Articles

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) refers to several tumor types located in the pancreas. These tumors are classified as functional or nonfunctional depending on production and secretion of bioactive hormones. Functional PNETs cause clinical symptoms associated with their tumor classification. Read More ›

Clear cell (CC)-renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the predominant histologic type of RCC, is highly dependent on angiogenesis, via the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway.¹ The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway also appears to play a role in VEGF production, as well as directly promote tumor cell growth.

Over the past year, data regarding 2 specific ovarian cancer management strategies have generated considerable interest within the clinical gynecologic cancer community among patients, clinicians, and researchers. One strategy involves the use of bevacizumab (Avastin), and the other approach centers on poly(ADPribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

When initial androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) fails to control progression of metastatic prostate cancer, the disease is redefined as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Studies have shown that using docetaxel and prednisone to treat men with CRPC only modestly extends median overall survival (OS) to ~19 months. Read More ›

Even though palliative care has been an important aspect of medical care in the United States for more than 25 years, it has yet to gain full public acceptance. Attempts to offer advanced care planning that allows patients to focus on care consistent with their values and preferences have been met with resistance. On January 1, 2011, Medicare proposed clinician reimbursement for advanced care planning. Within several weeks, however, this recommendation was reversed because some politicians worried the public would equate advanced care planning with healthcare rationing. Read More ›

After a diagnosis of cancer, patients often initiate or increase their use of vitamins and dietary supplements, and their use is prevalent among the 11.7 million adults in the United States living with cancer. Whereas 50% of healthy adults take 1 or more dietary supplements, between 64% and 81% of cancer survivors report that they use vitamin or dietary supplements.¹ Reasons offered for using these alternative therapies include strengthening the immune system, increasing the chance to be cured, and gaining a sense of control over their disease.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved everolimus (Afinitor, Novartis) for progressive neuroendocrine tumors of pancreatic origin (PNET) in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, metastatic disease.

By assigning weight to health outcomes and calculating the benefits from raloxifene compared with placebo and from tamoxifen compared with placebo, researchers developed a benefit/risk index for the use of these agents as chemo preventives in postmenopausal women at high risk for breast cancer. As seen in the indices in the article, the researchers found raloxifene better than tamoxifen for women with a uterus; for women without a uterus, the profiles were similar. Read More ›

Using the recommended dose of 1.3 mg/m²administered as a 3- to 5-second bolus intravenous (IV) injection on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 of 21-day cycles, patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (MM) after 1 to 3 previous lines of therapy achieved noninferior efficacy with subcutaneous versus IV delivery of the drug when receiving up to eight 21-day cycles. In addition, those in the SQ arm experienced improvement in their systemic safety profile.

By sequencing, then comparing the whole genomes of tumors with those of the patient’s healthy cells in 50 women with breast cancer, researchers found more than 1700 mutations, most of which were unique to the individual. They identified 8 significantly mutated genes: PIK3CA, TP53, ATR, RUNX1, MYST3, PRSS8, ZNHIT2, and MAP3K1. Of these, PIK3CA (43%), TP53 (15.2%), and MAP3K1 (9.3%) were found to have the highest rates of incidence.