Christin Melton

An interview with Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of the book "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer."

Patients with cancer whose treatment includes any drug that inhibits signaling via the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway should receive regular blood pressure (BP) monitoring according to a panel of experts convened by the Angiogenesis Task Force of the National Cancer Institute Investigational Drug Steering Committee.

To help physicians manage the complexities of meeting benchmarks and reporting their compliance to payers, US Oncology recently announced Payer Quality Services. This program will give physicians in the United Network of US Oncology access to a collection of resources and tools, including the Level I Pathways Program.

Two studies presented at the 2010 Digestive Disease Week support the use of colonoscopy in elderly African Americans and Hispanics.

PLX4032 is an investigational treatment for metastatic melanoma, which some are calling a �miracle cure� following a 3-part article in the New York Times that discussed promising patient responses. A closer reading of the article makes it clear that PLX4032 does not cure metastatic melanoma, something Keith Flaherty, MD, a lead investigator on PLX4032, has confirmed in an interview with Oncology & Biotech News.

Fatigue and anemia often go hand-in-hand in patients with cancer. In fact, anemia is frequently a cause of fatigue. Both conditions may result from the cancer itself, from treatment, or from underlying causes.

This year, most Americans have seen the value of their home drop faster than a lead weight. If you purchased your home in the last 10 years, during the housing boom, you will likely find that it is worth less today than what you paid for it-and in some cases less than what you still owe.

Bristol-Myers Squibb wrote down $300 million on auction-related securities. Wyeth lost $70 million on the collapses of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual. Genentech took a $67 million hit on its investments in financial institution preferred securities. Bayer reports that 80% of its material science unit customers are having problems accessing credit, leading to destocking. Despite these losses, Moody's assessed the liquidity profile of 9 major pharmaceutical companies in mid-October as relatively safe.

Blood testing plays a critical role in diagnosis and treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

PLX4032 is an investigational treatment for metastatic melanoma, which some are calling a "miracle cure" following a 3-part article in the New York Timesthat discussed promising patient responses.

The motto for Onyx Pharmaceuticals is "Changing the Way Cancer is Treated." With a successful 2009 behind it and a busy 2010 ahead, Onyx is staying true to its word.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has issued new practice guidelines for managing certain patients with prostate cancer.

Jianfeng Xu, MD, professor of epidemiology and cancer biology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, North Carolina, and colleagues discovered a variant predictive of aggressive prostate cancer.

In 2009, we covered several long-term studies investigating the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) alone or sequenced with tamoxifen. This includes the Intergroup Exemestane Study (IES), the TEAM trial, and the BIG 1-98 trial, all of which presented new or updated data at the 2009 SABCS in December.

For women with breast cancer, alcohol consumption and obesity herald a poorer prognosis. In one of only a few studies to evaluate the role of alcohol in breast cancer outcomes, researchers found that imbibing just half a drink per day���¢�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½or 2 to 3 per week���¢�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½raised the risk of breast cancer recurrence by 39%. In a second study involving ~19,000 women, body mass index (BMI) ���¢�¯�¿�½���¥25 increased the risk of distant metastasis by approximately 45%, study involving ~19,000 women, body mass index (BMI) ���¢�¯�¿�½���¥25 increased the risk of distant metastasis by approximately 45%.

Bisphosphonates have been a hot topic at the past several SABCS meetings. This year was no exception. In addition to bisphosphonates' protective effects on bone, researchers have been looking at whether they have anticancer effects.

As part of our ongoing coast-to-coast oncology coverage, our writers were live in Texas at the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Our special SABCS wrap-up delivers all the major breast cancer news�including data on MRI screening, bisphosphonates, and aromatase inhibitors�to oncologists unable to attend the event.

In another discovery that may help tailor the treatment of women with breast cancer, researchers from the Dana-Farber Women's Cancers Program determined that overexpression of the LAPTM4B and YWHAZ genes on chromosome 8q22, combined with amplification of other genes, conveys resistance to anthracyclines and increases the likelihood of metastatic recurrence.

The Third Annual IPCC: "Translating Advances into Clinical Practice," is to be held in New York City on Saturday, March 27, 2010. Recent developments in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer most relevant to community-based physicians will form the core areas of discussion.

A study presented at the 51st American Society of Hematology Meeting and Expedition reported that 5 days of palonosetron (Aloxi) was significantly more effective than ondansetron at preventing delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

At the 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, new data from the CRYSTAL trial identified BRAF gene mutations as a poor prognostic indicator in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) but not predictive of response to therapy.

UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest insurers in the United States, has launched the Oncology Care Analysis database, which it designed with assistance from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). UnitedHealthcare plans to provide oncologists with assessments of their care for individuals with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 designated $87 billion for state Medicaid programs, enacting major increases in federal matching rates. Despite the boost from ARRA, state budgets have been groaning under the weight of the economic downturn, with 29 of them planning to make Medicaid cuts in 2010.

The use of oral oncolytics is increasing, with 14 approved already and nearly one-quarter of the oncology pipeline consisting of oral therapies. Despite this, the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), a nonprofit organization that advocates for patients and providers in the community oncology setting, said many patients still have difficulty getting access`to targeted oral oncolytics.

The Third Annual Interdisciplinary Prostate Cancer Congress (IPCC) will take place on Saturday March 27, 2010, in New York City.

A persistent concern about using marijuana for medical purposes has been the lack of clinical trials demonstrating marijuana's effectiveness in any of the conditions for which it is legally prescribed in many states. Now, a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) has presented a summary of studies to the California legislature that claims smoking marijuana relieves pain in several chronic illnesses.

Falls remain the most commonly documented adverse event in the hospital setting.

To help address delays in nuclear imaging procedures caused by an isotope shortage that resulted when two Canadian reactors went offline in 2009, the Academy of Molecular Imaging and other professional societies urged CMS to grant coverage for the use of NaF-18 PET in diagnosing bone metastases in patients with cancer.

A study presented at the ASCO 2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium found that adding urine testing to cystoscopy to monitor patients for bladder cancer recurrence greatly increases costs without a corresponding clinical benefit.

In February 2010, the FDA announced it would be developing and implementing stringent measures to regulate patient exposure to radiation associated with imaging studies, in particular from computed tomography (CT) scanning.