Curr. Oncol., Volume 14, Issue 2 (April 2007) – 7 articles

The year 2006 marked 100 years since the death of Pierre Curie. It is therefore appropriate that we remember his life and his work, which was cut short by his untimely death from an accident on the Pont Neuf, Paris, on April 19, 1906. He had already accomplished much during his life, both before the discovery of radium with Marie Curie, in work co-authored with his brother Jacques on piezoelectricity, and afterwards, when he published the results of several experimental studies with radium and radon. He came from a medical family, and his grandfather Pierre Curie was a famous homeopathic physician. He has, in print, unfairly been relegated to the background—his own scientific contributions having been overtaken by the fame of Marie Curie, probably because she outlived him by 28 years. Full article

Oral melphalan and prednisone remain an effective and tolerable treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. For approximately 40 years, this combination has been the standard of care for patients not proceeding to stem cell transplant. Within the last 10 years, new agents have been found to be efficacious in the relapsed/refractory setting. Within the last year, two trials of added thalidomide in the newly diagnosed setting have demonstrated outcomes superior to those achieved with melphalan and prednisone alone. This improved outcome comes at the cost of increased toxicity. The National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) has recently developed a randomized phase II trial (MY.11) that uses a combination of lenalidomide with melphalan for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. Lenalidomide is a thalidomide analogue and, like thalidomide, is thought to work through immunomodulatory effects. It was shown to have activity in patients with relapsed or refractory disease and, in combination with dexamethasone, is superior to dexamethasone alone. Lenalidomide holds promise as a more effective and potentially less toxic derivative of thalidomide. Experience with lenalidomide in combination with chemotherapy is very limited, and the purpose of MY.11 is to establish tolerability and to gain knowledge about efficacy. The information gained from MY.11 is expected to help inform dosing levels and schedules for a large phase III trial being developed by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group that will include participation by the NCIC CTG. Full article

We assessed population-based trends in incidence and survival rates for epithelial ovarian cancer in Ontario in two time periods. Our population-based study cohort included all women with epithelial ovarian cancer treated initially with abdominal surgery in Ontario for January 1996 through December 2001. Incident surgical cases were documented by hospital contact data and the Ontario Cancer Registry. Patient characteristics (age, for example) were obtained from electronic administrative data records. Regression analyses were used to assess the influence of time period on survival while controlling for age, comorbidity, and other factors associated with this outcome. A total of 3825 women met the inclusion criteria. We found that the age-standardized incidence of ovarian cancer remained stable during 1996–2001. A shift to a younger age at diagnosis was found between the two time periods being compared. The univariate analysis revealed a clear difference in death rate, to which age at diagnosis, Charlson comorbidity score, and treatment period contributed. Earlier time period (p < 0.0001), advancing age (p < 0.0001), higher Charlson score (p < 0.0001), and lower income quartile score (p = 0.03) were significantly associated with poorer survival in the univariate analysis. Younger age, lower Charlson score, and more recent time period of diagnosis and treatment (p < 0.0001) were associated with improved survival in the proportional hazards model. We conclude that age-standardized incidence and mortality rates for ovarian cancer in Ontario have remained stable. For women initially treated with surgery, advances in management have led to an improvement in survival. Full article

Some cancer patients use therapeutic massage to reduce symptoms, improve coping, and enhance quality of life. Although a meta-analysis concludes that massage can confer short-term benefits in terms of psychological wellbeing and reduction of some symptoms, additional validated randomized controlled studies are necessary to determine specific indications for various types of therapeutic massage. In addition, mechanistic studies need to be conducted to discriminate the relative contributions of the therapist and of the reciprocal relationship between body and mind in the subject. Nuclear magnetic resonance techniques can be used to capture dynamic in vivo responses to biomechanical signals induced by massage of myofascial tissue. The relationship of myofascial communication systems (called “meridians”) to activity in the subcortical central nervous system can be evaluated. Understanding this relationship has important implications for symptom control in cancer patients, because it opens up new research avenues that link self-reported pain with the subjective quality of suffering. The reciprocal body–mind relationship is an important target for manipulation therapies that can reduce suffering. Full article