Researchers from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick have concluded that active surveillance is an appropriate treatment for many elderly patients with prostate cancer, especially if low-grade. The details of this study were presented at the 2008 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in February of 2008 in San Francisco.

Researchers affiliated with the National Cancer Institute have reported that the five-year net cost to Medicare for patients diagnosed with cancer in 2004 is over 21 billion dollars. These results were published in the May 7, 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers from Rotterdam have reported that overall and disease-specific survival were not different in patients receiving immediate or delayed anti-androgen therapy for Stage II–III prostate cancer. The details of this randomized trial were presented at the 2008 ASCO Genitourinary Cancer Symposium in February in San Francisco.

Researchers from the Dana Farber Cancer Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School have reported that mutations within the CYP2D6 gene may affect the way in which a patient with hormone-positive breast cancer responds to tamoxifen (Nolvadex®). These results were recently published in the May 7, 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers from Barcelona, Spain, have reported that expression of the PTOV1 (prostate tumor overexpressed-1) gene helps predict the likelihood of the development of prostate cancer among men with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN). These results were recently published in the May 2008 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital have reported promising results of treatment of early-stage laryngeal cancer with a new laser called the pulsed angiolytic KTP. The details of this Phase II study were presented at the 2008 meeting of the Broncho-Esophagological Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, on May 1. Details of this study are available on the Massachusetts General Web site, and a definitive report will be published in the July 2008 issue of the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A meta-analysis of studies of taxanes alone or in combination with anthracyclines as first-line therapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer shows that neither approach provides a survival advantage.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Targeted drug-carrying bacteriophage nanoparticles can be used to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to cancer cells, according to a report in the April 3rd issue of BMC Biotechnology.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even years after the end of tamoxifen therapy, adjuvant treatment with letrozole appears to be effective in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive, early-stage breast cancer, researchers report in the April 20th issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers from Korea have reported that a physician must perform at least 150 colonoscopies to be considered competent at the procedure. Details of the study were recently published in the April 2008 issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Researchers affiliated with the American Cancer Society have reported that few cancer survivors are following recommendations for lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and smoking cessation. Full details of the study were published in the May 1, 2008 edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A panel of expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will meet at the end of this month to review GlaxoSmithKline Plc's experimental drug for treating a disorder in which the blood does not clot properly, according to Amgen Inc.

Researchers associated with a multicenter U.S. Phase II clinical trial have reported that the addition of Nexavar® (sorafenib) improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced melanoma receiving dacarbazine. The details of this study appeared in the May 1, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute have reported that regular use of aspirin, but not non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) in general, may modestly reduce the risk of developing hormone-positive breast cancer. These results were recently published online by Breast Cancer Research on April 30, 2008.

Researchers from Vanderbilt University have reported that hypersensitivity reactions to Erbitux® (cetuximab) are related to the presence of IgE antibodies present before therapy. The details of this study appeared in the March 13, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers from the University of Virginia have reported that photodynamic therapy (PDT) and stent placement was more effective than stent placement alone for patients with inoperable cholangiocarcinoma. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the March 2008 issue of Clinical Gastrointestinal Hepatology.

Two recent publications in the May 1, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that molecular testing can be of prognostic significance in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with normal cytogenetics.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postoperative pain in children with cancer can be safely managed with simultaneous epidural and intravenous opioids, according to researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Patients who receive an organ transplant are at an increased risk for developing various types of cancer, including skin cancers. It recommended that these patients receive extensive education about risks of skin cancer as well as screening measures. These results were recently presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) predict poor outcomes in patients receiving chemoradiotherapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, Japanese researchers report in the April issue of BJU International.

Researchers from the Hoag Cancer Center in California have reported that surgery for the treatment of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients 80 years and older is a safe and effective treatment approach for those who are eligible. These results were recently presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have reported that regular mammograms among women 80 years of age and older may detect earlier stages of breast cancer. These findings were released in an early online publication of the Journal of Clinical Oncology on April 21, 2008.

Researchers from Canada have presented further evidence that certain dietary patterns may help prevent breast cancer among both women with a genetic risk for the disease and those with no genetic risk. These findings were published early online in the Journal of Cancer Detection and Prevention.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In women with early-stage, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, extended therapy with the steroidal aromatase inhibitor exemestane after 5 years of treatment with tamoxifen significantly improves relapse-free survival, according to an analysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-33 trial.

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have reported that “there is absolutely no justification for indoor tanning,” citing the associated risk of skin cancer and the availability of vitamin D from sources other than UV exposure. These results were presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Researchers involved in a multicenter Phase I–II trial have reported promising activity of GVAX® in patients with locally recurrent prostate cancer who had not received hormone therapy. The details of this trial were presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12-18, in San Diego.

