Adjuvant combination therapy improves survival in pancreatic cancer

June 16, 2016 - The results from the ESPAC-4, a multicenter, international, open-label randomised controlled phase III trial of adjuvant combination chemotherapy of gemcitabine / capecitabine versus monotherapy gemcitabine in patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma show a statistically significant 2.5 months improvement in survival in favour of combination regimen. The results were presented in the oral abstract session on Gastrointestinal (Noncolorectal) Cancer by Dr John Neoptolemos during the ASCO Annual Meeting 2016 (3-7 June, Chicago US).

Gemcitabine is the standard of care in this setting. Previously, the ESPAC-3 trial compared adjuvant gemcitabine with 5-fluorouracil / folinic acid (5-FU/FA) for resected pancreatic cancer; gemcitabine regimen achieved similar survival with less toxicity. ESPAC-4 aimed to determine whether combination chemotherapy with gemcitabine / capecitabine improve survival compared to gemcitabine alone. Read more here.

Blood test for genetic changes in tumors shows promise as alternative to tumor biopsy

June 15, 2016 - In the largest study of its kind to date, a test that assesses DNA mutations and other changes in genetic material shed from tumors into the blood—a so-called liquid biopsy—produced results highly similar to those of traditional tumor biopsies.

The patterns of genomic changes identified by the test in a large collection of patient blood samples largely matched patterns of genetic changes seen in large tumor biopsy profiling studies, researchers reported last weekExit Disclaimer at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. Read more here.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence UK issues new guidance for cabazitaxel

June 14, 2016 - Cabazitaxel for hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer treated with docetaxel. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) UK published on 25 May 2016 the evidence-based recommendations on cabazitaxel (Jevtana) for patients with prostate cancer that has relapsed after the treatment with docetaxel. The guidance TA391 replaces NICE technology appraisal guidance on cabazitaxel for hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen (TA255). It does not cover the use of cabazitaxel for patients who have had docetaxel and then abiraterone, enzalutamide or radium 223 dichloride. Read more here.

Trials produce practice-changing results for brain cancer

June 9, 2016 - The standard treatment that some patients with brain cancer receive is likely to change, based on findings from two large clinical trials presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago this week.

Both trials showed that administering the chemotherapy drug temozolomide (Temodar®) in addition to radiation therapy increased how long patients lived overall and without their disease progressing. The trial investigators and other leading brain cancer researchers agreed that the results of the two trials will change the standard of care. Read more here.

FDA approves new immunotherapy drug for bladder cancer

June 7, 2016 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 18 approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) for the treatment of some patients with urothelial carcinoma, the most common type of bladder cancer. The drug, which strengthens the body’s immune response against cancer, is the first new treatment approved for bladder cancer in two decades.

“This is very exciting news for patients with bladder cancer,” said Piyush Agarwal, M.D., head of the Bladder Cancer Section in the NCI Center for Cancer Research's (CCR) Urologic Oncology Branch, who noted that the approval would likely open “a wave of new clinical trials” for patients with bladder cancer.

Double stem cell transplant may help fight childhood cancer

A new study conducted at the University of Washington School of Medicine indicates that children afflicted with neuroblastoma hay have a better chance of survival upon receiving a double stem cell transplant.  According to lead researcher Dr. Julie Park, 61% of children receiving the double transplant remained alive 3 years after diagnosis, compared to 48% who received only a single transplant.

To read more about this study, click here.

Patient-derived antibody appears to selectively target tumor cells

June 6, 2016 - Researchers have developed an antibody, derived from patients with early-stage lung cancer, that enlists the immune system to destroy cancer cells.

The antibody killed tumor cells in cell lines of several different cancer types and slowed tumor growth in mouse models of brain and lung cancer without obvious evidence of side effects, the researchers reported May 5 in Cell Reports. Read more here.

Two new therapies approved by FDA for advanced kidney cancer

On April 15 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved two drugs for the treatment of patients with advanced kidney cancer. Both approvals are for patients whose cancers have progressed after receiving prior treatment with drugs that block tumor blood vessel growth, known as antiangiogenic therapies.

The agency approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx™), and on May 13 it approved lenvatinib (Lenvima®) in combination with everolimus (Afinitor®). Read more here.

Enhanced risk-based lung cancer screening may prevent more deaths than current approaches

June 3, 2016 - NCI researchers have developed a risk model-based approach for selecting smokers and former smokers who may be candidates for lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT). Using data from two lung cancer screening studies and a U.S. health survey, the researchers estimated that the new approach might prevent more deaths from lung cancer over 5 years than would current screening recommendations. Read more here.

Colorectal cancer survival linked to primary tumor location

June 02, 2016 - In patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the location in the colon where the tumor originated appears to strongly influence how long patients live, according to a new study.

The studyExit Disclaimer—a retrospective analysis of data from a large NCI-funded phase III clinical trial—found that patients whose cancer originated in the left side of the colon (distal colon) lived more than a year longer after initial treatment than patients whose disease originated in the right side of the colon (proximal colon). Read more here.