Breaking Research News from sources other than Breastcancer.org
Comments
-
Alabama - thoughts are with you and that things go well next week for you, family, and friends
0 -
AlabamaDee - here I've been bellyaching about taking a pill another three years, and you have a very important date on Monday! I'll be thinking of you Monday, hoping you get the best results for less scans in your future!
0 -
Can Statins Extend Survival in Women With TNBC?
— Link with improved outcomes could have important public health implications, authors say
For women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), using statins was associated with improved oncologic outcomes, according to results from a retrospective study.
Women who initiated statin use in the 12 months after a TNBC diagnosis had a 58% relative improvement in breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS; standardized HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.20-0.88, P=0.022) and a 30% relative improvement in overall survival (OS; standardized HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.50-0.99, P=0.046), reported Kevin Nead, MD, MPhil, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues in the journal Cancer.
When we looked at women without triple-negative disease, "there is absolutely no benefit, or even a hint of a benefit," in regards to BCSS (standardized HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.71-1.39, P=0.97) or OS (standardized HR 1.04, 95% CI 0.92-1.17, P=0.55), Nead told MedPage Today.
"It is important to acknowledge that this study is retrospective," he noted. "But I think this paper makes a strong case that the opportunity to help women with breast cancer by using statins is in those with triple-negative breast cancer, and I think it makes sense, as the next step, to work toward conducting a prospective trial."
There have been numerous studies looking at the association between statin use and breast cancer, with inconsistent results, the authors noted.
There is good biologic evidence that statins decrease breast cancer cell proliferation and increase apoptosis, and they can target key TNBC-associated pathways and can act synergistically with some existing therapies, they observed.
"Given the limited toxicity profile, low cost, and ease of use, an association between statin therapy and improved breast cancer outcomes, particularly in aggressive breast cancer subtypes, could have important public health implications,"...
Read the full new coverage article here:
https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/br...
Journal DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33797
{No charge but registration may be required. Journal article abstract available w/o charge, full article require a subscription or fee. }
0 -
Can someone explain the mumbo jumbo like this? (BCSS; standardized HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.20-0.88, P=0.022)
0 -
I don't know wht the BCSS is - I would need more context for that.
The other terms are from stats.
HR is hazard ratio
CI is confidence interval
P value is a complex thing but it's getting at how likely the result is to be random chance. Generally speaking, the smaller the P value, the better.
There are some good youtube videos just introducing medical stats. Here's one if you want to get the basics- it doesn't go over how to calculate anything, just what the results might mean.
0 -
I believe BCSS is “breast cancer-specific survival" i.e. percentage of people who don't die of breast cancer
0 -
ah that makes sense! thanks Pi-Xi!
0 -
Thanks moth, that is helpful
0 -
AlabamaDee: I'll pop in for an update. I hope it will all be good for you!!
0 -
Elderberry thanks for checking!
Continued stable disease🎉🎉🎉 Breathing a sigh of relief! I started this trial in Dec 2020 so this is the longest I have been on any MBC drug. The shrinkage went from 11% to 9% from start of study, but they considerate that still stable. And for my history that really is great.
Hope this trial drug has great success and becomes a new alternative to faslodex. Pills are better than shots.
(Cross posting )Dee
0 -
AlabamaDee - Great news!
0 -
HomeMom,
Magic decoder ring!
HR is hazard ratio: a measure of an effect of an intervention on an outcome of interest over time.
CI is confidence interval: expresses the degree of uncertainty associated with a sample statistic.
P is probability: the level of marginal significance within a statistical hypothesis test, representing the probability of the occurrence of a given event.
This stuff is fairly technical. Readers can certainly delve into it if they want, but sometimes I actually edit that out... mentally or editorially.... on the theory that it is in the linked doc if someone wants more detail and to make the material more readable. If you are trying to get the *general concept,* and read this:
"Women who initiated statin use in the 12 months after a TNBC diagnosis had a 58% relative improvement in breast cancer-specific survival and a 30% relative improvement in overall survival."
you probably get the general idea which is that this is a pretty significant improvement.
Hope that is of some help.
0 -
AlabamaDee - That is wonderful news! So happy to hear it! and Cheers! to new drugs!
0 -
Oops! I had already started the statistics reply before I saw Moth's. Video link is handy. Thx.
0 -
Lumpie, thanks! I did just what you do, skip over the abbreviations in the parentheses. Moth's video was very good too. I had heard that statins help cancer patients, but I didn't recall that it was for bc patients with TNBC. That IS great news
0 -
Fauci: Booster Shots for Immunocompromised People in the Works
August 09, 2021The US government is working to make booster shots available for immunocompromised people "as quickly as possible," Anthony Fauci, the White House medical adviser, said Thursday.
Government health officials have said booster shots for the general population are not needed now, but the rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant has created new dangers for people with compromised immune systems, **such as those undergoing chemotherapy,** with HIV, or taking certain medications.
"It is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters, and we are now working on that and will make that be implemented as quickly as possible, because for us and for the individuals involved it is a very high priority," Fauci said in a news briefing at the White House.
CDC data shows that immunocompromised people make up 2.7% of the US population.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the FDA expects to have a strategy by early September on COVID-19 vaccine boosters, including decisions on which people should be prioritized.
The Biden administration is worried that certain groups could need a booster as soon as this month, such as people who are immunocompromised, over 65, or who got their vaccine during the early rollout in December and January, the Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with discussions within the agency.
Vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer have said they think booster shots would be a good idea.
