Survey Finds More Inquiries to Genetic Counselors, Including From the "Worried-Well"
June 9th 2014A recent survey conducted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) showed a significant increase in patient calls and requests for testing and referrals from healthcare providers in the year following actress Angelina Jolie's announcement of her BRCA mutation status and subsequent double mastectomy.
Long-Term Outcomes Support Sentinel-Node Biopsy for Staging Melanoma
June 5th 2014A 10-year follow-up study of regional melanoma staging strategies found that patients who underwent sentinel-node biopsies had significantly greater disease-free survival rates (DFSRs) compared with patients monitored through nodal observation.
More Hospice Care Meant Longer Survival, Lower End-of-Life Costs for Metastatic Melanoma Patients
June 4th 2014A study of patients with metastatic melanoma found that those who spent more time in hospice care lived almost four months longer than similar patients who had little or no hospice care, and that end-of-life costs dropped for those with more time in hospice.
Dosing Zoledronic Acid Less Often Doesn't Reduce Efficacy
June 3rd 2014Phase III trial results presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting showed that the dosing frequency of zoledronic acid (Zometa) can be reduced by 67% without compromising effectiveness in women with breast cancer and bone metastases, potentially lowering the risk of serious adverse events.
Key Role for Exemestane in Preventing Breast Cancer Recurrence in Premenopausal Women
June 2nd 2014Adjuvant exemestane reduced the relative risk of developing subsequent invasive cancer in hormone-receptor–positive (HR+) premenopausal women by 28% compared with tamoxifen when both agents were combined with ovarian function suppression (OFS)
Study Finds Survival and Fertility Benefit When Goserelin Augments Breast Cancer Chemo
June 1st 2014A new study presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting has found that adding goserelin to chemotherapy for women with early-stage hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast cancer helps both to preserve their fertility and to prolong their survival.
Randomized Trial Finds Caregiver Quality of Life Improves With Early Palliative Care
May 31st 2014When advanced practice palliative care nurses offer a formal program of palliative care to the family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer soon after diagnosis, the caregivers experience better quality of life, less depression, and a lower sense of caregiver burden,
New Companion Website Provides Inside Look Into "The Story of Cancer"
May 16th 2014WETA, the Washington, DC, public television station, has launched a new website as part of a national outreach for the documentary The Story of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, which will be produced by Ken Burns.
Study Explores Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of Breast Cancer Subtypes
May 16th 2014An analysis of a large, nationwide dataset has revealed that regardless of their socioeconomic status, black women are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and Asian/Pacific Islander women are more likely to be diagnosed with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer compared with white women.
New DNA Stool Test Offers Higher Sensitivity Screening
May 16th 2014A noninvasive stool DNA test may be a new option to increase rates of colorectal cancer screening, proving more sensitive in identifying colon cancer, advanced precancerous lesions, and polyps than currently available fecal immunochemical testing (FIT).
Nivolumab Delivers Durable Remissions With Low Toxicity in Advanced Melanoma
May 14th 2014Nivolumab, a PD-1-specific antibody, has been shown to produce long-term remissions with limited toxicity in patients with advanced melanoma, according to results from one of the longest follow ups to examine the drug
New Resources on Managing Obesity-Related Challenges of Cancer Patients for Providers, Patients
May 13th 2014The American Society of Clinical Oncology has released new resources to help healthcare providers and patients manage the complications of obesity in patients with cancer, the organization announced.
Orientation Eases Stress and Helps Breast Cancer Patients Manage Neoadjuvant Regimens
May 8th 2014Nurses at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey have developed a program to help patients with early-stage breast cancer to better understand and retain information about their presurgical treatments.
FDA Approves Home Administration of Omacetaxine Mepesuccinate for CML
May 6th 2014A home administration route for the subcutaneous injection omacetaxine mepesuccinate (Synribo) was approved by the FDA for use in patients with chronic or accelerated phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who are resistant or intolerant to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.