New data from the Primary Rituximab And Maintenance study provide the strongest support for the use of rituximab maintenance in patients with follicular lymphoma. However, further considerations of cost, inconvenience, toxic effects, efficacy of retreatment [more]
Mediastinal staging of patients with lung cancer is used to avoid futile thoracotomies. Endoscopic, oesophageal and bronchial ultrasound procedures are methods to identify involved lymph nodes. The ASTER study indicates that the sensitivity of these [more]
The outcomes in bladder cancer treated with radiotherapy are suboptimal. Recently, Hoskin et al. reported improved survival in patients with bladder cancer treated with radiation therapy with concurrent hypoxia-modification therapy. These results are promising but [more]
ColoPrint is an 18-gene expression signature designed to predict disease relapse in patients with early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC). We discuss the potential impact of ColoPrint on clinical practice, and its contribution to our knowledge of [more]
A randomised phase III trial of patients with stage II and III colon cancer showed no benefit of adding bevacizumab to standard adjuvant oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil and leucovorin. Despite suggestive evidence of a short-term benefit, [more]
One of the seven ongoing trials of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) has concluded that single-dose intraoperative radiotherapy should be considered as an alternative to protracted whole-breast irradiation. With a median follow up of two [more]
A randomised phase III trial comparing cisplatin plus gemcitabine with gemcitabine alone for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer has provided evidence for a new standard treatment option for these patients. The therapeutic outcome (overall [more]
The ZODIAC trial reported that the addition of vandetanib to docetaxel in second-line treatment of unselected patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer resulted in a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with docetaxel alone. [more]
Palumbo and co-authors report on the results of a randomised trial comparing two doses of melphalan in patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma. Overall complete response rates, median progression-free survival and projected five-year overall survival were [more]
In the NOAH clinical trial, trastuzumab treatment for locally advanced breast cancer, given prior to surgery, was associated with increased complete and overall response rate and improved event free survival.The ability to identify this advantage [more]
Prognostic models for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are imperfect and do not allow a precise individualised therapy. A recent gene-expression profiling study, translated into a routine immunohistological test, identified genes of tumour-associated macrophages as being [more]
A recent study analysed the timing of non-platinum chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy in patients with head-and-neck cancer and showed that only those who had not undergone surgery benefited from the chemoradiation therapy. However, inconsistencies [more]
A recent trial concluded that preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) in patients with pancreatic head cancer increases complications but is unlikely to change clinical practice. The difference in the outcomes reported was because of excessive complications [more]