Articles
One year of bevacizumab added to 6 months of leucovorin/fluorouracil/oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) does not significantly prolong disease-free survival (DFS) in stages II and III colon cancer, according to recently released results of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) Protocol C-08 (J Clin Oncol. 2011;29:11-16). The study did find, however, a significant transient effect during bevacizumab exposure.
Roxane Laboratories and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have notified healthcare professionals of serious adverse events and deaths resulting from accidental overdose of morphine sulfate oral solutions. In addition, the manufacturer has updated the product’s label to help prevent dosing errors.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a fentynal immediate-release transmucosal tablet (Abstral, ProStraken) for breakthrough cancer pain in adults, making it the only fast-acting lingual tablet on the US market. The tablet is indicated for those patients who already use opioid pain medication and can safely use high doses of an additional opioid medication.
Treatment with bevacizumab puts patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) at increased risk for congestive heart failure (CHF), according to a new meta-analysis. Close monitoring of these patients is advised so that early intervention can be offered.
Addition of iniparib, a poly(adenosine disphosphate-ribose) polymerase inhibitor to chemotherapy, increases the clinical benefit and survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer without increasing toxicity, new research indicates.
Pharmacists should caution fellow healthcare providers about the potential dangers of tablet splitting, according to a new study. The researchers found that this common practice results in wide dose deviations, which could have serious clinical consequences for tablets that have a narrow margin between therapeutic and toxic doses.
The study, published in the January issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing, showed that nearly a third of the split fragments deviated from recommended dosages by 15% or more.
By Debra Wood
Adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with dexamethasone may have greater risk for neurocognitive impairment and poor emotional regulation than patients treated with prednisone, and they exhibited symptoms of physical stress.
By Debra Wood
Almost half of the cancer patients in a recent study did not receive any thromboprophylaxis during hospitalization, even though cancer and its treatment increases the risk for deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and three professional organizations—the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network—have issued guidelines recommending DVT prophylaxis.
Adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with dexamethasone may have greater risk for neurocognitive impairment and poor emotional regulation than patients treated with prednisone, and they exhibited symptoms of physical stress.
Almost half of the cancer patients in a recent study did not receive any thromboprophylaxis during hospitalization, even though cancer and its treatment increases the risk for deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and three professional organizations—the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network—have issued guidelines recommending DVT prophylaxis.