News for Patients from the Journal of Clinical Oncology

Below are summaries of research advances in clinical oncology. The information presented in Cancer Advances is the same information the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provides to cancer physicians, in consumer terms.

Cancer Advances: Childhood Cancer Survivors' Exposure to Chemotherapy, Radiation Does Not Increase Risk of Children's Birth Defects
December 12, 2011

A large, retrospective study has shown that children of childhood cancer survivors who received prior treatment involving radiation to testes or ovaries and/or chemotherapy with alkylating agents do not have an increased risk for birth defects compared to children of survivors who did not have such cancer treatment.

Cancer Advances: Study Shows No Increased Risk of Breast Cancer for Non-Carriers in Families with BRCA Gene Mutation
October 31, 2011

An analysis of more than 3,000 families including women with breast cancer has found that close relatives of women who carry mutations in a BRCA gene – but who themselves do not have such genetic mutations – do not have an increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to relatives of women with breast cancer who do not have such mutations.

Cancer Advances: Study Shows Dramatic Rise in Oral Cancer Linked to HPV
October 3, 2011

A new study has shown that rates of oropharyngeal cancer, a type of oral cancer, have been increasing dramatically in the United States since 1984, with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related tumors accounting for a growing majority of all new cases.

Cancer Advances: Using MRI to Measure Tumor Shrinkage Predicts Survival in Advanced Rectal Cancer
August 29, 2011

A new study has shown that for patients with advanced rectal cancer, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess their tumor’s response to pre-surgery chemotherapy or radiation treatment may predict survival. The findings suggest that by using MRI to gauge whether a tumor has responded to such treatments, physicians can use the results to determine whether to proceed with surgery or to consider other treatment options for a given patient.

Cancer Advances: Researchers Find Many Elderly Men Undergo Unnecessary PSA Screening
March 28, 2011

A new study on the use of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing to screen for prostate cancer found that elderly men are being screened much more frequently than men in their early fifties, even though younger men are more likely to benefit from early diagnosis and treatment. Researchers showed that men in their seventies underwent PSA screening for prostate cancer at nearly twice the rate of men in their early fifties. Men 85 and older were screened just as often.

Cancer Advances: Technique Enables Previously Sterile Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer to Father Children
March 14, 2011

A new study has shown that a surgical technique can effectively locate and extract viable sperm in more than one-third of adult survivors of childhood cancer, who were previously considered sterile due to prior chemotherapy. Many of these men were subsequently able to have children with the help of in vitro fertilization, and the results offer a proven option for many male cancer survivors who want to be fathers but were thought infertile.

Cancer Advances: Novel Immune System-Based Gene Therapy Holds Promise Against Melanoma, Sarcoma
January 31, 2011

Researchers have shown a form of personalized gene therapy that uses a patient’s own immune cells could treat metastatic melanoma and synovial cell sarcoma tumors, representing a potentially new therapeutic approach against these and other cancers.

Cancer Advances: Study Shows Regular Sunscreen Use Reduces Melanoma Risk
December 6, 2010

A study of more than 1,600 adults in Australia found that regular use of sunscreen reduced the risk of developing melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – by half, including nearly three-quarters fewer cases of the more dangerous invasive type of melanoma. It is thought to be the first such randomized trial to examine the use of sunscreen in preventing melanoma.

Cancer Advances: Study Finds Blacks, Native Americans More Likely to Have High-Risk Neuroblastoma
November 22, 2010

An analysis of more than 3,500 children with neuroblastoma showed for the first time that blacks and Native Americans were more likely to have high-risk, aggressive disease than whites. Both groups also had worse survival – both overall and living disease-free without recurrence. In addition, neuroblastoma recurred at a higher rate in blacks compared to whites among highrisk patients who remained disease-free for two or more years after diagnosis.

Cancer Advances: Study Finds MRI Better Than Mammography in Detecting Hereditary Breast Cancers in At-Risk Populations
November 15, 2010

A large Dutch study of women at increased risk for hereditary breast cancer has found that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was superior to mammography in early detection of tumors in women with mutations in the BRCA genes or at high risk for cancer because of family history. The study did not look at MRI as a standard screening technique for all women, but rather only those considered at risk.

