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Cancer Patients Should Ask Doctors to Use Simple Terms
Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 – Cancer patients are often faced with many difficult-to-understand treatment choices that can have serious side effects and even mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's crucial that patients insist doctors use plain language in explaining the options, advised Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "People are making life and death decisions that may affect their survival and they need to know what they're getting themselves into. Cancer treatments and tests can be serious. Patients need to know what kind of side effects they might experience as a result of the treatment they undergo," Fagerlin said in a university news release. She and her colleagues outlined a number of tips to help patients get the information they need ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Methotrexate, Provera, Breast Cancer, Lupron, Accutane, Prostate Cancer, Depo-Provera, Tamoxifen, Femara, Arimidex, Lupron Depot, Claravis, Medroxyprogesterone, Gleevec
FDA Approves Zelboraf and Companion Diagnostic Test for Late-Stage Skin Cancer
Posted 17 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
Second melanoma drug approved this year that improves overall survival August 17, 2011 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zelboraf (vemurafenib), a drug to treat patients with late-stage (metastatic) or unresectable (cannot be removed by surgery) melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Zelboraf is specifically indicated for the treatment of patients with melanoma whose tumors express a gene mutation called BRAF V600E. The drug has not been studied in patients whose melanoma tests negative for that mutation by an FDA approved diagnostic. Zelboraf is being approved with a first-of-a-kind test called the cobas 4800 BRAF V600 Mutation Test, a companion diagnostic that will help determine if a patient's melanoma cells have the BRAF V600E mutation. The BRAF protein is normally involved in regulating cell growth, but is mutated in about half of the patients with ... Read more
Related support groups: Skin Cancer, Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
Two Drugs Shown to Prolong Survival in Advanced Melanoma Cases
Posted 6 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, June 5 – Two new drugs prolong the lives of patients with advanced melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer and one that is notoriously difficult to treat, let alone cure. The first treatment, vemurafenib, inhibits a gene mutation harbored in half of all melanoma patients, but is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The other drug, Yervoy (ipilumumab), is an immune system therapy that won approval in March. Research on both drugs was presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago while also being published simultaneously online in the New England Journal of Medicine. "This is really a huge step toward personalized care in melanoma," Dr. Paul Chapman, lead author of the first study and the attending physician in the melanoma/sarcoma service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic, Yervoy
Melanoma Vaccine Shows Promise in Trial
Posted 1 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, June 1 – For patients with advanced melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, a vaccine combined with an immune-boosting drug is showing promise in a large clinical trial. Therapeutic cancer vaccines, unlike typical vaccines that prevent infections, are meant to jump-start the immune system to help it battle existing tumors. In this Phase 3 clinical trial, conducted at 21 care centers, researchers randomly assigned 185 patients with metastatic melanoma, meaning the cancer had spread, to either the vaccine followed by interleukin-2, a drug that activates the immune system, or interleukin-2 alone. Those given the vaccine-drug combo showed more improvement than those given the drug alone, according to the study, which was published in the June 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. About 16 percent of those given the vaccine/interleukin-2 combination saw their ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
Too Few Teens Know the Dangers of Tanning Beds: Poll
Posted 10 May 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 10 – Many tanning salons in the United States don't warn teens and young women about the skin cancer risks posed by tanning beds, according to a new survey. The American Academy of Dermatology's online poll included more than 3,800 white females aged 14 to 22 from across the country who were asked about their tanning knowledge, attitudes and behavior. The survey found that 43 percent of indoor tanners said they had never been warned about the dangers of tanning beds by tanning salon employees, and 30 percent said they hadn't noticed any warning labels on tanning beds. And the survey revealed some potentially deadly misperceptions about tanning beds. Younger tanning bed users (aged 14 to 17) were twice as likely as older users (aged 18 to 22) to incorrectly believe that tanning beds are safer than the sun (39 percent versus 15 percent), and more than three times as likely ... Read more
Related support groups: Skin Cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
FDA Approves Yervoy for Late-Stage Melanoma
