PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Standard chemotherapy provides equivalent survival rate to experimental in lung cancer patients

2012-09-07
(Press-News.org) Treatment with pemetrexed, carboplatin and bevacizumab followed by maintenance pemetrexed and bevacizumab (Pem+Cb+B) is no better than standard therapy with paclitaxel, carboplatin and bevacizumab followed by bevacizumab (Pac+Cb+B) in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NS-NSCLC), according to research presented at the 2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology. This symposium is sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and The University of Chicago.

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in men and women each year. The current standard treatment for advanced NS-NSCLC patients, the most common form of advanced NSCLC, is either Pac+Cb+B or pemetrexed plus cisplatin. This trial sought to define a new standard of care by comparing Pac+Cb+B to the experimental chemotherapy regimen Pem+Cb+B to determine if either improved overall survival for late-stage lung cancer patients. Pemetrexed plus cisplatin was not tested in this trial.

The 939 patients were randomized to receive one of the two treatment arms every three weeks for up to four cycles. The patients received the same arm for each cycle. Overall survival was not statistically different between the two arms, 12.6 months in Pem+Cb+ Bev versus 13.4 months for the Pac+Cb+B arm, The experimental arm of Pem+Cb+Bev led to a increase in time before progression of disease (PFS) compared with the standard arm of Pac+ Cb+Bev—6 months versus 5.6 months, respectively.

"The fact that there was no improvement in survival with the experimental regimen was disappointing, but these findings are important as we continue to navigate ways to improve survival for this devastating disease," said Jyoti Patel, MD, lead author of the study and an associate professor in Medicine-Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University in Chicago. "It is important to note that both regimens demonstrated tolerability, although their toxicities differed. These differences can be important for our patients."

INFORMATION:

The abstract, "A Randomized, Open-label, Phase 3, Superiority Study of Pemetrexed (Pem) + Carboplatin (Cb) + Bevacizumab (B) Followed by Maintenance Pem + B versus Paclitaxel (Pac) + Cb + B Followed by Maintenance B in Patients (pts) with Stage IIB or IV Non-squamous Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NS-NSCLC)," will be presented during the Plenary Session at 12:30 p.m., Central time on September 7, 2012. To speak with Jyoti Patel, MD, please call Michelle Kirkwood or Nicole Napoli on September 6-8, 2012, in the press office at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile at 312-595-3188. You may also email them at michellek@astro.org or nicolen@astro.org.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Rust never sleeps

Rust never sleeps
2012-09-07
Rust – iron oxide – is a poor conductor of electricity, which is why an electronic device with a rusted battery usually won't work. Despite this poor conductivity, an electron transferred to a particle of rust will use thermal energy to continually move or "hop" from one atom of iron to the next. Electron mobility in iron oxide can hold huge significance for a broad range of environment- and energy-related reactions, including reactions pertaining to uranium in groundwater and reactions pertaining to low-cost solar energy devices. Predicting the impact of electron-hopping ...

Alzheimer's experts from Penn Summit provide strategic roadmap to tackle the disease

2012-09-07
PHILADELPHIA –This week, a strategic roadmap to help to the nation's health care system cope with the impending public health crisis caused Alzheimer's disease and related dementia will be published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. The plan aims to link the latest scientific findings with clinical care and bring together patients, families, scientists, pharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies, and advocacy organizations behind a common set of prioritized goals. The consensus document is the outcome of a June meeting of leading ...

Lack of support for 'ring-fencing' cancer drugs fund revealed

2012-09-07
The public oppose the cancer drugs fund but support the new pricing system for branded medicines, according to a new study. When asked if the NHS should pay more for cancer drugs compared to medicines for an equally serious condition, the majority of 4,118 people surveyed across Britain said it shouldn't. Medicines were favoured, however, if they met the criteria by which the value of new medicines is to be assessed as part of the value-based pricing scheme, due to be introduced from January 2014. Treatments were preferred if they were for severe diseases, if they ...

Influenza research: Can dynamic mapping reveal clues about seasonality?

2012-09-07
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Influenza outbreaks in the United States typically begin with the arrival of cold weather and then spread in seasonal waves across geographic zones. But the question of why epidemics can vary from one season to the next has baffled scientists. In a paper titled "Deviations in Influenza Seasonality: Odd Coincidence or Obscure Consequence," Elena Naumova, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tufts School of Engineering, and collaborators from the U.S. and India suggest that the search for answers has been thwarted, in ...

Needle beam could eliminate signal loss in on-chip optics

Needle beam could eliminate signal loss in on-chip optics
2012-09-07
Cambridge, Mass. – September 7, 2012 - An international, Harvard-led team of researchers have demonstrated a new type of light beam that propagates without spreading outwards, remaining very narrow and controlled along an unprecedented distance. This "needle beam," as the team calls it, could greatly reduce signal loss for on-chip optical systems and may eventually assist the development of a more powerful class of microprocessors. Based at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, CNRS, in ...

