Long-term patient-reported outcomes indicate that for some men with localized prostate cancer, hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) may be a reasonable treatment option and result in similar quality-of-life outcomes, compared to conventional radiation therapy, according to...
Patients with intermediate meningiomas treated with radiation therapy after surgery experienced a 96% 3-year progression-free survival rate and had minimal adverse events, according to research presented by Rogers et al October 21, 2015, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s...
A long-term follow-up of RTOG 9202 indicated that for patients with locally advanced prostate cancer, an additional 24 months of long-term androgen-deprivation therapy after radiation therapy plus short-term androgen-deprivation therapy improved disease-free survival by 60%, compared to patients...
For patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, radiation therapy that targets only the involved lymph node regions results in less toxicity without causing a statistically significant difference in locoregional lymph node recurrence, distant failure, and...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 26 of the world's leading cancer centers, has unveiled its new value initiative—the NCCN Evidence Blocks, published within new versions of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for...
Patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who receive intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) have 44% fewer cases of severe pneumonitis and improved likelihood of completing consolidative chemotherapy after radiation, compared to patients who receive three-dimensional...
A collaborative, patient-reported outcome–based approach by palliative care and radiation oncology teams results in better outpatient symptom management and a decrease in end-of-life hospitalizations and costs for late-stage cancer patients, according to research presented by Read et al...
For cervical cancer patients undergoing postsurgical radiation therapy, image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) resulted in a 14% reduction in moderate-to-severe bowel side effects when compared to conventional three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D CRT), according to...
For high-risk patients who receive chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer, frequent follow-up appointments conducted by advance practice nurses (APNs) in a clinical outpatient setting allowed for more intensive symptom management, resulting in fewer post-treatment emergency room visits and...
A nationwide online survey of 776 pediatricians and family physicians assessing the quality of their human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine recommendations to parents has found that a sizable minority of physicians—27%—said they do not strongly endorse HPV vaccination, and 26% and 39%...
After commissioning a systematic evidence review of the breast cancer screening literature to inform an update of its 2003 breast cancer screening interval guideline, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released new guidelines for women at average risk of breast cancer. The recommendations include...
For some early-stage breast cancer patients, accelerated partial-breast irradiation using multicatheter brachytherapy following breast-conserving surgery may be an excellent treatment option, as it has now been proven to be as effective as the current standard treatment—whole-breast...
The steroid dexamethasone reduces radiation-induced pain flare in cancer patients with painful bone metastases, according to research presented by Chow et al (Abstract LBA1) October 18, 2015 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO’s) 57th Annual Meeting in San Antonio,...
For some patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer of the tonsils and tongue, reduced-intensity radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be as effective as standard-dose radiation and chemotherapy, and result in fewer acute side effects, according to research presented by Chera et al...
Immunotherapy combined with palliative radiation therapy for a subset of patients with metastatic melanoma reduces the growth and spread of the cancer, according to research presented by Hiniker et al (Abstract 215) on October 20, 2015 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s...
The potential risks and harms of low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening in current 20 to 29 pack-year smokers needs to be assessed before recommending such screening to this group, according to a study published by Pinsky and Kramer in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute....
In a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine, Hamadani et al describe near-complete and complete responses with the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in two heavily pretreated patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma. Patient 1 The first patient was a 28-year-old...
Among children with intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma that is negative for a fusion gene, those who had a high score for expression of a specific gene signature called MG5 had poorer survival outcomes compared with those who had a low MG5 score, according to a study published by Hingorani et al in ...
Cancer is the result of normal cellular functions going wildly awry on a genetic level. That fact has been known for some time, but increasing evidence is showing that the human microbiome, the diverse population of microorganisms within every person, may play a key role in either setting the stage ...
An analysis of whole-exome sequencing data from 538 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including 278 pretreatment samples collected from patients enrolled in a clinical trial, has identified 44 recurrently mutated genes and 11 recurrent somatic copy number variations. These findings...
Accelerated partial-breast irradiation was designed to be a faster, more convenient, and potentially safer way for many women with breast cancer to reduce their mortality risk and help keep their cancer from returning after surgery. But a new study shows that despite the availability of accelerated ...
A multivariable analysis of clinical factors associated with tamoxifen use among premenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer showed that fertility preservation was a significant factor and “the only predictor of both noninitiation and early cessation” of...
A survey exploring the relationship between spiritual support and end-of-life care by evaluating clergy members’ opinions and experiences related to care provided to congregants at the end of their life has found that a majority of clergy endorse religious beliefs regarding their...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved nivolumab (Opdivo) to treat patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Nivolumab is a monoclonal antibody that that blocks the...
Surviving neuroblastoma as a child can come with just as many challenges as the cancer itself, mainly because of the toxic effects of chemotherapy. But a team of surgeons is in the nascent stages of developing a more targeted, less toxic method of treating neuroblastoma patients with chemotherapy....
