Clinical Trial Results - Cancer Currents Blog
Reports on findings from cancer clinical trials, with commentary from leading researchers on how the trial results will affect patient care.
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Take with Food: Study Tests Lowering Dose of Prostate Cancer Drug
In a small clinical trial, researchers compared the efficacy of a much lower dose of the cancer drug abiraterone (Zytiga) taken with a low-fat breakfast with a full dose taken on an empty stomach, as directed on the drug’s label.
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Brentuximab Approved for Initial Treatment of Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma
The FDA has expanded the approved uses of brentuximab (Adcetris) in people with Hodgkin lymphoma. Under the new approval, brentuximab can be used in combination with three other chemotherapy drugs as an initial treatment in patients with advanced disease.
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Acupuncture May Reduce Treatment-Related Joint Pain for Breast Cancer Patients
Joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors in postmenopausal women with breast cancer can cause some women to stop taking the drugs. Reducing their symptoms may translate into better adherence to therapy.
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Drug Combination Improves Outlook for Some Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Interim results from an ongoing clinical trial show that patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with rituximab plus venetoclax have longer progression-free survival compared with patients treated with chemotherapy.
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Expanding Cancer Clinical Trial Access for Patients with HIV
People with HIV are often excluded from clinical trials to protect their safety. Preliminary results from an NCI-sponsored study of an immunotherapy drug show that people with HIV can safely participate in clinical trials.
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Studies Identify Therapies That May Delay Melanoma Recurrence after Surgery
Two recent clinical trials have identified treatments that may delay cancer from returning in some patients with melanoma. Patients in both trials had advanced melanoma that was surgically removed, and each trial tested different forms of post-surgical, or adjuvant, therapy.
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Extensive Lymph Node Removal Doesn't Improve Survival in Some Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Long-term results from a large clinical trial confirm that, for some women with early-stage breast cancer who have lumpectomy as their surgical treatment, a less extensive lymph node biopsy approach is sufficient.
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Crizotinib Shows Promise for Childhood Cancers
In a small clinical trial, the drug crizotinib shrank tumors in children with cancers that have alterations in the ALK gene.
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Extensive Lymph Node Surgery Does Not Increase Survival in Melanoma
A conservative approach to lymph node removal surgery may be best for people with melanoma that has spread from the skin to one or a small number of nearby lymph nodes, new results from a large international clinical trial suggest.
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Abiraterone Improves Survival for Some Men with Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer
In two large clinical trials, adding the hormone-blocking drug abiraterone to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) allowed men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer to live longer than men who were treated with ADT alone.
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CAR T Cells: Expanding into Multiple Myeloma
Results from two early-phase trials presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting suggest that an immunotherapy using genetically engineered immune cells may be effective in patients with advanced multiple myeloma.
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Biomarker Test Could Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies to Detect Prostate Cancer
Findings from a new study show testing for two biomarkers in urine may help some men avoid an unnecessary biopsy to detect a suspected prostate cancer.
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Less Chemotherapy May Be Best Choice for Some Patients with Colon Cancer, Study Shows
A shorter course of chemotherapy following surgery may be preferred to longer treatment for some patients with colon cancer, results of an international collaborative study suggest.
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HPV Vaccination Linked to Decreased Oral HPV Infections
A study of more than 2,600 young adults found that the prevalence of oral infection with four HPV types, including two cancer-causing types, was 88% lower in those who reported receiving at least one dose of an HPV vaccine than in those not vaccinated.
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Study Identifies Genetic Mutations in Tumors From 10,000 Patients with Metastatic Cancer
Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have reported the results of an initiative to characterize the genetic mutations in tumors from more than 10,000 patients with advanced cancer treated at the center.
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Intensive Pre-Stem Cell Transplant Regimen May be Best for Younger Patients with AML, MDS
Results from a large phase III clinical trial suggest that a highly intensive preparatory regimen should be used for younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes preparing to undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplant.
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Counseling Improves Survivorship Plan Implementation for Low-Income Breast Cancer Survivors
In a randomized trial, low-income women who role-played talking with their doctor about their survivorship care plan in a counseling session reported receiving more of their recommended care than women who did not get counseling.
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Collection of Patient-Reported Outcomes Feasible in Cancer Clinical Trials
Cancer patients, even those who are undergoing difficult treatments, are willing to devote time to completing thorough assessments of the side effects they encounter in clinical trials, a new study finds.
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Nanoparticles Create Effective CAR T Cells in Living Mice
Researchers have developed a method to genetically engineer cancer-fighting immune cells in living animals using nanoparticles that carry DNA. The new study shows that the resulting immune cells, known as CAR T cells, eliminated leukemia in mice.
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Blinatumomab Extends Survival for Patients with Advanced ALL
Patients with previously treated acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received blinatumomab, which encourages the immune system to kill cancer cells, lived longer and experienced fewer side effects than patients given standard chemotherapy.