Maybe not.

Patients just beginning treatment with different EGFR inhibiting drugs, such as Vectibix or Erbitux,  were randomly told to apply sunscreen or a placebo cream twice a day for four weeks.  The study was doubled-blinded — neither the patients nor their doctors knew who was getting the real sunscreen.

Doctors monitored the development of skin rash and patients reported on how rash affected their quality of life during the four weeks of sunscreen or placebo and for an additional four weeks after the study ended.

During the time sunscreen was being used and for the following month, there was no difference in occurrence or severity of rash nor in patient-reported quality of life. Read the rest of this entry »

Ellen Sigal

Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), announced the appointment of 19 members to the Board of Governors for the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI or the Institute). The Institute was created by the Affordable Care Act to set comparative effectiveness research priorities, establish research methods, and communicate research results to the public.

The PCORI Board appointed today includes three patient and consumer representatives. One of those representatives is Ellen Sigal, PhD, Chairperson and founder of Friends of Cancer Research, a cancer research think tank and advocacy organization. Ms. Sigal’s term on the Board will expire in September 2016.

The Colorectal Cancer Coalition is a member of Friends of Cancer Research and congratulates Ms. Sigal on her appointment. Nancy Roach, founder and Colorectal Cancer Coalition Board Chair released a statement congratulating Ms. Sigal on her appointment:

“Ellen’s engagement in both the policy and science of research make her an excellent choice. The Colorectal Cancer Coalition looks forward to working with the Board in advancing comparative effectiveness research for the benefit of patients.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The House is set to vote this afternoon on the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2010 (S. 1674) introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The bill provides that the first $2,000 per year received by an individual for participation in a clinical trial shall not be counted as income for the purpose of calculating Social Security benefits.  This provision was included in the House-passed health care reform bill last November, but was not included in the final bill the President signed into law in March.

The Senate already passed this bill on August 5.  House passage later today will clear the bill for review and signature by the President.

On Monday, September 20th, the Colorectal Cancer Coalition held a free patient webinar on the issue facing patients diagnosed with stage II colon cancer: chemo, or not?

Coalition staff Kate Murphy and Kim Ryan were joined by Dr. John L. Marshall of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to discuss this issue and took questions from patients at the end. You can view the webinar here:

Stage II Colon Cancer: Chemo or Not? Find Your Solution

Stage II colon cancer patients face tough decisions about whether the possible benefits of chemotherapy outweigh its risks and challenges. The Coalition is grateful to Dr. Marshall for helping patients explore this issue.

Adding Avastin® (bevacizumab) to chemotherapy for early stage colon cancer didn’t reduce the risk that cancer would return.

In fact, preliminary results of the AVANT trial found that chemotherapy alone worked better in preventing recurrences of stage III and high-risk stage II colon cancer, according to a news release from Roche, sponsors of the international clinical trial.

This is the second trial in which adding Avastin to chemotherapy after surgery for early stage colon cancer failed to show a disease-free survival benefit.  The C-08 trial found that, although Avastin did improve disease-free survival during the first year of treatment, the benefit had disappeared by the third year.

The results of the AVANT trial have been eagerly awaited since conclusions of the similar C-08 trial were announced in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »