February 2014

In the current digital age, where all-too-personal information flows from Facebook and Twitter, it seems that the health information available through the process of genetic testing would be an idea welcomed by most of the public.

As advances in systemic therapy improve our ability to individualize breast cancer treatment, and improve response rates and outcomes, it is important to reevaluate the most appropriate form of local-regional management.

Bavituximab, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' lead clinical immunotherapeutic candidate, received Fast Track designation from the FDA to kick off 2014.

Treatment with the oral PI3K-delta inhibitor idelalisib produced an overall response rate of 57% with an average response duration of 12.5 months in heavily pretreated patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) improved survival and reduced toxicities compared with conventional radiation treatment in patients with head and neck cancer, according to a recent database analysis.

Galena Biopharma is looking to expand its presence in the oncology field by developing and acquiring targeted cancer agents.

Vemurafenib (Zelboraf), a BRAF inhibitor approved to treat melanoma, induced a complete clinical remission in a patient with hairy cell leukemia.

Using blood samples collected from the Andean villagers, the laboratory at the UC Davis Genome Center uses a variety of high-throughput genetic analysis techniques to screen for genetic differences.

"Are you making progress?" is one of the questions you are most frequently being asked as an oncologist-even in social settings.