The field of breast cancer has evolved from the days of defaulting to chemotherapy for every patient, yet much work remains to individualize treatment. Though more promising novel regimens have become available, an expert urges clinicians to carefully weigh whether a particular new agent will provide a significant enough benefit to offset its associated toxicities, cost, and the time and commitment by the patient it requires.
A new study has found that as women age, they are actually less like to have baseline bone density testing before embarking on aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy after breast cancer treatment, even though both increasing age and AI therapy increase fracture risk in postmenopausal women.
Many risk factors for breast cancer have been identified. One suspected risk factor is in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment; however, several studies have been inconclusive because of limited follow-up.
Melissa Andres, BSN, RN, OCN, discusses the growing role of nurse navigators and the rewards she has found in this specialty.
Despite some advances in treatment options for patients with sarcomas, researchers are still actively seeking to improve outcomes for pediatric, adolescent and young adult patients, a group particularly impacted by this diagnosis.
To help patients decide whether active surveillance or a more aggressive approach is best to treat their localized, low-risk prostate cancer, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University created an online decision-support tool that relies on a trained nurse educator to help patients better understand their treatment options.
A greater likelihood of developing most types of cancer was found to be associated with type 2 diabetes, according to findings of a large Canadian study published recently online in the journal Cancer.
Our immune system’s successful detection and destruction of abnormal cells is the hallmark of our body’s ability to either stop a malignancy from occurring or halt it once it has begun.
Patients undergoing chemotherapy prescribed a formal exercise program experienced less chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), and the finding held true across all chemotherapy regimens tested.
Although paradigms for treating older patients with head and neck cancer are not well defined, advancements in targeted and immunotherapies and less toxic radiation regimens suggest that physicians can aim for a more individualized approach to treating this patient population.
A study of women treated with the mTOR inhibitor everolimus plus exemestane for their advanced breast cancer found that daily use of an alcohol-free, steroid-based mouthwash markedly decreased the incidence and severity of stomatitis, and the researchers recommend that this preventive regimen become standard of care in this setting.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine explored the use of the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) in predicting functional decline and death within 1 year of breast cancer treatment.
Newly published research has found that acupressure, a derivative of traditional Chinese medicine that puts pressure on Qi points using thumbs or devices, may provide breast cancer survivors with some much-needed relief for fatigue, one of the most common, and long-lasting, aftereffects of their anticancer treatment.
A decade after the FDA approved the first vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the incidence of HPV-associated cancers is rising, with the number of HPV-associated cancers diagnosed annually between 2008 and 2012 increasing by approximately 16% compared with the previous 5-year period.
A lighter and more convenient version of the tumor-treating field device Optune for patients with glioblastoma multiforme received FDA approval July 13 for the treatment of this aggressive type of brain tumor.
Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, most commonly linked with breast and ovarian cancers, are now gaining wider recognition for being associated with pancreatic cancer as well.
Older Americans represent a rapidly growing segment of the US population in what some have termed a “silver tsunami” with important implications for the delivery of healthcare services.
Although survivors of childhood cancer are at an increased risk of developing second cancers later in life, a recently reported study found that they are actually less likely to receive the vaccine series aimed at preventing the human papillomavirus (HPV) which is linked to a number of cancers.
Untreated chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has a reported median survival of only 2 to 3 years.
Febrile neutropenia can be a dose-limiting complication of treatment with myelosuppressive chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer.
Although public awareness of breast cancer is generally high, this is not the case for metastatic breast cancer, and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) is partnering with leading cancer advocacy groups on a new project to change that.
As survivorship rates for cancer have increased, so has the awareness of the emotional toll cancer has on a person rather than just the physical.
The FDA has approved dronabinol oral solution (Syndros) to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients who have not responded to conventional antiemetic therapies.
More than 1 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with a melanoma and are at risk for developing a second primary melanoma.
National guidelines recommend that women with a personal history of ovarian cancer be tested for the BRCA mutation. Approximately 1.3% of women will develop ovarian cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, but that risk increases to an estimated 39% in women with the BRCA1 mutation and 11% to 17% in women who inherit the BRCA2 mutation.
Caring for loved ones in the midst of major health issues is taxing for anyone, but a new report reveals that caregivers of patients with cancer experience even more stress and responsibilities than caregivers of patients with other diseases.
