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.
Controversies in the Pathology of Thymoma Viewed Through the Prism of Evidence-Based Pathology
October 23rd 2012Thymomas are uncommon neoplasms that have generated considerable controversy among pathologists. The following questions can be used to evaluate the evidence supporting current concepts about the pathology of thymomas and the clinical applicability of those concepts.
Targeted Therapy: Its Status and Promise in Selected Solid Tumors Part I
October 23rd 2012We describe areas where major inroads were initially achieved by targeting angiogenesis and by unraveling pathways in the heterogeneous tumors of mesenchymal origin-spurred by the identification of c-Kit–activating mutations in GIST and the regressions that ensued when tumors harboring these mutations were exposed to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib (Gleevec).
Adolescents, Young Adults Seek Involvement in End-of-Life Planning
October 22nd 2012Adolescents and young adults want to be more involved in specific aspects of their end-of-life care and found a planning document to aid in those decisions helpful, according to the results of a recently published study.
Communication Key to Parental Decision Making for Children at End of Life
October 9th 2012When facing decisions involving children with cancer at the end of life, three themes drove parental decision making--communication, extending time, and understanding prognosis, according to a recent meta-analysis.