July 25, 2019 (View All Issues)
Study Finds Immune-Related Adverse Events Herald Benefit With Adjuvant Pembrolizumab in Melanoma
In the EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial of adjuvant pembrolizumab in patients with stage III melanoma, recurrences were reduced by 44% in the immunotherapy arm, vs placebo, but this benefit increased to a 63% reduction in risk among patients developing an immune-related adverse event on treatment.1
No Man Is an Island: Reflections From an ASCO IDEA Recipient
IT WAS a chilly Chicago morning, and I was sitting at the lobby of my hotel when I saw a smiling gentleman cheerfully waving at me from his car. It was Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, picking me up for our drive to Indiana. I was one of the recipients of the ASCO International Development and Education...
How the ASCO Breakthrough Global Summit Is Bringing Together Innovators to Transform Cancer Care
Earlier this year, ASCO announced plans for its first-ever international meeting, ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology Innovators, which will be held October 11–13, 2019, in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting is a joint effort by ASCO and the Thai Society of Clinical Oncology to bring...
Two Pivotal Studies in Breast Cancer Report Further Analyses
At the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, two pivotal breast cancer trials reported final or additional analyses: one confirmed the negative results seen in earlier reports,1 and the other supported a new survival benchmark.2
KRISTINE: Neoadjuvant T-DM1/Pertuzumab
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the...
Is Heterogeneity Within HER2-Positive Tumors Clinically Relevant?
Breast cancers that display heterogeneity of HER2 expression may represent a distinct subset of HER2-positive breast cancer that is associated with lower rates of pathologic complete response, according to a phase II study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This trial evaluated HER2 heterogeneity...
Study Highlights on Novel Agents and Supportive Care Strategies in Prostate Cancer
In addition to our regular coverage of major news stories from the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, here is an additional roundup of important studies related to prostate cancer.
ARAMIS: Darolutamide and Quality of Life
Darolutamide, a next-generation androgen receptor antagonist, significantly...
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Selinexor in Combination With Dexamethasone in Pentarefractory Multiple Myeloma
On July 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to selinexor (Xpovio) in combination with dexamethasone for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior therapies and whose disease is refractory to at least two ...
FDA Expands Indication for Pembrolizumab to Metastatic Small Cell Lung Cancer
ON JUNE 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the anti– programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as monotherapy for patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based...
FDA Approves Bevacizumab Biosimilar for Five Cancer Types
ON JUNE 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab-bvzr (Zirabev), a biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin), for the treatment of five types of cancer: metastatic colorectal cancer; unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung...
Update on Newer Treatments in Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
As part of The ASCO Post’s coverage of the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, featured here are summaries of five abstracts of different clinical trials evaluating newer treatments for follicular and marginal zone lymphomas as well as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Follicular and Marginal Zone...
Jason S. Lewis, PhD, Receives SNMMI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Nuclear Medicine Science
Jason S. Lewis, PhD, has been named the 2019 recipient of the Paul C. Aebersold Award. Dr. Lewis is the Emily Tow Jackson Chair in Oncology and Vice Chair for Research and Chief Attending, Radiochemistry and Imaging Sciences Service, Department of Radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer...
Two Investigational Agents Demonstrate Safety, Efficacy in Lung Cancer
A handful of investigational drugs in early-phase trials always create a buzz at ASCO Annual Meetings. Two that garnered attention this year, and could eventually change outcomes in the clinic, are the first-in-class KRAS inhibitor AMG 510 and the ROS1 inhibitor repotrectinib. Should late-phase...
Friends of Cancer Research Launches Next Phase in Real-World Evidence Initiative
FRIENDS OF CANCER RESEARCH (Friends) is launching the next phase of its Real-World Evidence pilot project after a broad stakeholder meeting in February 2019. At the meeting, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and various data partners expressed interest in continuing to address several...
Brief Update on Clinical Trials of New Treatments in Gastrointestinal Cancers
The 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting provided attendees with an abundance of clinically relevant abstracts in gastrointestinal cancers. Briefly featured here are clinical trial updates on pembrolizumab in the second-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (KEYNOTE-240 trial), laparoscopic vs open...
Cathy Eng, MD, FASCO, Named to Gastrointestinal Cancer Leadership Position at Vanderbilt-Ingram
CATHY ENG, MD, FASCO, Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, is joining Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC). She was recruited to assume the role of Co-Leader of the VICC Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Program.
