FDA Approves RCC Drug, Prostate Cancer and Smoking Link: April News Roundup
April 29th 2016This slide show highlights some of the top stories of the month, including the approval of a new agent for RCC, a study that found declines in prostate cancer deaths have mirrored the declines in smoking rates, and more.
Silvia Formenti on the Promise of Combining Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy to Treat Cancer
April 15th 2016During the past decade, scientific evidence has emerged that shows that radiotherapy can induce: A) immunogenic cell death, a form of cancer cell death that is effectively signaling to the immune system; and B) a series of “danger” and pro-immunogenic signals that are sensed by the host’s immune system, and can be harnessed to reject the tumor.
Chemotherapy After Radiation Increases Survival for Low-Grade Glioma Patients
April 13th 2016The combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy resulted in longer overall survival than radiation alone in certain patients with grade 2 gliomas, according to long-term results from a randomized trial.
FDA Allows Marketing of Tissue Containment System for Use in Power Morcellation
April 8th 2016While continuing to warn against use of laparoscopic power morcellators for the removal of uterus or uterine fibroids in most women, the FDA is allowing the marketing of a containment system for use with certain power morcellators to isolate tissue not suspected to be cancerous.
Can Billing This Way Be Right?
March 30th 2016I recently spoke with someone who works for a hospital-based oncology clinic in another state. I am alarmed about the way the practice is structured. There the patient is never treated on the day they see the doctor. That means the patient must make at least two trips for every treatment. But I am told by others that this is standard.
Toxicities May Affect Readiness of Hypofractionation in Prostate Cancer
March 26th 2016The phase III HYPRO study failed to prove the non-inferiority of using hypofractionated radiotherapy compared with fractionated radiotherapy for late genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity in men with intermediate- or high-risk prostate cancer.
Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
March 15th 2016Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common treatment-related side effect of several widely used drugs. Agents known to cause CIPN include platinum analogs, antitubulins, proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory agents, and some of the newer biologics.