Oncology Round-Up: Bevacizumab in Re-Irradiation, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Recurrence Fear; and More Oncology Research

Bevacizumab During Re-irradiation with Brachytherapy in Gynecologic Malignancies

Investigators evaluated re-irradiation with image-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy (IG-HDR-BT) in patients with a history of pelvic irradiation and concluded that, “if the recurrent disease was found in small size and there was no history of bevacizumab usage, re-irradiation with IG-HDR-BT could be considered, even in patients with a previous history of pelvic irradiation.”

Advertisement

Meat Intake After Diagnosis Not Tied to Colon Cancer Outcomes

Intake of unprocessed red meat or processed meat after diagnosis is not associated with the risk for cancer recurrence or death in patients with stage III colon cancer, according to a study published online Feb. 22 in JAMA Network Open. Erin L. Van Blarigan, Sc.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined whether intake of unprocessed red meat or processed meat is associated with the risk for cancer recurrence or mortality in patients with colon cancer. The analysis included 1,011 patients with stage III colon cancer enrolled in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B trial (1999 to 2001, with follow-up through 2009).

Cancer Patients May Be at Higher Odds for Rare Neurological Disorder

People with cancer may be at increased risk for a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome, new research has found. “Previous studies have suggested there may be a link between cancer and Guillain-Barré syndrome, but just how often people develop Guillain-Barré after a cancer diagnosis has not been well-studied,” explained study author Dr. Lotte Sahin Levison, from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.

Tofacitinib Use Associated with Cardiovascular and Cancer Risk: Results of the ORAL Surveillance Trial

Results of the ORAL Surveillance study were recently published in the NEJM in late January 2022. ORAL Surveillance was a randomized, Phase 3b-4 post-marketing non-inferiority trial evaluating safety and efficacy of tofacitinib compared to TNF inhibitor in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [1].  As noted in the paper, the FDA required a head-to-head safety trial of tofacitinib compared to TNF inhibitors, after increases in serum lipid levels and incidence of cancers were observed.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer

Researchers, led by So-Young Park, cited that fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) has been acknowledged as a cause of emotional distress among breast cancers survivors (BCS). They conducted a systemic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to reduce FCR, and reported that their observations uncovered “the importance of conducting well-designed CBT interventions to reduce FCR in BCSs with diverse populations at multiple sites, thereby improving the quality of research in this area.”