February 10, 2020 (View All Issues)
‘Unprecedented’ Responses to Cisplatin/Gemcitabine in BRCA-Mutated Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
As first-line treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and a germline BRCA/PALB2 mutation, cisplatin plus gemcitabine yielded high response rates and encouraging survival, establishing this doublet as a standard approach in this subset of patients, according to Eileen M....
Overcoming Barriers to Alleviating Cancer-Related Pain in Ethiopia
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 70% of deaths from cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries, where late-stage presentation and inaccessibility to diagnosis and treatment are common.1 In the sub-Saharan African country of Ethiopia, cancer is...
A Hopeful Look Ahead in Oncology
“They’re all charlatans,” my professor assured me when, in medical school in the mid-1970s, I expressed an interest in oncology.
The treatment of cancer with drugs, despite popular but inaccurate descriptions of its history, began in 1944 when Goodman and Gilman at Yale conducted contract research ...
Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Improves Pathologic Complete Response Rate in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
The addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy achieves higher rates of pathologic complete response compared with placebo in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to results of the phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer...
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Responds to Novel Therapy
The phase II KEYNOTE-890 trial is a small but interesting study in patients with inoperable advanced triple-negative breast cancer. After one injection of intratumoral tavokinogene telseplasmid, a plasmid encoding the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12), followed by electroporation and...
Real-World Use of Palbociclib and Abemaciclib Explored in Two Studies Based on Electronic Health Records Database
Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors are changing the landscape of the treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. Three CDK4/6 inhibitors are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—ribociclib, palbociclib, and abemaciclib—as first- or...
Addition of Secondary Surgical Cytoreduction to Chemotherapy in Recurrent Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Robert L. Coleman, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues, the phase III trial Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG)-0213 trial has shown no overall survival benefit with secondary surgical cytoreduction followed by chemotherapy with or...
Is There a Future Role for Secondary Cytoreductive Surgery in the Treatment of Recurrent Ovarian Cancer?
In a recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, Coleman et al released the results from the GOG-0213 trial, a multicenter, randomized prospective trial that compared secondary cytoreduction followed by chemotherapy with chemotherapy alone in women with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian ...
When Added to Other Systemic Therapies, Capecitabine Improves Outcomes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Capecitabine is often used to treat breast cancer, but the best use of capecitabine is open for discussion. According to a large meta-analysis of the effects of capecitabine in early breast cancer, capecitabine improves disease-free and overall survival for patients with triple-negative breast...
Fox Chase Cancer Center Welcomes Claudia J. Kasales, MD, MHA, FACR
Fox Chase Cancer Center has announced the hiring of Claudia J. Kasales, MD, MHA, FACR, who will join the Department of Diagnostic Imaging as Professor on the academic clinician track. Dr. Kasales began work at Fox Chase on February 1, 2020.
Dr. Kasales comes to Fox Chase from Penn State Health...
Susan Sturgeon, MPH, DrPH, Receives NIH Grant to Study Environmental Exposure on Breast Cancer Risk
University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) cancer epidemiologist, and Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Susan Sturgeon, MPH, DrPH, has received a $462,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand her research ...
Urology of Virginia Welcomes New Chief Medical Officer Joshua Langston, MD
Urology of Virginia has announced the transition of Joshua Langston, MD, to the role of Chief Medical Officer for the organization. He assumed this new position on January 1 and will continue the legacy of patient care, organizational guidance, innovation, and service of his predecessor, Dr. Edwin...
ASH Presents 2019 Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement to Nicholas J. Short, MD
Nicholas J. Short, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, received the 2019 Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando.
This annual award (which includes a...
Study Reports Similar Efficacy but No Less Toxicity With Adjuvant T-DM1 vs Taxane/Trastuzumab in Early Breast Cancer
The antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) failed to show improved safety when compared with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as adjuvant therapy in patients with stage 1 HER2-positive breast cancer. These results of the randomized, phase II ATEMPT trial were presented at the 2019 San ...
