Tag Archives: medical

Trastuzumab should remain as standard of care for HER2-positive breast cancer, trial suggests — ScienceDaily

This study, being presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress in Madrid, reveals that when used as a single HER2-targeted therapy in addition to standard chemotherapy, trastuzumab offers a better outcome than does lapatinib (Tykerb), says Edith A. Perez, M.D., deputy director at large, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and director of the Breast Cancer Translational Genomics Program at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Dr. Perez is co-chair of ALTTO (Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization study). …

Nivolumab shows signs of superior response rate compared to standard chemotherapy in advanced melanoma

“Previously-treated advanced melanoma patients have limited options,” says the study’s principal investigator, Professor Jeffrey Weber, Director of the Donald A. Adam Comprehensive Melanoma Research Center of Excellence at the Moffitt Cancer Centre, Tampa, Florida. Nivolumab is an antibody in a class of drugs called ‘checkpoint inhibitors’, that act to relieve a critical brake placed on the immune system by the tumour itself. The drug then reinvigorates patients’ anti-tumour immune response and promotes shrinkage of the tumour…

Chemotherapy: Rolapitant reduces nausea and vomiting in phase III trial

Dr Martin Chasen, lead author and medical director, Palliative Care, Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Canada, said: “This agent makes a significant difference in the way people tolerate their chemotherapy. Patients experienced no loss in quality of life and, in fact, many saw meaningful improvements. One of the patients in the rolapitant cohort reported that he had just finished 18 holes of golf one week after receiving chemotherapy…

Pertuzumab adds 16 months survival benefit to trastuzumab and chemotherapy treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

Adding cediranib to chemotherapy improves progression-free survival for metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer, phase II trial shows

In Europe, about 70% of patients with cervical cancer are cured by either surgery or chemo-radiotherapy. Those patients with recurrent or secondary cancer have a very poor outlook. Only about 20-30% have tumour shrinkage after conventional chemotherapy and survival is usually less than one year. In the phase II CIRCCa trial, researchers compared two groups of patients with relapsed or metastatic cervical cancer given conventional chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel plus either cediranib (34 patients) or an identical looking placebo tablet (35 patients). …

Pertuzumab adds 16 months survival benefit to trastuzumab and chemotherapy treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer — ScienceDaily

CLEOPATRA was a pivotal phase III study where researchers evaluated the safety and efficacy of pertuzumab, trastuzumb and chemotherapy in 808 patients with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer has historically been one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. “In CLEOPATRA we evaluated whether dual HER2 blockade by combining the antibody pertuzumab with trastuzumab and chemotherapy would help people live longer (overall survival, OS) or live longer without their disease worsening (progression-free survival, PFS),” explains lead author Dr Sandra Swain from Washington Hospital Center, Washington, USA…

Many Patients Excluded From Lung Cancer Clinical Trials Due to Prior Cancer, Study Finds

Among more than 50 lung cancer clinical trials examined, more than 80 percent excluded patients with prior cancer from participating, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. …

Minority background, low education, and low income negatively influence HPV vaccine series completion

To better understand why women who initiate HPV vaccination do not complete the series, a team of researchers led by Dr. Abbey Berenson from the University of Texas Medical Branch examined the correlates of vaccine series completion among young women using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a cross-sectional telephone health survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. …

Strategy to reduce side effects in modern cancer therapy

The aim of the research was to develop an improved tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is actually inactive and which is only activated selectively in the malignant tissue. This is intended to prevent damage to healthy tissue and therefore minimise side effects for patients. As part of the paper published in the journal Angewandte Chemie [Applied Chemistry], International Edition, a new inhibitor has been successfully synthesised and coordinated to cobalt(III). …

Skirt size increase linked to 33 percent greater postmenopausal breast cancer risk — ScienceDaily

The researchers base their findings on almost 93,000 women taking part in the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) in England. The women were all aged over 50, had gone through the menopause, and had no known breast cancer when they entered the study between 2005 and 2010. At enrolment they provided detailed information on height and weight (BMI); reproductive health; fertility; family history of breast and ovarian cancer; and use of hormonal contraceptives and HRT, all of which influence breast cancer risk. They were also asked about their current skirt size, and what this had been in their 20s. …