Earlier planned joint analyses of outcomes in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-31 trial and North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) N9831 trial showed that adding trastuzumab (Herceptin) to adjuvant chemotherapy improved disease-free survival and overall...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Surgery, Lau et al found that implementation of a multidisciplinary hepatopancreaticobiliary surgical program in a Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care region resulted in improved care and outcomes. The study involved analysis of practices and outcomes ...
In a phase III French Intergroup trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Guimbaud et al found that FOLFIRI (fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, and irinotecan) significantly prolonged time to treatment failure compared with ECX (epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine) in first-line...
Findings from a study of more than 23,000 women suggest that the Medicare Part D Extra Help program, which provides low-income subsidies for medications, improves adherence to hormone therapy after breast cancer surgery in all racial/ethnic groups and reduces racial/ethnic disparities. The study,...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schmitt et al found that adding aprepitant to granisetron and dexamethasone significantly reduced chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in myeloma patients undergoing high-dose melphalan conditioning and autologous stem cell...
Three studies reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology provide information on maintenance treatment with the synthetic retinoid tamibarotene in acute promyelocytic leukemia, potential implications of QT interval prolongation related to arsenic trioxide (Trisenox), and potential health-related...
The risk of developing cancer in a salivary gland might be higher in people with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, which are associated with breast and ovarian cancer, according to a new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital...
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have, for the first time, clearly defined the epidemiology of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), which occur primarily in the lining of the stomach and small intestine. Of note was the discovery that patients of Asian...
A recently reported U.S. population-based case-control study in women aged 55 to 74 years indicated that current use of calcium channel blockers for ≥ 10 years was associated with increased risk of ductal breast cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4) and lobular breast cancer. In a Swedish case-control...
A new study found that the average cost to screen high-risk individuals for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) plus the average cost of curative-intent treatment is lower than the average cost to treat advanced-stage lung cancer, which quite rarely results in a cure. The findings by ...
In a population-based study reported in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Bann et al found that the average annual percent increase in thyroid cancer incidence in Pennsylvania approaches twice that in the rest of the country. The incidence of thyroid cancer in the United States has more...
In a Scottish study (SMaRT Oncology-2) reported in The Lancet, Sharpe, Walker et al found that an integrated collaborative treatment program for depression (‘depression care for people with cancer’) was associated with significantly higher depression response and remission rates...
There are few data available on long-term risk of colorectal cancer mortality after adenoma removal. In a Norwegian study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Løberg et al found that patients who had low-risk adenomas removed had lower colorectal cancer mortality risk and those...
A modeling study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine by van Hees and colleagues showed that colonoscopy screening at intervals shorter than 10 years or continuing past 75 years of age in the Medicare population is associated with a reduced net health benefit from a societal perspective. Study ...
Use of cisplatin or cetuximab (Erbitux) with radiotherapy improves overall survival in stage III or IV head and neck carcinoma, and adding cetuximab to platinum therapy improves overall survival in metastatic disease. In the phase III Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0522 trial reported in...
An experimental regimen of once-weekly breast irradiation following lumpectomy provides more convenience to patients at a lower cost, results in better completion rates of prescribed radiation treatment, and produces cosmetic outcomes comparable to the current standard of daily radiation. These...
Despite conjecture in the lay media that wearing a bra may be a risk factor for breast cancer based on the potential for bras to interfere with lymph circulation and drainage, hampering the removal of waste and toxins, there were few scientific studies investigating the issue. Now, a new study by...
High mitotic rate in primary melanomas appears to be an independent predictor of poorer survival. In a single-institution study reported in JAMA Dermatology, Shen et al found that high mitotic rate primary melanoma is associated with male sex, older age, amelanosis, and several aggressive...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tworoger et al found that inclusion of endogenous hormone levels in the Gail and Rosner-Colditz risk scores improved prediction of postmenopausal invasive breast cancer. Study Details The study involved 437 patients with breast cancer and...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Burger et al found that the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and rituximab (Rituxan) showed promising activity and an encouraging safety profile in patients with previously treated or untreated high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)....
In a study reported in JAMA Dermatology, Youlden et al found that the incidence of Merkel cell carcinoma in Queensland, Australia, a known high-risk area, increased by 2.6% annually between 1993 and 2010. Five-year relative survival was 41%, with significantly better survival found in patients aged ...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Tran et al found a low rate of colorectal cancer and a relatively high rate of postprocedure hospitalization in elderly patients undergoing surveillance colonoscopy. Study Details The study involved patients aged ≥ 50 years...
Use of panitumumab (Vectibix) and cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer decreased significantly after the publication of clinical trial evidence that anti-EGFR antibodies should be restricted to wild-type KRAS tumors, subsequent ASCO guidelines recommending testing for...
The Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention Trial comparing colorectal cancer screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy vs no screening showed no reduction in colorectal cancer incidence or mortality after 7 years of follow-up. As reported by Holme et al in JAMA, the 11-year follow-up shows significant...
The 13-year follow-up of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), reported by Schröder et al in The Lancet, showed that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in men aged 55 to 69 years is associated with a 21% reduction in risk of prostate cancer mortality...
