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Showing 11351 - 11400The Canadian National Breast Screening Trial Had So Many Flaws That Its Results Should Not Be Used to Guide Screening Recommendations
If a randomized, controlled trial of therapy for breast cancer was submitted for publication in which 1. The drug being tested was old and ineffective, and 2. prior to randomization, the women underwent a clinical breast examination and the study coordinators knew who had the largest cancers, and...
‘Double-Hit’ Lymphomas a Challenge for the Oncologist
"Double-hit” lymphomas remain challenging tumors, and the best means of treatment remains somewhat elusive, according to studies presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and experts who commented on these findings. “We still don’t have a standard of...
Better Options Emerging for Salvage Therapy in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Emerging effective treatment options for salvage therapy in Hodgkin lymphoma were described by Anas Younes, MD, Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, at the 2014 Highlights of ASH in North America meeting in Miami. “This is an exciting time in Hodgkin...
Georgetown Researchers Study Nonsurgical, Minimally Invasive Approach to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Physicians at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, are studying the safety and effectiveness of prostate artery embolization in men with enlarged prostate glands and urinary obstruction. According to the National Institutes of Health,...
Bladder Cancer Patient With Rare Genetic Mutations Shows Exceptional Response to Everolimus/Pazopanib Combination
A patient with advanced bladder cancer experienced a complete response for 14 months to the drug combination everolimus (Afinitor) and pazopanib (Votrient) in a phase I trial, and genomic profiling of his tumor revealed two alterations that may have caused this exceptional response, according to a...
A Conversation With Arie Belldegrun, MD, FACS, and Allan Pantuck, MD, MS, FACS
Cancer Immunotherapy What is the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma? The harnessing of the immune system as an effective treatment for cancer was recently selected by the journal Science as the top scientific Breakthrough of the Year for 2013.1 With this...
A Conversation With David I. Quinn, MBBS, PhD, FRACP
First-Line Therapy Please describe current medical oncology approaches to first-line therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The current first-line therapy for most patients with good- to intermediate-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor...
ASCO Releases Its First-Ever Report on the State of Cancer Care in America
On March 11, ASCO released its first-ever comprehensive assessment of the daunting challenges facing America’s ability to continue to deliver high-quality care to all patients with cancer. ASCO President Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, introduced the assessment at a Congressional news briefing in...
The Outlook on Cancer Research in This Era of Leaner Federal Funding
In the March 1, 2014, issue of The ASCO Post we talked with Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about the future of biomedical research at the NIH during this time of constrained federal funding. We continue that conversation here with our interview of...
SSO-ASTRO Margin Guideline: Why Now and What Does It Mean?
Although breast-conserving therapy has been a standard practice for more than 20 years, controversy still exists over what constitutes the appropriate margin of normal breast tissue around a tumor that minimizes local recurrence while maintaining a good cosmetic outcome. Surveys of surgeons1 and...
SSO-ASTRO Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery in Stage I/II Invasive Breast Cancer
The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) formed a multidisciplinary expert panel in 2013 to examine the relationship between surgical margin width and ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and develop guidelines on margins for breast-conserving...
Desensitization Protocols May Allow Reintroduction of Chemotherapeutic Agents After Hypersensitivity Reactions
Hypersensitivity reactions to chemotherapeutic agents used to treat ovarian cancer are “increasingly common and can greatly limit their use,” according to an article published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. “Drug desensitization has emerged as a safe and effective way...
Lack of Insurance Coverage a Barrier to Lung Cancer Screening
The majority of current and former smokers would welcome screenings for lung cancer if their insurance covered the spiral computed tomography (CT) scans, according to research from Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Medical University of South Carolina. The study by Jennifer Delmerico, MPH, and...
Bringing the Humanistic Approach to Palliative Care: From Diagnosis and Throughout Disease Course
For much of her career in oncology, Teresa A. Gilewski, MD, has sought to bridge the science of medicine with the humanistic aspect of care. She has created the Art of Medicine lecture series at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she is a medical oncologist on the Breast...
American Psychosocial Oncology Society Launches Psychosocial Distress Program
In February, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) held its 11th Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida, and it marked a number of firsts. With over 500 registrants and more than 300 abstracts presented over the 3-day program, this was the largest APOS event to date. The theme of this...
Expert Point of View: Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Stephen A. Cannistra, MD
In an editorial accompanying publication of the AURELIA study results, Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Stephen A. Cannistra, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, considered the implications of the benefits observed in the trial and limitations in...
