Clinical Trial Results - Cancer Currents Blog
Reports on findings from cancer clinical trials, with commentary from leading researchers on how the trial results will affect patient care.
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Crizotinib Shows Promise for Childhood CancersIn a small clinical trial, the drug crizotinib shrank tumors in children with cancers that have alterations in the ALK gene.
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Extensive Lymph Node Surgery Does Not Increase Survival in MelanomaA conservative approach to lymph node removal surgery may be best for people with melanoma that has spread from the skin to one or a small number of nearby lymph nodes, new results from a large international clinical trial suggest.
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Abiraterone Improves Survival for Some Men with Hormone-Sensitive Prostate CancerIn two large clinical trials, adding the hormone-blocking drug abiraterone to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) allowed men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer to live longer than men who were treated with ADT alone.
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CAR T Cells: Expanding into Multiple MyelomaResults from two early-phase trials presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting suggest that an immunotherapy using genetically engineered immune cells may be effective in patients with advanced multiple myeloma.
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Biomarker Test Could Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies to Detect Prostate CancerFindings from a new study show testing for two biomarkers in urine may help some men avoid an unnecessary biopsy to detect a suspected prostate cancer.
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Less Chemotherapy May Be Best Choice for Some Patients with Colon Cancer, Study ShowsA shorter course of chemotherapy following surgery may be preferred to longer treatment for some patients with colon cancer, results of an international collaborative study suggest.
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HPV Vaccination Linked to Decreased Oral HPV InfectionsA study of more than 2,600 young adults found that the prevalence of oral infection with four HPV types, including two cancer-causing types, was 88% lower in those who reported receiving at least one dose of an HPV vaccine than in those not vaccinated.
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Study Identifies Genetic Mutations in Tumors From 10,000 Patients with Metastatic CancerResearchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have reported the results of an initiative to characterize the genetic mutations in tumors from more than 10,000 patients with advanced cancer treated at the center.
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Intensive Pre-Stem Cell Transplant Regimen May be Best for Younger Patients with AML, MDSResults from a large phase III clinical trial suggest that a highly intensive preparatory regimen should be used for younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes preparing to undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplant.
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Counseling Improves Survivorship Plan Implementation for Low-Income Breast Cancer SurvivorsIn a randomized trial, low-income women who role-played talking with their doctor about their survivorship care plan in a counseling session reported receiving more of their recommended care than women who did not get counseling.
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Collection of Patient-Reported Outcomes Feasible in Cancer Clinical TrialsCancer patients, even those who are undergoing difficult treatments, are willing to devote time to completing thorough assessments of the side effects they encounter in clinical trials, a new study finds.
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Nanoparticles Create Effective CAR T Cells in Living MiceResearchers have developed a method to genetically engineer cancer-fighting immune cells in living animals using nanoparticles that carry DNA. The new study shows that the resulting immune cells, known as CAR T cells, eliminated leukemia in mice.
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Blinatumomab Extends Survival for Patients with Advanced ALLPatients with previously treated acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received blinatumomab, which encourages the immune system to kill cancer cells, lived longer and experienced fewer side effects than patients given standard chemotherapy.
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Researchers Use CRISPR Gene-Editing Tool to Help Turn Immune Cells against TumorsUsing a new tool for editing genomes, known as CRISPR, researchers have genetically engineered immune cells and improved the ability of these cells to kill cancer cells in mice.
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Combination Therapy Improves Survival for Some Men with Recurrent Prostate CancerLong-term results from an NCI-sponsored clinical trial suggest that adding androgen deprivation therapy to radiation therapy can improve survival for some men with recurrent prostate cancer.
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Three-Drug Combination Extends Survival for Patients with Multiple MyelomaA phase III clinical trial demonstrates that adding the drug bortezomib to a commonly used two-drug regimen extends survival in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.
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New Therapy Benefits Patients with Neuroendocrine TumorsResults from a clinical trial suggest that 177 Lu-Dotatate may soon be a new treatment option for some patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors.
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Less-Frequent Zoledronic Acid Treatment Effective at Preventing Bone Metastasis ComplicationsIn a clinical trial involving patients with metastatic cancer, administration of zoledronic acid every 12 weeks was as effective at preventing skeletal-related events caused by bone metastases as administration every 4 weeks.
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Ibrutinib Relieves Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease SymptomsThe targeted cancer therapy ibrutinib can effectively treat the symptoms of chronic graft-versus-host disease, a common and serious complication of allogeneic stem cell transplants, findings from a small clinical trial show.
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For Some Breast Cancer Survivors, Drug May Reduce Treatment-Related Joint PainResearchers have found that duloxetine (Cymbalta®), a drug most commonly used to treat depression, may also reduce joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors in some women being treated for early-stage breast cancer.