Cancer
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Exemestane versus anastrozole as front-line endocrine therapy in postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive, advanced breast cancer: final results from the Spanish Breast Cancer Group 2001-03 phase 2 randomized trial.
Several aromatase inhibitor studies have reported variations in the inhibitory potency of these agents that could lead to differences in clinical outcomes. In the current study, the authors formally evaluated the activity of anastrozole and exemestane in postmenopausal women with hormone-responsive, advanced breast cancer. ⋯ In this phase 2 randomized trial, no significant differences in clinical activity were observed in favor of exemestane to justify a superiority phase 3 trial design in the first-line setting.
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A study was undertaken to determine the survival benefit of postoperative chemoradiation therapy for elderly patients with resected gastric adenocarcinoma. ⋯ The authors did not detect a survival benefit, suggesting that some elderly patients with resected gastric adenocarcinoma may not gain a survival benefit from the administration of adjuvant chemoradiation. The analysis had limitations, and the results are hypothesis generating. Future gastric cancer trials should enroll more elderly patients and stratify patients by age to better understand the impact of treatment regimens on older patients.
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Robotic surgery has been widely adopted for radical prostatectomy. We hypothesized that this change is rapidly shifting procedures away from hospitals that do not offer robotics and consequently increasing patient travel. ⋯ Over the past decade, the number of radical prostatectomies performed has risen substantially. These procedures have been increasingly centralized at high-volume centers, leading to longer patient travel distances. Few prostatectomies are now performed at hospitals that do not offer robotic surgery.
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Disclosure of conflicts of interest in biomedical research is receiving increased attention. The authors sought to define current disclosure policies and how they relate to disclosure statements provided by authors in major oncology journals. ⋯ Disclosure policies and the very definition of conflict of interest varied considerably among journals. Although most journals had some policy in this area, a substantial proportion did not publish disclosure statements consistently, with deficiencies particularly among editorials and commentaries.