Cancer Patients Fight Fatigue With Ginseng
6/06/2012
High doses of the herb American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over two months reduced cancer-related fatigue in patients more effectively than a placebo, a Mayo Clinic-led study found. Sixty percent of patients studied had breast cancer. The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting...
Cymbalta Helps Treat Chemotherapy-Induced Painful Peripheral Neuropathy
6/05/2012
Antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine) has been found to relieve the symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a painful tingling sensation many patients experience after undergoing chemotherapy. The researchers, from the University of Michigan School of Nursing, reported their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting...
Many men with metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer live longer on continuous androgen-deprivation therapy (also known as hormone therapy) than on intermittent therapy, according to a seventeen-year study led by SWOG, a cancer research cooperative group funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)...
New Therapy On The Horizon For ALK+ Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
6/05/2012
A new compound that targets anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer is well-tolerated by patients and is already showing early signs of activity, including in patients who no longer respond to crizotinib - the only approved ALK inhibitor...
Cancer Patients On Lower Incomes Less Likely To Be Involved In Clinical Trials
6/05/2012
Cancer patients with annual household incomes below $50,000 were less likely to participate in clinical trials than patients with annual incomes of $50,000 or higher, and were more likely to be concerned about how to pay for clinical trial participation...
Duloxetine Helps Relieve Pain From Chemotherapy
6/05/2012
The antidepressant drug duloxetine, known commercially as Cymbalta, helped relieve painful tingling feelings caused by chemotherapy in 59 percent of patients, a new study finds. This is the first clinical trial to find an effective treatment for this pain. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of certain chemotherapy drugs...
Not All Patients Will Pay For Genetic Testing
6/05/2012
More than one-fifth of people who have received referrals to test for cancer-causing genes say they will only undergo testing if their insurance covers the cost - just as more insurers are instituting cost-sharing for medical services like genetic testing, according to new findings from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia released at this year's 2012 Annual Meeting of the A...
Disparities In Cancer Care Associated With A Patient's Socioeconomic Status
6/05/2012
Though it would seem logical, cancer patients don't always choose therapies with the best chance for survival - cost and side effects are also major considerations. Little has been known about the extent to which cost and side effects influence a patient's treatment decision...
Differences In Breast Cancer May Be Indicated By A Newly Discovered DNA Marker
6/05/2012
Researchers and doctors at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered a potential explanation for why breast cancer is not experienced the same way with African American and Caucasian patients. This data was presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting...
Inflammatory breast cancer is a very aggressive type of cancer associated with early metastasis and poor survival rates, and the prognosis is even worse for patients with tumors expressing the ErbB2 receptor. The ErbB2-inhibiting drug lapatinib can slow the spread of cancer cells in individuals with advanced breast cancer who have already tried other chemotherapy medications...