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February 3, 2012
Sialendoscopy eases radiation-induced sialadenitis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Refractory salivary gland inflammation after radioiodine therapy can often be improved by dilating and irrigating the ducts, a small retrospective analysis shows.
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February 3, 2012
Added thalidomide unhelpful in NSCLC
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Thalidomide should not be added to standard chemoradiotherapy for inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), randomized trial results show.
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February 2, 2012
Brachytherapy for prostate cancer may cause infertility
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The radioactive seeds used in brachytherapy for early prostate cancer may damage the DNA in a man's sperm, a small study finds.
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February 2, 2012
Intense chemo in early unfavorable Hodgkin's disease: toxicity vs. benefits
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A trial of aggressive chemotherapy in early unfavorable Hodgkin's disease has shown improvement in two intermediate endpoints, freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) and progression-free survival (PFS).
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February 2, 2012
Slightly more recurrences with laparoscopic staging of uterine cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk of cancer recurrence is increased after laparoscopic rather than open surgical management of uterine cancer, but only slightly, researchers say.
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February 1, 2012
No need to loosen conflict rules, U.S. FDA head says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress should not loosen conflict of interest rules to expand the pool of potential U.S. government health advisers, the head of the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday.
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February 1, 2012
Family history of gastric cancer tied to survival
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Stage III or IV gastric cancer is about half as likely to be fatal when there's a first-degree family history of the disease, compared to when there isn't, new research shows.
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February 1, 2012
Radioimmunotherapy improves outcome of stem cell transplant for lymphoma
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma being prepared for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) may do better if radioimmunotherapy with Zevalin (Yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan) is added to high-dose chemotherapy in the conditioning regimen, according to Israeli researchers.
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January 31, 2012
Reoperation common after breast-conserving surgery
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One in four women who have breast-conserving surgery for cancer needs a second operation to remove more breast tissue, suggests a new study that also found the rate of reoperation varied widely by surgeon.
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January 30, 2012
Pricey surgery robots lack clear benefits: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As robots march into operating rooms across the nation, yet another study is casting doubt on the technology.
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January 30, 2012
Romidepsin effective for refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Roughly a quarter of patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) are likely to respond to romidepsin (Istodax), according to a report last week.
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January 30, 2012
U.S. FDA approves Inlyta (axitinib) for refractory kidney cancer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pfizer's Inlyta (axitinib) for patients with refractory renal cell carcinoma (RCC) got the nod from U.S. regulators on Friday.
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January 30, 2012
Some benefit seen with anastrozole after tamoxifen for early breast cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared to the usual five-year course of tamoxifen, women with early-stage estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer fare somewhat better with two years of tamoxifen followed by three years of anastrozole, an Austrian team reports.
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January 26, 2012
Elderly cancer patients more likely to be malnourished
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cancer patients age 65 and older are more likely than younger cancer patients to suffer from malnutrition, researchers from Spain said this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in Orlando, Florida.
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January 26, 2012
Vandetanib no aid to docetaxel in pretreated urothelial cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In platinum-pretreated patients with metastatic urothelial cancer, researchers tried to improve outcomes by adding vandetanib to docetaxel, but the results were disappointing.
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January 25, 2012
FDA chides Celgene, Novartis on drug promotion
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January 19, 2012
Roche melanoma pill spurs growth of other cancers
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new study helps explain why up to a third of advanced melanoma patients who take Zelboraf (vemurafenib) develop cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and even points to a potential fix.
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January 17, 2012
Sunitinib, sorafenib occasionally put kidney cancer into remission
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a small minority of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) sunitinib or sorafenib prompt complete remission, European researchers report.
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January 17, 2012
Carotid stenting, endarterectomy both feasible after cervical radiation
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Contrary to traditional thinking, carotid endarterectomy can be done safely in patients who've had cervical radiation therapy, a meta-analysis shows.
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January 13, 2012
GnRH agonist fails to preserve ovarian function in young breast cancer patients
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a randomized trial suggest that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy does not help preserve ovarian function in young women undergoing modern chemotherapy for early breast cancer.
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January 11, 2012
U.S. pharma pays up for scarce assets
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When it comes to healthcare deals, the new motto may be "too expensive to fail."
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January 10, 2012
Radiation does not improve disease-free survival after gastric cancer resection
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding radiotherapy to capecitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy after complete resection of gastric cancer did not significantly improve disease-free survival for most patients in the ARTIST trial.
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January 9, 2012
REFILE: Eighth retraction marks slide of cancer genetics work
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a reminder of how much a once-heralded area of cancer research has crumbled, a former Duke oncologist and his colleagues issued their eighth study retraction late last week.
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January 9, 2012
CORRECTION: Gene expression profiles may improve cancer prognosis, guide therapy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Integrating genomic information with traditional clinical risk factors can refine the prognosis and help optimize therapeutic strategies for patients with early breast cancer, a research team at Duke University reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association for April 1st.
