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Drug Safety

Experimental agent acts against aggressive lymphoma subtype

Delicia Honen Yard May 03, 2012

The drug ibrutinib can provide significant anticancer responses with modest side effects in persons with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs).

PET response signals increased survival in soft-tissue sarcoma

Delicia Honen Yard May 02, 2012

Patients with soft-tissue sarcoma who have an early PET response after initial chemotherapy survive longer than patients showing no such response.

Cabazitaxel (Jevtana)

Bette Weinstein Kaplan April 17, 2012

Cabazitaxel is a taxane derivative indicated for treatment of hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer in patients previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen.

Heart risks of cancer drugs underestimated

Delicia Honen Yard April 12, 2012

The system for monitoring adverse events in oncology clinical trials is in urgent need of reform, say the authors of a recent commentary.

Estrogen use after hysterectomy protects against breast cancer

Delicia Honen Yard March 23, 2012

Women who used estrogen after hysterectomy appear to be nearly 25% less likely to develop breast cancer and nearly 63% less likely to die from it.

New drugs change treatment landscape for advanced prostate cancer

Delicia Honen Yard March 05, 2012

Several newly approved drugs plus more in the pipeline present the real possibility of prolonging survival in men with advanced prostate cancer.

Blood cancers often require termination of early pregnancy

Delicia Honen Yard February 29, 2012

The urgent need for treatment may require a woman with a hematologic cancer to end an early-stage pregnancy, but not necessarily a later-stage one.

Surgery, chemotherapy for breast cancer usually okay in pregnancy

Delicia Honen Yard February 28, 2012

The majority of pregnant women with breast cancer can undergo surgery, chemotherapy, or both, but radiation therapy is generally not advised.

Some pregnancies can continue despite cervical, ovarian cancers

Delicia Honen Yard February 27, 2012

The current trend is to preserve pregnancy in women diagnosed with cervical or ovarian cancer whenever feasible, according to a recent review.

An exit strategy for opioid therapy

Lisa A. Thompson, PharmD, BCOP February 23, 2012

What exit strategy do you recommend for discontinuing opioid therapy?

Side effects of certain cancer drugs may be fatal

Delicia Honen Yard February 22, 2012

Sorafenib, sunitinib, and pazopanib have been found to carry a heightened risk of fatal complications, but the incidence remains low overall.

Two approaches recommended to reduce oxaliplatin toxicity during colorectal therapy

Delicia Honen Yard February 20, 2012

A review addresses the need to balance the effectiveness of oxaliplatin against its dose-limiting complication of neurotoxicity.

Diabetes drug reduces cancer mortality

Delicia Honen Yard February 17, 2012

Cancer patients with diabetes who took metformin were found to have a significantly lower overall mortality than cancer patients without diabetes.

Using ESAs in patients with cancer-related anemia

Sarah Wenger, PharmD; Lisa A. Thompson, PharmD, BCOP February 15, 2012

Although the risks of erythropoietin-stimulating agents can outweigh the benefits, select patients may benefit.

Melanoma treatment creates risk of secondary skin cancer

Delicia Honen Yard February 06, 2012

Investigators have discovered why the pill Zelboraf (vemurafenib), effective against melanoma, may also cause the development of a secondary skin cancer: squamous cell carcinoma.

Experimental agent slows progression of colorectal cancer

Delicia Honen Yard February 02, 2012

The investigational drug regorafenib conferred a statistically significant survival benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in whom no standard therapy was effective.

Bevacizumab delays return of ovarian cancer

Delicia Honen Yard January 13, 2012

The use of bevacizumab (Avastin) improved progression-free survival in women with ovarian cancer, particularly those at high risk for disease progression.

Exemestane lowers "good" cholesterol levels

Delicia Honen Yard January 03, 2012

Exemestane significantly reduced invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women at elevated risk, but the aromatase inhibitor also lowered HDL cholesterol levels.

Zoledronic acid continues to improve survival in premenopausal breast cancer

Delicia Honen Yard December 29, 2011

Long-term follow-up data suggest that adjuvant zoledronic acid results in highly significant disease-free and overall survival, mainly in patients with low levels of estrogen.

Addition of vorinostat yields high remission rate in AML study

Delicia Honen Yard December 28, 2011

An 85% remission rate was noted in a group of patients with acute myeloid leukemia who received the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat in addition to cytarabine and idarubicin.

Pertuzumab enhances outcomes in HER2-positive breast cancer

Delicia Honen Yard December 26, 2011

Women with HER2-positive breast cancer had an improved rate of complete tumor disappearance in just 12 weeks when the monoclonal antibody pertuzumab was added to standard therapy.

Experts have conflicting views on CV risk in prostate cancer therapy

Delicia Honen Yard December 20, 2011

A meta-analysis provides reassurance that androgen deprivation therapy is not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular deaths, but other specialists warn against ignoring this risk.

Ductal delivery of breast drugs may best IV

December 19, 2011

Compared to standard chemotherapy, administering cancer-fighting agents directly into breast ducts rather than intravenously may be safer and less painful for controlling early breast cancer.

FDA Update: December 2011

December 19, 2011

In November and December 2011, the FDA approved a number of new cancer drugs. Highlights include cetuximab for head and neck cancer, Hemacord, and asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi for ALL.

Intensive chemotherapy greatly improved survival for lymphoma patients

Delicia Honen Yard December 12, 2011

Survival improved significantly for persons younger than 60 years with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma when they underwent intensified chemotherapy compared with the standard regimen.

High EGFR plus cetuximab extends survival in lung cancer

Delicia Honen Yard November 23, 2011

People with advanced non-small cell lung cancer tumors expressing high levels of epidermal growth factor receptor are more likely to benefit when cetuximab (Erbitux) is used with chemotherapy.

LATE-BREAKING NEWS: FDA revokes Avastin breast cancer indication

Delicia Honen Yard November 18, 2011

The FDA has revoked its approval of the breast cancer indication for Avastin (bevacizumab). The anti-angiogenic therapy remains indicated for some colorectal, lung, brain, and kidney cancers.

Keep checking on thyroid during use of antineoplastic agents

Delicia Honen Yard November 08, 2011

People with cancer who are being treated with antineoplastic agents should undergo routine testing for thyroid abnormalities.

New treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia improves survival

Delicia Honen Yard November 01, 2011

Combining fludarabine with alemtuzumab significantly increases progression-free survival and prolongs the lives of patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia.