Drug Updates

Cutaneous melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer that develops in the melanocytes of the skin, is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common type of leukemia in adults, is a cancer of B-cell lymphocytes, which originate in the bone marrow, develop in the lymph nodes, and normally fight infection by producing an immune response.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a monoclonal disorder characterized by progressive accumulation and proliferation of functionally incompetent B-cells, is the most frequently diagnosed leukemia in the United States.

In September 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the cytotoxic agent nab-paclitaxel (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension, albumin-bound; Abraxane; Celgene Corporation) for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas in combination with gemcitabine.

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.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States among men and the most frequently diagnosed cancer in American males. Among patients with metastatic prostate cancer, up to approximately 90% have bone metastases.