Caroline Helwick

STOCKHOLM-Clinical guidelines and decision-making tools off er evidence based data and prognostic estimates that can help streamline treatment tailoring. But physicians should not rely blindly on these applications as they don’t always off er defi nitive answers, according to a presentation at ESMO 2008.

STOCKHOLM-Elesclomol, an investigational small-molecule oxidative stress inducer (Synta Pharmaceuticals), in combination with paclitaxel (Taxol) showed a trend toward improved survival in stage IV metastatic melanoma patients, compared with paclitaxel alone.

The natural history of melanoma has changed little over the years, despite advances in testing and treatment such as cytotoxics, DNA-damaging agents, antimicrotubule drugs, and immunomodulatory therapies. Only 15% of advanced-stage patients respond to the two FDA-approved agents, interleukin-2 and dacarbazine (DTIC or DTIC-Dome).

CHICAGO-In the adjuvant setting, capecitabine (Xeloda) proved inferior to standard chemotherapy in older women with early-stage breast cancer, according to study results from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington.

CHICAGO-The addition of trastuzumab (Herceptin) to the arsenal of breast cancer agents has elevated the prognosis of HER2-positive patients to that of HER2-negative patients, according to an institutional review from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Only in Hollywood can New Orleans stand in for Los Angeles while a suave crooner portrays a serious scientist.

Mastectomy rates have been on the upswing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and researchers cited MRI as a factor influencing the increase.

There is no doubt women at high risk for breast cancer need to be screened more aggressively than the general population. Thanks to extensive research-not to mention a nod from the American Cancer Society as a screening tool-MRI has leapt ahead of other imaging modalities as the preferred modality in a high-risk population.

CHICAGO-The insulin sensitizer metformin may increase the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in diabetic patients with breast cancer, according to a retrospective study presented at ASCO 2008 (abstract 528).

CHICAGO-In recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) significantly improved progression-free survival over treatment with docetaxel (Taxotere) alone, European investigators reported at ASCO 2008 (abstract LBA-1011).

CHICAGO-A genetic “fingerprint” detectable in the blood is able to predict with 80% accuracy which asymptomatic smokers will develop lung cancer 2 years later, according to investigators who described the test at ASCO 2008 (abstract 1509).

Positive data were reported from the first-ever randomized, multicenter, open-label phase III trial of the combination of two targeted agents, lapatinib (Tykerb) and trastuzumab (Herceptin), in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. The study results, which were presented at the annual ASCO meeting in Chicago, demonstrated a benefit from the combination (abstract 1015).

CHICAGO-For breast cancer patients whose tumors have become resistant to available agents, restoring the sensitivity to treatment is an important goal. Preclinical studies have suggested that drugs that inhibit the mTOR protein kinase-which acts as a central regulator of tumor cell division, cell metabolism, and blood vessel growth-may be able to do so.

CHICAGO-Newly diagnosed patients with metastatic colorectal cancer are most likely to benefit from cetuximab (Erbitux) when their tumors contain the normal version of the KRAS gene, compared to patients with KRAS mutations, according to a conclusive analysis from the phase III CRYSTAL trial presented at the ASCO 2008 plenary session (abstract 2).

SAN DIEGO-A new way of harnessing the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells has produced impressive preclinical and early clinical results, according to investigators interviewed at the 2008 American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting.

SAN DIEGO-Results were disappointing for an adjuvant immunotherapy approach to follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma presented at the 2008 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting (abstract LB-204).

SAN DIEGO-More than 70% of advanced pancreatic patients derived some clinical benefit when treated with nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab) paclitaxel (Abraxane) and gemcitabine (Gemzar), in a phase I study reported at the 2008 American Association of Cancer Research meeting (abstract 4179).

SAN DIEGO-The body’s immune system can be directed to shrink tumors and prevent new ones in a variety of tumor types, according to investigators who described new cellular strategies and vaccines at the 2008 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

SAN DIEGO-At the 2008 AACR annual meeting, investigators reported preliminary results with a number of novel compounds entering clinical trials.

SAN DIEGO-For women with ductal carcinoma in situ, it may be possible to deliver chemotherapy intraductally, thus providing a less toxic means of treatment, according to a feasibility study spearheaded by Susan Love, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Love presented her research at the 2008 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting (abstract LB-245).

SAN DIEGO­-Bevacizumab (Avastin) added to chemoradiation as neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal tumors led to substantial downstaging and 100% local control at 4 years in a small phase II study reported at the 2008 American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting (abstract LB-304). The study enrolled 32 patients with T3/T4 nonmetastatic rectal cancer from Massachusetts General Hospital and Duke University Medical Center between 2001 and 2007.

ORLANDO-Patients aged 75 and older with metastatic colorectal cancer can be treated with standard combination chemotherapy regimens, despite increased toxicity, according to results of the FFCD 2001-02 trial. French investigators reported planned interim data at the 2008 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (abstract 281).

SAN DIEGO-Even one alcoholic drink a day can raise the risk of breast cancer, according to an analysis of 184,418 postmenopausal women in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study presented at the 2008 American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting (abstract 4168).

ORLANDO­-“Unresectable” colorectal cancer liver metastases may actually be resectable with a two-stage hepatectomy approach, Rene Adam, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Paul Brousse, Villejuif, France, said at the 2008 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (abstract 283).

ORLANDO-In a subset of patients with colorectal liver metastases, a pathologic complete response can be achieved with preoperative chemotherapy, rendering “uncommonly high” disease-free and overall survival rates, French investigators reported at the 2008 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (abstract 333).

A drug proven effective in a large randomized prostate cancer prevention trial is rarely used for that indication. ONI explores the economic and clinical reasons underlying the agent's lack of use.

A HER2/neu peptide–based T-cell immunotherapy that reduces recurrences in low HER2 expressors could be important for patients ineligible for trastuzumab.

In a landmark trial, DFMO plus sulindac reduced the risk of advanced adenomas by 92% in high-risk patients, with low toxicity.

In high-grade malignant glioma patients, functional diffusion maps showed tumor response to radiation therapy at 3 weeks after treatment initiation, compared with 10 weeks for traditional volumetric assessment of radiological response.

Optical tomography with ultrasound localization has the potential to monitor tumor vascular changes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a pilot study in which the modality was able to distinguish between responders and nonresponders, and even between complete and partial pathologic responses. Susan Tannenbaum, MD, of the University of Connecticut, Farmington, described the approach at the 2007 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract 45).