AURORA, CO – Noting the urgent need to develop treatments for patients with melanoma who are refractory to or ineligible for immune checkpoint blockade, including patients who lack BRAF-V600E/K mutations, a new study suggested some possible options. The report in...
NHL, Some Other Cancers, Reduced With Early ART in HIV-Positive Patients
OAKLAND, CA – Cancer is a significant problem for patients diagnosed with HIV. indicates that earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons living with HIV (PLWH) can reduce cancer incidence, but it has not been clear which cancer types are affected. A...
Erectile Dysfunction Medications Appear to Lower Some Colorectal Cancer Risks
COLUMBIA, SC—PDE-5 inhibitors are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat erectile dysfunction, but a new study suggested that the drugs also might be a viable chemopreventive agent for some types of cancer. The article in Clinical and Translational...
Promising Options Identified for AML Treatment After Initial Treatment Failure
CHICAGO – Because of limited treatment options after the failure of initial therapy, clinical management of acute myeloid leukemia remains a challenge for clinicians. One area of significant interest, according to a report in the journal Blood, has been therapeutic...
VA Dramatically Reduces ESA Use for Cancer-Related Anemia
COLUMBIA, SC -- Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents were indicated for use in patients with cancer who receive noncurative myelosuppressive chemotherapy, with the intention of mitigating symptoms and side effects to decrease the need for red blood cell transfusions....
Lymphoma Rates Drop With Better Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment at VA
SEATTLE -- High systemic inflammatory activity is suspected to be a major risk determinant of lymphomagenesis, and past epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated a link between rheumatoid arthritis and the incidence of lymphoma. A study in RMD Open -...
ART Has Changed the Cancers Associated with HIV
New York—Antiretroviral therapy transformed infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from a death sentence to a chronic condition, along the way changing virtually everything about the disease, including its association with cancer. For years, specific...
Acute Kidney Injury Risk With Stem Cell Transplant
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be a life-saving therapy for many patients with cancer, as well as patients with some nonmalignant hematologic disorders, such as aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease, and certain congenital immune...
Is Radiation Therapy Linked to Second Cancer Diagnoses?
STANFORD, CA – How likely is a second cancer diagnosis after primary cancer treatment with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), or proton beam radiotherapy (PBRT) for lymphoma and other cancers? Researchers from...
Circulating Stromal Cells Could Serve as Solid Tumor Biomarkers
A type of circulating stromal cell, CAMLs arise as part of an innate immune response, which could make them useful for predicting the presence of cancer. That would be particularly useful as the cells can be isolated from peripheral blood, making a test non-invasive.
How Uterine Cancer Manifests Differently in Black, White Women
Black women are more likely to die of uterine cancer than white women, even though the incidence rate is the same between the two groups.
Timely Care Not Received by Many Rural Veterans with Colorectal Cancer
For many rural patients, receiving timely, quality cancer care remains difficult. Challenges include transportation hurdles, financial constraints, a lack of providers, and minimal access to clinical trials. As a result, while cancer incidence rates are lower in rural areas, cancer mortality rates are higher.
VA Rapidly Adopted Novel Agents for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
In 2015, the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) named the transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) the Cancer Advance of the Year.
More Screening Urged to Stem Increase in Colorectal Cancer in Younger Patients
Rates of colorectal cancer have been rising in younger patients since the mid-1980s, even as rates have fallen in individuals over age 50, according to the American Cancer Society.
Immunotherapy Increases Overall Survival in Veterans with NSCLC
Real world results often differ markedly from those seen in clinical trials. In the very real world setting of the VA, does immunotherapy really provide greater benefit than chemotherapy for patients with lung cancer?
Value Calculations Conflict in Genomic Profiling of Tumors
Increased personalization of cancer therapy has transformed oncology over the past decade as a growing number of targeted therapies have entered the market.
Effective EPOCH-R Treatment for Older Patients With Aggressive Lymphomas
Over the last few years, two combinations have dueled for primacy in treatment of lymphomas: DA-EPOCH-R (dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab) and R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone).
Early Progression Linked to Worse Outcomes in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
Among veterans, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 3% of all diagnosed malignancies or approximately 2,250 new diagnoses each year.