“Anemia was highly prevalent and independently associated with functional disability” among older adults with cancer, according to an analysis of data conducted by Cynthia Owusu, MD, MS, of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and colleagues. “Older patients with anemia were more than twice...
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate had an increased risk of a second nonmelanoma skin cancer, and adding anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) may increase that risk, according to results of a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Dermatology. A similar association was...
An evaluation of national treatment trends for ductal carcinoma in situ from 1991 to 2010 and their impact on survival revealed “a substantial shift in locoregional treatment patterns for ductal carcinoma in situ,” Mathias Worni, MD, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and...
Bookmark Title: Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book Author: Susan M. Love, MD Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books Publication date: September 8, 2015 Price: $24.00; paperback, 704 pages For more than 25 years, Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book has been the best source of information for women with breast...
A novel interventional approach to treating liver metastases associated with colorectal cancer improved control of liver metastases, according to the SIRFLOX study presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The addition of selective internal radiation therapy to first-line chemotherapy extended...
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 November 20, 2015, ixazomib (Ninlaro) was approved by the U.S....
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 November 16, 2015, daratumumab injection (Darzalex) was...
A Century of Progress The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology Tumors & Treatment: A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS. The photos below are from the volume titled “The Anesthesia Era 1845-1875.” To view additional...
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 November 13, 2015, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was granted...
Over the past few decades, the oncology community has incorporated new evidence-based therapies to address the psychosocial needs of patients with cancer, especially those with advanced disease. To bring a global perspective to this evolving discipline, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Monika...
In a continuation of a 2014 conference that explored regulatory considerations and strategies for next-generation sequencing, the Friends of Cancer Research, with support from Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc, Pasadena, California, met to discuss the issues and problems of coordinating drug and ...
There is as yet no clinical or research focus on foot complications that result from cancer therapies. Foot conditions, however, are common and have a considerable negative impact on patients’ ambulation, quality of life, and consistent dosing of antineoplastic agents.1-4 There are currently no...
Dario Marchetti, PhD, recently joined Houston Methodist Hospital as the new Director of the Center for Biomarkers. Over the past 7 years, Dr. Marchetti’s laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine has made key discoveries in the biology and clinical use of circulating tumor cells. Dr. Marchetti’s...
Low- and middle-income countries bear a larger share of the global cancer burden than does the developed world,” said Greta Massetti, PhD, Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and Co-Chair of the National Cancer...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this special feature on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Argentina. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the world. For ...
Management of the regional nodes in breast cancer has evolved from the era of the extended radical mastectomy to exclusion of axillary dissection in appropriately selected patients. Throughout this evolution, studies of nodal irradiation have been shown to improve locoregional control, usually...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Catherine Van Poznak, MD, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline on the use of biomarkers to guide decisions on systemic therapy in women with metastatic breast cancer.1 The statement is based on an ASCO expert panel review...
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Julie Brahmer, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, and colleagues found that treatment with the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor antibody nivolumab...
Evidence-based oncology practice is a systematic approach to problem solving for cancer care providers, characterized by the use of the best evidence currently available for clinical decision-making. Over the past several decades, the oncology community, led by its major organizations such as ASCO...
A recent report by DeSantis and colleagues from the American Cancer Society, summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post, presented breast cancer incidence and mortality data from an extensive analysis of the U.S. system of state-based tumor registries.1 The data showed that the incidence of breast...
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 November 10, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...
The treatment of hairy cell leukemia is one of the great success stories in hematologic malignancies, with patients now having a survival that is only slightly inferior to an age-matched normal population. Purine analogs, such as cladribine, are the mainstay of first-line therapy, with...
Nivolumab (Opdivo) is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor and blocks its interaction with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2, releasing PD-1 pathway–mediated inhibition of the immune response. Late last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...
The following five abstracts were chosen as the best studies presented at the 12th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) because of their quality and the impact they will have on the field of integrative medicine, according to Suzanna Zick, ND, MPH, Immediate Past...
Over the past year or so, a host of new agents were approved for the treatment of patients with various types of cancer (see related article on page 1). Patrick Medina, PharmD, of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, Oklahoma City, and Monique Giordana, PharmD, BCOP, of Regions...
Tough initial treatment decisions have “long-lasting ramifications and affect the entire treatment paradigm” for women with ovarian cancer, according to Bradley J. Monk, MD, FACS, FACOG, of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Phoenix. In a true collaborative presentation at the Annual JADPRO...
Patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy within 30 days prior to breast cancer surgery did not appear to be at increased risk for overall postoperative complications, according to a study presented at the 2015 Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “Although on unadjusted analysis there were more...
