As reported in The Lancet Oncology by De Angelis et al, the population-based EUROCARE-5 study has shown improved cancer survival over time in all European regions, although regional disparities remain. Study Details In this retrospective observational study, data from 107 cancer registries...
Maintaining a 2 decade–long trend, the cancer death rate in the United States continues to decline, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, published online this week in Cancer. The report, which covers the years 2001 to 2010, shows drops in death rates for a...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Pan et al assessed factors associated with noncompliance with recommended radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer. A primary factor in underuse of radiation therapy was younger patients having...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Michaelson et al assessed the addition of the antiangiogenesis agent sunitinib (Sutent) to prednisone in patients with progressive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after docetaxel-based chemotherapy. No...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Greenhalf et al analyzed the association between human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1) levels and survival in patients with pancreas cancer receiving adjuvant gemcitabine or fluorouracil (5-FU)/leucovorin after ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sivendran et al assessed the degree to which publication of phase III trials in oncology conformed with CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) recommendations for reporting adverse events. They found that adverse event...
Adding dasatinib (Sprycel) to a standard antihormone therapy, letrozole, doubled the time before disease progressed for women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a phase II clinical trial presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast...
It has been posited that aspirin treatment may reduce risk for colorectal cancer through inhibition of WNT/cadherin-associated protein β1 (CTNNB1, or β-catenin) signaling. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Nan et al investigated the potential role of the ...
Patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and a poor performance status who were previously treated with docetaxel may benefit from currently available second-line therapies, according to the findings of a meta-analysis by Iacovelli et al published in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic...
As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by Di Leo et al, the final overall survival analysis of the CONFIRM trial has shown a significant benefit of fulvestrant (Faslodex) at 500 mg vs 250 mg in postmenopausal women with locally advanced or metastatic estrogen...
A study by Sosman et al has identified two novel BRAF fusions in melanomas previously considered to be negative for molecular targets. In addition, these “pan-negative” melanomas were found to be sensitive to MEK inhibitors. According to the study, BRAF fusions define a new molecular...
In a phase III N08CB/Alliance trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Loprinzi et al assessed whether calcium and magnesium treatment reduced oxaliplatin-related neurotoxicity in patients with colon cancer receiving adjuvant FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin). They found ...
The addition of carboplatin to a neoadjuvant regimen significantly increased the rate of pathologic complete response in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. The results from the CALGB/Alliance 40603 study were reported at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S5-01)....
In a European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell’ Adulto (GIMEMA) phase III trial (AML-12) reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Willemze et al compared induction regimens containing high-dose or standard-dose...
Adjuvant use of bisphosphonates reduced the risk of bone recurrence by 34% and the risk of breast cancer death by 17% in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer in a large meta-analysis conducted by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). The potentially...
There may be a benefit for treating small HER2-positive tumors and this can be done with little toxicity, according to a multicenter study presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S1-04). Previous studies of chemotherapy plus anti-HER2 treatment for node-negative...
Women with HER2-positive, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer with mutations in the PI3K/AKT pathway may respond poorly to neoadjuvant therapy, German researchers reported at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S4-06). “We found that very few women with HER2-positive...
In postmenopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy, low-dose tamoxifen did not significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer but did increase climacteric symptoms, according to the phase III study results presented by DeCensi et al in the Annals of Oncology. However, beneficial trends...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chow et al compared cardiovascular risk and risk factors in hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients with those in a matched general population sample. Hematopoietic cell transplantation survivors were at greater risk for cardiomyopathy, ...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Illidge et al evaluated radioimmunotherapy with fractionated 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) as initial treatment in patients with mostly advanced follicular lymphoma. The treatment was well tolerated, with manageable...
Five years of treatment with anastrozole reduced the risk of primary breast cancer by 53% in postmenopausal women at high risk for developing the disease, according to an analysis of the IBIS II trial. Anastrozole reduced the risk of estrogen receptor–positive invasive cancers by 58%. The...
Among older women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, it is reasonable to omit whole-breast radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery and neoadjuvant hormone therapy if the patient’s tumors have high levels of estrogen receptor expression, but radiation should remain...
Final results of the phase III NeoALTTO trial have confirmed the value of pathologic complete response to dual HER2 blockade in the neoadjuvant setting. The achievement of pathologic complete response was associated with significantly improved event-free survival and overall survival in some women...
Bevacizumab (Avastin) failed to extend invasive disease–free survival when added to trastuzumab (Herceptin)-directed adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer in the phase III BETH trial. Although not specifically designed to answer this question, BETH also...
Re-examination of data from four large studies of the benefits and harms of mammography screening shows that the benefits are more consistent across these studies than previously understood and that all the studies indicate a substantial reduction in breast cancer mortality with screening,...
