Most cancers occur more frequently in men than in women and greater height has been associated with increased risk for some cancers. In a study reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Roland B. Walter, MD, PhD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and colleagues found that...
Although patients with early-stage type I endometrial cancer have very good prognosis, a substantial proportion experience recurrence and die from the disease. In a study published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Alain G. Zeimet, MD, PhD, of Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, and...
The rapid increase in papillary thyroid cancer in the United States may not be linked to increase in occurrence, but instead may be linked to an increase in the diagnosis of precancerous conditions and to a person's insurance status, according to a study published online in Thyroid. "This [study]...
In a phase III trial (FASTACT-2) conducted in 28 centers in seven Asian countries, Yi-Long Wu, MD, of the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences and colleagues found that the intercalated combination of erlotinib (Tarceva) and chemotherapy improved progression-free survival vs chemotherapy alone as...
Arm lymphedema affects approximately 30% of breast cancer survivors, with rates increasing with longer follow-up and cases presenting well beyond the active treatment period. Lymphedema is observed even with use of less-invasive surgical techniques for staging, and risk is further increased by such ...
Recurrence of melanoma skin cancer 10 or more years after initial treatment is more common than previously thought, occurring in more than 1 in 20 patients. However, according to a new study, these patients tend to live longer after their cancer returns than patients whose melanoma recurs in the...
In a phase III trial reported by Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine, crizotinib (Xalkori) improved progression-free survival compared with standard chemotherapy in previously treated patients with advanced...
A study of more than 1,800 men aged 52 to 62 suggests that African Americans diagnosed with very low-risk prostate cancers are much more likely than white men to actually have aggressive disease that goes unrecognized with current diagnostic approaches. Although prior studies have found it safe to...
Although Burkitt’s lymphoma remains one of the most highly aggressive forms of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, a recent study published in Blood has found a marked improvement in patient survival over the past decade, especially ...
A new study by an international team of scientists provides the first statistically based guidelines for determining whether a stem cell transplant is appropriate for older patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the most common blood disorders in people over 60 years of age, and frequently...
Melanoma is the third most common cancer among adolescents and young adults, but few studies have explored the survival differences by sex in this population. A new study published in JAMA Dermatology sought to determine whether long-term survival varied between white male and female...
In studies to identify prognostic factors in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, Thierry J. Molina, MD, PhD, of Paris Descartes University, and colleagues assessed expression of MYC, BCL2, MYC/BCL2, IgM, and germinal center B-cell–like and non–germinal center B-cell–like subtypes in a ...
Aileen B. Chen, MD, MPP, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues in the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) Consortium recently assessed patient expectations regarding goals of radiation therapy (RT) for incurable lung cancer. They ...
Residual masses are often detected on post-therapy computed tomography (CT) scans in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and the potential role of consolidative radiation therapy in such cases remains undefined. An analysis of the use of PET-guided radiation therapy presented by Laurie H....
The 17p deletion in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is associated with worse outcome in patients receiving standard chemotherapy. The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib has shown durable antitumor activity in high-risk CLL. Adrian Wiestner, MD, PhD, of the National...
Ibrutinib is a first-in-class oral covalent inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), a mediator of the B-cell receptor signaling pathway implicated in the pathogenesis of B-cell cancers. As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Michael L. Wang, MD, of The University...
Durable remissions are uncommon with current treatments for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is an essential component of B-cell receptor signaling that mediates interactions with the tumor microenvironment and promotes survival and proliferation of...
A new government study investigating the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in females aged 14 to 59 before and after the introduction in 2006 of the HPV vaccine found that the rate of the HPV infection dropped by 56%, decreasing from 11.5% in 2006 to 5.1% in 2010 among female...
A significant proportion of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have poor performance status, and optimal clinical management of these patients has not been established. In an attempt to help define optimal chemotherapy in such patients, Mauro Zukin, MD, of Instituto...
Mutations and amplifications in the KIT oncogene have been identified in mucosal and acral melanomas and in melanomas arising on chronically sun-damaged skin. In a multicenter phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, F. Stephen Hodi, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and...
This month, an international group of over 70 research and health-care organizations, academic centers, and medical societies, including ASCO, signed a letter of intent to form a global alliance to make medicine more effective by consolidating the world’s databases of genomic information. The ...
The phase III open-label PHARE trial, conducted in 156 centers in France, examined whether 6 months of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) was noninferior to 12 months of treatment in women with early HER2-positive breast cancer. As reported by Xavier Pivot, MD, of University Hospital Jean-Minjoz,...
Available data suggest that patients with stage II/III colon cancer receive similar benefit from intravenous fluorouracil (5-FU) adjuvant therapy regardless of age. Combination regimens and oral fluoropyrimidine therapy are now standard treatments in this setting. Nadine J. McCleary, MD, MPH, and...
Various studies have suggested that acetyl-L-carnitine, a natural compound involved in neuronal protection, may be effective in preventing and treating sensory neuropathy. Dawn L. Hershman, MD, MS, of Columbia University Medical Center, and colleagues recently assessed whether daily...
