ONS Connect - August 2008 - (Page 9)

for breast and cervical cancer, a review of the literature examining obesity as an obstacle to screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer has found. The review was an analysis of 32 published studies (10 breast cancer studies, 14 cervical cancer studies, and 8 colorectal cancer studies) looking at the association between obesity and recommended screening tests for these cancer sites among women in the United States. A consistent association between decreased cervical cancer screening and increased body size was found, although several studies reported that the association was more consistent among white women than among black women. For breast cancer, obesity was associated with decreased screening behavior among white women, but not among black women. The literature regarding obesity and colorectal cancer screening adherence was mixed, with some studies reporting an inverse effect of body size on screening behavior and others reporting no effect. Cohen, S.S., Palmieri, R.T., Nyante, S.J., Koralek, D.O., Kim, S., Bradshaw, P., et al. (2008). A review: Obesity and screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in women. Cancer, 112(9), 1892–1904. Single-Dose Carboplatin May Be Effective for Early Testicular Cancer study showing that a single dose of carboplatin chemotherapy is as effective and less toxic than radiation therapy in preventing recurrence after surgery for early-stage testicular cancer was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, IL. Testicular cancer is the most frequent cancer in men aged 15–45 years, and surgery followed by radiation has been the standard of care, according A to the researchers. The new research reported that in men with surgically resected stage 1 seminoma, a single dose of carboplatin chemotherapy is as effective as two to three weeks of radiation therapy in preventing recurrence and is much less toxic. In the study, 573 patients were randomized to a single dose of carboplatin given over one hour on an outpatient basis and 904 were randomized to a course of daily radiotherapy given over two or three weeks. At five years, the rate of relapse was similar in the two treatment arms—5% in the carboplatin arm and 4% in the radiation arm. Fifteen patients in the radiation arm developed contralateral testicular germ cell cancers versus two patients in the carboplatin arm. One patient in the radiation arm died from seminoma versus none in the chemotherapy arm. Adverse effects were low with both treatments, although patients treated with radiation reported high levels of moderate to severe lethargy (24% versus 7% for carboplatin) four weeks after starting treatment. Carboplatin treatment also was associated with lower financial costs and required less time off from work than radiation therapy. Oliver, R.T., Mead, G.M., Fogarty, P.J., & Stenning, S.P. (2008, May). Radiotherapy versus carboplatin for stage seminoma: Updated analysis of the MRC/EORTC randomized trial (ISRCTN27063214) [Abstract 1]. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Chicago, IL. Contributing Editor Deborah McBride, RN, MSN, CPON ®, is a nurse at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and a faculty member at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, CA. August 2008 ONS CONNECT 9

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ONS Connect - August 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Safe Handling of Chemotherapy A Year in the Life—Month Eight Put Evidence Into Practice to Manage Dyspnea Web Connect Capitol Connection Notice Nursing Now Caregiver Care KRAS Status Predicts Response to Cetuximab for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Calendar of Events Working for You Staying on Top

ONS Connect - August 2008

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