Leukemia is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in children and adolescents, representing approximately 1 of 3 cancers in these populations of patients. Of the 4 main types of leukemia (acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL], chronic myeloid leukemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia), ALL is the most common type found in children and adolescents. The following provides key statistics and other helpful information regarding ALL.
San Francisco, CA—Cannabis has been credited as a medicinal plant with benefits ranging from pain and inflammation relief to epileptic seizure reduction to insomnia and anxiety cures, but the evidence is still limited, particularly in the setting of advanced cancer.
Barcelona, Spain—Results of the new clinical trial RADICALS-RT indicate that using salvage radiotherapy immediately after surgery leads to equivalent outcomes in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) versus adjuvant radiotherapy in men with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy. These late-breaking results were presented at the ESMO Congress 2019 by lead investigator Chris Parker, MD, FRCR, MRCP, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, England.
Barcelona, Spain—Alterations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)2 gene have been identified as driver mutations in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Durable objective responses were observed in >33% of patients with locally advanced or metastatic CCA and FGFR2 rearrangements or fusions who received treatment with pemigatinib, a selective oral inhibitor of FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR3. Data from the single-arm, open-label phase 2 clinical trial FIGHT-202, which was presented at the ESMO Congress 2019, revealed that investigational pemigatinib induced a response in 35.5% of the 107 patients with FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements (cohort A), with a median duration of response of 7.5 months.
Barcelona, Spain—Ivosidenib (Tibsovo), an oral therapy that targets isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation, significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and an IDH1 mutation, in a phase 3 clinical trial reported lead investigator Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, Medical Oncologist, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, at the ESMO Congress 2019.
San Francisco, CA—Reducing pain without increasing opioids is feasible in patients with advanced cancer, according to results presented at the 2019 ASCO Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium. In a retrospective analysis of 300 patients with advanced cancer receiving inpatient palliative care services, researchers found that nearly half of patients who achieved clinically improved pain did so without an increase in oral morphine equivalent daily dose.
San Francisco, CA—According to results from a retrospective analysis of nearly 12,000 patients with cancer, increased social support may function as an analgesic and help to mitigate pain.
Orlando, FL—Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is now approved as third-line treatment for patients with B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. For some patients, CAR T-cell therapy is a miracle therapy, extending survival and, in some cases, as a bridge to a potentially curative transplant. But at an estimated cost of $375,000 to $475,000 per person, many people have questioned the value of this treatment, and whether it can be delivered effectively to patients not enrolled in clinical trials.
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