A Call For More Research On Cancer’s Environmental Triggers
No question about cancer is more contentious than its causes.
Commentary: How Patients Have Transformed A Medical Meeting About Breast Cancer
By speaking up, advocates at the meeting have shifted the direction of breast cancer research. Some are alive, improbably, as a consequence of new treatments enabled and promoted by their advocacy.
Many Breast Cancer Patients Can Safely Skip Chemo, Large Trial Confirms
These results have the potential to reduce overtreatment of breast cancer—stopping patients’ unnecessary exposure to chemotherapy—in a large fraction of cases.
Is There A Better Place To Decide What’s Right For Patients?
Who should decide when evidence for a drug sufficient to support a patient’s decision to give it a try?
The Paradoxical Benefits Of A Web App For Cancer Patients
“This tool brings us closer to the country doctor model,” Basch said. “I never thought that survival would be impacted.”
Precision Oncology Drug Shows Power Of Cancer Genomics
The key to the positive results is molecular matching. Patients received larotrectinib, a TRK inhibitor, only if their cancers were marked by a switch…It’s a perfect example of how precision medicine can benefit patients with rare conditions.
Which Patients Will Be Helped By Immune Cancer Drugs? This Test May Tell
It’s possible that tumor mutation burden (TMB) predicts if cancer―of any type―will respond to treatment with immune drugs, but this remains to be tested.
We Need To Tame The Price Of New Cancer Drugs
Are unbridled profits necessary to drive medical innovation and progress?
A New Antibody For Treating Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia?
The new agent, a monoclonal antibody to CD22 with a toxin attached, is manufactured by Pfizer. It’s called inotuzumab ozogamicin.
Team Care Slashes Deaths From Pregnancy In Sickle Cell Anemia
Prior to the program’s start, maternal mortality for women with sickle cell disease exceeded 9% at the teaching hospital. With team-based care, the death rate fell to 1%.
Encouraging Results For Ribociclib In Advanced Breast Cancer
Ribociclib is one of several CDK inhibitors being tried in breast cancer and other malignancies.
A Novel, Targeted Drug Yields Promising Results In Stomach And Esophageal Cancer
If these data pan out, this first-in-class antibody might be likened to Herceptin, or Rituxan… a precise treatment that works on malignant cells that have tested positive for the relevant molecule.
MoovCare, A Web App, Helps Cancer Patients Live Longer
“If we had a drug that caused this level of survival benefit, wouldn’t we want to go out and use it?” said Dr. Patricia Ganz.
Report Touts Benefits Of Prolonged Medication After Breast Cancer. Is It Persuasive?
Avoiding recurrence is a legitimate goal, but there’s a trade-off.
The Emerging Value Of Personalized Phase 1 Clinical Trials In Oncology
This paper offers the clearest demonstration, yet, of the value – to patients – of precision medicine in oncology.
At A Conference On Cancer, Patients Take Notes Like Their Lives Depend On It
Online communities can be terrific. But in person, patients hug one another, and develop trust, bonds that last, hopefully, from one year’s meeting to the next.
The Big News For Sickle Cell Anemia Is Not Gene Therapy
Blood specialists reported on practice-changing studies for sickle cell disease, including a large study of bone marrow transplant from matched sibling donors. A preliminary report looked at effects of GBT440, a novel oral agent that augments hemoglobin’s binding to oxygen.
Why Prolia May Be The Better Drug For Reducing Bone Breaks And Recurrence After Breast Cancer
The benefits of Prolia appear to exceed those reported for a competing class of drugs, bisphosphonates. It’s well-tolerated and comparatively easy to take…
Venetoclax Is A Powerful New Kind of Cancer Drug Effective In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Venetoclax is a powerful new kind of oral medication. It enables leukemia cells to die by interfering with Bcl-2, a survival signal.
Lynparza, First In A New Class Of Cancer Drugs, Is Surprisingly Active In A Wide Range Of Tumors
So far, the studies demonstrate that Lynparza has activity in cancer patients with and without inherited BRCA mutations.
Oncotype Test Could Reduce Overtreatment Of Early Stage Breast Cancer
A low Oncotype DCIS score predicts a low chance that non-invasive breast cancer will recur. The study supports that many women with DCIS can safely forgo radiation.
Tamoxifen As A Breast Cancer Preventive — Mixed Results In Long-Term Follow-Up
The IBIS-1 trial shows a dramatic, reductive effect of tamoxifen in preventing breast tumors.
What’s Intriguing And Concerning About Early Results For Keytruda In Breast Cancer
What’s concerning about the preliminary findings is that the median time to response was 18 weeks. For patients to wait four months or longer to see if there’s a benefit seems like a lot; these are women without much time to spare.
To Address Breast Cancer Globally, 3 Things Are Essential
First, you need awareness. In many world regions, fatalism is still an obstacle. Second, you need a delivery system. Third…
Collateral Damage: How A Cancer Diagnosis Hurts Employment And Finances
Employment and money concerns haunt many people with all kinds of cancer, nation-wide, during and after treatment.
At Palliative Care In Oncology Symposium, A Burst Of Energy
“There is no ‘race for the palliation,’” said Dr. Michael Levy, MD, PhD of Fox-Chase Cancer Center, a palliative care specialist.