Women who have ovarian cancer often develop a condition called ascites, which is a buildup of fluids in the abdomen. The most common treatment for ascites is puncturing the abdomen and manually draining the fluid, which is painful, risky, and must be repeated every few weeks. University of...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Johung and colleagues identified factors that distinguished survival rates among patients with ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and brain metastasis. The study included 90 patients from six institutions. Of them, 84...
Men with prostate cancer who are undergoing radiation therapy can benefit from yoga, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania reported at the Society for Integrative Oncology’s 12th International Conference. The new, first-of-its-kind study, led...
A study analyzing data from a large, nationally representative U.S. health survey population comparing biomarkers of tobacco exposure in smokeless tobacco users and cigarette smokers has found the exclusive smokeless tobacco users have higher observed levels of exposure to nicotine and a...
Ten-year results of the MOSAIC trial, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by André et al show a continued overall survival benefit with adjuvant FOLFOX4 (fluorouracil [5-FU] leucovorin plus oxaliplatin) vs 5-FU/leucovorin in patients with stage III colon cancer and in the entire...
Although urothelial cancer of the bladder is sensitive to platinum-based chemotherapy, the vast majority of patients treated with these therapies will develop progressive disease within 8 months of treatment, and the median survival is reported to be between 13 and 15 months, according to a new...
Disparities in colorectal cancer death rates take a large toll on the national economy, with poorer, less-educated communities bearing the greatest burden, according to data presented at the Eighth American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health...
The likelihood of receiving curative-intent surgery for patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) varies substantially from state to state, according to data presented at the Eighth American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health...
“Anemia was highly prevalent and independently associated with functional disability” among older adults with cancer, according to an analysis of data conducted by Owusu et al. “Older patients with anemia were more than twice as likely to have functional disability than those...
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate had an increased risk of a second nonmelanoma skin cancer, and adding anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) may increase that risk, according to results of a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Dermatology. A similar association...
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for daratumumab (Darzalex) to treat patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior treatments, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent, or who are double-refractory to a proteasome ...
In a single-institution retrospective analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tao et al found that use of higher radiotherapy doses was associated with prolonged local control and overall survival in patients with inoperable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Overall survival was...
Scientists have developed a highly sensitive blood test that can spot when breast cancers become resistant to standard hormone treatment, and have demonstrated that this test could guide further treatment. The test gives an early warning of resistance to aromatase inhibitors, which are used to...
Backed by a growing body of research, investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are calling for all hospitals to establish bereavement programs for families of deceased patients. In a report published by Morris and Block in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, researchers say such...
Results of a new laboratory study by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers suggest that some rare “missense” mutations in the HER2 gene are apparently not—on their own—capable of causing breast cancer growth or spread. In a related finding, the research team said...
A study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center may explain why chemotherapy drugs such as gemcitabine are not effective for many patients with pancreatic cancer and perhaps point to new approaches to treatment, including enhancing gemcitabine's ability to stop tumor growth. The MD...
An analysis of data from 46,803 patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received palliative chest radiation therapy found that 49% received radiotherapy for longer than 15 fractions and 28% received more than 25 fractions. This treatment pattern “is inconsistent...
Patients who develop ovarian cancer appear to have better outcomes if they have a history of oral contraceptive use, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published by Jatoi et al in BMC Cancer. “Multiple studies from a variety of sources have indicated that oral contraceptives are ...
Diets high in meat may lead to an increased risk of developing renal cell carcinoma through intake of carcinogenic compounds created by certain cooking techniques, such as barbecuing and pan-frying. As part of a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, published by...
A prediction model created for projecting absolute invasive breast cancer risk in Hispanic women provides a more accurate assessment of their risk of developing breast cancer compared with existing models that are based on data from non-Hispanic women, according to a new study by Banegas et al....
A phase I study evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetic profile, pharmacodynamic effects, and antitumor activity of the first-in-class investigational NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) inhibitor pevonedistat (TAK-924/MLN4924) in patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma or multiple myeloma has found...
Job applicants who are cancer survivors are less likely to receive callbacks from potential retail employers than those who did not disclose their health history, according to a recent study by Rice University and Pennsylvania State University researchers. Study Findings The study, published by...
In the ABOUT study reported in JAMA Oncology, Armstrong et al found that the majority of BRCA-tested women in a commercially insured population responding to a questionnaire about their experience had not received genetic counseling from a genetics clinician prior to testing. The study was...
A team of researchers, including scientists from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), has reported that analyzing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can track how a patient's cancer evolves and responds to treatment. In a study published in Nature Communications, Muhammed Murtaza, PhD, ...
Australian scientists have identified a critical molecular “feedback loop” that helps initiate and drive neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system in children that is triggered in embryonal nerve cells. This feedback loop massively accelerates cancer development. The research team...
In a Canadian population-based study reported in JAMA Oncology, Arnaout et al found that breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used in preoperative evaluation of women with breast cancer and that its use is associated with increased likelihood of confirmatory breast imaging,...
