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Showing 11451 - 11500Better Information Needed for Primary Care Providers Who Treat Cancer Survivors
Many primary care providers are unaware of the late effects of chemotherapy, according to survey results presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.1 For three out of four commonly used chemotherapy agents, medical oncologists performed well on the survey, but 29% to 38% of medical oncologists were...
Expert Point of View: Dual BRAF and MEK Inhibition Is Active in Advanced Melanoma
Commenting on the trial of combined BRAF and MEK inhibition in advanced melanoma, Michael K.K. Wong, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, called the findings “nothing short of extraordinary” and a potential “game changer.”...
Expert Point of View: Crizotinib Yields Benefits in Aggressive Pediatric Tumors
Michael P. Link, MD, 2011–2012 President of ASCO and a pediatric oncologist himself (at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford), said the crizotinib study by Mosse and colleagues has far-ranging implications. “The molecular driver (ALK)...
Expert Point of View: Encouraging Results with Neoadjuvant Therapy for High-risk Prostate Cancer
“This is one of the first, if not the first, study to show that a treatment can make prostate cancer in the prostate gland itself disappear in a reproducible number of patients, and it is an exciting step forward,” said Nicholas Vogelzang, MD, moderator of the pre–ASCO Annual Meeting press...
Encouraging Results with Neoadjuvant Therapy for High-risk Prostate Cancer
Use of the CYP17 inhibitor abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) in combination with leuprolide and prednisone prior to radical prostatectomy achieved pathologic complete response or near complete response in one-third of men with high-risk, localized prostate cancer. Abiraterone is FDA-approved for...
Radiotherapy in Early-stage Hodgkin Lymphoma
The treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the major success stories in medical oncology. Depending on clinical stage, clinical risk factors, and the treatment given, 60% to 90% of all patients can be cured of their malignancy long-term. Hodgkin lymphoma survivors represent one of...
Decoding the Genetic Blueprint of Cancer Cells: Findings in Multiple Myeloma and Breast Cancer
Advances in next-generation DNA sequencing technologies are allowing scientists to decipher the whole genome or whole exome (ie, the coding region of the genome) of cancer specimens more quickly and inexpensively than ever before. And the results are revealing genes that had not previously been...
Expert Point of View: T-DM1 Proves More Effective, Less Toxic Than Standard Treatment for Metastatic Breast Cancer
“Stated simply, T-DM1 really works in this patient population,” said Louis Weiner, MD, Director of the Georgetown-Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, DC, and the invited discussant of the presentation. “It is an important new weapon in the therapeutic armamentarium for breast cancer.” While...
When It Comes to Scientific Exploration, Renowned Clinical Investigator Lets the Work Guide His Path
Internationally renowned clinical investigator Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse on the rural outskirts of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Polio was a scourge at the time, and Dr. Von Hoff recalled lining up with his skittish classmates to get the newly developed...
New ASCO President Reflects on Value of Mentorship and Addressing Health-care Disparities
Sandra M. Swain, MD, Medical Director of the Washington Cancer Institute at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and ASCO President for the 2012 to 2013 term, is a leading authority on breast cancer treatment with a global reputation in cutting-edge clinical research. The...
Dana-Farber Researcher’s Work with Partners in Health Brings Quality Cancer Care to Rwanda
Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, grew up in New York City. A product of the public school system, Dr. Shulman entered Syracuse University as a history major, only to realize that studying the past, although important, wasn’t for him. “I wanted a field...
Trailblazing Oncologist Had Instrumental Role in France’s War on Cancer
David Khayat, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, was inspired to become an oncologist by an episode that could have been ripped from the pages of one of his best-selling novels. At the age of 18, Dr. Khayat was the witness at his best...
After 3 Decades at MD Anderson, Leukemia Researcher Shows No Sign of Slowing Down
Hagop M. Kantarjian, MD, Chair of the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was born in Lebanon. The only member of his family to have pursued a career in medicine, he received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB), which was founded...
Tracing Breast Cancer Luminary’s Path to Oncology, from Hungary to Houston
Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, FACP, ASCO Past President (2006-2007), grew up under the oppressive regime of communist Hungary during the Cold War. “As college-educated intellectuals, my family was among the ‘politically undesirables,’ and if we had not escaped Hungary, neither my two sisters nor I...
On the Early Days of Breast-conserving Therapy and the Unique Relationship between Oncologists and Their Patients
Jay R. Harris, MD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, helped pioneer the use of breast-conserving therapy in women with early-stage breast cancer. When asked why he chose to pursue a career in radiation...
Trailblazing Neurologist Leads the Way in Advancing Treatment of Cancer Pain
Kathleen M. Foley, MD, began her life’s work in cancer pain management at a time when suffering was a universally accepted consequence of the disease. Since then, Dr. Foley’s tireless work in the clinic and public forum has advanced not only the clinical treatment of cancer pain, but also the...
