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Showing 10401 - 10450Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid for D-2-Hydroxyglutarate May Detect Malignant Brain Tumors Nonsurgically
When a brain tumor is suspected, its presence is usually confirmed by anatomic imaging such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). But through imaging, not much about the tumor molecularly can be learned. Surgery and a biopsy are necessary to get a glimpse of the cancer...
The Age of the Atomic Hematologists/Oncologists
Every longstanding culture has ages: The Minoans were followed by the Mycenaeans and, later, the Hellenistic peoples. And so it is with hematology/oncology. A descriptive age dominated predominately by histopathologists was followed by an age of experimentalists. Development of the atomic bombs...
Assessment of Fitness, Function, and Quality of Life Essential in Treatment of Older Patients With CLL
Significant progress has been made in the past 2 decades in the care of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Recently, the therapeutic armamentarium has expanded for such patients with the introduction of new targeted agents. CLL is predominantly a disease of the elderly, with a...
Expert Point of View: David R. Spigel, MD
“These are outstanding results,” commented formal discussant of this trial David R. Spigel, MD, of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tennessee. In melanoma, the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) vs nivolumab alone vs ipilimumab alone found superior...
Approximately 20% of Older Women With Early Breast Cancer Experience Some Form of Functional Decline After Treatment
In a study of older women with newly diagnosed stage I to III breast cancer, approximately 1 in 5 lost the ability to complete some of the basic tasks necessary for independent living within 1 year of initiating treatment. The study also found that a simple survey can help identify which women are...
Adding Obinutuzumab to Bendamustine Improves Progression-Free Survival in Rituximab-Refractory NHL
In the phase III GADOLIN trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sehn et al found that adding the anti-CD20 antibody obinutuzumab (Gazyva) to bendamustine (Bendeka, Treanda) increased progression-free survival in patients with rituximab-refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Outcomes in...
At Cancer Moonshot Summit, Vice President Biden Announces New Actions to Accelerate Progress Against Cancer
Today, the Cancer Moonshot hosted a summit at Howard University, in Washington, DC, as part of a national day of action that also included more than 270 events in communities across the United States. Vice President Joe Biden joined over 350 researchers, oncologists, care providers, data and...
NCCN Publishes New Patient Education Resources About Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are the result of genetic alterations that cause blood stem cells to become abnormal, rendering bone marrow unable to create new, mature blood cells for release into the body. It is estimated that up to 15,000 new cases of MDS are diagnosed in the United States each...
Richard Pazdur, MD, Named Acting Director of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, issued the following statement today regarding the appointment of the Acting Director of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence. “The FDA is honored to be an integral part of the Vice President’s National Cancer...
Influence of Microbiota of Breast Tissue on the Development of Cancers
Bacteria that have the potential to abet breast cancer are present in the breasts of cancer patients, while beneficial bacteria are more abundant in healthy breasts, where they may actually be protecting women from cancer, according to Gregor Reid, PhD, of the Lawson Health Research Institute, and...
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 18 ...
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 ...
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...
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,...
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....
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 compassion, ...
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 colds,...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 are ...
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...
Nivolumab or Ipilimumab Treatment May Increase Risk of Developing Autoimmune Joint and Tissue Disease
Case reports on 13 patients with cancer suggest that patients taking the immunotherapeutics ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) may be at higher-than-normal risk of developing autoimmune joint and tissue diseases, including inflammatory arthritis, according to a preliminary study by Johns...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 University ...
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...
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,...
Expert Point of View: Samir Gupta, MD
Samir Gupta, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego, who has led trials of colorectal cancer screening, commented on this study for The ASCO Post. Although there are approximately 138,000 new colorectal cancer diagnoses a year in the United States, only...
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...
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...
Expert Point of View: Peter C. Enzinger, MD
Not so FAST? The study discussant Peter C. Enzinger, MD, Director of the Center for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston, viewed the findings of the FAST trial as promising but voiced several considerations, as did Gulam A. Manji, MD, PhD,...
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,...
Expert Point of View: Taofeek Kunle Owonikoko, MD
Formal discussant Taofeek Kunle Owonikoko, MD, of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, said it has been controversial whether to use once-daily or twice-daily radiation therapy in this patient population. “CONVERT is one of two studies trying to step into this gap, and it failed...
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...
Expert Point of View: Sumanta K. Pal, MD, and Richard L. Schilsky, MD
“This study harnesses a specific biologic marker in cancer patients and treats them accordingly using a ‘tumor-agnostic’ approach, so a patient with pancreatic cancer may get a breast cancer drug,” said Sumanta K. Pal, MD, ASCO spokesperson. Dr. Pal moderated the press conference where these data ...
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,...
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...
Influence of Age and Comorbidities on Rates of Colorectal Cancer Screening in the Elderly
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and costly disease, largely of the elderly, with nearly 25% of cases diagnosed among patients aged 75–84 years. However, but the guidelines for CRC screening of Americans aged 75 or older vary according to the source. In a study published by Klabunde et al...
