As reported by Gianni et al in The Lancet Oncology, long-term follow-up of women with HER2-positive locally advanced breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone vs with neoadjuvant and adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) in the phase III NOAH trial has shown continued event-free survival...
In the phase III PROFILE 1014 study, the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) was found to significantly prolong progression-free survival in previously untreated patients with ALK-positive advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Burger et al assessed risk factors for gastrointestinal adverse events in women with advanced ovarian cancer receiving first-line bevacizumab (Avastin)/chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab maintenance or chemotherapy alone in the phase III...
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...
Researchers at UC Davis have found that the investigational cancer vaccine tecemotide, when administered with the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin, boosted immune response and reduced the number of tumors in mice with lung cancer. The study also found that radiation treatments did not...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Unger et al evaluated whether cancer patients from SWOG clinical trials were similar to nontrial patients in baseline characteristics and survival. They found that, overall, trial participation in standard treatment arms did not...
Genetic analyses of results from 1,125 postmenopausal women being treated for estrogen-responsive breast cancer have shown that some of them are more likely than others to have a late recurrence of their cancer and might benefit from 10 years of hormone therapy rather than 5 years. Women who had...
In a companion study (MA.27B) to the open-label phase III National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) MA.27 trial in women with early breast cancer reported in The Lancet Oncology, Goss et al found that adjuvant aromatase inhibitor treatment with exemestane, a mildly...
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...
In an open-label phase III trial reported by Ardeshna et al in The Lancet Oncology, rituximab (Rituxan) induction plus maintenance was found to delay the need for subsequent therapy and improve elements of quality of life vs watchful waiting in patients with advanced asymptomatic nonbulky...
Seemingly healthy cells may in fact hide clues that lung cancer will later develop, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The research is published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Examination of gene expression in...
IDH1 mutation in patients with malignant astrocytomas may serve as a predictive molecular biomarker to guide aggressive surgical resection, according to the results of a study reported by Beiko et al in Neuro-Oncology. Maximal surgical resection may contribute a survival benefit in those who have...
Little is known about how fertility concerns affect treatment decisions or fertility preservation strategies at the time of initial diagnosis of breast cancer. In an ongoing multicohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ruddy et al found that most young women with breast cancer...
Although elevated markers of bone turnover are associated with poor survival in castration-resistant prostate cancer, the association of these markers with outcome in the setting of bone-targeted therapy is uncertain. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Lara et al...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Smith et al, the double-blind phase III Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9020/Alliance trial assessed the effect of early initiation of zoledronic acid in reducing risk of skeletal-related events in men with castration-sensitive prostate cancer. ...
In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sacher et al identified trends in reporting of phase III trials in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that include reduced use of overall survival as the primary endpoint and an increase in claims of positive outcomes despite...
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...
For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, according to a study by Chandwani et al published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. While simple stretching activities counteracted fatigue, patients who participated in yoga exercises ...
In a single-center experience reported in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Lohia et al found that intensity-modulated radiation therapy for oropharyngeal cancer reduces percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube dependence and severe skin and mucous membrane toxicity compared with...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Dearnaley et al, the 10-year follow-up of the phase III open-label MRC RT01 trial showed continued benefit of escalated-dose vs control-dose conformal radiotherapy in biochemical progression-free survival in patients with prostate cancer but no overall survival ...
A large population-based study by Landgren et al has found that African Americans are more likely to have a higher prevalence of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), a precursor to the development of multiple myeloma, compared with whites or Hispanics. The study is published...
Follicular lymphoma has been found to respond to radiotherapy doses as low as 4 Gy. In the phase III FORT trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hoskin et al compared radiotherapy with 4 Gy in two fractions vs 24 Gy in 12 fractions in patients with indolent lymphoma, finding that the 24-Gy regimen...
Retreatment with cisplatin has reduced effectiveness in patients with recurrent cervical cancer who have received cisplatin with radiation therapy. In a 2×2 factorial phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Tewari et al compared cisplatin/paclitaxel vs nonplatinum...
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 double-blind phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Gilbert et al assessed adding bevacizumab (Avastin), which is currently approved in recurrent glioblastoma, to radiotherapy and temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The addition of bevacizumab...
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) pathway activation may be a mechanism of escape from vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapies. In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Motzer et al compared the VEGF and FGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor dovitinib vs sorafenib...
Patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy reported a decrease in their voice and speech quality for up to 1 year after the completion of treatment, according to research presented today at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium....
Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx had a longer time to development of distant metastasis after initial treatment, and had more metastatic sites in more atypical locations compared to HPV-negative patients, according to research presented...
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, ...
In a population-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vaz-Luis et al assessed duration and toxicity of adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) in older patients with early-stage breast cancer. They found that age and comorbidity affected treatment completion rates and that significant...
Mature results of a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Advani et al indicate that rituximab (Rituxan) is active in nodular lymphocyte–predominant Hodgkin lymphoma, which is characterized by expression of CD20 by malignant cells. Most patients relapsed, but durable...
Lenalidomide (Revlimid) has been associated with risk for second primary malignancies in patients with myeloma. In a meta-analysis of individual patient data reported in The Lancet Oncology, Palumbo et al found that lenalidomide was associated with a significantly increased risk of second primary...
In the SAFIR01/UNICANCER study reported in The Lancet Oncology, André et al used comparative genomic hybridization and Sanger sequencing on metastatic breast cancer biopsy samples to determine the proportion of cases in which targeted therapy could be offered. They found that screening...
In patients with late-stage epithelial ovarian cancer, high levels of microRNA-181a may be predictive of chemotherapy resistance and disease progression, according to the results of a study reported by Parikh et al in Nature Communications. Thus, microRNA-181a may serve as a biomarker for prognosis ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, van Ryn et al assessed patient-reported quality of care among patients with colorectal cancer in the Veterans Affairs health-care system. The investigators found significant gaps in patient-centered quality of supportive care, but also found...
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...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Cunha et al found that receipt of a stem cell transplant from donors with a homozygous haplotype (h2/h2, G-A/G-A) in PTX3, the gene encoding the soluble pattern-recognition receptor pentraxin 3 (PTX3), is associated with significantly...
In a meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Flaherty et al found that progression-free survival is a reliable surrogate for overall survival in clinical trials in metastatic melanoma that include dacarbazine as control treatment. Study Details In the analysis, 1,649 reports and meeting...
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....
Prior to the advent of targeted therapy, cytoreductive nephrectomy was associated with a 6-month improvement in overall survival in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. With the development of new and better targeted therapies for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the appropriate use of cytoreductive...
A large retrospective population-based study shows that potentially fatal penile cancers are surgically undertreated in the United States and more benign penile cancers are surgically overtreated. Even though penile cancer is rare in the United States, accounting for about 1,570 new cases in 2013...
In the randomized, phase III CA184-043 trial, ipilimumab (Yervoy) improved progression-free survival and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response compared with placebo, but failed to improve overall survival significantly in postdocetaxel metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer....
In an updated analysis of an Italian phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Palumbo et al found that induction with bortezomib (Velcade), melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (Thalomid) followed by bortezomib plus thalidomide maintenance (VMPT-VT) significantly improved...
An analysis of 7,776 adult cancer clinical trials registered on Clinicaltrials.gov showed that approximately 20% of trials failed to be completed for reasons unrelated to the efficacy or side effects of the intervention. In 2010, a report from the Institute of Medicine entitled “A National...
According to a retrospective study, the use of angiotensin system inhibitors, such as lisinopril, captopril, and losartan, improved the survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma by 9 months, compared with patients who were not receiving these types of agents. Survival was even...
Enzalutamide (Xtandi) improved survival by 29% in men with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and reduced the risk of radiographic progression by 81%, according to complete results of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational, phase III PREVAIL...
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-delta mediates B-cell receptor signaling and microenvironment support signals that promote the growth and survival of malignant B lymphocytes. In a phase II study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Gopal et al found that the PI3K-delta inhibitor...
Use of standard chemotherapy is difficult in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have significant coexisting medical conditions. In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Furman et al found that the combination of idelalisib, an oral inhibitor...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Montgomery et al found that an intervention consisting of cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis produced better control of fatigue than supportive meetings with trained interventionists for women undergoing radiotherapy for breast...
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is associated with increased risk of skin cancer. In a study reported in JAMA Dermatology, Velez et al attempted to determine whether progression of CLL indicated by advanced Rai stage is associated with worse skin cancer outcomes. They found that risk of death...