Cervical Cancer

Merck & Co., Inc. has committed to donate at least 3 million doses of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18) recombinant vaccine (Gardasil), the cervical cancer vaccine, for use in demonstration projects in lowest-income nations throughout the world.

Merck to donate 3 million doses of Gardasil to poor countries

Vaccines have been exceptionally effective against diseases such as smallpox, measles, chickenpox, and polio. They are among the safest and most cost-effective agents for disease prevention. In recent years, vaccination has been considered for other diseases, including AIDS and cancer. Cancer vaccines can be categorized as preventive or therapeutic. Preventive vaccines, which are commercially available for cervical cancer and liver cancer, block infection with the causative agents of human papillomavirus and hepatitis B virus, respectively. The benefit of cancer treatment vaccines lies in their ability to "boost" the immune system response to cancer cells, which is generally low. Using vaccines in the treatment of cancer is relatively new, however, and chiefly experimental. Therapeutic vaccines for breast, lung, colon, skin, renal, prostate, and other cancers are now being investigated in clinical trials. Oncology nurses may play a significant role in reducing barriers to uptake of preventive vaccines among the general public and in increasing patients' acceptance of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

Vaccines have been exceptionally effective against diseases such as smallpox, measles, chickenpox, and polio. They are among the safest and most cost-effective agents for disease prevention. In recent years, vaccination has been considered for other diseases, including AIDS and cancer. Cancer vaccines can be categorized as preventive or therapeutic. Preventive vaccines, which are commercially available for cervical cancer and liver cancer, block infection with the causative agents of human papillomavirus and hepatitis B virus, respectively. The benefit of cancer treatment vaccines lies in their ability to "boost" the immune system response to cancer cells, which is generally low. Using vaccines in the treatment of cancer is relatively new, however, and chiefly experimental. Therapeutic vaccines for breast, lung, colon, skin, renal, prostate, and other cancers are now being investigated in clinical trials. Oncology nurses may play a significant role in reducing barriers to uptake of preventive vaccines among the general public and in increasing patients' acceptance of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

A candidate vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) produced by GlaxoSmithKline, AS04 (Cervarix), provides extended protection against HPV 16 and 18 not only for young women but also for women up to the age of 55

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published results from two phase III studies of Merck's cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil [quadrivalent human papillomavirus (types 6, 11, 16, 18) recombinant vaccine].

Vaccines designed to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV)—and thus protect against cervical cancer—are showing sustained protection at 5 years

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has adopted the unanimous recommendation of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the use of quadrivalent human papillomavirus recombinant vaccine (Gardasil) in girls and women ages 11 through 26.

For women with a gynecologic cancer, reproductive concerns may vary not only by site of disease but also by the presentation and manifestation of the disease. Gynecologic cancer can present before childbearing has been started or completed, during pregnancy, or can even arise out of pregnancy.

GlaxoSmithKline Submits BLA for Cervarix HPV Vaccine

In its second annual "Clinical Cancer Advances" report, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) selected six notable developments in clinical cancer research as most important in 2006.

Hospitalized oncology patients are at particular risk for acute venous thromboembolism (VTE); however, more often than not, a standard for VTE prophylaxis does not exist, according to Jerelyn Osoria, RN, OCN, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Ms. Osoria reported at the Oncology Nursing Society 31st Annual Congress (abstract 113) that an electronic medical orders system and better nursing documentation have helped improve this situation at her institution's Gynecology (GYN) oncology inpatient nursing unit.

Trials in the past decade offer the first evidence that some of the most prevalent cancers in the population are preventable, and a host of ongoing trials are testing new prevention strategies, Peter Greenwald, MD, DrPH, director of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Prevention, said at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG).

This article summarizes the current management of patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer. The topics range from the management of early-stage disease to the phase III randomized studies that have established the current standard of care for patients with locally advanced cancer of the cervix. New approaches to combined-modality therapy with the goal of improving outcomes and decreasing complications are also described.

This article summarizes the current management of patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer. The topics range from the management of early-stage disease to the phase III randomized studies that have established the current standard of care for patients with locally advanced cancer of the cervix. New approaches to combined-modality therapy with the goal of improving outcomes and decreasing complications are also described.

