins with greater loss of function being at increased risk of multiple...
A frailty score predicts mortality and the risk of toxicity in elderly patients with multiple myeloma and can be used to determine more suitable therapies for these patients, the International Myeloma Working Group reported in Blood. “Chronologic age, performance status, and physician's...
Results of clinical trials evaluating chemotherapy regimens for advanced pancreatic cancer and lung cancers “tended to correctly estimate survival for Medicare patients aged 65 to 74 years, but to overestimate survival for older Medicare patients by 6 to 8 weeks,” Lamont et al reported...