June 25, 2016 (View All Issues)
For High-Risk Neuroblastoma, Two Transplants May Be Better Than One
In children with high-risk neuroblastoma, tandem autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) improved event-free survival rates in the ANBL0532 trial from the Children’s Oncology Group. The study was presented at the plenary session of the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting by Julie R. Park, MD, of Seattle...
ASCO Releases the Updated Version of Its Value Framework
Last June, ASCO published its initial concept for a value framework in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).1 The framework, developed by ASCO’s Value in Cancer Care Task Force, is designed to provide a standardized approach to assist physicians and patients in assessing the “value” of a new ...
Supporting Policy to Reduce Tobacco-Related Deaths
One billion lives. That is the estimated human death toll of tobacco use in the 21st century.1 Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide—20% of all deaths and 30% of cancer deaths in the United States are linked to tobacco use.2,3 Impacting this preventable public health...
Joint Analysis Confirms Benefit of Anthracyclines for High-Risk Early-Stage Breast Cancer
For the treatment of high-risk, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer, anthracyclines were confirmed as beneficial in a joint analysis of the Anthracyclines in Early Breast Cancer (ABC) trials. Presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, the joint analysis of the ABC trials validated taxane plus...
Trastuzumab Biosimilar Shows Efficacy and Safety Comparable to Reference Product in Phase III HERITAGE Trial
A new biosimilar version of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) is getting close to the finish line in the race to develop biosimilars in oncology. The new antibody, MYL-1401O, demonstrated comparable efficacy and safety compared with trastuzumab as front-line treatment of women with...
‘Liquid Biopsy’ Stacks Up Well to Tissue Biopsy in Detecting Tumor-Specific Mutations
So-called liquid biopsy identified cancer mutations in 85% of all advanced tumors, in the largest-ever evaluation of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood.1
In 49% of the cases, these biomarkers were associated with an approved targeted drug, Philip C. Mack, PhD, reported at the 2016 ASCO ...
In the Neoadjuvant Era, Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Is of Benefit in Advanced Ovarian Cancer
The role of intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer has been debated for a long time. According to a new study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, a combination of IP and intravenous (IV) chemotherapy appears more effective than IV chemotherapy alone in...
Aggressive Treatment at the End of Life Continues to Be Common
Oncologists in the United States may need to improve their efforts to reduce unnecessary care for younger patients with terminal cancer over the last 30 days of life, based on the findings of a study reported at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 Contrary to recommendations, aggressive care is...
ASCO Announces New Award Honoring Visionary Leader Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO
During the 2016 Annual Meeting, ASCO announced the creation of the Allen S. Lichter Visionary Leader Award to recognize ASCO members who have transformed the oncology field or significantly advanced the mission of ASCO, the Conquer Cancer Foundation, or CancerLinQ, LLC, through their leadership,...
Vast Differences Globally in Cancer Drug Retail Prices
A pilot study revealed large differences in median retail prices for 23 cancer drugs in 7 different countries, with the highest retail prices identified in the United States and the lowest, in India and South Africa. Notably, after the monthly drug price is expressed as a percentage of domestic...
Matching Treatment to Tumor Abnormalities Seems to Pay Off
A strategy of matching molecular abnormalities in patients’ tumors to therapies targeted to those abnormalities is gaining ground, according to preliminary results of the phase IIb MyPathway study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 These are still early days for this “matching” strategy,...
Once-Daily Radiation (66 Gy) Appears No Better Than Twice-Daily Radiation (45 Gy) for Small Cell Lung Cancer
A schedule of once-daily radiation therapy (66 Gy) was no better than a twice-daily schedule (45 Gy) for optimization of chemoradiotherapy in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to the eagerly anticipated results of the phase III CONVERT trial, presented at the...
First-in-Class Antibody Reduces Gastric Cancer Recurrence
A novel immunotherapy agent, the first in its class, reduced disease progression by more than 50% when added to standard chemotherapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer, according to results from an international phase II trial presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The drug, IMAB362,...
Impressive Early Data for Rovalpituzumab Tesirine in Small Cell Lung Cancer
Initial encouraging news from a first-in-human trial suggests that the antibody-drug conjugate rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T) may turn out to be a new option for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose tumors overexpress delta-like protein 3 (DLL3). Study results were presented at the...
Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Diagnoses Rising
Colorectal cancer is being increasingly diagnosed in persons younger than age 50, the age at which colorectal cancer screening is usually initiated. According to Elie Sutton, MD, of Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York, a review of cases in the National Cancer Data Base revealed that between...
Treatment Update in Gastric, Pancreatic, and Colorectal Cancers
Although new gastrointestinal cancers are on the rise, advancements in their treatment, as well as the upcoming results of perioperative trials, could prove to be “clinical practice game-changers,” declared Thomas J. George, Jr, MD, FACP, at the 2016 Community Oncology Conference in Orlando,...
Updated WHO Classification of Hematologic Malignancies
WHO last updated its classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues with a fourth edition of its WHO Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues, in 2008, as part of a series of WHO Classification of Tumours monographs. This year, with the support of the...
Updated WHO Classification of Hematologic Malignancies
Question 1: Which statement about the classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues is true?
Correct Answer: A. The revised WHO classification defines distant disease entities that can be reliably diagnosed using proposed criteria.
Expert Perspective
WHO last updated its...
Creating Hybrid Academic-Community Cancer Centers to Improve Patient Care
Five years ago, the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Delaware, and The Wistar Institute, a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated biomedical research center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, joined forces to collaborate on...
David Spigel, MD, Appointed as Sarah Cannon Chief Scientific Officer
Sarah Cannon announced the promotion of David Spigel, MD, as Chief Scientific Officer. The new appointment supports the continuous expansion of clinical research and drug development programs, which provides patients with access to novel therapies at the earliest stages.
As Chief Scientific...
Medical Decision-Making: At the Heart of Care for Older Patients With Cancer
Although oncology has moved toward a personalized approach to care, medical decision-making within the context of multidisciplinary care has broad public health implications. To shed light on this and other relevant issues, The ASCO Post recently spoke with William Dale, MD, PhD, of the...
NCCN Awards Research Grants to Support Studies of Mirvetuximab Soravtansine in Various Cancers
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Oncology Research Program (ORP) has awarded eight grants to investigators to support clinical and preclinical studies of mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853) and advance scientific knowledge of its uses in ovarian and other folate receptor alpha...
Addition of Ixazomib to Lenalidomide/Dexamethasone Improves Progression-Free Survival in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
In the phase III TOURMALINE-MM-1 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Philippe Moreau, MD, of the University Hospital Hôtel Dieu, Nantes, France, and colleagues found that adding the oral proteasome inhibitor ixazomib (Ninlaro) to lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone...
Ixazomib: A Relevant Addition to Myeloma Therapy
In 2015, four new drugs were approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: panobinostat (Farydak), daratumumab (Darzalex), elotuzumab (Empliciti), and ixazomib (Ninlaro). Of them, the first three are drugs with unique new targets, whereas ixazomib is the...
Cervical Cancer Prevention Badly Needed in India
With the advent of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test and population-based screening, along with the development of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, cervical cancer has become a largely preventable disease for many. However, in India, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality.
To...
European Demand for Radiotherapy Expected to Rise Approximately 16% Over Next Decade
The demand for radiotherapy across all European countries will increase by an average of 16% between 2012 and 2025, with the highest expected increase being for prostate cancer cases (24%), according to a new study published by Borras et al in Radiotherapy and Oncology.1
These projections came...
A Conquer Cancer Foundation Award Helps to Launch a Pioneering Study in Liposarcoma
Mark A. Dickson, MD, has been fascinated by science and medicine since he was in high school. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1999, Dr. Dickson pursued a medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York. Once he decided on a ...
Global Oncology Appoints Donna Barry as First Executive Director
Nonprofit Global Oncology, Inc (GO) has announced that Donna Barry has been appointed to be its first Executive Director, effective immediately.
U.S. and global investments in improving cancer outcomes are minimal—in 2011, only 1.2% of total development assistance for global health was focused...
Cancer Treatment Centers of America Names Rajesh K. Garg, MD, JD, as President and CEO
Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc. (CTCA) has announced that Rajesh Garg, MD, JD, a highly regarded health-care industry leader with more than 25 years of experience across the health-care spectrum, will become its President and CEO. His appointment was effective June 20, 2016. He...