Researchers from the Dana Farber Cancer Center have reported that Gleevec® (imatinib) may be a promising therapy for patients with KIT-mutated melanoma. The results of treatment with one patient were published in the April 20, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers affiliated with the U.S. Gastrointestinal Intergroup trial RTOG 98-11 have concluded that there is no advantage to a cisplatin based-regimen over a mitomycin (Mutomycin®)-based regimen for the treatment of carcinoma of the anal canal. The details of this randomized study were published in the April 23-30, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers from the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, have reported that the investigative vaccine E75 may have survival benefits for patients with breast cancer that has low expression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). These results were recently presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12-16 in San Diego.

Researchers from the United Kingdom have reported that between 1994 and 2004 there has been a greater decline in prostate cancer deaths in the United States than in the United Kingdom. These authors speculated that this may be due to differences in PSA screening. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Lancet Oncology on April 17, 2008.

Researchers from the United Kingdom have reported that adjuvant low-dose involved-field radiotherapy plus 5-FU and Mutomycin® (mitomycin C) is very effective in preventing recurrences in patients with anal carcinoma who have close surgical margins, microinvasive disease, or macroscopic residual disease. The details of this study appeared in the February 1, 2008 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Therapy Biology Physics.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A treatment approach that incorporates surgery, radioiodine, and external beam radiotherapy is likely to be the best way to manage patients with thyroid cancer occluding the great veins of the neck, the results of a small case series suggest.

Researchers affiliated with the APC trial (Adenoma Prevention Celebrex) have reported that Celebrex® (celecoxib) reduces the rate of colon adenomas at five years and appears safe, even among patients with cardiovascular disease. These results were recently presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12-16, in San Diego.

Researchers from the Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute in Arizona have reported that Abraxane® (paclitaxel) and Gemzar® (gemcitabine) appeared promising for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. These results were recently presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12-16, 2008 in San Diego.

Taxotere® (docetaxel) given every three weeks and Taxol® (paclitaxel) given weekly following AC (Adriamycin® [doxorubicin], Cytoxan® [cyclophosphamide]) result in similar outcomes in the adjuvant treatment of localized breast cancer. These results were recently reported by researchers affiliated with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), the Cancer and Acute Leukemia Group G (CALGB), and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) and published in the April 17, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, letrozole suppresses plasma estradiol and estrone sulfate more completely than does anastrozole, according to UK researchers.

Researchers from Italy have reported the prognostic characteristics of more than 600 consecutive cases of newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The details of this study were published in the February 2008 issue of Neuro-Oncology.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Increasing attention to palliative care has reduced suffering for children with cancer in recent years, according to a report in the April 1st issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study have reported that consuming just one alcoholic drink per day may increase the risk of hormone-sensitive breast cancer. These results were presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, April 12-16 in San Diego.

A novel drug still in early clinical trials, GDC-0449, appears highly effective in shrinking large basal cell skin cancer with limited side effects. These results were recently presented at a late-breaking session at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers from the University of California Irvine have reported that the combination of the difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and sulindac reduces the rate of colon adenomas by up to 95% among patients who have had prior colon polyps. These results were presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research held in San Diego, April 12-16, 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bevacizumab can be integrated with a standard platform of fluorouracil, hydroxyurea and radiotherapy (FHX) for treatment of poor-prognosis head and neck cancer, according to a phase I dose-escalation study in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers from Austria have reported that a neoadjuvant regimen of Avastin® (bevacizumab), Xeloda® (capecitabine), and Eloxatin® (oxaliplatin) is well tolerated and effective in patients with colorectal metastases to the liver. The details of this study appeared in the April 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers from the United States and Italy have reported that the ability of computerized tomographic colonography (CTC) to detect abdominal aortic aneurisms and extracolonic cancers in addition to premalignant and malignant colonic neoplasms makes this technique cost effective as compared with colonoscopy or colonoscopy plus ultrasonography. The details of this study appeared in the April 14, 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from France affiliated with the Societe Francaise de Greffe de Moelle et de Therapies Cellulaire have reported that allogeneic stem cell transplants are effective therapy for patients with NK/T–cell lymphomas. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on April 7, 2008.

Researchers from France have reported that high levels of trans fats in the blood contributed to an increased risk of invasive breast cancer. Full details of the study appeared in an early on-line publication in the American Journal of Epidemiology on April 4, 2008.

Researchers associated with the Solid Tumors Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation have reported that increasing the dose intensity of ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) by threefold by using peripheral blood stem cell support did not improve outcomes of patients with limited or extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on April 8, 2008.

Researchers affiliated with a multicenter U.S. trial have reported that Sutent® (sunitinib malate) is active in patients with heavily pretreated breast cancer. The details of this Phase II study were published in the April 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers from West Virginia University have reported that positron emission tomography (PET) is useful for staging of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The details of this study appeared in the January 2008 issue of Clinical Lung Cancer.

Researchers from Italy have reported that patients with refractory colorectal cancer who have high EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene copies by FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) are more likely to respond to treatment with Erbitux® (cetuximab). Details of the study were published in the April 2008 issue of the Annals of Oncology.