http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The surgical management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in U.S. hospitals varies widely depending on the race of the patient, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-racial-disparities-surgical-non-small-cell.html Cancer Tue, 21 May 2013 09:50:01 EST news288347131 Scientists have identified biomarkers that may help predict whether patients with KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will respond to concurrent treatment with an MEK inhibitor and a PI3 kinase inhibitor, a drug combination currently being investigated in ongoing clinical trials. The discovery was made as part of a study presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10, by Aaron N. Hata, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-biomarkers-response-drugs-kras-mutated-nsclc.html Cancer Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:20:08 EST news284629309 Physician-researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a vulnerability of certain lung-cancer cells – a specific genetic weakness that can be exploited for new therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-genetic-vulnerability-lung-cancer-foundation.html Cancer Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:34:42 EST news284268869 The median age of patients diagnosed with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has steadily increased over the recent years and is presently 70 years. Despite this, the elderly are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials. A recent study published in the March 2013 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, investigated the degree to which exclusion or underrepresentation of elderly occurs in practice-changing clinical trials in advanced NSCLC. Researchers conclude that greater representation of elderly patients in phase III trials is required to better define evidence-based paradigms in the increasingly elderly NSCLC population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-greater-representation-elderly-patients-phase.html Cancer Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:33:41 EST news280748016 Ever since discovering a decade ago that a gene altered in lung cancer regulated an enzyme used in therapies against diabetes, Reuben Shaw has wondered if drugs originally designed to treat metabolic diseases could also work against cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-diabetes-drug-lung-cancer-patients.html Cancer Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:06:14 EST news278676360 Recent studies have demonstrated that molecular-targeted agents, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), may prolong survival of selected patients based on tumor biomarkers. The presence of mutation in the EGFR gene is known as a predictive marker for the response to treatment. However, whether or not these EGFR mutations are prognostic factors for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been known. A recent study published in the February 2013 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, concludes EGFR mutations are not a prognostic factor in surgically resected patients or patients with recurrence treated with conventional therapies. However, after disease recurrence, administration of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors can prolong survival. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-egfr-mutation-prognostic-factor-non-small.html Cancer Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:17:07 EST news277471018 Exon 20 insertions are the third most common family of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations found in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Little is known about cancers harboring these mutations aside from their lack of response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, impairing the development of effective targeted therapies. A recent study published in the February 2013 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, concludes that patients with EGFR exon 20 insertions have similar clinical characteristics to those with common EGFR mutations, but a poorer prognosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-patients-egfr-exon-insertions-poorer.html Cancer Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:16:49 EST news277470992 Favorable results have led to crizotinib gaining approval for the treatment of advanced stage ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Japan, the United States, Canada, and several other countries in Europe and Asia. Now, the identification of an effective therapy for ALK-positive NSCLC places great emphasis on rapid, accurate, and cost-effective way to find patients with this subtype of lung cancer. A recent study published in the January 2013 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, concludes immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a reliable screening tool for identification of ALK rearrangement. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-immunohistochemistry-reliable-screening-tool-alk.html Cancer Sat, 15 Dec 2012 15:23:36 EST news274807404 Approximately one in 20 patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) has chromosomal aberrations targeting the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. This has considerable implications for treatment because these patients are highly responsive to ALK-specific kinase inhibitors such as crizotinib. However, current diagnostic tests have limitations. Researchers have now developed and tested a promising new method for screening ALK fusions in NSCLC. This new diagnostic assay offers a cost-effective and easy-to-perform alternative to existing tests. The study is published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-patients-benefit-alk-inhibition-therapy.html Medical research Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:04:53 EST news274536268 A new study by an international team of investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists is the first to demonstrate that chemotherapy and a new, targeted therapy work better in combination than chemotherapy alone in treating patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-success-therapy-common-non-small-cell.html Cancer Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:35:43 EST news273332135 Cancer therapies often have short-lived benefits due to the emergence of genetic mutations that cause drug resistance. A key gene that determines resistance to a range of cancer drugs has been reported in a study published by Cell Press November 21st in the journal Cell. The study reveals a biomarker that can predict responses to cancer drugs and offers a strategy to treat drug-resistant tumors based on their genetic signature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-resistance-biomarker-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:00:34 EST news272714503 Right now, the best known treatment for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene rearrangements (ALK) or epidermal growth factor receptor mutations (EGFR) is crizotinib or EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as erlotinib, respectively. However, progression inevitably occurs. When it does, having no clear guidelines and/or indications, most patients are treated with chemotherapy. A new study published in the December 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, shows that other approaches to overcome acquired resistance should be considered. