In a study of health-care organization data reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Corley et al assessed the relationship between proportion of colonoscopies performed by a gastroenterologist that detect an adenoma and risk of subsequent interval colorectal cancer and colorectal cancer...
Noncompliance appears to be a major challenge for active surveillance, according to the results of long-term follow-up of patients with prostate cancer presented at the European Association of Urology 29th Annual Congress in Stockholm. Over a quarter of men dropped out of the active surveillance...
A majority of cancer patients experience some level of fatigue during their course of treatment, and approximately 30% contend with persistent fatigue for years after treatment. Fatigue is among the most common and distressing long-term effects of cancer treatment and significantly affects patient...
The investigational, oral drug BGJ398, which blocks the activity of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs), showed promising anticancer activity in patients with various types of cancer driven by FGFR genetic alterations, according to the results of a phase I clinical trial presented at the...
A large prospective study of patients with invasive colorectal cancer has found that higher body mass index 2 years before diagnosis increased risk of all-cause mortality after diagnosis, even in patients whose tumors harbored a marker that is usually associated with better prognosis. The...
Among melanoma patients treated with the PD-1 inhibitor MK-3475, those whose tumors had the protein PD-L1 had better immune responses and higher survival rates, according to results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2014 in San Diego. When the protein...
Barrett’s esophagus with low-grade dysplasia increases risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. In a European study reported in JAMA, Phoa et al assessed whether endoscopic radiofrequency ablation reduced the rate of neoplastic progression compared with endoscopic surveillance in patients with...
A retrospective study has shown that two targeted therapy drugs—erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa)—achieved similar outcomes among people with metastatic or recurrent non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring an EGFR mutation. These EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors have...
Women with ovarian and other gynecologic cancers live significantly longer when they receive care at hospitals that treat a large number of patients with these conditions, according to research on more than 850,000 women. The findings, based on information from the nation’s largest cancer...
Extending national breast cancer screening programs to women over the age of 70 does not result in a decrease in the number of cancers detected at advanced stages, according to new research from The Netherlands. Instead, researchers told attendees at the 9th European Breast Cancer Conference that...
Women whose breast cancer has spread to just a few lymph nodes under their arm are less likely to have their disease recur or to die from it if they have radiotherapy after mastectomy, according to new research presented today at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Glasgow and published in The ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Stattin et al found that rates of prostate cancer mortality, excess mortality in men with prostate cancer, and metastatic prostate cancer were lower in counties in Sweden with higher vs lower incidence of prostate cancer that...
In a pooled analysis of individual patient data reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bidard et al found that baseline circulating tumor cell counts and increases in counts during treatment were highly prognostic in patients with metastatic breast cancer beginning new treatment and that addition of...
Findings from a report by Siegel et al of the American Cancer Society (ACS) show that the rate at which people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the United States has dropped by 30% in the last 10 years among people aged 50 years and older. The researchers say the decline in incidence is due...
In the open-label, phase III EORTC 62012 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Judson et al found that doxorubicin plus ifosfamide was not associated with any overall survival advantage compared with doxorubicin alone in patients with advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma. Progression-free...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conducted a survey of U.S. oncologists between October 2012 and March 2013, evaluating satisfaction with work-life balance and career plans. The findings, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Shanafelt et al, indicate that most are...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Théberge et al evaluated the association between radiologist interpretive volume and breast cancer screening accuracy in the Quebec Breast Cancer Screening Program. They found that accuracy increased with increasing volume, ...
It is known that chronic inflammation plays a role in the development of colorectal cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mehta et al evaluated the association of the novel plasma inflammatory biomarker macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1; growth...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Bill-Axelson et al, additional long-term follow-up in the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group-4 trial (SPCG-4) continues to show significant benefits of radical prostatectomy vs watchful waiting in early prostate cancer, including reduced risk of ...
In an open-label phase III trial (MITO-7) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Pignata et al found that while a lower-dose weekly carboplatin/paclitaxel regimen did not improve progression-free survival compared with standard every-3-week carboplatin/paclitaxel as first-line treatment of advanced...
In a population-based cohort study (Adult Life after Childhood Cancer in Scandinavia, or ALiCCS) reported in The Lancet, Licht et al assessed the lifetime risk of endocrine disorders in Scandinavian long-term survivors of childhood cancer. They found a nearly fivefold increased risk of hospital...
Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women in India, a nation where large-scale Pap smear screening is not feasible. As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Shastri et al have performed a large cluster-randomized study of education and screening of Indian...
In a systematic review and individual patient meta-analysis reported in The Lancet, the NSCLC Meta-analysis Collaborative Group found that neoadjuvant therapy for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was associated with a significant 13% reduction in risk of death. Significant benefits in...
Researchers have identified a potential new gene mutation that may drive lung cancer development and growth. In a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by Imielinski et al, a patient with advanced lung cancer who was found to have the ARAF S214Csomatic gene mutation achieved nearly a...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Gralnek et al found that full-spectrum endoscopic colonoscopy had a lower adenoma miss rate compared with standard forward-viewing colonoscopy. Study Details In the study, performed at three sites in Israel, one in the Netherlands, and two in the United ...
