February 2013, Vol 4, No 2

San Francisco, CA—Gene-expression profiling (GEP) of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may help to personalize chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic cancer by predicting how patients will respond to certain treatments, according to a study reported at the 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

On December 14, 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to ponatinib (Iclusig; ARIAD Pharmaceuticals) based on the results from a phase 2 clinical trial.

Boston, MA—Patients with ALK-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continued with crizotinib therapy more than twice as long when drug-resistant lesions were managed with local ablation, as shown by the results of a small clinical trial presented at the 2012 American Society for Radiation Oncology meeting.

San Antonio, TX—Studies have suggested that musculoskeletal toxicity associated with aromatase inhibitor therapy can lead to noncompliance in up to 33% of women with breast cancer. A new, large cohort study at a single regional cancer center showed that the rate of musculoskeletal toxicity in women with early breast cancer who were treated with endocrine therapy was 64%.

San Antonio, TX—The uptake of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs for risk reduction of breast cancer is still poor, as was confirmed by a study using the electronic health records (EHRs) from Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA.

Atlanta, GA—Dutch investigators found that rituximab (Rituxan) maintenance in the second-line treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) was cost-effective, as reported at the 2012 American Society of Hematology meeting.

Atlanta, GA—Ruxolitinib (Jakafi) alleviates symptoms such as fever, headache, weight loss, and fatigue, and reduces spleen size in patients with myelofibrosis.

Socioeconomic status and other nonphysiologic factors may be largely responsible for the apparent association between having fathered a child and an increased risk for prostate cancer, Swedish researchers have concluded.

On January 17, 2013, nearly 3 years after its initial proposed rule, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the long-awaited and much- anticipated HIPAA “omnibus” rule, extending the scope of the privacy law beyond providers to their business associates and subcontractors and adding increased penalties.

Boston, MA—Patients with prostate cancer reported significantly better sexual function for up to 2 years after radiation therapy when they took sildenafil (Viagra) on a daily basis during and after treatment, according to results of a placebo-controlled clinical trial.