Tackling the Symptoms of Long-Term Fatigue and Insomnia in Cancer Survivors
Fatigue and sleep disruption are common occurrences for most patients diagnosed with cancer. Simply having a serious physical illness like cancer along with its associated pain, hospitalization, and treatment, as well as the attendant psychological impact, all contribute to the onset of fatigue...
Guidelines to Assess and Manage the Symptoms of Fatigue and Insomnia
In 2014, ASCO developed a clinical practice guideline to provide a mechanism for physicians to screen, assess, and manage the persistent symptoms of fatigue in adult cancer survivors.1 As summarized below, the guideline calls for regular screening, assessment, laboratory evaluation, and patient...
Five Early-Career Cancer Researchers Selected as Pew-Stewart Scholars
The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust have announced the 2016 class of Pew-Stewart scholars for cancer research.
Five scientists from top research institutions in the United States were selected for their dedication to pursuing innovative leads aimed at finding a...
Three Leaders in Radiation Oncology Awarded the ASTRO Gold Medal
Three leaders in radiation oncology have been named recipients of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Gold Medal. Benedick A. Fraass, PhD, FASTRO; Christopher G. Willett, MD, FASTRO; and Anthony L. Zietman, MD, FASTRO; will be recognized at an awards ceremony during ASTRO’s 58th...
Pembrolizumab Active in PD-L1–Positive Advanced Gastric Cancer and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
The KEYNOTE-012 phase Ib trial assessed single-agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with advanced programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive gastric cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, urothelial cancer, and head and neck cancer. The activity of pembrolizumab in study patients...
Anti–PD-1 Treatment With Pembrolizumab in Gastric/Gastroesophageal Junction Cancers: Who Is Likely to Respond?
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have emerged as one of the most promising new areas of drug development in oncology. Broad activity has been observed for these agents across a spectrum of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. As reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Muro and colleagues now...
Pembrolizumab in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Emerging New Treatment Modality
Lajos Pusztai, MD, DPhil, Professor of Medicine, Chief of Breast Medical Oncology and Co-Director of Cancer Genetics Research Program at Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, commented on KEYNOTE-012. He remarked that the overall response rate of 18.5% to the single agent is similar to...
Geriatric Patients With Cancer and the Problem of Polypharmacy
Older patients with cancer generally have multiple comorbidities, with each often requiring separate medications. Studies have shown that polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use are prevalent among older cancer patients, leading to an enormous amount of preventable adverse events, many requiring...
Geriatric Oncology in Asia: The Dawn of a New Era in Cancer Care
Asia is currently experiencing an unprecedented rate of growth in its aging population. This “silver tsunami” has translated into a burgeoning number of older patients with cancer, as cancer is a disease of aging. However, unlike their Western counterparts, elderly patients with cancer in Asia...
Erratum
In the June 10 issue of The ASCO Post, the article "Anti–PD-1 Inhibitor Gains Foothold in Merkel Cell Carcinoma," a photo labeled Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD, is incorrect. The photo that was printed is Paul Nguyen, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
A photo of Dr. Nghiem is shown here.
Dr....
ASCO Endows Young Investigator Award in Honor of Society Founder Jane Cooke Wright, MD
For the first time in ASCO’s history, the Society has endowed its own Young Investigator Award (YIA), illustrating its continued commitment to investing in the future of cancer research. Ongoing support of this kind will ensure that the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF), ASCO’s philanthropic arm, is...
Clinical Conversations: Attendee Questions From the Cancer Survivorship Symposium
The inaugural Cancer Survivorship Symposium, held in January 2016, drew more than 800 attendees across the cancer-care spectrum—far exceeding the goal of 500 attendees. As a way to continue the discussion from the meeting, several faculty members responded to questions from General Sessions 5 and...
Expanded Content on Geriatric Oncology
Cancer.Net has newly updated information specifically for older patients with cancer and is expanding coverage of this segment of cancer care across the site. Direct your patients and their caregivers to cancer.net/olderadults to find articles on aging and cancer, making treatment decisions, and...
Meet Thomas G. Roberts, Jr, MD
Thomas G. Roberts, Jr, MD, is Managing Member at Farallon Capital Management, LLC and Chair of the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
What led you to oncology prior to your career in finance?
TGR: As an intern at Massachusetts General Hospital, I was...
