June 10, 2017 (View All Issues)
Adjuvant Gefitinib Delays Recurrence in EGFR-Positive NSCLC
Adjuvant therapy with gefitinib (Iressa), an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted agent, was more successful at preventing recurrence than standard-of-care chemotherapy, in a phase III study of patients with EGFR-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 Gefitinib extended...
Value-Based Decision-Making Tools: The View Ahead
As new treatment decision-making tools make their way toward and into the clinic, oncologists are getting a sense of how they may affect clinical practice—and beginning to look farther down the road.
“What do you see ahead for clinicians?” asked Christian Downs, JD, Executive Director of the...
Making American Research Great Again
In the past 10 years, we have made remarkable advances in how we fight cancer. One of the most powerful new tools in our arsenal is cancer immunotherapy, which reawakens our own immune system to produce stunning results for many suffering from advanced cancer.
Immunotherapy saved President Jimmy ...
Tree Nut Consumption May Improve Outcomes in Stage III Colon Cancer
Tree nut consumption, as well as a generally healthy lifestyle, significantly reduced the risk of cancer recurrence and death in patients with stage III colon cancer treated in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 89803 trial, researchers reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting. Two subanalyses ...
FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for First Tissue/Site-Agnostic Indication
On May 23, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic, microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) solid tumors that have progressed...
Venetoclax Achieves Durable and Deep Remissions in CLL
Preliminary study results suggest that venetoclax (Venclexta) plus rituximab (Rituxan) is a highly active combination in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), achieving durable responses and minimal residual disease negativity in previously treated patients.
“The results of...
Idelalisib Toxicities Appear to Be Immune-Related
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors represent a highly active class of drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Idelalisib (Zydelig), a PI3K-delta inhibitor and the first PI3K inhibitor to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CLL, has...
Lack of Access to Transfusions Limits Hospice Use by Patients With Hematologic Malignancies
A new survey finds that doctors would refer more patients with incurable blood cancers to hospice for end-of-life care if they could receive transfusions, which are generally not available because of hospice reimbursement policies. The findings, published by Oreofe Odejide, MD, MPH, and...
New Horizons in Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer
Immunotherapy is a new treatment paradigm in recurrent metastatic head and neck cancer, according to Nabil F. Saba, MD. At a symposium hosted by the Winship Cancer Institute and Emory University—Updates in the Management of Head and Neck Cancer—Dr. Saba discussed current research and new...
Targeted Therapy in the Age of Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer
The impact of targeted therapies in head and neck cancer has been limited, but we can strategize to integrate the development of targeted and immunotherapeutic agents, according to Christine H. Chung, MD, Senior Member and Chair in the Department of Head and Neck-Endocrine Oncology at Moffitt...
Proton Therapy Associated With Fewer Sequelae in the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer
Radiation oncology is vital to the management of patients with cancer of the head and neck, and for certain patients, proton therapy may offer significant benefit over intensity-modulated radiation therapy, according to Walter J. Curran, MD, Executive Director of the Winship Cancer Institute of...
Optimizing Quality of Life in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
Head and neck cancer can take away a patient’s “right to feel human,” and its impact on physical appearance, physical functioning, and general quality of life can be devastating, according to Merry Sebelik, MD, Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta. At a...
Lymphedema Risk: It’s Not Just About the Surgery
In a study from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, the risk of lymphedema in a population-based breast cancer cohort was related to multimodality therapy and not axillary surgery alone, investigators reported at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Annual Meeting.1
“Most patients...
Targeting the Androgen Receptor in Breast Cancer
One of the most active areas of research in breast cancer involves the targeting of the androgen receptor. Trials underway for androgen receptor antagonists and modulators, alone and in various combinations of available agents and novel therapies, are yielding encouraging early results.
At the...
Selected Novel Agents in Development for Multiple Myeloma
Here are several abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2016 America Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting newer therapeutics for the development for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. For full details of these study abstracts, visit ...
FDA Broadens Ceritinib Indication
On May 26, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to ceritinib (Zykadia), a kinase inhibitor for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test.
In April...