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January 9, 2012
Robot prostatectomy no less likely to leave patients disappointed
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a recent survey, men who had robotic surgery for prostate cancer and men who had lower-tech surgeries were equally likely to have sexual problems and urinary leakage afterward.
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January 6, 2012
Biotech drug makers aim to extend brand dominance
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January 5, 2012
Acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes do not aggregate in families
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Relatives of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are not at increased risk for these diseases, according to findings online December 12 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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January 4, 2012
Hodgkin's lymphoma therapy may bring on early ovarian failure
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who survive Hodgkin's lymphoma may experience premature ovarian failure (POF), depending on what treatment they received, according to European researchers.
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January 3, 2012
Colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis have shorter survival
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Peritoneal carcinomatosis in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer is associated with a poorer prognosis following chemotherapy than other disease manifestations, researchers report in a paper online December 12 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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December 30, 2011
'Wait-and-see' OK if rectal CA responds completely to chemoradiation
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with rectal cancer who have a complete clinical response to chemoradiation can be managed without surgery if they are monitored closely, a new study from the Netherlands suggests.
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December 28, 2011
In breast cancer metastases, receptor status may not match primary tumor
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Knowing the receptor status of breast cancer metastases can help guide treatment, Canadian researchers say.
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December 26, 2011
Brachytherapy alone appears safe, effective in intermediate-risk prostate cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High-dose rate brachytherapy (HDR) is safe and effective in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, according to a small study online November 16 in the Journal of Urology.
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December 22, 2011
Doxorubicin and paclitaxel similar in metastatic angiosarcoma
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Paclitaxel and doxorubicin appear to have comparable efficacy in patients with metastatic angiosarcoma, researchers reported in Cancer.
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December 22, 2011
Late effects of stem cell transplant common and often debilitating
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Up to three-quarters of patients who receive hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) will have late adverse effects, and many will have poor functional status and quality-of-life as a result, a new study shows.
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December 21, 2011
Phantom firms bleed millions from Medicare
MIAMI/ATLANTA (Reuters) - By the time authorities busted a fake AIDS clinic in Miami, it had bilked Medicare of more than $4.5 million. Still, the man behind the scheme remained far ahead of the agents pursuing him.
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December 21, 2011
Long-term survival possible with radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a study from Japan, one in four patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was still alive 10 years later.
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December 20, 2011
Malignant disease limits IVF oocyte yield
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who want to preserve their eggs before cancer treatment should know that doctors probably won't be able to retrieve as many oocytes as they do from healthy women, say the authors of a new report.
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December 19, 2011
Gemcitabine regimen better for some with urothelial cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When patients with advanced urothelial cancer can't receive cisplatin, carboplatin-based regimens are similarly effective, a phase II/III study shows.
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December 15, 2011
"Virtual visits" unpopular among cancer survivors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new survey of breast cancer survivors, few people said that having a follow-up appointment with a doctor or nurse over the phone or online instead of in person would ease their stress and worry.
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December 15, 2011
Chemo alone trumps chemo plus radiation for early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In patients with limited-stage Hodgkin lymphoma, treatment with ABVD chemotherapy alone led to better overall survival than a strategy that includes subtotal nodal radiation therapy, according to new research presented this week at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
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December 15, 2011
Study endorses HPV testing for all women over 30
LONDON (Reuters) - New DNA tests looking for the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer make sense for all women aged 30 or over, since they can prevent more cases of cancer than Pap smears alone, Dutch researchers say.
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December 14, 2011
Adding gemcitabine to docetaxel doesn't help breast CA survival
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Docetaxel plus gemcitabine failed to provide any meaningful benefit over docetaxel alone in a Danish study of women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
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December 13, 2011
No extra birth defect risk after cancer treatment
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Radiation and chemotherapy given to young cancer patients don't seem to increase the risk that their own children will have birth defects years later, according to a new study.
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December 12, 2011
Leukemia drug pulled from U.S. sparks new interest
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A new study of leukemia drug Mylotarg (gemtuzumab), pulled from the U.S. market last year due to safety concerns, found it to be effective when used at low doses in older adults but questions about toxicity remain.
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December 12, 2011
Gene therapy proves effective for hemophilia B
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Researchers have developed a gene therapy that can boost the output of factor IX, possibly offering a long-term solution for people with hemophilia B.
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December 12, 2011
Stem cells used to produce blood platelets
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time created platelets by reprogramming stem cells derived from adult cells, offering the potential for a renewable supply.
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December 9, 2011
Heart disease tied to regret after prostate therapy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men with heart problems are more likely to regret prostate cancer treatment than others, according to a recent study.
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December 8, 2011
Pertuzumab could alter breast cancer treatment
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December 8, 2011
Quicker radiation therapy doubles mastectomy risk
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December 7, 2011
US FDA panel supports Inlyta (axitinib) for kidney cancer
SILVER SPRING, Md. (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc won unanimous expert backing for its experimental drug Inlyta (axitinib) for advanced kidney cancer.