In a nutshell The aim of this study was to determine whether the benefit from combination therapy of vandetanib (Caprelsa) and docetaxel (Taxotere) could be linked to specific biological substances in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Some background In advanced stage (IIB/IV) NSCLC, cancer may spread throughout lungs and to other...
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In a nutshell This study aimed to assess use of dacomitinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had previously failed to respond to chemotherapy and erlotinib (Tarceva). Some background NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer. Erlotinib and gefitinib (Iressa) are used to treat NSCLC. They...
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In a nutshell This study investigated which patients with colorectal cancer benefit from adding aflibercept (Zaltrap) to FOLFIRI (5-fluorouracil [Efudex], leucovorin, irinotecan [Camptosar]) as a second treatment for colorectal cancer. Some background About 25% of patients have metastatic colorectal cancer (colorectal cancer...
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In a nutshell The aim of this trial will be to determine whether participating in a physical activity program, along with health education, is more effective at decreasing colorectal cancer recurrence than health education alone. The primary outcome measured in this trial will be disease-free survival (how long following treatment a patient remains...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The study investigated whether a common mutation in non small-cell lung cancer (NSCL), an EGFR mutation, can predict metastatic patterns (how cancer spreads to distant parts of the body) in advanced disease. Some background NSCLC is a common type of lung cancer that can have various underlying causes. Mutations...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors aimed to determine whether abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) can be used to stop tumor activity in castration-resistant prostate cancer in patients with and without PTEN protein function. Some background PTEN is a protein that controls cell processes like survival, replication and movement within the body. It has recently...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors aimed to determine the tumor activity and safety of cabazitaxel (Jevtana) and abiraterone (Zytiga) when used in metastatic castrate-resistant patients (patients whose cancer has spread and no longer responds to hormone therapy) who had previously received docetaxel (Taxotere, Docecad) treatment. Some...
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In a nutshell This study evaluated the benefit of the new HER2-targeted therapy T-DM1 compared to an often-used alternative treatment. Some background Breast cancers expressing the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 protein are known as HER2-positive cancer. In recent years therapies that directly target the HER2 protein, for...
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In a nutshell This paper studied the effectiveness of lapatinib (Tyverb) plus vinorelbine (Navelbine) in treating women with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer. Some background Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancer (elevated levels of HER2 protein in cells) is associated with worse cancer outcome....
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In a nutshell The study investigated whether cetuximab (Erbitux) and brivanib alaniate (BMS-582664) can improve the quality of life of patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Some background Some patients with colorectal cancer have chemotherapy-refractory metastatic cancer (the cancer does not respond to chemotherapy...
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In a nutshell This article looked at using cancer cell type to identify patients who may benefit from drugs used to treat EGFR mutations. Some background Non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common type of lung cancer but can be difficult to treat. Some NSCLC’s have mutations (changes to DNA) and these mutations can be targeted by drugs...
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The article reviews drugs that were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) in the last 20 years. The authors summarize the clinical studies which lead to FDA approval. ‘First-line therapy’ is the initial treatment used to reduce cancer burden. It is usually the standard...
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