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Christina Loguidice

Articles by Christina Loguidice

Caron A. Jacobson, MD, MMSc, Medical Director, Immune Effector Cell Therapy Program Senior Physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School,

The majority of patients with indolent follicular lymphoma do well with observation and after first-line treatment, but approximately 20% experience disease progression within 2 years of their initial treatment, which is associated with a 50% risk of dying within 5 years. Subsequently, this is an area of unmet need but one in which considerable progress is being made.

Patients with advanced lymphoid malignancies have had few treatment options, particularly those with extensive, refractory disease. Allogeneic or autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been one life-prolonging and potentially curative option for these patients, but these procedures are associated with various toxicities and are not appropriate for all patients, with older adults and those with great- er disease burden often excluded as candidates.

Although lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States and 5-year survival rates are low at 17.8%, the grim picture for this tumor type is starting to shift to a more hopeful one as its biology is becoming better understood, facilitating treatment selection and providing researchers with new therapeutic targets.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently held its 15th Annual Conference in Hollywood, Florida. The conference was entitled �Clinical Practice Guidelines & Quality Cancer Care� and included multiple presentations with updates to the NCCN Guidelines. We cover updates to the NCCN Guidelines for breast cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and multiple myeloma.

According to a large study conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010, eating well-done meat, especially red meat, may increase the risk of bladder cancer, particularly in individuals with genetic variants in their metabolism.

Although KRAS gene mutation is a well-established biomarker for a lack of response to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) antibodies in colorectal cancer, a study presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 sought to determine whether mutations in 9 genes known to be mutated in colorectal cancer, including AKT1, BRAF, CTNNB1, EGFR, KRAS (exon 3), NRAS, PIK3CA, PTEN, and TP53, could also predict response to Vectibix (panitumumab) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure's partnership with KFC to raise funds and spread breast cancer awareness and educational messaging by selling chicken in specially designed pink buckets has generated considerable controversy, with some wondering what message this partnership is sending.