Cancer Advances: Where Cancer Patients Die Affects Their Quality of Life, Caregivers Mental Health
September 13, 2010

A new study of patients dying of cancer and their caregivers has found that individuals who die in the hospital or intensive care unit have a worse quality of life at the end of their lives compared to those cancer patients who die at home with hospice services. In addition, their caregivers are more likely to develop psychiatric problems while grieving.

Cancer Advances: Fewer than Half of Breast Cancer Patients Take Full Course of Hormonal Therapy Regimen, Study Finds
June 28, 2010

A new study of nearly 8,800 early stage breast cancer patients has found that fewer than half –approximately 49 percent – completed the full 4.5 year course of hormone therapy treatment, even though hormone therapy with tamoxifen and/or aromatase inhibitors has been proven to dramatically reduce risk of cancer recurrence and death for patients with hormone-sensitive breast cancers.

Cancer Advances: Advances in Cancer Treatment Have Averted 38,000 Childhood Cancer-Related Deaths Between 1975 and 2006
April 19, 2010

A new review of more than three decades of childhood cancer deaths, incidence and survival reports that an estimated 38,000 deaths have been averted because of substantial advances in cancer drugs and treatment strategies, and continued return on past investments in cancer research. The authors cautioned, however, that progress against many cancers has slowed and that new research on targeted treatments is urgently needed.

Large Analysis Finds That Breast Cancer Patients Who Take Aspirin Reduce Their Risk of Breast Cancer Spread and Death by Nearly Half
February 16, 2010

An analysis of data from the Nurse’s Health Study, a large, ongoing prospective observational study, shows for the first time that women who have completed treatment for early-stage breast cancer and who take aspirin have a nearly 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer death and a similar reduction in the risk of metastasis. The findings were reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Cancer Advances: Targeted Oral Drug Pazopanib Slows Growth of Advanced Kidney Cancer
January 25, 2010

A new study finds that the oral drug pazopanib (VOTRIENT) significantly delays the time it takes for cancer to spread in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a form of kidney cancer. This study provides the first full report of data used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug in October 2009 for the treatment of advanced RCC, adding to the growing arsenal of targeted therapies for this challenging disease. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Cancer Advances: Insomnia is Common, Likely Under-Diagnosed Among People with Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy
November 23, 2009

Researchers have found that 43 percent of patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer in a clinical trial met the clinical criteria for insomnia syndrome and an additional 37 percent had insomnia symptoms, suggesting that the majority of patients (80 percent) experience sleep difficulties. This rate is approximately two to three times higher than that seen in the general population. Insomnia syndrome is defined as difficulty sleeping three or more times per week for at least a month, and can cause significant distress or impairment in daytime functioning. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Cancer Advances: Two Studies Report Women With Small HER2-Positive Breast Cancers Have an Increased Risk of Cancer Recurrence and Metastasis and May Benefit From Adjuvant Trastuzumab Therapy
November 2, 2009

Two retrospective studies led by researchers in the United States and Italy report that women with HER2-positive breast cancers 1 cm or less in diameter that have not spread to the lymph nodes (“node-negative” tumors) have a risk of recurrence that is two to five times greater than that of women with HER2-negative breast cancers. The U.S. study also identified an increased risk of metastasis among women with small HER2-positive tumors, compared to those with HER2-negative tumors.

Cancer Advances: Study Projects Significant Increases in Cancer Incidence, Especially Among Minorities and the Elderly, by 2030
April 29, 2009

The total number of Americans diagnosed with cancer each year will rise from 1.6 million cases in 2010 to 2.3 million cases annually by 2030, with disproportionate increases among the elderly and minorities says a new study by researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Cancer Advances: Study Finds Association Between Inflammatory Protein and Cancer Risk, Mortality
March 16, 2009

A large Danish study has found that C-reactive protein (CRP)—a blood-based protein that indicates inflammation in the body and is used to predict heart disease risk—may also be associated with the risk of developing cancer and with earlier cancer death.

Cancer Advances: Study Shows Liver Cancer Incidence Has Tripled, but Survival Rates Are Improving
February 17, 2009

A new study has shown that the incidence of liver cancer in the United States tripled between 1975 and 2005. Researchers also found that survival rates improved for patients diagnosed with liver cancer, as more patients were diagnosed at earlier stages, when the disease is more treatable. The study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, appears in the February 17, 2009 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.