Women with Hypothyroidism at Increased Risk of Liver Cancer(6/23/2009) Researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have reported that long-term hypothyroidism in women significantly increases the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. The details of this study appeared in the May 2009 issue of Hepatology.
Incidence of Liver Cancer on the Rise(4/13/2009) Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have reported that the incidence of liver cancer in the United States tripled between 1975 and 2005, but survival rates are improving, according to the results of a study published in the March 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Moderate Alcohol Consumption Increases Risk of Cancer in Women(3/13/2009) Researchers from the UK have reported that women who regularly consume low to moderate amounts of alcohol have an increased risk of cancers of the upper digestive tract, rectum, liver, and breast when compared with women who do not drink. The results of this study were published in the March 4, 2009 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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.
Sutent® Not Effective for Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma(7/9/2009) Researchers from France have reported that treatment with Sutent® (sunitinib) of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma was associated with a low response rate and significant toxicity. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Lancet Oncology on July 7, 2009.
Women with Hypothyroidism at Increased Risk of Liver Cancer(6/23/2009) Researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have reported that long-term hypothyroidism in women significantly increases the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. The details of this study appeared in the May 2009 issue of Hepatology.
Percutaneous Thermal Ablation Effective for Medium and Large Hepatocellular Carcinomas(4/29/2009) Researchers from China have reported that thermal ablation with radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) or microwave ablation (MWA) is effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) measuring between 3 and 7 centimeters. The details of this study appeared in the May 1, 2009 issue of Cancer.
Incidence of Liver Cancer on the Rise(4/13/2009) Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have reported that the incidence of liver cancer in the United States tripled between 1975 and 2005, but survival rates are improving, according to the results of a study published in the March 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Avastin® plus Tarceva® Shows Promise in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma(2/10/2009) Researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have reported that the combination of two targeted therapies—Avastin® (bevacizumab) and Tarceva® (erlotinib)—has anticancer activity in patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and warrants further study. The details of this Phase II trial were reported on January 12 in an early online publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Platinol® and Surgery Optimal Therapy for Standard-risk Hepatoblastoma in Children(10/23/2009) Researchers affiliated with International Childhood Liver TumorStrategy Group (SIOPEL) 2 trial have reported that neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment with Platinol® (cisplatin) alone is as effective as Adriamycin® (doxorubicin) plus Platinol, with less toxicity, in children with standard-risk hepatoblastoma. The details of this study were published in the October 22, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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).
Sutent® Not Effective for Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma(7/9/2009) Researchers from France have reported that treatment with Sutent® (sunitinib) of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma was associated with a low response rate and significant toxicity. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Lancet Oncology on July 7, 2009.
Combination of Chemotherapy Drugs Improves Survival with Biliary Tract Cancer(5/26/2009) Researchers from the United Kingdom have reported that treatment of gallbladder or bile duct cancer with a combination of Gemzar® (gemcitabine) and cisplatin results in better survival and a lower risk of cancer progression than treatment with Gemzar alone. The details of this Phase III clinical trial will be presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), May 29-June 2, in Orlando Florida.
Avastin® plus Tarceva® Shows Promise in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma(2/10/2009) Researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have reported that the combination of two targeted therapies—Avastin® (bevacizumab) and Tarceva® (erlotinib)—has anticancer activity in patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and warrants further study. The details of this Phase II trial were reported on January 12 in an early online publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Nexavar® Effective for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Asians(1/28/2009) Researchers from 23 medical centers in Asia have reported that Nexavar® (sorafenib) is effective in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The details of this randomized trial appeared in the January 2009 issue of Lancet Oncology.
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.
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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