High Time Costs for Informal Care Givers of Cancer Patients(9/10/2009) Researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have reported that the time spent by informal caregivers is significant and an important component in the overall burden of cancer care. The details of this study appeared in the September 4, 2009 issue of Cancer.
Bilateral Oophorectomy Increases Risk of Lung Cancer(7/30/2009) Researchers from Canada have reported that women who have bilateral oophorectomy are 1.92 times as likely to develop lung cancer as women who have natural menopause. The details of this study appeared in an early on-line publication in the International Journal of Cancer on May 11, 2009.
Smoking Kills More Than 440,000 People Each Year in the United States(4/27/2009) According to an analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke cause at least 443,000 premature deaths each year in the United States alone. These results, based on data from 2000-2004, were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Little Evidence That Lycopene Reduces Cancer Risk(7/23/2007) According to a review conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is “no credible evidence” that lycopene reduces the risk of cancers such as prostate cancer, and “very limited evidence” that tomato consumption reduces risk. The review was published in the July 10,2007 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
NDA Accepted for Xcytrin(5/7/2007) The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the new drug application (NDA) submitted for Pharmacyclics’ new agent Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium). Pharmacyclics is seeking approval for the use of Xcytrin in combination with radiation therapy for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and brain metastases.
Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 Increase Risk of Cancer in Patients with Heart Disease(11/19/2009) Researchers from Norway have reported that folic acid and B12 supplements in patients with ischemic heart disease increase the risk of cancer and all-cause mortality. The details of this study appeared in the November 18, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Society.
Bilateral Oophorectomy Increases Risk of Lung Cancer(7/30/2009) Researchers from Canada have reported that women who have bilateral oophorectomy are 1.92 times as likely to develop lung cancer as women who have natural menopause. The details of this study appeared in an early on-line publication in the International Journal of Cancer on May 11, 2009.
Schizophrenia Associated with Increased Cancer Mortality(7/22/2009) Researchers from France have reported that persons with schizophrenia have an increased risk of mortality from cancer, especially from breast cancer for women and lung cancer for men. The details of this study appeared in the August, 2009 issue of Cancer.
False-positive Results Are Common with Cancer Screening(7/21/2009) Researchers affiliated with the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial have reported that the risk of obtaining a false-positive result from screening for prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer is high and becomes cumulatively higher with ongoing screening—after 14 screening tests, the cumulative risk of a false-positive is 60.4% for men and 48.8% for women. The results of this study were published in the May/June 2009 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Lung Cancer Screening with Low-dose Computed Tomography Associated with High Rate of False Positives(6/12/2009) Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have reported that individuals who undergo lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) are at a high risk for receiving false-positive results. The details of this study were presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Florida, on May 30.
Iressa® Improves Progression-free Survival over Standard Chemotherapy in Patients with NSCLC with EGFR Mutations(9/28/2009) Researchers from Japan have reported that Iressa® (gefitinib) alone improves outcomes of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations compared with patients receiving Paraplatin® (carboplatin) and Taxol® (paclitaxel). The details of this study were presented at the Joint ECCO 15 – 34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress in Berlin, September 20-24, 2009.
PET-CT Detects More Advanced Disease in Patients with NSCLC(8/20/2009) Researchers from Canada have reported that preoperative whole-body positron emission tomography, computed tomography (PET-CT), and cranial imaging identifies more patients with mediastinal and extrathoracic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) than conventional staging. However, some patients were upstaged incorrectly by PET-CT. The details of this study were reported in the August 16, 2009 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
ASCO 2009: Phase I-II Results of New Bcl-2 Inhibitor, AT-101(8/5/2009) At the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) there were several preclinical and Phase I-II clinical presentations suggesting activity for a new inhibitor of the Bcl-2 family of proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Mel-1, Bcl-W), AT-109, developed by Ascenta Therapeutics.
Steriotactic Radiotherapy Effective for Stage I NSCLC in Medically Inoperable Patients(7/13/2009) Scandinavian researchers have reported that steriotactic radiotherapy for Stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with a local control rate of 90% in patients deemed medically inoperable. These results were published in the July 10, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Preoperative PET-CT Reduces Number of Thoracotomies but Does Not Improve Survival of Patients with NSCLC(7/2/2009) Researchers from Denmark have reported that “The use of PET-CT for preoperative staging of NSCLC [non–small cell lung cancer] reduced both the total number of thoracotomies and the number of futile thoracotomies but did not affect overall mortality.” The details of this study appeared in the July 2, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Continuous Daily Sutent® Palliative in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Advanced NSCLC(11/5/2009) Researchers from several U.S. and Spanish medical centers have reported that single-agent daily Sutent® (sunitinib) was associated with a 25% disease control rate in patients with previously treated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study appeared in the November 4, 2009 issue of the British Journal of Cancer.
