Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Oncology for January 2007. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Discussing Death with Relatives in ICU Eases Grief
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- The relatives of patients who are dying in the intensive care unit cope better with the loss if they are provided with written information on bereavement beforehand and are given more time to talk and discuss their relative's condition, according to the results of a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Most Skin Cancer Surgical Margins Less Than 5 mm
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Peripheral and deep histological clearance margins around surgically excised basal cell carcinomas are less than 5 mm in most cases, with higher percentages in cosmetically sensitive areas such as the face, according to study findings published in the January issue of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery.
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Mortality Rates for Melanoma Continue to Increase
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Mortality rates for melanoma continue to increase despite improvements in survival rates, particularly in men, according to a literature review in the January issue of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery.
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Hormone Antagonist, Chemo May Reduce Breast Tumors
TUESDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- A combination of treatments including chemotherapy and an inhibitor of the growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) may be effective in reducing or eliminating breast tumors, according to the results of a study in animals published online Jan. 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.
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Sezary Syndrome Carries Higher Risk of Lymphoma
TUESDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with Sezary syndrome or mycosis fungoides are at increased risk of developing a second type of cancer, most often lymphoma, according to a report published in the January issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
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Laser Therapy of Liver Cancer May Curb Residual Tumor
TUESDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Treating liver cancer with laser-induced thermotherapy may result in less residual tumor growth than hepatic resection, according to the results of a study in rats published in the January issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
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Report Finds Lower Mortality at Top-Rated U.S. Hospitals
MONDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- When patients are treated at top-rated hospitals they are 28 percent less likely to die than patients treated at other hospitals and 5 percent less likely to experience surgical complications, and gaps persist in the overall quality of care between hospitals, according to the Fifth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study released Jan. 29.
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Ferritin Level Key to Anemia-Related Colonoscopy
MONDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Anemic patients referred for colonoscopy who have a serum ferritin level of 50-100 ng/mL are just as likely to have a colonic neoplasia as those with lower ferritin levels, according to a report in the January issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. The findings suggest that a serum ferritin level of 100 ng/mL should be the colonoscopy cutoff for anemic men; patients with higher levels are less likely to have colonic neoplasia.
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Certain Factors Boost Risk of Post-Colonoscopy Cancer
FRIDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- In patients who undergo a colonoscopy with negative findings, there is a 2 percent to 6 percent chance that they will go on to develop a new or missed case of colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the January issue of Gastroenterology. Independent risk factors for a new or missed cancer include older age, diverticular disease, right-sided or transverse colorectal cancer, colonoscopy by an internist or family physician, and colonoscopy in an office.
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Fewer U.S. Women Getting Mammograms
THURSDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Fewer women in the United States who are 40 or older are getting mammograms, according to a study of 2000-2005 data published in the Jan. 26 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The proportion of women who had a mammogram in the previous two years declined from 76.4 to 74.6 percent in that time.
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Oncology Drugs May Affect Reproduction in Nurses
THURSDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Nurses who have dermal exposure to antineoplastic drugs on the job may have an increased time to conception and risk of premature delivery and low birth weight compared to nurses who do not, according to the results of a study published in the January issue of Epidemiology.
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Oral Corticosteroid Reduces Graft-Versus-Host Disease
THURSDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Beclomethasone dipropionate, the corticosteroid used in nasal spray and metered-dose inhalers for allergic rhinitis and asthma, may reduce the risk of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease relapse in patients undergoing a prednisone taper, according to study findings published online Jan. 23 in Blood.
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Men with Breast Cancer at Risk for Other Cancers
THURSDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Male breast cancer patients have a greater risk of developing a second primary cancer than men in the general population, and patients who are younger at diagnosis have a higher risk of a second malignancy than those diagnosed at an older age, according to a report in the Jan. 25 issue of Breast Cancer Research.
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Partial Nephrectomy Has Excellent Five-Year Outcome
THURSDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Small renal carcinomas that are treated with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy have five-year outcomes comparable to open partial nephrectomy, according to study findings published in the January issue of the Journal of Urology.
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Posaconazole More Effective in Preventing Fungal Infections
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Posaconazole may be more effective than fluconazole at preventing fungal infections in patients with graft-versus-host disease or prolonged neutropenia, and may prolong survival in the case of neutropenia, according to two studies in the Jan. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Calcium Cuts Recurrence of Colon Adenomas for Years
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Calcium may continue to protect high-risk individuals from adenomas for up to five years after they stop taking the supplements, according to a follow-up study reported in the Jan. 17 Journal of National Cancer Institute.
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Reactivating p53 Causes Tumor Regression in Mice
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Reactivating the tumor suppressor gene p53 causes regression of tumors in mice by mechanisms including cell death, suppression of growth and immune system activation, according to two letters published online Jan. 24 in Nature. The researchers suggest that drugs that reactivate p53 may be useful in treating human cancer.