ASCO Rolls Out Support for Changes in Maintenance of Certification Requirements
Big changes came to the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program requirements in 2014. As of January 1, all diplomates, including “grandfathers” (or those certified before 1990 who are “board-certified for life”), must actively participate in MOC...
Help Your Patients Learn About Collecting Family Cancer History
Based on ASCO’s recent recommendations, Cancer.Net has provided your patients with an article and an infographic on the importance of collecting family cancer history, what information to collect, what it can mean, and when and with whom to share this information. Direct your patients to...
Enhance Your ASCO Annual Meeting Experience With Attendee Resources
At the end of the month, more than 25,000 oncology professionals from around the world will meet in Chicago for the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting. Will you be joining this global community? As you’re beginning to consider what to pack for your trip, keep in mind that you have a host of electronic...
We Need Your Vote: History’s Top 5 Cancer Research Achievements
Throughout the year, we are celebrating not only ASCO’s 50th anniversary, but also the tremendous progress achieved against cancer in the last 50 years. Thanks to the dedication and contributions of patients and researchers, and our nation’s long-standing commitment to funding clinical research,...
Gynecologic Cancer Treatment at High-Volume Centers May Be Lifesaving
Women with gynecologic cancers who are treated at hospitals that frequently manage these conditions appear to live significantly longer than those who receive their care at lower-volume centers, according to a large study presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on...
SIDEBAR: Should You Treat Smoldering Multiple Myeloma?
A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine has provoked conversation about the management of smoldering multiple myeloma.1 At the recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, shared his thoughts ...
Promising Compounds in Development for Multiple Myeloma
The term “novel agents” has been used for the past decade to describe proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs that are now conventionally used for multiple myeloma. However, even newer agents in development will be considered truly novel when they hit the market, as they represent new...
Expert Point of View: Mario Sznol, MD
Mario Sznol, MD, of Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, was formal discussant of the MK-3475 presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. He alluded to all the factors that complicate assays of PD-L1: the disparate nature of the assays themselves, the ...
ASCO CEO Allen S. Lichter, MD, on Data Issue
"While there is no question that transparency about health-care costs is a good thing, the new database is already doing more to disrupt good care than shed light on bad care. “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a responsibility to educate the public about the data they are...
ASCO Speaks Out on Release of Medicare Physician Payment Data
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is deeply concerned about [the recent] release of Medicare physician payment data. ASCO is committed to the delivery of high-quality, high-value care for all people with cancer in the United States. This data release solely focuses attention on the...
Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma
In 2012, three randomized placebo-controlled trials reported a significant prolongation of progression-free survival with lenalidomide (Revlimid) as maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma.1-3 Two of these trials tested lenalidomide maintenance after stem cell transplantation, and one investigated ...
Expert Point of View: José Baselga, MD, PhD
Presentation of the PALOMA-1 trial results represented “the culmination of a long journey from the discovery of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 in the early 1990s,” said José Baselga, MD, PhD, Physician-in-Chief at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Dr. Baselga was formal...
Case Studies: Collaborative Practice in Action
The panel presented two case studies—one on high-dose methotrexate toxicity and one on 5-FU toxicity—as a platform for discussion of considerations, challenges, and interconnected roles of oncologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical pharmacists in safely managing patients...
Collaborative Exchange: The Expanded Access Program and Uridine Triacetate
The panel discussed the various aspects of obtaining a drug such as uridine triacetate through the expanded access program. Ms. Vogel: The expanded access program allows companies to provide patients access to their medicines while the drugs are still in preapproval process, but it is strictly...
Collaborative Exchange: Timing of Uridine Triacetate
The challenge of deciding when to administer uridine triacetate was explored by the panel. Dr. Schwartzberg: I assume uridine triacetate would work more effectively if given very early; otherwise we would see the same kind of downstream toxicity we see with methotrexate. Dr. Campen: Exactly, but...
Questions Answered About Uridine Triacetate
Q. What is uridine triacetate? A. It is an investigational, orally active prodrug of uridine currently under development as an antidote to overexposure of fluorouracil (5-FU). Although not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it has been shown to be effective in treating patients...
Collaborative Exchange: Indications and Dosing
Indications and Dosing of Methotrexate and 5-FU Dr. Campen: The interesting thing about methotrexate is that it has been used for such a long time. You would think there would be a specific dose that would be considered “high dose,” but high dose is actually quite variable. [Dosage] depends on the...
