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Showing 1151 - 1200Understanding the Relationship Between the Lab and the Clinic is Key to 2014 Karnofsky Memorial Award Honoree’s Success
The island nation of Curaçao is nestled in the southern Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast. Curaçao was first settled by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people that inhabited the island for hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans. Amid one wave of settlers from Portugal and Spain that...
Remembering Selma Ruth Schimmel
My last conversation with Selma Schimmel was 2 months ago. She had been uncharacteristically out of touch for a few weeks, and I had a nagging feeling the severe pain in her psoas muscle caused by advancing ovarian cancer—which had plagued her for months and she described as in a “league of its...
Congress Celebrates 50 Years of ASCO: Special Order on House Floor Honors Society’s Mid-Century Anniversary
The U.S. House of Representatives recently held a Special Order in honor of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. During the event on the House floor, Members of Congress highlighted critical advancements in cancer care over the past 50 years and...
Oncology Advanced Practitioners in the Midst of Growth, Change
The number of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) in community cancer practices is growing, according to ASCO’s annual census of oncology practice, published in March 2014.1 As though to illustrate that finding, a new professional society—the Advanced Practitioner Society for...
University of Louisville Receives $5.5 Million Grant From Helmsley Charitable Trust to Support Innovative Cancer Research
Noting the significant progress in drug and vaccine development over the past 3 years, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, has provided a 3-year, $5.5 million grant to the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, to develop new treatments and...
NIH Addiction Science Award
Lily Wei Lee, a high school senior at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, was named the recipient of the top Addiction Science Award at the 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for her project, “Assessment of Third-Hand Exposure to Nicotine from Electronic Cigarettes.”...
ASCO Takes Aim at the Link Between Obesity and Cancer
ASCO is stepping up its efforts to address the link between obesity and cancer—both as a leading cause of cancer and as a complicating factor for treatment. In recent years, research has demonstrated that a growing number of cancers are linked to obesity, and public health researchers predict that...
A Way Forward in Genomic Medicine
Over the past several decades, the convergence of scientific discovery, technology, and therapeutic developments has created an unparalleled opportunity to integrate our growing knowledge of genomics into the clinical practice of oncology. To shed light on the current state and future of...
'Small Practices Like Mine'
Recently, I participated in ASCO’s Congressional news briefing in Washington, DC, following the release of its report, The State of Cancer Care in America: 2014. During my presentation I talked about the workforce shortage of approximately 1,500 medical oncologists that is predicted by 2025. A...
‘Unprecedented’ Survival Benefit in Prostate Cancer With Addition of Docetaxel to Hormone Therapy
Adding docetaxel to standard androgen ablation therapy (ie, testosterone suppression) extended survival by more than 1 year in men with newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in the phase III E3805 trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health. As reported at the ASCO...
Issues in the Management of the Axilla in Patients With Breast Cancer
For the past 40 years the story of breast cancer surgery in general, and for the past 20 years the management of the axilla in particular, has been one of increasing conservatism. To give our readers insight into the current and future direction of axillary management, The ASCO Post spoke with...
Videos Tell Stories of 50 Years of Progress Against Cancer
Nearly 3 years ago, ASCO launched CancerProgress.Net to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. National Cancer Act, which led to major new investments in cancer research and significant increases in cancer survival. The site provides a dynamic and interactive history of progress...
Combined With Chemotherapy, Cetuximab and Bevacizumab Found Comparable for First-Line Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment
Call it a draw: Cetuximab (Erbitux), an EGFR inhibitor, and bevacizumab (Avastin), a VEGF inhibitor, confer comparable benefits as first-line treatment with chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer, according to the phase III Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB)/Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) ...
Exemestane/Ovarian Suppression Reduces Recurrence vs Tamoxifen/Ovarian Suppression in Premenopausal Breast Cancer
A joint analysis of two important phase III clinical trials—TEXT (Tamoxifen and Exemestane Trial) and SOFT (Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial)—showed that exemestane plus ovarian function suppression was superior to tamoxifen plus ovarian suppression in preventing recurrence in premenopausal...
Following ‘Fruitful’ Year of Collaboration, Advocacy, and Growth, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Moves to Next Level
Finishing up a 2-year term as President of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO), A. Kim Ritchey, MD, summarized ASPHO’s achievements in advocacy, education, and professional development in his State of the Society address at the ASPHO 27th Annual Meeting in Chicago. He also ...
James R. Downing, MD, Named CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has announced the appointment of James R. Downing, MD, as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective July 15, 2014. Dr. Downing most recently has served as the Deputy Director, Executive Vice President and Scientific Director of the hospital. Dr. Downing’s...