Dr....
New Members Join Stand Up To Cancer’s Advisory Committee
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), with its scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), announced two new members of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee: John D. Carpten, PhD, Director of the Institute of Translational Genomics at the Keck School of Medicine of the...
William Cance, MD, Named Interim Director of University of Arizona Cancer Center
William Cance, MD, Deputy Director of the University of Arizona (UA) Cancer Center in Phoenix has been appointed Interim Director of the UA Cancer Center. Dr. Cance, who joined the UA in October 2016, is also Professor in the Departments of Interdisciplinary Oncology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, ...
Is It Time to Reevaluate the P Value in Biomedical Research?
Developed in 1925 by British statistician Sir Ronald Fisher, the P value is a measure that is ever-present in abstracts and studies, a small statistical tool that has enormous power to aid research being published in the literature or support drug approval. Over the past several years, however, a...
New NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Bladder Cancer
THE TREATMENT LANDSCAPE for bladder cancer has changed dramatically over the past few years, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) recently announced the newly published NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Bladder Cancer, created with funding through the NCCN Foundation. The guidelines...
PatientPoint Campaign Brings NCCN Resources to Oncology Practices
PATIENTPOINT AND the National Comprehensive Cancer Network®(NCCN®) recently announced a new collaboration to integrate the NCCN Guidelines for Patients® on Nausea and Vomiting into the PatientPoint Interact Exam Room Program. PatientPoint is also promoting NCCN programs and evidence-based NCCN...
Krista Nelson, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, BCD, Receives Leadership in Oncology Social Work Award
KRISTA NELSON, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, BCD, has been awarded the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) 2019 Leadership in Oncology Social Work Award. The award was conferred during the AOSW 35th Annual Conference, in Tucson. The Leadership in Oncology Social Work Award is sponsored by the American ...
UCSF Opens Cancer Facility Devoted to Precision Medicine
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, San Francisco (UCSF) has opened a pioneering cancer center devoted to providing adult patients with highly advanced treatments, including immunotherapy, genetic counseling, molecular profiling of tumors, fully integrated clinical trials, and advanced imaging. The UCSF...
Florida Cancer Specialists Welcomes Barry S. Berman, MD
FLORIDA CANCER SPECIALISTS & Research Institute (FCS) recently announced that medical oncologist and hematologist Barry S. Berman, MD, has joined the statewide practice and will be seeing patients in two offices: West Palm Beach and Wellington North.
Board-certified in medical oncology,...
Parental Treatment Refusals: What Your Responsibilities Are When Mom and Dad Decline Cancer Treatment for a Child
In April 2019, a 3-year-old boy, Noah McAdams, missed the third round of chemotherapy for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His parents wanted instead to focus on alternative remedies of cannabidiol oil, alkaline water, mushroom tea, and herbal extracts. The sheriff was summoned; Noah’s parents...
CancerCare® Publishes Manifesto on the Importance of Patients’ Values in Treatment Decision-Making
CANCERCARE® has announced the publication of a patient manifesto that emphasizes the importance of including patients’ values and priorities in cancer treatment planning. This manifesto can be used to inform and advocate with policymakers, insurers, health-care administrators, electronic medical...
ASCO, Conquer Cancer Congratulate 2019 Grant and Award Recipients
Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, presented more than $7 million in grants and awards to exceptional oncology researchers at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting. ASCO and Conquer Cancer congratulate the recipients and offer their profound thanks to those who generously supported these awards. Visit...
Director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence Discusses Expanded Access, Accelerated Drug Approvals in Latest ASCO in Action Podcast
THE DIRECTOR OF the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE), Richard Pazdur, MD, joins ASCO Chief Executive Officer Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, in the latest ASCO in Action Podcast to discuss the FDA’s new program to make it easier for physicians to...
ASCO Answers Topic-Specific Booklet Bundle
FINDING TRUSTED resources to support some conversations with your patients can be challenging—ASCO is here to help. Use the ASCO Answers booklet bundle to guide discussions with patients and caregivers and provide them with the ideal take-home resource.
This topic-specific booklet bundle includes...
