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In a trial of two platinum-based chemotherapy regimens for non-small-cell lung cancer in older patients, pretreatment assessment of physical function and quality of life predicted certain different adverse outcomes but neither treatment assignment was superior to the other with regard to improved "global" quality of life.
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FDA issues multiple drug safety alerts; ARBs and cancer risk; and FDA actions.
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A 57-year-old, postmenopausal African American schoolteacher was found by annual screening mammogram to have a suspicious irregularity. Follow-up ultrasound did not reveal cystic disease so a repeat "spot" mammogram-assisted biopsy was obtained and a grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma with tubular elements was found.
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Preclinical data suggest bortezomib and rituximab have synergy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). The authors studied bortezomib, rituximab, and dexamethasone in relapsed and refractory MCL using 1.3 mg/m2 of bortezomib on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 with rituximab on day 1 and 40 mg of dexamethasone on days 1-4.
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In a retrospective analysis of risk factors for the development of cerebral metastases in patients with known metastatic breast cancer, several factors including ER, HER-2, patient age, and site of first metastatic recurrence were found to be predicted. Using a cumulative incidence model employing competing-risk regression analysis, small initial tumor size, and the absence of metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis appeared to be independent risk factors.
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In a case-control study, patients with prostate cancer and matched controls were asked to recall whether they experienced male-pattern baldness by 20, 30, or 40 years of age. Prostate cancer patients were twice as likely to have alopecia at age 20 than controls. Early-age alopecia was not associated with early diagnosis of prostate cancer or with markers of disease aggressiveness. Thus, men with male-pattern baldness at age 20 may be at higher risk for the development of prostate cancer and perhaps more aggressive screening or other disease preventing interventions might prove beneficial for this population.
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In a multicenter randomized (not blinded) Phase 3 study of erlotinib vs chemotherapy for EGFR-mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), progression-free survival was both significantly greater and toxicity less for patients treated with erlotinib. The findings suggest that erlotinib should be considered first-line therapy for patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC.
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ACEI/ARB therapy for AS; safety alert issued for dronedarone; statins and cancer risk; nesiritide and heart failure; and FDA actions.
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Older age is an adverse prognostic factor for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the pre-tyrosine kinase era. The authors evaluated the influence of age on outcomes among 559 chronic-phase CML patients treated with imatinib.
