Summary of Key Points Incidence Hypercalcemia is a common metabolic complication associated with malignant disease. Hypercalcemia is frequently seen in more advanced malignancy and is associated with poorer prognosis. Etiology The three main mechanisms are tumor secretion of parathyroid hormone–related…
Summary of Key Points Cancer patients with fever and neutropenia require immediate evaluation, assessment of risk for complications, at least two sets of blood cultures (including one from a peripheral vein and one from any indwelling catheter), other appropriate cultures…
Summary of Key Points Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication in patients with cancer, affecting approximately 15% of patients during their clinical course. VTE is fivefold to sevenfold more likely to develop in patients with cancer than in patients…
Summary of Key Points Anemia is very common in patients with cancer and is multifactorial. The anemia of persons with chronic disease is associated with decreased absorption of oral iron and decreased ability to access storage iron pools. Iron-restricted erythropoiesis…
Summary of Key Points Complementary and alternative medicine encompasses various approaches to all aspects of medical assessment and management that are not commonly or extensively applied or recommended by conventional Western medical practitioners. Complementary and alternative medicine approaches are frequently…
Summary of Key Points Because of their tumor selectivity, monoclonal antibodies offer exceptional opportunities for targeted therapy. As naked antibodies they can kill tumors by receptor blockade and by actively inducing apoptosis or by reenergizing endogenous antitumor T-cell immunity. Tumor…
Summary of Key Points Recent Advances in Gene Therapy Infusion of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) transduced peripheral blood T-lymphocytes has demonstrated therapeutic activity for patients with B cell lymphomas and leukemia and two of which have received FDA regulatory approval.…
Summary of Key Points Allogeneic or autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative treatment for many patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies, as well as a variety of other hematopoietic, immune, metabolic, and malignant diseases. Hematopoiesis and immune function…
Summary of Key Points Introduction and Historical Perspective X-rays were discovered emanating from an energized Crookes tube by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. That some naturally occurring elements emitted ionizing radiation was discovered by Henri Becquerel 1896. The radioactive elements radium…
Summary of Key Points Molecularly targeted anticancer agents (MTAs) are designed to target specific molecular features that are either uniquely or differentially expressed in cancer cells compared with normal host cells. Molecular targets include the following: products of activating mutations…