Articles
Patient access to oncology drugs is faster in the United States compared with Europe, according to a new study reported in the July/August Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) Impact Report.
The study also found new oncology drug approvals between 2000 and 2011 were greater by 33% in the United States compared with Europe.
A recent study found that after only 1 or 2 consultations, 77% of cancer patients who first present to their family doctors (GPs) with suspicious symptoms are referred to a specialist. The research, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, also showed a large disparity in the number of times cancer patients visit their GP prior to a specialist referral. Most pre-referral consultations occurred when the patient was either female, young, or an older person from an ethnic minority, or when the cancer was one of the more rare types.
When cancer treatments are no longer an option, the focus of a patient’s care often shifts from prolonging life to promoting the quality of life (QOL) at the end of life (EOL).
In a recent report, better QOL at the EOL for patients with advanced cancer were associated with avoiding hospitalizations and the intensive care unit, being visited by a pastor in a hospital or clinic, having a therapeutic alliance with their physician, worrying less, and praying or meditating. The report was published online in Archives of Internal Medicine.
The number of patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a very common early-stage and noninvasive form of breast cancer, has risen dramatically since the early 1980s. Now, a recent study shows that accelerated whole breast irradiation after lumpectomy is an effective treatment for DCIS, which means that many more breast cancer patients could experience a great reduction in length of treatment.
During a recent study, patients reported significant improvement in side effects of cancer treatment following just 1 session of Jin Shin Jyutsu, an ancient form of touch therapy that is similar to acupuncture in philosophy.
A new drug, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris), dramatically improved survival rates in Hodgkin lymphoma patients who have failed other treatments and are running out of options.
Recent analysis shows that increasing the number of cups of caffeinated coffee consumed could lower the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.
Jiali Han, PhD, associate professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, and Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues conducted a prospective analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Although patients with lung cancer who are treated with the drug erlotinib (Tarceva) often experience an initial decrease in tumor size, those receiving erlotinib also regularly face cancer recurrence.
A team of researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center recently discovered that a human protein, AXL, drives resistance to erlotinib. These study results suggest that blocking AXL may prevent resistance to the cancer drug.
In 1986, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMCCC) was established as a center of excellence at the University of Michigan Medical Center. UMCCC is designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute and is 1 of 21 cancer centers participating in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
Pharmacists are vitally important in enhancing patients’ adherence to oral chemotherapy medications, and there are approaches that pharmacies can take to improve compliance, Sylvia Bartel, RPh, told attendees of the NCCN Pharmacy Program held during the 17th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) in Hollywood, Florida.