Your AI-Trained Oncology Knowledge Connection!
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario, Canada-Female survivors of childhood cancer are generally at increased risk of developing secondary breast cancer years after their initial disease. New research, presented at the 7th International Conference for Long-Term Complications of Treatment of Children and Adolescents for Cancer, hosted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute, is shedding light on this issue and helping practitioners determine how to best screen this population.
As a result of the availability and clinical efficacy of trastuzumab (Herceptin), clinicians are now faced with a dilemma regarding the accurate identification of patients with HER2 overexpression. In the October 2002 issue of ONCOLOGY,
This supplement to ONCOLOGY includes a collection of papers focusing on the clinical development and use of capecitabine (Xeloda), a novel agent with significant activity in patients suffering from metastatic breast cancer. It is now clear that this
The demonstration of the activity of capecitabine (Xeloda) in advanced breast cancer and of the ability of capecitabine/docetaxel (Taxotere) to improve tumor response, time to disease progression, and survival in this
Available data on the use of active chemotherapy agents in advanced breast cancer suggest that sequential single-agent therapy is associated with outcomes similar to those achieved with concurrent combination therapy. Since
A recent phase III trial demonstrated that the combination of capecitabine (Xeloda) and docetaxel (Taxotere) significantly improved objective tumor response rate, time to disease progression, and overall survival compared
Capecitabine (Xeloda) offers a unique mode of action. The drug is currently being combined with other active agents in the treatment of advanced breast cancer. The recent demonstration of improved disease-free and overall
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved anastrozole (Arimidex) for the adjuvant treatment of hormone-receptor-positive early breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The approval is based on research from the Arimidex,
WILMINGTON, Delaware-AstraZeneca’s nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor Arimidex (anastrozole) has received FDA approval for the adjuvant treatment of hormone-receptor-positive early-stage breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The agent was previously approved as first-line treatment of hormone-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women and as second-line treatment for those whose disease has progressed following treatment with tamoxifen (Nolvadex).
The results of a phase III trial of capecitabine (Xeloda) in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (20:2812-2823, 2002). Based on
The results of two clinical trials evaluating fulvestrant (Faslodex) for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy were published in a recent issue of the Journal
ORLANDO-An open-label randomized study comparing letrozole (Femara) and anastrozole (Arimidex), the two US FDA-approved nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors, found a higher overall response rate for letrozole as second-line therapy in women with metastatic breast cancer.
United States seems to have a predilection for declaring "war" on its internal problems, be they poverty, drugs, or cancer. In the latter part of the past century particularly, military metaphors became part of the vocabulary used by Americans to
In an international study of the two leading aromatase inhibitors, data demonstrate that 50% more women with advanced breast cancer respond to letrozole (Femara) than to anastrozole (Arimidex); ie, more women treated with letrozole achieved at
ROCKVILLE, Maryland-The Food and Drug Administration has approved the inclusion of the PathVysion HER-2 DNA Probe Kit, a new genedetection test, in the labeling of Herceptin (trastuzumab, Genentech). PathVysion is made and marketed by Vysis, Inc., a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories. It joins HercepTest (DAKO) as the second screening test listed in the Herceptin labeling.
ORLANDO-Compared with the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole (Arimi-dex), mean duration of response is significantly greater with fulvestrant (Faslo-dex) in postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer who have progressed on prior endocrine therapy. For other key endpoints, fulvestrant was at least as effective as anastrozole, according to a poster presentation at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (abstract 160).
Received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include information about Abbott’s PathVysion-a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test-in the product insert for trastuzumab (Herceptin). FISH is used to detect human
With the advent of methods for determining genetic susceptibility to breast cancer, there is a growing focus on prevention as a primary strategy. In this context, more women will receive information about the role of prophylactic mastectomy as a definitive management strategy. Drs. Ghosh and Hartmann have provided a thorough review of the salient issues in prophylactic mastectomy. Their discussion of the procedure and its history set the stage for further discussion of the relative efficacy of prophylactic mastectomy in reducing the risk of breast cancer in women.
Ghosh and Hartmann present an excellent overview on the risk reduction that prophylactic mastectomy offers the high-risk patient. Dr. Hartmann and the Mayo Clinic remain leaders in this field. As cited in their recent series, the risk of developing breast cancer is reduced 89.5% to 100% in high-risk women who choose to undergo prophylactic mastectomy.[1] In the same year, Meijers-Heijboer et al supported these findings, documenting a 100% relative risk reduction.[2] The fact that prophylactic surgery offers a dramatic reduction in the risk of breast cancer to high-risk patients appears unquestionable.
The emerging era of targeted cancer therapies has focused laboratory scientists and clinicians on the need to define and understand molecular targets of novel drugs. For breast cancer patients and doctors, this trend is not news-efforts have been under way for decades to identify the estrogen and progesterone receptors and define the value of these markers as predictors of response to hormonal therapy.
The need for accurate detection of HER2 status is becoming more apparent, as therapeutic decisions are influenced by this information in both the adjuvant and advanced-stage setting. Since the US Food and Drug
The management of women at high risk for breast cancer presents a clinical dilemma to the health-care provider as well as to the woman herself. Current options include surveillance, prophylactic surgery (mastectomy and/or
The emerging era of targeted cancer therapies has focused laboratory scientists and clinicians on the need to define and understand molecular targets of novel drugs. For breast cancer patients and doctors, this trend is not news-efforts have been under way for decades to identify the estrogen and progesterone receptors and define the value of these markers as predictors of response to hormonal therapy.
WASHINGTON-A new technique employing high-resolution contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can distinguish between benign and malignant breast lesions by showing lesion perfusion patterns (images and Figure 1). Hadassa Degani, PhD, head of the Department of Biological Regulation, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, discussed the method, developed in her lab, at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation 5th Annual Conference on Innovations in Quality Care.
BETHESDA, Maryland-Results from the largest epidemiologic investigation of possible links between two major types of environmental pollutants and breast cancer indicate a 50% increase in risk of the disease for women exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at the highest level. However, researchers failed to find an association between organochlorine compounds, which include DDT, and an increased risk of breast cancer.
