Articles

Male Partners of Breast Cancer Patients at Increased Risk for Mood Disorders

Findings of a large new study point to the potentially devastating impact of a cancer diagnosis on the mental health of a patient’s partner and the importance of involving family members in treatment.

The study of Danish men showed that men whose partners were diagnosed with breast cancer were significantly more likely to be hospitalized with an affective disorder than men whose partners did not have breast cancer. The results are reported in the September 27 online edition of Cancer.

Hematologic Cancers

TON - Daily

Women who have difficulty performing normal activities of daily living after an initial treatment for breast cancer have reduced overall survival compared with survivors without functional limitations, results of a long-term study indicate.

“Our study provides evidence of why it is important to develop interventions that improve physical function, to mitigate the adverse effects of physical limitations,” said lead author Dejana Braithwaite, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco.

TON - Daily

Dexrazoxane provides long-term protection against against doxorubicin-induced heart damage in survivors of childhood high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and does not compromise oncologic efficacy, a new multicenter study indicates.

TON - Daily

Discontinuation of imatinib therapy puts patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) at high risk for rapid disease progression and is not recommended unless substantial toxicity develops, according to French researchers.

After nearly 3 years of follow up, 2-year progression-free survival was 80% in patients who remained on imatinib but only 16% in those whose treatment was stopped.

TON - Daily

Regular consumption of three to four alcoholic drinks per week increases the risk of breast cancer recurrence and death from breast cancer, a study of breast cancer survivors suggests. Postmenopausal and overweight or obese women are at greatest risk.

TON - Daily

A man’s level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) at age 60 predicts his lifetime risk of metastasis and death from prostate cancer, a study of Swedish men indicates.

The findings, published online September 14 in BMJ, could be useful in determining which men should be screened for prostate cancer after the age of 60 and which may not benefit substantially from continued screening.

TON - Daily

In a case-control study, regular use of 75 mg/day of aspirin— lower than the standard 81-mg dose of baby aspirin—significantly reduced the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). The effect was evident after 1 year and increased with longer use.

The findings of this large population-based study are applicable to the general population, not just high-risk patients, according to the authors.

Dying at Home Enhances Quality of Life

TON - Daily

Patients with advanced cancer who die at home have greater quality of life (QOL) than patients who die in a hospital or intensive care unit. In addition, their caregivers experience less bereavement-related psychiatric illnesses, according to a study published online at the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

TON - Daily

Methylphenidate (MPH), a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in healthy children also has long-term benefits for childhood cancer survivors, a new study indicates.

After 12 months of treatment with MPH, children showed significant improvements on measures of attention, social skills, and behavior compared with a control group of children who did not receive MPH.

Breast Cancer

TON - August 2010, Vol 3, No 5

CHICAGO—Several new agents elicited excitement for the treatment of women with advanced breast cancer, including a novel cytotoxic agent that is the first to improve survival as mono therapy in this challenging patient population.

In an international study, patients with metastatic breast cancer refractory to numerous treatments lived 2.5 months longer when treated with eribulin mesylate, a synthetic analog of the novel halichondrin B family, versus single agents alone.

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