Reflections on the Evolution of Clinical Cancer Research and Turning Points in a Distinguished Career
Since May 1, 2005, Karen H. Antman, MD, has served as Dean of Boston University School of Medicine and Provost of the Boston University Medical Campus, located in the historic South End of Boston. Her road to this esteemed institution was paved with prominent positions, such as former ASCO...
From Small-town House Calls to Bone Marrow Transplants, Nobel Laureate Continues Father’s Legacy
“I echo the sentiments of many previous Nobel laureates when I say that the success we celebrate today was made possible by the work of many others in this and in related fields.” So ended the Nobel Lecture by E. Donnall Thomas, MD, the famed investigator and 1990 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or...
Special Anniversary Issue: Narratives in Oncology
The ASCO Post is pleased to present this special anniversary edition in recognition of the publication's 3rd year serving the oncology community. We hope you enjoy this special commemorative issue profiling several of the many leaders in the oncology community. In coming issues ofThe ASCO Post and...
Obese Patients at Higher Risk of Aggressive Thyroid Tumors
Obese patients present with more advanced and more aggressive forms of papillary thyroid cancer and should be screened for thyroid cancer with sonography, which is more sensitive in detecting thyroid cancer than physical examination alone, according to a study published online in the Archives of...
After Complete Response to Chemotherapy, IFRT Improves Event-free Survival in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Final data from the Children’s Cancer Group (CCG) trial evaluating low-dose involved-field radiation therapy (IFRT) for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma achieving a complete response after chemotherapy show that at a median follow-up of 7.7 years, IFRT produced a statistically significant improvement ...
To Scan or Not to Scan for Colon Cancer Recurrence?
Over the past 2 decades, we have seen a substantial increase in the 5-year survival of patients with stage II and III colon cancer, marking an evolving oncologic success story. However, in the postoperative setting, the value of regular CT screening to monitor for recurrence has been greeted with...
Everolimus: New Indication in Renal Angiomyolipoma Associated with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
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. Indication In April 2012, the kinase inhibitor everolimus...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
“We have already received several calls and requests from patients who desire to participate in our research or get the test done,” Anthony Lucci, MD, said about the response to a study published in The Lancet Oncology and media coverage of the findings. Dr. Lucci is lead author of the study, which ...
Too Soon to Know How Circulating Tumor Cells Might Be Used to Guide Treatment of Breast Cancer
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. “A simple blood test.” These were...
Multicenter Phase II Trial Supporting Approval of Brentuximab Vedotin in Anaplastic Large-cell Lymphoma
Systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) is an aggressive T-cell lymphoma subtype characterized by uniform expression of CD30. Apart from low- to intermediate-risk patients with ALK-positive disease, patients with ALCL have a poor prognosis when treated with conventional, anthracycline-based...
Medical Ethicists Reflect on Their Personal Cancer Experiences
The recently published book, Malignant: Medical Ethicists Confront Cancer, takes a personal look at the cancer experience from the perspective of seven medical ethicists who were also patients with cancer or cared for spouses with cancer.1 The book’s editor, Rebecca Dresser, JD, MS, who teaches law ...
Help Your Patients Understand the Latest Research
Direct your patients to www.cancer.net/podcasts to hear ASCO experts discuss the research that was presented at 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. This series of “Research Round-up” podcasts provides the latest information on treatment and care for people with cancer and will help your patients understand...
A Decade of Trusted Cancer Education
May 18 marked the 10th anniversary of Cancer.Net, the patient information website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). This milestone is not only important to the more than 12 million cancer survivors in the United States who have searched for reliable answers to many of the issues...
ASCO’s CancerLinQ: Building a Transformation in Cancer Care
Cancer science and information technology are advancing rapidly, but the way we care for patients today cannot fully capitalize on those advances. The proliferation of scientific results and novel treatments is a growing challenge for all oncology professionals as we enter the era of highly...
Expert Point of View: Kathy Miller, MD
“Our old friends are sometimes worth keeping, and that is certainly true for weekly paclitaxel,” said the invited discussant of CALGB 40502, Kathy Miller, MD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, at the ASCO Annual Meeting. She noted that Dr. Rugo must “remain strict to the...
Older Breast Cancer Drugs Prove Superior to Newer Ones
In the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, established older agents outperformed newer, more expensive drugs in two studies that made news at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. Microtubule Inhibitors In the phase III open-label CALBG 40502/NCCTG N063H trial of 799 chemotherapy-naive patients with...
Expert Point of View: Michael Seiden, MD
“We are approaching the 15th year of exploring molecularly targeted therapies in ovarian cancer,” said Michael Seiden, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, and formal discussant of the papers presented during an oral abstract session on gynecologic cancer at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting....