Initiative to Modernize Eligibility Criteria for Clinical Trials Launched
ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) have launched a collaborative effort to modernize eligibility criteria to promote greater patient participation in cancer clinical trials.
Although it is important for defining the population under study and ensuring patient safety, overly strict...
The ASCO Research Community Forum Is Expanding
In 2010, ASCO established the Community Research Forum to support clinical investigators and community-based research sites. Building on the Forum’s success in providing solutions for community-based research programs and the cancer research community at large, ASCO has decided to expand the Forum...
Vanguard Practices Support Sharing Big Data With CancerLinQ™
CancerLinQ LLC, recently announced that it has completed agreements with 36 vanguard oncology practices from around the country to begin implementing the tool. According to physicians at the vanguard practices, gaining access to the experience of oncology practices across the country motivated...
Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, Receives AACR’s Frohlich Visiting Professorship
Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, has received the 2015 Frohlich Visiting Professorship through the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
...
VUMC Designated as a Lung Cancer Screening Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has been designated a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation is a voluntary program that recognizes facilities that have committed to practice safe, effective diagnostic...
Clinical Trials Actively Recruiting Patients With Ocular Cancer
Phase 0
Study Title: Use of Definity® Contrast Agent for Ultrasound of Intraocular Tumors
Study Type: Interventional/single-group assignment
Study Sponsor and Collaborators: Emory University
Purpose: To determine if microbubbles may be used as a contrast agent to help image tumors in the eye. ...
Moonshot Program for … Compassion
A 65-year-old patient with widely metastatic pancreatic cancer was emergently transferred to our facility in the early hours of the morning with free air suggestive of a perforated viscus. The patient is from a small town several hundred miles away from our academic center, which can be quite...
Peter S. Conti, MD, PhD, Receives SNMMI 2016 Paul C. Aebersold Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Nuclear Medicine Science
Peter S. Conti, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering, and Director of the Molecular Imaging Center at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, has been named the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Paul C. Aebersold Award. ...
2016 Oncology Meetings
JULY
The 5th International Inflammatory Breast Cancer Conference
July 9-10 • Boston, Massachusetts
For more information:
www.hmscmeregistration.org/events/breast-cancer-new-horizons-current-controversies/custom-21-857304c388f143b7840614d1bb151442.aspx
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Names Michael Dyer, PhD, Chair of Developmental Neurobiology
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has named Michael Dyer, PhD, Chair of the Department of Developmental Neurobiology.
“A true visionary in his field, Dr. Dyer is a remarkable scientist who has worked tirelessly to unravel some of the long-held mysteries of childhood cancer,” said James R....
St. Jude Is First U.S. Children’s Hospital to Earn CAP ISO15189 Accreditation
The St. Jude Department of Pathology has received accreditation to the ISO15189 standard under the College of American Pathologists (CAP) 15189SM Accreditation Program. St. Jude is the first children’s hospital in the nation to be accredited under this program.
The accreditation is based on the...
Newly Launched Genomic Data Commons to Facilitate Data and Clinical Information Sharing
The Genomic Data Commons (GDC), a unified data system that promotes sharing of genomic and clinical data among researchers, was launched on June 6 with a visit from Vice President Joe Biden to the operations center at the University of Chicago. An initiative of the National Cancer Institute (NCI),...
An Exotic Journey Into Immunotherapy
In his new book, Sharks Get Cancer, Mole Rats Don’t: How Animals Could Hold the Key to Unlocking Cancer Immunity in Humans, James S. Welsh, MD, examines a wide array of animal and human biologic phenomena, searching for clues that might help us unlock the full power of the human immune system....
A Journalist’s Cancer Saga
Readers of the recently published memoir A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science, and Cancer find out that the book has a happy ending on the cover page of chapter 1. Spoiler: I lived, writes the author, Mary Elizabeth Williams, an acclaimed journalist with a list ...
Inside Knowledge From a Cancer Survivor
Curtis Pesmen is a well-regarded writer who has authored six books of nonfiction as well as numerous articles for publications such as Esquire and The New York Times. He also has served as founding editor of LIVESTRONG Quarterly and often speaks and writes on patient advocacy.
Shortly after...