Posted 29 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Yervoy (ipilimumab) to treat patients with late-stage (metastatic) melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Melanoma is the leading cause of death from skin disease. An estimated 68,130 new cases of melanoma were diagnosed in the United States during 2010 and about 8,700 people died from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. “Late-stage melanoma is devastating, with very few treatment options for patients, none of which previously prolonged a patient’s life,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Yervoy is the first therapy approved by the FDA to clearly demonstrate that patients with metastatic melanoma live longer by taking this treatment." Yervoy is a monoclonal antibody that blocks a molecule known as cyt ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
New Therapies Offer Insight Into Battling Deadly Melanomas
Posted 31 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 31 – Two new studies report some success in treating a particularly stubborn form of cancer: melanoma, a deadly malignancy that first appears in the skin before frequently spreading to other parts of the body. The first study, appearing in the Jan. 31 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, used genetically engineered immune cells from the patient to fight off the cancer cells. The second study, appearing in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, targeted a subgroup of cancer cells thought to be primarily responsible for metastasis – the spread of cancer. The technique used in the first study, which included 17 patients, is called "adoptive immunotherapy." Basic immunotherapy involves "removing [immune] cells from the patients, growing them to large numbers, then giving them back," explained study senior author Dr. Steven A. ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
Fewer Cancer Patients May Be Depressed Than Thought
Posted 20 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 20 – The rate of depression among cancer patients may be lower than previously believed, a new study indicates. An international team of researchers analyzed 94 studies involving more than 14,000 patients and found that about one-sixth of cancer patients suffer depression and about one-third have a more widely defined mood disorder. Only modest rates of depression and anxiety occurred in cancer patients in the first five years after diagnosis, which suggests that depression is not inevitable in these patients, the researchers said. Only when it was combined with other mood disorders was depression common, occurring in 30 percent of hospitalized cancer patients. The study is published online Jan. 19 in The Lancet Oncology. Rates of depression and anxiety were not significantly different between patients receiving palliative care (care designed to ease pain and increase ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Metastatic, Colorectal Cancer, Brain Tumor, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Skin Cancer, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Osteosarcoma, Ovarian Cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Breast Cancer -- Adjuvant
1 in 5 Cancer Survivors Suffers Chronic Pain, Study Finds
Posted 20 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19 – More than 40 percent of cancer survivors experience pain, and the risk is highest among black and female patients, finds a new study. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System surveyed nearly 200 U.S. cancer survivors and found that 43 percent had experienced pain since their diagnosis, and 20 percent suffered chronic cancer-related pain at least two years later. Among white patients, the most significant source of pain was cancer surgery (53.8 percent), and among black patients the greatest source of pain was cancer treatment (46.2 percent), according to the report. In addition, the study found that compared to men, women had more pain, more pain flare-ups, more disability due to pain and were more depressed because of pain. The authors also noted that black patients were more likely to report greater severity of pain and more pain-related ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Metastatic, Colorectal Cancer, Brain Tumor, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Skin Cancer, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Ovarian Cancer, Osteosarcoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Breast Cancer -- Adjuvant
Demand for Radiation Therapy Predicted to Exceed Supply
Posted 21 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Oct. 21 – Over the next decade, the growth in demand for radiation therapy in the United States will be 10 times greater than the increase in new radiation oncologists, a difference that could affect cancer patients' access to treatment, according to a new study. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of patients requiring radiation therapy will increase 22 percent but the number of full-time radiation oncologists entering the workforce will increase just 2 percent, said researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues. They based their predictions on projections that this year 3,943 radiation oncologists will treat an estimated 470,000 patients in the United States. The large increase in demand for radiation therapy will be partly due to growing numbers of older adults and minorities, groups in which certain types of cancers are more ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Metastatic, Colorectal Cancer, Brain Tumor, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Skin Cancer, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Ovarian Cancer, Osteosarcoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Breast Cancer -- Adjuvant
