ONCOLOGY (US) – VOLUME 4 – SPRING 2008

This issue of US Oncology highlights many of the challenges that we face in our fight against cancer in this diverse world. Clinical drug development has become complex, and independent academic research is in danger. Fortunately, these difficulties are not reflected in the many excellent contributions in this publication, which highlights progress in almost every […]

In the two decades that have passed since Morton and colleagues1 introduced their landmark technique for the identification of sentinel lymph node (SN) metastasis in patients with malignant melanoma, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has proved to be a remarkable tool in the treatment of solid cancers and has dramatically changed the manner in which […]

Angiogenesis is defined as the process by which new blood vessels are formed, and research investigating how this physiological process is regulated has exploded in recent years. Targeting tumor angiogenesis has now become a well-validated approach for treating cancer, and first-generation angiogenesis inhibitors have been approved for clinical use since 2004. The development of effective […]

Cancer treatments and their side effects are often perceived as more debilitating than the actual cancer by many patients.1–3 Nausea and vomiting (NV) are still among the most common, expected, and feared side effects among patients receiving chemotherapy.1–3 In fact, some cancer patients who experience chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) will delay chemotherapy treatments and […]

The relapse rate among patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is 40% within five years after potentially curative treatment.1 The current staging system for NSCLC is inadequate for predicting the outcome of treatment. To guide clinical decisions on the optimum treatment regimen, there is clearly a need to accurately identify patients at high risk […]

Further understanding of cancer biology has allowed the development of several potential molecular targets for cancer treatment. Numerous targeted agents have been evaluated in clinical trials of cancer treatment, and a number of phase III trials have generated definite results. In particular, several agents that target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the angiogenesis […]

Systemic chemotherapy as palliative therapy for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) not amenable to curative therapy can provide meaningful symptom improvement and survival advantage over best supportive care.1 While single agents have demonstrable efficacy and less toxicity, a meta-analysis showed that doublet regimens employing modern cytotoxic agents confer a survival advantage relative to […]

Breast cancer treatment has entered the translational era with the increasing emergence of rationally designed molecular therapeutics, particularly those that target members of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family. The HER-2-targeted agents trastuzumab and lapatinib are now in routine clinical practice and have significantly improved the prognosis for patients […]

Phenoxodiol ([2H-1-Benzopyran-7-ol, 3-(4-hydrophyphenyl] (PXD) is a synthetic derivative of genistein, a naturally occurring plant isoflavone. In the 1980s, genistein was discovered to have modest anticancer activity, and alterations in its structure created PXD and increased its anticancer activity without any toxicity. In vitro and in vivo studies showed PXD not only to be directly cytotoxic […]

Radiation is a common form of therapy for patients with newly diagnosed and localized prostate cancer. It has been estimated that nearly one-third of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients will choose one form of radiation therapy as their primary treatment. Despite modifications of delivering radiation to the gland such as intensity modulation, 3D conformal, and […]

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-cutaneous malignancy afflicting American males. Initial androgen deprivation achieved through either surgical or medical castration leads to symptomatic and biochemical improvement in approximately 80% of men with metastatic prostate cancer. The long-term outcome for patients with newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer was reviewed in a large retrospective analysis […]

Since the early 1990s, earlier diagnosis and improved treatment options have caused a steady decline in the prostate cancer mortality rate.1,2 Consequently, many of the 186,000 men in the US who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 may live for many years with the disease and any long-term treatment-related adverse effects (AEs).2

There is mounting evidence that androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer carries significant health risks. General awareness of the unpleasant but typically tolerable side effects of androgen suppression is not lacking. Recent studies have reported clinically significant cardiovascular morbidity and increased mortality, calling into question the safety of androgen suppression. In the mid-1990s, there was […]

Malignant pleural mesolthelioma (MPM) is a locally aggressive cancer that arises from the multipotential mesothelial cells of the pleura. MPM has a uniformly poor prognosis with a median survival from diagnosis of nine to 12 months.4 Limited treatment options are available for those diagnosed with MPM or at risk for developing MPM from past or […]

Between 1973 and 1998, the incidence and mortality of melanoma in the US increased at rates higher than those for most other preventable cancers.1 In 2007 alone, there were an estimated 59,940 cases of melanoma diagnosed and 8,110 reported mortalities.2 Therapeutic approaches currently undertaken include cancer-specific vaccines, chemotherapy, biochemotherapy, cytokines, specific immunostimulants, and monoclonal antibodies.3 […]

Primary liver cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer in the world, with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) accounting for a large majority of cases. HCC has the highest incidence in East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and is the fastest-growing cause of cancer-related death in the US.1 The liver is also a common site for […]

For most cancers, African-Americans have the highest mortality rates and shortest survival times of any racial or ethnic group in the US. Furthermore, compared with other racial/ethnic groups, African-Americans experience the highest rates of late-stage cancers and consequently the poorest cancer outcomes.1 In addition to later-stage cancer diagnoses, African-American cancer patients in the US frequently […]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, accounting for 23% of all female cancers around the globe. There were an estimated 1.15 million cases diagnosed in 2002.1 There is marked geographical variation in incidence rates, being highest in the developed world and lowest in the developing countries in Asia and Africa. The highest […]