Along with survival chances, cost and side effects are also major considerations when patients choose therapies. In fact, new study findings reveal that a patient’s socioeconomic status, more than any other characteristic, can predict whether the patient will choose high efficacy, low cost, or low toxicity when selecting a treatment.
The antioxidant supplement beta-carotene is safe for use during radiation therapy treatments for prostate cancer. It does not escalate the risk of prostate cancer death or metastases, despite previous safety concerns, according to a study published in the May issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics.
Based on a recent study, younger patients with colorectal cancer were more likely to present advanced-stage tumors at diagnosis and metastasize much sooner. However, these same patients had better than or equal survival to patients 50 and older, according to data presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
Cancer-related fatigue was reduced for patients taking high doses of pure American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over the course of 2 months, a Mayo Clinic–led study found.
Researchers studied 340 patients who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer at 1 of 40 community medical centers. Of the patients studied, 60% had breast cancer. Participants received either a placebo or capsules containing 2000 mg of pure, ground American ginseng root daily.
In a recent study, the antidepressant drug duloxetine (Cymbalta) helped ease pain from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in 59% of patients. For about 30% of patients, this tingling feeling is more than uncomfortable; it’s a painful sensation. This is the first clinical trial to find an effective therapy for this pain.
Early-stage prostate cancer treatment can also produce quality-of-life improvements for a subgroup of men who suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), according to a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center–led study. LUTS, which includes problems of recurrent or urgent urination, is a common problem that affects approximately 40% of men.
As new biomarkers are identified to classify disease and customize treatments to individual needs, Supreme Court legal battles are in process to determine whether a private company can own the rights to a particular biomarker.
Recently, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advised eliminating routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in healthy men. According to results of a survey by Johns Hopkins researchers, the new recommendations are likely to meet serious resistance from primary care physicians. Study results were published online in the journal Cancer.
After completing treatment, women with breast cancer have considerably impaired cardiopulmonary function that can endure for years, according to a study led by scientists at Duke University Medical Center. Study findings also provide initial indication that poor cardiopulmonary function may be a viable predictor of survival among women with advanced breast cancer. The results were reported online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Overweight and obese postmenopausal women are a group at elevated risk for breast cancer. Now, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center report that even a moderate amount of weight loss can significantly reduce levels of circulating estrogens that are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.
The findings of this first randomized, controlled clinical trial on the effects of weight loss on sex hormones in overweight and obese postmenopausal women by Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD, and colleagues are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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