The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2012, 12,170 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4220 will die of the disease. With cervical cancer, prognosis is strongly related to disease stage: the 5-year relative survival rate is only 57.8% for patients with regional disease and 17.0% for those with distant disease. Now researchers say one of the strongest predictors of a late-stage cervical cancer diagnosis is lack of insurance, which is second only to age as a factor. Study authors believe the results are likely related to lack of screening.
Current guidelines recommend screening for depression in cancer patients; however, it has been uncertain whether interventions are effective. Now, a recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute supports interventions designed to treat depression in patients with cancer. Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center and other institutions performed a meta-analysis of 10 studies encompassing 1362 patients and determined that cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacologic interventions decrease depressive symptoms in cancer patients.
The novel agent MDV3100 prolonged survival in men with castration- resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who progressed on treatment with docetaxel, according to results of the large phase 3 AFFIRM trial reported at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco, California.
In the June issue, we published an article, “Let the Truth Be Told About Pain!” A patient currently receiving treatment for cancer told us how a nurse’s straightforward response helped her deal with her anxiety about pain. We asked our online reading community if their patients talked about pain. Clearly, this is an important issue for nurses, as we received more responses for this question than we have for any other question.
Patients with gastric or gastroesophageal cancer commonly experience long-term complications from treatment that compromise their quality of life (QOL), according to self-reported answers to an Internet-based survey questionnaire. Difficulty swallowing appears to be universal, and other problems range from dry mouth and taste changes to cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco, California.
At one New York medical center, half of the cancer patients required drugs that were considered in short supply in 2010 and 2011, and 10% were forced to receive an alternative, according to a study presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 6114).
While the investigators hope that this did not compromise efficacy, about one-third of the time the physicians felt the substitute was inferior, said Daniel J. Becker, MD, of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt and Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, who led the study presented at ASCO.
The drug shortage crisis is easing, but an actual solution to the problem is still elusive, according to participants in a press briefing that addressed the issue at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held in Chicago, Illinois.
Richard Schilsky, MD, chair of ASCO’s government relations committee and an oncologist at the University of Chicago, indicated, “Patient care has been threatened in many cases. But the good news is that the frequency of drug shortages is beginning to decline.”
With advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the estimated 5-year survival rate for cancer patients has significantly improved to approximately 67%.1 The most common malignancies in men and women in the United States—breast and prostate cancers— have 2 of the highest 5-year survival rates reported, at 90% and 99%, respectively.1 As oncology patients are living longer, bone health has become a pertinent issue in the treatment of both metastatic and nonmetastatic oncology patients.2
Outpatient management of febrile neutropenia is appropriate for carefully selected lowrisk patients, according to Ashley Morris Engemann, PharmD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, who spoke at the 2012 Pharmacy Program held in Hollywood, Florida, during the 17th Annual Conference of the National Comp - rehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
Engemann noted that treating patients at home is clearly the patient’s preference and is cost saving.
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