CE Activity Instructions
CE is available on May 1, 2014 and expires on May 1, 2015. A continuing education activity for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals specializing in the field of oncology. This activity is supported by an unrestricted...
Food and Drug Interactions Could Reduce Effectiveness of Oral Chemotherapy
Oral chemotherapy agents are associated with drug and food interactions that can significantly reduce the effectiveness of oral chemotherapy and possibly result in harm to patients, according to a study in the Journal of Oncology Practice. It is important therefore, according to the study’s...
Genitourinary Toxicity More Likely With Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Than With Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy
A retrospective analysis of patients with prostate cancer receiving primary treatment with either stereotactic body radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy found that those receiving stereotactic body radiotherapy had greater rates of genitourinary toxicity during 2-year...
Can Empathy Really Be Taught?
In an op-ed article in The New York Times (February 27, 2014) about the challenges of designing training courses to help physicians communicate more effectively with patients about important topics such as end-of-life care, Timothy D. Gilligan, MD, and Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, of the Cleveland...
Don’t Always Expect Questions From Patients About Prognosis
Although most patients want to know about the potential outcome of their disease and whether treatment is likely to have a significant impact on it, the information needs of patients and how best to fulfill those needs are very variable, Walter F. Baile, MD, told The ASCO Post. Dr. Baile is...
Breaking Bad News Badly Can Add to Upset
When the prognosis is poor, breaking the bad news badly can exacerbate the distress experienced by cancer patients and their families. A lack of sensitivity to patient and family emotions and not being attuned to how individual patients would prefer to be informed about their prognoses can result...
Quality Cancer Care
Ten years ago, at ASCO’s Annual Meeting, we were celebrating 40 Years of Quality Cancer Care. We have certainly seen many improvements in cancer care quality since then, especially in more effective agents and patient-centeredness care. When I joined ASCO in 1984, I never imagined that I would be...
Collaborating to Conquer Cancer
Serving as ASCO’s President was one of the most exciting years of my professional career. Although that year presented a number of challenges, it also marked a number of accomplishments, including a record number of new ASCO members, which then reached more than 30,000 in 122 countries (today,...
Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer
One of the pleasures during my year as President was the ability to bring personal and professional passions and a sense of what really matters into focus for the work of our membership. My Presidential theme, Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer, reflected my particular interest in outreach to...
Celebrating ASCO's History, 1964-2014
The last 50 years have been marked by significant advances in cancer research and in more effective therapy for patients. Once viewed as a largely untreatable, fatal disease, today a number of cancers are being converted into chronic diseases that can be managed for long periods of time. The result ...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Surpasses $1 Billion Investment in Blood Cancer Research
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has announced that it has passed the $1 billion mark in research investment, a significant milestone in the cancer research landscape as the Society continues its 65-year pursuit of advancing breakthrough therapies, finding cures, and ensuring access to...
Duquesne University Awarded $1.4 Million NIH Grant
Duquesne University’s newly established biomedical engineering initiative has received a $1.4 million, 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute to detect, capture and analyze circulating melanoma cells. John Viator, MD, Biomedical Engineering Program Director...
An Oncologic Surgeon Discusses the Pros and Cons of Pursuing a Business Degree
Is pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree a good idea for ambitious surgical oncologists who want to advance their careers? The ASCO Post recently spoke with Martin J. Heslin, MD, MSHA, Chief, Section of Surgical Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Medical Center, ...
A Vision of Independent Clinical Research in South America
Clinical research is vital for the development and improvement of methods designed to prevent and treat cancer. The majority of clinical trials take place in the developed world through sponsored pharmaceutical research companies.1 The corresponding lack of research in developing countries results...
Connecting to ASCO Through the State Affiliate Council
ASCO’s State Affiliate Council is composed of the State Society Presidents and/or designated physician Council Representatives as well as the Executive Directors of each state and/or regional oncology society. The Council convened in late February to address the most relevant issues affecting...
SIDEBAR: How the Schwartz Center Rounds Program Works
The Schwartz Center Rounds program utilizes a case-based format to present information about an identified topic and stimulate discussion among Rounds participants. A physician leader and planning committee choose a case and topic and identify a panel of professional caregivers to share their...
Irving Bone Marrow Transplant Unit Opens at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia
New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center has opened the Irving Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, a state-of-the-art facility for comprehensive bone marrow transplant (BMT) care. The new unit features 18 inpatient rooms, a high-tech nurses station for individual patient monitoring, and a...