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-approach-non-small-cell-lung-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:11:03 EST news272207437 Patients who have undergone resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may improve their overall survival and reduce the risk of recurrence by taking statins. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-statins-prolong-survival-nsclc-resection.html Cancer Mon, 22 Oct 2012 04:06:51 EST news270097600 (Medical Xpress)—Elderly patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)  who developed a rash within 28 days of receiving the targeted drug erlotinib (Tarceva) survived on average 6.2 months, compared to 4.1 months for patients who were given a placebo, results from a major phase III Cancer Research UK-funded trial show today.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-painless-skin-rash-survival-benefit.html Cancer Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:02:35 EST news269672548 Until there are more validated biomarkers to direct treatment decisions, many physicians use patient age to decide what therapy to give their patients. Literature data report that older patients often go undertreated because of concerns for limited tolerance to toxic therapies. A study, published in the November 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, says that fit elderly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-elderly-patients-therapy.html Cancer Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:52:26 EST news269524333 (HealthDay) -- For patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who undergo neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, tissue platinum concentrations correlate positively with improved outcome, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-tissue-platinum-linked-response-nsclc.html Cancer Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:10:01 EST news264183905 Researchers found that CYFRA and change in levels of CYFRA were found to be reliable markers for response to chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a study of 88 patients. Research presented in the April 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows that this marker can be used to determine whether or not a patient should continue a particular chemotherapy regimen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cyfra21-marker-advanced-nsclc.html Cancer Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:22:30 EST news251032932 Scientists from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have once again advanced the treatment of a specific kind of lung cancer. The team has documented how anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) becomes resistant to a drug targeting the abnormal protein in the cancer. It's the first time scientists have analyzed the frequency and type of drug resistance in ALK positive patients taking crizotinib. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-drug-resistance-alk-positive-lung.html Cancer Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:14:59 EST news246190465 The investigational drug ganetespib, a synthetic second-generation Hsp90 inhibitor, slowed the growth of cancer cells taken from non-small cell lung cancer tumors with a mutation in the KRAS gene. The drug was even more active when combined with traditional lung cancer treatments and other investigational targeted therapies, according to preclinical study data. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-ganetespib-kras-mutant-nsclc-monotherapy-combinations.html Cancer Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:06:54 EST news245480807 Sorafenib was effective in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and a KRAS mutation, but survival rates were reportedly "unsatisfactory," according to data presented at the AACR-IASLC Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer: Biology, Therapy and Personalized Medicine, held Jan. 8-11, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-sorafenib-effective-patients-non-small-cell.html Cancer Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:18:20 EST news245395092 Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have mutations in the KRAS gene should respond well to the antifolate class of drugs, according to results of a recent study conducted by Quintiles comparing human lung cancer cell lines and patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-antifolates-nsclc-subtype.html Cancer Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:03:52 EST news240465805 The prognosis for patients with stage II and III inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poor, with only about 15 percent of patients surviving at five years post-treatment for the disease. While new treatment strategies are being intensely studied, timely assessment of their efficacy has proven difficult. In a presentation today, Mitchell Machtay, MD, principal investigator of the ACRIN 6668/RTOG 0235 trial and RTOG deputy chair, reported the that post-treatment F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scans show promise for predicting the prognosis of patients with inoperable disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-fdg-pet-prognosis-patients-inoperable-nsclc.html Cancer Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:32:43 EST news237043940 A non-invasive PET imaging technique may identify lung cancers that respond best to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), allowing doctors to better select patients for personalized therapy, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-pet-scan-11cerlotinib-noninvasive-method.html Cancer Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:49:28 EST news229060128 Asian non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients survive longer than Caucasians no matter how many drugs are given in a first-line setting, and the effect was apparent both before and after the introduction of targeted therapies in the early 2000s, according to research published in the June issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-asian-lung-cancer-patient-survival.html Cancer Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:35:22 EST news226139700