Cancer Treatment Today

Cytogenetics are now routinely recommended for myelofibrosis. Guidelines (Reilly et al) indicate that beyond a routine bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, JAK2 V617F mutation screening should be carried out routinely in patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF). Quantitative results are not required for clinical management.BCR-ABL1 rearrangement should be excluded in cases with atypical trephine biopsy features, or if the patient lacks a mutation

Recent literature suggests that a subgroup of Hairy Cell Leukemia(HCL), sometimes called Variant Hairy Cell(HCL-V)  may in fact be a different type of Lymphoma and not Hairy Cell, and that it may respond to rituximab to a much higher extent than common Hairy Cell does. It is what was called Leukemic Reticuloendotheliosis in the past. It accounts for approximately 0.4% of chronic lymphoid malignancies and 10% of all HCl cases. In contrast to HCl-C,

Antibodies to infliximab (ATIs) have been associated with loss of clinical response and lower serum infliximab (IFX) levels in some studies of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Lower drug levels can mean less effect ont eh disease.  It is clinically useful to be able to  assess and predict diminishing response. A recent meta-analysis concluded that the presence of ATIs is associated with a significantly higher risk of loss of clinical

Both Afinitor (everolimus) and octreotide are FDA approved for neuroendocrine cancer. The phase III RADIANT-2 trial conducted in 429 patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) previously established that the addition of everolimus to long-acting octreotide led to a clinically meaningful 5.1-month delay in disease progression compared with octreotide alone. However, this value just missed the prespecified boundary for statistical significance

Recent literature suggests that a subgroup of Hairy Cell Leukemia(NCL), sometimes called Variant Hairy Cell Leukemia(HCL-V)l  my in fact be a different disease not related to HCL at all and which my respond to rituximab to a much higher extent than common Hairy Cell does. It is thought that this variant is what used to be called Leukemic Reticuloendotheliosis in the past. It is an uncommon disorder accounting for approximately 0.4% of chronic lymphoid

Proton beam therapy is similar to 3-Dimensional and cofnromal readiatherapy but it uses  proton beams that are directed to the tumor. Protons are positive parts of atoms. Unlike x-rays, which are what conventional radiation emplys, protons release energy both before and after they hit their target. If interst to physicians,  protons cause little damage to tissues they pass through and release their energy after traveling a certain distance. The

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Breast cancer is the leading cause of illness and suffering among women. It is second only to lung cancer as the most prevalent cause of cancer death in women. Most women are aware of breast cancer, and many, especially those who had seen a loved one suffer from it, fear it. One in eleven women will develop breast cancer over the course of their lives, assuming an average life span of around eighty years. It is not only a disease of older women,

Colon cancer is the third most common malignancy in the United States and the second most common cancer in both men and women. An average American has a 5% chance of developing colon cancer during his or her lifetime. During the past several decades, colon cancers have become more frequent higher up in the colon, making colonoscopy that can inspect farther in, more important for screening and diagnosis. Right-sided colon cancer rarely produces changes

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths in men and women. It is related to smoking. Although smoking rates have been declining since the Surgeon General’s report of 1964, the effect on lung cancer is delayed by several decades. This means that it is still the deadliest cancer, and yet, the amount of research funding, support and public advocacy that goes into lung cancer is dwarfed by what breast or prostate cancer receive. Some