Maintenance Tarceva® Improves Overall Survival of Patients with Advanced NSCLC(9/28/2009) Researchers affiliated with the SATURN study have reported that maintenance therapy with Tarceva® (erlotinib) improves overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have no evidence of disease progression after four cycles of platinum-based induction therapy. The details of this randomized trial were presented at the Joint ECCO 15 – 34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress in Berlin, September 20-24, 2009.
Meta-analysis Confirms Effectiveness of Erbitux® in Advanced NSCLC(9/25/2009) Researchers from several European medical centers have reported the results of a meta-analysis that demonstrates improvement in overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall response rate (ORR) when Erbitux® (cetuximab) is added to platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study were reported at the Joint ECCO 15-34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress in Berlin, September 20-24.
Large-scale Screening for EGFR Mutations Can Improve Outcomes in Lung Cancer(9/4/2009) Researchers from Spain have reported that large-scale screening for epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in lung cancer is feasible and allows for customization of treatment with Tarceva® (erlotinib), thereby improving outcomes, according to the results of a study published early online in the New England Journal of Medicine on August 18, 2009.
Iressa® Superior to Paraplatin®/Taxol® in Advanced NSCLC(9/1/2009) Researchers from Asia have reported that first-line treatment with Iressa® (gefitinib) improves progression-free survival over combination treatment with Paraplatin® (carboplatin) and Taxol® (paclitaxel) in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) among nonsmokers and former light smokers in East Asia, according to the results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Continuous Daily Sutent® Palliative in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Advanced NSCLC(11/5/2009) Researchers from several U.S. and Spanish medical centers have reported that single-agent daily Sutent® (sunitinib) was associated with a 25% disease control rate in patients with previously treated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study appeared in the November 4, 2009 issue of the British Journal of Cancer.
Combination of Vidaza® and Entinostat Has Significant Activity in Relapsed NSCLC(8/4/2009) Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute have reported that the combination of Vidaza® (5-azacitidine) and entinostat (SNDX-275) has significant activity in patients with advanced relapsed non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study were presented at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Iressa® Confirmed Effective for Elderly with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer(10/17/2008) Researchers from Japan have reported that Iressa® (gefitinib) is effective and well tolerated for initial treatment of elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study were published in the October, 2008 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.
Normalization of N-telopeptide Associated with Improved Survival from Bone Metastasis Treated with Bisphosphonates(6/25/2008) Researchers involved in a multicenter international trial have reported that normalization of N-telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) levels is associated with skeletal-related events and survival among patients with bone metastases from solid tumors treated with Zometa® (zoledronic acid) or Aredia® (pamidronate). These results were published in the July 1, 2008 issue of Cancer.
Avastin® with Chemotherapy or Tarceva® Superior to Chemotherapy Alone in NSCLC(10/24/2007) A multi-institution US study has determined the addition of Avastin (bevacizumab) to Tarceva (erlotinib) or to chemotherapy improves survival compared with chemotherapy alone in the treatment of recurrent non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study appeared in an early on-line publication in the Journalof Clinical Oncology on October 1, 2007.
Amrubicin® and Paraplatin® Active and Tolerable in Elderly Patients with SCLC(10/22/2009) Researchers from Japan have reported Amrubicin®, a new synthetic anthracycline, combined with Paraplatin® (carboplatin) resulted in an 89% overall response rate (ORR) in elderly patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The details of this report appeared in an early online publication in the Annals of Oncology on October 13, 2009.
Thalidomide Doesn’t Benefit Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Etoposide and Carboplatin(7/24/2009) Researchers from the U.K. have reported that treatment with a combination of thalidomide (Thalomid®) and chemotherapy did not improve survival among patients with small cell lung cancer, and resulted in a higher risk of blood clots than treatment with chemotherapy alone. The results of this study were published in the August issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Non-Platinum Chemotherapy as Effective for SCLC(10/17/2008) Researchers affiliated with the Cochrane Library have reported that chemotherapy regimens that do not contain platinum agents (Platinol and Paraplatin) appear to be just as effective as regimens that do contain platinum agents in the treatment of small cell lung cancer. These results were recently published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Threefold Dose Intensity of ICE Does Not Improve Outcomes in Small Cell Lung Cancer(4/17/2008) Researchers associated with the Solid Tumors Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation have reported that increasing the dose intensity of ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) by threefold by using peripheral blood stem cell support did not improve outcomes of patients with limited or extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on April 8, 2008.
