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Drug shortages; metformin and cancer prevention; migraine prevention guidelines; and FDA actions.
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Ipilimumab has recently been approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma. The current trial was undertaken to determine its safety and efficacy in patients with brain involvement.
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Preclinical studies provide a rationale for examining a role for sunitinib in the treatment of breast cancer. However, in this large, multicenter trial, the combination of sunitinib with docetaxel did not prolong progression-free or overall survival when compared to docetaxel alone, and it appeared to be less well tolerated. The role for sunitinib remains to be established for the treatment of breast cancer.
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Side effects of statins; effects of cannabis use; antihypertensives and lip cancer; and FDA actions.
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There has been much written about the salutary effects of moderate alcohol consumption in reference to a number of non-malignant chronic diseases. The effects on cancer in general are less compelling. However, in the current meta-analysis examining alcohol consumption and the development of renal cell carcinoma, a protective effect for light and moderate drinkers is clearly demonstrated. This protective effect is in the 10-20% range.
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Self-reported personal history of endometriosis was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Further, it was differentially associated with clear cell, endometrioid, and low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma in this pooled analysis. No relationship appeared between endometriosis and high-grade serous or mucinous ovarian cancer, or borderline variants of these two histologies. The results suggest further work is necessary to understand whether endometriosis plays a strategic precursor role in certain ovarian cancer histological subtypes.
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In a retrospective review of 267 patients evaluated at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center with apparent early-stage, node-negative breast cancer, 15% were found to harbor "occult" metastases upon more intensive scrutiny of the axillary node specimens. In this series, long-term follow-up indicates that such discovery was not associated with a greater frequency of recurrence or poorer survival.
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In a small, single-institutional, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 14 eligible patients (median age 47 years) with clinical and radiographic evidence of radiation necrosis secondary to prior head-and-neck or CNS irradiation were randomized to receive intravenous saline of bevacizumab at 3-week intervals. Patients were followed with serial MRI scans, neurologic examinations, and formal neuropsychological examinations.