Stand Up To Cancer Announces Initiative to Increase Diversity in Clinical Trials
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) recently announced an initiative to increase minority representation in cancer clinical trials. All future SU2C-supported research grant proposals will now be required to include and address crucial issues related to recruitment and retention of patients from ethnic groups ...
Novel Guideline Addresses the Clinical Utility of Molecular Biomarkers in Localized Prostate Cancer
In men, prostate cancer has the highest incidence of any neoplasm and is the second-leading cause of cancer-related mortality. A plethora of tissue-based biomarkers are available to inform the diagnosis and prognosis for men with newly diagnosed, clinically localized prostate cancer. However, to...
ASCO Guideline Addresses Surveillance of Lung Cancer After Curative-Intent Therapy
ASCO has released a new guideline providing recommendations to practicing clinicians on radiographic imaging and biomarker surveillance strategies after definitive, curative-intent therapy in patients with stage I to III non–small cell lung cancer or small cell lung cancer. These guideline...
Fox Chase Cancer Center Certified Under ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative
Fox Chase Cancer Center has been recognized under ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) by the QOPI Certification Program LLC as successfully completing a 3-year certification for oncology practices that meet nationally recognized standards for quality and safety in cancer care.
“Fox ...
CAR T-Cell Therapy Comes to Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Advanced mantle cell lymphoma appears to be a good target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Treatment with KTE-X19, an anti-CD19 CAR T-cell product, led to unprecedented outcomes in patients with relapsed or refractory disease in the phase II ZUMA-2 study presented at the 2019 ASH ...
Early Steroid Use May Reduce Toxicity With CAR T-Cell Therapy
In patients with large B-cell lymphoma undergoing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with axicabtagene ciloleucel, earlier-than-usual intervention with corticosteroids and tocilizumab may reduce the incidence of severe cytokine-release syndrome, according to the findings of a...
Two Clinical Trials Show Zanubrutinib Achieves High Response Rates in del(17p) CLL and SLL
The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTK) zanubrutinib continues to achieve high overall response rates for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), even in the presence of high-risk cytogenetics, according to findings from two different trials...
Real-World Data for CAR T-Cell Therapy Show Benefit in Older Patients With Lymphoma, Lower Subsequent Health-Care Costs
Once considered highly experimental, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is now an established third-line treatment option for B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. CAR T-cell therapy has saved the lives of people who would otherwise have run out of treatment options. But the question is...
University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center Joins Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium
The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) has joined the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium was created in 2013 to transform the conduct of cancer research through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, highly...
How Real-World Data Can Help Contextualize New Treatments in Older Patients
Consider a patient who is referred for neoadjuvant therapy for stage IIIA, HER2-positive breast cancer. She is otherwise healthy, with no significant medical history, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0, unremarkable baseline labs, and a left-ventricular ejection fraction...
FDA Approves Tazemetostat for Epithelioid Sarcoma
On January 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to tazemetostat (Tazverik) for adults and pediatric patients aged 16 years and older with metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma not eligible for complete resection.
“Epithelioid sarcoma accounts...
Comparing Prescribing Habits in Academic and Nonacademic Oncology Settings
The art of oncology practice is tailored to the individual patient with cancer, and with the advent of highly personalized targeted therapies, patient outcomes have improved markedly over the past several decades. Although much of oncology practice is guideline- or protocol-driven, chemotherapy...
KEYNOTE-158 Trial: Pembrolizumab Produces Durable Responses in Select Noncolorectal Tumors
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Aurelien Marabelle, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Villejuif, and colleagues, the phase II KEYNOTE-158 trial has shown robust activity of pembrolizumab in patients with noncolorectal high...
ASCO’s Inaugural Breakthrough Global Summit Showcased Evolving Technologies Poised to Revolutionize Cancer Care
Unlike ASCO’s Annual Meeting, symposia, and conferences, which highlight the current scientific advances in specific cancers and how they are improving cancer outcomes for the more than 18.1 million people worldwide diagnosed with cancer each year,1 ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology...
