July 10, 2017 (View All Issues)
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Biosimilars and Cost in Oncology
Biosimilars are biologic products similar to the parent (branded) molecule in structure and function—such as erythropoietin and filgrastim (Neupogen).1 To truly bend the cost curve, we want to see a dramatic economic savings achieved as oncology biosimilars for rituximab (Rituxan), trastuzumab...
Pembrolizumab Moving Forward in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
In the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, checkpoint inhibition is making inroads in both early- and late-stage disease, and the line of treatment and expression of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) could be important in determining outcomes, according to studies...
Overcoming Sexism in Academic Medicine
The troubling results from a survey1 investigating the sexual harassment and discrimination experiences of academic medical faculty show that such incidents continue to happen with unexpected frequency despite increasing awareness of the problem. The study by Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, and...
CAR T-Cell Therapy in Multiple Myeloma Yields 100% Response Rate
Chinese investigators reported that 100% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma responded to autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, and 14 of 19 (74%) who were followed for a median of 4 months achieved a stringent complete response and have not recurred.1
...
Ublituximab/Ibrutinib Beneficial in Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
The addition of ublituximab (a glycoengineered anti-CD20 antibody) to ibrutinib (Imbruvica) improved response rates, depth of response, and led to quicker resolution of ibrutinib-associated lymphocytosis in patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the phase III...
Expert Point of View: Nitin Jain, MD, and Susan O'Brien, MD
Formal discussant of the GENUINE trial, Nitin Jain, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, noted that the majority of responses to ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in high-risk patients are partial responses. “These patients [have disease progression] even in the context of...
Atezolizumab/Bevacizumab Moves Forward in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
THE COMBINATION of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus bevacizumab (Avastin) showed promising results as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to a phase II trial called IMmotion 150. Based on these results, the phase III IMmotion 151 trial is comparing...
Dacomitinib Outperforms Gefitinib in EGFR-Positive NSCLC
DACOMITINIB, a second-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, outperformed gefitinib (Iressa) as first-line treatment for EGFR-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase III ARCHER 1050 study.1 Dacomitinib improved...
Retreatment With Checkpoint Inhibitors May Be Feasible for Some Patients With NSCLC
INCREASING NUMBERS of patients are being treated with checkpoint inhibitors, and about one-quarter to one-third will develop immune-related adverse events. One question on the minds of oncologists is can these patients be safely re-treated once their adverse events resolve?
One of the first...
Potent PARP Inhibitor Moves Ahead in BRCA-Mutated Breast Cancer
TALAZOPARIB, a novel inhibitor of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), showed encouraging efficacy in breast cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations in the phase II ABRAZO trial, presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting by Nicholas C. Turner, MD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital and The...
Update on NCI Projects Aimed at Advancing Precision Medicine
“PRECISION MEDICINE will lead to fundamental understanding of the complex interplay among genetics, epigenetics, nutrition, environment and clinical presentation, and direct effective, evidence-based prevention and treatment. We can’t measure all that all at once right now, but we are...
Autologous and Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
HERE ARE SEVERAL ABSTRACTS selected from the proceedings of the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting clinical trials on autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for various hematologic malignancies. Additional selected...
Preparing for Future Challenges in Geriatric Surgical Oncology
In the past decade, advances in surgical oncology have been echoed in the field of geriatric oncology. The current literature regarding older people with cancer includes mainly retrospective cohort studies, focusing on alternatives to radical surgery in comorbid patients. More recently, work...
Pembrolizumab Is Highly Active in Relapsed/Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
AS REPORTED in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Robert Chen, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center, and colleagues, the phase II KEYNOTE-087 trial has shown that the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is highly active in patients with relapsed/...
Encouraging Results With Pembrolizumab in Relapsed/Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
AN EFFECTIVE antitumor immune response relies on cytotoxic T cells that are activated and able to target the malignant clone. As T cells become activated, they upregulate suppressive receptors including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). Upregulation of inhibitory signals is...
Addition of Adjuvant Capecitabine to Gemcitabine Improves Survival in Patients With Resected Pancreatic Cancer
IN THE EUROPEAN phase III ESPAC-4 trial reported in The Lancet, John P. Neoptolemos, MD, of the Liverpool Clinical and Cancer Research UK Trials Unit, University of Liverpool, and colleagues found that adding adjuvant capecitabine to gemcitabine significantly improved overall survival...
Has a New Standard Really Been Established for the Adjuvant Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer?
THE PAST YEAR has undoubtedly been a disappointing one as far as clinical advances in pancreatic cancer go. No fewer than five high-profile randomized phase II or III trials in this setting reported negative results in 2016, ranging from next-generation cytotoxic agents1 to novel...
FDA Approves Aminolevulinic Acid Hydrochloride as an Optical Imaging Agent Indicated in Gliomas
ON JUNE 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride, known as ALA HCl (Gleolan), as an optical imaging agent indicated in patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization [WHO] grades III or IV) for preoperative imaging, as an adjunct for the...
