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A recent study of adults aged 50 to 85 years showed that a majority of these patients facing a chronic condition do not embrace healthier behaviors. In fact, only 19% of study participants diagnosed with lung disease quit smoking within 2 years. Study findings are presented in the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

A University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) analysis suggests that early detection and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can prevent up to 17,000 cases of metastatic prostate cancer per year. In fact, projecting incidence rates from age-specific pre-PSA era to the present day would result in tripling the number of men whose cancer had already spread at diagnosis.

Before surgery, many patients with breast cancer receive neoadjuvant therapy to reduce the size or extent of the disease. Complete response of the tumor to such treatment signifies an improved overall prognosis. At this time, no marker is applied to identify tumors that will respond to such treatment.

Afinitor (everolimus) was recently approved by the FDA for use in combination with Aromasin (exemestane). The drug combination is intended to treat some postmenopausal women with advanced hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who experience cancer recurrence or progression following treatment with Femara (letrozole) or Arimidex (anastrozole).

A woman’s breast cancer risk more than doubles as a result of delivering a high-birth-weight infant, according to research published recently in PLoS ONE. Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston suggest that a large infant is linked to a hormonal environment during pregnancy that promotes future breast cancer development and progression in the mother.

Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin that is considered an antioxidant, may prevent DNA damage. Moreover, a diet high in vitamin E or vitamin E from supplements may lower the risk of liver cancer, according to a study conducted by investigators from the National Cancer Institute, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and the Shanghai Cancer Institute.

The third most common cause of cancer mortality in the world is liver cancer, and approximately 85% of liver cancers occur in developing nations, with 54% in China alone.

Current guidelines recommend screening for depression in cancer patients; however, it has been uncertain whether interventions are effective. Now, a recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute supports interventions designed to treat depression in patients with cancer. Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center and other institutions performed a meta-analysis of 10 studies encompassing 1362 patients and determined that cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacologic interventions decrease depressive symptoms in cancer patients.

Kyprolis (carfilzomib) was recently approved by the FDA to treat patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least 2 prior therapies, including treatment with Velcade (bortezomib) and an immunomodulatory therapy.

New research published in the journal Cancer shows the social, psychological, and informational support that adolescents and young adult cancer patients need may be unmet.

Compared with children and older adult patients with cancer, patients aged 14 to 39 years exhibit unique psychological and social needs after diagnosis due to their age-related development. Treatment settings, whether pediatric or adult, can influence these patients’ clinical and psychosocial well-being.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among women. Targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key molecule in the growth of blood vessels in tumors, is one promising approach to treating metastatic breast cancer. At present, trials of drugs that target VEGF are limited to bevacizumab (Avastin).