In the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), initially reported in 2003, finasteride significantly reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 24.8% but was associated with a relative 26.9% increase in risk of high-grade disease compared with placebo. In a study reported in The New England Journal of ...
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...
In a report published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Scarlett Lin Gomez, PhD, of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, and colleagues detailed cancer incidence trends among Asian American populations from 1990 through 2008. The findings indicate a need for increased...
Off-label prescribing of drugs remains common in oncology, but about two-thirds of off-label prescribing is consistent with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Drugs & Biologics Compendium, according to a study reviewed at Best of ASCO Chicago by Monika K. Krzyzanowska, MD, MPH, of ...
For the first time, scientists have directly observed events that lead to the formation of a chromosome abnormality that is often found in cancer cells. The abnormality, called a translocation, occurs when part of a chromosome breaks off and becomes attached to another chromosome. The results of...
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 recent study published in the Journal of Oncology Practice assessed the feasibility and value of incorporating patient reported outcomes into oncology practice. Although previous research has shown that using patient-reported outcomes in oncology can improve physician-patient communication and...
Organized mailing campaigns could substantially increase colorectal cancer screening among uninsured patients, according to a study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine. The research also suggested that a noninvasive colorectal screening approach, such as a fecal immunochemical test, might be ...
The results of a large-scale analysis of the association between DNA viruses and human malignancies suggest that many of the most common cancers are not associated with DNA viruses. The findings, published in the August issue of the Journal of Virology, challenge earlier studies suggesting that as...
A team of researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center has identified 18 new genes responsible for driving glioblastoma multiforme, the most common—and most aggressive—form of brain cancer in adults. The study was published online...
Deciphering the body's complex molecular pathways that lead to disease when they malfunction is highly challenging. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute now have a more complete picture of one particular pathway that can lead to cancer and diabetes. In a study published in...
Many factors play into why women diagnosed with breast cancer often choose overly aggressive treatment even when there is little evidence to show clinical benefit: the shock and fear of suddenly being confronted with a major health threat, the impression of having to make treatment decisions...
The addition of tomosynthesis to standard digital mammography resulted in a 30% reduction in overall recall rates among women being screened for breast cancer, according to a new study published online in Radiology. The results demonstrate that digital tomosynthesis is an effective tool in reducing ...
Men who decide to be screened for prostate cancer and those who forgo PSA screening stick with their decisions after receiving materials explaining the risks and benefits of the test, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study examined both Web-based and printed tools aimed ...
The recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for the use of low-dose, computed tomography (CT) to detect early lung cancer in high-risk individuals is a major milestone in the war on cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death across the world. Despite...
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force posted its final evidence report and draft recommendation statement on screening for lung cancer. The Task Force is providing an opportunity for public comment on this draft recommendation statement; comments can be submitted from July 30 to August ...
The National Lung Screening Trial found that 3 years of annual screening with low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) reduced lung cancer mortality compared with chest radiography in older persons who were heavy smokers. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial also...
A number of initiatives have been implemented to encourage reduction of inappropriate use of imaging to stage incident prostate cancer. Since 2000, the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden has led an effort to decrease national rates of inappropriate prostate cancer imaging by...
A growing concern that hundreds of thousands of men and women are undergoing unnecessary and sometimes harmful treatments for premalignant and slow-growing, low-risk cancerous lesions that may never cause harm has led scientists from a working group of the National Cancer Institute to recommend a...
Patients diagnosed with thymoma, a rare cancer of the thymus gland, may be able to avoid certain cancer treatments associated with severe adverse events if the results of a new test reveal they are at low risk of metastasis, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. The study, by researchers at...
For the first time since the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine became available for adolescent girls in 2006, the vaccination rate for the teenagers has stalled, according to data published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly...
Scientists have identified a protein that could play a crucial role in recognizing whether patients with colorectal cancer are candidates for chemotherapy due to a high risk of their cancer spreading, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer. Scientists at the University...
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have used digital versions of a standard molecular biology tool to detect a common tumor-associated mutation in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with brain tumors. In a report published in Molecular Therapy – Nucleic Acids, the...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking additional information to help the agency make informed decisions about menthol in cigarettes. Despite decades of work to reduce tobacco use in the United States, it continues to be the...
In an analysis of 5-year survival rates among black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1991 and 2005, black women continued to have a lower rate of survival, with most of the difference related to factors including poorer health of black patients at diagnosis and more advanced...
