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In a retrospective review of adjuvant chemotherapy for elderly (≥ 75 years) patients with stage III colon cancer, performance status and comorbidities were important treatment decision factors. Disease recurrence rates were not different for those who received adjuvant treatment vs those who did not, but 1-year and 5-year survival was significantly better for the treated group. The difference at 5 years remained apparent in multivariate analysis controlling for age, performance status, and comorbidities.
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In this study, the authors studied the prognostic value of plasma Epstein Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels at diagnosis and 6 months post-treatment in patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma treated on the North American Cooperative Intergroup Trial E2496.
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In a single institutional study (M.D. Anderson), 60 older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia were treated with lenalidomide. Thirty-five of the 60 patients had a response lasting > 36 months, and compared with those who did not have such a durable response, those who did had lower pretreatment ß-2 microglobulin levels and were more likely to have favorable cytogenetics. Lenalidomide treatment was associated with improvement in circulating immunoglobulin levels and T-lymphocyte numbers.
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Evidence-based updates in primary care medicine By Louis Kuritzky, MD
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In a prospective analysis, healthy women known to be carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations chose either bilateral mastectomy or active surveillance. Ascribing to careful methodological detail, the investigators found that those who chose surgery had lower risk for breast cancer occurrence and better survival. Nonetheless, the authors note that longer follow-up and a larger sample size are needed to confirm statistical significance of their observations.
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Imatinib therapy was discontinued in 40 patients who had sustained undetectable BCR-ABL transcripts for 2 or more years, and close follow-up revealed approximately 50% remained with undetectable disease off treatment at 24 months.
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Women undergoing pediatric cancer care are significantly more likely than their siblings to have clinical infertility (≥ 12 months of non-conception despite desired attempts) and total infertility (clinically infertile women who also reported ovarian failure defined as never initiating menstruation or no periods 5 years before baseline questionnaire).
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