A workforce shortage of geriatricians and other health professionals trained and certified in caring for older patients with cancer is colliding with the aging of the population and the increasing number of older Americans with cancer. After describing factors contributing to these dual challenges, ...
According to a June 3 letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there will be no reprieve in the 2% ($11.08 billion) reduction to Medicare providers and hospitals mandated by the federal budget sequestration. The letter by CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner was in...
A new patient protocol for aggressive and recurrent lymphoma that combines intensive chemotherapy and radioimmunotherapy showed encouraging overall survival rates in some patients preparing for autologous bone marrow transplant, reported researchers at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society of...
A new study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute may help clinicians and drug researchers choose the most promising genetic targets to attack in a common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The report, published in the June 10 issue of Cancer Cellprovides a new, “big picture” view of an...
For patients with advanced breast cancer, positron-emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can improve quality of life and survival by providing physicians with information on the effectiveness of chemotherapy prior to surgery, according to researchers presenting at the 2013...
A study examining trends in x-ray computed tomography (CT) use in children in the United States has found that reducing unnecessary scans and lowering the doses for the highest-dose scans could lower the overall lifetime risk of future imaging-related cancers by 62%. The research was published...
Surveillance appears to be sufficient for men with stage I seminoma treated with orchiectomy, sparing patients from side effects of adjuvant radiation or chemotherapy. In a long-term study presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 4502), 99.5% of men followed by surveillance alone...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug designation to Stemline Therapeutics' SL-401 for the treatment of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, a rare and aggressive hematologic malignancy for which there is no effective treatment. SL-401 also has Orphan Drug...
The FDA has approved initiation of a multicenter trial of the DigniCap System, a scalp-cooling device for chemotherapy-related hair loss. The trial is the second and final phase of study for the DigniCap System. A pilot study previously conducted by researchers at the University of California San...
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, and University of Rochester Medical Center have identified a new mechanism that appears to suppress tumor growth, opening the possibility of developing a new class of anticancer drugs. The findings were published in this...
Novel abnormalities in the FGFR gene, called FGFR fusions, were identified in a spectrum of cancers, and preliminary results with cancer cells harboring FGFR fusions suggested that some patients with these cancers may benefit from treatment with FGFR inhibitor drugs, according to data published in...
Scientists have found a molecular "bullseye" for a rare form of melanoma, opening up opportunities for novel targeted treatment, according to new research published in the Journal of Pathology. Whole genome and whole exome sequencing carried out at Cancer Research UK’s Paterson Institute for ...
A large randomized phase II study, GALAXY-1, found that a novel heat shock protein (Hsp) 90 inhibitor, ganetespib, when combined with docetaxel in second-line therapy, leads to longer overall survival compared to standard second-line docetaxel alone in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma...
A genomic profiling study of African American women with breast cancer found that about one in five carries an inherited abnormality in at least 1 of 18 genes associated with breast cancer susceptibility. Such mutations were more prevalent among women with aggressive triple-negative breast cancer,...
A European phase III clinical trial found that lymphedema was twice as common among women with sentinel lymph node–positive early breast cancer who had axillary lymph node dissection compared to those who had axillary radiotherapy. Overall and disease-free survival 5 years after treatment...
Low-dose weekly administration of paclitaxel resulted in equal progression-free survival but reduced overall toxicity compared to every-2-week dose-dense administration for women with higher-risk early-stage breast cancer who have undergone surgery, according to a phase III randomized trial....
A novel gene variant found in human and animal tissue may be a promising treatment for cancer, including breast and brain cancer, according to scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The variant, called PTEN-Long, may contribute to a cell’s healthy function and also...
A 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) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute suggests that cytomegalovirus, a virus that infects most adults in the United...
A survey of 214 U.S. oncologists and hematologists found that more than 80% encountered cancer drug shortages between March and September of 2012, and many reported that shortages affected the quality of patient care they were able to provide. As physicians were forced to substitute more expensive...
Cervical cancer mortality was reduced by 31% over a period of 15 years among women screened with biennial visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), or vinegar, delivered by primary health workers in a large randomized study conducted among 150,000 women in India. The researchers estimate this...
Ten years of adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen reduces breast cancer recurrence and mortality among women treated for early-stage estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer, according to results of the British phase III aTTom study. These findings, presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved lenalidomide (Revlimid) for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma whose disease has relapsed or progressed after two prior therapies, one of which included bortezomib (Velcade). Clinical Trial The approval was based on the results ...
A randomized phase III study found that the targeted drug sorafenib (Nexavar) stalls disease progression by 5 months in patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer that has progressed despite standard radioactive iodine therapy. If approved in this setting by the U.S. Food and Drug...
A randomized phase III study found no improvement in overall survival after the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard first-line chemoradiation for glioblastoma. Patients who received bevacizumab also experienced more side effects compared to those treated with chemoradiation alone. The...
Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to chemotherapy regimens with or without a platinum drug improved outcomes for women with metastatic or relapsed cervical cancer treated in a randomized phase III study. Presenting the results at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 3), lead author Krishnansu Sujata...
