Articles
For breast cancer patients aged 66 years and older, nurses should consider comorbidities when discussing prognosis, according to an analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results–Medicare data.
Read More ›Increased awareness, earlier detection through screening, and advances in treatment have led to a decline in breast cancer death rates in the United States since 1990. Sadly, breast cancer continues to claim more women’s lives than any other cancer, besides lung cancer. For more statistical data on this prevalent disease, let’s take a look at breast cancer by the numbers.
About 1 in 8 (12%) women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
Read More ›The management of complex oncology drugs in pharmacy and in medical benefits presents unique challenges for all parties who seek cost-effective, positive clinical outcomes for patients with cancer. New therapies are offering the exciting prospect of improved outcomes, prolonged life, and, in some cases, a cure for specific diseases. Targeted oncolytics and pharmacogenomics, which carry the promise of improved likelihood of successful treatment, have become welcome additions to the current standards of care. Read More ›
SAN DIEGO—Current or recent tamoxifen therapy was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in women older than 65 years who survived invasive breast cancer. No association was found between aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and development of type 2 diabetes, but the numbers of women on AIs was small. These findings of a population-based, case-control study in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, were presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.
Read More ›I would like to welcome everyone to the inaugural edition of “Koeller’s Corner.” The intent is for this to be a regular column for The Oncology Pharmacist. For this introductory edition, I would like to introduce myself to the readers and describe the intent of my column as we move forward.
First, my name is Jim Koeller, and I am currently a full professor at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy and an adjoint professor of medicine and oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Read More ›Cell surfaces and many biologically active molecules are covered with sugar structures that are involved in communication, immunity, and inflammation. Likewise, sugars attached to drugs can enhance, change or neutralize the drug’s effects, says Jon Thorson, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy.
As an expert in the attachment and function of these sugars, Thorson says there is major potential for improving drugs simply by understanding and controlling the sugars.
Read More ›On September 19-20, 2011, world leaders will convene at the United Nations in New York for the second ever high-level meeting on a specific health issue to chart a global response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). These challenging diseases – cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes – with common risk factors that include smoking, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet, now cause 63% of all deaths globally, 90% of which occur in developing countries.
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