Prostate Cancer Biomarkers: Improvement in Predicting Clinically Significant Disease
Prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 233,000 American men in 2014. It is one of the leading causes of death by a cancer (killing ~29,500 men annually).1 Hundreds of thousands of men undergo prostate biopsies each year, most for either benign disease or for a cancer that will never lead to their...
From Ireland to America and Back, Patrick G. Johnston, MD, PhD, Thrives on Bringing Research Findings to Clinical Practice
Patrick G. Johnston, MD, PhD, FMedSci, Professor of Oncology and President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, grew up in Derry, a city in Northern Ireland. Derry is distinct in being Ireland’s only remaining fully intact walled city, considered one of the finest examples of a walled ...
Focus on the Ohio Hematology Oncology Society
The Ohio Hematology Oncology Society (OHOS) was formed 2 decades ago to advocate for and provide educational seminars and networking opportunities to hematologists and medical oncologists throughout the states of Ohio and West Virginia. Today, the society is focused on the needs of its nearly 200...
Swiss Medical Board Recommendation to End Mammography Screening: A Disturbing Proposal
Despite evidence from a number of prospective, randomized controlled trials showing that screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality, screening mammography has been the subject of continual debate, controversy, and conflicting guidelines. Recently, the Swiss Medical Board, tasked with...
Swiss Medical Board Members Discuss Recommendation to Phase Out Mammography Screening
In a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspective” article, Nikola Biller-Andorno, MD, PhD, of the University of Zurich and Harvard Medical School, and Peter Jüni, MD, of the University of Bern, provide the rationale for a recent report by the Swiss Medical Board advocating the phasing out of...
Federally Funded Trials Praised—and Underfunded
All four studies presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session were at least partially funded by federal dollars, bringing long overdue attention to the value of federally supported cancer research. Perhaps because of this high visibility, ASCO leaders took to the soapbox to sound the...
Impressive Delay in Thyroid Cancer Progression Achieved With Lenvatinib
The investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib reduced disease progression by 79%, as compared to placebo, in patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer that is refractory to radioactive iodine in the phase III SELECT trial. These findings were presented at the 2014 ASCO...
Take-Home Messages From ASCO's Immediate Past President
The ASCO Post recently spoke with ASCO Immediate Past President Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, about his term as ASCO President. Dr. Hudis discussed his thoughts on ASCO today and shared his perspective on a number of important issues in oncology, including value in cancer care, big data, and more....
Dignity, Personhood, and the Culture of Medicine
Cancer patients need more than good health care: they need health caring, according to palliative care specialist Harvey M. Chochinov, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit, CancerCare Manitoba. Health ...
Don Shula Foundation Donates $1.5 Million to Moffitt Cancer Center
The Don Shula Foundation is donating $1.5 million to Moffitt Cancer Center to establish The Don Shula Breast Cancer Research Fund (The Shula Fund). Scientists at Moffitt will use The Shula Fund to support cutting-edge research projects that will generate new treatment and prevention strategies for...
Book Excerpt: Family
I've witnessed incredible courage and zest for life among so many patients from so many walks of life—individuals committed to helping others in spite of their own adversity. Forty years ago, when survival for patients with multiple myeloma was a matter of months, I knew that every person I sat...
Using Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Palliative Care Clinical Practice
Incorporating patient-reported outcomes into the palliative care clinical setting can improve patients’ symptom management, quality of life, and overall communication with their oncologists, according to Ethan Basch, MD. Dr. Basch is Director of the Cancer Outcomes Research Program and Associate...
Facing Cancer Together
David sits at his desk, tapping angrily. He’s tired of his abusive, ignorant boss, the VP for regional sales. The man’s sales targets are absurdly high, he’s impossible to reach on the phone, his “motivational” speeches evoke the stress of Glengarry Glen Ross, and even his fake all-light-brown hair ...
Getting Results: How Oncologists and Pathologists Can Work Together to Facilitate Molecular Testing
Advances in molecular testing mean that highly specific information can be detailed about the molecular characteristics of a patient’s tumor, as well as indications of potential responsiveness to targeted therapy. But getting those detailed results from the pathologists can be a challenge to many...
FDA Approval of Ceritinib for the Treatment of ALK-Positive Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its policies and procedures. In this installment, FDA oncologists Sean Khozin, MD, MPH, and Dikran Kazandjian, MD, discuss anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small cell...
More Collaboration Needed Between Oncologists and Primary Care Physicians
One of the most important cancer survivorship issues is the transition from oncologist to the primary care setting. With a growing population of cancer survivors, patients need to feel secure about their primary care provider having the tools to address their special needs. To shed light on this...
