Case Summary presented by Steven M. Horwitz, MD, Assistant Attending, Lymphoma Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. This is a case of a 49-year-old woman who developed an enlarged right axillary lymph node. The woman had noticed some discomfort under her right arm, which she...
Case Summary presented by Andreas Engert, MD, Chairman, German Hodgkin Study Group, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany This is a case report of a 23-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2009. She received two cycles of ABVD (doxorubicin,...
Case Summaries presented by Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Director, Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, British Columbia Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada When considering the management of a patient whose Hodgkin lymphoma has relapsed despite high dose...
“This is a very exciting time in melanoma,” said Michael Sabel, MD, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. “For years, we chugged along with few options for systemic therapy. Then in 2010 and 2011, we saw melanoma data presented at ASCO plenary sessions. At ASCO 2012, we expanded in these areas...
The novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor tivozanib was superior to sorafenib (Nexavar) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma in the phase III TIVO-1 trial.1 Tivozanib is a potent, selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, with a long half-life that is...
Three emerging agents for castration-resistant prostate cancer are extending lives and defining their roles in the treatment scenario, according to William Oh, MD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, who commented on new data at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting. “We are talking about...
Continuous androgen deprivation therapy remains the standard of care for newly diagnosed hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer, according to the phase III Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) 9346 intergroup trial presented at this year’s ASCO Plenary Session.1 Study Rationale The large...
Key colorectal cancer studies presented at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting are changing the treatment landscape in this disease, according to Michael Overman, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who reviewed the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. The mix included...
Second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors as initial therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) continue to prove their worth by demonstrating protection against disease progression and by producing increasingly “higher quality” remissions, said Attaya Suvannasankha, MD, of Indiana University...
As tyrosinse kinase inhibitors become increasingly effective in treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), major molecular responses (≥ 3-log reduction in BCR-ABL transcripts) are being achieved for a growing percentage of patients. “In the new era of tyrosinse kinase inhibitors, we are learning how...
Data from the RESORT and its planned subanalysis can guide oncologists in optimizing treatment for indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with low–tumor burden advanced-stage disease, according to Michael E. Williams, MD, of the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville. The phase III...
The treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients has been recently informed by several important studies, which were discussed at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting by Michael E. Williams, MD, of the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville. Bendamustine Outperforms R-CHOP in NHL...
Lapatinib has shown some efficacy against existing brain metastases in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer but not in preventing them in the first place, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller...
In a study presented at the ASCO Plenary Session, trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), the antibody-drug conjugate linking trastuzumab (Herceptin) to a cytotoxic agent, improved progression-free survival by 3.2 months, representing a 35% reduction in risk of progression in the phase III EMILIA trial.1...
While novel targeted agents may grab the headlines in the treatment of breast cancer, oncologists still debate the optimal delivery of conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, still a vital component of treatment. At the Best of ASCO Boston meeting, Steven J. Isakoff, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General...
Research reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting attests to the tremendous molecular diversity of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the power of appropriately selected treatment, according to Leora Horn, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who presented data on molecular findings...
Three Best of ASCO meetings were held over the summer in Chicago, Boston, and San Diego. The faculty distilled the most interesting and immediately applicable data from the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting, provided personal perspectives, and interacted with attendees for an educational experience that was ...
October 2012 14th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer SocietyOctober 13-16 • Vancouver, Canada For more information: www2.kenes.com/igcs2012/Pages/home.aspx 13th World Congress of the International Society for Diseases of the EsophagusOctober 15-17 • Venice, Italy For more...
The VITAL study generated a host of questions about vitamin D among ASCO Annual Meeting attendees, including whether the study’s findings are ready for clinical application, according to Debra L. Barton, RN, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, speaking at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
The year 2012 was “a banner year for symptom management,” according to Debra L. Barton, RN, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, who presented data on patient and survivor care at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. “I have been doing symptom management for about 20 years, and it seems...
Adjuvant radiotherapy for patients with parotid acinic cell carcinoma “does not confer a therapeutic advantage in low-grade and early-stage tumors if resection is complete,” but the benefit for patients with higher-grade or higher-stage disease is uncertain because there were few of these patients...
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. Over the past few weeks, Stanley L....
Two research teams at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, have each been awarded grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of their “Provocative Questions” program. The innovative effort is...
Vandetanib (Caprelsa) is an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor, and rearranged during transfection (RET) tyrosine kinase receptors. It has been approved by regulatory agencies for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic medullary thyroid...
Antioxidant supplements are widely used by healthy individuals as a preventive measure against cancer and heart disease and by patients with cancer to promote healing and prevent recurrence. Studies suggest that dietary supplements are used by up to 81% of cancer survivors, and that 14% to 32%...
“It almost always begins in darkness, my memory’s trip back to China where Terrence and I meet.” So begins Amanda Bennett’s moving new memoir, The Cost of Hope, the story of an intensely devoted marriage, cruelly shortened by the cancer that killed her husband. The word “darkness” in Ms. Bennett’s...
