Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials - Volume 9, Issue 4, 2014

Hispanic/Latinos (H/L) are expected to grow to over 24% of the USA population by 2050 and lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death among H/L men. Due to the information that is becoming available via genetic testing, lung cancer molecular profiling is allowing for increasing application of personalized lung cancer therapies. However, to benefit the most people, development of these therapies and genetic tes Read More

The 1st Puerto Rico Biobanking Workshop took place on August 20th, 2014 in the Auditorium of the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus in San Juan Puerto Rico. The program for this 1-day, live workshop included lectures by three biobanking experts, followed by presentations from existing biobanks in Puerto Rico and audience discussion. The need for increasing biobanking ex Read More

Background: Little is known about barriers to Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) genetic counseling among Puerto Rican women. Objective: This study reviews existing literature to identify individual, interpersonal, and systems level factors that may impact the use of HBOC genetic services among Puerto Rican women living in the United States. Methods: A systematic search of articles published between the Read More

Barriers persist in the development and delivery of effective cancer therapies to under-represented minority populations. In Puerto Rico, cancer is the second leading cause of death, yet cancer research awareness and training opportunities remain somewhat limited on the island. These limitations hinder progress toward decreasing the cancer health disparities that exist within the Puerto Rican population. The predomina Read More

Targeting anti-HER-2 therapy, trastuzumab, Lapatinib, T-DM1, and Pertuzumab is a standard therapy for HER-2-overexpressing breast cancer. But there are less data available related to anti-HER-2 therapy in elderly patients because they have been consistently underrepresented in clinical trials. Anti- HER-2 therapy among an elderly population was reviewed including approaches for making treatment effective.

Fatigue is the most common symptom in patients with advanced cancer and its prevalence ranges between 50% to 90% overall. In cancer survivors, approximately 30% of patients will experience persistent fatigue for a number of years after treatment. This complex, multidimensional symptom causes disruption in many aspects of quality of life and becomes particularly problematic in the frail and elderly patients. How Read More

Seventy-four bacterial proven cases of urinary tract infections were studied, and identified by Mac Conkey agar and blood agar medium separately; all the isolates were subjected to antimicrobial sensitivity testing by Stokes technique. Ninty-six percent of total isolated organisms were found to be gram negative while remaining 4% were gram positive. Among gram negatives, E. coli and gram positive S. aureus were the most preva Read More

The introduction of novel agents in multiple myeloma therapy has dramatically improved survival in latest years. Great progress has also been detected in particular poor clinical situation such as acute renal failure in which survival was dismal in the past. Treatment with bortezomib, thalidomide and dialysis associated with high cut-off (HCO) filters can recover more than two thirds of myeloma patients with an end sta Read More