August 2011 Vol 4, No 5

Clinical oncology pharmacists evaluate and treat pain through pain management consultations at Porter Cancer Care Center. As part of the comprehensive cancer treatment program at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver, Colorado, Robin Mower, PharmD, and colleagues provide one-on-one pain evaluation consults to enhance the quality of life of patients with cancer. Fortunately, Colorado allows collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) between physicians and pharmacists, allowing the clinical pharmacists at Porter Adventist Hospital to provide pain management under the CDTM protocol. Read More ›

CHICAGO—Decitabine extends overall survival and improves response rates compared with standard therapies in the treatment of older patients with newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), said Xavier G. Thomas, MD, PhD.

CHICAGO—Flaxseed failed to have a significant effect on reducing hot flashes in women compared with placebo, according to results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial supported by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group. The study included breast cancer survivors as well as women who had never had breast cancer who experienced frequent hot flashes throughout the day and night.

ORLANDO—Oncology pharmacists can stick with the approved dosing for sunitinib in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to a study by New York investigators.

ORLANDO—Interim results of a randomized, controlled, phase 3 trial showed that abiraterone acetate significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic castrationresistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who progressed after docetaxel-based chemo - therapy. The survival benefit was consistent across all prespecified subgroups. Lead author Howard Scher, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, said abira - terone is poised to become a new standard of care during his presentation at the 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

SAN FRANCISCO—For patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), advances in molecular profiling have led to an ex - plosion in novel agents specific for targets above and beyond the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Joseph Tabernero, MD, director of clinical research at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain, previewed the future of treatment for CRC at the 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

ORLANDO—Novel dosing regimens of rasburicase can prevent tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) at costs that are much lower than conventional dosing, according to studies presented at the 2010 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition.

CHICAGO—At the ASCO session “Moving the Bar in Upper GI Malignancies,” 2 speakers examined whether recent trials of targeted agents are clinically meaningful or just statistically positive, and whether value is being gained for the enormous amount of money being spent in treating noncolo rectal gastrointestinal (GI) cancer.

Eileen Mary O’Reilly, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, weighed in by examining the bottom line of the major trials.

SAN DIEGO—Use of prandial insulin (ie, insulin given at mealtimes) appears to be linked to cancer risk, according to a substudy of the large randomized Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association. Other factors associated with development of cancer in this substudy included increasing body mass index (BMI), older age, and smoking.