An optical imaging technique that measures metabolic activity in cancer cells can accurately differentiate breast cancer subtypes, and it can detect responses to treatment as early as 2 days after therapy administration, according to a study published in Cancer Research. “The process of...
Pap cytology is more specific but less sensitive than human papillomavirus (HPV) testing for the detection of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+). In the pan-European PALMS study, reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Hans Ikenberg, MD, of CytoMol in...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Ningqi Hou, PhD, of University of Chicago, and colleagues analyzed the potential contribution of patient characteristics to risk of breast cancer associated with hormone replacement therapy. The study found that risk of...
A phase III trial (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] 0525; N = 833) comparing dose-dense vs standard-dose temozolomide maintenance in newly diagnosed glioblastoma showed no differences in overall survival or progression-free survival between treatments. A substudy of the trial, reported in...
Dose-dense temozolomide results in depletion of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT)—a potential determinant of treatment response—in blood mononuclear cells and possibly in tumors. In a phase III trial (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] 0525) reported in the Journal ...
Standard and reduced high-dose volume radiation therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer provide comparable tumor control and decreased late toxicity when compared to surgery, according to a study published in the October issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology...
L-type amino acid transporters (LAT) uptake neutral amino acids including L-leucine into cells, stimulating mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling and protein synthesis. LAT1 and LAT3 are overexpressed at different stages of prostate cancer and are involved in increasing nutrients and stimulating cell...
In a phase III trial (NSABP B-41) performed to assess the potential benefit of neoadjuvant dual HER2 blockade in HER2-positive breast cancer, André Robidoux, MD, of Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal and colleagues in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and...
Hot flashes occur in approximately 80% of androgen-deprived men. In a randomized study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Mara Z. Vitolins, DrPH, MPH, RD, of Wake Forest School of Medicine, and colleagues, neither venlafaxine nor soy protein—both of which have been used to...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Patrick G. Morris, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues assessed the efficacy of rituximab (Rituxan), methotrexate, procarbazine (Matulane), and vincristine (R-MPV) followed by consolidation reduced-dose ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Ghada N. Farhat, PhD, of University of Balamand in Beirut, and colleagues found that women with lower pretreatment endogenous estrogen levels are at greatest risk of breast cancer during estrogen-plus-progestin therapy. Study...
In patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), increased hepatocyte growth factor/MET signaling is associated with poor prognosis and acquired resistance to EGFR-targeted treatment. In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, David R. Spigel, MD, of Sarah...
Adjuvant endocrine therapy beyond 5 years reduces recurrence in patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. Recent studies from the transATAC cohort have shown that immunohistochemical markers (IHC4), Oncotype DX recurrence score, and PAM50 risk of recurrence score are associated...
Among patients with pancreatic cancer who had surgery for removal of the cancer, treatment with the drug gemcitabine for 6 months resulted in increased overall survival as well as disease-free survival, compared with observation alone, according to a study in published in the October 9 issue of...
The Program Chairs of the 2013 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, which will be held December 10–14, 2013, have highlighted what they consider to be the most important abstracts to be presented at the Symposium. In a telebriefing in advance of the December meeting, C. Kent...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stéphanie Hoppe, PhD, of Institut Bergonié in Bordeaux, France, and colleagues assessed functional status in older patients with cancer receiving first-line chemotherapy using the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. Clinically...
Etirinotecan pegol is a topoisomerase-I inhibitor designed to provide prolonged tumor cell exposure to the active metabolite of irinotecan. In a phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ahmad Awada, MD, of Jules Bordet Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and colleagues examined...
Patients with bladder cancer are two times more likely to have complications after a radical cystectomy procedure if they have a biomarker for poor nutritional status before the operation, according to study findings presented at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons....
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have identified a new drug candidate for an inherited form of cancer with no known cure. The new study showed the drug candidate—known as FRAX97—slowed the proliferation and progression of tumor cells in animal models of neurofibromatosis...
Sentinel lymph node surgery provides reliable nodal staging information and is associated with less morbidity than axillary lymph node dissection in patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer. The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z1071 (Alliance) trial examined the...
There is an absence of biomarkers to indicate which patients with stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) would best benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Juan Sandoval, PhD, of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute in...
In a phase III trial (GRANITE-1 study) reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Atsushi Ohtsu, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Center Hospital East in Kashiwa, Japan, and colleagues, everolimus (Afinitor) plus best supportive care did not prolong overall survival compared with placebo plus best...
Although nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin have been shown to be protective against colorectal cancer and are associated with reduced disease recurrence and improved outcome, they are also associated with toxicities that limit their use in therapy. Recent data suggest that the...
Myeloablative conditioning with cyclophosphamide combined with intravenous busulfan (Busulfex) was associated with better leukemia-free and overall survival than conditioning with cyclosphosphamide and total-body irradiation in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were in first complete...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Raya Mawad, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and colleagues assessed the frequency of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission at their institution and...
As reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mila Donker, MD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and colleagues analyzed the effects of adjuvant radiotherapy after local excision for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) on long-term risk for local recurrence and survival in patients from the EORTC...
Patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma “do not maintain the cautious sun behavior they exhibit just after … diagnosis,” even though they are at increased risk for developing a second primary melanoma, data from a Danish study suggested. Based on measurements...
ASCO and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) today issued a joint, updated guideline to improve the accuracy and reporting of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) testing in patients with invasive breast cancer. The six-recommendation guideline is based on a systematic review of...
Children of melanoma survivors were more likely to wear hats and reapply sunscreen after receiving a multimedia informational program designed specifically for them. These new findings were included in research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. A team of researchers...
Etirinotecan pegol is a topoisomerase-I inhibitor that prolongs systemic exposure to the active metabolite of irinotecan. In a phase II trial reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ignace B. Vergote, MD, PhD, of University Hospital Leuven in Belgium, and colleagues found that the agent produced...
In an open-label phase III superiority/noninferiority trial reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ann-Lii Cheng, MD, of National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, sunitinib (Sutent) was associated with significantly poorer overall survival compared with sorafenib (Nexavar) in a population ...
Rural cancer survivors aged 65 or older were 66% more likely to forgo routine follow-up health care and 54% more likely to forgo dental care because of cost, compared with their urban counterparts, according to a study by Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Social...
An investigational targeted drug that reduces blood flow to tumors prolonged the survival of patients with advanced stomach cancer after standard treatments failed, according to results of large multicenter clinical trial reported by Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and...
Short telomere length in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with aging and such age-related diseases as cancer, stroke, vascular dementia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis, and diabetes. Telomere attrition is considered a potential mechanism in triggering the chromosomal...
Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have a high relapse rate after standard chemotherapy. In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sylvie D. Freeman, MD, PhD, of University Hospitals Birmingham National Health Service Trust, and colleagues investigated whether assessing...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Monique Terwijn, PhD, of the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, and colleagues assessed the prognostic performance of flow cytometric minimal residual disease detection in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients aged < 60 years. They...
Some data suggest that BRCA1 mutations are associated with occult primary ovarian insufficiency and that BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers have earlier natural menopause than noncarrier relatives. A study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ian M. Collins, MD, of Peter MacCallum Cancer...
A large epidemiology study of postmenopausal women by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) has found that women who participated in at least 1 hour of vigorous physical activity every day had a 25% lower risk of breast cancer, and those who walked for at least 7 hours per week had a 14% ...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cornelia A.J. Brouwer, of the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues assessed vascular parameters in long-term childhood cancer survivors and sibling controls. They found that survivors who had received...
Scientific data suggest that a woman reduces her risk of breast cancer by breastfeeding, having multiple children, and giving birth at a younger age. However, a study led by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, indicates that women of Mexican descent may not fit that profile. ...
New research shows that children with an inherited genetic defect in a critical anti-inflammatory pathway have a genetic predisposition to lymphoma. Results of the study, published online today in Blood, reveal an important association between the genetic defect, which causes chronic intestinal...
The anti-cytomegalovirus agent CMX001 is an oral lipid acyclic nucleoside phosphonate that is absorbed in the small intestine and transported throughout the body as a phospholipid. It is converted intracellularly to cidofovir diphosphate, but unlike cidofovir, is not a substrate of organic ion...
Although, historically, white women aged 40 years and older have had the highest incidence rates of breast cancer, the rising rate of breast cancer among African American women—especially among women aged 50 to 59—is narrowing the gap, according to a study by American Cancer Society...
In a retrospective analysis of German High-Grade Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Study Group trials reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gerhard Held, MD, of Saarland University Medical School in Homburg, and colleagues assessed the impact of rituximab (Rituxan) and radiotherapy on outcome in patients...
All nonessential government services were suspended at midnight after Congress failed to reach a budget compromise to keep the government funded before the start of the new fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2013. ASCO issued a statement today in response to the government shutdown and will be...
There is no consensus on the value of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. Weighing in on this issue, investigators presented a study at the European Cancer Congress 2013 in Amsterdam (Abstract 1481) suggesting that population-based PSA screening does more harm than good. The...
Use of existing, well-established hypertension drugs could improve the outcome of cancer chemotherapy by opening up collapsed blood vessels in solid tumors. In a report published in Nature Communications, investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) described how the angiotensin...
The 5-year results of the UK Standardisation of Breast Radiotherapy (START) trials suggested that lower total doses of radiotherapy delivered in fewer, larger doses were at least as safe and effective as the historical standard regimen of 50 Gy in 25 fractions as adjuvant therapy for early breast...
Results of the phase III TH3RESA trial show that the antibody-conjugate ado-trastuzumab (Kadcyla, previously known as T-DM1) extends progression-free survival in women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer that progressed on two or more previous HER2-directed therapies including trastuzumab...
In a retrospective analysis of the randomized phase II EXPERT-C trial presented at the European Cancer Congress 2013 (Abstract LBA7), TP53 emerged as a strong, independent predictive biomarker for the benefit of cetuximab (Erbitux) in high-risk, locally advanced rectal cancer, according to...