On August 13, 2013, more than 100 cancer researchers and physicians from around the world met in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to discuss 2 challenging problem areas in cancer. One group was focused on the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposure to chemical mixtures in the environment, and the...
Phase I Study Title: Phase Ib Study of Nivolumab and Dasatinib in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Ph+ ALL) Study Type: Phase I/interventional/single-group assignment Study Sponsor and Collaborators: Northwestern University, National...
Over the past couple of decades, chemoradiation for several cancers, such as lung and breast, has advanced in efficacy and side-effect tolerance, prolonging survival and quality of life for patients. One of the pioneers in chemoradiation, Robert B. Livingston, MD, died on September 8, 2016. Dr....
Studies show that adolescent and young adult cancer survivors experience distinct challenges and quality-of-life issues from those experienced by either younger or older adult cancer survivors and that those challenges and issues can persist long after the cancer diagnosis and the end of...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for blinatumomab (Blincyto) to include new data supporting the treatment of pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute...
A new study1 showing that just 1 in 20 terminally ill patients with cancer has sufficient understanding about the prognosis or purpose of treatment is highlighting the need for improvements in both the way oncologists communicate prognosis with their patients and in the development of educational...
Music therapy, an established adjuvant to standard cancer care, is offered in a growing number of cancer centers throughout the United States and internationally. Defined by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) as “the evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individual...
What do up to 60% of cancer survivors have in common? Answer: some type of long-term sexual dysfunction. How many cancer survivors seek professional help for sexual problems? Answer: less than 20%. Even when they do seek help, they may not be successful in finding professionals with expertise in...
A recent study1 published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (see “Breaking the ‘Conspiracy of Silence’” in this issue of The ASCO Post) found that just 1 in 20 patients with advanced, incurable cancer has sufficient understanding of his or her prognosis or life expectancy. Now, another new study ...
Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates—perhaps more than any other chronic disease—shine a grim spotlight on global disparities of care. It is one of the most preventable of human malignancies, yet it is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women around the world. It kills 260,000 women...
With the expansion of our understanding of signaling pathways in normal cells and how they are co-opted or corrupted in malignancy, the number of potential antitumor agents to be tested has exploded, exposing the limitations of traditional antineoplastic drug development and challenging us to...
A new study from Drexel University College of Medicine suggests all organ transplant recipients, regardless of race, should receive routine, total-body screenings for skin cancer. Out of 259 nonwhite transplant recipients who were evaluated in the study, 19 skin cancer lesions were identified in...
Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and and other U.S. health and academic institutions shows a diet high in calcium and low in lactose may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in African American women. The work, published by Qin et al in the British Journal of Cancer, also found sun ...
In the Canadian phase III PANCREOX trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gill et al found no benefit of modified FOLFOX6 (infusional fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) vs infusional 5-FU/leucovorin as second-line treatment in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who ...
Earlier this month, ASCO, in collaboration with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO), jointly issued an update to a clinical practice guideline for physicians treating women with breast cancer who have undergone a mastectomy. The update...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) therapy, for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
As reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently updated its guidelines for colorectal cancer screening1 from 2008 and has now included seven acceptable strategies, including direct-visualization modalities (ie, endoscopy and computed tomography...
A collaborative Cleveland Clinic–Mayo Clinic team of researchers has shown for the first time that patients with advanced prostate cancer are more likely to die earlier of their disease if they carry a specific testosterone-related genetic abnormality. The findings, published by Hearn et al in The...
The number of docetaxel cycles completed was associated with improved overall survival among men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer receiving docetaxel, prednisone, and lenalidomide (Revlimid) or docetaxel/prednisone, in the phase III Mainsail trial. de Morrée et al reported this ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application for the use of ofatumumab (Arzerra) in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for the treatment of patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The application, which...
There is no role for routine imaging as a means of following patients with large cell lymphoma, according to Bruce D. Cheson, MD, Deputy Chief of Hematology-Oncology and Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, DC. “Routine...
A small device implanted under the skin may improve breast cancer survival by catching cancer cells, slowing the development of metastatic tumors in other organs, and allowing time to intervene with surgery or other therapies. These findings, reported by Rao et al in Cancer Research, suggest a path ...
The study findings by Dr. Buchakjian and colleagues suggest it may be time to revisit the significance of frozen margin status, according to one of the session co-moderators, Allen Cheng, MD, DDS, of the Providence Cancer Center and Head & Neck Surgical Associates, both in Portland, Oregon....
The anabolic hormone testosterone may lessen the early adverse cardiovascular effects of chemotherapy and chemoradiation for advanced or recurrent cancer, according to a randomized controlled trial reported at the 9th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer.1 Among the patients studied,...
For several years now, the American health-care system has been undergoing a transformation. Innovative ideas are being explored, new systems continue to be created, and millions of lives have been impacted. As health-care providers and research engines, academic institutions have an opportunity...