Boys are more likely to receive the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine if their mothers receive flu shots or Pap screenings, according to a study from Kaiser Permanente published in the American Journal of Public Health. Study Details The study examined the electronic health records of...
The differential diagnosis of the most common peripheral T-cell lymphoma subtypes is difficult. In a phase III diagnostic accuracy study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pier Paolo Piccaluga, MD, PhD, of the University of Bologna, and colleagues in the European T-cell Lymphoma Study Group...
The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) showed that screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) resulted in a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality compared with chest radiography in participants aged 55 to 74 years with a minimum of 30 pack-years of smoking and no more than 15 years since...
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in China have discovered a gene-expression signature that may lead to new immune therapies for patients with lung cancer. Their findings, published in The Journal of Clinical...
In an open-label phase III trial (ASPECT) reported in Lancet Oncology, Manfred Westphal, MD, of University Hospital Eppendorf in Hamburg, and colleagues assessed the effects of locally applied adenovirus-mediated gene therapy with sitimagene ceradenovec followed by intravenous ganciclovir after...
Few markers of ovarian cancer prognosis have been established, perhaps because potential subtype associations are missed in studies including patients with all histopathologic subtypes. In a study reported in Lancet Oncology, Weiva Sieh, PhD, of Stanford University and colleagues assessed the...
A set of proteins involved in the body’s natural defenses produces a large number of mutations in human DNA, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, suggest that these naturally produced mutations are just as...
A new study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in partnership with Costa Rican investigators and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), shows for the first time that the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, which is used to prevent cervical cancer, also...
Low-dose aspirin (100 mg) taken every other day may reduce a woman’s risk of developing colon cancer, according to an observational study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings are based on a large long-term study of 38,876 healthy women enrolled in the Women’s...
Cancer patients who receive chest radiation should be screened for heart disease every 5 to 10 years, according to the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) of the European Society of Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography. Their recommendations are outlined in the ...
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...
A second large, prospective study by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has confirmed the link between high blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids and an increased risk of prostate cancer. Study Details Published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the...
According to research published in PNAS, scientists have used an efficient new screening strategy to identify gene mutations in tumor cells that are possible drug targets for the most common form of lung cancer. Researchers from the Cancer Research UK’s Paterson Institute for Cancer Research ...
Among men who had undergone radical prostatectomy, daily consumption of a beverage powder supplement containing soy protein isolate for 2 years did not reduce or delay development of biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer compared to men who received placebo, according to a study in the July 10...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) issued a newly updated clinical practice guideline today on pharmacologic prevention interventions for premenopausal and postmenopausal women who are at increased risk for breast cancer. Compared to the previous version of the guideline, this third...
Although aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to reduce cancer mortality by 20%, exactly why these drugs reduce the number of cancer incidences and deaths is not known. Now, a small longitudinal study of 13 patients with Barrett’s esophagus is...
The growth rates and clinical importance of small colorectal polyps have not been well established. In a study reported in Lancet Oncology, Perry J. Pickhardt, MD, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and colleagues found that volumetric growth rate on computed...
Tobacco control measures put in place in 41 countries between 2007 and 2010 are predicted to prevent an estimated 7.4 million premature deaths by 2050, according to a study published in the July issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. The study is one of the first to ...
A biomarker reflecting expression levels of two genes in tumor tissue may be able to predict which women treated for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer should receive a second estrogen-blocking medication after completing tamoxifen treatment. In a report published online in the Journal...
New research using mathematical models of different types of cancer—including melanoma, pancreatic, and colorectal—to determine the evolutionary dynamics of lesions in response to treatment is revealing why and how cancer cells resist targeted therapies. The study by Ivana Bozic, PhD,...
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 ...
Beverly Moy, MD, Clinical Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues recently analyzed the relationship between declaration of financial conflicts of interest and "research prominence" for abstracts presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology...
Postmenopausal women who follow at least five Recommendations for Cancer Prevention from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) cut their risk of developing breast cancer by more than half, compared to those who meet none, suggests a new study that adds to previous research showing...
Researchers have discovered and mapped the signaling network between two previously unconnected proteins, exposing a link that, if broken, could cut off cancer cell growth at its starting point. A team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported the tie between...
Researchers have found that antibodies against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help identify individuals who are at greatly increased risk of HPV-related cancer of the oropharynx, In their study, at least one in three individuals with oropharyngeal cancer had antibodies to HPV, compared to...