Articles

Many primary care physicians (PCPs) are unaware of the long-term side effects of 4 commonly used chemotherapy drugs for breast and colorectal cancer, according to results of the large Survey of Physician Attitudes Regarding the Care of Cancer Survivors (SPARCCS). Oncologists were much more likely to be aware of the late effects of all 4 drugs, but the survey suggested that there is still room for improvement in educating oncologists about late effects of cyclophosphamide, 1 of the 4 drugs included in the study.

Patients with breakthrough chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) can gain superior relief from olanzapine (Zyprexa), a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as an antipsychotic, compared with standard antiemetic therapy with metoclopramide. The results from this phase 3 study address an important unmet need for patients who experience these side effects despite being given standard antiemetic therapy.

Although the rates of bladder cancer incidence and bladder cancer deaths have been fairly stable over the past 20 years, the disease is still just as serious and deadly. In an effort to learn more about it, let’s take a closer look at bladder cancer, the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in men.

In 2012, an estimated 73,510 adults in the United States (55,600 men and 17,910 women) will be diagnosed with bladder cancer. Approximately 14,880 deaths (10,510 men and 4370 women) will occur from this disease.

The biggest newsmaker at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was a compound whose name and actions sound practically missile-like: T-DM1. Because of its highly targeted and potent effect that spares surrounding healthy tissue, T-DM1 not only has potent antitumor effects but is also very well tolerated.

Although the increased incidence of bladder cancer (BC) has softened in recent years, proposed to be due in part to smoking cessation strategies, BC remains a significant healthcare problem with high recurrence rates.^1,2 Currently, there is inadequate evidence that screening for BC in the asymptomatic population promotes improved overall morbidity or mortality.³ Despite this current state of the science, there is great interest in bettering the gold standard for early diagnosis—cystoscopy, cytology, and imaging—as these are expensive, uncomfortable, and not Read More ›

The antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta) appears to reduce painful peripheral neuropathy associated with taxane-or platinumbased chemotherapy in some, but not all, patients, according to a randomized phase 3 study presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). About one-third of patients treated with duloxetine reported at least a 30% or greater reduction in pain scores versus 17% of placebo patients.

New research published in the journal Cancer shows the social, psychological, and informational support that adolescents and young adult cancer patients need may be unmet.

Compared with children and older adult patients with cancer, patients aged 14 to 39 years exhibit unique psychological and social needs after diagnosis due to their age-related development. Treatment settings, whether pediatric or adult, can influence these patients’ clinical and psychosocial well-being.

Each year, more than 2 million Americans face a new diagnosis of skin cancer. Some 50,000 patients receive a diagnosis of melanoma. Regular skin checks, however, can assist in discovering melanoma at its earliest stages.

Researchers may have created an antidote to the emotional and physical difficulties that lung cancer patients face before and after an operation, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The antidote, a 30-minute preparation video, presented to lung procedure patients lessened anxiety about the procedure, decreased physical pain after the operation, and produced higher rates of overall satisfaction with the operative experience.

Following treatment with hormone-suppressing drugs, women who are obese continue to have higher levels of estrogen than women of normal weight. Thus, a team from The Institute of Cancer Research in London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust examined the possibility that women who are obese might benefit from changes to their treatment.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that hormone-suppressing drugs noticeably reduced estrogen levels in obese women, yet levels of estrogen remained more than double those in women of normal weight.