An European phase III clinical trial called AMAROS, which was, in part supported by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Charitable Trust, found that axillary radiotherapy (ART) and lymph node  surgery or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) result in equivalent overall and disease-free survival at five years after treatment for women with sentinel lymph node positive…

A genomic profiling study of African American women with breast cancer who were referred for genetic counseling at The University of Chicago, supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Komen for the Cure, finds that about one in five carries an inherited abnormality in at least one of 18 genes associated with breast cancer susceptibility. The study results were presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the…

Results from a recent, phase III, randomized clinical trial, supported, in part, the National Cancer Institute and Amgen, shows that low-dose weekly administration of adjuvant paclitaxel (Taxol®, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) vs. standard, every two weeks administration in women with higher-risk…

A large randomized phase II study, GALAXY-1, finds that a novel heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitor, ganetespib (STA-9090, Synta Pharmaceuticals) when combined with docetaxel in second-line (salvage) therapy, leads to longer overall survival compared to standard second-line docetaxel alone in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma that progresses after initial therapy. The study results were presented at the 49th…

A survey of 250 U.S. oncologists and hematologists finds that more than 80% of practicing oncologists and hematologists have encountered cancer drug shortages between March and September of 2012. Many of the doctors involved in the management and care of patients with cancer reported that these shortages affected the quality of patient care that doctors were able to provide. The study also found that the cost of care was driven upward because physicians were forced to substitute more…

Patients with advanced, recurrent, or persistent cervical cancer that was not curable with standard chemotherapy who received the drug bevacizumab (Avastin®; Genentech/Roche) lived 3.7 months longer than patients who did not receive the drug according to findings from a large, randomized Phase III clinical trial (GOG240).[1]

These results were released, based on an interim analysis, in February 2013, and updates were presented today by Krishnansu Sujata Tewari, MD, a professor…

Around the world, every year more than 200,000 women between 15 and 49 year of age die of cervical cancer, nearly 80% of them living in the developing countries. With more than nearly 500,000 new cases each year, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women, and the seventh overall. [1]  In the United States estimates from the U.S. National Cancer Institute predict 12,340 new cases of cervical cancer and 4,030 deaths in the…

Results from the British aTTom trial, presented during the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, shows that 10 years of adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen (Nolvadex®, Istubal®, Valodex®; AstraZeneca) provides women with estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer greater protection against late recurrence and death from breast cancer than does the current standard of only five years of tamoxifen. The study…

The randomized phase III DECISION study, which was supported in part by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, finds that the targeted drug sorafenib (Nexavar®; Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals/Onyx Pharmaceuticals) stalls disease progression by five months in patients with locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer or DTC that has progressed despite standard radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. The…

A randomized phase III study, supported in part by the National Cancer Institute and Genentech, finds no overall survival improvement from the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin®, Genentech/Roche) to standard first-line chemoradiation for glioblastoma. Patients who received bevacizumab also experienced more side effects compared to those treated with chemoradiation alone. The findings suggest that it should not be a part of first-line therapy for these patients with…

While many spouses of patients diagnosed with human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) have anxiety over their own HPV-related cancer risk, a new study, supported by the Johns Hopkins Innovation Fund and the Richard Gelb Cancer Prevention Award, finds that spouses were no more likely to test positive for oral HPV infection than people in the general population.…

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is building a ground-breaking, knowledge-generating, information technology system called CancerLinQ™ which promises to transform virtually every aspect of clinical research and the care and management of patients with cancer. The new system is designed to advance the potential for many new breakthroughs in cancer care.…

A phase III clinical trial in women with advanced ovarian cancer, supported by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), finds that treatment with the oral targeted drug pazopanib (Votrient, GSK) following initial successful chemotherapy extends disease-free survival by an average of 5.6 months, compared to…

Interim results of a randomized, proof-of-concept, phase II study, part of a NCI-CTEP/ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (formerly the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) trial, shows that GM-CSF (Sargramostim/Leukine®; Sanofi-aventis) added to an increased dose of the immunotherapy ipilimumab (Yervoy®, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) extends survival for patients with metastatic melanoma. More than two-thirds of patients were alive after one year of combination therapy vs. half of those…

Long-term follow-up results from an expanded phase I study supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb indicate that nivolumab produces long-lasting responses in patients with stage IV melanoma. Historical response rates to immunotherapy drugs in advanced melanoma are five to 10%, but 30% of patients experienced tumor shrinkage in this study.The study results were presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology…

Earlier today, Pfizer Inc. confirmed that it had discontinued a Phase III randomized, open-label, two-arm study (B1931008) evaluating the safety and efficacy of the investigational compound inotuzumab ozogamicin (CMC-544) in patients with relapsed or refractory CD22+ aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who are not candidates for intensive high-dose chemotherapy.

In this study, inotuzumab ozogamicin was administered on a once-a-month schedule in combination with rituximab…

Phase III clinical trial results from PRELUDE study, which explored the enzastaurin (Eli Lilly and Company; Lilly Oncology) as a monotherapy in the prevention of relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), failed to show a statistically significant increase compared to placebo…

Data presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting for the American Urological Association by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers demonstrated that Decipher™ (GenomeDx Biosciences), a transformative genomic test that provides a readout of the risk of metastatic disease and disease progression for individual men with prostate cancer, predicted the onset of rapid metastatic disease (RMD) in patients following…

Data from various cancer registries in the United Kingdom shows that Bladder Cancer is a common cancer among men and women in the United Kingdom, with 10.335 new cases diagnosed in 2008. [1][2][3][4] It is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer of the urinary system and accounts for 1 in every 30 new cases. With 7,390 new cases diagnosed in 2008, is a the 4th most common cancer in men [5] and 11th in women (2,945 female cases), giving a male: female ration of…

Date presented at the 2013 Conference of The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) shows promising results for non-surgical cryoablation treatment of breast cancer. The results were presented by Eisuke Fukuma, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Director of Breast Center, Director of Breast Disease Kameda Medical Center in Kamogawa City, Chiba, Japan.

Cryoablation, also be called percutaneous ablation,…