No Efficacy Difference Between Adjuvant Letrozole and Anastrozole in Postmenopausal Women With Early Breast Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ian E. Smith, MD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, and colleagues, final results of the phase III FACE trial showed no difference in disease-free or overall survival for adjuvant letrozole vs anastrozole in...
Neoadjuvant Studies of Endocrine Approaches in Breast Cancer Mandated Before Embarking on Large Adjuvant Studies
Largely based on studies demonstrating that letrozole can suppress plasma estradiol levels to a greater extent than anastrozole,1 the adjuvant activity of these endocrine agents were compared in 4,136 patients with node-positive breast cancer in the FACE trial. As reviewed in this issue of The ASCO ...
Second Cancers May Be Deadlier in Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Patients
Second cancers in children and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are far deadlier than they are in older adults and may partially account for the relatively poor outcomes of cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 39 overall, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis...
ASCO’s TAPUR Study Continues Its Expansion of Sites, Participants, and Collaborators
ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study continues to expand and now has more than 300 participants enrolled on study drugs, more than 100 sites in 20 states, new partnerships, and a -revised protocol to lower the age of eligibility.
Recently, eight new centers in 36...
ASCO’s New MACRA Decision Tree Tool Helps Determine Which QPP Reporting Requirements Apply to Your Practice
Believe it or not, we’re halfway through the 1st year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP). ASCO, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and other stakeholders have released guidance on successfully complying with QPP, but tailored information addressing a practice’s specific...
Stay Up to Date on New Patient Materials From Cancer.Net
Encourage your patients to use social media to stay up to date with new resources available on Cancer.Net.
It is easier than ever for patients to get the latest cancer information on their computer or mobile device by reading the Cancer.Net blog
(www.cancer.net/blog) or following Cancer.Net on...
A Great IDEA: Celebrating 15 Years of the International Development and Education Award
In 2017, ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO are proud to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the International Development and Education Award (IDEA). The IDEA program supports the professional development of early-career oncologists in low- and middle-income countries around the world.
...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Researcher Spotlight: Dr. Supriya Mohile
SUPRIYA MOHILE, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of the Geriatric Oncology Clinic
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York
Older adults are the population most affected by cancer: 60% of all cancer occurs in this group. Yet the field of oncology that focuses...
Cancer Research Grant Opportunities for Early-Career and Junior Faculty Researchers
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO is currently accepting applications for the 2018 Young Investigator Award (YIA) and Career Development Award (CDA).
Young Investigator Award (YIA)
A 1-year grant totaling $50,000, the YIA provides research funding to promising physicians to support the...
Gideon M. Blumenthal, MD, Appointed OHOP Acting Deputy Office Director
Richard Pazdur, MD, Director of the Oncology Center of Excellence and Office of Hematology and Oncology Products (OHOP) Acting Director, has announced the appointment of Gideon M. Blumenthal, MD, as Acting Deputy Office Director of the OHOP at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dr....
NewYork-Presbyterian Establishes William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma
NewYork-Presbyterian has established the William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma. Launched with an initial $5 million gift from William Rhodes, the new state-of-the-art program conducts groundbreaking research and provides cutting-edge treatments for glioblastoma and other...
Adding Idelalisib to Bendamustine/Rituximab in Relapsed/Refractory CLL
As reported by Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology, interim analysis of a phase III trial has shown the superiority of adding the phosphoinositide-3-kinase δ inhibitor idelalisib (Zydelig) to bendamustine/rituximab (Rituxan) in...
Idelalisib in Resistant CLL: Benefit Shown, Questions Remain
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Dr. Andrew Zelenetz and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, an international phase III trial in 416 patients with refractory or recurrent chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) addressed the benefit of adding the first-in-class phosphoinositide...
Phase III CASCADE Trial of Vadastuximab Talirine in Front-Line AML Discontinued
On June 22, 2017, Seattle Genetics confirmed it discontinued the phase III CASCADE clinical trial of vadastuximab talirine (SGN-CD33A) in front-line older acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Patient enrollment and treatment in all of its vadastuximab talirine clinical trials are suspended,...
Understanding the Cultural Differences Among Ethnic Minorities in Palliative and End-of-Life Care
GUEST EDITOR
Addressing the evolving needs of cancer survivors at various stages of their illness and care, Palliative Care in Oncology is guest edited by Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD. Dr. Von Roenn is ASCO’s Vice President of Education, Science, and Professional Development.
Because cultural...
WCHN Launches Trial to Screen Newly Diagnosed Patients With Diabetes for Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer
Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) has announced the launch of a 3-year research study that will investigate the link between new-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer. The main goal of the study is to detect the often lethal cancer at a curable stage.
The study was developed by a team of...
Two Studies Show Scalp Cooling Reduces Hair Loss in Women Receiving Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
An interim analysis of the SCALP trial, reported in JAMA by Julie Nangia, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, and colleagues, showed that use of a scalp-cooling device significantly reduced hair loss in women receiving chemotherapy for stage I or II breast cancer compared with no scalp cooling.1 The ...