PET Useful for Staging of Small Cell Lung Cancer(4/16/2008) Researchers from West Virginia University have reported that positron emission tomography (PET) is useful for staging of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The details of this study appeared in the January 2008 issue of Clinical Lung Cancer.
Thalidomide Doesn’t Benefit Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Etoposide and Carboplatin(7/24/2009) Researchers from the U.K. have reported that treatment with a combination of thalidomide (Thalomid®) and chemotherapy did not improve survival among patients with small cell lung cancer, and resulted in a higher risk of blood clots than treatment with chemotherapy alone. The results of this study were published in the August issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Gemzar® and Paraplatin® Equivalent to Platinol® and VePesid® for SCLC(12/4/2008) Researchers from the United Kingdom have reported that a regimen of Gemzar® (gemcitabine) and Paraplatin® (carboplatin) is as effective palliation as standard Platinol® (cisplatin) and VePesid® (etoposide) for patients with poor-risk small cell lung cancer (SCLC) but with less toxicity. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Thorax on September 11, 2008.
Non-Platinum Chemotherapy as Effective for SCLC(10/17/2008) Researchers affiliated with the Cochrane Library have reported that chemotherapy regimens that do not contain platinum agents (Platinol and Paraplatin) appear to be just as effective as regimens that do contain platinum agents in the treatment of small cell lung cancer. These results were recently published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
VePesid®/Platinol® Remains Standard of Care for Small Cell Lung Cancer(6/6/2008) Researchers affiliated with the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) reported that Camptosar® (irinotecan) plus Platinol® (cisplatin) did not demonstrate a survival improvement compared with VePesid® (etoposide)/cisplatin in the treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The SWOG researchers state that in North America, “etoposide remains the reference standard for treatment of SCLC.” These results were presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Aranesp® Does Not Increase the Relapse Rate in Patients with Advanced SCLC(5/19/2008) Researchers involved in Amgen’s Aranesp pharmacovigilance program (the 145 Study) have reported that Aranesp® (darbepoetin alfa) has no adverse effect on outcomes of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. The details of this randomized Phase III study were published in the May 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
ASCO 2009: Phase I-II Results of New Bcl-2 Inhibitor, AT-101(8/5/2009) At the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) there were several preclinical and Phase I-II clinical presentations suggesting activity for a new inhibitor of the Bcl-2 family of proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Mel-1, Bcl-W), AT-109, developed by Ascenta Therapeutics.
Non-Platinum Chemotherapy as Effective for SCLC(10/17/2008) Researchers affiliated with the Cochrane Library have reported that chemotherapy regimens that do not contain platinum agents (Platinol and Paraplatin) appear to be just as effective as regimens that do contain platinum agents in the treatment of small cell lung cancer. These results were recently published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Aranesp® Has No Adverse Effect on Survival or Progression-free Survival when Used to Treat Chemotherapy-induced Anemia in SCLC(9/17/2007) Researchers involved in Amgen’s Aranesp pharmacovigilance program (the 145 Study) have reported that Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) has no adverse effect on the outcomes of patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. The details of this randomized Phase III study were reported at the 2007 World Conference on Lung Cancer.
Further Results Show Improved Survival with Picoplatin for Small Cell Lung Cancer(9/11/2007) Researchers affiliated with the Picoplatin Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) Study Group have reported that follow-up of a Phase II study presented at the 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting (ASCO) showed that picoplatin may improve survival compared to existing therapies in the treatment of patients diagnosed with SCLC who have previously received platinum-based therapies. The details of this study were presented at the 2007 meeting of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
Radiation to the Brain Should Become Standard Therapy for Extensive-Disease Small Cell Lung Cancer(8/21/2007) Researchers affiliated with the EORTC Radiation Oncology Group and Lung Cancer Group have reported that prophylactic cranial radiation following treatment with chemotherapy should now become a standard treatment option for patients with extensive-disease small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The details of this randomized trial were published in the August 16, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. This study had previously been presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
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