COPD In African Americans Increases Risk of Lung Cancer

According to an article in HealthDay News, a new lung cancer risk assessment designed specifically for black Americans suggests that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a much greater lung cancer risk factor for blacks than for whites.

Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston analyzed data from 491 black lung cancer patients and 497 blacks without lung cancer to identify risk factors for the disease.

A comparison of risk factors for blacks with a previously established risk prediction model for whites revealed that black men with a prior history of COPD have a more than six-fold increased risk of lung cancer, similar to the increased risk associated with smoking. The lung cancer risk among black men with COPD is about two times greater than among white men with COPD.

The findings were published in the September issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

Read the rest of the article at AOL News.

Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Sparks Heart Trouble

According to an article in MedPage Today, stress and anxiety after receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer may trigger cardiovascular events, researchers said here.

Men were at a 50% elevated risk of fatal cardiovascular events in the year after prostate cancer diagnosis and a 30% greater risk of a nonfatal event, according to a large population-based study presented here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Events were most likely in the first week after diagnosis and in younger men and those without cardiovascular risk factors, reported Fang Fang, M.D., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues.

These findings may not be surprising because of the well-established link between emotional stress and cardiovascular events, said Bruce J. Roth, M.D., of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn., who commented on the study as chair of the conference program committee.

Although it's likely that the same effect would be seen in patients diagnosed with any type of cancer, Dr. Roth said there are implications for prostate cancer screening.

Read the rest of the article at MedPage.

Cancer Drug Tarceva Linked to Kidney and Liver Problems

OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech, makers of Tarceva, said in a letter sent to physicians that the new safety information comes from a pharmacokinetic study in patients with advanced solid tumors and moderate hepatic impairment, as measured by Child-Pugh criteria.

In the study, 10 of 15 patients died on treatment or within 30 days of the last erlotinib dose.

Eight of the patients died of progressive disease, but the deaths from hepatorenal syndrome and rapidly progressing liver disease prompted today's notice.

Erlotinib is approved for monotherapy of locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. It is also approved in combination with gemcitabine (Gemzar) for first-line treatment of locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Read more about this at MedWatch

Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer Mortality Cut

According to a long-term study in Sweden, 18% of men given hormone therapy for locally advanced prostate cancer died of their tumor after a median follow-up of 10 years, said Anders Widmark, M.D., of Umea University in Umea, Sweden.

Surprisingly, he added, the cancer mortality was reduced to 8.5% for those who also had localized radiation therapy, Dr. Widmark said at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting here.

"External beam radiation treatment should be used along with hormone therapy to increase survival for men with locally advanced prostate cancer," Dr. Widmark said before his late-breaking plenary presentation.

The study didn't just focus on longevity, but also on quality of life. It monitored and measured factors not commonly considered like erectile dysfunction and other side effects experienced by prostate cancer patients both during and following treatment.

To read the rest of the article, go to MedPage.

Drug Combination Shows Hope for Ovarian Cancer

According to an article in the Washington Post this week, the anti-cancer drug trabectedin shows promise in treating women with recurrent ovarian cancer, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

With more than 20,000 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and more than 15,000 deaths from the disease yearly, early detection and treatment are imperative. In cases where the cancer is caught early and confined to the ovaries, survival rates are as high as 90% for five years following treatment. Once the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries, the survival rate drops to 30%.

Trabectedin (brand name Yondelis) is used in Europe and South Korea to treat advanced soft tissue sarcoma. It's also being tested for treatment of prostate, breast and pediatric cancers.

The international Phase III study included 672 ovarian cancer patients whose disease had progressed after first-line treatment. Half the women received standard treatment with the chemotherapy drug pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, while the other half received the chemotherapy drug and trabectedin.

Women who received the combination therapy had no cancer progression for an average of 7.3 months, compared to 5.8 months for those who received the chemotherapy drug alone.

Read more about this at the Washington Post.

X-Rays for Detecting Colon Cancer

The New England Journal of Medicine revealed a federal study of an x-ray alternative to colonoscopies. The colonography method was confirmed as effective at spotting most cancers.

The study, the largest of its kind, identified 9 out of 10 people who had cancers or large growths diagnosed previously by standard colonoscopy by using the "virtual colonoscopy" (x-ray method). Though better at ruling out cancer rather than detecting it, the virtual colonoscopy has real value in showing who needs a regular colonoscopy.

By utilizing the x-ray detection method, more people may opt to be screened as the procedure is non-invasive and involves none of the embarassment of a regular colonoscopy. Since early detection is vital in treating the various forms of colon cancers, this new screening may help many people who have shied away from the standard form of colon cancer screenings.

With costs of colonoscopies running about $3,000 per test, and x-rays costing just $300-$800, Medicare is considering paying for the cheaper, less intrusive option.

More information is available through the New England Journal of Medicine.