Venous thromboembolic events are more prevalent in patients with cancer than in persons without it. Cancer is associated with a high rate of venous thromboembolism recurrence, bleeding, requirement for long-term anticoagulation, and reduced quality of life. Moreover, thrombosis is the second most...
As reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Burger and colleagues recently reported findings of the RESONATE-2 trial of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) vs chlorambucil (Leukeran) as initial therapy for elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).1 The study met its primary endpoint of...
A new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center evaluating the use of neurofeedback found a decrease in the experience of chronic pain and an increase in quality of life among patients with neuropathic pain. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American...
Families of patients dying with lung or colorectal cancer judged end-of-life care as better when it was less aggressive, involved earlier hospice, avoided intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and included death outside of the hospital, according to a study reported by Wright et al in JAMA. Study...
In a long-term follow up of two large U.S. prospective cohorts reported in JAMA Oncology, Cao et al found that regular use of aspirin was associated with a reduced risk of gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers. In 2015, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended the use of aspirin in...
Among patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), those who had a specific form of the CYP3A7 gene (CYP3A7*1C) had worse outcomes compared with those who did not have CYP3A7*1C. This may be related to how the patients metabolize the therapeutics used to treat...
Consuming a diet with a high glycemic index was independently associated with an increased risk of developing lung cancer in non-Hispanic whites, according to a new epidemiologic study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This research, published by Melkonian et al in Cancer...
A study published by Beyaz et al in Nature reveals how a high-fat diet makes the cells of the intestinal lining more likely to become cancerous. It joins a growing body of research that finds obesity and eating a high-fat, high-calorie diet are significant risk factors for many types of cancer....
A majority of people with advanced cancer want to hear findings from DNA sequencing and to learn how those results may affect their health and treatment options, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report. Their findings were reported by Gray et al in Genetics in Medicine. The discovery...
As reported by Shaw et al in The New England Journal of Medicine, a woman with metastatic ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had received multiple prior therapies, including the first- and second-generation ALK inhibitors crizotinib (Xalkori) and ceritinib (Zykadia),...
Researchers at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have confirmed in a screening effectiveness study that early screening with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can reduce breast cancer mortality for female survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma who received chest radiation. The findings published by...
The anti–PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) antibody atezolizumab produced durable responses in a marked proportion of patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, according to a phase II trial reported in The Lancet by Rosenberg et al. The...
Using the National Cancer Institute’s Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), researchers from Columbia University, New York, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, identified six severe adverse events clusters in patients with advanced prostate cancer. The...
Radiotherapy effectively damages brain tumors, but the cancer cells can repair themselves in order to live on. Now, researchers at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University have tested a strategy that combines radiotherapy with a drug that shuts down the ability of tumor to mend...
University of Louisville School of Dentistry researchers have found that a bacterial species responsible for gum disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis, is present in 61% of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The findings, published by Gao et al in Infectious Agents and Cancer, only...
Bookmark Title: Had I Known: A Memoir of SurvivalAuthor: Joan Lunden with Laura MortonPublisher: Harper CollinsPublication date: September 2015Price: $26.99; hardcover, 336 pages In 1974, several weeks after Betty Ford became the nation’s First Lady, she underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer....
In clinical practice, Samantha Hendren, MD, MPH, has been “shocked by what a large proportion of patients we are seeing who are under 50 and presenting with colorectal cancer,” often with advanced disease due to delayed diagnosis. “And that is because patients and physicians don’t even think of...
Here are several more abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, focusing on the topic of anticoagulation and the cancer patient. For other selected abstracts from this conference, see the December 25, 2015, and the...
The HELIOS study is an international phase III trial of bendamustine (Treanda) plus rituximab (Rituxan) in combination with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) vs placebo in patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. As reported by Chanan-Khan in The Lancet Oncology1 and reviewed in this...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received a nearly $2 billion funding increase—the first large increase for the agency in more than 12 years—in the federal omnibus spending bill Congress passed on December 18, 2015. And President Barack Obama signed the bill into law a day later. The 6.6%...
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 January 28, 2016, eribulin mesylate (Halaven) was approved for...
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer; the 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is between 5% and 10%. Although aggressive surgery can help some patients with early-stage mesothelioma, current treatments for patients with more advanced mesothelioma are...
Neurosurgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis used hyperthermic laser ablation to shrink tumors in patients with recurrent glioblastoma and noted a temporary disruption of the blood-brain barrier, thereby enabling them to deliver chemotherapy to the peritumoral region....
A review of major studies and the current literature underscored the role of geriatric assessment in making treatment recommendations for patients aged 80 years and older with early and metastatic breast cancer. The review was reported by Shachar et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice. The...
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (formerly T-DM1; Kadcyla) improved overall survival compared with treatment of physician’s choice of therapy for patients with pretreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to the phase III TH3RESA trial.1 Patients enrolled in the trial had previously been...
The general consensus of breast cancer experts of the initial findings of BCIRG-006 triggered a more judicious use of anthracyclines, and this trend continues. Kathy S. Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO, Professor of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois, said...
The Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, held October 9–10, 2015, in Boston, Massachusetts, brought together more than 670 members of the cancer care community, including oncologists, radiologists, palliative care specialists, nurses, and patient advocates. Sessions delivered information on...
Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, was elected ASCO President for the 2017–2018 term this past December and will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting, June 3–7, 2016, in Chicago. As an ASCO member since 1986, Dr. Johnson brings over 30 years of experience with ASCO to the...
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 January 21, 2016, carfilzomib (Kyprolis) was approved for use in ...
The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) have endorsed formal clinical recommendations for rationing chemotherapy and supportive care agents during times of shortage. The guidance is needed because persistent shortages of many standard...
A new study suggests that one approach to watching for a cancer's return is being inappropriately used at many hospitals and isn't helping patients survive longer. The findings are published by Healy et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study looked at how often survivors ...
Among the burgeoning options for treating multiple myeloma could be an approach that is proving to be exciting in leukemia: CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T cells) therapy. Preliminary results of the first-in-humans study in myeloma were presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2015 ASH...
Formal discussant of these trials Daniel Hamstra, MD, of Texas Center for Proton Therapy, Irving, offered his perspective. With increased doses of radiation using additional conventional fractions, tumor control is improved, but the risk of damage to normal tissue is increased. Hypofractionation is ...
A study published by Bradley et al in Medical Care showed that over a recent 10-year period, the rate of metastatic colorectal cancer patients older than age 75 receiving three or more treatments increased from 2% to 53%. During this period, 1-year treatment costs increased 32% to reach an...
Among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common pediatric cancer, those who live in high-poverty areas are substantially more likely to suffer early relapse than other patients, despite having received the same treatment, according to new research from Dana-Farber/Boston...
Separate phase III trials presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium demonstrated that modest hypofractionated radiotherapy is noninferior to conventional radiotherapy for men with intermediate- and low-risk prostate cancer and should be considered a new standard of care.1,2 However, it...
The ASCO Post interviewed Irvin M. Modlin, MD, Emeritus Professor of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, regarding his thoughts on the NETTER-1 results and peptide receptor radionuclide therapies for neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Modlin led the first study of a peptide...
A radiolabeled somatostatin analog compound, 177Lu-DOTA0-Tyr3-Octreotate (Lu-177 dotatate), reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 79% in the international phase III NETTER-1 population of previously treated, advanced neuroendocrine tumors of midgut origin.1 Lu-177 dotatate belongs to...
It was December 9, 1975—a cold morning in the tribal village in Mahuadanr in Bihar, India. The valley was filled with an eerie mist coming down from the hills surrounding the village. Champa, a 5-year-old malnourished girl with sunken eyes, an emaciated face, and a huge ascites, was carried by her...
Although President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act in 1971, essentially declaring a war on cancer, the genesis of the idea had actually been born 2 years earlier, after the first landing on the moon set off a new era of scientific exploration and sparked a belief that any scientific...
Two neuroendocrine tumor experts had slightly different reactions to the latest RADIANT-4 data. Irvin M. Modlin, MD, Emeritus Professor of Gastroenterological Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, said in an interview that he essentially restricts his use of...
In a subgroup analysis of the phase III RADIANT-4 trial, focusing on neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal origin, the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) essentially doubled the median progression-free survival time, compared with placebo, researchers reported at the 2016 Gastrointestinal...
In a retrospective case-controlled study conducted in patients with colorectal cancer who had received primary tumor resection with or without preoperative radiofrequency ablation for liver metastases, the electrical procedure was found to induce antitumor immune responses in the...
A study that revealed new findings about prostate cells may point to future strategies for treating aggressive and therapy-resistant forms of prostate cancer. The study proved that the prostate basal cell layer contains adult stem cells, which possess a unique gene-expression profile resembling the ...
The 69th Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Cancer Symposium, being held March 2–5 in Boston, will include featured lecturers with ties to the recently announced White House “moonshot” initiative to cure cancer—a proposed $1 billion in spending on cancer research over ...
In women undergoing breast reconstruction using autologous tissue, newer muscle-sparing abdominal flaps can reduce complications while improving some aspects of quality of life, according to a study by Macadem et al in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Comparison of four types of abdominal flaps ...
A quality improvement initiative to reduce patients’ reliance on emergency room (ER) visits to treat cancer treatment side effects has shown to be highly effective, according to early findings from a new study. The strategy, involving a telephone triage service coupled with patient education, ...
To facilitate doctor/patient conversations about costs of cancer care, researchers developed and piloted an online tool for oncologists. The innovative resource lists prices for the 50 most commonly prescribed cancer treatment regimens. A survey of the pilot users at four clinics in Washington...
A new study suggests that up to 60% of the computed tomography (CT) scans, bone scans, and positron-emission tomography (PET) scans performed for more than 29,000 Michigan women diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2008 and 2014 could not be medically justified based on retrospective record...
A new report outlines substantial progress in reducing the mortality gap between blacks and whites for some cancers, while the gap has widened or remained level for two leading cancers: breast cancer in women and colorectal cancer in men. The findings are included in Cancer Statistics for African...