oncologywatch

Brave M, Goodman V, Kaminskas E, et al. Sprycel for chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia resistant to or intolerant of imatinib mesylate. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Jan 15;14(2):352-9. PMID: 18223208

Describes the Food and Drug Administration review of dasatinib for CML and Ph(+) ALL.

Technorati tags:
oncology cancer chronic myeloid leukemia acute lymphoblastic leukemia

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Ceresoli GL, Gridelli C, Santoro A. Multidisciplinary treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Oncologist. 2007 Jul;12(7):850-63. Review. PMID: 17673616

A useful contemporary review of the state of treatment for mesothelioma. From the conclusion:

"MPM remains a difficult disease to treat. No standard therapy exists, and randomized studies are lacking. However, in the last few years, much progress has been made in this field."

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oncology cancer mesothelioma

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Mead MN. Expert panel weighs in on global cancer control. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Jan;116(1):A22-3. PMID: 18197284

Fascinating contemporary review of relationship of diet and nutrition with cancer. From the introduction:

“The conclusions are really not surprising, but what did surprise me was the universality of the recommendations across so many countries,” says Tim Byers, a preventive medicine professor at the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora. “I was surprised to find that nutritional factors that can lower cancer risk are shared widely across the world. . . . The importance of this report, therefore, is both that it is comprehensive and also that it is global.”

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oncology cancer nutrition

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Motallebnejad M, Akram S, Moghadamnia A, et al. The effect of topical application of pure honey on radiation-induced mucositis: a randomized clinical trial. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2008 Mar 1;9(3):40-7. PMID: 18335118

Low-tech relief for a major problem. From the introduction:

"Honey is a by-product of flower nectar and the upper aero-digestive tract of the honeybee, which is concentrated through a dehydration process inside the bee hive. Though honey is an age-old remedy from the time of Egyptian civilization, very recently it has found a place in modern medicine. Because of its high viscosity, acidic PH, hydrogen peroxide, high osmolarity, and rich nutritional properties honey can inhibit bacterial growth and enhance healing. Also, honey has been used to manage burns, oral infections, surgical wounds, and pressure wounds. Biswall used topical honey to manage radiation mucositis successfully for the first time." 

Technorati tags:
oncology cancer head and neck cancers

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Martin S, Ulrich C, Munsell M, et al. Delays in cancer diagnosis in underinsured young adults and older adolescents. Oncologist. 2007 Jul;12(7):816-24. PMID: 17673613

An important study with evidence that young people in the U.S. are likely to have a delay in cancer diagnosis because of inadequate health insurance, with consequent presentation of advanced stages of disease. From the introduction:

"Despite the advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment, older adolescents and young adults with cancer in the U.S., especially those in the 20–39 years age group, have not experienced the same survival prolongation or mortality reduction as their older and younger counterparts. Reasons for the failure to improve survival in this cohort may be related to delays in diagnosis, which are known to occur more frequently in cancer patients in this age group than in others. Also, the 18–24 years age group is both the most underinsured in the U.S. as well as the least likely to access health care, and the 25–34 years age group is the next most uninsured age group. The hypothesis of this study, therefore, was that a lack of health insurance is associated with delay in diagnosis in this age group." 

Technorati tags:
oncology cancer brain and spinal cord cancers hodgkin disease leukemia lymphoma thyroid cancer

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Ali MM, Vaidya V. Vitamin D and cancer. J Cancer Res Ther. 2007 Oct-Dec;3(4):225-30. Review. PMID: 18270398

A far-ranging essay on the possible role of Vitamin D, acquired primarily through exposure to the sun via the skin, to inhibit tumor development and growth and reduce mortality for certain cancers. From the results and discussion:

"Although sunlight and vitamin D have been positively associated with non-melanoma skin cancer, ecological studies suggest that sunlight may protect against female breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancer. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, combined with the discovery of increased risks of certain types of cancer in those who are deficient, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer annually." 

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oncology cancer colorectal cancer breast cancer ovarian cancer prostate cancer

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Kemeny N. Presurgical chemotherapy in patients being considered for liver resection. Oncologist. 2007 Jul;12(7):825-39. Review. PMID: 17673614

A timely review by a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with a special expertise in developing new chemotherapy regimens for colorectal cancer. From the conclusion:

"In patients who are clearly unresectable, there is no question that chemotherapy is the appropriate treatment. However, for those who are clearly resectable, there may be harm in giving preoperative chemotherapy. Until studies demonstrate that preoperative chemotherapy is useful in the resectable patient, those patients should be offered resection first and then be treated with postoperative chemotherapy (systemic therapy or HAI plus systemic therapy). A multidisciplinary approach is essential to develop an effective treatment plan for patients with liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma."

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oncology cancer colorectal cancer

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Elkum N, Dermime S, Ajarim D, et al. Being 40 or younger is an independent risk factor for relapse in operable breast cancer patients: the Saudi Arabia experience. BMC Cancer. 2007 Dec 5;7:222. PMID: 18053234

The open-source journal BMC Cancer published this study, which is interesting not least because young women are increasingly at risk for breast cancer.

From the discussion:

"Patients included in this study illustrate interesting characteristics where 33.2% are young (≤ 40 years) and 66.8% are pre-menopausal. While the median age at presentation is around 63 years in the United States and Western Europe, the median age at presentation in this study is 45 years. The young age of patients in this study is attributed to the overall age distribution in the KSA, where 50% of the population is less than 15 years of age and only 3% are older than 65 years. These patients’ characteristics are in sharp contrast with those reported in the West."

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oncology cancer breast cancer

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