Articles
CHICAGO—Denosumab delayed or prevented more skeletal-related adverse events than zoledronic acid in men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer and bone metastases.
By Wayne Kuznar
CHICAGO—A risk stratification schema can be used to identify older patients who are at risk of grade-3 to -5 toxicity from chemotherapy. The schema includes risk factors based on cancer type, patient age, upfront dose of chemotherapy, the chemotherapeutic regimen used, and history of falling, among others, said Arti Hurria, MD at the 46th American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
“We wanted to develop a predictive model for tolerance to therapy in older adults with cancer,” she said.
Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), statins, or thiazide diuretics significantly lowers prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men without a history of prostate cancer, new data indicate.
By Wayne Kuznar
CHICAGO—A fentanyl pectin nasal spray provides analgesia faster than immediate-release morphine in the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain, said Andrew Davies, MD, MSc at the 46th American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
Breakthrough cancer pain is a transient exacerbation of pain that occurs despite relatively stable and adequately controlled background pain and has a significant impact on quality of life.
By Wayne Kuznar
CHICAGO—Twice-daily dosing of naproxen can reduce the incidence and severity of bone pain in cancer patients being treated with pegfilgrastim, according to data presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
By Wayne Kuznar
CHICAGO—Bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy followed by maintenance bevacizumab monotherapy improves progression-free survival (PFS) over chemotherapy alone in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancers, said Robert A. Burger, MD at the 46th American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
Read More ›CHICAGO—In a phase 1 study in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) deemed worthy of a presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 46th annual meeting plenary session, a multinational group of investigators reported improved survival with an oral investigational agent still unfamiliar to most oncologists.
On July 20, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced shortages of leucovorin for injection. One manufacturer, Bedford, has not supplied a reason for the shortage or a date when supplies will be available. The other manufacturer, Teva, has cited manufacturing delays and provided an estimated release date in the fourth quarter of 2010.
For cancer patients in dispersed urban and rural areas, telephone-based care management and home-based automated symptom monitoring may provide an effective means of managing pain and depression.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new one-vial formulation of docetaxel injection concentrate (Taxotere, sanofi-aventis). This new formulation eliminates the initial dilution step, as well as the second vial containing the diluent. With the one-vial formulation, the pharmaceutical ingredients and the 1-hour intravenous infusion administration remain unchanged.