LungBlog

The widely used cancer drug Avastin appears to be associated with a greater risk of developing blood clots in the veins of patients with a variety of cancers.

Pathologic examination of non-small-cell lung cancer appears to give clinicians clues for refining treatment choices, researchers said here.

“We are entering the era of individualized medicine in lung cancer,” said Chandra P. Belani, M.D., of the Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center, at the Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology.

Tarceva given immediately after chemotherapy may prove to be the magic wand to stem the progress of lung cancer, reveal the results of a new study named Saturn.OSI Pharmaceuticals and its partner Genentech Inc, with whom the former shares the revenue from Tarceva, were pleased with the results. Colin Goddard, OSI’s chief executive officer was glad with the news and asserted that Tarceva was the company’s core asset and major source of revenue.

Patients operated on by surgeons who do not routinely remove cancer from the lungs may be at a higher risk for complications, according to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Center.”Our study found that hospitals that do higher volumes of these types of surgeries have correspondingly lower mortality rates than those who do fewer of the procedures,” said Andrew Shaw, M.D., an anesthesiologist at Duke and lead investigator on the study.

“This has important implications for both patients and doctors: patients should choose a center that does these procedures often, and doctors who are only doing a few of these a year should consider either growing their practices, or focusing their attention on other, less complex, types of surgery.”

One of the most promising recent developments in cancer medicine has been the dramatic responses of some patients with lung cancer to the drugs gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva). Although only about 10 percent of patients with lung cancer respond in this way, a larger group experiences prolonged survival and an improvement in symptoms. Unfortunately, the best way to identify candidates for these drugs, called EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), is not yet clear.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibodies for cancer and serious viral infections, today announced that it has completed enrollment in the first stage of its Phase II trial evaluating a combination regimen of bavituximab with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The primary objective of the study is to assess the overall tumor response rate in patients receiving the combination therapy.

Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States than any other form of cancer, killing eighty percent of those who get it and more than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. It takes more than 160,000 lives each year in the U.S. But, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Gielan, a new approach to fighting lung cancer appears to help at least some patients — an approach apparently applicable to other forms of cancer, as well.

Personalized medicine and targeted cancer therapies are being offered at many academic medical centers and National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Centers. But many Americans who could benefit from personalized cancer care are not getting it.

“There has been a revolution in oncology in the past decade. It has translated into a much different way to approach cancer,” says Dr. Roy S. Herbst, chief of the section of thoracic medical oncology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “But there needs to be an information database for patients. People need to know, how do you get it?”

The search for equally reliable indicators of cancer risk remains in its infancy. But doctors who treat cancer and the organs it invades should follow the cardiovascular model, says Dr. Leslie Ford, associate director for clinical research at the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Prevention.

“I challenge oncologists to think differently — to find people with risk factors for cancer and think about prevention,” Ford says. “They haven’t gotten there. It’s not where the money is . . . and primary care physicians are overcome with other problems. It’s a real challenge, but we’re plugging along. I’m cautiously optimistic.”

A healthcare trust has agreed to provide a life-saving drug free on the NHS in a landmark case brought by a woman with terminal cancer.

Carol Rummels, from Bristol, was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer last summer and given just two months to live. However, after taking the drug Tarceva the tumours shrank, prolonging her life by another year.