Add-on to Chemoradiotherapy Doubles NSCLC Survival for Some Veterans

ANN ARBOR, MI – Median overall survival doubled for veterans with stage III non-small cell lung cancer who received chemoradiotherapy plus durvalumab, as compared to those receiving chemoradiotherapy alone, according to a new study. The authors note that the current standard of care for patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC is concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by durvalumab maintenance, but veterans were not included in the trial establishing that protocol.

Male Veterans With Breast Cancer Fare Worse Than Females

ALBANY, NY – While survival rates for breast cancer generally have improved over the last decades, that is not true for at least one cohort of patients: men. In fact, increased mortality has been documented for male veterans with breast cancer, even after adjusting for age and other clinical factors. VA researchers tried to determine why.

Statins Reduce Some Lymphomas in Veterans With HIV

Statins appear to have immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and appear to reduce cancer risk. A new study sought to determine if that also is the case with HIV patients, who experience chronic inflammation and immune activation.

Prognosis Beginning to Improve for T-cell Lymphoma Patients

LONG BEACH, CA – Among hematological malignancies, T-cell lymphomas have an extremely poor prognosis. A new review suggested that might be changing with unusual paths to cure. An article in the Lancet Haematology pointed out that, over the last three decades, little...

VA Dramatically Reduces ESA Use for Cancer-Related Anemia

COLUMBIA, SC -- Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents were indicated for use in patients with cancer who receive noncurative myelosuppressive chemotherapy, with the intention of mitigating symptoms and side effects to decrease the need for red blood cell transfusions....

ART Has Changed the Cancers Associated with HIV

New York—Antiretroviral therapy transformed infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from a death sentence to a chronic condition, along the way changing virtually everything about the disease, including its association with cancer. For years, specific...

Acute Kidney Injury Risk With Stem Cell Transplant

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be a life-saving therapy for many patients with cancer, as well as patients with some nonmalignant hematologic disorders, such as aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease, and certain congenital immune...

Is Radiation Therapy Linked to Second Cancer Diagnoses?

STANFORD, CA – How likely is a second cancer diagnosis after primary cancer treatment with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), or proton beam radiotherapy (PBRT) for lymphoma and other cancers? Researchers from...

VA Has More Options as Treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma Expands Rapidly

Most patients with mantle cell lymphoma, which is considered a presumptive condition for veterans exposed to Agent Orange, face a rapidly progressive disease and higher mortality rates. New therapies are giving VA clinicians more options to help MCL patients. For example, the availability now of three Bruton tyrosine kinase [BTK] inhibitors is allowing treatment to be better matched to the needs of the patient.

Hepatitis C ‘Cure’ Doesn’t Always Prevent Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development

More than 100,000 VA patients have been cured of hepatitis C with direct-acting antiviral treatment. Even though HCV is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States, curing the infection only reduces the risk; it doesn’t entirely eliminate it. That’s why the VA has continued with research to determine who is at greatest risk of HCC and is looking at expanding screening.

CLL Treatments Shift Significantly at VHA From 2013-2018

DENVER, CO – Since the first novel agent was approved for use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in 2014, how have treatment regimens changed at the VHA? That was the question behind a presentation at the recent 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncologists...