Articles
Updated results of the phase 3 BOLERO-2 trial demonstrated that adding everolimus to hormonal therapy extends progression-free survival (PFS) in hormone receptor–positive (HR+) metastatic breast cancer that progressed on hormonal therapy with anastrozole or letrozole. The positive outcomes observed in this study suggest that everolimus plus exemestane will be a new option for postmenopausal metastatic HR+ breast cancer.
Read More ›An investigational oral agent targeting the B-cell receptor achieved high rates of remission with little toxicity in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) refractory to at least 2 previous treatments, according to results from a phase 2 study presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).
Read More ›The FDA approved Erivedge (vismodegib; Genentech) capsule for the treatment of adults with metastatic basal cell carcinoma, or with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma that has recurred after surgery or who are not candidates for surgery, and who are not candidates for radiation. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer, and vismodegib is the first drug approved by the FDA for metastatic basal cell carcinoma.
Read More ›Picato (ingenol mebutate; LEO Pharma) gel was approved in January by the FDA for the topical treatment of actinic keratosis (AK) on the face, scalp, trunk, and extremities. AK is a precancerous condition caused by cumulative sun exposure that has the potential to progress to squamous cell carcinoma, which is the second most common type of skin cancer. AK is a dry, scaly, rough-textured patch or lesion that forms on the outermost layer of the skin after cumulative exposure to ultraviolet light, including sunlight. Read More ›
The FDA revoked approval of the breast cancer indication for Avastin (bevacizumab; Genentech), ruling that the drug has not been proved to be safe and effective for that use. Bevacizumab remains on the market as approved for use for certain types of other cancers, including colon, kidney, lung, and brain (glioblastoma multiforme) cancer. Bevacizumab had received accelerated approval for the breast cancer indication in 2008; however, the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee later recommended this approval be withdrawn. Read More ›
BRCA mutation carriers who have had breast cancer are at increased risk of developing contralateral breast cancer, according to a study presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. In fact, women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation had a greater than 10% risk of developing contralateral breast cancer, and the risk was strongly associated with younger age at diagnosis and a diagnosis of triple-negative (estrogen receptor–negative, progesterone receptor–negative, and HER2-negative) breast cancer.
Read More ›Although management of lymphoma during pregnancy is not well studied, a retrospective review at 10 academic centers in the United States suggests that in selected cases, lymphoma can be treated with minimal maternal and fetal complications, and that treatment can be deferred until after giving birth in patients with low-risk lymphomas. The study was presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology held December 2011 in San Diego, California.
Read More ›Administering gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) on a new schedule achieved impressive progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with standard chemotherapy in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with favorable cytogenetics, according to a phase 3 study presented at the Plenary Session of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). GO was taken off the market in 2010 due to toxicity concerns and is no longer available in the US.
Read More ›In 2011, the American Cancer Society projected there would be 20,520 cases of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) and 10,610 deaths from the disease that year.1 MM is an incurable hematologic cancer marked by great heterogeneity, in terms of its biology and clinical course. Morbidity and survival rates vary widely, even in the age of novel, molecularly based targeted therapies. Many factors account for differences in prognoses among patients with MM, including genomic aberrations in the plasma cells of the myeloma neoplasm. Read More ›
In a randomized phase 2 study of metastatic breast cancer patients, peripheral neuropathy (PN) was less likely to occur in patients receiving eribulin mesylate than with ixabepilone.
“Peripheral neuropathy is a big problem in the treatment of breast cancer. Across the spectrum, patients have it, and we don’t know how to treat it,” said Linda T. Vahdat, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, who presented the study at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Poster P5-19-02).
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