Women with HER2-positive breast cancer who had the highest levels of immune cells in their tumors gained the most benefit from presurgery treatment with chemotherapy and trastuzumab (Herceptin), according to results presented today at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract S1-05)....
The antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) has shown “compelling” antitumor activity in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas who were no longer responding to treatment, in a study presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition...
In the phase III INTORSECT trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hutson et al compared temsirolimus (Torisel) vs sorafenib (Nexavar) as second-line treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma after progression on sunitinib (Sutent). There was no significant difference...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zimmer et al assessed the incidence of spontaneous new primary melanomas in patients with stage III or IV melanoma in order to help clarify risk of BRAF inhibitor–related new melanomas. They found that patients not receiving BRAF...
Nearly all of the patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in a phase II clinical trial responded to treatment with the targeted therapy ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and the antibody rituximab (Rituxan), researchers reported at the 55th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting ...
High plasma levels of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) have been reported in patients with cancer of different types. In a Danish study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Arendt et al assessed cancer risk in subjects presenting with elevated cobalamin. They found that cancer risk...
A high proportion of mantle cell lymphoma patients may achieve an objective and durable response to treatment with an initial chemotherapy-free regimen, according to Jia Ruan, MD, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, who presented the results of a multicenter phase II study at the 55th...
A new analysis of the multiple myeloma IFM 2005-02 trial showed that lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance prolongs progression-free survival after stem cell transplantation, but does not improve overall survival. This is possibly attributed to the shorter survival time after first disease...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Shiels et al identified 11 circulating inflammation markers significantly associated with lung cancer risk. A risk score using four of the markers distinguished risk levels among current and former smokers. Study Details This...
Five commonly used hematology tests, treatments, and procedures are not always necessary, according to the Choosing Wisely® initiative of the ABIM (American Board of Internal Medicine) Foundation. The American Society of Hematology (ASH) Choosing Wisely list of these five tests was...
In the United States, African American men are 1.6 times more likely to develop prostate cancer and more than 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease than non-Hispanic white men, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. A study by David P. Turner, PhD, Assistant...
In patients with indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) refractory to both rituximab (Rituxan) and an alkylating agent, monotherapy with the selective oral PI3K-delta inhibitor idelalisib produced a high response rate, with responses persisting for 1 year in the average patient, according to...
First-line treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma using continuous treatment with the doublet of lenalidomide (Revlimid) and low-dose dexamethasone was superior to standard triplet treatment with melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (Thalomid) for 72 weeks, according to initial results of...
The monoclonal antibody gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) improved event-free survival and reduced the risk of relapse in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a study from the Children’s Oncology Group, presented at the 55th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and...
Years after receiving treatment, many patients who survive prostate cancer continue to experience treatment-related symptoms, according to the findings of a study by Darwish-Yassine et al published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship. These findings highlight the need for improvements in survivor ...
Two novel agents—the small-molecule PI3K inhibitor IPI-145 and the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-199—show promising activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to two phase I studies presented at the 55th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstracts...
Obinutuzumab (Gazyva) plus chlorambucil (Leukeran) was superior to rituximab (Rituximab) plus chlorambucil as first-line therapy in older chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients with comorbidities, with an acceptable safety profile, according to final results of the phase III CLL11 trial....
The intensity of transplant-related chemotherapy and radiation has effects on cognition, according to a study presented at the 55th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract 913). Full-intensity hematopoietic stem cell transplant was associated with cognitive...
Development of autologous genetically engineered anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing T cells holds promise in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. CAR T cells are being studied in adult and pediatric acute lymphocytic leukemias and in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and...
T-cell–depleted HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be made more efficacious and safer through the removal of alpha/beta-positive T cells and CD19-positive B cells from the graft, an approach pioneered by Italian investigators who reported results at the 55th...
Data from a study by Ritu Aneja, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Georgia State University in Atlanta, and colleagues indicate that overexpression of the protein HSET is a valuable prognostic biomarker in African American women with breast cancer, but not in Caucasian...
A new class of drugs reduced the risk of patients contracting a serious and often deadly side effect of bone marrow transplant treatments, according to a study by Choi et al published in The Lancet Oncology. The study, the first to test this treatment in humans, combined the drug vorinostat...
The presence of PIK3CA missense mutation appears to be associated with shorter disease-specific survival in grade 3 endometrioid but not serous endometrial carcinoma, according to a study in Gynecologic Oncology. Although McIntyre et al found this type of mutation across all histologic types of...
Patients receiving crizotinib (Xalkori) for the treatment of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non?small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had reductions in their estimated glomerular filtration rate, according to the findings of a study by Brosnan et al published in the journal Cancer. In the...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Taylor et al evaluated the ability of preoperative high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment of circumferential resection margin to predict outcome in patients with rectal cancer. They found that MRI assessment was...