For the majority of patients who are diagnosed with advanced-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), platinum-based doublets have been the standard of care for over 30 years. Recently, the immune checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) demonstrated superior survival ...
Although targeted drugs like imatinib (Gleevec) have revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), patients generally must take them for the rest of their lives and may cease benefiting from them over time. New research conducted by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...
Racial/ethnic minority parents were more likely to express regret about initial cancer treatment decisions for their children, according to a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Mack et al found that factors associated with less decisional regret included receiving high-quality...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Balmaña et al found that conflicting interpretations of findings on multiplex testing for cancer genes are fairly common among reporting laboratories and may have implications for medical management decisions. Study Details The study ...
A new study indicates that adolescent females with acute leukemia have low rates of pregnancy screening prior to receiving chemotherapy that can cause birth defects. These findings were published by Rao et al in Cancer. Although many chemotherapy drugs can cause birth defects, there are no...
Today, Vice President Joe Biden announced a series of new steps focused on increasing access to information about clinical trials and improving the efficiency of our clinical research system. These steps include making it easier for participants to find clinical trial opportunities as quickly as...
A drop in the number of cancer cells detected in a patient’s blood could be the best indicator yet as to whether treatment for prostate cancer is working. A new study, published by Lorente et al in European Urology, shows that a 30% decline in a patient’s numbers of circulating tumor...
In an analysis of a clinical trial population reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Giacalone et al found that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure was associated with an increased risk of mortality among men with unfavorable-risk prostate cancer who had no or minimal comorbidity burden. ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Imperiale et al found that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) colorectal cancer risk assessment tool was able to estimate the current risk for advanced colorectal neoplasia. Study Details The study involved 4,457 persons aged...
An animal study suggests that resistance to tamoxifen therapy in some estrogen receptor–positive breast cancers may originate from in utero exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The study provides a new path forward in human research, as about half of the breast cancers treated with...
The Chinese Journal of Cancer (CJC) is soliciting the 150 most important questions in cancer research and clinical oncology from cancer researchers around the world. The editors of CJC believe this will help provide important insights and guidance in future efforts to advance cancer research...
Radiation oncologists are frequently involved in providing palliative and supportive care for patients with advanced cancers through delivery of palliative radiation. Whether they are confident in their ability to assess and initiate treatments for pain, nonpain, and psychosocial distress is...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Koshkin et al found that among anatomic and functional imaging modalities, volumetric analysis and outcome with early 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)–positron-emission tomography (PET) were the best predictors of benefit in patients with...
A large observational study examining the variation in breast density assessment among radiologists in clinical practice has found a wide variation—from 6.3% to 84.5%—in the percentage of mammograms rated as showing dense breasts, which persisted after adjusting for patient characteristics. The...
I am writing to ask the ASCO community for help in addressing a policy decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that requires oncologists to take a 700-hour course (on the full range of nuclear medicines) to give one medicine to their patients: prepackaged radioimmunotherapy. It’s...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oreofe O. Odejide, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues surveyed hematologic oncologists to identify acceptable end-of-life-care quality measures and barriers to such care. Respondents considered unrealistic patient...
High expression of T-cell and B-cell signatures in infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment predicted improved overall survival across many tumor types, according to a study reported by Iglesia et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Benjamin Vincent, MD, of UNC (University of North ...
Low-dose oral cyclophosphamide plus methotrexate maintenance therapy yielded no disease-free survival benefit in women with hormone receptor–negative early breast cancer, according to the phase III International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) 22-00 trial. Some evidence of benefit was observed in ...
According to the American Cancer Society’s 2016 Cancer Facts & Figures, behaviors such as poor diet choices, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and unhealthy body weight account for about 20% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States and likely could be prevented with...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting women about the risks associated with the use of tests being marketed as ovarian cancer screening tests. The agency is especially concerned about delaying effective preventive treatments for women who show no symptoms but who are still at...
Immunotherapy has received “a lot of attention, mainly because of the media coverage,” Anas Younes, MD, medical oncologist and Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said in an interview with The ASCO Post. “Many patients inquire, not about a specific...
Although diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a curable disease in most patients aged 65 years or older, these patients are also at higher risk of chemotherapy-related death within the first 30 days of treatment. To quantify the risk of early fatality and identify risk factors, researchers led ...
The best part of my day is hearing that little voice yell, “It’s Momma!” as my son rushes to greet me with a hug. It is humbling, and sometimes terrifying, to realize that I brought a little person into the world who is completely dependent on my husband and me for survival. Few would argue...
I was 2 months into my first-year fellowship at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, DC, when I learned the best oncology lesson of my career. I owned a copy of DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology and had read Cancer Treatment...
Three leading national cancer organizations have issued a consensus guideline for physicians treating women who have ductal carcinoma in situ treated with breast-conserving surgery with whole-breast irradiation. The new guideline has the potential to save many women from unnecessary surgeries,...