Of the many subgroups of cells vying for control within a cancerous tumor, the most dangerous may not be those that can proliferate the fastest, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported in a study published in Nature. The findings have important implications for the treatment of cancer...
Although the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica) has shown unprecedented clinical activity in mantle cell lymphoma, about 32% of patients do not respond to the drug and majority of responders eventually relapse. Genomic sequencing of tumor and healthy tissue from patients...
BCR-ABL1–like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a recently identified B-cell ALL subtype associated with poor outcome, has a gene-expression profile similar to BCR-ABL1–positive disease without the presence of the BCR-ABL1 fusion protein. In a retrospective analysis reported in the...
Nearly half of adult patients with lung-only metastases from Ewing sarcoma who received whole-lung irradiation were free of pulmonary relapse at 3 years, according to the results of a retrospective study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. With few...
Research conducted at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has discovered links between a set of genes known to promote tumor growth and mucoepidermoid carcinoma, an oral cancer that affects the salivary glands. The discovery could help physicians develop new treatments that...
Use of electroacupuncture—a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles—produces significant improvements in fatigue, anxiety, and depression in as little as 8 weeks for early-stage breast cancer patients experiencing joint pain...
Compared with intravenous (IV) followed by consolidation intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy, primary IV/IP chemotherapy was associated with a statistically significant improvement in overall survival—but not progression-free survival—in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer...
Cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a molecule that selectively and irreversibly interferes with the activity of a mutated cancer gene common in 30% of tumors. The molecule, SML-8-73-1 (SML), interferes with the KRAS gene, whose proteins influence when cells...
There is considerable concern that uterine morcellation as part of minimally invasive hysterectomy may result in the spread of undetected malignancies. In a study reported in JAMA, Wright et al identified a prevalence of 27 cases of uterine cancer and 7 cases of other gynecologic malignancies per...
A St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital study found that 73% of adult survivors of childhood cancer more than doubled their risk of developing metabolic syndrome and related health problems by failing to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle. The results were published online in the journal...
Early surveillance imaging (< 6 months) after stereotactic body radiation therapy for early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) seems to be of limited benefit, resulting in definitive intervention in only 3% of patients, according to the findings of a study in Practical Radiation...
Statin use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing Barrett’s esophagus, according to a new study by Nguyen et al in Gastroenterology. Obese patients experienced the greatest level of risk reduction with statin use. While statins have been associated with a reduced risk...
The routine use of a molecular testing panel developed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center greatly increases the likelihood of performing the correct initial surgery for patients with thyroid nodules and cancer, reported researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The ...
A novel, dosimetry-triggered, adaptive intensity-modulated radiation therapy strategy for patients with cervical cancer may minimize the risk of target underdosing in the setting of very small margins and substantial interfractional motion, according to a study by Lim et al in the International...
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...
Mouse models of human oral cancer treated with an agent called capsazepine showed dramatic tumor shrinkage without damage to surrounding tissues, researchers from the School of Dentistry and School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found. The findings by...
Investigators of The Cancer Genome Atlas project have developed a molecular classification that divides gastric cancer into four major genomic subtypes, according to a study published in Nature. They include (1) tumors positive for the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that display recurrent PIK3CA...
In an analysis of metabolites in human kidney tissue, a research team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania identified an enzyme key to applying the brakes on tumor growth. The new study, published in Nature by Simon et al, demonstrated that an enzyme called FBP1,...
Noninvasive quantitative computed tomography–based texture analysis can accurately differentiate the presence of a KRAS mutation from pan–wild-type non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), based on the results of a study in PLOS ONE. Weiss et al reported that this tumor heterogeneity...
Two common gene variants that lead to longer telomere length may increase the risk of glioma, according to the results of a study presented by Walsh et al in Nature Genetics. This finding suggests that telomere length may prove to be a promising epidemiologic risk factor for cancer. It is well...
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...
Robot-assisted surgery to remove cancerous prostate glands is effective in controlling the disease for 10 years, according to a new study led by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital. The study by Diaz et al, published in European Urology, also suggested that traditional methods of measuring the...