Combination Therapy With Pembrolizumab in Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC
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 May 10, 2017, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted accelerated ...
Wendy S. Rubinstein, MD, PhD, FACMG, FACP, Joins CancerLinQ LLC as Division Director, Clinical Data Management and Curation
CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary of ASCO, has -announced that Wendy S. Rubinstein, MD, PhD, FACMG, FACP, will be its first Division Director, Clinical Data Management and Curation.
Dr. Rubinstein will oversee the team working to securely process and analyze the -CancerLinQ®...
Leave a Legacy of Hope
By including a planned gift to the Conquer Cancer Foundation in your estate plans, you can help make a dramatic difference for cancer patients years—even decades—into the future.
With just one small change to your will or trust, your planned gift of any size will deliver a big impact, and:
- ...
ASCO Resources Help Practices Navigate Quality Reporting Under MACRA
The Quality Payment Program (QPP), established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), launched this January and is being implemented in oncology practices across the country. In 2017, practices must report some quality data in order to avoid financial penalties in 2019. ASCO...
Help Your Patients Catch Up on the Latest Research From the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting
On the Cancer.Net blog (www.cancer.net/blog), your patients can learn about the research highlighted at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, including what it means for their care and treatment. They can also follow the blog for additional updates from the Meeting, including podcasts with ASCO experts...
Proposed Categories of Cancer Survivors Aim to Bring Survivorship Into Precision Medicine Era
Care for people who have survived or are living with cancer should acknowledge the heterogeneity of their needs and experiences and should reflect the same level of personalization that is now guiding active cancer therapy. At a time when more people are surviving cancer than ever before, new...
ASCO COME HOME Offers Direct Support to Practices Transitioning to Quality Payment Program
ASCO is making it easier for practices to understand and prepare for the transition to the Quality Payment Program (QPP) in the years ahead with its ASCO COME HOME initiative.
ASCO COME HOME provides readiness assessment tools to help practices evaluate whether or not they are ready to transition...
ASCO Launches Volunteer Corps
ASCO is very fortunate to have an active member base eager to volunteer, share expertise, and give back to the oncology community.
Currently, more than 2,000 volunteers are engaged on ASCO committees, subcommittees, working groups, panels, task forces, editorial boards, and in various training...
Geriatric Oncology: A Multidisciplinary Approach in a Global Environment
Geriatrics for the Oncologist is guest edited by Stuart M. Lichtman, MD, FACP, FASCO, and developed in collaboration with the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). Dr. Lichtman is an Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Commack, New York, and Professor of...
Combinations of Novel Treatment Approaches Continue to Make Progress in Overcoming Challenges of Pediatric Brain Tumors
Nearly 2,500 children in the United States are diagnosed with brain tumors each year, making these malignancies among the most common solid tumors in children and adolescents. Despite advances over the past few decades, the treatment of brain tumors remains one of the most challenging clinical...
Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, Named Director of Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber
Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, has been named the new Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Dr. Wolpin is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and was appointed earlier this year as the Robert T. and Judith B. Hale Chair in Pancreatic Cancer ...
Brian Marr, MD, Joins Division of Ophthalmic Oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center
Brian Marr, MD, has joined the Department of Ophthalmology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center as Director of the Division of Ophthalmic Oncology. He will also serve as Professor of Ophthalmology at Columbia University Medical Center.
With Dr. Marr’s arrival,...
WHO to Begin Pilot Prequalification of Biosimilars for Cancer Treatment
This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) will launch a pilot project for prequalifying biosimilar medicines, a step toward making some of the most expensive treatments for cancer more widely available in low- and middle-income countries. The decision comes after a 2-day meeting in Geneva...
Lenalidomide, Bortezomib, and Dexamethasone With or Without Transplantation in Younger Myeloma Patients
In the French phase III IFM 2009 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Michel Attal, MD, of the Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse-Oncopole, and colleagues, consolidation treatment with lenalidomide (Revlimid), bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone (RVD) was...
Autologous Transplantation for Myeloma: Don’t Change the Winning Team
Over the past 20 years, the Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) and Dr. Michel Attal have pioneered the use of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) for multiple myeloma in a series of randomized studies. Notable studies include comparisons of planned upfront AHCT vs...
