Addition of Avastin® to Paraplatin®, Taxol®, and Erbitux® Promising for Advanced NSCLC (11/20/2008)
Researchers affiliated with the Southwest Oncology Group have reported that the four-drug combination of chemotherapy agents Paraplatin® (carboplatin) and Taxol® (paclitaxel) plus targeted therapies Avastin® (bevacizumab) and Erbitux® (cetuximab) is safe and may improve survival in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study were presented at the 2008 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology November 13-15.

Avastin® Increases Risk of Venous Thromboembolism (11/20/2008)
Researchers from Stony Brook University have reported that the use of Avastin® (bevacizumab) increases the risk of thromboembolism. The details of this review were published in the November 19, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Radiation Delay Associated with Worse Outcome for Women with Localized Breast Cancer (11/19/2008)
Two recent studies have focused on the importance of timely and complete adjuvant radiation therapy in women with localized breast cancer. Researchers from Canada reported in an early online publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on November 17, 2008 that delaying radiation beyond 20 weeks adversely affects outcome in women with early-stage breast cancer not receiving chemotherapy. Researchers from Cornell Medical College reported that women with early-stage breast cancer receiving suboptimal radiotherapy had worse outcomes. The details of this study appeared in the December, 2008 issue of Cancer.

Early-stage Head and Neck Cancer in Patients 80 Years of Age or Older Highly Treatable (11/19/2008)
Researchers from France have reported that patients 80 years of age or older with Stage I-II head and neck cancer have good outcomes following surgery or radiation therapy. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Cancer on October 17, 2008.

Calcium plus Vitamin D Supplementation Is Not Associated with a Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer (11/18/2008)
Researchers affiliated with the Women’s Health Initiative clinical trial have reported that Calcium and vitamin D supplementation may not reduce the risk of breast cancer. The results of this study were published early online on November 10, 2008 issue in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. These data have been previously presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Few Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes Entered on Clinical Trials (11/18/2008)
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, and Amgen Inc. have reported that only 4% of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were treated on clinical trials. The details of this study appeared in the November 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

HPV Vaccine Effective in Males (11/17/2008)
Researchers from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center have reported that Gardasil® (Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus [Types 6, 11, 16, 18] Recombinant Vaccine), the vaccine approved for the prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV-related conditions in women, has now been shown to prevent genital lesions in men ages 16 to 26. The results of this pivotal Phase III study were presented at the November 12-15, 2008 European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN) International Multidisciplinary Conference in France.

Chemo-immunotherapy Not Better Than Chemotherapy Alone for Metastatic Melanoma (11/17/2008)
Researchers affiliated with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group trial 3695 have reported that the addition of interleukin-2 and Interferon-alfa to a regimen of cisplatin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine did not improve survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on November 10, 2008.

Outpatient Myeloablative Zevalin® Regimen with Autologous Stem Cell Infusion Well Tolerated and Effective for NHL (11/14/2008)
Researchers from Italy have described a relatively non-toxic myeloblative regimen of high-dose Zevalin® (Yttrium-90-Ibritumomab Tiuxetan) with tandem autologous stem cell infusion that appears effective for consolidation of patients with high-risk or relapsed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The details of this study appeared in the November 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Elderly Patients with Esophageal Cancer Tolerate Chemoradiotherapy (11/14/2008)
Researchers from France have reported that chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an effective treatment and does not present major toxicity for elderly patients with esophageal cancer. The details of this study appeared in November 2008 issue of the British Journal of Cancer.

Cardiac Toxicity from Sutent® and Nexavar® During Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma Described (11/13/2008)
Researchers from the Medical University Vienna have reported that Sutent® (sunitinib) and Nexavar® (sorafenib) cause cardiac damage, but this does not interfere with survival. The results of this study were published in the November 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Adoptive Cell Transfer Following a Myeloablative TBI Regimen Promising for Metastatic Melanoma (11/13/2008)
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have reported a response rate of 72% following 12 Gy of total body irradiation (TBI) and infusion of autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and autologous stem cells in patients with metastatic melanoma. The details of this study appeared in the November 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Statins May Affect Prostate Specific Antigen Levels (11/12/2008)
Researchers from Duke University have reported that statin use lowers prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels and may interfere with the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The details of this study appeared in the November 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Oncotype DX® Influences Treatment Decisions in Large Portion of Breast Cancer Patients (11/12/2008)
Researchers from St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York have reported that results from the Oncotype DX® test affect treatment decisions in 44% of patients with estrogen receptor-positive, lymph node-negative breast cancer. These results were recently published in the American Journal of Surgery.

Single-agent Revlimid® Effective for AML with Isolated Trisomy 13 (11/11/2008)
Researchers from Ohio State University have reported that two elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) associated with trisomy 13 achieved a complete remission following treatment with Revlimid® (lenalidomide). The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Blood on September 29, 2008.

Reduced-intensity Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants Effective for Relapsed Lymphoma (11/11/2008)
Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and several U.S. medical centers have reported that reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplant results in a 35% long-term disease-free survival rate in patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the British Journal of Haematology on August 28, 2008.

Trisenox® Plus Low-Dose Cytosar® Active for Treating Elderly with AML (11/11/2008)
Researchers from Cornell have reported that one-third of patients aged 60 or higher with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) achieve a complete remission following treatment with Trisenox (arsenic trioxide) and low-dose Cytosar (cytarabine). The details of this study appeared in an early online publication of Cancer on September 29, 2008.

Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancers with KRAS Mutations do not Benefit from Erbitux® (11/11/2008)
Researchers involved with a randomized study of Erbitux (cetuximab) versus best supportive care have reported that patients with locally advanced or metastatic colorectal tumors that have a mutated KRAS do not benefit from single-agent Erbitux. The details of this study were reported in the October 23, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Aromasin® Does Not Improve Survival of Metastatic Hormone-Positive Breast Cancer Compared to Nolvadex® (11/11/2008)
Researchers affiliated with the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the Breast Cancer Cooperative Group have reported that initial treatment of metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer with Aromasin (exemestane) prolongs progression-free survival, but does not improve overall survival compared to Nolvadex (tamoxifen). The details of this study were published in the October 20, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Genetic Signature of Tissue Adjacent to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Predicts Late Recurrence (11/11/2008)
Researchers from Japan have reported that gene expression signatures from liver tissue adjacent to surgically removed hepatic cancers predicts for outcome while gene expression signatures from tissue obtained from the primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) do not. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication on October 15, 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine.