Post-Authorization Activity Table (PAAT) for Istodax

The PAAT describes post-authorization activity for Istodax, a product which contains the medicinal ingredient romidepsin. Istodax (romidepsin for injection), an antineoplastic agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) who are not eligible for transplant and have received at least one prior systemic therapy. Read more here.

Neupogen (filgrastim) and Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) - Risk of Capillary Leak Syndrome

Amgen Canada Inc., in consultation with Health Canada, would like to inform you of important new safety information concerning the risk of Capillary Leak Syndrome (CLS) associated with the granulocyte colony stimulating factors (G-CSF) NEUPOGEN and NEULASTA. Cases of Capillary Leak Syndrome (CLS) have been reported in:
a. patients undergoing chemotherapy who were receiving NEUPOGEN or NEULASTA, and
b. donors undergoing peripheral blood progenitor cell mobilization who were receiving NEUPOGEN.
Read more here.

Stanford study finds that blood test could provide rapid, accurate method of detecting solid cancers

Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD, assistant professor of radiation oncology from Standford University School of Medicine, shares senior authorship of a paper describing a technique that is sensitive enough to detect just one molecule of tumor DNA in a sea of 10,000 healthy DNA molecules in the blood.

More details from Standford School of Medcine News.

Study mentioned:
Nat Med. 2014 Apr 6. doi: 10.1038/nm.3519. [Epub ahead of print]
An ultrasensitive method for quantitating circulating tumor DNA with broad patient coverage.

Cancer patients should focus on present: expert

Staying in the present sounds simple, but it's not easy, especially for cancer patients. Read more about Dr. Linda Carlson from today's Leader-Post.

BUSULFEX (busulfan) 6 mg/mL injection - potential for particulate matter in 10 mL vials

Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical Inc. in consultation with Health Canada would like to inform you of a potential risk of black particulate matter in vials of BUSULFEX® (busulfan) 6 mg/mL Injection. BUSULFEX® (busulfan) Injection is indicated for use in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents and/or radiotherapy as a conditioning regimen prior to hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation, including: acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Read more here.

ZELBORAF (vemurafenib) - association with liver problems

Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada), in consultation with Health Canada, would like to inform you of important new safety information regarding the risk of Drug Induced Liver Injury (DILI) reported with ZELBORAF. ZELBORAF is indicated as a monotherapy for the treatment of BRAF V600 mutation-positive unresectable or metastatic melanoma. A validated test is required to identify BRAF V600 mutation status. Read more here.

CDC grand rounds: global tobacco control

This is part of a series of occasional MMWR reports titled CDC Grand Rounds. These reports are based on grand rounds presentations at CDC on high-profile issues in public health science, practice, and policy. This issue discusses the tobacco industry and public health interventions and strategies designed to reduce tobacco use. Read more here.

Poisoning linked to e-cigarettes up sharply in the U.S.: report

There’s a new wrinkle in the debate over the safety of electronic cigarettes. New U.S. data show that the number of poisonings linked to e-cigarettes is rising sharply, fuelling calls for more research to determine how – and if – to regulate the products. A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the number of calls received by poison control centres in relation to e-cigarettes rose from one a month in September, 2010, to 215 a month in February, 2014. Read more here.

Read the MMWR report here.

Breast cancer drug shows promising results

Researchers say that a new type of drug can help prevent advanced breast cancer from worsening, potentially providing an important new treatment option for women and a blockbuster product for Pfizer. In a clinical trial, the drug cut in half the risk that cancer would worsen, or progress, researchers said here Sunday. The median time before the disease progressed or the woman died was 20.2 months for those who received the drug, compared with 10.2 months for the control group. Read more here.

Person-Centred Toolkit and Resources

The Person-Centred Care Toolkit includes resources for those establishing, providing, or receiving supportive care cancer services. Specific tools and resources are targets to health care providers and to those dealing with cancer, their families and friends. View a collection of clinical practice guidelines related to palliative care. For example:

Cancer Care Ontario Symptom Management Tools

Essential reading on palliative care

On April 4, 2014, Cancerview.ca from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer provides an essential list of articles on what quality palliative care looks like.

