February 10, 2015 (View All Issues)
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ASCO Answers: Managing the Cost of Cancer Care explains the various costs associated with cancer treatment, including health-care coverage through the Affordable Care Act. It also provides a list of financial resources available to help offset expenses related to care and tips for organizing...
Observation Appropriate for Some Patients With Rectal Cancer Following Neoadjuvant Therapy
Some patients with rectal cancer who achieve a complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy can be monitored for tumor recurrence and may never need surgery, according to a retrospective review from patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, presented at the 2015...
Cancer Genetics: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
At the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, The ASCO Post sat down with geneticist Mary-Claire King, PhD, for some personal musings about her career and how she might guide young researchers who want to follow in her footsteps. Dr. King is known for a variety of accomplishments in genetics,...
ASCO Releases Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer
ASCO recently released its report, Clinical Cancer Advances 2015: An Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer, and for the first time announced its cancer Advance of the Year: gains made in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The report credited improvements in CLL care with four...
Modified Nab-Paclitaxel/Gemcitabine in Pancreatic Cancer: Efficacious, Less Toxic, Less Costly
A less intensive regimen of nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) plus gemcitabine appears to be as efficacious as the standard regimen in first-line treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer, but less toxic and far less expensive, according to a study that earned a Merit Award at the 2015 Gastrointestinal...
Enzalutamide Shows Encouraging Activity in Triple‑Negative Breast Cancer
The androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide (Xtandi) showed encouraging activity as a single agent in advanced triple-negative breast cancer patients expressing the androgen receptor, according to an international study presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1
Enzalutamide...
E1199 Update: It’s Weekly Paclitaxel for Triple‑Negative Breast Cancer
An update of clinical trial E1199 showed that weekly paclitaxel and every-3-week docetaxel were both more effective than every-3-week paclitaxel in preventing deaths and tumor recurrences, according to Joseph Sparano, MD, Professor of Medicine and Women’s Health at the Albert Einstein College of...
Dr. Mary-Claire King Proposes Population Screening in All Young Women for BRCA Mutations
It is not enough for Mary-Claire King, PhD, to have identified the germline BRCA1 mutation associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Her clinically applicable discovery is one of the world’s greatest in genetics and one for which she has been highly lauded.
But not one to rest on her...
News Roundup From the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Highlighted here are summaries of four abstracts presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: They focus on the EPO-ANE-3010 clinical trial of epoetin alfa (Epogen, Procrit) in anemic patients with metastatic breast cancer, a New York Cancer Consortium trial of fulvestrant (Faslodex)...
Strong Showing for Anti-CD38 Antibodies in Multiple Myeloma
An investigational class of agents in multiple myeloma, the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, could be the next blockbusters in this malignancy, myeloma experts predicted at the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition.
Anti-CD38 antibodies target multiple myeloma...
CAR T Cells Impressive in Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
As more experience is gained with the use of genetically engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in patients with leukemia, the data continue to be highly encouraging. Three different groups using slightly different modifications of CAR T cells reported positive experiences in treating...
Inotuzumab Ozogamicin Plus Low-Intensity Chemotherapy: A Winner in Older Patients With Leukemia
Inotuzumab ozogamicin combined with a low-intensity chemotherapy called mini-hyper-CVD achieved highly encouraging results in older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in a phase II study reported at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.1 After the...
FDA Expands Approved Use of Ibrutinib for Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today expanded the approved use of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, a rare, indolent type of B-cell lymphoma. Ibrutinib is the first therapy indicated specifically for Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia and previously...
Minimally Invasive Techniques Used to Address Small GIST Lesions
Surgeons at the cutting edge are offering minimally invasive resection to patients with small gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) deemed to be low-risk, according to panelists at a session of the American College of Surgeons 2014 Clinical Congress in San Francisco.
“We are seeing more small...
FDA Appoints Robert Califf, MD, Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, has appointed Robert Califf, MD, as the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. Dr. Califf is a leader in cardiology, clinical research, and medical economics, who is currently serving as Vice...
Ruxolitinib for Polycythemia Vera
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs.
On December 4, 2014, ruxolitinib (Jakafi) was approved for the...
Treating Bladder Cancer in 2015
Treatment of advanced bladder cancer continues to prove challenging, and therapies that offer long-term survival remain elusive. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, FACP, FRACP, FASCO, President of the Levine Cancer Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, about the current state...
University of Pittsburgh Appoints Director of Stem Cell Transplantation
Warren Shlomchik, MD, has been named Director of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapies for the University of Pittsburgh’s Division of Hematology-Oncology and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). His appointment is effective March 1, 2015.
He also will serve as UPCI’s...
