NEWS
Experimental Drug Improves Survival in Advanced Melanoma
An experimental drug that targets the immune system, ipilimumab, has helped patients with advanced cases of melanoma live longer than expected. The results are from the first large randomized clinical trial to show an improvement in survival for patients with advanced melanoma whose disease had progressed on other treatments.
Patients who received ipilimumab lived nearly 4 months longer than those who received an experimental therapeutic vaccine that has shown some activity against melanoma: median survival was 10.1 months for those who received ipilimumab versus 6.4 months for those who received the vaccine. The difference was both statistically significant and, given the lack of any effective treatment options for advanced melanoma, clinically meaningful for patients, researchers said earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. Read more > >
Trials Point to More Treatment Options for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Second-generation agents outperform imatinib, at least in short-termPartial Breast Irradiation Safe for Some Women with Invasive Breast Cancer
Authors caution that results only apply to patients with disease characteristics similar to those studiedChemotherapy Combo Improves Survival in Elderly Lung Cancer Patients
Rare clinical trial in older patients shows benefit of two drugs versus oneAdding Radiation to Hormone Therapy Improves Survival in Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer
Combined therapy should be standard treatment for these men, researchers say
COMMENTARY
Guest Director's Update: Pushing the Boundaries of Possibility through Strategic Collaboration
In light of the mounting evidence of cancer’s complexity presented by researchers from around the world at this year’s annual meetings of the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, I remain both sober and hopeful about the future of our work. In a way, we now stand at a defining moment in the history of cancer research. Just as high-throughput technology and computing capacity made it possible to discover what exactly constitutes a human genome, it is clear that we can now harness these same techniques to determine the exact nature of cancer genomes.
To successfully do this, though—to truly push the boundaries of the possible—we must perfect the art of strategic collaboration. Although the contributions and discoveries made by individual investigators remain the cornerstone of new knowledge, effective use of that knowledge now depends on the power of partnership and teamwork. Read more > >
A MESSAGE TO READERS
Clinical Trials Featured on Cancer.gov
This month, the NCI Web site highlights the importance of clinical trials in cancer research. Read more about this topic by clicking the Cancer.gov homepage banner or going to NCI Features: Clinical Trials Shape Cancer Care.
And, if you missed it, visit the NCI Cancer Bulletin special issue on clinical trials enrollment, published May 18, 2010.
IN DEPTH
For Lung Cancer, a New Drug and a Way Forward
Crizotinib targets a rare genetic change found in tumors
Looking at Older Chemotherapy Drugs through a Biological Lens
Researchers revisit older randomized trials to apply new knowledge of cancer biology
Featured Clinical Trial: Optimizing Adjuvant Therapy for Resected Pancreatic Cancer
Will combining adjuvant therapies improve survival in pancreatic cancer patients?
UPDATES
FDA Update
- FDA-ASCO Educational Module Expands Access to Investigational Drugs
Notes
- NCRR and Yale Host Third Annual Clinical Research Management Workshop
- NCAB Convenes Meeting Next Week
- Third Telephone Workshop for Cancer Survivors Slated for June 22
- Administrative Supplements to Increase Awareness of Pediatric Cancers
- caBIG Annual Meeting Slated for September
Selected articles from past issues of the NCI Cancer Bulletin are available in Spanish.
The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which was established in 1937. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases.
For more information about cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov.
NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.
