Racial disparities in colon cancer survival rates may be explained by differences in the health of the patients at diagnosis—both in the stage of the cancer and comorbid conditions—rather than by differences in subsequent treatment, a new study has found. Focusing efforts on prevention...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Couch et al found a high frequency of inherited mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes in a cohort of women with triple-negative breast cancer unselected for family history of breast or ovarian cancer. In the study, the frequency of...
In elderly breast cancer patients with moderate- to high-risk early-stage disease for whom standard chemotherapy is too toxic, capecitabine, which causes fewer side effects than standard chemotherapy agents, did not improve outcomes when tested as monotherapy, according to data from the phase III...
Results of the large international SOFT trial present a convincing argument for the addition of ovarian function suppression to adjuvant hormonal therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence in premenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer at high enough risk to be treated with ...
In a randomized phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Motzer et al found that the PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor antibody nivolumab was associated with antitumor activity and manageable toxicity at three dose levels in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who had...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved recombinant nine-valent human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil 9) for the prevention of certain diseases caused by nine types of HPV. The nine-valent vaccine covers five more HPV types than the previously approved quadrivalent vaccine...
An oral targeted drug has shown encouraging activity and tolerable side effects in patients with treatment-resistant or relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a poor-prognosis group with few options, reported investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The University of Texas MD...
Common variations in four genes related to brain inflammation or cells′ response to damage from oxidation may contribute to the problems with memory, learning, and other cognitive functions seen in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a study presented at the...
Although the data are preliminary, single-agent AG-221 therapy targeted to the IDH2 mutation holds great promise as a nonchemotherapy approach for the treatment of advanced hematologic malignancies, including relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and untreated AML. The findings were...
A phase II study investigating the potential of the drugs azacitidine and lenalidomide (Revlimid) demonstrated that the two therapies in combination may be an effective frontline treatment regimen for patients with higher-risk forms of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The...
Results from the international phase II BLAST study show that one cycle of blinatumomab (Blincyto) immunotherapy achieved complete minimal residual disease response in 78% of patients with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Complete minimal residual disease response was...
In an analysis of Veterans Health Administration data reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Santana-Davila et al found that etoposide/cisplatin resulted in no overall survival difference but greater morbidity compared with carboplatin/paclitaxel used concurrently with radiotherapy in...
In a population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Arnold et al estimated that 3.6% of all new cancers worldwide in 2012 were attributable to high body mass index (BMI). The proportions of such cases were greater in women than in men and in highly developed vs less-developed countries....
A study of breast cancers detected with screening mammography found that strong family history and dense breast tissue were commonly absent in women between the ages of 40 and 49 diagnosed with breast cancer. Results of the study were presented today at RSNA 2014, the annual meeting of the...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Yuan et al found that pancreas cancer patients with diabetes of more than 4 years’ duration at diagnosis had significantly poorer survival compared with nondiabetic patients. Study Details The study involved data from 1,006 patients...
Available data indicate that a majority of cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al found that oncologists responding to a survey on herb and supplement use did not discuss herb and supplement use with most of...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Topp et al found that the bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody blinatumomab produced a high response rate in patients with relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). BiTEs induce a transient cytolytic ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Sprague et al found that more than 40% of U.S. women have mammographically dense breasts, with the prevalence being inversely proportional to age and body mass index (BMI). As noted by the authors: “National legislation is...
In a phase Ib/II study of patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the addition of vosaroxin to cytarabine demonstrated antileukemic activity and an acceptable risk-benefit profile, according to a study by Lancet et al in Haematologica. Based on the findings from this...
In a retrospective single-institution study reported in JAMA Surgery, Gangi et al found a low risk of breast cancer after diagnosis of ovarian cancer in women harboring BRCA mutations. The study involved 364 women who had BRCA mutation testing for stage I to IV epithelial ovarian...
Adult survivors of retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer that usually develops in early childhood, have few cognitive or social problems decades following their diagnosis and treatment, according to a study by Brinkman et al published in Cancer. The findings offer good news for patients, but the...
In a phase III study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Robert et al found that the combination of the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus the MEK inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) significantly improved overall survival compared with the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) in...
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Wagner et al found that use of two units vs one unit of umbilical cord blood in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation did not improve 1-year overall survival in children and adolescents with hematologic cancers. Use of...
In the ECHOS trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hudson et al found that the addition of two tailored telephone counseling sessions by an advanced-practice nurse to a mailed personalized survivorship care plan including cardiac screening recommendations resulted in a greater than...
As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mitra et al have identified a novel genomic-based signature that improves prediction of postcystectomy recurrence in patients with high-risk bladder cancer. Use of the signature could help guide selection of patients for adjuvant therapy...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pawel et al found no difference in overall survival with amrubicin vs topotecan as second-line therapy in patients with first-line sensitive or refractory small cell lung cancer. An overall survival benefit of amrubicin was observed ...