Black Cohosh
Scientific Name: Cimicifuga racemosa
Common Names: Black snakeroot, rattlesnake root, squawroot, bugbane, bugwort
Brand Names: Remifemin, Menofem, Klimadynon
Overview
A perennial plant native to the eastern United States and Canada, black cohosh root was used by Native Americans to treat...
Ohio State Names Timothy Pawlik, MD, MPH, PhD, Chair of Surgery and Chair for Cancer Research
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has appointed a nationally recognized surgeon and liver cancer expert to lead its surgical and surgical oncology programs. Timothy Pawlik, MD, MPH, PhD, will be the Chair of the Medical Center’s Department of Surgery, as well as The Urban Meyer III...
Something Happened
Over the years, my patients have been my most important teachers. I’ve learned so much from them about human nature and the resilience of the human spirit. When my time came to pass through the fire and confront the same challenges they and their families face so bravely and with such...
Taubman Prize Jointly Awarded to Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, and Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, for Groundbreaking Work in Cancer Immunotherapy
Two clinician-scientists whose groundbreaking work has shown how the human body’s own immune system can fend off cancer will share the 2016 $100,000 Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science, the University of Michigan’s A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute announced.
...
Surgery and Radiation Therapy Remain Standard of Care for Managing Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
A review of more than 50 studies (many randomized controlled trials) concluded that surgery and radiation therapy “remain standard-of-care treatment options” in the management of ductal carcinoma in situ.1 The review continues the widely reported discussion on managing ductal carcinoma in situ,...
Use Questions From Patients to Help Them Make Informed Treatment Decisions
Recent reports about treatment options for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, and the ensuing debate and comments played out in the media, may prompt increased questions from patients. A review summarizing data about these treatment options concluded that surgery and radiation therapy “remain...
AMA Announces Board of Trustees for 2016–2017
The American Medical Association (AMA) has introduced the 21 members of its Board of Trustees for the coming year, following elections held during the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.
Andrew W. Gurman, MD, an orthopedic hand surgeon, was sworn in as the 171st President of the AMA. In...
Retroviral Replicating Vector That Delivers Cytosine Deaminase to Cancer Cells Active in Recurrent Glioblastoma
A phase I study by Timothy F. Cloughesy, MD, Director of the Neuro-Oncology Program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues published in Science Translational Medicine investigated the effectiveness of vocimagene amiretrorepvec (Toca 511), an experimental nonlytic,...
Adding Adjuvant Oxaliplatin to Fluoropyrimidine May Be of Benefit in Deficient Mismatch Repair Colon Cancer
In a French retrospective study reported by David Tougeron, MD, PhD, of Poitiers University Hospital, Poitiers, France, and colleagues in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the addition of adjuvant oxaliplatin to fluoropyrimidine treatment improved disease-free survival in patients with...
Increased Risk of Gallbladder Cancer May Be Associated With Consuming Large Amounts of Sweetened Beverages
A large prospective Swedish study reported by Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, of the Unit of Nutritional Epidemiology at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues found a 2.2-fold increased risk of gallbladder cancer in people who consumed two or ...
Four-Biomarker Panel Identified for Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jeffrey Yu, MD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and colleagues identified a four-biomarker panel that was predictive of chronic graft-vs-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.
Discovery...
Precision Medicine Clinical Trial for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Now Open at Multiple Sites
The first clinical trial to compare standard-of-care chemotherapy with molecularly tailored therapy (also known as precision medicine) for metastatic pancreatic cancer is now enrolling patients at multiple sites around the country.
Patients who have been treated with one round of chemotherapy for...
I Was Not Shown Compassion by My Medical Team
At my last screening mammogram in 2015, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The technician took the usual four x-rays of my breasts, and I was told I could leave. So it was especially shocking to get a phone call from the radiologist a week later telling me that I had to come back for an additional ...
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, LLD, Appointed to National Cancer Advisory Board
President Barack Obama has tapped Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, LLD, Georgetown University Professor and Faculty Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, to serve as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB). He will serve a 6-year term.
The ...
Scenes From ASCO 2016
1. General views. Photo © ASCO/Matt Herp 2016; 2. Amanda Redig, MD, PhD, recipient of the 2016 Women Who Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award. Photo © ASCO/Danny Morton 2016; 3. Himisha Beltran, MD, speaks during Precision Medicine in Advanced Prostate Cancer: Understanding...
