Patient enrollment in clinical trials has long been on the minds of oncologists and researchers. In 1990, fewer than 3 percent of patients were enrolled in clinical trials—which spurred then president-elect of the American Cancer Society, Walter Lawrence Jr., MD, to write an editorial calling for more concerted efforts. More than 25 years later, clinical trial participation hovers around 5 percent.
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Receiving a cancer diagnosis often means navigating numbers, such as estimates of the chance of recurrence. But cancer patients vary in their comfort with numbers.
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Guest Post by William G. Nelson, MD, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Cancer Today
Nearly 1.7 million new cancer cases and roughly 600,000 cancer deaths are expected in the United States in 2017. The good news …
Prevention is often said to be more powerful than a cure. With an eye toward thwarting the disease, some researchers are trying to understand the molecular processes that are present in cells before cancer develops. These efforts, which analyze the potential power of premalignancy, are featured in the spring issue of Cancer Today.
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As spring is a time for flowers to bloom, public education at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has also blossomed these past few months.
During the AACR Annual Meeting …
After being diagnosed with cancer, some patients consider getting a second opinion. This may involve a pathologist confirming a medical report or an oncologist weighing in on a treatment plan. Patients can seek second opinions when they are first diagnosed with cancer, or well into cancer treatment.
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Hospice care and palliative care share similar goals in providing relief of pain and other symptoms, but they remain distinct: For cancer patients, hospice care can aid the terminally ill who have no treatment options, but palliative care can potentially improve quality of life for anyone with the disease, beginning at diagnosis.
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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released draft recommendations April 11 suggesting that doctors inform men ages 55 to 69 of the potential benefits and harms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood testing to screen for prostate cancer. The draft says the decision to be screened is an individual one that should be made after consulting with a physician.
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The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2017 brought some of the world’s greatest scientific minds to Washington, D.C., to address research challenges in cancer. But significant findings also came from cancer patient advocates and survivors who attended the meeting.
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Patients have long benefited from combination treatments—whether combining surgery with chemotherapy and radiation, or combining chemotherapy agents in succession.
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