A retrospective analysis of patients with oropharyngeal cancer with recurrence of disease after primary therapy in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) studies 0129 and 0522 found that human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive patients had a higher overall survival rate than HPV-negative patients, ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bulian et al found that CD49d-positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients have significantly poorer overall survival and treatment-free survival and that CD49d status is the strongest flow cytometry–based predictor of overall...
Using whole-genome mRNA-expression profiling, researchers have identified three molecular subtypes of muscle-invasive bladder cancers that shared molecular features with basal and luminal breast cancers. The findings have important implications for prognostication, the future clinical development...
Researchers have identified a microRNA, miR-146a, that accelerates in the presence of BRAF and NRAS genetic mutations—which occur in 70% of melanoma cases—by activating the Notch signaling pathway. The finding could provide a new drug development target for patients with melanoma. The...
In a population-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vaz-Luis et al assessed duration and toxicity of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) in older patients with early-stage breast cancer. They found that age and comorbidity affected treatment completion rates and that significant...
Mature results of a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Advani et al indicate that rituximab (Rituxan) is active in nodular lymphocyte–predominant Hodgkin lymphoma, which is characterized by expression of CD20 by malignant cells. Most patients relapsed, but durable...
In response to FDA's approval earlier this week of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to treat patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who had received at least one prior therapy, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) issued the following statement: "After the FDA designated ibrutinib as a...
While new and better treatments have improved the odds of survival for patients diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer, that progress has been largely confined to non-Hispanic whites and Asians and those under age 65, according to a new study published in Cancer Causes and Control. Sineshaw et ...
Lenalidomide (Revlimid) has been associated with risk for second primary malignancies in patients with myeloma. In a meta-analysis of individual patient data reported in The Lancet Oncology, Palumbo et al found that lenalidomide was associated with a significantly increased risk of second primary...
Researchers have discovered a preleukemic stem cell that may be the first step in initiating disease and also the culprit that evades therapy and triggers relapse in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The research, published online in Nature, is a significant step forward in...
Using high-throughput screening of already FDA-approved chemotherapeutic agents in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) cell lines, researchers have discovered that GIST cells display a high sensitivity to transcriptional and topoisomerase II inhibitors. The finding could bring new treatments to...
The 20-year follow-up of the Swedish Uppsala/Örebro trial, reported by Wickberg et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that improved control of recurrence over 5 years with radiotherapy after sector resection in patients with stage I breast cancer is followed by similar...
As reported in BMJ by Miller et al, the 25-year follow-up of the Canadian National Breast Screening Study has shown no mortality benefit of annual mammography screening for breast cancer compared with physical examination or usual care. Mammography screening was associated with...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expanded the approved use of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have received at least one previous therapy. Ibrutinib, an oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was previously...
Among the four major molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma, WNT tumors are associated with excellent prognosis, whereas SHH and Group 4 tumors are associated with intermediate and Group 3 tumors with poor prognosis. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Shih et al identified a...
In an open-label exploratory phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kim et al found that the antifungal agent itraconazole, which inhibits the Hedgehog signaling pathway, reduced tumor cell proliferation, Hedgehog pathway activity, and tumor area in patients with basal cell...
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered a highly accurate, noninvasive test to identify benign pancreatic cysts, which could spare patients the cost and risk of surveillance or potentially dangerous surgical intervention. The findings are reported in the Journal of...
In patients with late-stage epithelial ovarian cancer, high levels of microRNA-181a may be predictive of chemotherapy resistance and disease progression, according to the results of a study reported by Parikh et al in Nature Communications. Thus, microRNA-181a may serve as a biomarker for prognosis ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, van Ryn et al assessed patient-reported quality of care among patients with colorectal cancer in the Veterans Affairs health-care system. The investigators found significant gaps in patient-centered quality of supportive care, but also found...
Oral ascorbate, or vitamin C, has been shown to be ineffective in cancer clinical trials. However, recent studies have indicated that millimolar concentrations of ascorbate achieved in blood and tissue with intravenous dosing is associated with cancer cell killing without harm to normal tissue. In...
In a brief communication in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Passerini et al described compassionate use experience with the ALK inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) in a group of patients with chemoresistant advanced ALK-positive lymphoma. Response was observed in 10 of 11 patients, and...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Cunha et al found that receipt of a stem cell transplant from donors with a homozygous haplotype (h2/h2, G-A/G-A) in PTX3, the gene encoding the soluble pattern-recognition receptor pentraxin 3 (PTX3), is associated with significantly...
When comparing treatments designed to enable long-term breast preservation for older women with invasive breast cancer, researchers found those treated with brachytherapy were at higher risk for a later mastectomy, compared to women treated with standard radiation therapy. The findings, published...
The pan-Canadian Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification database was created to report on the patient, tumor, and treatment factors that were predictive of biochemical and clinical outcomes in patients who underwent radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Risk stratification in the management of those with...
Studies of complications of surgery or radiotherapy for prostate cancer generally focus on incontinence and erectile dysfunction. In a population-based cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Nam et al assessed the frequency of other complications associated with such treatment and found high ...
