RICHMOND, VA -- African American men have historically had poorer prostate cancer biochemical and survival outcomes than Caucasians. The question is why? So asked a new study suggesting that emerging data point to nononcologic factors for much of this disparity. The...
Current, But Not Past, Smoking Increases Prostate Cancer Death Risk
SAN DIEGO – While cigarette smoking is a risk factor for mortality in other genitourinary cancers, which appears to be linked to the accumulation of carcinogens in urine, the link has been less clear with prostate cancer, according to a new study. Researchers from the...
Effective Metrics Help VA Exceed National Goal for Colorectal Cancer Screening
More than four out of five veterans eligible for colorectal cancer screening have been screened, putting the largest healthcare system in the United States among the top performers nationwide in this important metric.
More Options, Better Survival for Veterans With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest malignancies in the United States, but new therapies can extend life and improve quality of life for many patients.
Racial Disparities Found in BRCA Testing, Counseling
DURHAM, NC—Despite increases in BRCA mutation testing, racial/ethnic disparities in counseling and testing have persisted for decades, a study argued. The review published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities said its purpose was to summarize recent...
VA Guideline Addresses Dental Management of Head/Neck Cancer Patients
SAN FRANCISCO—Few protocols have been published for the dental management of patients with head and neck cancer to prevent complications from head and neck radiation therapy, according to a new study. The report in the Head & Neck journal pointed out that...
Patients Treated with Thiopurines Have Higher Skin Cancer Mortality
PHILADELPHIA—Treatment with thiopurines is associated with an increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. An article in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology discussed results of a study that looked at...
New Trial Looks at Cabozantinib Combo for First Line Advanced HCC Therapy
CHICAGO—No healthcare system has been more affected by the dramatic rise in hepatocellular carcinoma than the VA. In 2000, the VA had 1,361 patients diagnosed with the disease. By 2005, the number of veterans diagnosed with HCC had more than tripled to 4,989,...
Adherence to Oral Cancer Therapies Suboptimal in Single Center Study
CHICAGO—Management of B-cell malignancies is being changed by increasing use of oral targeted agents for therapy. That also is introducing challenges in prescribing practices and communication between patients, their clinicians and pharmacists, according to a report...
Some Mental Health Disorders Lead to Worse VA Lung Cancer Outcomes
CHICAGO—Past research has demonstrated that cancer patients with comorbid mental disorders often have worse outcomes. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death at the in the United States and is the second most-common type of cancer for both male and...
VA Creates Highly Accurate Model for Predicting Lung Cancer Survival
CHICAGO—The profusion of data available through electronic health records and genomic analyses can guide lung cancer treatment—if clinicians can access key points quickly enough. Researchers at the Boston VAMC and their colleagues found a way to sort through all the...
Some Comorbidity Clusters Associated with Lower Survival in Multiple Myeloma
CHICAGO—Multiple myeloma tends to be a disease of older adults, with an average age at diagnosis of 70. By that age, 3 out of 4 Americans have multiple other chronic conditions as well, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now,...
Adverse Events Linked to Improved Outcomes for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
CHICAGO—Patients may dread the side effects of cancer treatment, but the occurrence of certain adverse events during treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with cabozantinib predicted improved overall survival and progression-free survival in a retrospective...
Pre-Treatment Cognition Associated with Lung Cancer Survival
CHICAGO—Among geriatric patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer, pre-treatment cognition provides crucial information for “prognostication, decision making, and treatment planning,” according to researchers at the San Francisco VAMC and their colleagues. The...
Ketogenic Diet Might Be Helpful for VA’s Cancer Patients
CHICAGO—Researchers at the Pittsburgh VAMC reported a five-patient case series which indicates that a ketogenic diet may help patients with solid tumor cancers. They presented the cases at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting held in Chicago.1...
Half of Patients With Fine Needle Aspiration Need Second Diagnostic Procedure
CHICAGO—Fine needle aspiration can quickly determine whether cancer has spread to pathologically enlarged lymph nodes, but it should not be counted on to diagnose new malignancies or to provide tissue for follow on testing, according to a study published in...
New Combination Boosts Immune Response in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—A team led by researchers at the San Antonio Military Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston discovered that adding nelipepimut-S to trastuzumab significantly increases immune response in women with triple negative breast cancer. The result potentially...
VA Researchers Find Biomarker for Overall Survival in Prostate Cancer
CHICAGO—Tumors do not respond uniformly to cancer therapy. Typically, drug-sensitive portions diminish, while drug-resistant fractions grow. So, what’s the best way to measure efficacy of treatment? And what measures have the most significance for overall survival?...
No Racial Disparity in Time to Treatment for Colon Cancer in MHS
CHICAGO—Previous studies have indicated that non-Hispanic black adults with colon cancer wait longer between diagnosis and treatment and are less likely to receive guideline-adherent therapy than non-Hispanic white patients. Those disparities do not exist in the...
VA Shows Precision Oncology Feasible, Even in Rural Areas
CHICAGO—The rapid proliferation of targeted therapies has revolutionized cancer care, bringing truly personalized treatment ever closer. Limited access to and use of genomic sequencing, however, has kept many patients from using new medications that could work well...
Meta-analysis Confirms First-Line Benefit of Cabozantinib in Metastatic RCC
CHICAGO—A systematic review comparing results of studies of pazopanib and current first-line treatments for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) confirmed the superiority of cabozantinib and nivolumab plus ipilimumab to the older therapy. The meta-analysis was...
VA Researchers Identify Likely Subsequent Health Risks for Cancer Patients
CHICAGO—VA researchers have mapped the most common subsequent diagnoses for veterans diagnosed with several common cancers, allowing clinicians to better personalize care and focus prevention efforts. The study, which enabled creation of a network graph of follow-on...
Overcoming Radiation Resistant Prostate Cancer
LOS ANGELES—For nearly half of the patients with localized advanced prostate cancer, radiation therapy is the primary intervention and standard of care for recurrent disease following surgery. The problem is that nearly 30% to 50% of patients undergoing radiotherapy...
JAK Enzymes Can Treat Leukemia, Lymphoma
NASHVILLE, TN—Precision oncology prescribes the use of molecularly-targeted therapy directed by identification of genomic alterations. A new study suggested the approach is particularly applicable to neoplasms that are resistant to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy,...
Response of Veterans to PD-1 Checkpoint Inhibitors
RENO, NV—The clinical outcomes and the incidence of adverse events for programmed death-1 checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients at a VA clinic were different from the data that have been published, according to a new study. Researchers from the pharmacy service at...
An Article
This is an upcoming special issue of U.S. Medicine, to be published in June 2019. You are reading an article from this special issue of the magazine that is available online.
Surgical Staging Often Inadequate for Gallbladder Cancer
Guidelines frequently aren’t followed when it comes to radical cholecystectomy with regional lymphadenectomy for patients with T1b gallbladder cancer.
Use of Hospice During Treatment Has Limited VA Use
Unlike in most private sector settings, veterans with advanced cancer can receive hospice care concurrently with treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.
Hypertension, MGUS Associated with Herbicide Exposure in Vietnam Veterans
Based on a new review, two conditions–one extremely common and the other rare–appear to be related to herbicide exposure during the Vietnam War era.
Detailed Medical History Crucial for Lung Disease Diagnosis
Both general medicine physicians and specialists can find interstitial lung disease (ILD) and pulmonary fibrosis confusing, according to a recent study.
