Coffee Drinking Lowers the Risk of Liver Cancer in Japanese(6/6/2005) Researchers from Japan have reported that drinking one or more cups of coffee per day lowers the risk of liver cancer by over 40%. They found that this effect was also present in patients with liver disease who were at high risk of developing liver cancer.
Interferon May Decrease Liver Cancer in Patients with Cirrhotic Hepatitis C(1/21/2005) Researchers from Japan have reported a lower rate of liver cancer in patients with cirrhosis from hepatitis C who received interferon when compared to similar patients who refused therapy. The details of this non-randomized study appeared in the January 18, 1005 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
New Treatment for Hepatitis B e Antigen (HBeAg) Positive Patients May Decrease Incidence of Hepatocellular Cancer(3/17/2003) Hepatocellular cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, especially in Asia. One cause of hepatocellular cancer is infection with hepatitis B. However, not all patients who have hepatitis B infection will develop hepatocellular cancer. There is some evidence that early treatment with antiviral agents, such as lamivudine and interferon, can prevent the replication of the hepatitis B virus and possibly decrease the incidence of hepatocellular cancer. There is also evidence that vaccination to hepatitis B would prevent most cases of hepatocellular cancer due to this virus.
Post-Operative Interferon-Alfa Maintenance Treatment Improves Survival of Patients with Hepatitis C Associated Liver Cancer(2/21/2003) Hepatitis C is a major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Interferon-alfa can reduce the incidence of both cirrhosis and hepatic cancer. In patients diagnosed with hepatic cancer, interferon-alfa is often used in conjunction with other treatment modalities. Common methods of treating hepatic cancer include: surgery, percutaneous cryosurgery, percutaneous injection of ethanol, radiofrequency ablation, systemic and intra-arterial chemotherapy and chemo-embolization. Choice of treatment depends on the size of the cancer or cancers and the condition of the patient. Many patients have severe coexisting cirrhosis making treatment of liver cancer difficult. Hepatic cancers associated with hepatitis C tend to be multiple and prone to recur at second or third sites after primary treatment. The role of maintenance therapy in these patients is not clear. In the February 17, 2003 issue of the
Annals of Internal Medicine, Japanese researchers suggest that interferon-alfa maintenance prolongs survival in patients treated for liver cancer and hepatitis C.
Genetic Characteristics of Hepatitis B Associated with Risk of Liver Cancer(9/2/2008) Researchers from Taiwan have reported that different genetic characteristics of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are associated with varying risks of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These results were recently published in the August 20, 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Nexavar® Improves Survival in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma(8/1/2008) Researchers affiliated with the SHARP Investigators Study Group have reported that Nexavar® (sorafenib) significantly improves survival and doubles the time to progression among patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This is the first agent to ever demonstrate a significant improvement in survival in the treatment of HCC. The results of this study were published in the July 24, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Preliminary results of this study were previously presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (see first item of related news).
High Incidence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Asians and Hispanics(5/23/2008) Researchers from the University of California have reported that Asians and Hispanics have a much higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma than Caucasians. The details of this study appeared in the June 1, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
Photodynamic Therapy May Be Effective Palliation for Cholangiocarcinoma(5/5/2008) Researchers from the University of Virginia have reported that photodynamic therapy (PDT) and stent placement was more effective than stent placement alone for patients with inoperable cholangiocarcinoma. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the March 2008 issue of Clinical Gastrointestinal Hepatology.
Chemoembolization and Radiofrequency Ablation Effective for Hepatocellular Carcinoma(4/14/2008) Researchers from China have reported that transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is more effective than TACE alone or RFA alone for the treatment of inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma larger than 3 centimeters in size. The details of this study appeared in the April 9, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Nexavar® and Doxorubicin More Effective than Doxorubicin Alone for Hepatocellular Carcinoma(9/28/2007) A multicenter international trial has shown that the combination of Nexavar® and doxorubicin is more effective than doxorubicin alone for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The details of this study were presented at the 14th European Cancer Conference of the European CanCer Organization (ECCO).
sNDA Application Submitted for Nexavar®(9/10/2007) A supplemental new drug application (sNDA) has been submitted by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc for the targeted agent Nexavar (sorafenib). The sNDA would include the use of Nexavar for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
FDA Extends NDA Review of Torisel™(4/16/2007) The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that is has extended its review of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ New Drug Application (NDA) for its agent Torisel (temsirolimus) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Nexavar® Improves Liver Cancer Survival Among Asians(8/31/2007) A Phase III clinical trial comparing Nexavar® (sorafenib) to placebo in Asia has provided further evidence that Nexavar improves survival in patients with advanced liver cancer.
Nexavar® Improves Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma(6/5/2007) Results from a late-breaking abstract presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) indicate that Nexavar (sorafenib) significantly improves survival and doubles the time to progression among patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This is the first agent to ever demonstrate a significant improvement in survival in the treatment of HCC.
FDA Extends NDA Review of Torisel™(4/16/2007) The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that is has extended its review of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ New Drug Application (NDA) for its agent Torisel (temsirolimus) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Radiofrequency Ablation Superior to Cryosurgery for Treatment of Inoperable Primary or Secondary Liver Cancer(1/9/2003) Currently, the only curative treatment option for primary or secondary liver cancer is surgical resection. However, only a small percentage of patients are eligible for surgery because the majority of patients have cancer that has replaced too much of the liver or spread outside the liver to other parts of the body. There are several non-surgical options for palliative treatment of inoperable primary or secondary liver cancer including percutaneous cryosurgery and percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. Cryosurgery utilizes extremely low temperatures to destroy cancers while radiofrequency ablation entails the use of an electric current that is passed into the area of cancer. Both techniques use ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to place a needle probe into the cancer. Although both cryosurgery and radiofrequency ablation have been shown to be effective treatments for inoperable primary or secondary liver cancer, there have been no direct comparisons of these techniques. In the December 2002 issue of
Archives of Surgery, French researchers have compared the two techniques and concluded that percutaneous radiofrequency ablation produces more long lasting remissions than percutaneous cryosurgery.
Recurrent
Recurrence Rates for Liver Metastases Reduced When Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Chemotherapy are Used With Surgery(6/6/2007) According to results from a late-breaking session at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), patients with resectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer have significantly improved rates of recurrence-free survival when surgery is coupled with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy.
Nexavar® Improves Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma(6/5/2007) Results from a late-breaking abstract presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) indicate that Nexavar (sorafenib) significantly improves survival and doubles the time to progression among patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This is the first agent to ever demonstrate a significant improvement in survival in the treatment of HCC.
FDA Extends NDA Review of Torisel™(4/16/2007) The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that is has extended its review of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ New Drug Application (NDA) for its agent Torisel (temsirolimus) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Radiofrequency Ablation Superior to Cryosurgery for Treatment of Inoperable Primary or Secondary Liver Cancer(1/9/2003) Currently, the only curative treatment option for primary or secondary liver cancer is surgical resection. However, only a small percentage of patients are eligible for surgery because the majority of patients have cancer that has replaced too much of the liver or spread outside the liver to other parts of the body. There are several non-surgical options for palliative treatment of inoperable primary or secondary liver cancer including percutaneous cryosurgery and percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. Cryosurgery utilizes extremely low temperatures to destroy cancers while radiofrequency ablation entails the use of an electric current that is passed into the area of cancer. Both techniques use ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to place a needle probe into the cancer. Although both cryosurgery and radiofrequency ablation have been shown to be effective treatments for inoperable primary or secondary liver cancer, there have been no direct comparisons of these techniques. In the December 2002 issue of
Archives of Surgery, French researchers have compared the two techniques and concluded that percutaneous radiofrequency ablation produces more long lasting remissions than percutaneous cryosurgery.
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