June 25, 2017 (View All Issues)
Will the UK’s Departure From the EU Impact Oncology in Europe?
“No man is an island entire of itself; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
—John Donne (1624)
This statement is almost certainly true—and sadly in a negative way not just for the UK but for ...
Some Patients With Stage III Low-Risk Colon Cancer May Require Less Oxaliplatin Therapy
Patients with stage III colon cancer considered at low risk for recurrence may be treated effectively—and incur less neurotoxicity—with 3 months of an oxaliplatin-based regimen as compared with the standard 6 months, according to the results of the International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant...
Online Self-Reporting of Symptoms Improves Quality of Life, Extends Survival
When patients with metastatic cancer used a Web-based tool to self-report symptoms proactively during treatment, they lived 5 months longer than did patients assigned to usual care. In addition, they had improved quality of life and fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations compared with...
Two Studies Show Abiraterone Plus Prednisolone/Prednisone Added to Standard Hormone Therapy Improves Survival in Advanced Prostate Cancer
The addition of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisolone/prednisone to standard androgen-deprivation therapy improves survival in men starting treatment for locally advanced or metastatic, hormone--naive prostate cancer, according to the results of two potentially practice-changing studies...
Olaparib Improves Progression-Free Survival in BRCA-Associated Breast Cancer
The PARP INHIBITOR olaparib (Lynparza) improved progression-free survival in women with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer that was either hormone receptor–positive or triple-negative in patients who had a germline BRCA mutation.1,2 These results of the international, randomized, open-label,...
Abemaciclib Plus Fulvestrant Delays Breast Cancer Progression in MONARCH 2
In the treatment of metastatic estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer, a highly significant 45% reduction in progression was achieved with abemaciclib, combined with fulvestrant (Faslodex), in the global phase III MONARCH 2 trial, reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting by George W. Sledge, MD,...
Novel Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase Inhibitor Yields High Response Rates Across Tumor Types
Larotrectinib, an oral inhibitor of tropomyosin receptor kinase, showed “striking” activity in adult and pediatric patients with the genetic aberrations known as tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion, researchers reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 Of 55 patients treated with...
SWOG Clinical Trials Have Yielded Positive Return on Investment
The National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded SWOG clinical trials program has added 3.34 million years of life for patients with cancer in the United States because of successful therapies that were validated through its trials. When analyzed, the investment for each year of life gained since the...
Oncologist Barbara L. McAneny, MD, FASCO, MACP, Elected AMA President-Elect
Physicians gathered at the Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) elected Barbara L. McAneny, MD, FASCO, MACP, an oncologist from Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the new President-Elect of the physicians’ organization. Following a year-long term as President-Elect, Dr. McAneny will...
ASCO Statement: Norman Sharpless, MD, Brings Proven Scientific Leadership to the National Cancer Institute
On June 12, ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, released the following statement:
ASCO congratulates Norman “Ned” Sharpless, MD, on his appointment as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). ASCO is encouraged that NCI will have at its helm an accomplished researcher with...
ASCO Applauds NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, for Remaining in Critical Leadership Position
ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, released the following statement on June 8:
ASCO congratulates Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, on the announcement of his continued service as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A renowned researcher and skilled administrator, Dr....
Alectinib vs Crizotinib in First-Line Treatment of ALK-Positive NSCLC
In 2011, crizotinib (Xalkori) became the first effective targeted therapy for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Now data from a phase III trial show that alectinib (Alecensa), a second-generation ALK inhibitor, outperformed crizotinib, the current...
Pregnancy After Breast Cancer
Findings from a retrospective study showed that women who became pregnant after an early breast cancer diagnosis, including those with estrogen receptor–positive tumors, did not have a higher chance of cancer recurrence and death than those who did not become pregnant.1 Matteo Lambertini, MD, of...
Positive Results for APHINITY, but Value of Benefit of Dual HER2 Blockade Questioned
The results of the long-awaited APHINITY trial are in, and although the phase III study met its primary endpoint, it failed to establish dual HER2 blockade as the optimal adjuvant treatment for early HER2-positive breast cancer.
After 3 years of follow-up, the addition of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to ...
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...
Newer Approaches With CAR T Cells Explored in CLL
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a hot area of research and development in hematologic malignancies and, more recently, some solid tumors. Results have been particularly good in acute lymphocytic leukemia, and one or more CAR T-cell products may be getting close to...
Jeffrey L. Molter Joins NYU Langone as Director of Cancer Center Communication
Jeffrey L. Molter has joined NYU Langone Medical Center in a newly created position of Director of Cancer Center Communications of its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Mr. Molter comes to Perlmutter Cancer Center after serving for the past 4 years as Director of Media and Public...
