A series of studies evaluating the cost-effectiveness, risks, and outcomes associated with detecting, diagnosing, and treating testicular cancer were presented at a press conference during the 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association in Orlando, Florida. Although...
According to the results from three studies published in European Urology, the 17-gene Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score is a significant predictor of disease aggressiveness at the time of diagnosis before intervention with radiation or surgery. The test provides more precise and individualized...
Cervical cancer rates in the United States are higher than previously believed, particularly among 65- to 69-year-old women and African American women, according to a study by Rositch et al published in Cancer. Current U.S. cervical cancer screening guidelines do not recommend routine Pap smears...
Researchers investigating the effects of water pipe smoking on the health of young adults have found elevated levels of nicotine, cotinine, tobacco-related cancer-causing agents, and volatile organic compounds, including benzene and acrolein, in the urine of users. Given the significant intake of...
In the large phase III SQUIRE trial of necitumumab (IMC-11F8) in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin in the first-line treatment of advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), patients with stage IV metastatic disease showed a statistically significant improvement in overall...
A new study of 80,000 women with early breast cancer in 70 clinical trials finds that obesity is associated with a 34% higher risk of breast cancer–related death only among the 20,000 premenopausal women who had estrogen receptor–positive disease. Obesity had little effect in...
A new model projects 5-year outcomes of implementing the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations for annual low-dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening in a high-risk Medicare population. The model estimates that gradual implementation of the screening...
According to early results from a phase I study, a new targeted drug, PLX3397, appears remarkably active against a rare neoplastic joint disorder known as pigmented villonodular synovitis. The study evaluated patients whose disease had progressed despite all other available therapies. More than...
Findings from a phase I study of a new mutant-selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, AZD9291, point to a promising new treatment option for patients with advanced, EGFR-mutant, non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is resistant to standard EGFR...
According to a large, population-based observational study of men who had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-only based relapse after prostate surgery or radiation therapy, delaying androgen deprivation therapy until the onset of symptoms or appearance of cancer on a scan does not substantially...
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have discovered that by targeting a particular receptor, chemotherapy-resistant cancer cells can be killed in an acute form of childhood leukemia, offering the potential for a future treatment for patients who would otherwise experience relapse...
The use of cord blood cells as hematopoietic stem cell grafts for patients with hematologic malignancies receiving an allogeneic stem cell transplant has been limited to children due to the small number of stem cells present in a single cord blood collection. The result of these limitations has...
In a report in JAMA Dermatology, Zhu et al discuss two cases in which clinically significant squamous cell carcinoma was found within the tumor bed of locally advanced basal cell carcinoma during vismodegib (Erivedge) treatment for basal cell carcinoma. In one, basal cell carcinoma tumor shrinkage...
A new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC–James) provides evidence that genetically modifying immune cells might effectively treat multiple myeloma. The findings by ...
In patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), preoperative positron-emission tomography (PET) has been shown to limit the number of unnecessary surgeries, according to the results of a study presented by Zeliadt et al in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Besides its value in accurate...
A new method for using immunotherapy to specifically attack tumor cells that have mutations unique to a patient’s cancer has been developed by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers demonstrated that the human immune...
Researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital conducted a phase I study of hu14.18K322A, an experimental monoclonal antibody genetically engineered at the hospital, in 38 children with refractory or recurrent neuroblastoma. The patients received escalating doses of hu14.18K322A...
There are limited data on outcomes after surgery for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Surgery, Mavros et al found that tumor characteristics are the primary predictors of survival after curative intent surgery, indicating the need for...
Few options are available to treat pain from bone metastases in patients refractory to drug and radiation therapy. In a phase III study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Hurwitz et al found significant pain relief using magnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasound...
Inhibiting enzymes that cause changes in gene expression could decrease chemotherapy resistance in patients with ovarian cancer, according to research by Cacan et al. The study investigated the silencing of RGS10 expression in ovarian cells by epigenetics and identified two epigenetic regulators,...
Preclinical data suggest that triple-negative breast cancer is sensitive to interstrand crosslinking agents and that the combination of a taxane, trastuzumab (Herceptin), and a platinum may have synergistic effects in HER2-positive breast cancer. In a randomized phase II trial (GeparSixto, German...
Geographic proximity to services has been identified as a potential barrier to cancer screening, and there is evidence of disparity in colorectal cancer outcomes between urban and rural U.S. residents. In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Aboagye et al identified a significantly greater density of...
An analysis of the metabolic profiles of hundreds of ovarian tumors has revealed a new test to determine whether ovarian cancer cells have the potential to metastasize. The study, which was published in Molecular Systems Biology, also suggests how ovarian cancer treatments can be tailored based on...
Men who begin taking statins after prostate cancer surgery are less likely to have a recurrence of their cancer, according to a retrospective analysis led by researchers at Duke Medicine. The study by Allott et al was published in BJU International. “Our findings suggest that beginning...
In a Spanish trial (PETHEMA ALL-AR-03) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ribera et al found high disease-free and overall survival rates with delayed consolidation and maintenance chemotherapy in high-risk Philadelphia chromosome–negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)...