Novel Genomic Signature Predicts Postcystectomy Recurrence in High-Risk Bladder Cancer
As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Anirban P. Mitra, MD, PhD, of the University of Southern California, and colleagues identified a novel genome-based signature that improves prediction of postcystectomy recurrence in patients with high-risk bladder cancer.1 Use of the...
Molecular Classification Predicts Postcystectomy Recurrence in High-Risk Bladder Cancer
Radical cystectomy is the standard therapeutic option for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, 5-year overall survival for high-risk patients with pT3, pT4, pN-negative, and pN-positive M0 bladder cancer after radical cystectomy is only about 50% and ranges from 32% in patients...
Cornerstone Spotlight: Frank M. Muller, Jr
Frank M. Muller, Jr, the newest member of the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) Cornerstone Planned Giving Society, has a 40-year history of successfully leading investment and high-tech corporations. He served 8 years on active duty in tours to Vietnam. It is rare for him to experience a challenge...
Five Organizations Awarded 2015 International Innovation Grants to Improve Cancer Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO has announced the five recipients of the 2015 International Innovation Grant. This grant supports novel and innovative projects that may improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. For 2015, the 1-year grants of...
ASCO Names Advance of the Year, Reviews Top Research Trends
In just a year’s time, four new therapies have been approved for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), treatments that are highly effective and far easier for patients to tolerate. These therapies are a major step forward, bringing renewed hope to nearly 120,000 people living with CLL...
Help Your Patients Understand the Importance of Phase I Clinical Trials
Encourage your patients to consider participating in clinical trials, including phase I clinical trials. Direct your patients to www.cancer.net/clinicaltrials for detailed information about the purpose and advantages of clinical trials and why today’s phase I studies are different. On the...
ASCO Policy Statement Urges Removal of Barriers to Patient Participation in Phase I Clinical Trials
ASCO has released a policy statement calling for greater access to and education about phase I clinical trials, the first-in-human studies of new agents designed to fight cancer.
In “The Critical Role of Phase I Trials in Cancer Research and Treatment” ASCO policy statement, the Society stresses...
Ramucirumab in Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs.
In December 12, 2014, ramucirumab (Cyramza) was approved for use...
Four-Gene Panel Predicts Response to Letrozole
At the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, a research team led by Michael Dixon, MD, of Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, shed light on the development of endocrine resistance and presented a four-gene messenger RNA (mRNA) profile that can predict response to letrozole with a high degree ...
Moffitt Cancer Center Reports on Faculty Participants in International Discovery of Genetic Risk Factors for Ovarian Cancer
Researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida have participated in a global effort that has identified six new regions of the genome that increase risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, according to a news release from Moffitt. The collaborative study was published recently in Nature...
New Choosing Wisely List, Leukemia Quick-Takes From ASH
Nearly 5,000 scientific abstracts were presented at the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exhibition in San Francisco. Along with our targeted coverage of the meeting’s key newsmakers, The ASCO Post provides you with these brief reports of other interesting...
CPX-351 Receives Fast Track Designation for Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Elderly Patients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to Celator Pharmaceuticals’ investigational agent CPX-351, a liposomal formulation of cytarabine:daunorubicin, for the treatment of elderly patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia.
The FDA established the Fast...
Supplemental New Drug Application for Carfilzomib
Amgen and its subsidiary Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc, announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carfilzomib (Kyprolis) to seek approval for the treatment of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma who have received at least...
Transitioning From Volume to Value in Cancer Care
In an oncology health-care system that is increasingly changing its delivery and payment models, how do busy oncologists successfully bridge the transition from a volume- to value-based, patient-centric model? This, and other topics on value fueled a robust discussion at the Association of...
Friends of Cancer Research Holds Annual Conference on Clinical Cancer Research
Friends of Cancer Research, in conjunction with the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings, recently held the seventh annual Conference on Clinical Cancer Research in Washington, DC. The panels that comprised the daylong meeting discussed a future that has already begun.
The most...
West Cancer Center Announces The University of Tennessee/West Institute for Cancer Research
West Cancer Center has announced the establishment of The University of Tennessee (UT)/West Institute for Cancer Research, a nonprofit public charity fully dedicated to raising funds for adult cancer research in Memphis. The UT/West Institute for Cancer Research is soliciting grants from government ...
Suzanne Topalian, MD, Recognized for Pioneering Work in Immunotherapy Treatment of Melanoma and Other Cancers
The Melanoma Research Alliance has reported that Suzanne Topalian, MD, Chair of the group’s Scientific Advisory Panel, and former Chief Scientific Officer, has been named one of 10 people in science who mattered in 2014 by the Nature International Weekly Journal of Science.
Dr. Topalian was cited...
Clinical Trials Actively Recruiting Patients With Glioblastoma
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. The studies include pilot, phase I, I/II, III, and observational trials investigating chemoradiation therapy;...