Key studies on cancer epidemiology and prevention delivered both reassuring and not-so-reassuring findings on exposure to agents believed to be cancer-promoting. Kala Visvanathan, MD, MHS, of The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Baltimore,...
“We are beginning to understand the molecular biology underlying a portion of the 80 or so subtypes of sarcomas, and we hope this will lead to subtype-specific treatments,” said William D. Tap, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting. “And in...
The latest research in head and neck cancer reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting presents a mixed picture, according to George R. Blumenschein, Jr, MD, Associate Professor at The Unviersity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, who presented the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
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 August 31, enzalutamide (Xtandi) was approved for the ...
The androgen receptor–signaling inhibitor enzalutamide (Xtandi) is reported to differ from conventional antiandrogen agents in that it inhibits androgen receptor nuclear translocation, DNA binding, and coactivator recruitment, has a greater affinity for the androgen receptor, and induces tumor...
The theme of this year’s key abstracts on central nervous system tumors is that “perseverance and analysis of long-term outcomes lead to practice-changing results and important insights,” according to Eric L. Chang, MD, of the USC Norris Cancer Hospital and Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, who ...
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 September 4, 2012, bosutinib (Bosulif) was approved...
Bosutinib (Bosulif) is an oral dual Src/Abl kinase inhibitor that is active against many Bcr-Abl mutations associated with imatinib (Gleevec) resistance and that has reduced activity against nonspecific molecular targets associated with toxicities reported for other second-generation kinase...
In June 3, 1948, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study by Sidney Farber, MD, showing that a synthetic compound, 4-aminopteroylglutamic acid (aminopterin), could induce remissions in seriously ill children with acute leukemia.1 Although the study was small—just 16 children—10 showed...
Cancer therapy, including radiation and chemotherapy, can be harmful to multiple organ systems. The central nervous system (CNS) has generally been considered less vulnerable to the toxic effects of cancer therapy. However, the use of more aggressive treatment modalities combined with prolonged...
Neuropathy is a common and potentially disabling adverse effect of taxane therapy, particularly weekly paclitaxel. A number of recent studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms that appear to increase risk of grade 2 to 4 neuropathy in patients with breast cancer who receive taxanes....
With treatment advances, there are now fewer absolutes in managing locally advanced NSCLC, according to Dr. Reckamp. “We are moving toward treating performance status 2 patients, and obviously, that is a heterogeneous group of people,” she elaborated. “For those who need a lot of care, you need to...
This year, we have some abstracts that help move things forward in lung cancer, maybe at a little bit slower pace than in previous years. But there are important points that we can learn from some of these abstracts,” commented Karen L. Reckamp, MD, of the City of Hope, who presented findings on...
Contradicting what some previous investigations have found, a study from The US Oncology Network found that adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer does not increase the risk of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (AML/MDS), at least within the first 3 years of treatment.1 The...
Anthracycline use in early-stage breast cancer has been steadily declining, especially for patients with stage I/II or HER2-positive disease, according to an analysis of patients treated at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.1 Treatment Alternatives Lead author...
The noncolorectal gastrointestinal cancer studies selected for this year’s Best of ASCO meetings include some whose results are being folded into practice guidelines or are good candidates for incorporation, according to Alexandria T. Phan, MD, Associate Professor at The University of Texas MD...
Speakers at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 7th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies reviewed the current standard of care for various hematologic cancers and explored new concepts in treatment. Below are highlights from presentations on chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML),...
During the first week of November 2011, President Obama signed an Executive Order directing the FDA to take steps to help resolve the drug shortages that were affecting patient care across the country. The oncology community was hit especially hard; many of the drug shortfalls were generic...
The annual Breast Cancer Symposium, held September 13 to 15 in San Francisco, is jointly sponsored by ASCO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Breast Disease, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the National Consortium of Breast Cancers, and the Society of...
Pathologic nodal status/breast tumor response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be used to predict locoregional recurrence in women with operable, palpable breast cancer (T1-3, N0-1, M0) previously treated with mastectomy or lumpectomy plus radiotherapy. These results from the combined...
Then writer and editor Babette Rosmond was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1971, the second wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement that began in the mid-1960s was in its infancy. Still, when told by her doctor that she would need a radical mastectomy—a procedure developed by William Stewart...
In 1994, a landmark study of pain among oncology outpatients prompted a host of pain management initiatives.1 More than 18 years later, a recent study among more than 2,000 cancer outpatients has found that “one-third of the patients who had pain or used analgesics received inadequate treatment for ...
Although health-care experts routinely agree that the rising costs of oncology services are untenable, there is disagreement about how to reduce expenditures without harming access and quality of care. At this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting, Thomas J. Smith, MD, FACP, offered some interesting ideas...
The positive findings from the NOVEL trial add to the debate about how intravenous (IV) chemotherapy stacks up against intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy when treating ovarian cancer and the role of dose-dense approaches in general, according to Jonathan S. Berek, MD, of the Stanford Women’s Cancer...