This article summarizes the current management of patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer. The topics range from the management of early-stage disease to the phase III randomized studies that have established the current standard of care for patients with locally advanced cancer of the cervix. New approaches to combined-modality therapy with the goal of improving outcomes and decreasing complications are also described.

This article summarizes the current management of patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer. The topics range from the management of early-stage disease to the phase III randomized studies that have established the current standard of care for patients with locally advanced cancer of the cervix. New approaches to combined-modality therapy with the goal of improving outcomes and decreasing complications are also described.

African-American women with uterine cancer have worse survival rates than white women who received similar treatment even though they had similar prognostic factors

xAdvaxis, Inc. has conducted a pre-IND meeting with the FDA regarding its two planned phase II studies for its lead product Lovaxin C, a live Listeria vaccine for the treatment of cervical and head and neck cancers. The IND will be filed once phase I/II studies have been completed. In a separate news release, Advaxis announced that its breast cancer vaccine Lovaxin B, Listeria monocytogenes modified to deliver HER2/neu to immune cells, is in preclinical testing.

 I read with great interest the paper by Michael Brave and colleagues from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The authors describe the FDA's review supporting this first approval of a chemotherapeutic drug for advanced cervical cancer. This decision was made after a Gynecologic Oncology Group trial (GOG-0179) conducted at 94 American study centers demonstrated a survival benefit in patients with stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix who received cisplatin plus topotecan (Hycamtin) compared with those who received cisplatin alone.

Topotecan, a camptothecin analog previously approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer and small-cell lung cancer, was granted regular approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 14, 2006, for use in combination with cisplatin to treat women with stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. The purpose of this summary is to review the database supporting this approval.

Topotecan, a camptothecin analog previously approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer and small-cell lung cancer, was granted regular approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 14, 2006, for use in combination with cisplatin to treat women with stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. The purpose of this summary is to review the database supporting this approval.

Astudy conducted by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and University of South Carolina shows that the cancer rate among blacks living in South Carolina is nearly twice as great as it is for whites in the state.

Topotecan, a camptothecin analog previously approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer and small-cell lung cancer, was granted regular approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 14, 2006, for use in combination with cisplatin to treat women with stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. The purpose of this summary is to review the database supporting this approval.

Although most American adults can identify mammography, the Pap test, and colonoscopy as cancer screening tests, they are generally ill informed about the age at which screening should begin and how often they should undergo the examinations.

The FDA has approved Hycamtin (topotecan, GlaxoSmithKline) in combination with cisplatin for the treatment of women with late-stage (IVB) cervical cancer that surgery or radiation appears unlikely to cure. The agency acted on the basis of a single phase III trial that showed a significant 2.9-month survival advantage in women treated with the combination vs whose who received cisplatin alone.

The FDA has approved Merck's Gardasil (quadrivalent human papillomavirus recombinant vaccine) for the prevention of cervical cancer and cervical, vulvar, and vaginal precancers caused by human papillomarvirus (HPV).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions and genital warts due to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18. The vaccine, which carries the brand name Gardasil, is approved for use in females 9 to 26 years of age. Gardasil was evaluated and approved in 6 months under FDA's priority review process. This month, "Closing Thoughts" shares comments about the vaccine from leaders in the oncology community.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved topotecan HCl (Hycamtin) in combination with cisplatin, for the treatment of stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix, which is not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Following a 6-month priority review by the FDA, the expanded indication is based on phase III results that demonstrated a survival advantage by using topotecan in combination with cisplatin compared to cisplatin alone.

Childbearing is one of the most important life goals for many women, and fertility preservation is a very important factor in the overall quality of life of cancer survivors. Cervical cancer frequently affects young women; because some women tend to delay childbearing, fertility preservation must be considered when treatment options are discussed. Over the past decade, the radical trachelectomy procedure has become a well established fertility-preserving option for young women with early-stage cancer; this procedure is associated with low morbidity, good oncologic outcome, and a high proportion of pregnancies that reach the third trimester and babies that are delivered at term. This article will review available literature on the vaginal radical trachelectomy procedure and data from other surgical approaches, such as the abdominal radical trachelectomy. In addition, the potential future application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by fertility-preserving surgery in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer will be examined. Finally, ultraconservative surgical approaches (eg, conization alone with or without laparoscopic lymphadenectomy) in very early-stage disease will be discussed.