October 2025 – OncWonk – Dr Bier's Oncology Research Reviews

Reporting of Clinical Trial Uncertainties With New Cancer Drugs in Journal Publications and Clinical Guidelines

October 29, 2025

Comment: Unfortunately, this study confirms a persistent issue. We repeatedly see this major discrepancy between the “known unknowns”—the clinical uncertainties the FDA rightly identifies during expedited approvals—and what actually gets published in high-impact journals and translated into clinical guidelines like the NCCN. The result is that frontline oncologists are often making treatment decisions with an […]

Efficacy and safety of metronomic chemotherapy in maintenance therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

October 27, 2025

| No Comments

| Cancer - Colon

Comment: This systematic review is, predictably, hampered by significant heterogeneity and an insufficient number of trials, preventing any definitive conclusions. However, an optimistic signal does emerge. The review strongly reinforces the primary value proposition of metronomic chemotherapy: an exceptionally favorable safety profile, with a striking lack of severe hematological toxicity. Furthermore, despite the mixed data, […]

Oral tegafur-uracil as metronomic therapy following intravenous FOLFOX for stage III colon cancer

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Colon

Comment: While this study is flawed by its retrospective design and critical selection bias, we shouldn’t discard the core hypothesis. The authors are right to call the findings preliminary, but the concept of metronomic maintenance therapy remains highly compelling. The fact that such a strong Overall Survival signal (86.8% vs. 68.5%) was detected at all, […]

Metronomic Capecitabine Plus Aromatase Inhibitor as Initial Therapy in Patients With Hormone Receptor-Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Breast

Comment: The MECCA trial, while certainly not practice-changing, provides an important signal for the potential of metronomic chemotherapy. The key takeaway is the therapeutic window. Achieving a 9-month PFS benefit and a positive OS trend with a regimen that produced Grade 3 adverse events in only 15.1% of patients is compelling. This highlights the central […]

Anti-cancer effect of fenbendazole-incorporated PLGA nanoparticles in ovarian cancer

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Ovarian, Repurposed Drugs - Anti-parasitics, Metformin

Comment: This study provides crucial clarity on the fenbendazole story. The key takeaway is the stark difference between in vitro (lab dish) and in vivo (live animal) results. While FZ can kill cancer cells in a dish, this study demonstrates it completely fails in live models when given in its natural form. The reason is […]

NatWonk – Our Sibling Site

October 26, 2025

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| Miscellaneous

NatWonk – Naturopathic Research Reviews

Metronomic chemotherapy with oral vinorelbine (mVNR) and capecitabine (mCAPE) in advanced HER2-negative breast cancer patients: is it a way to optimize disease control? Final results of the VICTOR-2 study

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Breast

Comment: This study presents a very practical and appealing option for managing advanced HER2-negative breast cancer in the palliative setting. The key takeaway is the dual advantage of this all-oral metronomic regimen: it demonstrates clinically relevant activity while maintaining an exceptionally low toxicity profile. However, the regimen’s main strength is its safety and convenience. Being […]

Effect of Soy Protein Isolate Supplementation on Biochemical Recurrence of Prostate Cancer After Radical Prostatectomy

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Prostate

Comment: This study showed that supplementing with a soy protein isolate didn’t impact PSA levels. However, a critical piece of context for this null finding is the dose they used. The 41 mg/day of total isoflavones used in this trial sits at the absolute low end of the 40-80 mg/day range typically tested in prostate cancer […]

Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Breast, Cancers

Comment: This is an interesting and potentially alarming one. I’m sure we’ve all noted times where a stable patient started progressing after getting an infection. This study shows an association of SARS-CoV-2 infection with a nearly two-fold increase in cancer-specific mortality (UK Biobank) and a 44% higher rate of lung metastases in breast cancer patients […]

Association between Soy Isoflavone Intake and Breast Cancer Risk for Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women

October 26, 2025

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| Cancer - Breast

Comment: This meta-analysis is a classic example of how pooling heterogeneous and methodologically different studies can create confusion. In general I am always suspicious of meta-analyses for that reason. Although it is possible that there is a biological reason for the studies on Asian women to be different than on Western, it is also possible […]