News

The FDA's calendar for making decisions on new oncology drugs and indications is taking shape for 2015, and the clock is ticking on at least 13 applications for novel agents and new therapeutic settings for existing drugs.

The first iteration of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO's) endeavor to capture and harness big data, CancerLinQ, is scheduled for release in late 2015.

Each year, the American Cancer Society publishes its annual cancer statistics, highlighting gains as well as areas that need continued focus. For 2015, the organization's report shows a 22% decrease in cancer death over the past 20 years, equating to more than 1.5 million lives saved-a positive trend seen for the past few years.

With the number of cancer survivors expected to reach 19 million by 2024, how these individuals fare long-term is an issue of ongoing interest and concern. An analysis of findings from a large survey of survivors conducted by the American Cancer Society (ACS) has found that many survivors continue to face physical, mental, and financial difficulties long after their treatment ends.

Changing the administration schedule for gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) from weekly to every other week significantly reduced side effects without impacting efficacy as a frontline treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to a retrospective study presented at the 2015 GI Cancers Symposium.

Protective effect of tamoxifen continues after treatment stops.

This NCI-funded educational program will train cancer care clinicians over two years to develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive psychosocial distress screening programs.

Even though cancer technology and treatment have improved greatly over the years, patients are still wary of participating in first-in-human studies of potential new agents.

A new study has shown that postmenopausal women who had insulin abnormalities were at an increased risk for breast cancer regardless if they were overweight or normal-weight individuals.

For older men with prostate cancer, adding radiation to hormone therapy is both tolerable and effective in reducing the number of deaths.

A "watch and wait" surveillance approach may allow certain patients with rectal cancer to achieve excellent outcomes without immediate surgery, according to a retrospective review of clinical data presented at the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Researchers from the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered new gene mutations that are unique to colon cancer in African American patients, who have the highest incidence and death rate from the disease.

Patients with newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who had higher levels of vitamin D in their blood lived a median of 8 months longer and experienced greater disease-free survival after their cancer treatment

Focus is often on physical, and not psychosocial, concerns.

Results of a phase II study showed that women with small, stage I HER2-positive tumors who received a combination of lower-intensity chemotherapy and the targeted drug trastuzumab following surgery were highly unlikely to have the cancer recur within 3 years

Part 2 of an overview and explanation of current cutaneous lymphoma treatments.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) have collaborated on an outline that would help policymakers regulate electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine devices (ENDS) without undermining their potential as a smoking cessation tool, the two cancer organizations announced.

Two recent studies outline the importance of nutrition in preventing obesity-related cancers as well as the potential benefits of a nutrition education intervention in preventing breast cancer recurrence.

Rowan Chlebowski, MD, PhD, discusses how losing 5 pounds, as seen in the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study, had a positive impact for breast cancer patients, especially whose disease was triple-negative.

Results of a large retrospective study of more than 20,000 women treated for early-stage breast cancer are shedding light on how much treatment may be too much for these early-stage cancers.

While managing cancer risk is a priority, BRCA mutation carriers are often concerned about their risk of heart disease-the leading cause of death for American women-and how their mutation or risk-management choices may impact their cardiovascular health.

Decline seen for older adults but rates are rising for young adults.

The addition of the GM-CSF agent sargramostim to the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy) prolonged overall survival (OS) and lowered toxicity for patients with unresectable stage III or IV melanoma.

The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF), in collaboration with Open Health Network (OHN), announced the launch of Lung Cancer Foundation, the first of its kind mobile application designed to empower lung cancer patients and their families.

A third of patients die within a week of initiating hospice care.

The FDA has approved the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) for the treatment of women with BRCA-positive advanced ovarian cancer. The approval was based on results from a single-arm phase II study of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated advanced cancers

There's another type of toxicity that physicians and nurses should watch out for. But this one is harder to spot and can affect the patient even after treatment has stopped.

Women Against Prostate Cancer provide tips to encourage men to be healthier and signs of prostate cancer to be aware of