The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network has recently reported its comprehensive molecular profiling of lung adenocarcinoma in Nature. Findings included a high rate of somatic mutations including alterations in tumor-suppressor genes, chromatin-modifying genes, and RNA-splicing genes and suggested...
A new analysis confirms that U.S. lung cancer rates are declining overall, but it also uncovers previously unrecognized trends related to cancer subtype, sex, race/ethnicity, and age. Published early online in Cancer, the findings provide a more accurate picture of the state of lung cancer in the...
Postmenopausal women who in the previous 4 years had undertaken the equivalent of at least 4 hours of walking per week had a 10% decreased risk of invasive breast cancer compared with women who were less active, according to a new study. The findings suggest that regular physical activity, even of...
In the phase II Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 40603/Alliance trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sikov et al found that the addition of carboplatin or bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved pathologic complete response rate in...
Despite the fact that smoking increases the probability of cancer recurrence and reduces survival time, many cancer survivors continue to smoke. In a new study, nearly 1 in 10 cancer survivors reported being current smokers 9 years after their diagnosis, and 83% were daily smokers averaging about...
In a study of use of breast cancer screening modalities in the Medicare population reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Killelea et al found significant increases in use of digital image acquisition and computer-aided detection and cost of screening, but no increase in rate of...
In a letter to the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Richter et al describe a potential tyrosine kinase inhibitor withdrawal syndrome characterized by musculoskeletal pain after stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Onset After Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor...
There is considerable concern that uterine morcellation as part of minimally invasive hysterectomy may result in the spread of undetected malignancies. In a study reported in JAMA, Wright et al identified a prevalence of 27 cases of uterine cancer and 7 cases of other gynecologic malignancies per...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cohen et al found that induction chemotherapy before chemoradiotherapy did not improve overall survival vs chemoradiotherapy alone in patients with N2 or N3 locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The study...
A study by investigators at the National Cancer Institute of more than 1 million women has found that a negative test for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a more reliable predictor of the risk of developing cervical cancer than a negative Pap test. The findings suggest that primary HPV...
In a retrospective analysis in the HF-ACTION trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jones et al found that a program of aerobic training did not reduce the rate of all-cause mortality or hospitalization in cancer patients with heart failure. Some evidence suggested that patients who...
In the phase II Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)-0234 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Harari et al found that adjuvant chemoradiation with docetaxel or cisplatin plus cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and high-risk...
A new analysis has found that rates of testicular cancer have been rising dramatically in recent years among young Hispanic American men, but not among their non-Hispanic counterparts. Published early online in Cancer, the findings indicate that greater awareness is needed concerning the increasing ...
In a UK phase III trial (NCRI Myeloma X Relapse [Intensive] Trial) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cook et al found that high-dose melphalan plus salvage autologous stem cell transplantation significantly prolonged time to progression vs cyclophosphamide in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma...
In a European phase III noninferiority trial (Euro-EWING99-R1) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Le Deley et al found that cyclophosphamide was noninferior in event-free survival vs ifosfamide in combination with vincristine/dactinomycin as consolidation therapy in patients with...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kuhl et al assessed whether an abbreviated breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol, consisting of one pre- and one postcontrast acquisition and derived images—first postcontrast–subtracted (FAST) and maximum-intensity...
The Ontario Breast Screening Program expanded in July 2011 to include screening of high-risk women aged 30 to 69 years with annual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and digital mammography. As reported by Chiarelli et al in Journal of Clinical Oncology, a study of the initial screen in the program...
Obesity is associated with poorer outcome in women with operable breast cancer. In the LISA study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Goodwin et al found that a 24-month telephone-based intervention was effective in reducing body weight in postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving...
The oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 is standard treatment for locally advanced gastric cancer in Japan. In a Japanese phase III trial (SAMIT) in locally advanced disease reported in The Lancet Oncology, Tsuburaya et al found that sequential paclitaxel plus tegafur and uracil or S-1 did not improve...
Men and women who took low-dose aspirin regularly had a 48% reduction in their risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a new study. In addition, the longer a person started taking low-dose aspirin, the greater the benefit, ranging from 48% reduction in people who started 3 years before...
Tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM) consists of direct contact between a macrophage, an endothelial cell, and a tumor cell. In a case-control study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Rohan et al found that TMEM score was an independent predictor of distant metastasis...
Extended colectomy in patients with sporadic colorectal cancer who were younger than age 50, in comparison with segmental resection, did not improve the risk of tumor recurrence or disease-free survival, according to the results of a retrospective study presented by Klos et al in the Journal of...
A unique public-private collaboration among the National Cancer Institute (NCI), SWOG Cancer Research, Friends of Cancer Research, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), five pharmaceutical companies (Amgen, Genentech, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and AstraZeneca’s global...
In a Danish cohort study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Rugbjerg and colleagues found that survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease throughout life, with cardiovascular disease profiles differing according to cancer...
In the past 30 years, since mammography was introduced, late-stage breast cancer incidence has decreased by 37%, a new study published in Cancer has found. The analysis by Helvie et al took into account an observed underlying trend of increased breast cancer incidence present since the 1940s....