A new 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) describes a novel marker that might help doctors choose the least toxic, most effective treatment for many...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved lanreotide (Somatuline Depot Injection) for the treatment of patients with unresectable, well or moderately differentiated, locally advanced or metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Lanreotide was previously approved for...
Among patients with advanced, hormone receptor–positive breast cancer who had not been treated previously for advanced disease, those who took fulvestrant (Faslodex) lived longer than those who took anastrozole, according to data from the phase II FIRST trial presented at the 2014 San Antonio ...
Among early-stage breast cancer patients who reduced their dietary fat intake for 5 years following a diagnosis, after over 15 years follow-up, death rates from all causes were significantly reduced in those who had hormone-unrelated breast cancer, according to data from the Women’s...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved ramucirumab (Cyramza) for use in combination with docetaxel for the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK...
In elderly breast cancer patients with moderate- to high-risk early-stage disease for whom standard chemotherapy is too toxic, capecitabine, which causes fewer side effects than standard chemotherapy agents, did not improve outcomes when tested as monotherapy, according to data from the phase III...
After a median of 16 years of following women at high risk for breast cancer, the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study-I (IBIS-I) trial found that tamoxifen significantly decreased the incidence of all breast cancers, according to data presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer...
Results from the largest series of male breast cancer cases ever studied showed that there was significant improvement in overall survival for male breast cancer patients over the duration of the study, but the improvement was not as good as has been seen for female breast cancer patients,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved recombinant nine-valent human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil 9) for the prevention of certain diseases caused by nine types of HPV. The nine-valent vaccine covers five more HPV types than the previously approved quadrivalent vaccine...
Women with HER2-positive breast cancer who had high levels of immune cells in their tumors had a decreased risk of cancer recurrence after treatment with chemotherapy alone compared with their counterparts who had low levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, according to data presented at the...
In a phase II study, the histone deacetylase inhibitor pracinostat demonstrated significant clinical activity in combination with azacitadine in elderly patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Interim data from 33 evaluable patients were presented at the 56th American Society of ...
An oral targeted drug has shown encouraging activity and tolerable side effects in patients with treatment-resistant or relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a poor-prognosis group with few options, reported investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The University of Texas MD...
Common variations in four genes related to brain inflammation or cells′ response to damage from oxidation may contribute to the problems with memory, learning, and other cognitive functions seen in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a study presented at the...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for denosumab (Xgeva) for the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy refractory to bisphosphonate therapy. Denosumab was approved and granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA, which is reserved for drugs that are intended for...
Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, has been elected President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for the term beginning in June 2016. He will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago in June 2015. “I'm honored to be elected incoming President of...
A phase II study investigating the potential of the drugs azacitidine and lenalidomide (Revlimid) demonstrated that the two therapies in combination may be an effective frontline treatment regimen for patients with higher-risk forms of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The...
According to new data reported at the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) demonstrated antitumor activity both as a single agent and in combination with dexamethasone in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or relapsed/refractory...
Results from a large prospective study suggest that children and young adults with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) may respond better to a chemotherapy regimen pioneered in pediatric patients. The findings were presented at the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and...
A novel mechanism—similar to how normal tissue stem cells respond to wounding—might explain why bladder cancer stem cells actively contribute to chemoresistance after multiple cycles of chemotherapy drug treatment. Targeting this “wound response” of cancer stem cells can...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a new use for ruxolitinib (Jakafi) to treat patients with polycythemia vera, a chronic type of bone marrow disease. Ruxolitinib, a JAK inhibitor, is the first drug approved by the FDA for this condition. Polycythemia vera occurs when too...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy status to Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ investigational, oral proteasome inhibitor, ixazomib (MLN9708), for the treatment of relapsed or refractory systemic light-chain amyloidosis. This is the first proteasome inhibitor...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted accelerated approval to blinatumomab (Blincyto) for the treatment of patients with Philadelphia chromosome–negative, relapsed or refractory precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL). Blinatumomab is a bispecific...
The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) awarded the Gold Medal, the organization’s highest honor, to three individuals at the RSNA 100th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting: Gary J. Becker, MD, of Tucson; Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, of Alexandria, Virginia; and Etta D. Pisano,...
A study of breast cancers detected with screening mammography found that strong family history and dense breast tissue were commonly absent in women between the ages of 40 and 49 diagnosed with breast cancer. Results of the study were presented today at RSNA 2014, the annual meeting of the...