Identifying Genetic Basis for Extraordinary Clinical Responses May Accelerate Development of New Therapies
Accelerating the discovery of targeted cancer therapies requires defining the targets present in individual tumors, and there are two main ways to do this, David B. Solit, MD, told participants at the inaugural OncoSET Symposium: Emerging Approaches to Precision Medicine in Chicago.1
The...
IASLC Endorses Tobacco Reform Report
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has endorsed a report that outlines key action items to be taken immediately to accelerate progress toward ending cigarette smoking in adults.1
Issuing its Executive Summary Report, the Core Team for Tobacco Control and Smoking...
Strides Being Made in Advanced Urothelial Cancer
According to Srikala S. Sridhar, MD, MSc, FRCPC, of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, “It’s an exciting time in the field of urothelial cancer,” thanks to the emergence of new therapies such as the immune checkpoint inhibitors and other approaches that aim to improve both...
ASCP/CAP/AMP/ASCO Guideline on Molecular Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Antonia R. Sepulveda, MD, PhD, of Columbia University, and colleagues, a joint guideline on the use of molecular biomarkers for evaluation of colorectal cancer has been developed by an expert panel from the American Society for Clinical ...
ASCP/CAP/AMP/ASCO Colorectal Cancer Biomarker Guideline: A Clinician's Perspective
The joint American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), College of American Pathologists (CAP), Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), and ASCO guideline reported by Sepulveda et al, and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, represents a collaboration of three pathology societies and...
Lu-177 Dotatate Improves Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Progressive Midgut Neuroendocrine Tumors
In the phase III NETTER-1 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues found that the addition of the targeted radiotherapeutic agent lutetium Lu-177 dotatate to the long-acting repeatable (LAR)...
Major Breakthrough in Development of Systemic Targeted Therapy for Midgut Neuroendocrine Tumors
This issue of The ASCO Post discusses a recent trial reported by Strosberg et al in The New England Journal of Medicine that is the first phase III randomized international multicenter clinical trial evaluating lutetium Lu-177 dotatate as a peptide receptor radionuclide therapy in midgut...
ASCO University “Business of Health Care Fundamentals” Course: Education for the Complete Care Team
As the economics and management of health care change, it has become essential for the clinician to evolve as well in order to navigate these changing waters.
Whether you are a medical student, a senior oncologist, or an advanced practice provider, the necessity is the same: understanding the...
Early Symptom Reporting Can Extend Life for Patients With Advanced Cancer
In most cases, oncology doctors and nurses only assess their patients’ symptoms during regular checkups. Between visits, patients typically report symptoms only if there is a more severe problem. A study, funded in part by the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of ASCO, suggests increased...
Promoting Physician Wellness: An Overview of ASCO Initiatives
Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD
Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Director of Medical Oncology, Assistant Dean for Cancer Research, Emory University School of Medicine; Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research, Deputy Director, Winship Cancer Institute
ASCO Member since...
Direct Your Patients to Cancer.Net to Watch Patient-Friendly Videos
Check out some of the newest Cancer.Net patient-friendly videos produced by ASCO. These videos give people with cancer and their families and friends an additional option for receiving oncologist-approved information.
New topics include an introduction to prostate cancer, early-stage breast...
ASCO Launches CENTRA: A New Hub for Cancer Care Research, Data, and Analysis
ASCO has announced the launch of its Center for Research & Analytics (CENTRA), which aims to make an array of cancer data available to the oncology community and provide consultation and support for research and analysis. To help guide the program, ASCO has appointed Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer,...
ASCO Comments on Interchangeability of Biosimilars
ASCO submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the agency’s proposed guidance for industry on demonstrating the interchangeability of biosimilars with a reference product. The Society reiterated its strongly held position that physicians and patients should have the...
President’s Budget Threatens Nation’s Progress Against Cancer
A statement from ASCO Past President Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FACP, FASCO, expressed the Society’s strong opposition to the Administration’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, which includes a 21% funding cut for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a 20% funding cut for the National Cancer ...
Sidney Kimmel Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
SIDNEY KIMMEL, leading cancer philanthropist, has been elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest societies and independent policy research centers. Mr. Kimmel is among 228 newly elected members of the Academy and 1 of 8 corporate and philanthropic...
Brief Psychological Interventions Positively Affect Cancer Patients’ Well-Being
Three separate brief psychological interventions aimed at helping cancer patients cope with distress have shown improvements in quality of life and well-being across the continuum of cancer care. The interventions were studied—respectively—in newly diagnosed cancer patients, survivors after cancer...
Learn How to Implement a Biopsychosocial Screening Training Program
A NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI)-funded training program in distress screening is being offered at no cost for competitively selected trainees in September 2017 at City of Hope, Duarte, California.
Oncologists and other health-care professionals who are interested in learning how to successfully ...
Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, Selected for Drexel 100
DREXEL UNIVERSITY has recognized the Chief Executive Officer of ASCO, Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, as a Drexel 100 member.
Created in 1992 to celebrate Drexel’s centennial, inductees to the Drexel 100 are university alums celebrated for their significant contributions to their respective ...
Decreasing but Still Elevated Risk for Subsequent Neoplasms in Survivors of Childhood Cancer
In a retrospective multicenter cohort study reported in JAMA, Lucie M. Turcotte, MD, MPH, of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues found that the risk of subsequent neoplasms in 5-year survivors of childhood cancers decreased between those diagnosed in the 1970s vs...
Lessons Learned and to Be Learned: Reducing Risk of Subsequent Malignancies in Childhood Cancer Survivors
I recently saw a patient in our survivorship clinic. She was treated at age 15 years for Hodgkin lymphoma and is now in her early 50s. During the prior 2 decades, she had developed both bilateral breast cancer and thyroid cancer, as well as multiple basal cell carcinomas, all occurring...
National Cancer Institute Awards Fred Hutch $24 Million for Contact Center
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) has awarded $24 million to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) to continue operating the NCI’s primary public access point for cancer information in both English and Spanish. With the new contract, the Contact Center will emphasize...
Seattle Children’s Clinical Trial on Molecular Diagnostics Opens for Pediatric Patients
IN AN EFFORT to find new strategies to personalize treatment for pediatric patients, Seattle Children’s Hospital has opened the first clinical trial applying next-generation T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing and single-cell gene expression analysis to better understand how the immune system drives...
Using a Pediatric Treatment Approach to Improve Outcomes for Young Adults With ALL
Three years ago, early results from the U.S. Intergroup C10403 trial,1 which evaluated the effectiveness of treating adolescent and young adults (AYAs) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using an intensive pediatric regimen, showed significant improvement in event-free and overall...
Monica Morrow, MD, Tumbled Gender Barriers to Build a Career in Surgical Oncology
Breast cancer surgeon Monica Morrow, MD, came from a town in the far northeast reaches of suburban Philadelphia. “I guess because there were only two girls in our family, I was the son my father never had, and he reared me that way. When we were playing catch, if I missed the ball and got hit in...
CancerCare Releases Research on Patient Values Initiative
MANY FACTORS can influence treatment decisions patients make concerning their cancer care. These include safety, efficacy, and cost, among other concerns. Recently, CancerCare, a national organization dedicated to providing assistance at no cost to anyone affected by cancer, established the...
Incorporating the ‘Goals of Medicine’ With the ‘Goals of Care’
In both inpatient and outpatient medical settings, the physician-patient communication process can become more difficult as a disease progresses. Conflicts due to a misunderstanding of therapeutic goals and/or a patient’s values can slowly arise over time among patients, their surrogates, and...
Shiitake Mushroom
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, authors Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present the...
How Watson for Oncology Is Advancing Personalized Patient Care
After undergoing nearly 5 years of intensive medical training, IBM’s Watson for Oncology cognitive computing system is starting to make good on its promise to accelerate personalized care for patients with cancer. The system has been trained by oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer...
Growing Use of Molecular Pathology May Help Avoid Overtreatment of Early Breast Cancer
The emerging field of molecular pathology focuses on the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of genes and gene activity within organs and tissues. This information has transformed our thinking about the biologic diversity of breast cancers and has enhanced our treatment...
Testosterone Replacement Therapy and the Risk of Prostate Cancer
In a Swedish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stacy Loeb, MD, of New York University, and colleagues found that use of testosterone replacement therapy was not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and was associated with a lower risk of aggressive cancer among...
Adding Vandetanib to Gemcitabine in Locally Advanced or Metastatic Pancreatic Carcinoma
In a UK phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Middleton et al found that adding the multi–tyrosine kinase inhibitor vandetanib (Caprelsa) to gemcitabine did not improve overall survival in patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. John P....
USPSTF Emphasizes Importance of Informed Discussions About PSA Screening for Men Aged 55 to 69 Years
For a man aged 55 to 69 years, the decision to be screened for prostate cancer should be an individual one, based on the man’s own values and priorities and discussions with a clinician about the potential benefits and harms of screening, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advised...
Renowned Breast Cancer Researcher, Angela Hartley Brodie, PhD, Dies at 82
Angela Hartley Brodie, PhD, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and an internationally recognized scientist whose groundbreaking cancer research is considered among the greatest advances in treating breast cancer, passed away on...
Cancer Gave Me the Impetus to Lose Weight
Fifteen years ago, my internist advised me to lose weight. But after seeing the yo-yo effects of dieting on friends and colleagues, I knew I would find the process of losing weight and gaining it back frustrating, so I ignored my physician’s advice. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed late...
