TON - JULY 2012 VOL 5, NO 6

Ginseng has significant activity against fatigue in adults with cancer, according to a randomized trial.¹ Eight weeks of treatment with ginseng significantly improved fatigue scores by 20% versus 10% for patients treated with placebo (P = .003). Moreover, ginseng was as safe as placebo in this preliminary trial.

ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), an oncology-led, quality assessment and improvement program, measured family history taking and genetic counseling/testing practices among 750 community oncology practices. Results of this study revealed gaps that need to be addressed in making sure the taking of family history is accurate and patients whose cancers may have a heritable component get referred for genetic counseling and testing. Read More ›

Many primary care physicians (PCPs) are unaware of the long-term side effects of 4 commonly used chemotherapy drugs for breast and colorectal cancer, according to results of the large Survey of Physician Attitudes Regarding the Care of Cancer Survivors (SPARCCS). Oncologists were much more likely to be aware of the late effects of all 4 drugs, but the survey suggested that there is still room for improvement in educating oncologists about late effects of cyclophosphamide, 1 of the 4 drugs included in the study.

Patients with breakthrough chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) can gain superior relief from olanzapine (Zyprexa), a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as an antipsychotic, compared with standard antiemetic therapy with metoclopramide. The results from this phase 3 study address an important unmet need for patients who experience these side effects despite being given standard antiemetic therapy.

Although the rates of bladder cancer incidence and bladder cancer deaths have been fairly stable over the past 20 years, the disease is still just as serious and deadly. In an effort to learn more about it, let’s take a closer look at bladder cancer, the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in men.

In 2012, an estimated 73,510 adults in the United States (55,600 men and 17,910 women) will be diagnosed with bladder cancer. Approximately 14,880 deaths (10,510 men and 4370 women) will occur from this disease.

The biggest newsmaker at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was a compound whose name and actions sound practically missile-like: T-DM1. Because of its highly targeted and potent effect that spares surrounding healthy tissue, T-DM1 not only has potent antitumor effects but is also very well tolerated.

Although the increased incidence of bladder cancer (BC) has softened in recent years, proposed to be due in part to smoking cessation strategies, BC remains a significant healthcare problem with high recurrence rates.^1,2 Currently, there is inadequate evidence that screening for BC in the asymptomatic population promotes improved overall morbidity or mortality.³ Despite this current state of the science, there is great interest in bettering the gold standard for early diagnosis—cystoscopy, cytology, and imaging—as these are expensive, uncomfortable, and not Read More ›

The antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta) appears to reduce painful peripheral neuropathy associated with taxane-or platinumbased chemotherapy in some, but not all, patients, according to a randomized phase 3 study presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). About one-third of patients treated with duloxetine reported at least a 30% or greater reduction in pain scores versus 17% of placebo patients.