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Showing 10751 - 10800Stories of the Scientists Behind Immunotherapy
As the field of immunotherapy accelerates, so does the literature reporting on the path ahead. One of the newer books on the topic is A Cure Within: Scientists Unleashing the Immune System to Kill Cancer. It has a top-notch pedigree: the author, Neil Canavan, is a seasoned journalist with more than ...
Priority Review for Quizartinib in Relapsed or Refractory FLT3-ITD–Positive AML
THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) accepted a new drug application and granted Priority Review to quizartinib, a FLT3 inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory FLT3-ITD–positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The FDA is expected to make a decision on...
Welcome Questions About Cervical Cancer Treatment Options
TWO STUDIES reported in The New England Journal of Medicine1,2 showed that patients with early-stage cervical cancer had reduced disease-free and overall survival when treated with minimally invasive radical hysterectomy vs open or radical hysterectomy. The findings of these studies have been...
Comparing Survival Outcomes With Minimally Invasive and Open Surgical Approaches to Early-Stage Cervical Cancer
MINIMALLY INVASIVE radical hysterectomy for women with early-stage cervical cancer has been associated with reduced rates of disease-free and overall survival in the phase III LACC randomized noninferiority trial comparing minimally invasive and open abdominal radical hysterectomy. The results...
New Report Demonstrates Cost of Blood Cancer Care
THE COSTS to treat blood cancer are higher than the costs to treat other cancers, and the costs incurred by a patient diagnosed with a blood cancer do not return to precancer levels, according to a Milliman study commissioned by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The study—The Cost Burden...
Pembrolizumab in Sorafenib-Pretreated Hepatocellular Carcinoma
ON NOVEMBER 9, 2018, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted accelerated approval for treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma previously treated with sorafenib (Nexavar).1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data APPROVAL WAS BASED on durable responses in the phase II KEYNOTE-224 trial...
Venetoclax in Combination Regimens for Older Patients With AML or Those With Comorbidities Precluding Intensive Induction
On November 21, 2018, venetoclax (Venclexta) was granted accelerated approval for use in combination with azacitidine or decitabine or low-dose cytarabine for the treatment of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients aged ≥ 75 years or who have comorbidities that preclude the use of ...
New Year, New Resolutions: Help Your Patients Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices
The Managing Your Weight After a Cancer Diagnosis and the Quitting Tobacco Use After a Cancer Diagnosis booklets from ASCO Answers are the best companions for your patients’ New Year’s resolutions. These resources will help patients to achieve their goals by providing practical tips and strategies...
ASCO Resolutions on Step Therapy, Competitive Acquisition Program Proposed at AMA House of Delegates
During this year’s interim meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD), ASCO proposed four resolutions on step therapy, Medicare Part B drugs, a Competitive Acquisition Program, and clinical trial access, all of which were adopted or reaffirmed by the policy-making...
Illustrating Genius
FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO, author Neil Canavan attended a scientific conference to learn what he could about the then-emerging field of immunotherapy for cancer. After a presentation by Zelig Eshhar, PhD, principal investigator in the Department of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science...
Global Oncology Education and Professional Development: ASCO International’s Impact
ASCO is such a misnomer: the American Society of Clinical Oncology is far more than simply “American.” Over the past several years, I (a Canadian-born breast surgical oncologist, with an Indian-born mother and a Tanzanian-born father) have traveled to Zimbabwe, Bhutan, and the Philippines with this ...
FDA Announces New Updates to Expanded Access Program
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced new changes to expand and update the Expanded Access (EA) program, which allows very ill patients access to experimental treatments outside of clinical trials. The most recent updates include: Clarifications on Safety Data: The FDA...
Apply to Join ASCO’s Education Council by January 31
ASCO is seeking leaders in education to join its Education Council. The Council consists of ASCO members who are committed to advancing ASCO’s educational mission. Specific responsibilities of the Council include prioritizing programs to address educational gaps, advising on the latest in...
Clinician Survey to Explore Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants vs Low–Molecular-Weight Heparin in Cancer-Related VTE
Injectable low–molecular-weight heparin has long been considered the standard of care for treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer. However, low–molecular-weight heparin is costly and often disliked by patients due to injection-related discomfort and bruising....
Improving Palliative Care in Low-Resource Settings
In 2016, ASCO published an update to its Clinical Practice Guideline, “Integration of Palliative Care Into Standard Oncology Care,” which provides evidence-based recommendations for symptom management, clarification of treatment goals, support of coping and distress management, and coordination of...
