Articles

Maintenance therapy has begun to emerge as a treatment standard for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has not progressed after 4 to 6 cycles of frontline chemo therapy. But some caveats still apply. Although it may be suitable for fit, motivated patients who are highly symptomatic at the time of presentation, it is not yet clear if maintenance therapy should be routine.

Using the recommended dose of 1.3 mg/m²administered as a 3- to 5-second bolus intravenous (IV) injection on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 of 21-day cycles, patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (MM) after 1 to 3 previous lines of therapy achieved noninferior efficacy with subcutaneous versus IV delivery of the drug when receiving up to eight 21-day cycles. In addition, those in the SQ arm experienced improvement in their systemic safety profile.

BOSTON—Many patients are unaware of their risk of cancer-related lymphedema, and oncology nurses can be instrumental in raising consciousness about this debilitating adverse effect. Of breast cancer survivors, 22% to 66% develop lymphedema, said Jane Armer, PhD, RN, FAAN, Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, in her poster presentation. Approximately 15% of nonbreast cancer patients also develop lymphedema. This chronic condition is optimally managed by a lymphedema therapist.

By sequencing, then comparing the whole genomes of tumors with those of the patient’s healthy cells in 50 women with breast cancer, researchers found more than 1700 mutations, most of which were unique to the individual. They identified 8 significantly mutated genes: PIK3CA, TP53, ATR, RUNX1, MYST3, PRSS8, ZNHIT2, and MAP3K1. Of these, PIK3CA (43%), TP53 (15.2%), and MAP3K1 (9.3%) were found to have the highest rates of incidence.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved levoleucovorin (Fusilev, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals) for use in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) in combination with 5-fluororacil (5FU). Levoleucovorin was approved in 2008 for rescue after high-dose methotrexate therapy in osteosarcoma. It is also indicated to diminish the toxicity and counteract the effects of impaired methotrexate elimination, and of inadvertent overdosage of folic acid antagonists.

BOSTON—Bone loss and related complications are common in patients with cancer. And the problem is growing, with more patients with cancer aged 65 years and older and increased use of newer treatments that compromise bone mineral density (BMD). “As nurses, we have a very significant role to play in both prevention and management of [bone loss] problems,” said Carrie Tompkins Stricker, PhD, RN, oncology nurse practitioner, Abramson Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.