Melissa Weber

Combining Fludara (fludarabine), Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide), and Rituxan (rituximab) was safer and produced a higher response than pairing Campath (alemtuzumab) with Fludara and Cytoxan in patients under age 65 with advanced B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia receiving their first treatment.

Treanda (bendamustine) may be an effective substitute for CHOP as the chemotherapy partner to Rituxan (rituximab) for patients receiving initial therapy for advanced follicular or mantle cell lymphomas.

The key findings from a phase 3 Spanish study are three-fold: less aggressive initial (induction) therapy with once-weekly—rather than twice-weekly—Velcade (bortezomib) was effective; melphalan outdid thalidomide as a partner to Velcade; and following induction with maintenance therapy may be the best approach for treating multiple myeloma patients over 65 who haven’t received previous treatment.

Vitamin supplementation can reduce certain side effects of Folotyn (pralatrexate), and the majority of patients are able to tolerate the full dose, concluded two safety studies in relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Guided imagery decreased stress and relieved anxiety in patients who used the technique before and after radiation therapy for breast cancer, according to a study presented during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Screening with breast MRI may be particularly useful in patients with a high-risk lesion who also have a family history of breast cancer, according to a preliminary analysis of research presented at a poster session on Saturday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

By identifying women at low risk for breast cancer, resources can be redirected to high-risk women, thus lowering the incidence of breast cancer, said Jack Cuzick, PhD, on Wednesday during an educational session about breast cancer prevention. It’s a goal, he said, that should be achievable within 10 to 20 years.

Women taking bisphosphonates have less chance of developing invasive breast cancer than women who don’t take the bone-strengthening drugs.

A new drug called denosumab may soon give Zometa (zoledronic acid) competition as the standard of care in treating bone metastases in patients with advanced breast cancer. Patients taking denosumab not only had fewer bone complications, but they took longer to develop compared with Zometa, reported researchers of a phase 3 study presented Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

An enzyme called CYP2D6 converts tamoxifen to its active form, and some research has suggested that if the enzyme is blocked, tamoxifen won’t be as effective, thus causing patients to recur sooner than women with normal enzyme activity.

A drug that treats liver and kidney cancers delayed locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer in two phase 2 studies presented Friday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium