ASCO 2011: Diabetes, Diabetes Drugs, and Cancer Risk: the Potentials for Prevention
June 8th 2011As early as 1932, physicians noticed an apparent association between type 2 diabetes and increased cancer risk. In recent years, the epidemiological evidence of such an association has mounted steadily-especially with the emergence of large databases, which have allowed us to document the link.
ASCO 2011: The Challenges of Running an Oncology Practice in 2011
June 6th 2011The picture in 2011 for the community oncologist is dire. Over the past several years many community practices have been acquired by hospitals out of duress. Drug delivery has started to change as treatments are evolving, moving away from the high-margin infusion business.
ASCO 2011: Moving the Bar in Clinical Trials in Upper GI Malignancies
June 6th 2011Clearly, the realities of current health care economics are bringing to the fore important questions in clinical trial design. Not only does the United States spend far more on health care than other developed countries, with significantly worse outcomes, but the costs of cancer care account for a large and steadily increasing chunk of that spending. One way in which this trend can be curbed-and the money spent on cancer be made to produce more “bang for the buck”-is through changes to our drug development processes.
ASCO 2011: New Hope for Metastatic Melanoma
June 6th 2011Metastatic melanoma maintains a growing presence around the world, and a steady disregard for treatment efforts. But two novel drugs presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, on Sunday, suggest that medicine might finally be ready to fight back against the deadliest form of skin cancer.
ASCO 2011: Prostate Cancer in Older Adults: To Treat or Not to Treat?
June 5th 2011At the session on Management of Prostate Cancer in Older Adults: To Treat or not to Treat, Anthony D’Amico, William Dale, and Shabbir Alibhai all lent their clinical expertise in treating prostate cancer to outline the latest recommendations for screening and treating men for prostate cancer.
ASCO 2011: Large-Scale Study Shows Effectiveness of HPV Testing
May 25th 2011One of the highlights of the released abstracts is “Cervical cancer risk for 330,000 women undergoing concurrent HPV testing and cervical cytology in routine clinical practice” (J Clin Oncol 29: 2011 (suppl; abstr 1508). The large-scale study showed the effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing alone or in combination with cytology testing for identifying women at high-risk for cervical cancer development.
ASCO 2011: Phase II Cabozantinib Trial in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors and Bone Metastases
May 24th 2011Data from a phase II study of cabozantinib (XL184) in patients with advanced solid tumors show that the drug has activity in both bone and soft tissue. The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of cabozantinib compared to placebo in 9 different solid tumor types including breast, lung, ovarian, and prostate.
ASCO 2011: Olaparib in Patients with Platinum-Sensitive Relapsed Serous Ovarian Cancer
May 24th 2011A recent study demonstrated that the novel oral Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, olaparib, provided a significant improvement in progression-free survival for women with serous ovarian cancer when used as a maintenance therapy.