Some of the references include:

Heyland D.”What matters most in end-of-life care: perceptions of seriously ill patients and their families.” Canadian Medical Association Journal (2006); 174(5):827-633.

Singer P. “Quality End of Life Care: Patients Perspectives” Journal of the American Medical Association (1999);;281(2):163-16

Temel JS et al. “Early Palliative Care for Patients with Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.” New England Journal of Medicine (2010); 363:733-742.

Chochinov HM. “Dignity and the essence of medicine: the A,B, C, and D of dignity conserving care.” British Medical Journal (2007); 335 (7612): 184-187.

Chochinov HM. “Dignity in Care: Time to Take Action” Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (2013); S0885-3924(13)00452-1

Scapiro R et al. “Living and Dying Well with Cancer: Successfully Integrating Palliative Care and Cancer Treatment.” Missoula, Montana: Promoting Excellence in End of Life Care (2003).

Latimer E J. “Ethical care at the end of life.” Canadian Medical Association Journal (1998); 158:1741-7.

Brazil K et al. “Service Preferences Among Family Caregivers of the Terminally Ill.” Journal of Palliative Medicine (2005); 8(1): 69-78.

Large majority of Canadians open to discussing end-of-life care

More Than 80 per cent of Canadians say they’re comfortable talking about end-of-life care issues, according to a research survey commissioned by Saint Elizabeth.

View fact sheet.

View info graphic here.

Latest Canadian data: Cost effectiveness of palliative Care: A review of the Literature

In the current environment of rising health care costs and concerns about the sustainability of publicly funded health care, policy makers are paying more attention to the costs associated with the last year of life.

A more cost-efficient strategy may be to integrate a palliative approach to care throughout the health care system.

Read more from the report by Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association.

End-of-Life Hospital Care for Cancer Patients

This report aims to provide a better understanding of the experiences of cancer patients at the end of their lives. It is of important value to Canadians and to those responsible for improving the care delivered to patients suffering from cancer. This study uses administrative data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to examine the use of hospital services in the last month of life by cancer patients who died in acute care hospitals.

DNA test may reveal risk of prostate cancer's return

A new DNA test conducted at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto is able to identify prostate cancer patients at high risk for a return of their cancer. Using DNA from biopsy samples taken before patients undergo surgery or radiation therapy, "the test is about 80% accurate in predicting which men have a high or low risk of their cancer returning within two years." According to study author Robert Bristow, cancer returns in 30-50% of patients due to spreading outside the prostate and thus being undetected during initial treatment. This test thus allows for additional treatment to be offered to these patients beyond the prostate area alone. For more information on this study, presented on April 5, 2014 at the European Scoeity for Radiotherapy and Oncology meeting in Vienna, click here

Global Opioid Policy Initiative Project

The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) has published an interview with Associate Professor Gregory Crawford from the Mary Potter Foundation and the University of Adelaide, in Australia in which he discusses the results of a large study on international opioid use in the relief of cancer pain. Read more here.

Complex benefits and harms of mammography require individualized approach

A comprehensive review of 50 years’ worth of international studies assessing the benefits and harms of mammography screening suggests that the benefits of the screening are often overestimated, while harms are underestimated. And, since the relative benefits and harms of screening are related to a complex array of clinical factors and personal preferences, physicians and patients need more guidance on how best to individualize their approach to breast cancer screening. Read more here.

Lack of insurance coverage a barrier to lung cancer screening

The majority of current and former smokers would welcome screenings for lung cancer if their insurance covered the spiral computed tomography scans, according to research from Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Medical University of South Carolina. More than 1,200 adult current smokers and former smokers were surveyed about their attitudes toward lung cancer screening using spiral CT scans. Read more here.

Likely culprit in spread of colon cancer identified

New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville has implicated a poorly understood protein called PLAC8 in the spread of colon cancer. While elevated PLAC8 levels were known to be associated with colon cancer, the researchers now have shown that the protein plays an active role in shifting normal cells lining the colon into a state that encourages metastasis. Read more here.

Genetic mutations predispose to familial melanoma

Researchers have discovered that people with mutations in a POT1 (protection of telomeres 1) gene were extremely likely to develop a hereditary form of melanoma. About 1 in 20 patients with melanoma have a strong family history of the disease. In these patients, pinpointing the genetic mutations that drive disease development allows to identify those who should be part of melanoma surveillance programmes. Read more here.