Study Findings on Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Including Systemic Mastocytosis
HERE IS AN UPDATE on six different studies featured at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. Topics focused on novel treatments for myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia, as well as systemic mastocytosis. Myelofibrosis ABSTRACT...
Lorlatinib in Second- or Third-Line Treatment of ALK-Positive Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
On November 2, 2018, lorlatinib (Lorbrena) was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed on crizotinib (Xalkori) and at least one other ALK inhibitor for metastatic disease or whose disease ...
How to Build a Clinical Trial Infrastructure in the Community Oncology Setting
HISTORICALLY, CLINICAL research has been viewed as an entity belonging to academic settings alone. With the advent of the Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) in the 1980s and later with the Cancer Trials Support Unit, cancer clinical trials have begun to emerge in the community setting....
New Data Reported From International Studies of Lung Cancer Treatment
At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress, important studies were presented for every cancer type. Here, The ASCO Post offers some snapshots of lung cancer studies that may inform approaches to treating this common cancer, which—despite the advances in recent years—remains...
Statement From FDA Commissioner on In Vitro Companion Diagnostics
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, recently issued the following statement on developing and class labeling of in vitro companion diagnostics for classes of oncology therapeutic products: “With a new draft guidance document that the FDA issued … our aim is to make it easier to get class labeling ...
Should I Have Lied?
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
International Trials Present New Findings in Treatment of Breast Cancer
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress featured an assortment of study findings, many with far-reaching clinical implications for the treatment of patients with various cancers. Many of these trials were covered in-depth in recent issues of The ASCO Post. Here, we present...
Optimal Duration of Checkpoint Inhibition in Melanoma Is No More Than 2 Years
For patients with advanced melanoma, the concept of treating to disease progression does not always apply. With many patients responding to checkpoint inhibition for years, when can treatment be safely discontinued? This important clinical question was addressed at the European Society for Medical...
Expert Point of View: Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD
“Bringing pembrolizumab (Keytruda) early into therapy is a bold move,” commented the invited discussant of this trial, Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD, Professor of Oncology and Immunology at the Herbert Irving Cancer Center at Columbia University, New York. The study enrolled patients who can be cured...
Pembrolizumab Plus Chemoradiotherapy in HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer
The addition of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to a chemoradiotherapy regimen yielded complete response rates of 85% in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. These findings from a phase Ib study were presented at the 2018 Society for...
Overscreening for Prostate Cancer in Older Men Remains an Issue
Although most major cancer organizations agree on the guidelines for prostate cancer screening, there is still uneven application of the test, such as in the older patient population, resulting in overdiagnosis and waste in an already fiscally challenged health-care system. Researchers from the...
Update on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Checkpoint inhibitors have moved the field of immuno-oncology to the forefront of cancer treatment and research. However, these agents come with the risk of serious adverse events. To shed light on the toxicities associated with checkpoint inhibitors and other timely issues in the field of...
The Great Opioid Debate: Treating Cancer Pain Safely
As the number of opioid-related deaths continues to rise in the United States, stakeholders are struggling to make sense of the crisis. At the 2018 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium, two experts in the field, Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, and Leslie J. Blackhall, MD,...
Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities May Be More Common Than Originally Reported
Immunotherapy has significantly improved the overall survival of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is generally better tolerated than traditional chemotherapies, but the results of a retrospective study suggested that immunotherapy side effects may be more common than initially...
New NCCN Member Institution: Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
In November, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) announced that Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of Pennsylvania will become the organization’s 28th Member Institution. The Abramson Cancer Center’s membership will include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania...
Has Scalp Cooling Reached the Level of Standard of Care?
Does evidence of the effectiveness and safety of scalp cooling to reduce hair loss among women being treated for breast cancer mean that scalp cooling is a new standard of care? “I would suggest that it is,” stated Mikel Ross, MSN, RN, AGNP-BC, of the Breast Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan...
Expert Point of View: Kenneth Shain, MD, PhD, and Vincent Rajkumar, MD
In interviews with The ASCO Post, Kenneth Shain, MD, PhD, Director of the Myeloma Working Group at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, and Vincent Rajkumar, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, commented on the findings of the MAIA trial. “The study shows that...
FDA Issues Guidance on Endpoints for Cancer Clinical Trials
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a guidance titled Clinical Trial Endpoints for the Approval of Cancer Drugs and Biologics. The guidance provides recommendations to applicants on endpoints for cancer clinical trials submitted to the FDA to support effectiveness claims...