For younger women with early-stage, noninherited breast cancer on one side, a unilateral mastectomy leads to a slightly higher quality of life and lower costs over the next 20 years compared with contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, according to new study results presented at the 2015 Annual...
When integrated into routine oncology care, palliative care can improve symptom burden, quality of life, and patient and caregiver satisfaction. However, because the number of palliative care specialists in the United States is too small to meet the number of patients requiring palliative care, the ...
An innovative service model that partners radiation oncology with palliative care leads to better results for patients, according to a new analysis. The model of care, established at Mount Sinai Medical Center, is one of only a handful in the country. The study (Abstract 110) will be presented at...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved an expanded indication for the Optune tumor treating fields device to treat patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme. It is given along with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide following standard treatments that include...
Determining the answer to a simple question, “Would you be surprised if this patient died within the next year?” can be an important tool to help predict which patients with cancer may be in their final year of life, according to the findings from a study by Vick et al. The tool, known...
On October 2, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to treat patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed after other treatments and with tumors that express programmed cell...
The latest results from a trial of a combination of two targeted therapies (dabrafenib [Tafinlar] and trametinib [Mekinist]) to treat advanced melanoma have shown that patients are living significantly longer on the combined therapy than patients treated with vemurafenib (Zelboraf) alone. Caroline...
A prospective study of guideline-based, postoperative, image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy in patients with prostate cancer found low toxicity profiles and favorable patient-reported quality of life following treatment, with researchers concluding that toxicity and health-related...
At the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria, early results were announced (Abstract 21LBA) from a pivotal phase II study, IMvigor 210, of the investigational cancer immunotherapy atezolizumab (anti–PD-L1; MPDL3280A) in people with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial...
Results from a multicenter randomized international trial of an innovative treatment show a marked improvement in the length of time patients with midgut neuroendocrine tumors experience progression-free survival, researchers reported at the 2015 European Cancer Congressin Vienna, Austria, on...
Millions of people are unable to receive necessary treatment worldwide because of a chronic underinvestment in radiotherapy resources, according to a major new Commission on access to radiotherapy, published in by Atun et al in The Lancet Oncology, and presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Landier et al found that education tailored to personal risk for therapy-related complications improved risk awareness in survivors of childhood cancer. The level of awareness appeared to reach a maximum after several educational sessions....
In a special session on cancer in pregnancy at the 2015 European Cancer Congress (Abstract 3205), Frédéric Amant, MD, PhD, said that new results from a study of 129 children, aged 1–3, born after prenatal exposure to cancer treatment, showed normal development of their...
Colorectal cancer is on the rise among younger patients. Although some of the younger-onset cases can be explained by hereditary factors, the majority arise spontaneously. Researchers have now found that tumors in younger patients with colorectal cancer may be molecularly distinct from those of...
Unraveling the genetic sequences of cancer that has spread to the brain could offer unexpected targets for effective treatment, according to new research (Abstract 2905) presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria, and published simultaneously by Brastianos et al in...
Young women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer may be more likely to remain fertile if they also receive hormonal treatment, according to new research (Abstract 1957) presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria, and published simultaneously by Lambertini et al in Annals ...
Over 80% of the 15 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide in 2015 will need surgery, but less than one-quarter of them will have access to proper, safe, affordable surgical care when they need it, according to a major new Commission examining the state of global cancer surgery. The...
Aspirin improved survival in patients with tumors situated throughout the gastrointestinal tract, results from a large study in the Netherlands showed. This is the first time that survival data from patients with tumors in different gastrointestinal locations have been analyzed at the same time;...
Patients with cancers of the mid and lower throat may have higher survival rates if their initial treatment includes surgery, according to new research (Abstract 2804) presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria. Researchers explained that a nationwide study in Taiwan found...
A protein known to play a role in transporting the molecular contents of normal cells into and out of various intracellular compartments can also turn such cells cancerous by stimulating a key growth-control pathway. By conducting a large-scale search for regulators of the signaling pathway known...
A rare form of skin cancer known as desmoplasmic melanoma may possess the highest burden of gene mutations of any cancer, suggesting that immunotherapy may be a promising approach for treatment, according to an international team led by University of California San Francisco (UCSF) scientists. One...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved trifluridine/tipiracil (Lonsurf) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have been previously treated with chemotherapy and biologic therapy and are no longer responding to treatment. The new agent is an oral combination of...
Men with unfavorable-risk prostate cancer and moderate or severe comorbidities had significantly decreased overall and cardiac mortality when treated with radiotherapy alone vs radiotherapy and androgen-deprivation therapy, according to a study described in a research letter in JAMA. In the letter, ...
Women who are carriers of mutated BRCA genes are known to have a significantly higher risk for developing breast and ovarian cancers than those who do not have the mutations. A viewpoint published recently in JAMA Oncology by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles questioned...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Grisham et al identified a novel alteration in the MAP2K1 gene encoding for MEK1 that appeared to explain a complete response ongoing for more than 5 years in a patient treated with the MEK inhibitor selumetinib for metastatic low-grade...