Lower Income, Education Can Hamper Skin Cancer Care
Posted 19 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Oct. 19 – Skin cancer patients who are poor, uninsured and/or less well-educated appear to be less able to correctly identify the kind of malignancy they have, new U.S. research suggests. The finding could place such individuals at a higher risk for skin cancer recurrence, if their confusion prevents them from taking precautionary steps. "This study shows that a surprisingly large number of skin cancer patients are unaware of whether they were diagnosed with melanoma or nonmelanoma cancer," study author Elliot J. Coups, a behavioral scientist at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, said in an institute news release. "It is of concern that individuals with a lower level of education or income are more likely to lack knowledge of their skin cancer diagnosis type as they have a worse prognosis when diagnosed with melanoma," Coups added. Coups reports on his work in a research ... Read more
Related support groups: Skin Cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
Cancer Patients' Secondary Symptoms Need Attention: Study
Posted 11 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Oct. 11 – Many cancer patients with pain or depression also experience physical symptoms, such as fatigue, dry mouth and nausea, that can cause disability, a new study shows. Doctors need to recognize and treat these symptoms in order to improve quality of life for cancer patients, said Dr. Kurt Kroenke, of the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indiana University, and Regenstrief Institute Inc. in Indianapolis, and colleagues. They analyzed data from 405 cancer patients who had either pain or depression and found that all the patients had at least one of 22 physical symptoms examined in the study. More than half of patients reported 15 of the 22 symptoms. The most common symptoms were fatigue (97.5 percent), difficulty sleeping (about 79 percent), pain in limbs or joints (78 percent), back pain (nearly 75 percent) and memory problems (72 percent). The patients also reported ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Metastatic, Colorectal Cancer, Brain Tumor, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Skin Cancer, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Osteosarcoma, Ovarian Cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Breast Cancer -- Adjuvant
In Early Trial, Targeted Therapy Fights Advanced Melanoma
Posted 25 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25 – By probing deeper into the biological mechanisms that go awry in melanoma, scientists have come up with an experimental drug that has had an effect in a surprising number of patients with advanced melanoma. The drug, PLX4032, just completed a phase 1 clinical trial in which 81 percent of participants with a particular gene mutation had a partial response, meaning at least some shrinkage of the tumor. The current standard treatments for metastatic melanoma – chemotherapy and interleukin-2 (IL2) – only have response rates in about 15 percent of these patients, said Dr. Paul Chapman, senior author of a study in which the findings are described. The average survival time for someone diagnosed with melanoma is nine to 11 months, added Chapman, who is an attending physician in the Melanoma Sarcoma Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. One ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
Trial Therapy Improves Melanoma Survival
Posted 18 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18 – An experimental drug for metastatic melanoma prolonged median survival from 6.4 months to 10 months, which, although seemingly small, represents a significant extension of life for this normally intractable disease, a new study found. And a subgroup of patients given the drug, known as ipilimumab, lived as long as six years, according to research published in the Aug. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. This type of skin cancer has an average survival time of six to nine months. "This is the first drug that's ever been shown in a randomized, controlled trial to offer a survival benefit for patients," said study lead author Dr. F. Stephen Hodi, director of the melanoma disease center at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The findings were first reported in June at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. The study ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
New Treatment May Beat Melanoma
Posted 16 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Sept. 24 – An experimental treatment for advanced melanoma promotes rapid shrinking of tumors, according to a new study. The phase I extension trial includes patients with the cancer-causing mutation of the BRAF gene, which is associated with about 50 percent of melanomas and 5 percent of colorectal cancers. The patients were given 960 milligrams of PLX4032 twice a day. Of the 22 patients evaluated to date, 14 (64 percent) showed at least 30 percent shrinkage in the diameter of tumors for at least a month – the official criteria for partial response to the treatment. Another six of the 22 patients also showed a response, but it was too early to determine whether the tumors would shrink enough to meet the criteria for partial response. The findings were scheduled to be presented Thursday in Berlin at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization and the European Society for ... Read more
Related support groups: Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic
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