Twenty Percent of Cancer Trials End Prematurely, but GU Research Not More Susceptible
January 29th 2014The premature termination of clinical trials in the oncology setting is a problem that continues to vex researchers, and results of a new study that involved more than 7500 adult cancer clinical trials suggest that the concern is justified.
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Vaccine Combination Demonstrates Benefit in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
January 15th 2014According to the results of a phase II study, the combination of two specific anti-cancer vaccines, rather than the administration of one as monotherapy, doubles the 1-year survival probability in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
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RAS Testing Before Panitumumab Use in mCRC Confirmed by Second-Line Data
January 15th 2014RAS mutations beyond KRAS exon 2 are negative predictive biomarkers for the EGFR-inhibitor panitumumab in metastatic colorectal cancer, according to an analysis of phase III, second-line data, which are consistent with previously reported data in first-line mCRC.
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Capecitabine/ Temozolomide Elicits 'Extraordinary' Responses in Chemo-Resistant NETs
January 15th 2014Patients with carcinoid and pituitary NETs, who have been traditionally chemo-resistant, may obtain "extraordinary responses" with capecitabine and temozolomide (CAPTEM), according to data from an interim analysis of an ongoing phase II study.
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Capecitabine as Effective as Infusional Chemotherapy in Rectal Cancer
January 15th 2014According to findings from a four-arm phase III NSABP R-04 trial, single-agent neoadjuvant capecitabine combined with radiation therapy demonstrated similar outcomes as previously established standards of care for patients with stage II or stage III rectal cancer.
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Ramucirumab/Paclitaxel Combination Shows OS Benefit in Metastatic Gastric Cancer
January 15th 2014The combination of ramucirumab and paclitaxel resulted in a significant prolongation in survival and gains in quality of life when compared to paclitaxel alone for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic gastric cancer.
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Neoadjuvant Carboplatin Increases pCR Rates in TNBC
December 16th 2013Study investigators reported at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that the addition of carboplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy increased pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
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Survival Not Extended by Locoregional Treatment of MBC
December 16th 2013According to the results of a prospective, randomized, controlled trial, in women with metastatic breast cancer that responds to frontline chemotherapy, locoregional treatment (LRT) of the primary tumor and axillary nodes does not produce an increase in overall survival (OS).
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PIK3CA Mutation Predicts Resistance to HER2-Targeted Therapy
December 16th 2013Findings reported at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium showed that PIK3CA-mutated tumors in patients with HER2-positive (HER+) breast cancer (BC) are associated with a much lower rate of pathological complete response (pCR).
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AI-Associated Joint Pain Curtailed by Exercise Program
December 16th 2013A new study reported at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium shows that a prescribed exercise program reduces joint pain in breast cancer survivors taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs), with pain reductions observed at all levels of exercise.
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Anastrozole May Prevent Some Breast Cancers
December 16th 2013According to newly reported findings from the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study II (IBIS-II), anastrozole may be a new option for primary prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women at high risk for the disease.
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Dasatinib Doubles PFS in HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer
December 14th 2013In women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, the addition of dasatinib to standard aromatase inhibitor therapy with letrozole doubled progression-free survival (PFS) compared with letrozole alone.
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Idelalisib Improves Outcomes in Heavily-Pretreated CLL
December 14th 2013A combination of rituximab (Rituxan) and the PI3K-delta inhibitor idelalisib was associated with a >70% improvement in overall survival (OS) in patients with high-risk relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
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Updated Data Continues to Back Ibrutinib in CLL
December 13th 2013At the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), several trials of ibrutinib both alone and in combination with currently used therapies for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were presented.
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Low-Dose Quizartinib Effective in AML
December 13th 2013Results of a phase II trial showed that when treated with a reduced dose of the oral FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor quizartinib, nearly half of patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) had complete remissions.
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Postoperative Radiotherapy Not Necessary in All Patients
December 13th 2013If treated with hormonal therapy and considered to be at low risk for breast cancer recurrence, women aged 65 and older with hormone receptor-positive, axillary node-negative breast cancer may be able to forego radiation therapy (RT) after breast conserving surgery.
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Brentuximab Vedotin Active Regardless of CD30 Expression in DLBCL
December 13th 2013Brentuximab vedotin, an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated antitumor activity in the setting of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and has generated responses across a broad range of CD30 expression, including low or undetectable CD30 expression. Data from an ongoing phase II study were presented by Nancy Bartlett, MD, at the 55th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).
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Adjuvant Bevacizumab Does Not Improve Survival in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
December 13th 2013According to results from the large randomized BETH trial, bevacizumab did not improve invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) or overall survival (OS) when added to adjuvant therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer.
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Benefits of Screening Mammography More Consistent Than Previously Thought
December 12th 2013According to an analysis of key screening studies presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the benefit of screening mammography is more consistent across studies than has previously been thought.
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Dual Targeting With an HDAC 6 Inhibitor and Bortezomib in Lymphoma
December 11th 2013Jennifer E. Amengual, MD, discusses the study she presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. The trial analyzed dual targeting with the HDAC inhibitor ACY-1215 and bortezomib in preclinical models of lymphoma.
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