Nonpharmacologic approaches to managing pain have a fairly robust base of science and research supporting their use but are not as widely accepted and understood as drug therapy in the realm of cancer care. In a breakout session at the 2015 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium in Boston, experts...
The investigational agent anamorelin significantly increased lean body mass, body weight, total body mass, and fat mass in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and cachexia, according to Jennifer S. Temel, MD, who presented the results of two phase III studies at the 2015...
The addition of olanzapine to standard antiemetics significantly reduced chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy, according to Rudolph M. Navari, MD, PhD, and colleagues. “As far as I know, this is the first trial that looked at no nausea as the ...
We have a responsibility to develop better treatment for inflammatory breast cancer,” Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, FACP, told participants at the 17th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium in Chicago. As recently appointed Associate Director of Translational Research and Precision Medicine at the ...
As summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post (see "ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline: Use of Biomarkers to Guide Systemic Therapy for Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer"), Van Poznak and colleagues recently presented an ASCO clinical practice guideline on the use of biomarkers for decisions...
The following new hematology/oncology agents and expanded indications were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in 2015: Alectinib (Alecensa), an ALK inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive...
A phase III Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) trial (E1A060) comparing melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (Thalomid) with melphalan, prednisone, and lenalidomide (Revlimid) in elderly patients with untreated multiple myeloma found that at the end of the induction period, patients...
A study finding that the incidence of prostate cancer has declined in recent years may at first seem like good news to physicians and patients, but, as widely reported by the media, the decline is not seen as an indication that prostate cancer has become less prevalent, but that screening for it...
Two recent studies1,2 found that the rates of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening have declined since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against PSA screening in 2012. One of those studies additionally found that the incidence of early-stage prostate cancer also...
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced a new Radiation Oncology Practice Assessment (ROPA) program to leverage recent advances in information technology to improve radiation therapy cancer care for our nation’s veterans. VA is working with the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
Bookmark Title: The Laws of Medicine: Field Notes From an Uncertain Science Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee Publisher: TED Books/Simon & Schuster Publication date: October 13, 2015 Price: $16.99; hardcover, 96 pages The Emperor of All Maladies, written by the Indian-born American oncologist...
Although formal mentoring programs in medical education were not launched in the United States until the late 1990s,1 today they are regarded as playing an essential role in the career development of medical trainees and have been associated with improvements in research, teaching, and patient...
The 15th Annual Conference of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) took place in Prague, Czech Republic, over 3 days (November 12–14, 2015). At the heart of the meeting were presentations on supportive care, comprehensive geriatric assessment and treatment—so that we fully...
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for patients with pancreatic cancer. The trials are investigating preoperative rehabilitation; chimeric antigen receptors; T-cell transplants; combination chemotherapy; chemoradiotherapy; ...
The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) is developing a marketing campaign to highlight the value of academic cancer centers to their communities and the nation. Called “The Academic Difference,” the 2-year campaign is the initiative of AACI President George J. Weiner, MD, Director of...
Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have high relapse rates after induction chemotherapy, low survival rates, and fewer treatment options compared with younger patients. One of the options for both younger and older patients is hematopoietic cell transplantation, but relatively few...
ASCO’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) offers mid-career oncologists the opportunity to learn valuable leadership skills from ASCO’s exceptional leaders and participate in networking and mentoring opportunities. Participants work on strategy development, interpersonal effectiveness and...
Sometimes, cancer treatments that initially appear promising begin to lose their effectiveness. This is due to the ability diseases like cancer have to develop resistance to treatments over time and, essentially, outsmart them. But what if there were ways to ensure this didn’t happen? What if...
Question 1: Based on the rationale for the current “standard of care” for primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the CNS, what is the optimal induction therapy? Correct Answer: C. A high-dose methotrexate–based regimen. Expert Perspective Untreated primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the CNS ...
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has opened the St. Jude Red Frog Events Proton Therapy Center, the first proton therapy center in the world dedicated solely to children with cancer. Patients are now being treated at the center using precisely delivered, high-energy protons to kill or shrink...
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 November 24, 2015, necitumumab (Portrazza) was approved for use ...
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has become home to The Cancer Imaging Archive of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), with the transfer to UAMS of more than 40 terabytes of data from the archive’s former home at Washington University in St. Louis. Cancer researchers can use...
In the current climate of rising health-care costs, particularly in the field of oncology, clinical guidelines provide a crucial tool to guide practitioners in evidence-based care and to improve the quality and consistency of care.1 The ASCO review and endorsement of the American College of Chest...