A surgical method combining two techniques for removing precancerous polyps during colonoscopies can substantially reduce the recovery time and the length of hospital stays, which may translate into significant cost savings, according to research presented this week at Digestive Disease Week in...
A retrospective study published online ahead of print in Urology by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute found that patients with metastatic kidney cancer—even those with chronic renal insufficiency—can tolerate and benefit from high-dose interleukin-2 (HDIL-2) immunotherapy....
Of 53 National Cancer Institute cancer centers, only 43% report implementing survivorship care plans for at least some of their cancer survivors. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Blanch-Hartigan et al found that a minority of a nationally representative sample of oncologists ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, D’Souza et al found that while human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive patients with oropharyngeal cancer had high prevelances of oncogenic oral HPV DNA and oral HPV16 DNA, their sexual partners did not appear to have increased risk of...
As many as half of patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer develop brain metastases over time. The American Society of Clinical Oncology recently released a clinical practice guideline on disease management for patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases. A...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved omacetaxine mepesuccinate (Synribo) for injection, for subcutaneous use, to include home administration, and also approved a related Medication Guide and Instructions for Use. With this approval, physicians who treat adults with chronic- or...
In a study reported in JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Davies and Gilbert found that the incidence of thyroid cancer has nearly tripled since 1975. However, the increase appears to represent an “epidemic of diagnosis” and to almost exclusively represent increased diagnosis...
Patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with hyperfractionated radiation therapy experienced improved local-regional control and, with patients censored at 5 years, improved overall survival with no increase in late toxicity, according to a study...
Surgery for metastatic breast cancer conveys a significantly increased risk for morbidity and mortality at 30 days vs surgery for earlier-stage disease, according to researchers from the University of Toronto who presented their findings at the American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting in...
Radiation therapy, an emerging treatment modality for breast cancer in the lymph nodes, is associated with significantly fewer postoperative complications than axillary lymph node dissection, according to a detailed analysis of morbidity from the AMAROS trial presented at a press briefing prior to...
Cryoablation of breast tumors, which destroys lesions by exposing them to extremely low temperatures, may be a promising alternative to surgery in carefully selected women with early-stage disease, according to a study presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las...
Researchers at the University of Louisville School of Medicine are using breath analysis to detect the presence of lung cancer. Preliminary data indicate that this noninvasive tool offers the sensitivity of PET scanning and has almost twice the specificity of PET for distinguishing patients with...
In a retrospective study of salivary gland cancer survival reported in JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Russell et al found black patients with mucoepidermoid or squamous cell carcinoma have poorer disease-specific survival than white patients, with no difference being observed between...
Expression of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1 alpha is a very early step in the inflammatory response that characterizes the malignant phenotype and that is associated with angiogenesis, tumor invasiveness, metastasis, and cachexia. In a phase I dose-escalation study reported in The...
A study investigating vitamin D status and prostate cancer diagnosis in high-risk men has found an association between vitamin D deficiency and aggressive prostate cancer. The study enrolled 667 men, ages 40 to 79 years, who were undergoing their first prostate biopsy following an abnormal...
Quality of life is rarely reported in surgical publications, yet it can be an important metric that can be of use to physicians and patients when making treatment decisions. Prior studies of average-risk patients undergoing lobectomy suggested that low baseline quality-of-life scores predict worse...
Active prostate cancer cells in the bone environment can disrupt the bone remodeling process, promoting a “vicious cycle” of extensive bone destruction and formation that yields nutrients allowing prostate cancer cells to grow. To simulate this complex biologic process, researchers have ...
On April 28, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a 20 mg/mL oral suspension of mercaptopurine (Purixan) indicated for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as part of a combination regimen. Successive clinical trials have demonstrated that mercaptopurine ...
Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have employed a novel DNA vaccine that indirectly kills cancer cells by targeting a protein found in the tumor vasculature. The vaccine also indirectly creates an immune response to the ...
A new study has found that loss of paid employment after a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer may be common and potentially related to the type of treatment patients received. Published early online in Cancer, the findings by Jagsi et al support efforts to reduce the side effects and burden of...
Patients with radioactive iodine-refractory, locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer have a poor prognosis. In the double-blind phase III DECISION trial reported in The Lancet, Brose et al found that sorafenib (Nexavar) increased progression-free survival in this setting. The...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fokas et al found that prospectively evaluated tumor regression grading was a significant prognostic factor for distant metastasis and disease-free survival after 132 months of follow-up in patients with locally advanced rectal carcinoma...
Activating EGFR mutations are found in approximately 10% of Western patients and 50% of Asian patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors are recommended for use in first-line treatment in this setting. Both tyrosine kinase inhibitors and cytotoxic...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new guideline, “The Role of Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Endometrial Cancer: An ASTRO Evidence-Based Guideline,” that details the use of adjuvant radiation therapy in the treatment of endometrial cancer. The...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the first human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test that can be used as a primary cervical cancer screening test for women aged 25 years and older. The test also can provide information about the patient’s risk for developing cervical...