In a meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Flaherty et al found that progression-free survival is a reliable surrogate for overall survival in clinical trials in metastatic melanoma that include dacarbazine as control treatment. Study Details In the analysis, 1,649 reports and meeting...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al in the Children’s Oncology Group identified a common single nucleotide polymorphism, rs2232228, in the hyaluronan synthase 3 (HAS3) gene that is associated with anthracycline dose–related risk of cardiomyopathy in...
An altered radiation treatment schedule for glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer, extended the survival period of mice with the disease, according to a new study published in Cell. Because the research involved mice, the study does not recommend a specific new schedule for...
Anomalies in the cytoplasmic expression of estrogen receptor beta 2 appear to be associated with poorer outcomes in patients with advanced serous ovarian cancer, according to the results of a study reported by Ciucci et al in Gynecologic Oncology. This isoform may represent an independent...
In patients with sporadic vestibular schwannoma, aspirin may be of benefit in minimizing tumor growth, according to the results of a retrospective study presented by Kandathil et al in Otology and Neurotology. This finding may eliminate the need for invasive therapy and may complement existing...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kiecolt-Glaser et al found that yoga reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines and fatigue and increased vitality in breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 200 women with stage 0 to IIIA breast cancer who had completed...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zu et al found that higher dietary lycopene intake was associated with reduced risk of lethal prostate cancer and reduced tumor angiogenesis. Lycopene-rich foods include tomatoes and tomato-based products. Study Details The...
When oncologists see a new patient, they should emphasize careful documentation of first- and second-degree cancer family history, according to new recommendations published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The recommendations are the first to focus on family history-taking...
Prior to the advent of targeted therapy, cytoreductive nephrectomy was associated with a 6-month improvement in overall survival in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. With the development of new and better targeted therapies for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the appropriate use of cytoreductive...
The finding that the BRAF V600E mutation is present in nearly all cases of hairy cell leukemia has resulted in the use of BRAF inhibitors to treat chemotherapy-resistant disease, with good responses to vemurafenib (Zelboraf) being observed. BRAF inhibition has been thought to result in...
A large retrospective population-based study shows that potentially fatal penile cancers are surgically undertreated in the United States and more benign penile cancers are surgically overtreated. Even though penile cancer is rare in the United States, accounting for about 1,570 new cases in 2013...
In the randomized, phase III CA184-043 trial, ipilimumab (Yervoy) improved progression-free survival and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response compared with placebo, but failed to improve overall survival significantly in postdocetaxel metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer....
The Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO) announced its launch as a new organization focused on meeting the unique educational and professional needs of the advanced practitioner in hematology and oncology. The formation of the Society was made public January 26, 2014,...
The most common genetic subtype of lung cancer, which has long defied treatment with targeted therapies, has had its growth halted by a combination of two already-in-use drugs in laboratory and animal studies, setting the stage for clinical trials of the drugs in patients. The study, published in...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Phipps et al found no evidence of increased post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in children with cancer and observed a heightened sense of perceived growth related to cancer events in these children. ...
An analysis of 7,776 adult cancer clinical trials registered on Clinicaltrials.gov showed that approximately 20% of trials failed to be completed for reasons unrelated to the efficacy or side effects of the intervention. In 2010, a report from the Institute of Medicine entitled “A National...
The addition of radiation to lifelong hormone therapy with oral antiandrogens vs antiandrogens alone reduced the prostate cancer–specific death rate by more than 50% at 10 and 15 years in men with locally advanced prostate cancer, according to an updated analysis of the Scandinavian Prostate...
Enzalutamide (Xtandi) improved survival by 29% in men with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and reduced the risk of radiographic progression by 81%, according to complete results of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational, phase III PREVAIL...
As genomic testing becomes more common, genetic counseling is increasingly performed via telephone. BRCA1/2 mutation carries increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer. In a noninferiority study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schwartz et al compared genetic counseling for BRCA1/2...
Individuals at increased familial risk of colorectal cancer have poor adherence to colonoscopy screening recommendations, especially those in rural and other geographically underserved populations. In a study (Family CARE trial) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kinney et al found that...
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-delta mediates B-cell receptor signaling and microenvironment support signals that promote the growth and survival of malignant B lymphocytes. In a phase II study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Gopal et al found that the PI3K-delta inhibitor...
A survey of oncologists by Shanafelt et al has found that approximately 45% had at least one symptom of burnout, with risk being greatest among younger oncologists and those spending more hours per week devoted to direct patient care. However, overall career satisfaction remains high, especially...
Use of standard chemotherapy is difficult in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have significant coexisting medical conditions. In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Furman et al found that the combination of idelalisib, an oral inhibitor...
In a study (FACS trial) reported in JAMA, Primrose et al compared outcomes with intensive follow-up with carcinoembryonic antigen measurement (CEA), computed tomography (CT), both, or minimum follow-up after curative surgery for primary colorectal cancer. Intensive strategies resulted in a...
In a case series reported in JAMA Dermatology, Chernoff et al found that dermoscopic identification of vascular structures in cutaneous nodules in patients with known cancer diagnosis should raise suspicion for cutaneous metastasis. Study Details In the study, high-quality dermoscopic images of...