Expert Point of View: Mark Gilbert, MD
Commending the investigators for their undertaking, Mark Gilbert, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said, “Perseverance and analysis of long-term outcomes lead to practice-changing findings and important insights.” He pointed out that two randomized trials...
Expert Point of View: William K. Oh, MD
Formal discussant of the SWOG 9346 trial, William K. Oh, MD, Tisch Cancer Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, said that at least 23 phase II trials have suggested that intermittent androgen deprivation therapy was safe and effective and that this practice has been broadly...
SIDEBAR: SWOG 9346 Conclusions Debated in Special Post-plenary Discussion
Based on the controversial nature of the SWOG 9346 findings, presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting Plenary Session, ASCO intiated a pilot program at the meeting for a “town hall” type of discussion, where attendees could voice their concerns and questions, and where presenter Maha Hussain, MD,...
Continuous Androgen Deprivation Therapy Continues to Be Standard of Care for Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Based on a prespecified definition of survival comparability, intermittent androgen deprivation proved to be inferior to continuous androgen deprivation for men with newly diagnosed hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer in the phase III SWOG 9346 intergroup trial. The data were presented at...
Expert Point of View: Richard I. Fisher, MD
Richard I. Fisher, MD, the Samuel E. Durand Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, cautioned that it is too early to embrace the bendamustine/rituximab regimen. Caution Advised “Bendamustine is a very active agent with moderate toxicity that...
German Study Finds Bendamustine Improves Progression-free Survival in Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Updated results of the StiL NHL1 study, presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session, showed that bendamustine plus rituximab (Rituxan) more than doubled the median progression-free survival, compared with the standard R-CHOP regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin,...
Prostate Cancer Management: A Day Late and A Dollar Short?
In the May 15 issue, The ASCO Post reported on the relative cost-effectiveness of approaches to treating localized prostate cancer (“Advances in Prostate Cancer Accompanied by Ongoing Debates,” page 1). The article analyzed an important scientific paper presented at both urology and radiation...
Breast Cancer and Noncommunicable Diseases: Where in the World Do We Start?
As the world’s most common cancer among women, and the most likely reason around the globe that a woman will die of cancer, breast cancer affects countries at all economic levels. Despite the common misconception that breast cancer is primarily a problem of high-income countries, the majority of...
New PSA Recommendations: The Debate over Prostate Cancer Screening Continues
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued a recommendation statement advising against the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based testing for prostate cancer,1 leaving many in the oncology community concerned that decades of clinical progress will be stalled, and setting ...
Expert Point of View: PD-1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Look Promising in Multiple Solid Tumors
Oncologists can expect to hear more about immune checkpoint blockade, according to two discussants of these abstracts. In fact, five PD-1 immune checkpoint compounds are already in the pipeline (Table 1), according to Giuseppe Giaccone, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. ...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy May Confer Survival Benefit in Patients Older than 75 with Stage III Disease
Because few people over 75 participate in clinical trials, it is unknown whether adjuvant chemotherapy could benefit this population. Faced with this gap in clinical trial evidence, researchers reviewed data from 5,489 patients ≥ 75 years with stage III colon cancer. The review suggests that...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
Promising results announced at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting from studies with BRAF and MEK inhibitors have made headlines, but only one of these agents—the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf)—has been approved by the FDA. The others are still investigational. Patients interested in gaining...
MEK Inhibitor Reduces Progression of BRAF-mutated Melanoma and Might also Benefit Others
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. The MEK inhibitor trametinib...
Pazopanib: New Drug for Advanced Soft-tissue Sarcoma
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. Indication In April 2012, pazopanib (Votrient) was approved for the ...
My Breast Cancer Had Been Coming for Years
I’ve never had a normal mammogram screening. There was always something suspicious the test picked up: macrocalcifications in one breast 1 year and a cyst in the other breast the next year. Over a period of 3 years, I had six tissue biopsies, all benign for cancer. So when I flunked another...
Early Access to Palliative/Supportive Care vs Usual Care Improves Pain Management
Many cancer patients remain undertreated for pain despite availability of guidelines and educational efforts to improve pain treatment. In a recent Annals of Oncology article, Bandieri and colleagues from the Italian Epidemiologia Clinico-Assistenziale del Dolore in Ospedale (ECAD-O) group report a ...
Soy Phytoestrogens and Breast Cancer: An Enduring Dilemma
The impact of soy consumption on breast cancer diagnosis and outcome has remained of concern to clinicians and researchers for the past 20 years. Although studied extensively in epidemiologic studies as well as lab and animal research, no medical consensus on soy’s effects has emerged. Many studies ...
