Tag Archives: american

Axillary lymph node evaluation performed frequently in ductal carcinoma in situ

While axillary lymph node evaluation is the standard of care in the surgical management of invasive breast cancer, a benefit has not been demonstrated in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). For women with invasive breast cancer, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) replaced full axillary lymph node dissection (ALND)…

Most women with early-stage breast cancer avoid extensive lymph node removal

Until now, it was unclear to what extent surgeons were following the recommendations of a landmark clinical trial published more than four years ago, known as the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011, or ACOSOG Z-11, trial. Those researchers reported that most early-stage breast cancer patients with tumor in their sentinel lymph node (the first draining node) who undergo lumpectomy do not benefit from surgical removal of the remaining lymph nodes in the underarm area, called completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). That study found no difference in cancer recurrence1 and five-year survival2 between patients who underwent ALND and those who did not but were monitored for recurrences…

Research aims to reduce health care disparities

Gwendolyn P. Quinn, Ph.D., scientific director of the Survey Methods Core Facility at Moffitt, identified physicians largely operate under a, “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits open and honest dialogue between doctor and patient about cancer risk. The study highlights that LGBTQI populations face barriers to health insurance such as when partnerships and marriages are not legally recognized; concerns about disclosure in a health care setting, discrimination, misconceptions, legal and financial barriers and the disenfranchised stress and distress of caregiving same-sex partners. …

Concurrent chemoradiation treatment at high-volume facilities improves survival for NSCLC

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related death in the US with 159,000 deaths and 224,000 diagnoses each year, with NSCLC accounting for 85% of the cases. The stage of lung cancer is determined based on the size of the tumor, the extent and location of lymph node involvement, and whether or not the tumor has metastasized to distant regions. Approximately one quarter of NSCLC cases are diagnosed at stage III, with only 25% of those patients surviving at least 5 years. …

Geography matters: Imaging overuse seen for breast, prostate cancer in certain regions across the U.S.

Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, in a new retrospective study publishing online March 12th in JAMA Oncology, conclude that patients with low-risk prostate or breast cancer were more or less likely to receive inappropriate imaging during treatment, depending on the region of the country in which they received medical care. They examined medical records from 2004-2007 of 9,219 men with low-risk prostate cancer and 30,398 women with low-risk breast cancer, across 84 separate hospital referral regions (HRRs). …

Lung cancer now leading cause of cancer death in females in developed countries

The finding is reported in Global Cancer Statistics, appearing in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and a consumer-friendly companion publication, Global Cancer Facts & Figures 3rd Edition, both released on World Cancer Day. The reports rely on the worldwide estimates of cancer incidence and mortality produced by the IARC for 2012 in their GLOBOCAN series…

Possible genetic link found in treatment-related cognitive issues in children with leukemia

The data, presented at the 56th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, suggest that it may be possible to genomically screen ALL patients for their risk of long-term treatment-related effects on memory, attention and learning and to study potential interventions. …

Toughest breast cancer may have met its match: Protein inhibitor makes cell susceptible to chemotherapy

A report of their findings was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Dec. 1. Triple-negative breast cancers account for about 20 percent of all breast cancers in the United States, and 30 percent of all breast cancers in African-American women…

Antiangiogenic treatment improves survival rates in animal model of ovarian cancer

Now research in an animal model finds that a novel combination therapy, which couples low-dose chemotherapy with an antiangiogenic treatment, resulted in better survival rates compared with standard therapy. Led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the University of Guelph, the findings show that the agent, 3TSR, not only led to tumor regression, but also improved tumor blood flow and enabled more efficient delivery of much smaller and less toxic doses of chemotherapy. The study currently appears online in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and will be published in the February 2015 print issue. …