Gabrielle Rocque, MD, MSPH, Followed Three Generations of Doctors Into a Career in Medicine
In 2017, breast cancer expert Gabrielle Rocque, MD, MSPH, received an American Cancer Society Mentored Research Scholar Grant for her work in enhancing shared decision-making for patients with advanced breast cancer.
“I come from three generations of physicians,” shared Dr. Rocque. “My father...
AMA Foundation Launches New Initiative to Address LGBTQ Health Disparities
The American Medical Association Foundation (AMAF) recently announced a new initiative to create a cadre of LGBTQ health specialists through the AMA Foundation LGBTQ Fellowship Program—a national fellowship program to promote best practices and shared outcomes, while improving the quality of...
Actively Recruiting Clinical Trials for Cervical Cancer
This Clinical Trials Resource Guide lists actively recruiting clinical trials that focus on cervical cancer. They are examining the efficacy of adding nelfinavir to treatment regimens, using atezolizumab as an immunotherapy primer, combining metformin and doxycycline, adjuvant chemotherapy in...
Selected ASH Abstracts on Myelodysplastic Syndromes
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel therapies for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), including the...
CAR T-Cell Gene Therapy in Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas: Present and Future
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel immunotherapies for patients with different types of non-Hodgkin...
A Retired Oncologist Remains Involved in the Science and Policy of Oncology
The history of medicine once was featured in medical school curricula. That is becoming less common due to time restriction and the increased prevalence of more technical topics. However, the importance of the history of medicine cannot be overstated: It shapes every aspect of our...
Doctoring in the Digital Age: Modern Stressors, Ancient Strategies to Cope
In my 45 years of practicing hematology/oncology at a major urban academic medical center, I have observed a sea change in daily practice that contributes to physician burnout. Although the emotional stresses of caring for seriously ill people play a part in physician burnout, I find...
Addressing Symptom Control and Palliative Care Needs
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Gabriel Lopez, MD, emphasizes the importance of effective...
Denial’s Many Faces
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS, to Head Medical Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer
Lung cancer expert Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS, has been selected to be Director of the Division of Medical Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer. Dr. Reckamp also will serve as Medical Oncology Director of the Women’s Guild Lung Institute in Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Medicine and Associate Director...
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Appoints Aaron Crane as Executive Vice President
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) has announced Aaron Crane as the new Executive Vice President. Mr. Crane will lead the organization’s strategic development, including its long-range financial plan and the upcoming clinic expansion at the South Lake Union campus.
Since joining the...
Dolores Hambardzumyan, PhD, MBA, Joins Neurosurgery Faculty at Mount Sinai
Dolores Hambardzumyan, PhD, MBA, has been appointed Senior Faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery and a member of The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research focuses on developing novel therapeutic pathways for the treatment of glioblastoma. She is...
Prevent Cancer Foundation Benefits Global Cancer Research
The gaming community showed their support to the oncology community by donating proceeds throughout a 10th Anniversary celebration of a week-long, 24-hour, speedrunning marathon. The charity event, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), concluded on January 12, 2020, raising a total of $3.13 million, the ...
Laura van ’t Veer, PhD, Honored With Precision Medicine World Conference Luminary Award
Laura van’t Veer, PhD, Co-Founder of Agendia Inc. and developer of MammaPrint, the 70-gene risk of recurrence assay for patients with breast cancer, was recognized at the Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC) with its Luminary Award. This award recognizes those individuals who have made...
Luspatercept in Transfusion-Dependent Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes
In the phase III MEDALIST trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Fenaux et al found that luspatercept significantly reduced the severity of anemia vs placebo in red blood cell transfusion–dependent patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes with ring...
Activity of Belantamab Mafodotin in Patients With Heavily Pretreated Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
In the phase II DREAMM-2 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sagar Lonial, MD, and colleagues found that the antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin was active in patients with heavily pretreated relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The agent is a conjugate of an anti–B-cell maturation...
Is There an Association Between Powder Use and Risk of Ovarian Cancer?
