Study: Enzyme Plays Important Role in CML Stem Cell Reprogramming
January 19th 2013Researchers have identified an enzyme that plays an important role in the reprogramming of malignant progenitor cells in chronic myeloid leukemia. The enzyme, ADAR1, could represent a target for selecting and eradicating leukemia stem cells.
Study: Lung Screening Alone Does Not Change Risk Perceptions for Lung Cancer
January 12th 2013Participants in the National Lung Screening Trial did not change their perceptions of risk for lung cancer and smoking-related disease between prescreening enrollment and a 1-year follow-up visit, regardless of the result of the screening test.
SABCS: HDAC Inhibition Sensitizes Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells to PARP Inhibition
December 7th 2012Combining histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors with PARP inhibitors or cisplatin has the potential to be an effective treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, according to preclinical research presented this week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
SABCS: Novel Agent Added to Letrozole Improves Outcomes in ER-Positive Breast Cancer
December 7th 2012Combining an investigational agent called PD 0332991 with letrozole improved progression-free survival over letrozole alone in women with advanced estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, according to a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this week.
Lung Cancer Chemoprevention: Enzastaurin Shows Promise, But Fails to Meet Trial Endpoint
December 6th 2012In the first chemoprevention trial with a non-FDA-approved, oral, small-molecule-targeted agent, enzastaurin did not meet a primary endpoint but showed reasonable tolerability and some success in subgroup analyses.
SABCS: Black Women Less Likely to Undergo Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
December 6th 2012A large cohort study found that black women with early-stage invasive breast cancer were significantly less likely than white patients to undergo the less invasive axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy. Black women also had a higher rate of lymphedema, due largely to that difference in treatment modalities.
Higher BMI Yields Longer Surgeries for Lung Cancer Lobectomy
December 5th 2012Obese lung cancer patients undergoing lobectomy spend more time in the operating room than patients with lower body mass index, according to a new study. BMI was not associated with 30-day mortality or increased length of hospital stay.
BELA: Bosutinib No Better Than Imatinib in Newly Diagnosed CML
November 19th 2012Despite a better major molecular response rate, the Src/Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor bosutinib did no better than imatinib with regard to complete cytogenetic response in the BELA trial of patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
In Second-Line Treatment of Advanced NSCLC, Adding Carboplatin to Pemetrexed Yields No Benefit
November 8th 2012A phase II trial and a pooled analysis with another study found no benefit to adding carboplatin to pemetrexed versus pemetrexed alone in previously treated patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
ASTRO: Many Terminal Lung Cancer Patients Believe Palliative Radiation Therapy Is a Cure
November 1st 2012A significant portion of patients with incurable lung cancer believe that palliative radiation therapy will cure the disease or at least help them live longer, according to a new study. Only about one-third of patients acknowledged that the treatment was not at all likely to cure their cancer.
ESMO: New Agent, MGN1703, for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Effective as Maintenance Therapy
October 10th 2012Maintenance therapy with a new immunomodulator agent called MGN1703 improves progression-free survival over placebo in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, according to a new study presented at the ESMO 2012 Congress.
Gemcitabine and Erlotinib Both Effective Maintenance Therapies in NSCLC
September 25th 2012Maintenance therapy with both gemcitabine and erlotinib improved progression-free survival in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer who were initially treated with cisplatin-gemcitabine induction chemotherapy, according to a new phase III trial.
Dasatinib Achieves Higher Response Rate Than Imatinib in CML
September 6th 2012A study comparing dasatinib to imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia found that the second-generation TKI dasatinib yielded better remission and molecular response rates than imatinib, but these did not result in better survival outcomes.
New ASCO, SSO Guidelines for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Melanoma
August 17th 2012Sentinel lymph node biopsy is recommended for patients with newly diagnosed intermediate-thickness melanomas, while the procedure may not be indicated for patients with thinner lesions, according to a new set of guidelines.
Sorafenib Added to Chemo Fails to Improve Survival in NSCLC
August 4th 2012The addition of the multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor sorafenib to a gemcitabine/cisplatin regimen failed to improve overall survival among patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer, according to a new randomized phase III trial.
ENESTnd: Nilotinib Superior to Imatinib for CML After 3 years
July 23rd 2012Three-year results from the ENESTnd trial show continued superiority of nilotinib over imatinib in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase, according to a new paper published online ahead of print in Leukemia in June.