Fox Chase Cancer Center News

CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2010) – Fox Chase Cancer Center investigators find that pancreatic cancer patients who have circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes than patients without circulating tumor cells. Additionally, the team has uncovered evidence that not all circulating tumor cells are the same, and some may predict worse outcomes than others.

CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2010) – Research from Fox Chase Cancer Center shows that patient’s with stage IIIA NSCLC who receive surgery, lobectomy in particular, have increased overall survival compared to those who received chemoradiation alone––those receiving lobectomy plus chemoradation had survival rates that were higher than previously reported as well.

CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2010) – Of the more than 38,000 Americans diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) each year, approximately 20 percent have non-clear cell forms of the disease. New findings shows that a non-clear cell form of kidney cancer known as papillary RCC, which accounts for 12 percent of all RCC, responds differently to sunitinib – a standard frontline treatment for RCC.  In a small but decisive Phase II trial, the researchers found that sunitinib was not effective in patients with this form of the disease. The terms clear- and non-clear cell refer to the general appearance of the cancer cells under a microscope.

CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2010) – Investigators at Fox Chase Cancer Center report that women who have had a bilateral oophorectomy tend to have smaller tumors and to have their tumors detected by mammography rather than by physical exam. The use of hormone therapy after surgery, however, wipes out any difference in tumor size or detection method.

CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2010) – New research from Fox Chase Cancer Center finds that patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma whose tumors respond most to preoperative chemotherapy and radiation survive four times as long, on average, as those whose tumors respond least.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 1, 2010) –  As more Americans continue to be scanned as part of their evaluation for various ailments and symptoms, the number of kidney tumors found serendipitously has increased such that now up to 70 percent of kidney cancers are discovered incidentally.

PHILADELPHIA (June 1, 2010) – Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers will present three abstracts at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) that demonstrate progress in the use of the R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Scoring to characterize renal mass anatomy and allow standardization of surgical decision-making and comparison of outcomes in patients with kidney cancers.

PHILADELPHIA (June 1, 2010) – Lung cancer rates are increasing substantially in women, particularly in non-smoking women, with no known reason for the increase. Now researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center may have uncovered a critical piece in the puzzle.