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Dietary Fatty Acids Linked to Prostate Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- A diet rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer, and could explain why Jamaica has the world's highest incidence of the disease, according to study findings published in the January issue of the Journal of Urology.
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Researchers Fault Microarray-Based Oncology Studies
TUESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- As many as half of microarray-based studies in oncology may contain flawed analysis or conclusions about associations between gene expression profiles and clinical outcome, according to a report published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Tamoxifen Discontinuation Higher Than Expected
TUESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Women with breast cancer are much more likely to stop taking tamoxifen than previously thought, according to a study of prescription refill data published online Jan. 22 in Cancer. Patients younger than 45, older than 75, or with a history of antidepressant use, are more likely than others to stop taking their medication.
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Radiation Cuts Recurrence in Older Breast Cancer Patients
TUESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Radiation treatment after breast-conserving surgery for women with early-stage breast cancer who are over 65 helps reduce recurrence and prevents development of additional tumors, according to a report published online Jan. 22 in Cancer.
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Prostate Cancer Trial Halted Due to Possible Side-Effects
FRIDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- A clinical trial in which mitoxantrone was used to treat prostate cancer patients was halted after three of 488 patients on the drug developed leukemia, according to a Jan. 18 statement by the Southwest Oncology Group, the national cancer research consortium conducting the trial.
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Breast Cancer Patients Benefit from Choosing Own Surgeon
FRIDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients who play an active role in choosing their surgeon tend to be treated by more experienced surgeons from established cancer programs than women who are referred by a provider or health plan, researchers report in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Gum Disease May Increase Risk of Pancreatic Cancer
FRIDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Men with a history of periodontal disease may have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those who do not, according to a report published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Some Women Receive Reduced Chemotherapy Doses
FRIDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Obese, less-educated women are twice as likely to receive reduced chemotherapy doses for breast cancer treatment compared to normal weight women and those with at least a high school education, researchers report in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Intense Chemo Does Not Boost Osteosarcoma Survival
THURSDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Intensified chemotherapy for osteosarcoma results in a higher histological response rate but has no effect on overall or progression-free survival, according to a report in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Breast Cancer Marker Linked to Poor Survival
THURSDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- After short-term presurgical treatment with anastrozole or tamoxifen, an increase in a proliferation marker called Ki67 in breast tumor cells is associated with poor recurrence-free survival, researchers report in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Study Suggests Napoleon Died of Advanced Gastric Cancer
THURSDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Napoleon Bonaparte probably died from advanced gastric cancer, according to a case study published in the January issue of Nature Clinical Practice: Gastroenterology & Hepatology, which seeks to put to rest 200 years of speculation that the "Le Petit Corporal's" death was due to arsenic poisoning.
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Breast Density Linked to Greater Cancer Risk
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have dense breast tissue are less likely to have cancer detected during mammography and have an increased risk of breast cancer compared to women with tissue that is less dense, according to a report in the Jan. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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'Gene Signature' Predicts Survival in Four Cancer Types
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A "gene signature" is effective at predicting overall and metastasis-free survival in patients with breast cancer, medulloblastoma, lung cancer and prostate cancer, researchers report in the Jan. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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U.S. Cancer Mortality Rate Declines for Second Year
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The absolute number of cancer deaths has dropped in the United States for a second year in a row, according to American Cancer Society statistics published in the January/February issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 1,444,920 new cases of cancer in the United States in 2007, and 559,650 cancer-related deaths.
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Angiogenesis Drug Normalizes Glioblastoma Vasculature
TUESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug that targets blood vessel growth may slow the growth of recurrent glioblastomas and relieve edema by normalizing tumor blood vessels, according to the results of a phase 2 trial published in the January issue of Cancer Cell.
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Post-Op Chemo Delays Pancreatic Cancer Recurrence
TUESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Postoperative gemcitabine therapy significantly delays the recurrence of pancreatic cancer compared to observation only, although it does not increase survival, according to a report in the Jan. 17 Journal of the American Medical Association.
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One-Time Melanoma Screen After Age 50 is Cost-Effective
TUESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- A one-time melanoma screening in patients who are over age 50 is a cost-effective way to detect the cancer, on par with other screening programs that are nationally recommended to catch cancer early, according to a report published in the January issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
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Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitor Blocks Tumor Blood Supply
TUESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) inhibits the blood supply to tumors and has been shown for the first time to be effective in vivo, according to the results of a study published online Jan. 15 in The Lancet Oncology.
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Melanoma Patient Characteristics Affect Choice of Therapy
MONDAY, Jan. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Gender and sentinel lymph node status strongly influence high-risk melanoma patients' acceptance of interferon alfa-2b treatment, according to a report in the January issue of Dermatologic Surgery. High-dose interferon is associated with significant toxicity.
