In the News
According to 2 large breast cancer trials, CYP2D6 genotyping was not predictive of the effectiveness of tamoxifen in postmenopausal women. Thus, the results of these studies are not generalizable to premenopausal women. CYP2D6 genotyping has been a focus of research interest, but studies have been inconclusive as to the value of testing. Read More ›
The term “chemo brain” was coined to describe mild cognitive problems in cancer patients attributed to chemotherapy. Although minor chemotherapy-induced memory and cognitive impairments have been described previously, a case-cohort study suggests that these effects can persist more than 20 years posttherapy. The authors state that chemo brain effects are subtle compared with women who never had chemotherapy, but it’s possible that these effects place people at greater risk for cognitive decline associated with aging. Read More ›
Patients may not understand the information medical care providers give them for a number of reasons, but significant among them is poor healthcare literacy, which is the ability to understand health information and to use that information to make good decisions about health and medical care. Unfortunately, about 33% of the adult population in the United States has limited healthcare literacy. Yet, the need for this proficiency is greater than ever because medical care has become progressively more complex. Let us take a look at healthcare literacy facts and figures:
Read More ›ADT Did Not Increase Cardiovascular Mortality Adding androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) to radiation in men with clinically localized prostate cancer was not associated with increased cardiovascular mortality compared with radiation therapy alone, according to results of a multivariate analysis presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.
Read More ›Upfront zoledronic acid significantly and progressively increases bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer receiving letrozole for 5 years, according to results of the Zoledronic Acid–Letrozole Adjuvant Synergy Trial (Z-FAST).
Read More ›The antibody-guided drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) as initial therapy prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer compared with docetaxel plus trastuzumab, according to trial results reported at the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Conference.
The conjugate delivers trastuzumab directly to tumor cells by attaching the drug to DM1 using a stable linker. This limits the drug’s exposure to normal cells, thus producing fewer side effects than the drug delivers through traditional means.
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