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NCI: Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 4:32 PM
In a phase III clinical trial, the antipsychotic drug olanzapine (Zyprexa) was significantly more effective than metoclopramide (Reglan) in controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) that occurs in some patients despite preventive treatment for these side effects. (Olanzapine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.) Dr. Rudolph Navari of Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend presented the results at a May 16 press briefing held in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting . |
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NCI: Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 4:03 PM
Preliminary results from a phase I clinical trial suggest that the targeted drug crizotinib (Xalkori) may be effective in children with cancer whose tumors harbor genetic alterations in the ALK gene. In some children, the drug caused all signs of the disease to disappear (complete response). Crizotinib is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with lung cancer whose tumors have ALK mutations. The findings were presented at a press briefing on May 16 in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting . |
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NCI: Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 3:53 PM
A panel of experts has reviewed the evidence regarding the benefits and harms of screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) and concluded that the technology may benefit some individuals at high risk for lung cancer. But the panel cautioned that many questions remain about the potential harms of screening and how to translate screening into clinical practice. The review, published in JAMA on May 20, was a collaborative effort by the American Cancer Society, the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. |
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NCI: Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 1:01 AM
In a large randomized trial involving healthy men and women aged 55 to 74, sigmoidoscopy substantially reduced the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer. Newly diagnosed cases of the disease fell by 21 percent and colorectal cancer deaths fell by 26 percent after a median of 12 years of follow-up. The findings, from the NCI-funded Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial appeared online May 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results add to a growing body of evidence that endoscopic screening with sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy can prevent deaths from colorectal cancer. |
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NCI/ Nwaokai-Beecham: Posted on Saturday, May 05, 2012 12:34 AM
Despite substantial improvements in childhood cancer survival over the past several decades, racial disparitiesin survival rates persist—and, in fact, have worsened for some cancer types—according to a study published online April 30 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study, by researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, showed that over two different study periods, black children diagnosed with cancer in the United States were less likely to survive 5 years after diagnosis than white children. |
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NCI Updates: Posted on Saturday, May 05, 2012 12:23 AM
Researchersin the United Kingdom have found that adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy as a treatment for bladder cancer may reduce the risk of a recurrence more than radiation alone, without causing a substantial increase in side effects. The combined treatment approach—known as chemoradiation—was tested in 360 patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a potentially deadly form of the disease. Results from the randomized phase III study appeared in the April 19New England Journal of Medicine |
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