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When choosing a day cream, patients may not realize that many products do not provide adequate protection against long-range UV-A1 rays, something pharmacy education can help remedy. A new study of 29 popular facial moisturizers finds that, although labeling suggests broad-spectrum UV coverage, only 23 products contained active ingredients with UV-A1 protection, some in low concentrations (Arch Dermatol. Epub January 17, 2011).
Combining two kinds of targeted agents—a PI3K/AKT inhibitor and agents that target epigenetic changes—may improve therapy for breast cancer in the future, according to researchers at Ohio State University.
With just one third of the standard dose of cisplatin, researchers successfully shrank tumors in mice, without sacrificing efficacy. They were able to do this by encapsulating the prodrug form of the agent in a nanoparticle, which they then targeted to prostate tumor cells.
Because less drug is used, the hope is that potentially severe side effects will be reduced, for cisplatin, the kidney and nerve damage.
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.
Decisions about prostate cancer treatment should be based on disease risk and life expectancy rather than chronologic age, according to a new analysis by University of California, San Francisco, researchers. They found that older men are more likely to have high-risk disease at diagnosis and less likely to receive potentially curative local therapy.