Scalp Cooling to Prevent Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia: Is It Now Ready for Prime Time?
In oncology, sometimes we forget about the small, everyday things that can significantly impact a patient’s life. When patients are explained the side effects of chemotherapy and chemotherapy-induced alopecia, most women will cry or become visibly upset. When a woman loses her hair, it represents...
FDA Approves Daratumumab in Combination With Pomalidomide and Dexamethasone for Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of the monoclonal antibody daratumumab -(Darzalex) in combination with pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies including lenalidomide ...
FDA Approves Panitumumab for Use in Wild-Type RAS Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
On June 30, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for panitumumab (Vectibix) for patients with wild-type RAS (defined as wild-type in both KRAS and NRAS as determined by an FDA-approved test for this use) metastatic...
First Comprehensive Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Initiative Launched in Africa
Through public-private partnerships with the governments of Botswana, Uganda, and Malawi, His Excellency the President Lieutenant General Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, of the Republic of Botswana; the Honorable Minister Dorcas Makgato, of the Ministry of Health and Wellness; the Bristol-Myers Squibb ...
World Health Assembly’s New Cancer Resolution Reflects New Realities
The World Health Assembly (WHA)—the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO)—adopted a long-expected cancer resolution at its 2017 meeting, the body’s first resolution on cancer in 12 years and the first to emphasize, among other issues, the accessibility and affordability of...
Angela Alistar, MD, Joins Atlantic Health System Cancer Care
Gastrointestinal cancer researcher Angela Alistar, MD, has joined Atlantic Health System Cancer Care as Medical Director of GI Medical Oncology at Morristown Medical Center.
Dr. Alistar is a board-certified medical oncologist who specializes in translational research. She comes to Atlantic...
Mutations in Myelodysplastic Syndrome Associated With Poorer Outcome After Stem Cell Transplantation
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, R. Coleman Lindsley, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues found that a number of mutations present in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were associated with poorer clinical outcome after allogeneic...
High-Risk Mutations Predict Poor Outcomes for Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes Undergoing Transplantation
Although several treatment options are available for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the only curative therapy.1 The risks of complications and death from transplantation can be substantial. Determining which patients may...
New Supportive Care Resources From NCCN Help Patients With Cancer Confront Distress
All patients with cancer experience some level of distress associated with their cancer diagnosis and the effects of the disease and its treatment—regardless of the stage of disease. Not only does distress affect a patient’s mental and psychosocial well-being, but because distress is a risk...
Pediatric Cancer Pain May Be Misunderstood and Largely Undertreated
Cancer pain in children poses certain unique challenges. Over the past decade, insightful research into pediatric cancer pain has focused on pain management that incorporates nonopioid therapies into standard care. To shed light on this important issue, The ASCO Post spoke with Christine T....
Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer Death Rates Continue to Decline
Overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in men, women, and children for all major racial and ethnic groups, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2014, published by Jemal et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.1 The report finds...
I Reject the Notion I’m on a Cancer Journey
I was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer in 2002. I had no idea the disease and its treatment would cause me to gain more than 50 pounds and nearly cripple me with pain. I had a transurethral resection of the prostate following my diagnosis and have had multiple testosterone-suppression...
Big Data and the Learning Machine
BOOKMARK
Title: The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World
Author: Pedro Domingos
Publisher: Beacon Press
Publication date: February 2017
Price: $24.95, hardcover, 288 pages
Technology is revolutionizing our understanding and treatment of diseases....
Cancer Survivor Publishes Book for Children About Cancer
A book aimed at helping young families understand cancer, Hair to the Queen! is now available on Amazon. Written by first-time author Tamara B. Rodriguez and illustrated by Carole A. Smith, the book empowers adults to discuss cancer with children in a simple and compassionate way.
Hair to the...
Final Results of European Trial in Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma
The final results of the European phase III International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG)-19 trial, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Emanuele Zucca, MD, of the IELSG Operation Office, Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, and colleagues showed that event-free and...
Blinatumomab in B-Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Giovanni Martinelli, MD, of S. Orsola University Hospital, Bologna, and colleagues found that blinatumomab (Blincyto) produced complete responses in patients with relapsed/refractory Philadelphia chromosome–positive B-precursor...
Missak Haigentz, MD, Joins Atlantic Health System Cancer Care
Head and neck and lung cancer researcher Missak Haigentz, MD, has joined Atlantic Health System Cancer Care as Chief of Hematology and Oncology at Morristown Medical Center and Medical Director of Atlantic Hematology and Oncology for Atlantic Medical Group at the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center. Dr. ...
James Francis McCarthy
The family and staff of Harborside Press mourn the loss of former colleague, and forever friend James F. McCarthy, who passed away after a brief illness on June 23, 2017.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 7, 1929, to John A. and Eda K. McCarthy, Jim was a graduate of Brooklyn Preparatory...
