Your AI-Trained Oncology Knowledge Connection!
Advances in diagnostic and therapeutic radiology and a better understanding of cell biology are being applied in practical ways to modulate treatment morbidity. Conformal radiotherapy targets the cancer precisely and can be combined with new systemically administered radiosensitizers.
SAN FRANCISCO-In patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, the combination of gemcitabine (Gemzar) followed by oxaliplatin (investigational in the United States) (GEMOX) is active with low toxicity, Christophe Louvet, MD, Hôpital St-Antoine, Paris, France, said at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 506).
LOS ANGELES-Positron emission tomography (PET) changed the disease management of more than 60% of patients with colorectal cancer, according to a survey of referring physicians. The most striking change occurred among patients for whom surgery was the intended treatment: 41% of these patients had their treatment changed from surgery to medical treatment. Another 13.5% saw the surgical approach changed as a result of the PET findings.
SAN FRANCISCO-Raltitrexed (Tomudex) in combination with oxaliplatin may be used as a replacement for the de Gramont regimen in advanced colorectal cancer, said Vincenzo Catalano, MD, Medical Oncology, Pesaro, Italy.
This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single
This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single
This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single
This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single
NEW YORK CITY-Irinotecan (Camptosar), oxaliplatin, and other new agents have shown promising activity in rectal cancer and are now being tested in combination regimens with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and in new chemoradiotherapy regimens, according to Bruce Minsky, MD.
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas-The antiangiogenic properties of thalidomide (Thalomid) as well as its ability to inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) suggest that thalidomide might be a useful addition to regimens for treating advanced cancers. Rangaswamy Govindarajan, MD, said that thalidomide may enhance the response rate of metastatic colorectal cancer to irinotecan (Camptosar) while also reducing irinotecan-related gastrointestinal toxicities. Dr. Govindarajan is assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science in Little Rock, Arkansas.
COLORADO SPRINGS-Researchers from two large North American Intergroup colorectal cancer trials found an unexpectedly high rate of toxic deaths in trials containing irinotecan (Camptosar). No such problems had been apparently observed by oncologists using the combination of irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and leucovorin (LV) (IFL) in routine clinical practice, and no such problems had been identified in the pivotal registration and European studies.
CHICAGO-A "dealer’s choice" rectal cancer trial in which treatment would be chosen by the physician and patient together has been proposed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Gastrointestinal Intestinal Intergroup. The Intergroup now includes research groups from the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, Cancer and Leukemia Group B, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, the North Central Cancer Treatment Group, the NCI Canada, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, and the Southwest Oncology Group.
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina-Preliminary data from a phase II trial of induction irinotecan (Camptosar)/gemcitabine (Gemzar) followed by twice-weekly gemcitabine and radiation in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer show partial responses in 2 of 7 evaluable patients. There were no local progressions, and median time to progression of 6 months, according to A. William Blackstock, MD. Dr. Blackstock is assistant professor at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
PORTLAND, Oregon-"Very preliminary data suggest that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors can be safely used in combination with irinotecan (Camptosar), and even more preliminary data suggest that such combinations are active in advanced colorectal cancer," reported Charles Blanke, MD. He explained that COX-2 is overexpressed in the majority of human colorectal cancers. Dr. Blanke is director of the GI Malignancy Program at the Oregon Cancer Institute in Portland.
HOUSTON-Colon cancer researchers are studying a variety of cell surface molecules and receptors as potential targets for new treatments aimed particularly at preventing or treating metastatic disease. Lee Ellis, MD, professor of surgery and cancer biology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discussed his group’s current work in three new areas: angiopoietins as a target for blocking tumor angiogenesis, integrins, and the insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) system.
SAN FRANCISCO-In an effort to extend the activity of gemcitabine (Gemzar) against pancreatic cancer, researchers have paired an investigational chimeric monoclonal antibody, IMC-C225 (cetuximab) with the standard chemotherapy. IMC-C225 selectively binds to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
SAN FRANCISCO-In advanced colorectal cancer, the combination of oxaliplatin (investigational) and irinotecan (Camptosar) is beneficial as a first-line therapy, according to phase II clinical trial results presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (abstract 538).
TAMPA, Florida-Phase II studies have shown that the combination of irinotecan (Camptosar) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) are well tolerated and active in advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, and this combination is now being tested in randomized phase II and phase III trials, said Caio Max S. Rocha Lima, MD. Dr. Rocha Lima is assistant professor of medicine at the University of South Florida’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
BIRMINGHAM, England-Combining capecitabine (Xeloda) and irinotecan (Camptosar) is feasible at doses effective for treating colorectal cancer, according to David Kerr, MD, DSc. He reviewed early capecitabine/irinotecan trials and said that the combination should be evaluated in phase III trials against metastatic cancer, as adjuvant treatment, and using oral formulations of both drugs. Dr. Kerr is professor of clinical oncology at the CRC Institute for Cancer Studies, Birmingham, England.
HOUSTON-M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers have launched a phase I trial combining pelvic radiation, irinotecan (Camptosar), and celecoxib (Celebrex) in patients with metastatic rectal cancer. Christopher H. Crane, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center described the research leading up to this trial
NEW YORK CITY-Promising early data are emerging from a phase II colon cancer trial of irinotecan (Camptosar) plus cetuximab (IMC-C225), a chimeric monoclonal antibody that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), reported Leonard Saltz, MD. He is associate attending physician on the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
SAN FRANCISCO-A new approach to stimulating the immune system against a cancer antigen has produced a clinical response in a small number of colorectal cancer patients enrolled in a phase I/II trial, according to a poster presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
SAN FRANCISCO-A retrospective study of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer suggests that maintaining high hemoglobin levels after preoperative chemoradiation could improve 5-year survival.
Pancreatic cancer is a disease seen predominantly in elderly patients. Compared to younger patients, older patients are more likely to present with early-stage disease and, therefore, may be candidates for aggressive local
Pancreatic cancer is a disease seen predominantly in elderly patients. Compared to younger patients, older patients are more likely to present with early-stage disease and, therefore, may be candidates for aggressive local
