ASCO 2015 Highlights

Washington, DC—Real-life experience translated into a research interest for Fedricker D. Barber, RN, MSN, of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. At the 38th Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society, Ms Barber presented a poster about the relationships between adult cancer survivors’ and caregivers’ social support, self-efficacy for physical activity, and quality-of-life (QOL) issues.

Berlin, Germany—A food supplement containing pomegranate seeds, green tea, broccoli, and turmeric—called Pomi-T (natureMedical)—taken twice daily significantly lowered prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels versus placebo in men with localized prostate cancer, according to the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Chicago, IL—Advances in the understanding of the biology of multiple myeloma and the identification of new drugs have resulted in improved management of myeloma, including for disease refractory to the recent proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents that have been added to the treatment of patients with myeloma.

Symptoms of neuropathy may be evident a decade or more after completion of chemotherapy regimens that had been for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), reported researchers from Tilburg University in the Netherlands. Their recent study (Mols F, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2013;31:2699-2707) was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the Dutch Cancer Society.

Niagara Falls, Ontario—Previous studies have shown an association between metabolic syndrome and prostate cancer. A study presented at the 2013 Canadian Urological Association annual meeting during a poster presentation investigated the level of prostate cancer risk in relation to the number of risk factors of metabolic syndrome and prostate cancer grade.

The Affordable Care Act extends and simplifies Medicaid eligi­bility beginning January 1, 2014, by replacing Medicaid’s previous multiple categorical groupings and limitations with one simplified overarching rule: all individuals aged <65 years with incomes less than 138% of the federal poverty level ($15,415 for an individual or $26,344 for a family of 3 in 2012) who meet citizenship/lawful US status and state residency requirements are entitled to Medicaid benefits.

Niagara Falls, Ontario—Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging or MR-guided laser focal therapy for ablating low- to intermediate-risk prostate tumors is showing promise in the hands of a Toronto team, despite a relatively high failure rate.

Chicago, IL—The rate of therapy for localized prostate cancer does not increase in markets with higher penetration of robotic surgical technology and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), according to an examination of trends using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare–linked data­base, according to a poster presentation at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting by lead investigator Florian Rudolf Schroeck, MD, MS, Clinical Lecturer, Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Chicago, IL—Olaparib maintenance therapy prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) and the time to disease progression after a second subsequent therapy in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed serous ovarian cancer. This effect was particularly robust in patients with a BRCA mutation, based on an updated analysis of Study 19.