2015 Oncology Meetings
FEBRUARY
AACR-SNMMI Joint Conference:
State-of-the-Art Molecular Imaging in Cancer Biology and Therapy
February 11-14 • San Diego, California
For more information:
www.aacr.org
2015 BMT Tandem Meeting American Society
for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
February 11 - 15 • San Diego, California
...
Cancer Has Given Me More Than It Has Taken Away
In the fall of 2010, I developed a sore throat and tonsillitis while on a hike in North Carolina. Although it was not uncommon for me to have sore throats accompanied by some swelling on my tonsils, this time much of the inflammation and swelling were centered on just my left tonsil. After 7 days...
Patient Guides Available Through ASCO University Bookstore
Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, Named Deputy Director of Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center
Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, a pioneer in the field of vaccine therapy for pancreatic cancer and leader in immunology research, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Dr. Jaffee, the Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins...
Loretta Doan, PhD, Named Vice President of Policy and Global Affairs at AACC
The American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) has announced that Loretta L. Doan, PhD, has assumed the position of Vice President of Policy and Global Affairs. Prior to joining AACC, Dr. Doan served as Director of Science Policy at the Endocrine Society, an organization representing more...
'Chemobrain’ Study Aims to Correlate Structural Changes Within the Brain and Psychomotor Function
The novelty of our approach is that we are going to be using multiple modalities” to study the effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy on the brain, looking for structural changes within the brain and how these changes might affect psychomotor function, particularly upper-extremity movements...
'Bipolar' Androgen Therapy in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Resistance to castrating therapy and androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer is due in part to adaptive upregulation of androgen receptor levels by castration-resistant prostate cancer cells in the setting of prolonged exposure to a low-testosterone environment. In a study reported in...
PEDF Improves Lung Cancer Response to Radiation via Vasculature Normalization
In a study reported in Cancer Gene Therapy, Xu and colleagues found that the addition of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) to radiation improved tumor response in a mouse model of lung cancer.
Lewis lung cancer allografts in nude mice were treated with radiation, PEDF, and PEDF plus...
LAMC2 Increases the Metastatic Potential of Lung Adenocarcinoma
Mechanisms of lung cancer metastasis remain largely undefined. In a study reported in Cell Death & Differentiation that used genome-wide transcriptional analysis in a metastasis model, Moon and colleagues found that the epithelial basement membrane protein laminin γ2 (LAMC2) was significantly...
Zoledronic Acid Inhibits Angiogenesis in Ovarian Cancer Patients
The bisphosphonate zoledronic acid has been reported to produce antitumor effects, although the mechanisms of such effects remain unclear. In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Gonzalez-Villasana and colleagues found evidence that zoledronic acid inhibited ovarian cancer angiogenesis by...
Therapeutic DNA Vaccination Against Colorectal Cancer via MYB Targeting
The oncoprotein and transcription factor MYB is overexpressed in colorectal cancer and critical to proliferation and tumor cell survival. In a study reported in Clinical & Translational Immunology, Cross and colleagues developed a DNA vaccine to generate an MYB-specific immune response on the...
Adding CD47 to Artificial Antigen-Presenting Cells May Stimulate T-Cell Responses and Improve Functionality
Artificial antigen-presenting cells have been shown to stimulate antigen-specific T-cell responses, but their effect in vivo may be compromised by rapid macrophage clearance. In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Bruns and colleagues added CD47 to classic two-signal artificial...
Mammographically Dense Breasts Highly Prevalent Among American Women
A study on the prevalence of mammographically dense breasts in the United States “estimated that approximately 43% of women aged 40 to 74 years have heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts, corresponding to approximately 27.6 million U.S. women,” researchers reported in the Journal of the...
Adding Sargramostim to Ipilimumab Improved Overall Survival Among Patients With Unresectable Stage III or IV Melanoma
Patients with unresectable stage III or IV melanoma treated with ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus sargramostim (Leukine) had longer overall survival and less toxicity than did those treated with ipilimumab alone, according to a phase II randomized clinical trial conducted by the Eastern Cooperative...
High Genetic Propensity to Obesity Raises Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma
“People with a high genetic propensity to obesity have higher risks of esophageal metaplasia and neoplasia than people with a low genetic propensity,” according to analyses of data from the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Genetic Susceptibility Study. “These analyses provide the strongest...
Unraveling the Mysteries of Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma
Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare and devastating vascular sarcoma that affects between 100 and 200 people, mostly young adults, each year in the United States. The cancer may arise as a solitary lesion but more commonly presents with metastatic involvement, usually in the liver and lungs. ...
Growing Support Group for Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma Spins the ‘Wheel of Hope’
Two years ago, my son was diagnosed with the rare vascular sarcoma epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, on which there is incredibly little reseach and knowledge (see here for more on this rare cancer). PubMed revealed a “characteristic” description: unpredictable behavior, no correlation with...