A new study presented at RSNA 2014, the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, has found that digital breast tomosynthesis, also known as three-dimensional (3D) mammography, has the potential to significantly increase the cancer detection rate in mammography screening of women ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to the investigation of necuparanib as a first-line treatment in combination with paclitaxel and gemcitabine in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Necuparanib is a novel oncology drug candidate engineered from...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to JCAR015, an investigational chimeric antigen receptor therapy developed by Juno Therapeutics. The designation applies for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was filed...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it is taking immediate steps to help reduce the risk of spreading unsuspected cancer in women being treated for uterine fibroids. In an updated safety communication, originally issued in April 2014, the FDA warned against using...
Adult survivors of retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer that usually develops in early childhood, have few cognitive or social problems decades following their diagnosis and treatment, according to a study by Brinkman et al published in Cancer. The findings offer good news for patients, but the...
High-dose interleukin-2 can be effective in selected metastatic renal cell cancer patients pretreated with VEGF-targeted agents, according to research presented recently at the ESMO Symposium on Immuno-Oncology in Geneva (Abstract 4O). “Despite the wide and increasing range of therapies...
New evidence that immune checkpoint inhibitors may work in glioblastoma and brain metastases was presented today at the ESMO Symposium on Immuno-Oncology 2014 in Geneva (Abstract 1O). The novel research shows that brain metastases of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, providing an immunoactive...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved hydrocodone bitartrate (Hysingla ER), an extended-release opioid analgesic to treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. The product...
Researchers have found a way to identify which ovarian cancer patients are likely to respond well to a new anticancer drug called rucaparib. Previous clinical trials have shown that women with platinum-sensitive tumors with BRCA1/2 mutations respond well to rucaparib. In new findings presented...
Results from the ARMOR2 of the anticancer drug galeterone shows that it is successful in lowering prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men with a variant form castration-resistant prostate cancer. The findings, presented at the 26th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer...
Researchers have found that patients with an advanced form of kidney cancer, for which there is no standard treatment and a very poor prognosis, respond well to a combination of two existing anticancer drugs. The combination of bevacizumab (Avastin) and erlotinib (Tarceva) produced excellent...
A phase I trial of the first drug designed to inhibit the cancer-causing activity of a mutated enzyme known as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1, which is involved in cell metabolism, has shown clinical activity in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the IDH1 mutation. The...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to BGB324 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). BGB324 is a first-in-class, highly selective small-molecule inhibitor of the Axl receptor tyrosine kinase. It blocks the epithelial-mesenchymal transition...
Scientists have found that altering members of the p53 gene family, known as tumor-suppressor genes, causes rapid regression of tumors that are deficient in or totally missing p53. Study results suggest existing diabetes drugs, which impact the same gene-protein pathway, might be effective for...
ASCO issued its new Policy Statement on Medicaid Reform yesterday, which calls for major changes to the program to ensure access to high-quality cancer care for all low-income individuals. The Society’s recommendations call for Medicaid expansion in all 50 states to close coverage gaps,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with paclitaxel, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, or topotecan for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant, recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. AURELIA Trial ...
An international collaboration has identified frequent mutations in two genes that often occur together in Ewing sarcoma and that define a subtype of the cancer associated with reduced survival. The research, conducted by the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital-Washington University...
The proportion of adolescent girls receiving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines was much lower in states with higher rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference on The Science of Cancer Health...
The 5- and 10-year cancer survival rates were lower among American Indians and Alaskan Natives compared with non-Hispanic whites even when they had approximately equal access to health care, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference on The Science ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that there is sufficient evidence to cover lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for individuals at high risk for lung cancer. Earlier this year, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force...
In the largest series of its kind to date, researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) have shown that performing thoracoscopic pneumonectomy, removal of the entire lung through a minimally invasive endoscopic approach, at a high-volume center appears to be safe and may provide pain and...
Olaparib, an experimental twice-daily oral cancer drug, produced an overall tumor response rate of 26% in several advanced cancers associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, according to a phase II study reported by Kaufman et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The positive response provides...
In the next 15 years, more than 1 in 10 colon cancers and nearly 1 in 4 rectal cancers will be diagnosed in patients younger than the traditional screening age, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This growing public health problem is underscored by data...
Pain is a common symptom of cancer and side effect of cancer treatment, and treating cancer-related pain is often a challenge for health-care providers. The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing researchers found that integrative medicine therapies can substantially decrease pain and...
Despite evidence that cervical cancer screening saves lives, about 8 million women aged 21 to 65 years have not been screened for cervical cancer in the past 5 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved ramucirumab (Cyramza) for use in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Ramucirumab was approved in April 2014 as a single agent for the treatment of...