In a nutshell This study examined the effect of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) on the health and quality of life of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. The study concluded that treatment with pembrolizumab was better for patient health than treatment with chemotherapy. Some background Many tumor cells have a protein called PD-L1 which stops the immune...
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Combining immunotherapy to current NSCLC cancer treatment regimes
In a nutshell This study looked at the benefit of adding the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to bevacizumab (Avastin) and chemotherapy. The authors stated that combining atezolizumab to bevacizumab and chemotherapy treatment improved progression free survival and overall survival for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer....
Read MoreNew targeted therapies have potential to improve overall survival for patients with EGFR-mutation positive NSCLC
In a nutshell This study compared dacomitinib (PF-00299804) to gefitinib (Iressa) as a first treatment for patients with EGFR-mutation positive non-small-cell lung cancer. The authors concluded that treatment with dacomitinib provided an improved overall survival compared to gefitinib. Some background Current cancer therapy heavily...
Read MoreComparing targeted therapy to chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC
In a nutshell This trial compared the effectiveness of alectinib (Alecensa) against chemotherapy for treating patients with ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer that have progressed passed previous targeted therapy. The authors determined that alectinib was more effective than chemotherapy at treating this subgroup of patients. Some background Lung...
Read MoreUsing targeted therapy to manage lung cancer disease symptoms
In a nutshell This study looked at the targeted therapy osimertinib (Targrisso) and its effectiveness at managing disease symptoms in patients with lung cancer. The study concluded that osimertinib was more effective than chemotherapy at improving disease symptoms in these patients. Some background New anti-cancer drugs target specific genetic...
Read MoreCombining therapies to treat advanced NSCLC
In a nutshell This trial examined the effectiveness of combining the targeted therapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with chemotherapy at treating certain types of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. The trial concluded that this combination is more beneficial than chemotherapy alone for treating this subset of patients. Some background PD-1...
Read MoreASCO 2018: Chemotherapy Side Effects & Treating Metastatic Lung Cancer
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meets at the beginning of June each year in Chicago. It is the world’s largest oncology organization where researchers from around the world present their research findings. Here are the results of two studies presented during the first couple of days of the conference. Chemotherapy Side Effects and...
Read MoreComparing two targeted therapy drugs – is gefitinib safer than erlotinib?
In a nutshell This study compared two targeted therapy drugs gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva) in terms of effectiveness and safety at treating patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. They concluded gefitinib was as effective as erlotinib but with fewer toxic side effects. Some background Current and newer treatment options...
Read MoreDo patients with advanced lung cancer change their exercise habits?
In a nutshell This study examined the exercise behavior and physical fitness in patients with advanced lung cancer. The authors concluded that regular exercise and therefore physical fitness is reduced after diagnosis of advanced lung cancer. Some background Cancer patients frequently have reduced physical ability and quality of life due to fatigue...
Read MoreDoes a medication used to treat diabetes have anti-cancer potential?
In a nutshell This study looked at the anticancer effect of metformin (Glucophage), a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes. The authors concluded that metformin in combination with current cancer therapies such as chemotherapy improved progression free survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Some background Patients with...
Read MoreDoes a medication used to treat diabetes have anti-cancer potential?
In a nutshell This study looked at the anticancer effect of metformin (Glucophage), a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes. The authors concluded that metformin in combination with current cancer therapies such as chemotherapy improved progression free survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Some background Patients with...
Read MoreIs targeted therapy better at treating advanced NSCLC than current chemotherapy treatment?
In a nutshell This study examined the effectiveness of the targeted therapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) at treating advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, particularly for patients with cancer that has spread to the liver. The authors concluded that nivolumab led to an improved overall survival compared to chemotherapy for these patients. Some background...
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