Atezolizumab Improves Overall Survival vs Docetaxel in Previously Treated Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
In the phase III OAK trial reported in The Lancet by Achim Rittmeyer, MD, of Lungenfachklinik Immenhausen, Germany, and colleagues, treatment with the anti–programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody atezolizumab (Tecentriq) improved overall survival vs docetaxel in previously treated non–small ...
Atezolizumab: Another Therapeutic Option for Patients With Previously Treated Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The OAK study—recently reported by Rittmeyer and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—is the first study to show patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a humanized antibody (atezolizumab, Tecentriq) directed against the programmed cell...
Robert J. Cerfolio, MD, Joins NYU Langone, Perlmutter Cancer Center
Robert J. Cerfolio, MD, joined New York University (NYU) Langone on June 1 as Chief of Clinical Thoracic Surgery. He also will become the first Director of the Lung Cancer Center at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Dr. Cerfolio currently serves at the University of Alabama (UAB) Hospital...
Survival Benefit of Adding Antiandrogen Therapy to Radiation in Recurrent Prostate Cancer: Final Results of RTOG 9601
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by W.U. Shipley, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues in the NRG Oncology Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), the final analysis of the phase III RTOG 9601 trial shows that the addition of...
Androgen Blockade and Salvage Radiation Therapy in Prostate Cancer: Cautious Optimism Amid Unanswered Questions
The recent report of results of RTOG 9601 by Shipley et al in The New England Journal of Medicine1—reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—strongly supports the variably used practice of adding “androgen blockade” to salvage radiation therapy in men with a rising prostate-specific antigen...
Ipilimumab vs Placebo in Metastatic Chemotherapy-Naive, Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Without Visceral Metastases
In the phase III CA184-095trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tomasz M. Beer, MD, FACP, of the Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, and colleagues found that ipilimumab (Yervoy) did not increase overall survival vs placebo in men with asymptomatic or...
Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center Dedicated at UNMC
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and its clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, has officially dedicated the new Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in Omaha. Joe Biden, the former two-term Vice President who headed a national Cancer Moonshot Task Force, served as keynote speaker...
Anthracyclines in HER2-Negative Breast Cancer
As reported by Joanne L. Blum, MD, PhD, of Baylor University Medical Center, Texas Oncology, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the efficacy analysis of the combined adjuvant Anthracyclines in Early Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials showed better invasive disease-free survival with taxane ...
Clofarabine-Based Consolidation in Younger Patients With AML
In a French randomized phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Thomas et al found that clofarabine-based consolidation may provide improved relapse-free survival vs conventional high-dose cytarabine in postremission treatment in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia...
The Serendipitous Road to Drug Development
BOOKMARK
Title: The Drug Hunters: The Improbable Quest to Discover New Medicines
Authors: Donald R. Kirsch, PhD, and Ogi Ogas, PhD
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Publication date: January 2017
Price: $24.99, hardcover, 328 pages
Only about 1 in 100 drug discovery projects initiated by the...
Refocusing Doctor-Patient Conversations
BOOKMARK
Title: What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear
Author: Danielle Ofri, MD
Publisher: Beacon Press
Publication date: February 2017
Price: $24.95, hardcover, 288 pages
Despite our scientific and medical advances, the single most important diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which ...
Cancer Has Made Me a Better Person
Eight years ago, I was on top of the world. I had moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2007, from my home in Poços de Caldas, Brazil, to pursue my dream of launching a singing career in the United States, and was finally making progress. I had just completed composing songs for my debut album and...
A Remembrance of H. Jean Khoury, MD
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University (Winship) is mourning the loss of an esteemed colleague: H. Jean Khoury, MD, died on May 22 at the age of 50, after a year spent battling cancer. His many colleagues and friends remember him as an outstanding physician, researcher, and educator and a...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s ‘Visible Ink’ Writing Program Gives Voice to the Experiences of Cancer Survivors
On April 3, 2017, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York celebrated its ninth year of live performances of the cancer experience written by survivors participating in the center’s Visible Ink writing program.
The evening’s performances were the culmination of...
