November 2013

Men who experience hot flashes because they are undergoing androgendeprivation therapy for prostate cancer are not significantly helped by two treatments that alleviate the same symptom in menopausal women, the results of a study show.

It is widely accepted that the single greatest risk factor for cancer is age. Sixty percent of cancers and two-thirds of cancer deaths occur over the age of 65 years.

Patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who received an MRI added to mammography before or immediately after receiving a lumpectomy did not experience an improvement in the rate of disease recurrence

The addition of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) to the treatment standard gemcitabine significantly lengthened survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer

Head and neck cancer patients who participated in a swallow preservation protocol (SPP) were less likely to suffer from the detrimental effects associated with dysphagia, a common complication associated with radiation therapy (RT) and chemoradiation therapy (CRT).

Depression in cancer patients often goes unrecognized. Depression can be related to cancer-related factors, cancer treatment-related factors, underlying psychiatric history, and social factors.

Most deaths from breast cancer occur in women who have not been regularly screened and whose tumors are diagnosed at a median age 49 years, confirming the need for the greater use of annual mammography in younger women

Without question, one of the most important benefits of healthcare social media engagement for oncology practitioners is the opportunity to gain broader insights into how patients and their caregivers are coping with their cancer, as well as a better understanding of the needs of survivors after their treatment ends.

The past 8 months have been particularly newsworthy in the field of cancer genetics, specifically with regards to BRCA testing.

For oncology practitioners today, it's impossible to ignore the virtual tidal wave of information that patients and practitioners are sharing via social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn-dramatically reshaping the landscape of healthcare.

We have arrived at a time when even the stubborn, unwilling, and elderly now use the Internet.

Many patients being treated with mTOR inhibitors experience dermatologic-related adverse events.