Front-Line Daratumumab Combination Regimen Improves Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma
In patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are not eligible for stem cell transplantation, the addition of daratumumab (Darzalex) to lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone significantly reduced the risk of death or disease progression by 44%, according to a late-breaking abstract...
Fixed-Duration Venetoclax Plus Rituximab in Relapsed or Refractory CLL
In patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), fixed-duration venetoclax -(Venclexta) combined with rituximab (Rituxan) reduced the risk of disease progression or death compared with standard-of-care bendamustine/rituximab, according to longer-term follow-up of the...
Expert Point of View: Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD
“When people don’t respond [to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy] as well as they should, it may be that the T cells are depleted and functionally exhausted. The mechanism of exhaustion is in part mediated by checkpoint-related killing. By thwarting that process with pembrolizumab...
Combining a Checkpoint Inhibitor With CAR T-Cell Therapy May Augment Immune Response
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a revolutionary approach to treating hematologic malignancies. As experience with this strategy is gained, researchers are learning more about how to optimize responses, especially in patients with “immune exhaustion,” who have a suboptimal initial...
Expert Point of View: Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD, and Henry Fung, MD
Commenting on the ibrutinib (Imbruvica)/chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell approach at a press conference, Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD, said: “Patients with CLL do not do as well on CAR T-cell therapy as those with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and by combining ibrutinib with CAR T cells,...
Early Studies of Ibrutinib Plus CAR T-Cell Combination in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Researchers are combining chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) as a means of augmenting and deepening responses in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Two pilot studies presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology...
Larotrectinib for Solid Tumors With NTRK Gene Fusions
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On November 26, 2018, larotrectinib (Vitrakvi) was...
Controlling the Global Burden of Liver Cancer
The burden of mortality related to liver cancer is increasing worldwide. Prevention and control of viral hepatitis will be vital in combating this burden, but curbing the growing epidemic of obesity must also be seen as a key part of liver cancer prevention, according to Rosmawati Mohamed, MD, of...
Low-Dose CT Lung Screening: New Developments Support Increased Quality, More Data, Deep Learning
Two years ago, Rick Avila, MS, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accumetra, LLC, was using rolls of Scotch tape as a research tool. The Scotch tape was a phantom, or reference object, and his company was working with computed tomography (CT) lung screening sites around the world to determine the...
FDA Approves Olaparib for Maintenance Treatment of BRCA-Mutated, Advanced Ovarian Cancer
On December 19, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved olaparib (Lynparza) for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic BRCA-mutated advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer...
Nuclear Excision Repair as a Possible Predictor of Early Relapse in Pediatric ALL
Researchers recently discovered that by testing the level of nucleotide excision repair (NER) gene expression, pediatric oncologists may be able to determine the likelihood of early relapse (less than 3 years) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These findings were published by...
Cornelis Melief, MD, PhD, Receives 2018 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Award
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has selected Cornelis Melief, MD, PhD, to receive the ESMO 2018 Immuno-Oncology Award in recognition of his work studying the interactions of the immune system with cancer. Dr. Melief is Professor Emeritus in Tumor Immunology at the Leiden...
CDC Foundation Launches Virtual Tool to Prevent Infections in Patients With Cancer
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation recently launched an educational tool using virtual human technology to improve patient-provider conversations about neutropenia as a side effect of chemotherapy. This new resource is part of the Preventing Infections in Cancer...
Expert Point of View: Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, Laura J. Esserman, MD, MBA, and Joseph Sparano, MD
“This study supports the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy,” commented press conference moderator Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, of the Simmons Cancer Center at UTSouthwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “It did not matter whether patients received adjuvant therapy, as long as they had achieved a pathologic...
Will the Trump Administration’s Plan to Reduce Cancer Drug Prices Work?
High drug prices are the number one health-care concern of many Americans. The average price of a cancer drug rose from less than $10,000/yr before 2000 to more than $170,000/yr in 2017.1-3 Between 1995 and 2013, the launch price of cancer drugs increased by 10% to 12% every year, and the average...
Expert Point of View: Aaron T. Gerds, MD, MS
At a press conference where the ECOG-ACRIN E1912 presentation and related issues were discussed, session moderator Aaron T. Gerds, MD, MS, of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, was quite enthusiastic about these results. “I believe these results should change clinical practice....
First-Line Ibrutinib/Rituximab Combination Shows Benefit for Younger Patients With CLL
First-line therapy with the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and rituximab (Rituxan) reduced disease progression by two-thirds compared with standard chemotherapy using fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) in younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to...
