Articles

Continuing to smoke after a cancer diagnosis may aggravate cancer pain and interfere with activities of daily living, according to a cross-sectional study published in the January issue of Pain. These associations were found in various cancer sites and stages.

 

Rituximab maintenance in patients with high tumor burden follicular lymphoma (FL) who have responded to rituximab plus chemotherapy induction improves progression-free survival (PFS), according to recently released results of the PRIMA study (Lancet. Dec 21, 2010. Epub ahead of print).

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning against using the injectable form of dolasetron mesylate to prevent nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy. New data shows that dolasetron can increase the risk for developing abnormal heart rhythms. The oral tablets of dolasetron may be still be used for this indication; however, a strong warning is being added to the drug’s label.

 

Patients with congenital QT syndrome or other underlying heart rate or rhythm problems should not receive either form of the drug.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s decision to revoke the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin) announced last week (http://www.theoncologynurse.com/article/fda-starts-withdrawal-process-avastins-breast-cancer-indication) has drawn mixed response from healthcare professionals and organizations involved in the care of women with breast cancer.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun its process to remove the breast cancer indication from bevacizumab’s (Avastin, Genentech) label. Its decision to move forward is based on a recommendation by it advisory committee composed mainly of oncology.

 

Patients with cancer have a fivefold increased risk of developing listerosis compared with patients with other predisposing conditions and should be advised to take precautions to avoid food-borne infections, British researchers report.

 

Listerosis, caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is rare, but can be serious in patients with cancer or others with suppressed T-cell–mediated immunity due to the disease or its treatment. 

 

Regular use of SPF 15+ sunscreen may prevent the development of melanoma in adults, results of a community-based study indicate. The study is the first prospective, randomized study of the relationship between sunscreen use and melanoma.

 

Adèle Green and her colleagues of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia, randomized 1621 white adults (25 to 75 years of age) living in a township in Queensland to daily or discretionary sunscreen application to head and arms; the broad-spectrum sunscreen used had a SPF of 16.

Patient-specific treatment plans devised using images from a combination of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) may reduce radiation-induced lymph node damage without sacrificing treatment outcomes, according to a small study released at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this past weekend.