This year’s ASCO Annual Meeting was really exciting in two specific ways. First, we saw the development of high-tech novel therapies and combinations that effectively manipulate the immune system and extend survival in historically difficult-to-treat diseases, like metastatic melanoma (eg,...
First-line cetuximab (Erbitux) plus FOLFIRI chemotherapy (leucovorin, fluorouracil [5-FU], irinotecan) offered a roughly 4-month survival advantage over bevacizumab (Avastin) plus FOLFIRI for patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer in the German phase III clinical trial FIRE-3. A ...
Spouses and long-term partners of patients diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer were no more likely to test positive for oral HPV infection than people in the general population and have a low risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, according to the Human Oral...
Progression-free survival was significantly improved for patients with metastatic melanoma of the eye (uveal melanoma) treated with selumetinib, according to the final analysis of data from a phase II crossover study presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract CRA9003). Progression-free...
The FDA has granted fast track designation to the SGX942 development program for the treatment of oral mucositis as a result of radiation and/or chemotherapy treatment in patients with head and neck cancer. SGX942 is a fully synthetic, 5-amino acid peptide with high aqueous solubility and...
Long-term follow-up results from an expanded phase I study indicate that nivolumab produced long-lasting responses in patients with stage IV melanoma. Overall, 33 out of 107 patients (31%) treated with five different doses of nivolumab experienced tumor shrinkage of at least 30% and responses were...
Adding granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF, Leukine) to ipilimumab (Yervoy) at a 10 mg/kg dose significantly improved survival compared to the same dose of ipilimumab alone, according to results of a proof-of-principle phase II trial. One year after the start of therapy,...
Although a majority of U.S. oncologists report satisfaction with their careers, many say they have experienced at least one symptom of burnout, according to a Mayo Clinic–led study released during the ASCO 2013 Annual Meeting (Abstract 6533). “Oncology can be a tremendously rewarding...
Preliminary results of an ongoing trial suggest that the anti–PD-1 antibody lambrolizumab has significant antitumor activity in patients with advanced melanoma and is well tolerated. The data were presented by Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, Professor of Hematology/Oncology and Surgery, and Director...
The addition of everolimus (Afinitor), an mTOR inhibitor, to trastuzumab (Herceptin) and vinorelbine significantly extended progression-free survival in women with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, compared to treatment with placebo plus trastuzumab and vinorelbine, in the phase III BOLERO-3...
A phase III clinical trial has found that pazopanib (Votrient), an oral multikinase inhibitor, extends disease-free survival by an average of 5.6 months, compared to placebo, in women with advanced ovarian cancer who had initial successful treatment with surgery and chemotherapy. “Our...
A lack of clinical trials aimed specifically at younger patients with breast cancer could be partly to blame for their poor survival rates, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Study Details The study analyzed 2,956 women diagnosed with breast cancer...
A newly developed, single-step Raman spectroscopy algorithm has the potential to simultaneously detect microcalcifications and enable diagnosis of the associated breast lesions with high precision, according to data published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer...
A new study by researchers Fox Chase Cancer Center has identified a disconnect between clinical trials that look at new treatments for metastatic pancreatic cancer and the patient population most likely to be diagnosed with the disease. Clinical trials typically enroll, and base their findings on,...
An Australian study has identified a subgroup of prostate cancer cells that survive androgen deprivation therapy and could contribute to prostate cancer recurrence. Previously unidentified, these cells are potential targets for future treatments. As they are present early in disease development,...
In a phase III study, patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) achieved an improvement in progression-free survival when treated with ofatumumab (Arzerra) in combination with chlorambucil vs chlorambucil alone. The study evaluated safety and efficacy of ofatumumab plus ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved two new drugs, dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist), for patients with advanced or unresectable melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Dabrafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, is approved to treat patients with melanoma whose tumors...
Frequent heartburn was positively associated with cancers of the throat and vocal cord among nonsmokers and nondrinkers, and the use of antacids, but not prescription medications, had a protective effect, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of...
A new study on prostate cancer describes a novel class of drugs developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers that interrupts critical signaling needed for prostate cancer cells to grow. In men with advanced prostate cancer, growth of cancer cells depends on androgen receptor signaling,...
Survival rates have increased significantly among patients who received blood stem cell transplants from both related and unrelated donors, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study authors attribute the increase to several factors, including advances in HLA...
In order to support high-quality science, the European Hematology Association collaborates with 16 Scientific Working Groups (SWGs) and concentrates on fostering activities directed towards basic and translational research. In simultaneous sessions on Thursday, June 13, during the European...
Under conditions of oxygen starvation often encountered by tumors, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) sends signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs, an international team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered. The...
Mayo Clinic researchers have used next-generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression. The findings appear online today in the journal Cancer Research. Gleason Patterns...
Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at an intensified dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added heart toxicity, according to the results of a study published online in Blood, the...
A new clinical trial is testing whether targeting treatments to a genetic anomaly can lead to better treatments for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer. The trial, led by investigators at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, is being conducted at 11 sites throughout...