Articles

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.”

Genetic testing for inherited cancer predisposition is typically performed by testing for 1 condition at a time. For example, as discussed in the June issue of The Oncology Nurse-APN/PA, an individual with lobular breast cancer and a family history of breast and abdominal cancers may undergo testing for the BRCA genes and, if negative, then have the CDH1 gene analyzed. However, with the tremendous advances in genetic testing technologies over the past few years, the cost of testing has plummeted. Read More ›

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.

Use of neoadjuvant sipuleucel-T (Provenge) engendered an immune response in men with early-stage prostate cancer slated for radical prostatectomy (RP), according to a study presented at a poster session at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco, California. The vaccine is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in the setting of rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, and this study suggests that it may be beneficial when used up front. Read More ›

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) was established in 1991 as a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the New Brunswick Affiliated Hospitals. The groundbreaking ceremony in New Brunswick took place in 1994. In 1997, CINJ received its Clinical Cancer Center status from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and was designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2002, confirmation of its position as a leader in treatment, research, and education.

Ginseng has significant activity against fatigue in adults with cancer, according to a randomized trial.¹ Eight weeks of treatment with ginseng significantly improved fatigue scores by 20% versus 10% for patients treated with placebo (P = .003). Moreover, ginseng was as safe as placebo in this preliminary trial.

ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), an oncology-led, quality assessment and improvement program, measured family history taking and genetic counseling/testing practices among 750 community oncology practices. Results of this study revealed gaps that need to be addressed in making sure the taking of family history is accurate and patients whose cancers may have a heritable component get referred for genetic counseling and testing. Read More ›