Patience Remains a Virtue: The Ongoing Quest to Optimize Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer
The most recent ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline update—summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post—represents the latest chapter in the ongoing evolution of adjuvant endocrine therapy for hormone-sensitive breast cancer.1 Rather than including a comprehensive review of the 2010 guidelines, this...
MASCC Awards Honorary Lifetime Membership
The Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) has awarded Honorary Lifetime Membership status to Hans-Jürg Senn, MD, based on his commitment, vision, and extraordinary service to the Society and its publication Supportive Care in Cancer, according to Society News, the MASCC...
Tackling the Heterogeneity of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer is now recognized as a very complex subtype for which one treatment will not be applicable to all, according to Mohammad Jahanzeb, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami and Director of the UM Sylvester Deerfield Campus, who gave an update on...
Who Will Care for Patients With Cancer?
The workforce numbers show a disturbing trend. According to a recent study by ASCO, by 2025, overall demand for oncology services is projected to grow by 40%, but physician supply is predicted to increase by only 25%, generating a shortage of 2,258 oncologists providing full-time equivalent...
Survival Benefit of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Less Than 1% at 20 Years, but Numbers of Procedures Have Increased
For women with stage I and II breast cancer without BRCA mutations, the absolute 20-year survival benefit from contralateral prophylactic mastectomy was less than 1%, regardless of age, estrogen receptor status, and cancer stage, according to a decision analysis study using a Markov model to...
How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Partnering With Patient Advocates to Ensure Access to Oncology Care
Thomas P. Sellers, MPA, has been a tireless advocate for patients’ rights for more than 20 years. A 15-year prostate cancer survivor and only child, Mr. Sellers said it was his mother’s death from lung cancer when she was 51, followed by the death of his father from glioblastoma multiforme that led ...
A Conversation With Lidia Schapira, MD, the New JCO Art of Oncology Editor
The popular Art of Oncology (AOO) section of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) brings a human perspective to the art and science of practicing oncology. Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, became the Art of Oncology...
The Role of Integrated Palliative Care in Radiation Oncology
Three years ago, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, launched a Supportive and Palliative Radiation Oncology (SPRO) program to integrate generalist palliative oncology services, including the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of care, into radiation...
Treating Multiple Myeloma in 2014
The field of multiple myeloma is rapidly changing, and the shifts that are occurring impact the management of these patients, from initial diagnosis through multiple relapses. At the 9th Annual New Orleans Summer Cancer Meeting, Sergio A. Giralt, MD, Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant...
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy an Effective Option for Early-Stage Lung Cancer Patients
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is safe and effective in early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as it confers local control in 90% or more patients with T1 disease, according to Roy Decker, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale Cancer...
How Evolutionary Game Theory Is Offering Clues to Disrupt Cancer Cell Metabolism
Kenneth J. Pienta, MD, and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore are using the principles of evolutionary game theory to learn how cancer cells cooperate within a tumor to gather energy and metastasize. Game theory, the mathematic study of strategic decision-making that is commonly...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Launches Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy Programs for Terminally Ill Patients, Cancer Survivors, and Caregivers
Although most major cancer centers in the United States offer support groups and individual counseling sessions to help patients with cancer cope with their disease and treatment, over the past decade Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York has broadened its psycho-oncology programs to...
Breast Cancer Has Led Me to Careers in Activism and Filmmaking
The last thing I expected to find when I returned home after a summer vacation celebrating my 50th birthday was a letter from my gynecologist saying the routine mammogram I had before I left found suspicious-looking calcifications in my right breast and that I should see a surgeon right away. Being ...
I Work for You
The following essay by James O. Armitage, MD, is excerpted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was co-edited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and at thebigcasino.org. The ...
Optimal Chemoradiotherapy Dosing and Recurrence After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Explored in Lung Cancer Webinar
Cetuximab (Erbitux) added no survival benefit to chemoradiation in stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results reported in a Plenary Session of the 2013 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Sydney, Australia.1 It was the second surprise result from the Radiation Therapy...
Disparities Persist in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treatment, MD Anderson Study Finds
Despite its acceptance as standard of care for early-stage breast cancer almost 25 years ago, barriers still exist that preclude patients from receiving breast-conserving therapy, with some patients still opting for a mastectomy, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer ...
Will Oncologists Be the First to Cure Heart Disease?
Oncologists love jargon—a language peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group that facilitates communication among members. Our day-to-day communications, medical notes, and journal reports are filled with this type of jargon. Other definitions of jargon are less flattering, including...
Treating Sarcomas in 2014
In 2014, about 15,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with some form of sarcoma, and of those, approximately 5,000 adults and children are expected to die of the disease. Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal malignancies that have historically been difficult to diagnose...