In a combined analysis of outcomes in the translational research cohort of the Arimidex, Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination trial (TransATAC) and the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group 8 (ABCSG 8) trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sestak and colleagues found that the ...
“Approximately one-fourth of all patients who undergo initial breast-conservation surgery for breast cancer will have a subsequent operative intervention,” concluded a study published online in JAMA Surgery. “The rate of repeat surgeries varies by patient, tumor, and facility...
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Robert et al found that the PD-1 immune-checkpoint–inhibitor antibody nivolumab significantly increased overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rate compared with dacarbazine in patients with...
A phase I trial of the first drug designed to inhibit the cancer-causing activity of a mutated enzyme known as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1, which is involved in cell metabolism, has shown clinical activity in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the IDH1 mutation. The...
In a pooled analysis of prospective Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) studies reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mak et al found good long-term outcomes with bladder-preserving combined-modality therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Study Details The analysis included 468...
Current guidelines discourage tumor marker assessment in surveillance of nonmetastatic breast cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ramsey et al found that > 40% of Medicare patients with early-stage breast cancer had at least one tumor marker assessment and that...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ladra et al found that proton radiotherapy was a safe and effective treatment in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. Proton radiotherapy can substantially reduce radiotherapy doses to normal tissue compared with conventional photon...
In a phase III trial (Southwest Oncology Group Intergroup S0008) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Flaherty et al found that a shorter course of biochemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, vinblastine, dacarbazine, interleukin-2, and interferon alfa-2b produced better relapse-free...
In a large retrospective study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Xing et al found that presence of the BRAF V600E mutation was an independent predictor of recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer. The study involved 2,099 patients with papillary thyroid cancer consecutively selected over ...
In a study on use of the most common definitive therapies for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Medicare patients reported in JAMA Surgery, Shirvani et al found that lobectomy was associated with improved outcome vs sublobar resection and that stereotactic ablative radiotherapy may be of...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, O’Shaughnessy et al found that the addition of iniparib to gemcitabine and carboplatin did not improve overall survival or progression-free survival in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. An exploratory...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Iyengar et al found that stereotactic body radiation therapy plus erlotinib (Tarceva) resulted in infrequent recurrence in radiation therapy–treated sites and was associated with prolonged progression-free survival and overall...
In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Lucas et al found wide variation in raw hospital readmission rates after colorectal cancer surgery but little variation in readmission in risk-adjusted analysis. Thirty-day readmission rates have been reported at 10% to 14% in this setting. Study Details The...
A recent analysis of a large clinical database indicated that postdiagnosis aspirin use was associated with a 57% reduction in prostate cancer–specific mortality among men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer. In a study in a prospective cohort reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,...
The 5- and 10-year cancer survival rates were lower among American Indians and Alaskan Natives compared with non-Hispanic whites even when they had approximately equal access to health care, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference on The Science ...
The 20-year follow-up of the Swedish randomized SweDCIS trial, reported by Wärnberg et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows a continued benefit of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in preventing ipsilateral disease. A nonsignificant...
In a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database analysis reported in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Sperry et al found that sentinel lymph node biopsy was not associated with improved disease-specific survival in propensity score–matched patients with head and...
Adding interleukin-2 to gefitinib (Iressa) therapy resulted in threefold higher response rates in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study by Bersanelli et al in Cancers. The addition of interleukin-2 enhanced the efficacy of gefitinib without negatively ...
In the next 15 years, more than 1 in 10 colon cancers and nearly 1 in 4 rectal cancers will be diagnosed in patients younger than the traditional screening age, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This growing public health problem is underscored by data...
In the phase III Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 40302/Alliance trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Burstein et al found that the addition of the dual EGFR-HER2 inhibitor lapatinib (Tykerb) to endocrine therapy with fulvestrant (Faslodex) did not improve progression-free...
In a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jones and colleagues found that vigorous exercise reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in adult survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. Study Details In the study, 1,187 survivors of...
In a secondary analysis utilizing the graded prognostic assessment—an improved diagnosis-specific index—the group of all patients with one to three brain metastases had no survival advantage when treated with whole-brain radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery, compared with...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Friedman and colleagues, the Children’s Oncology Group study AHOD0031 has shown that early response to dose-intensive chemotherapy can be used to tailor subsequent therapy in pediatric intermediate-risk Hodgkin lymphoma. Study Details In...
Patients with untreated metastatic colorectal cancer who received FOLFOXIRI (fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, oxaliplatin, irinotecan) plus bevacizumab (Avastin) had improved survival compared to patients who received FOLFIRI (5-FU, leucovorin, irinotecan) plus bevacizumab in a phase III...