Clinical trials have shown limited efficacy of anti–insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) monoclonal antibodies, with the mechanisms of resistance to IGF-1R monoclonal antibody-based therapy remaining undefined. In preclinical studies reported in the Journal of the National...
In the phase IIIB ATLAS trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bruce E. Johnson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues assessed the addition of maintenance erlotinib (Tarceva) to bevacizumab (Avastin) following chemotherapy plus bevacizumab in first-line treatment of ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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. ...
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...
For the first time, an immunotherapy shows promise in smokers with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The engineered monoclonal antibody MPDL3280A achieved encouraging and durable responses in a phase I study in metastatic NSCLC in smokers and nonsmokers, and with squamous and adenocarcinoma ...
In a trial (ACRIN 6668/RTOG 0235 trial) reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mitchell Machtay, MD, of Case Western Reserve University, and colleagues assessed the relationship between standardized uptake value for 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and survival in...
Lymphoma is the fourth most frequent cancer to occur during pregnancy. In a multicenter retrospective analysis reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Andrew M. Evens, DO, MSc, of Tufts University Medical School, and colleagues examined treatment, complications, and outcomes for Hodgkin lymphoma...
New results from a large retrospective study of the National Cancer Institute’s SEER database, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that patients with cancer who were married at the time of diagnosis live markedly longer compared to unmarried patients. Researchers also found...
Aurora A kinase is overexpressed in aggressive lymphomas and may correlate with more histologically aggressive forms of disease. In a phase II study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jonathan W. Friedberg, MD, of University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Center, and colleagues assessed the...
Although imatinib (Gleevec) is the initial therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), several second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors are now approved for the treatment of this disease. Michael Millenson, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, reviewed practical considerations in...
New research shows that microRNA-486 (miR-486) is a potent tumor-suppressor molecule in lung cancer, and that it helps regulate the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells, as well as the induction of apoptosis in those cells. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of...
A new plasma biomarker, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), has been shown to be more sensitive in detecting non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) than currently used biomarkers, including CEA, Cyfra21-1, and CA125, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research. The study by Jie He,...
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the manufacturer of ipilimumab (Yervoy), released results from its phase III randomized double-blind study investigating the drug in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The study findings show that ipilimumab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the ...
A family of microRNAs (miR-200) blocks cancer progression and metastasis by stifling a tumor’s ability to weave new blood vessels to support itself, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported in Nature Communications. Patients with lung, ovarian, kidney, or...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expanded the approved uses of paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension, albumin-bound (nab-paclitaxel, Abraxane) to treat patients with late-stage pancreatic cancer. “Patients with pancreatic cancer are often diagnosed...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pamela J. Goodwin, MD, and Tina Hsu of University of Toronto and colleagues assessed changes in quality of life from time of breast cancer diagnosis to long-term survivorship and compared quality of life in long-term survivors to that of...
As reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Glenwood D. Goss, MD, of the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Center, and colleagues, the prematurely closed NCIC CTG BR19 study showed no apparent survival benefit of adjuvant gefitinib (Iressa) vs placebo in patients with completely resected non–small...
Investigators from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that NOTCH1, a well-known cancer-causing gene implicated in a number of malignancies, plays a far more critical role in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) than previously thought. These findings establish the...
Subcutaneous trastuzumab (not available in the United States) has been shown to have noninferior efficacy and similar pharmacokinetic and safety profiles compared with intravenous trastuzumab (Herceptin) in patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. In the PrefHer trial reported in...
In the noninferiority ICOGEN trial reported in Lancet Oncology, Yuankai Shi, MD, of the Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs. Beijing, and colleagues compared the oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor icotinib with gefitinib...
Foreign-born Hispanics with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have a decreased risk of disease-specific mortality compared with non-Hispanic whites and United States-born Hispanics with NSCLC, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Manali I. Patel, MD, and...
Indoor tanning, defined as using a tanning booth, sun bed, or sunlamp, is common among non-Hispanic white female high school students and young adults, despite risks of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer, according to Gery P. Guy, Jr, PhD, MPH, and colleagues of the Centers for Disease...
VeriStrat, a serum-based protein assay, can help select which patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are not known to have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations might benefit from an EGFR-targeted agent, according to a study described at the 2013 Best of ASCO Los...
For the two-thirds of lung cancer patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease, tumor size is not used currently to predict overall survival times. However, a new study led by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center has shown that even in advanced stages total tumor size can have ...
A “new kind of pathology,” in which anatomy and histology are supplemented by molecular etiology, has been emerging over the past decade and promises better response rates among cancer patients as genomic alterations in cancer continue to be identified and treated with targeted...
According to a new study published in the journal Cancer, the survival outcome of patients with Burkitt lymphoma has improved substantially over the past decade, with notable exceptions. To help doctors and researchers better understand who responds well to treatment and who does not, the study...
Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center have identified four inherited genetic variants in patients with non–small cell lung cancer that can help predict survival and treatment response. Their findings, published in Carcinogenesis, could help lead to more personalized treatment options and...
A new study by thoracic surgeons and pathologists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shows that a specific pattern found in the tumor pathology of some lung cancer patients is a strong predictor of recurrence. Knowing that this feature exists in a tumor's pathology could be an important...
GlaxoSmithKline announced today that it will discontinue the manufacture and sale of the tositumomab/iodine-131 tositumomab (Bexxar) therapeutic regimen on February 20, 2014. Tositumomab/iodine-131 tositumomab is currently approved in the United States and Canada for the treatment of patients with ...
A more precise method for determining bone marrow involvement in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma—a key factor in tailoring patient management plans—has been identified by researchers in a study published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Imaging with...
In a report in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sonali M. Smith, MD, of University of Chicago Hospitals, and colleagues analyzed outcomes in a large cohort of autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients with the most common T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma histologies. Their ...
The incidence of a non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is significantly higher in regions near facilities that release the chemical benzene into the environment, according to a new study published early online in Cancer. This and other studies like it will be critical to identifying and enacting public...
There is ongoing debate about the efficacy of erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have wild-type EGFR. In the TAILOR trial, reported in Lancet Oncology by Marina Chiara Garassino, MD and colleagues, erlotinib was compared with standard ...
In a trial (ALSYMPCA) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Chris Parker, MD, from Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey, United Kingdom, and colleagues compared the alpha emitter radium-223 dichloride (Xofigo) with best standard of care in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer and...
The results from a large cohort study of 3.5 million veterans in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System show that most types of cancer were associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease of between 9% and 51%. The cancers associated with the greatest reduction in ...
Maintenance therapy is associated with improved survival in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but few studies have compared active agents in this setting. In a phase III trial (AVAPERL trial) reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Fabrice Barlesi, MD, PhD, of Aix Marseille...
In the phase III PARAMOUNT trial, pemetrexed (Alimta) continuation maintenance therapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 38% compared with placebo after pemetrexed/cisplatin induction in patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Final...
Obinutuzumab is a type II, glycoengineered, humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. In the phase II GAUGUIN studies reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Franck Andre Morschhauser, MD, PhD of Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Lille and Gilles A. Salles, MD, PhD, of Hospices ...
According to a new study, colorectal cancer survivors face an increased risk of developing subsequent primary cancers, particularly second colorectal cancers and small intestinal cancers. These findings, published online in Cancer, may help in the development of screening guidelines for patients...
The NCI-60 cell lines, which represent cancers of lung, colon, brain, ovary, breast, prostate, and kidney as well as leukemia and melanoma, are the most frequently studied human tumor cell lines in cancer research and have generated the most extensive cancer pharmacology database worldwide. As...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib (Gilotrif) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21...