When to consider doxorubicin alone or in combination with ifosfamide for the treatment of advanced or metastatic soft tissue sarcoma?

A study conducted by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group and published in Lancet Oncology does not support administration of intensified doxorubicin and ifosfamide regimen for palliation of advanced or metastatic soft tissue sarcoma, unless the treatment objective is to shrink the tumour. Read more here.

Next generation ALK inhibitor for ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer

A new drug ceritinib appears to be effective against advanced ALK-positive NSCLC, both in tumours that have become resistant to crizotinib and in those never treated with it, with mostly mild and manageable side effects. The results of a phase I clinical trial conducted at centers in 11 countries are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more here.

PRESTIGE study: Goserelin given every 12 vs. 4 weeks in premenopausal women with ER-positive advanced breast cancer

Non-inferiority of goserelin 10.8 mg given every 12 weeks over 3.6 mg administered every 4 weeks has been demonstrated in premenopausal breast cancer patients with oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumours. Suppression of serum oestradiol to postmenopausal level was also confirmed with goserelin given every 12 weeks, according to the results of study presented by Dr Kim HJ of the ASAN Medical Center, Seoul, Korea at 9th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-9) held in Glasgow, Scotland from 19 to 21 March 2014. Read more here.

European Lung Cancer Conference, March 2014

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has published a number of news articles and videos based on results presented at the 2014 European Lung Cancer Conference. Access the ELCC 2014 website here.

IARC Working Group report on HPV vaccine trials

This 2014 report represents the views and expert opinions of an IARC Working Group that met in France in 2013. The Group reviewed the evidence as to whether it might be appropriate to use a virological end-point, rather than a disease end-point such as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or worse (CIN2+), as the primary end-point for some future clinical efficacy trials, and the circumstances under which immunobridging trials might be sufficient for licensure. Read the full report, Primary end-points for prophylactic HPV vaccine trials, here.

Certain genetic variants may help identify patients at increased risk of bladder cancer recurrence

A new study suggests that certain inherited DNA sequences may affect a bladder cancer patient's prognosis. These findings may help physicians identify sub-groups of high risk bladder cancer patients who should receive more frequent screenings and agressive treatment and monitoring. "The genetic markers that we found could potentially be useful for individually tailoring surveillance and treatment of bladder cancer patients," said principal investigator Angeline S. Andrew, PhD, Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a member of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Read more here.

UNC researchers show cancer chemotherapy accelerates ‘molecular aging’

Physicians have long suspected that chemotherapy can accelerate the aging process in patients treated for cancer. Using a test developed at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to determine molecular aging, UNC oncologists have directly measured the impact of anti-cancer chemotherapy drugs on biological aging. Read more here.

Oncology Nursing E-journals to support your practice

Happy Oncology Nursing Day!

Have you had a chance recently checking in your library website and see what e-journals are available from your finger tips to support your patient care? Any questions? Contact us!

Report shows older Canadians less likely to receive recommended cancer treatments than younger patients

The 2014 Cancer System Performance Report

reveals that some older Canadians with colon, lung or breast cancer are not receiving guideline-recommended radiation and chemotherapy at the same rate as younger patients with these cancers.

This report was developed by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Here are some details contained in the new report about age-related differences in treatment, along with findings related to end-of life care:

- The use of post-surgical chemotherapy to treat colorectal cancer was close to 80% for patients under age 60, but dropped to below 50% for patients over 70.
- Only 40% of breast cancer patients aged 80 years and over received radiation therapy following breast conserving surgery as recommended by national guidelines, compared to 85% of patients younger than 80 with the same disease.

Time, trust and transparency keys to minority biospecimen collection

Blood and tumor specimen collection from cancer patients is critical to research into new, more personally targeted therapies. But biospecimen collection among diverse populations lags far behind that of whites. In work aimed at boosting these collection rates, researchers at UC Davis and collaborators at three other institutions found that Asian, African and Hispanic Americans are open to donating specimens for research when clinicians and scientists adopt the right strategies. Read more here.