As reported in JAMA by O’Brien et al, pooled data from four large U.S.-based prospective cohorts suggest the lack of a significant association between the use of powder in the genital area and an increased risk of ovarian cancer. The investigators noted that the analysis may have not been...
Addition of Olaparib to Bevacizumab Maintenance in Patients With Advanced Ovarian Cancer Responding to First-Line Therapy
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Isabelle Ray-Coquard, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III PAOLA-1 trial has shown a progression-free survival benefit with the addition of olaparib to bevacizumab maintenance in patients with advanced ovarian cancer responding to first-line...
Genomics-Guided Molecular Targeted Therapy Gave Me Back My Life
In October 2014, I noticed a small pea-sized lump on the left side of my cheek. It didn’t hurt, and I didn’t have any physical symptoms that could connect the lump with a rare and serious disease, but I was curious enough about what the lump could be to get it checked out by my primary care...
Douglas Hanahan, PhD, Appointed Distinguished Scholar of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Ludwig Cancer Research has announced the appointment of Douglas Hanahan, PhD, as a Distinguished Scholar at the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. A molecular biologist and cancer researcher, Dr. Hanahan has made several seminal discoveries in cancer biology and...
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Awards Early-Career Scientists
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation recently announced that 12 scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named the 2020 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. Six initial grants of $400,000 over 2 years were awarded to seven early-career scientists...
Surgeon General Releases Report Focused on Smoking Cessation
Three decades after the first Surgeon General's report on smoking cessation, the Surgeon General has released a new report that reviews and updates evidence on the importance of quitting smoking. The report finds that more than two-thirds of U.S. adult cigarette smokers report an interest in...
Clinical Cancer Advances 2020: ASCO Names Advance of the Year, Issues Research Priorities for the Cancer Community
In the release of its annual report on progress against cancer, Clinical Cancer Advances 2020, ASCO recognized progress in the refinement of the surgical treatment of cancer as the Advance of the Year. In particular, the emergence of novel systemic therapies—combined in new and better ways—has...
Clinical Cancer Advances 2020: ASCO Names Advance of the Year, Issues Research Priorities for the Cancer Community
In the release of its annual report on progress against cancer, Clinical Cancer Advances 2020, ASCO recognized progress in the refinement of the surgical treatment of cancer as the Advance of the Year. In particular, the emergence of novel systemic therapies—combined in new and better ways—has...
Free Practice Resource: Cancer.Net Patient Referral Cards
Patients and caregivers often look for trusted information on cancer topics online. Display free referral cards in your practice to encourage your patients to visit ASCO’s patient information website, Cancer.Net. There, they will find oncologist-approved information that will help them navigate...
Join the Conquerors Community
Monthly giving is an efficient and effective way to help conquer cancer all year long. Monthly gifts to Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation®, are processed automatically, which helps reduce costs and allows your donation to have the greatest possible impact in funding the research advancing the...
Over 30 Oncology Practices Achieve ASCO’s QOPI® Certification in Fourth Quarter of 2019
Thirty-three practices in three countries elevated their standard of care and achieved Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) certification or recertification in the fourth quarter of 2019. ASCO commends these practices, which have demonstrated their commitment to providing the...
ASCO Analysis Demonstrates Need to Harmonize Disclosure Policies Across Medicine
An analysis by ASCO shows substantial discordance between disclosures to ASCO and to Open Payments, confirming the need for consistent and simpler financial disclosure systems in medicine.1
The paper examined disclosures from 93 presenters at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting and 70 published authors...
Congress Increases Federal Investment in Cancer Research, Raises Tobacco Purchasing Age
President Trump recently signed a bill that funds the federal government, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Importantly, the bill also raises the purchasing age of...
A Breast Cancer Clinical Trial Includes a Meal Delivery Service in ‘Prescribing a Diet to Conquer Cancer’
Your Stories, the podcast series from Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation®, kicks off its third season with a conversation between oncologist Neil Iyengar, MD, and nutrition advocate Nadja Pinnavaia, PhD. The pair have joined forces to help reduce the risk of cancer and share the latest research...