In a double-blind phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Chinot et al assessed adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to radiotherapy and temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. This was the second of two similar studies published in the February 20 issue of...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jagsi et al found that use of breast reconstruction in patients with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy has increased over time but varies according to a number of treatment and demographic characteristics. Study Details The study involved ...
There is currently a lack of reliable methods for distinguishing ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) that would never become symptomatic from DCIS that is likely to progress to life-threatening invasive cancer. Spurred by uncertainty about the optimal clinical management of DCIS, researchers have...
The 10-year follow-up of the Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial (MSLT), reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Morton et al in the MSLT Group, provides support for use of sentinel-node biopsy for thick melanomas, as well as for intermediate-thickness melanomas. Current...
Asparaginase treatment, standard in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) regimens, is excluded or used for shorter durations in treatment of adults with ALL due to risk of toxicity. In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Douer et al evaluated a pegaspargase (Oncaspar) dosing...
A retrospective analysis of patients with oropharyngeal cancer with recurrence of disease after primary therapy in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) studies 0129 and 0522 found that human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive patients had a higher overall survival rate than HPV-negative patients, ...
New study findings show that patients with head and neck cancer receiving daily humidification of the mouth and throat during radiation therapy had reduced symptoms of muscositis and spent nearly 50% fewer days in the hospital to manage their treatment side effects. The study by Macann et al was...
In a study reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Trabert et al in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium found that aspirin use and high-dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use were associated with significant reductions in risk for ovarian cancer, with the greatest...
In an open-label exploratory phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kim et al found that the antifungal agent itraconazole, which inhibits the Hedgehog signaling pathway, reduced tumor cell proliferation, Hedgehog pathway activity, and tumor area in patients with basal cell...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Held et al studied elderly patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and bulky disease in the most effective treatment arm of the RICOVER-60 trial, which included radiotherapy. The investigators compared outcomes ...
Oral ascorbate, or vitamin C, has been shown to be ineffective in cancer clinical trials. However, recent studies have indicated that millimolar concentrations of ascorbate achieved in blood and tissue with intravenous dosing is associated with cancer cell killing without harm to normal tissue. In...
An altered radiation treatment schedule for glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer, extended the survival period of mice with the disease, according to a new study published in Cell. Because the research involved mice, the study does not recommend a specific new schedule for...
In a trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Milbury et al compared cancer symptoms, physical and mental function, depressive symptoms, fatigue, and sleep outcomes after sessions of expressive writing about cancer vs writing about neutral topics in patients with renal cell carcinoma....
In patients with sporadic vestibular schwannoma, aspirin may be of benefit in minimizing tumor growth, according to the results of a retrospective study presented by Kandathil et al in Otology and Neurotology. This finding may eliminate the need for invasive therapy and may complement existing...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kiecolt-Glaser et al found that yoga reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines and fatigue and increased vitality in breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 200 women with stage 0 to IIIA breast cancer who had completed...
Although controversial, reducing mammography screening frequency from annually to biennially for women aged 50 to 74 could save the health-care system billions of dollars annually and screen 15% more women compared with the current practice, according to a cost analysis by O’Donoghue et al....
As genomic testing becomes more common, genetic counseling is increasingly performed via telephone. BRCA1/2 mutation carries increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer. In a noninferiority study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schwartz et al compared genetic counseling for BRCA1/2...
A survey of oncologists by Shanafelt et al has found that approximately 45% had at least one symptom of burnout, with risk being greatest among younger oncologists and those spending more hours per week devoted to direct patient care. However, overall career satisfaction remains high, especially...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Bosset et al, long-term results of the European Organisaton for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) trial 22921 indicate that adjuvant fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy after preoperative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy does not affect...
Afatinib (Gilotrif) improves progression-free survival compared with pemetrexed (Alimta)/cisplatin in first-line treatment of patients with EGFR mutation–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the phase III LUX-Lung 6 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Wu ...
Preclinical data suggest a role of angiotensin II in colorectal cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Makar et al assessed whether use of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) treatment for hypertension was...
Although recent data indicate that low-dose computed tomography (CT) reduces lung cancer mortality in high-risk patients, high false-positive rates, costs, and the potential for harm point out the need for biomarkers that can improve risk assessment. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical...
Sentinel lymph node biopsy is standard of care for axillary staging in clinically node-negative breast cancer, and underuse of sentinel lymph node biopsy could be associated with unnecessary axillary lymph node dissection and lymphedema. In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Yen et al assessed the...
More data have emerged that discount the potential for benefit with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in esophageal cancer. The latest comes from the RTOG 0436 randomized phase III trial in patients with nonoperable esophageal cancer, the results of which were presented at the 2014 ...
In a noninferiority trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garland et al compared the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction vs cognitive-behavioral therapy for treatment of insomnia in patients with cancer. They found that both techniques improved insomnia, with...