Pediatric low-grade gliomas are the most common type of brain tumor diagnosed in children, and represent a heterogeneous group of tumors, which are poorly classified based on histology and location, according to Payal Jain, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, and lead author of a...
More children are surviving malignant brain tumors than in the past, thanks to the use of intense treatments using platinum-based chemotherapy (cisplatin and high-dose carboplatin). Unfortunately, the therapy has a known side effect of permanent hearing loss, resulting from damage to the inner ear. ...
Patients with metastatic breast cancer who have higher insulin levels than normal, but are not diabetic, have a significantly worse prognosis compared with those who have normal insulin levels, according to data being presented (Abstract BP129) at the Advanced Breast Cancer Third International...
Organizations that issue “damaging messages” about advanced breast cancer need to be identified and educated to change the way they talk about the disease, a patient told the Advanced Breast Cancer Third International Consensus Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 5, 2015. In...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Renfro et al found that low but not high body mass index (BMI) was associated with poorer progression-free and overall survival in patients receiving first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. The analysis included individual...
Mantle cell lymphoma, which is characterized by CD5-positive, CD23-negative follicular mantle B cells with t(11:14)(q13;q32) translocation and cyclin D1 overexpression, is generally incurable and associated with a median survival of between 4 and 5 years. Although front-line treatment for mantle...
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers have described costs across the entire care process for low-risk prostate cancer—from the time a patient checks in for his first appointment to his post-treatment follow-up testing—using time-driven activity-based costing. For the ...
Only 1 in 5 patients with pancreatic cancer in the United States receives a widely available, inexpensive blood test at diagnosis that can help predict relative outcome (compared to others with the same disease stage) and guide treatment accordingly, a Mayo Clinic study showed. People who test...
Two phase III trials, reported in JAMA by Fleshman et al and Stevenson et al, failed to show noninferiority of surgical outcome for laparoscopic vs open resection in patients with rectal cancer. ACOSOG Z6051 Trial In the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z6051 trial, reported...
In a trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Baron et al found that daily vitamin D and calcium supplementation did not reduce recurrence of colorectal adenomas in patients with recently diagnosed adenomas and no known polyps remaining after complete colonoscopy. Study Details In...
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team, in collaboration with investigators at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, may have found a reason why the use of antiangiogenic drugs—which has improved outcomes for patients with several types of cancer—fails to benefit some breast...
In the phase III BEACON trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Perez et al found that etirinotecan pegol was not associated with a significant increase in overall survival compared with physician’s choice of treatment in women with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer previously...
Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered a gene associated with Cowden syndrome, an inherited condition that carries high risks of thyroid, breast, and other cancers, and a subset of noninherited thyroid cancers. These findings were published by Yehia et al in the American Journal of Human...
Although white women have historically had higher incidence rates of breast cancer than African American women, a new report by the American Cancer Society (ACS) finds that, in 2012, the rates converged. The incidence rates were significantly higher in black women than in white women in seven...
A new study in mice by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a specialized type of immunotherapy—even when used without chemotherapy or radiation—can boost survival from pancreatic cancer by more than 75%. The findings are promising, and human clinical...
Regular physical activity could play a role in helping women at high-risk of breast cancer delay the need for drastic preventive measures such as prophylactic mastectomy, according to new research led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Results of the WISER Sister...
In a UK-based phase III trial (AML17) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Burnett et al found that a chemotherapy-free regimen of arsenic trioxide plus all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) did not improve quality of life, the primary endpoint, vs ATRA plus idarubicin in patients with acute promyelocytic...
As reported by King et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29-year longitudinal experience at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center indicates an annual 2% risk of breast cancer in women with lobular carcinoma in situ. Risk was reduced with chemoprevention. Study Details The study involved...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the approved use of ipilimumab (Yervoy) to include a new use as adjuvant therapy for patients who have cutaneous melanoma with pathologic involvement of regional lymph nodes of more than 1 mm and have undergone complete resection, including total...
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc's telotristat etiprate was shown to have clinical benefit in treating carcinoid syndrome in cancer patients not adequately controlled by long-acting somatostatin analog therapy, the current standard of care, according to data from the phase III TELESTAR study presented...
Of the hundreds of genes that can be mutated in a single case of melanoma, only a handful may be true drivers of cancer. A new study published by Arafeh et al in Nature Genetics, a Weizmann Institute of Science team has revealed one of the drivers of a particularly deadly subset of melanomas that...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the biologics license application for talimogene laherparepvec (Imlygic), a genetically modified oncolytic viral therapy indicated for the local treatment of unresectable cutaneous, subcutaneous and nodal lesions in patients with melanoma...
Estrogen-mimicking chemicals called parabens, which are commonly found in an array of personal care products, may be more dangerous at lower doses than previously thought, according to a new study. The findings, published by Pan et al in Environmental Health Perspectives, could have implications...
In a multi-institutional phase II trial (ACOSOG Z6041) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Garcia-Aguilar et al found that neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and local excision was associated with an acceptable disease-free survival rate, albeit not so high as anticipated, in patients with clinical stage...