Methadone in Cancer-Related Neuropathic Pain: A Narrative Review.

Cancer-related neuropathic pain (CRNP) is often a significant burden on patients' quality of life. There are limited treatment guidelines for cancer-related neuropathic pain outside of CIPN. Although opioids are considered a third-line treatment option, no consensus exists on which opioid is most effective, either as a single agent or in combination with other medications.

Prevention of anastrozole induced bone loss with monthly oral ibandronate: Final 5 year results from the ARIBON trial.

Purpose: The ARIBON trial is a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled study designed to evaluate the impact of ibandronate on bone mineral density (BMD) in women taking anastrozole for adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.

Methods: 131 postmenopausal women with early breast cancer were recruited to the study. Of these, 13 had osteoporosis, 50 osteopenia and 68 normal BMD.

Review of testing and use of adjuvant trastuzumab across a cancer network--are we treating the right patients?

This review of practice assessed all early breast cancer patients diagnosed over 12 months to determine the frequency of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positivity and trastuzumab use. The frequency of HER2 positivity in routine practice (185/1319; 14%) was less than expected. A significant proportion of patients (56/185; 30%) did not receive trastuzumab, largely due to concerns about chemotherapy tolerability.

Adjuvant trastuzumab in routine clinical practice and the impact of cardiac monitoring guidelines on treatment delivery.

Trastuzumab delivery and changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in 110 patients receiving adjuvant trastuzumab in routine practice are investigated. The potential impact of new, less stringent UK cardiac monitoring guidelines is examined. 86 patients (78%) completed trastuzumab on schedule.

The use of a point of care device for monitoring the bone resorption biomarker urinary N-telopeptide in cancer patients with bone metastases.

Type I collagen is the major constituent of bone and its breakdown products are increasingly used as sensitive markers of bone resorption. The N-terminal peptide-bound crosslinks of type I collagen (NTX) can be measured in urine and is useful for the monitoring of patients with metastatic bone disease. Studies have shown that raised NTX levels in metastatic bone disease correlate with an increased risk of complications and pathological fracture.