Articles

Nurse Counseling Improved Patients’ Adherence to TKIs

TON - February 2011 Vol 4, No 1

ORLANDO—A study of physicians from five countries found that nurses and hematologists counseling patients with chronic myeloid leukemia about the importance of adherence to prescribed tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or having an established adherence protocol, such as medication diaries, pill organizers, or informational calendars, was associated with improved adherence, and those patients who took the drugs as prescribed had significantly better therapeutic milestones. Read More ›

Vitamin Use Found to Be Beneficial in Women with Breast Cancer

Two new studies suggest that use of vitamin supplements may reduce the risk of disease recurrence and mortality in women with breast cancer.

These studies contrast with some previous studies, which suggested that vitamin supplements, particularly antioxidants, may reduce the effectiveness of radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Adding Peginterferon alfa-2a Boosts Molecular Response in CML

More patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase achieve molecular response when peginterferon alfa-2a is added to imatinib therapy, but toxic side effects make completing treatment difficult for many, according to analysis of SPIRIT trial data (N Engl J Med. 2010;363:2511-2521). The researchers concluded that this increase in molecular responses could translate into better survival.

Estrogen Alone Poses No Increased Breast Cancer Risk

By Caroline Helwick

Breast Cancer, In the News

SAN ANTONIO—A re-analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)—which found an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease in women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT)—suggests that estrogen alone, without progesterone, may actually be protective against breast cancer. Read More ›

Patients Discovering Breast CancerTrials.org

By Caroline Helwick

Breast Cancer, In the News

SAN ANTONIO—A rapidly growing, nationwide clinical trial matching service that is user-friendly for patients is enabling more patients to learn about and enroll in clinical trials, said Ellie Cohen, PhD, the program’s director. Cohen described the success of her program at the 33rd annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Read More ›

Zoledronic Acid Prolongs Survival Only in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients

By Daniel M. Keller

Breast Cancer, In the News

SAN ANTONIO—In a trial involving women with stage II/III breast cancer (N = 3360), adding zoledronic acid (ZA) to standard adjuvant chemotherapy did not prolong overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) after a median follow-up of 59 months, contrary to some previous reports. Read More ›

Preoperative Anti-HER2 Agents Yield Benefits

By Caroline Helwick

Drug Therapies, In the News

SAN ANTONIO—For women with human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2)-overexpressing breast cancer, preoperative treatment with agents that block HER2 leads to high rates of pathological complete response (pCR), according to the results of three studies presented at the 33rd annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Read More ›

Nurses Should Communicate Clearly About Hematologic Malignancies

Supportive Care, In the News

ORLANDO—Patients often do not understand the terms clinicians use to describe their hematologic malignancies, such as myelodysplastic syndrome, which may lead to misunderstandings about their disease. Read More ›

Low-dose Alemtuzumab Effective for GVHD Prophylaxis

ORLANDO—Low doses of alemtuzumab were effective in preventing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in leukemia patients receiving sibling and matched unrelated hematopoietic cell transplants. Read More ›

FDA Approves Gardasil for Prevention of Anal Cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for Gardasil—the prevention of anal cancer and associated precancerous lesions caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, an 18 in patients 9 to 26 years of age.

The vaccine is already approved for the prevention of cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancer in this female cohort of this population, as well as the prevention of genital warts in men and women.

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