Articles

In a randomized phase 2 study of patients with metastatic breast cancer, peripheral neuropathy was less likely to occur in patients receiving eribulin mesylate than with ixabepilone.

“Peripheral neuropathy is a big problem in the treatment of breast cancer. Across the spectrum, patients have it, and we don’t know how to treat it,” said Linda T. Vahdat, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, who presented the study at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

A quality-of-life analysis of the large randomized NCIC MA. 27 trial shows that symptoms of endocrine therapy can be severe and have a negative effect on quality of life. The study also found that women with side effects from previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy before they start taking endocrine therapy are at higher risk for early discontinuation.

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Take the chill out of winter with the nutrient-packed goodness of lentils. These tiny members of the legume family may be small in size but are big on nutrition. Lentils are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. They also contain antioxidants and phytonutrients—naturally occurring plant compounds that help prevent damage to cells throughout the body. Lentils are so versatile that they can be made into a variety of different dishes, from appetizers and side dishes to main meals and desserts.

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In 2011, the American Cancer Society projected there would be 20,520 cases of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) and 10,610 deaths from the disease that year.¹ MM is an incurable hematologic cancer marked by great heterogeneity, in terms of its biology and clinical course. Morbidity and survival rates vary widely, even in the age of novel, molecularly based targeted therapies. Many factors account for differences in prognoses among patients with MM, including genomic aberrations in the plasma cells of the myeloma neoplasm. Read More ›

Recent economic challenges resulted in cutbacks in personal healthcare spending among continuously insured Americans, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. These insured patients underwent fewer screening colonoscopies, a cost-effective, recommended preventive service, during the recession.

The study appears in the March issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers have found that a new drug for metastatic melanoma nearly doubles the median survival time for patients with a common genetic mutation.

The data come from an international phase 2 study of the drug Zelboraf (vemurafenib). More than half of the 132 patients who were treated with the novel agent responded to treatment and experienced a median overall survival of almost 16 months. Patients with this advanced form of melanoma, in which the cancer has spread to other organs, typically survive about 9 months.

The new healthcare law’s Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program is providing insurance to thousands of people with high-risk preexisting conditions. The US Department of Health and Human Services recently reported how PCIP is helping to fill a void in the insurance market.

A recent study shows that women who received a combination breast cancer chemotherapy regimen referred to as CMF between 1976 and 1995 performed worse on cognitive tests compared with women who never had cancer. The subtle differences in performance were statistically significant and occurred primarily in word learning and memory and information processing speed.

The findings, published February 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate that cognitive problems may be observed 20 years following chemotherapy treatment.

New research recommends nurses play a key role in alleviating the concerns of newly diagnosed cancer patients. This interaction will lead to a better quality of life for anxious patients, according to a paper published in the current edition of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.