The independent medical news service

The risk of high-frequency hearing loss in children undergoing cancer treatment to the central nervous system or the head and neck could be reduced by minimising doses of radiation to the cochlea and limiting cumulative doses of cisplatin or carboplatin, Canadian researchers say.

This independent news story was supported by an educational grant from L’Institut Servier, Suresnes, France.

Data form the international COVIDSurg collaborative study show that around one in seven patients did not undergo planned surgery for cancer if their region was in full COVID-19 lockdown.

Phase 1b/2 study data show that combining the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib with pembrolizumab could be a promising treatment option for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and selected other advanced solid tumor types.

The FGFR inhibitor rogaratinib is well tolerated and clinically active in patients with various tumor types selected for treatment on the basis of FGFR mRNA overexpression, phase I study data show.

Women may be at greater risk than men for experiencing hyperprogression as a response to cancer treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, say researchers.

The efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition with nivolumab may be amplified by vaccination against human papillomavirus-16 in patients with incurable HPV-16–positive cancer, phase II study data suggest.

Women with head and neck cancer may be undertreated relative to their male counterparts, suggests research presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting 2018.

Human papillomavirus positivity is associated with improved survival in patients with head and neck cancer at four of six subsites in the upper aerodigestive tract, US study findings indicate.

This month we bring you a round-up of four trials investigating nivolumab in diverse tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Read on to find out more.

In this month’s roundup, we cover topics including laboratory eligibility criteria as a potential barrier to clinical participation and the impact of cognitive dysfunction on survival in patients with hematologic cancers. Read on to find out more.

Phase III trial findings suggest that the addition of concomitant chemotherapy to postoperative radiotherapy does not improve the outcomes of patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

The likelihood of being prescribed opioids is greater for patients with head and neck cancer than for those with lung or colon cancer, findings indicate.

A survey of New York state medical students suggests many are unaware of the link between human papillomavirus infection and the risk for head and neck cancer.

Researchers report “encouraging” tolerability and efficacy results from a phase Ia trial of the oral phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase α–selective inhibitor alpelisib among patients with PIK3CA-altered advanced solid tumors.

A US case–control study has revealed an association between gastroesophageal reflux disease and an increased risk for neoplasms of the upper aerodigestive tract in older individuals.

The phase II REGOMA trial shows that patients with recurrent glioblastoma derive a significant overall survival and disease control benefit from treatment with regorafenib over lomustine.

Findings from the multicohort, phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 trial indicate that pembrolizumab elicits durable responses and is well tolerated in patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer and those with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Patients with plasma samples repeatedly positive for Epstein–Barr virus DNA should undergo further screening for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, researchers report.

Treatment with autologous chimeric antigen receptor T cells directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor variant III mutation is feasible and well tolerated in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, indicates a first-in-human study.

Routine vaccination against human papillomavirus has “tremendous potential” for reducing the risk of oral HPV infection and associated malignancy, suggests research presented at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, held in Chicago, Illinois, USA.