The birdy smell of a compatible partner

2012-09-07
New evidence shows that birds may choose their mate with the help of smell. They prefer a dissimilar mate because this gives their young a more efficient immune system. This has been shown in a new study by researchers from Lund University in Sweden, in a Swedish-French collaboration. Humans and many animals can choose a suitable mate by smell. Choosing a mate with the right smell can give the offspring an efficient immune system. This is because each individual's smell can be said to reflect information on the individual's genes. By finding the mate whose genes best ...

Measuring glucose without needle pricks

Measuring glucose without needle pricks
2012-09-07
Sticking yourself in the finger day after day: For many diabetics, this means of checking blood glucose is an everyday part of life. Especially for patients with Type-1 diabetes, who always have to keep a close eye on their levels, since their bodies are incapable of producing the insulin to break down the glucose in the blood. Several times a day, they have to place a tiny drop of blood on a test strip. It is the only way they can ascertain the blood glucose value, so they can inject the correct amount of insulin needed. And this pricking is not only a burdensome: it may ...

Unemployment causes more mental health problems among Somalis in London than in Minneapolis

2012-09-07
Somali immigrants to the UK and USA appear to integrate better and have fewer mental health problems if they are allowed to work and they receive practical support during the first few years of their time in the new country, according to a study led by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London (UK) and published in BioMed Central Public Health today (Friday). [1] The study used a survey and focus groups to investigate the experiences of Somalis living in London (UK) and Minneapolis (USA). After adjusting for various factors such as age, sex and marital status, the ...

Archaeologists uncover 'lost garden' in quest for Richard III

Archaeologists uncover lost garden in quest for Richard III
2012-09-07
Archaeologists from the University of Leicester who are leading the search for the lost grave of King Richard III announced today that they have made a new advance in their quest. They have uncovered evidence of the lost garden of Robert Herrick – where, historically, it is recorded there was a memorial to Richard III. Now the 'time tomb team' as they have become to be known has discovered paving stones which they believe belong to the garden. The University of Leicester is leading the archaeological search for the burial place of King Richard III with Leicester City ...

Premier global health journal, The Lancet, releases series on universal health coverage

2012-09-07
Washington D.C., September 7, 2012 – Every year 100 million people are pushed into poverty because they have to pay for health services directly. With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Results for Development Institute has partnered with the world's premier global health journal, The Lancet, on a special collection of papers exploring the social, political, and economic issues around the global movement towards universal health coverage (UHC) – defined by the World Health Organization as everyone in a population having access to appropriate, promotive, preventive, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists uncover key to decoupling economic growth from pollution in developing countries

Frailty fuels gut imbalance and post-surgery gastrointestinal risks

BMS-986504 demonstrates durable responses in MTAP-deleted NSCLC, including EGFR and ALK-positive tumors

Phase III trial finds hypofractionated radiotherapy with chemotherapy offers comparable survival and lower toxicity to conventional schedule in LS-SCLC

Lung cancer screening benefits adults up to age 80 if surgical candidates, UK study finds

Video assisted thoracoscopy surgery reduces mortality by 21 percent compared to lobectomy

NADIM ADJUVANT trial suggests benefit of adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy in resected stage IB–IIIA NSCLC

EA5181 phase 3 trial finds no OS benefit for concurrent and consolidative durvalumab vs consolidation alone in unresectable stage 3 NSCLC

Training to improve memory

Are patients undergoing surgery for early-stage cancer at risk of persistent opioid use?

Black youth, especially Black girls, use mental health services less than their White peers

Canada must protect youth from sports betting advertising

First-in-human trial shows promising results for DLL3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate SHR-4849 in relapsed small cell lung cancer

Ifinatamab deruxtecan demonstrates high response rate in previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: Phase 2 IDeate-Lung01 trial

Higher blood pressure in childhood linked to earlier death from heart disease in adulthood

AI helped older adults report accurate blood pressure readings at home

High blood pressure in childhood and premature cardiovascular disease mortality

Zidesamtinib shows durable responses in ROS1 TKI pre-treated NSCLC, including patients with CNS disease and ROS1 G2032R mutations

Crizotinib fails to improve disease-free survival in resected early-stage ALK+ NSCLC

Ivonescimab plus chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in patients with EGFR+ NSCLC following 3rd-generation EGFR-TKI therapy

FLAURA2 trial shows osimertinib plus chemotherapy improves overall survival in eGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC

Aumolertinib plus chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in NSCLC with EGFR and concomitant tumor suppressor genes: ACROSS 2 phase III study

New antibody-drug conjugate shows promising efficacy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients

Iza-Bren in combination with osimertinib shows 100% response rate in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, phase II study finds

COMPEL study shows continuing osimertinib treatment through progression with the addition of chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in EGFR-mutated NSCLC

CheckMate 77T: Nivolumab maintains quality of life and reduces symptom deterioration in resectable NSCLC

Study validates AI lung cancer risk model Sybil in predominantly Black population at urban safety-net hospital

New medication lowered hard-to-control high blood pressure in people with chronic kidney disease

Innovative oncolytic virus and immunotherapy combinations pave the way for advanced cancer treatment

New insights into energy metabolism and immune dynamics could transform head and neck cancer treatment

[Press-News.org] Standard chemotherapy provides equivalent survival rate to experimental in lung cancer patients