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Curettage Evaluated for Basal Cell Carcinoma
FRIDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with primary, non-fibrosing basal cell carcinomas in medium- and high-risk areas of the face, treatment with curettage and electrodesiccation (CE) results in a high five-year cure rate, according to a report published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
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Multiple Primary Acral Melanomas Seen in Blacks
FRIDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Black patients can develop multiple primary acral lentiginous melanomas (ALM), highlighting the need for increased surveillance of this population, according to a report published in the January issue of Dermatologic Surgery.
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Oral Chemotherapy Lacks Safeguards
FRIDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- There is a lack of consensus and lax safeguards governing the use of oral chemotherapy drugs, according to research published online Jan. 12 in BMJ.
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Gleevec Can Be Discontinued in Some Leukemia Patients
THURSDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- About half of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia who have remained disease-free after more than two years of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) treatment do not relapse when they stop the drug, and most relapsed patients respond when therapy is re-started, according to the results of a small study published in the Jan. 1 issue of Blood.
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Drugs Prolong Survival in Advanced Renal Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Two drugs with a similar mechanism of action, sunitinib and sorafenib, are effective at prolonging progression-free survival in patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma, according to two studies in the Jan. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Illness in Pregnancy Linked to Child Leukemia Risk
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Children whose mothers had flu, pneumonia or a sexually transmitted disease during pregnancy may have a greater risk of childhood leukemia than children of healthy mothers, according to the results of a study published in the Jan. 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
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Genetic Alterations Associated with Head and Neck Cancer
TUESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Several stroma-specific genetic alterations may be associated with the development of smoking-related head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, researchers report in the Jan. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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On-Site Radiation Service Increases Use for Cancer
MONDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Having radiation services on-site at a hospital doubles the likelihood that patients who have cancers that are not known to respond to radiation treatment will receive it, according to study findings published online Jan. 8 in Cancer.
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Obesity May Increase Risk of Prostate Cancer Death
MONDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity and adult weight gain are not associated with an increased incidence of prostate cancer, but both may increase the risk of dying from the disease, according to the results of a study published online Jan. 8 in Cancer.
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Family and Friends Main Source of End-of-Life Care
MONDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Most end-of-life care is provided by family and friends rather than by formal caregivers, researchers report in the Jan. 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Retinoblastoma Survivors at Long-Term Risk for Sarcomas
FRIDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma are at a significant risk of developing other soft tissue sarcomas for decades after their initial diagnosis, researchers report in the Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Herceptin for One Year May Boost Breast Cancer Survival
FRIDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Women with HER2-receptor positive breast cancer treated for one year with Herceptin (trastuzumab) after chemotherapy have improved two-year survival rates, according to a report published in the Jan. 6 issue of The Lancet.
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X-Linked Gene Associated with Pediatric Kidney Tumor
FRIDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- A newly discovered X-linked tumor suppressor gene (termed WTX) is inactivated in about 30 percent of cases of Wilms tumor, and appears to play a role in normal kidney development, according to a report published online Jan. 4 in Science. The gene's location on the X chromosome, and the specific inactivation of the copy on the active X chromosome in females, suggest that tumors can form after inactivation of only one allele, in contrast to most tumor suppressor genes, the authors suggest.
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Hypothyroidism a Risk in Renal Cancer Patients on Sutent
THURSDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The recently approved treatment for renal cell carcinoma, sunitinib (Sutent), can cause hypothyroidism and patients should be routinely monitored for the condition, according to the results of a study of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma published in the Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Lymphadenectomy Improves Ovarian Cancer Survival
THURSDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- In women with clinical stage I non-clear cell ovarian cancers, lymphadenectomy improves survival, according to a report published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Statin Use Has No Impact on Colon Cancer Risk
THURSDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who take statins do not increase or decrease their risk of colorectal cancer, according to the results of a study published in the Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Five-Gene Signature May Predict Survival in Lung Cancer
THURSDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a five-gene signature that is closely associated with relapse-free survival and overall survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, according to a report in the Jan. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Cancer Costs Billions in Terms of Patients' Lost Time
THURSDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- In addition to direct monetary medical costs of cancer, the overall cost of patients' time spent traveling back and forth, waiting for appointments and having treatments for cancer was $2.3 billion in the first year after diagnosis in 2005, according to a study in the Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which attempts to put a price tag on the time associated with getting treatment.
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Y Chromosome Mutation May Be Linked to Prostate Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Men who only have daughters have a 40 percent higher risk of developing prostate cancer compared to their counterparts with at least one son, suggesting a Y chromosome mutation may play a role in susceptibility to the disease, according to study results published in the Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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