Based on research presented at the 2018 National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Conference, patients weighing 60 kg to 85 kg who often receive lower-than-recommended doses of filgrastim, without evidence of its noninferiority to recommended doses, is found to be not only acceptable, but also cost-saving.
CHICAGO—In the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group MA.20 trial, regional nodal irradiation (RNI) added to whole breast irradiation (WBI) improved disease- free survival (DFS), with a trend toward improved overall survival (OS), reported Timothy Whelan, MD, of McMaster University and the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.
Results from an important phase 3 trial presented at the plenary session of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) could lead to prolonged treatment with adjuvant imatinib for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).
The extension of imatinib treatment to 3 years, compared with the usual 1 year, resulted in a 54% reduced risk of recurrence and 55% reduced risk of death within 5 years for patients with high-risk disease, reported Heikki Joensuu, MD, of Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland.
CHICAGO—Women considered at risk for breast cancer developed fewer breast cancers and fewer precursor lesions by taking the aromatase inhibitor (AI) exemestane for 5 years, versus placebo, in a large Canadian study presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
CHICAGO—More support for bevacizumab in the treatment of ovarian cancer emerged at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, with studies showing the drug prolongs the time to disease progression, both in the metastatic and primary disease settings.
OCEANS
CHICAGO—For the first time in decades, the treatment of advanced melanoma has taken a positive turn, according to studies presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology that showed a survival benefit with 2 experimental agents.
CHICAGO—The oral poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib delayed ovarian cancer recurrence by 4 months when given as maintenance therapy to patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer, in an international study reported at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology by Jonathan Ledermann, MD, professor of medical oncology, University College London, United Kingdom.
The evidence backing the use of myeloid growth factors in patients at high risk for febrile neutropenia is solid, according to Jeffrey Crawford, MD, of Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina.
Patients receiving chemotherapy are at risk for reactivation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), and this can have a significant negative impact on the outcomes, including death from liver failure. According to Emmy Ludwig, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, one-third of the world has been exposed to HBV, “making it an enormous problem.”
Myeloid growth factors are the primary means of preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. This often leads to febrile neutropenia, which can be fatal in 10% of patients, according to a database of more than 40,000 individuals. Concerns recently have been raised, however, that their use is associated with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Fortunately, HBV reactivation can be prevented with the prophylactic use of effective antiviral agents, for which recommendations were presented by Ludwig at the meeting.
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