Moderna said this week that neutralizing antibodies generated by its vaccine against three variants of the virus that causes the disease waned substantially 6 months after the second dose. Because of this, the company expects an increase in breakthrough infections with a need for boosters before winter.
Pfizer said in July that data from a booster study showed that antibody levels jumped by 5 to 10 times after a third dose, as compared with the second dose months before. That finding indicated a need for booster shots, Pfizer said.
After meeting with Pfizer officials in July, the CDC and the FDA issued a joint statement that said those who have been fully vaccinated "do not need a booster shot at this time."
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/956246?src=mk...
{Free access.}
0 -
Share's recorded webinar, "Patient-Centered Dosing for Individuals with MBC" is now available for viewing.
Patient-Centered Dosing for Individuals with MBC
Join the Patient-Centered Dosing Initiative (PCDI)'s Dr. Aditya Bardia, medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Anne Loeser, patient advocate, author of The Insider's Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer, to discuss their work with patients and doctors to help select optimal treatment dosage for those living with MBC.
https://www.sharecancersupport.org/patient-centere...
@{Great topic and I so admire the work Anne Loeser has done. No charge to watch! @ 1 hour but platform allows pace control (slower/faster).}
More on the same topic here: https://www.cancertodaymag.org/Pages/cancer-talk/M...
{Free to access. May require registration.... but I don't think so.}
0 -
Survival Outcomes Among Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer
Annals of Surgical Oncology March 2021 https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1245/s10434-021-...
It's a review of SEER database (so de novo dx only) from 1988-2016. Shows improvement in survival during that time but still median OS 25mos, CSS 27 mos, with results varying widely based on tumor markers and number/location of metastatic sites.
results very similar results to Wang et al 2019
https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11...
0 -
Durability of Response to SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 Vaccination in Patients on Active Anticancer Treatment
August 11, 2021
"We recently reported initial findings from a prospective cohort study which evaluated the antispike (anti-S) IgG antibody response to the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine (BioNTech-Pfizer) in patients with solid tumors on active anticancer treatment vs healthy controls.1 After a median of approximately 5.5 weeks from the second vaccine dose, 90% of the patients with cancer (90/102) and 100% of the healthy controls (78/78) were seropositive, and the median IgG titer in the patients was significantly lower than that in the controls..."
AMA Oncol. Published online August 11, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.4390
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/full...
{No charge for abstract. I was able to down load the full article at no charge.}
0 -
moth - It just distresses me to the max that they can't do better for MBC. The funding, from what I hear, is just 10-20% of funds raised for breast cancer research. I give 2% of my commissions as a Realtor to Metavivor. It isn't going to make a huge difference, but holy crap, that study was depressing
0 -
Lumpie
Thanks for posting about durability of response. Since I am in active treatment and low immunities due to hypogammaglubulinemia I will qualify for the booster. The FDA vote is tomorrow.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-07/07-COVID-Oliver-508.pdfI plan to get it, even though I had Covid, monoclonal antibody for it and the Pfizer vaccine- we can't be sure how much response my body produced. I would love to get tested tofind out.
Dee0 -
Another study showing survival benefit for lumpectomy over mastectomy in eligible stage 1-3 pts
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/16/4044
0 -
Cancer Patients See Sustained Response to COVID Vaccine
— Most patients on active treatment remained seropositive at 4 months
Cancer patients on active treatment achieved sustained responses to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, though at reduced antibody levels versus healthy controls, according to Israeli investigators.
After about 4 months from the second dose of Pfizer's mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2), 87% of solid tumor patients who had been on active treatment remained seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 antispike IgG antibodies, reported Salomon M. Stemmer, MD, of Rabin Medical Center of Beilinson Hospital in Israel, and colleagues, in a research letter in JAMA Oncology.
"Given the prevalence of breakthrough infections with the Delta variant, these declines may provide justification enough for some patients to pursue a third vaccine booster dose to boost protection," Parikh suggested. "It remains to be seen whether the booster dose could actually improve clinical outcomes, however, and thus clinical trials of the booster dose -- which are ongoing -- are eagerly anticipated."
Read medical news coverage of article at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/ot...
{This news seems mostly reassuring. News reporting, abstract and JAMA article all appear to allow free access.}
0 -
Just chipping in to say research from Edin Uni concurs as to efficacy of vaccine. Also it is very likely we will be offered a booster in the autumn.
0 -
Karen,
Supposedly the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will announce in a day or two that we can get a third booster shot. Can't wait to get in line, with this crazy virus.
0 -
Has anybody heard whether the booster has to be from the same company as the first two shots? In other words, if I had Moderna, can I get a booster from Pfizer when the time comes?
0 -
I wondered that too SP. I had the J&J shot.
0 -
Shetland I was told they are still figuring that part out.
0 -
FDA authorizes extra vaccine doses for immunocompromised patients to bolster protection against the coronavirus
The Food and Drug Administration action means additional shots might be available as soon as this weekend
The action by the Food and Drug Administration means that additional shots could be available as soon as this weekend for patients who have received organ transplants or have certain types of cancer or other illnesses.
The FDA decision updated the emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines to say an additional dose could be given to some immunocompromised individuals, specifically organ transplant recipients and others with similar levels of immune-system impairment. The agency did not give further details. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was not included because there was not sufficient data on the issue, according to the agency.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/08/12/b...
"The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free. For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter where all stories are free to read."
{Article say that they don't yet have enough evidence on "mixing"/changing brands. There is a short film available, too. It is my understanding that clinical trials on "mixing"/changing brands are under-way.}
0 -
@moth, to me, that sounds like another study showing survival benefit for radiation over no radiation for early stage patients
0
