Exclusion:

1. Subjects with non-secretory or oligo-secretory or free light chain only myeloma.

*Other Eligibility may apply
<h4>Contact Centers</h4><div id="clinic-56">San Diego Pacific Oncology & Hematology Associates<br />477 N. El Camino Real, Ste. C206<br />Encinitas<br />California<br />92024<br />Research Department<br />cspencer@pacificoncology.com<br />760-452-3340<br /><br /></div>

Exclusion:
1. Plasma cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy, and plasma cell leukemia
2. severe hypercalcemia

*Other Eligibility may apply<h4>Contact Centers</h4><div id="clinic-56">San Diego Pacific Oncology & Hematology Associates<br />477 N. El Camino Real, Ste. C206<br />Encinitas<br />California<br />92024<br />Research Department<br />cspencer@pacificoncology.com<br />760-452-3340<br /><br /></div>

1) Histologically documented advanced (Stage IV) or recurrent squamous NSCLC, and or (Stage IV) or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC
2) ECOG 0-1
3) Measurable disease per RECIST

Exclusion:

1. NSCLC with documented EGFR mutation or documented fusion gene involving the (ALK) gene
2. Prior therapy before Day 1 of Cycle 1, except patients who received palliative radiotherapy for metastatic lesions are not excluded, and patients who have received prior adjuvant chemotherapy for NSCLC are not excluded if the time interval from completion of adjuvant therapy until disease progression is > 12 months.

*Other Eligibility may apply

Of the more than one million new diagnoses of skin cancer each year, roughly 68,000 involve melanoma. More than 8,000 people die of melanoma each year in the United States. What makes melanoma so dangerous is that it is more likely than other types of skin cancer to spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.

Factors that increase the likelihood of developing melanoma include sun exposure and fair skin. To explore whether people with a history of cancer are more likely to develop melanoma, researchers collected information from a large US cancer database (the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database).

• Having an initial diagnosis of melanoma before the age of 45 increased the risk of a subsequent diagnosis of melanoma by almost 12 times. Certain other cancer diagnoses before the age of 45 were linked with a smaller increase in melanoma risk. These other cancers were nonepithelial skin cancer, Kaposi sarcoma, female breast cancer, and lymphoma.
• Having an initial diagnosis of melanoma after the age of 45 increased the risk of a subsequent diagnosis of melanoma by more than 8 times. Other cancers that were linked with a smaller increase in melanoma risk were nonepithelial skin cancer, ocular melanoma, female breast cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

These results suggest that certain groups of cancer survivors may be at increased risk of melanoma. Risk of melanoma is particularly high for people who have already had a first diagnosis of melanoma, highlighting the importance of ongoing skin surveillance in this group.

Reference: Yang GB, Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Chen Y, Bordeaux JS. Risk and survival of cutaneous melanoma diagnosed subsequent to a previous cancer. Archives of Dermatology. 2011;147:1395-1402.

Copyright © 2012 CancerConsultants. All Rights Reserved.

Vitamin D is important for bone health, and some research suggests that it may also reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. A role for vitamin D in cancer prevention has not yet been firmly established, however, and research on this topic continues. Vitamin D can be produced in the skin in response to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun or obtained from dietary sources. Few foods naturally contain large amount of vitamin D, but vitamin D can be obtained from fatty fish such as salmon, fortified foods such as milk, and dietary supplements.

To summarize what is currently known about the effects of vitamin D on bone fractures and cancer, researchers analyzed information from 19 randomized clinical trials and 28 observational studies. In an observational study, scientists do not control what the study participants do. Instead, the scientists observe what happens after the study participants make their own decisions about health behaviors such as supplement use. Results from observational studies are generally not as definitive as results from randomized clinical trials, but they are worth considering as part of the overall body of evidence on a topic.

• Combined calcium and vitamin D reduced the risk of bone fractures in older people, but the optimal dosage remains uncertain. There was some evidence that the fracture benefit may be greater for institutionalized older adults than for community-dwelling older adults.
• The effects of vitamin D on cancer risk are still uncertain.
• Vitamin D supplementation may increase the risk of kidney and urinary tract stones.

These results suggest that vitamin D—in combination with calcium—can play a role in fracture prevention in older adults. There is still no clear evidence that vitamin D reduces the risk of cancer. People who are considering the use of vitamin D or any other dietary supplement are advised to discuss the risks and benefits with their physician.

Reference: Chung M, Lee J, Terasawa T et al. Vitamin D with or without calcium supplementation for prevention of cancer and fractures: an updated meta-analysis for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2011;155:827-838.

Copyright © 2011 CancerConsultants. All Rights Reserved.

Cancer treatment can have a range of reproductive effects. Treatment may result in a loss or reduction of fertility in men and women, and treatments that damage the uterus—such as radiation to the pelvis—may increase a woman’s risk of miscarriage or pre-term delivery. Studies of birth defects among children conceived after a parent’s cancer treatment have generally been reassuring, but not all of the studies considered the type and dose of treatment received by the parent.

To explore further the risk of birth defects among children born to cancer survivors, researchers evaluated information from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS). The childhood cancer survivors had been diagnosed with cancer before the age of 21. Information was available about almost 4,700 children born to these survivors. The children had been born at least five years after their parent’s cancer diagnosis.

• 129 children (2.7%) had at least one birth defect. Though the study did not have a comparison group of children born to cancer-free parents, this frequency of birth defects is similar to what has been reported for the overall US population.
• Children born to a parent who had previously received DNA-damaging cancer treatment (alkylating chemotherapy or radiation to the ovaries or testes) were no more likely to have a birth defect than children born to a parent who had not received this type of treatment.
• Increasing doses chemotherapy or radiation did not increase the risk of birth defects in the offspring.

These results provide reassuring evidence that children born to childhood cancer survivors do not have a significantly increased risk of birth defects.

Reference: Signorello LB, Mulvihill JJ, Green DM et al. Congenital anomalies in the children of cancer survivors: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study. Journal of Clinical Oncology. Early online publication December 12, 2011.

Copyright © 2011 CancerConsultants. All Rights Reserved.