The FDA recently approved the MemoryShape Breast Implant for breast augmentation in women at least 22 years old and for breast reconstruction in women of any age. The MemoryShape Breast Implants are manufactured by Mentor Worldwide LLC. The FDA’s approval is based on 6 years of data from 955 ...
Available data suggest that younger age is an independent risk factor for disease recurrence and death in women with breast cancer. However, there has not been adequate study of the interaction of age with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status or anti-HER2 treatment. In an analysis ...
A large prospective multicenter cohort study in France and Belgium, reported by the Groupe de Recherche Respiratoire en Réanimation Onco-Hématologique, has shown that critically ill patients with hematologic malignancies admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) have good survival,...
A workforce shortage of geriatricians and other health professionals trained and certified in caring for older patients with cancer is colliding with the aging of the population and the increasing number of older Americans with cancer. After describing factors contributing to these dual challenges, ...
A new patient protocol for aggressive and recurrent lymphoma that combines intensive chemotherapy and radioimmunotherapy showed encouraging overall survival rates in some patients preparing for autologous bone marrow transplant, reported researchers at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society of...
A study examining trends in x-ray computed tomography (CT) use in children in the United States has found that reducing unnecessary scans and lowering the doses for the highest-dose scans could lower the overall lifetime risk of future imaging-related cancers by 62%. The research was published...
Results from a multicenter phase II study of patients with locally advanced HER2-positive breast cancer who receive targeted therapy with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and lapatinib (Tykerb) “support the hypothesis that selected patients with HER2-positive tumors may not need...
The FDA has approved initiation of a multicenter trial of the DigniCap System, a scalp-cooling device for chemotherapy-related hair loss. The trial is the second and final phase of study for the DigniCap System. A pilot study previously conducted by researchers at the University of California San...
A large randomized phase II study, GALAXY-1, found that a novel heat shock protein (Hsp) 90 inhibitor, ganetespib, when combined with docetaxel in second-line therapy, leads to longer overall survival compared to standard second-line docetaxel alone in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma...
A genomic profiling study of African American women with breast cancer found that about one in five carries an inherited abnormality in at least 1 of 18 genes associated with breast cancer susceptibility. Such mutations were more prevalent among women with aggressive triple-negative breast cancer,...
A European phase III clinical trial found that lymphedema was twice as common among women with sentinel lymph node–positive early breast cancer who had axillary lymph node dissection compared to those who had axillary radiotherapy. Overall and disease-free survival 5 years after treatment...
A study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute suggests that cytomegalovirus, a virus that infects most adults in the United...
Cervical cancer mortality was reduced by 31% over a period of 15 years among women screened with biennial visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), or vinegar, delivered by primary health workers in a large randomized study conducted among 150,000 women in India. The researchers estimate this...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved lenalidomide (Revlimid) for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma whose disease has relapsed or progressed after two prior therapies, one of which included bortezomib (Velcade). Clinical Trial The approval was based on the results ...
A randomized phase III study found that the targeted drug sorafenib (Nexavar) stalls disease progression by 5 months in patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer that has progressed despite standard radioactive iodine therapy. If approved in this setting by the U.S. Food and Drug...
Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to chemotherapy regimens with or without a platinum drug improved outcomes for women with metastatic or relapsed cervical cancer treated in a randomized phase III study. Presenting the results at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 3), lead author Krishnansu Sujata...
First-line cetuximab (Erbitux) plus FOLFIRI chemotherapy (leucovorin, fluorouracil [5-FU], irinotecan) offered a roughly 4-month survival advantage over bevacizumab (Avastin) plus FOLFIRI for patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer in the German phase III clinical trial FIRE-3. A ...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication On May 29, 2013, trametinib (Mekinist) was...
Spouses and long-term partners of patients diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer were no more likely to test positive for oral HPV infection than people in the general population and have a low risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, according to the Human Oral...
A lack of clinical trials aimed specifically at younger patients with breast cancer could be partly to blame for their poor survival rates, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Study Details The study analyzed 2,956 women diagnosed with breast cancer...
A new study by researchers Fox Chase Cancer Center has identified a disconnect between clinical trials that look at new treatments for metastatic pancreatic cancer and the patient population most likely to be diagnosed with the disease. Clinical trials typically enroll, and base their findings on,...
Frequent heartburn was positively associated with cancers of the throat and vocal cord among nonsmokers and nondrinkers, and the use of antacids, but not prescription medications, had a protective effect, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of...
Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at an intensified dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added heart toxicity, according to the results of a study published online in Blood, the...
Physicians have more information to share with their patients about the benefits and risks of low-dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening following the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine of the results of the first (of three planned) annual screening examinations from...
Beta-blockers, normally used for high blood pressure, could enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapies in treating neuroblastoma, according to a new study published today in the British Journal of Cancer. Early Results Promising Researchers from the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia...
Findings from a large, prospective 20-year study indicate that a high level of cardiovascular fitness in middle age reduces men’s risk of developing and dying from lung and colorectal cancer, two of the most common cancers affecting men. Better fitness also reduces the risk of dying from,...