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...
Histologic grade, age, margin status, and use of endocrine therapy may identify a subset of women aged ≥ 50 with stage I breast cancer, who are at a very low risk of disease recurrence after breast-conserving surgery plus whole-breast radiotherapy, according to a study by Smith et al in the...
A novel approach using ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis in combination with RNA expression data has identified a gene called USP9X that may predict which patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer will benefit from tamoxifen therapy after surgery. The gene signature the researchers...
New research raises the prospect of more effective treatments for cachexia, a profound wasting of fat and muscle occurring in about half of all cancer patients, raising their risk of death, according to scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In a study reported in Nature, Spiegelman et al...
Key genetic variants may affect how cancer patients respond to radiation treatments, according to a study recently published in Nature Genetics. The research team, which included researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, found that variations in the TANC1 gene are associated with...
Researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and other centers have identified novel mutations in a well-known cancer-causing pathway in lung adenocarcinoma, the most common subtype of lung cancer. Knowledge of these mutations could potentially identify a...
Invading glioblastoma cells may hijack cerebral blood vessels during early stages of disease progression and damage the brain’s protective barrier, preclinical study published in Nature Communications indicated. The finding by Watkins et al could ultimately lead to new ways to bring about the ...
Invasive breast cancers with skin involvement, regardless of size or lymph node involvement, are automatically classified as stage III locally advanced tumors, which suggests that they are a relatively serious form of cancer with poor survival. In a study published in the Journal of the American...
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...
In a study in the population of the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG)/Alliance N0147 adjuvant trial reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Gonsalves et al identified patient and tumor characteristics that are associated with KRAS and BRAF V600E mutations in colon...
A heparin derivative differentiated cancer cells and caused neuroblastomas to regress without causing severe bleeding, according to the findings of a preclinical study presented in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Knelson et al identified novel roles for heparan sulfate proteoglycans in...
The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar) is the only effective systemic treatment available in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. In the phase III EVOLVE-1 trial reported in JAMA, Zhu et al found no survival benefit from treatment with the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) after sorafenib...
According to a new study, a cascade of molecular events in the bone marrow produces high levels of inflammation that disrupt normal blood formation and lead to potentially deadly disorders including leukemia. The discovery, published by the journal Cell Stem Cell, points the way to potential...
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...
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...
A research collaboration between Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has utilized nanomedicine technologies to develop a drug-delivery system that can precisely target and attack cancer cells in the bone, as well as increase bone strength and volume to prevent...
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 ...
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor MET have been found to promote the proliferation, migration, and survival of tumor cells and to play a role in gastric cancer. In a phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Iveson et al found evidence of benefit from adding the anti-HGF...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to blinatumomab for adults with Philadelphia chromosome–negative relapsed/refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow....
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...
Given the changes in treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the risk of late effects in those treated with current protocols may be different from that in children treated decades ago. In a study of survivors of childhood standard-risk ALL reported in The Lancet Oncology,...
Surgical resection markedly improved survival among metastatic melanoma patients whose disease is isolated to a few areas in the liver, according to new study findings published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. These results mark a departure for melanoma, which is most often...
Although cancer immunotherapy with adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes represents an effective treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma, the antigen targets recognized by these effective tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes remain unclear. According to a new study, a novel...
A new evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians (ACP) is recommending that physicians should not offer routine pelvic examinations to asymptomatic, average-risk, nonpregnant women. The recommendation stems from a review of 52 published articles from 1946...
Researchers found that three-dimensional (3D) mammography (also known as digital breast tomosynthesis) detected significantly more invasive cancers than a traditional mammogram alone and reduced call-backs for additional imaging. Published in JAMA, this is the largest study reported to...
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...
Men and women who took low-dose aspirin regularly had a 48% reduction in their risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a new study. In addition, the longer a person started taking low-dose aspirin, the greater the benefit, ranging from 48% reduction in people who started 3 years before...