ASCO Now Accepting Research Project Applications for Research Survey Pool
ASCO’S CENTER FOR Research and Analytics (CENTRA) is now accepting research applications from ASCO members who wish to conduct surveys of the Society’s membership for research purposes.
The Research Survey Pool (RSP) is a service made available to ASCO members who engage in survey research. It...
Indiana Oncology Society Launches Cancer Caucus to Serve Local Policymakers
A bipartisan group of Indiana legislators, oncology experts, and other stakeholders joined together on March 6 in Indianapolis for the first-ever Indiana Cancer Caucus, where they discussed approaches to improve access to quality health care, invest in cancer research funding, and address...
Winship Cancer Institute Awarded Lung Cancer SPORE Grant From NCI
The Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has been awarded a 5-year, $9.7 million Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study new approaches for lung cancer treatment. It is reportedly the only grant of its kind to be awarded in...
Brentuximab Vedotin in Untreated Systemic Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma and CD30-Expressing Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas
On November 16, 2018, brentuximab vedotin was approved for use in combination with chemotherapy for previously untreated systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma or other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs), including angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and PTCL–not otherwise...
Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Elects New Officers for 2019–2020
The society of nuclear medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) announced a new slate of officers during its 2019 Annual Meeting, in Anahaeim, California. Alan B. Packard, PhD, and Richard L. Wahl, MD, were elected the 2019–2020 President-Elect and Vice President-Elect, respectively.
Alan B....
Laughter in Oncology Is More Common Than You Think
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,...
Looking Into the Future of Psychosocial Oncology
Over the past several decades, the field of psychosocial oncology has matured into an invaluable subspecialty that helps patients with cancer and their caregivers deal with the existential issues that arise in cancer, especially in the advanced-disease setting. In an effort to add to this...
Emerging Interest in Metabolic Pathways to Tumorigenesis
Although genetic aberrations are considered a major reason for cancer development, the importance of metabolic alterations in cancer development has emerged as a crucial aspect of contemporary cancer research. Better understanding of the metabolic traits in cancer cells could aid researchers in ...
Integrative Medicine in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients With Cancer
GUEST EDITOR
Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate...
A Compassionate Family Doctor Sparked an Interest in Medicine for Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO
GUEST EDITOR
Jame Abraham, MD, FACP
Dr. Abraham is the Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic.
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series of articles, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, ...
FDA Approves Daratumumab in Combination With Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
On June 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). The application received...
Emergency Medicine Doctor Reflects on 5 Decades of Career Experiences
BOOKMARK
Title: Patient Care: Death and Life in the Emergency Room
Author: Paul Seward, MD
Publisher: Catapult
Publication Date: July 2018
Price: $22.95, hardcover, 240 page
The history of emergency medicine residency training is interlaced with the impetus for specialty status in emergency...
The Unhealthy Health-Care System, and How to Fix It
BOOKMARK
Title: An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back
Author: Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD
Publisher: Penguin Press
Publication Date: April 2017
Price: $27.95, hardcover; 416 pages
The United States spends considerably more on health care than all other...
Physicians and the Threat of Nuclear War
The Hippocratic Oath calls on physicians to “use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment,” but not all versions of the oath call on us to prevent disease. Here we urge our colleagues to acknowledge that additional mandate and renew their commitment to preventing what...
Active Surveillance for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Requires Active Participation by Patient and Clinician
Active surveillance of patients with early-stage prostate cancer “is tackling the problem of overtreatment” and, with rigorous monitoring, “is safe and allows us to treat only patients who need treatment when their cancer progresses,” Ronald C. Chen, MD, MPH, affirmed in an interview with The ASCO...
Active Regimen for High-Risk and Older Patients With Previously Untreated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
In a single-center phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Nitin Jain, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax was highly active in previously untreated high-risk and older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
In the study,...
Activity of a MEK 1/2 Inhibitor in Select Pediatric Brain Cancers
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jason Fangusaro, MD, and colleagues found that the MEK1/2 inhibitor selumetinib was active in pediatric patients with recurrent, refractory, or progressive pilocytic astrocytoma with common BRAF aberrations and neurofibromatosis type 1...
Becoming Acquainted With Cancer
Just weeks after my wedding in late summer of 2017, I had a sudden bout of abdominal pain so severe that it sent me to the emergency room. I was just 29 years old and in great physical shape. In the emergency room, a physician examined me and was about to release me with a prescription for a...
