Cancer Information Highlights, August 30, 2017

Cancer Information Highlights, August 30, 2017

Cancer Information Highlights

From the National Cancer Institute

Updating you about cancer causes, prevention, screening, treatment, coping, and more

New from NCI Finding Health Care Services   This page has been expanded to include information from the fact sheet “How to Find a Doctor or Treatment Facility if You Have Cancer,” which has been removed from the NCI website. Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke May Be Higher after a Cancer Diagnosis   A new study suggests that a diagnosis of cancer can come with an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke in the months after being diagnosed. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Approves Immunotherapy Drug for Some Metastatic Colorectal Cancers   FDA has granted accelerated approval to nivolumab (Opdivo®) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whose tumors have genetic changes that affect DNA repair. Test Shows Promise for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer Early research suggests that a new blood test may be able to find pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages, when it is most likely to respond to treatment. Targeted Therapy Approved for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer FDA has approved neratinib (Nerlynx™) for patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who have finished at least 1 year of adjuvant therapy with trastuzumab. Drug Information Updates New Approval for Certain Colorectal Cancers We’ve updated our nivolumab drug information summary to include a recent approval by FDA. Nivolumab is now approved to treat colorectal cancer with certain genetic features: mismatch repair deficiency and high microsatellite instability. It is used in adults and children 12 years and older. New Drug for Leukemia We’ve added a new drug information summary for enasidenib mesylate, which was recently approved by FDA to treat recurrent or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that has a certain genetic mutation.

Also of Interest Emergency Preparedness NCI stays as prepared as we can to provide cancer care and continue cancer research in the face of catastrophic events. This page features emergency preparedness resources for patients, health care providers, the research community, and NCI employees and contractors. Cancer Staging Stage refers to the extent of your cancer, such as how large the tumor is and if it has spread. Learn how knowing the stage of your cancer helps your doctor plan your treatment. Video–What Are Clinical Trial Phases? Clinical trials to test new cancer treatments involve a series of steps called phases. This video explains what’s involved in the three main phases.