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Showing 12301 - 12350A Conversation with Craig B. Thompson, MD
In November 2010, Craig B. Thompson, MD, was named President and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York, succeeding Harold Varmus, MD, who is now Director of the NCI. A cancer clinician and researcher, before coming to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Dr. Thompson was Director of...
Researchers Explore Reasons for Higher Risk of Triple-negative Breast Cancer in Underserved African-American Women
Triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease, has a bad reputation, and among socioeconomically disadvantaged black women, that reputation is especially well deserved. In fact, according to Lisa A. Newman, MD, Director of the Breast Care Center, University of...
Expert Point of View: ‘Breakthrough’ Approach to Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma via Inhibition of Hedgehog Pathway
“Vismodegib is a breakthrough for advanced basal cell carcinoma. These responses were convincing and spectacular, with a clinical benefit in more than 80% of patients and progression-free survival of 10 months,” said Caroline Robert, MD, Institut Gustav Roussy, Villejuif Paris-Sud, France, who was...
‘Breakthrough’ Approach to Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma via Inhibition of Hedgehog Pathway
The first-in-class Hedgehog pathway inhibitor vismodegib appears to be a successful treatment for advanced basal cell carcinoma, a disfiguring and debilitating disease, according to a pivotal multicenter nonrandomized trial presented as a Best Abstract at a Presidential Session during the recent...
Expert Point of View: Lessening Patients’ Suffering at the End of Life
In her interview with The ASCO Post, Judith Redwing Keyssar, RN, sheds light on easing the suffering of patients facing the end of life. Although what she says is appropriate for patients who are clearly dying, I would emphasize that palliative care is also pertinent to patients who are not...
A Conversation with Judith Redwing Keyssar, RN
The number of patients seeking hospice and palliative care has grown significantly since 1974, when the NCI funded the first hospice facility in Branford, Connecticut. Nevertheless, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 85% of Americans still die in hospitals or nursing homes....
Geriatric Oncology, a Much Needed Discipline for Future Cancer Care
The U.S. health-care system, with its rapidly aging population, faces a multitude of difficult clinical and financial challenges in caring for its burgeoning population of older patients with cancer. Moreover, age-related social and medical issues among older patients need to be addressed by a...
Impact of Basic Science Advances on Cancer Management Highlighted at AACR Conference
New research in basic science labs coupled with advanced information technology is leading to a more sophisticated understanding of the causes of cancer, how it progresses, and potential methods of treatment, said Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, Nobel Laureate and Chairperson of the Second Annual...
Investigators Unlocking the Mysteries of Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute have documented the molecular activity through which the Merkel cell polyomavirus contributes to 80% of cases of Merkel cell carcinoma—a finding that holds promise for future therapies. The researchers are now working on testing more than ...
American Society of Hematology Recognizes Christoph Klein, MD, PhD, with William Dameshek Prize
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will honor Christoph Klein, MD, PhD, of Children’s Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, with the 2011 William Dameshek Prize, at the upcoming Annual Meeting in San Diego. Dr. Klein is being recognized by ASH for his many...
Biosimilars in Cancer Treatment: What Should the Oncology Community Expect?
Alternative versions of biologic agents, ie, “biosimilars,” will presumably be getting the green light by the FDA, giving oncologists more choices for treatments that come at lower costs to patients and society. The FDA plans to issue its guidance on biosimilars by the end of this year, paving the...
Test for AML Prognosis Cleared by FDA
Abbott announced today it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for a new in vitro diagnostic test to aid in determining the prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) Abbott’s Vysis EGR1 FISH Probe Kit, the third Abbott fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay approved or...
VGX-100 Investigational New Drug Application Approved
The Australian biotechnology company Circadian Technologies announced that its subsidiary, Vegenics Pty Ltd, has received approval for its investigational new drug (IND) application from the FDA to initiate clinical trials of VGX-100. The first phase I trial will study VGX-100 in patients with a...
ASCO in Action Online: Your Source for Policy News and Information
The recently enhanced ASCO in Action site ascoaction.asco.org is a one-stop source for the latest policy news related to quality cancer care and research. Whether it is information about legislation that affects cancer patients or oncology practices, easy links to ASCO’s recent policy positions,...
Oncology’s Only Benchmark Report, National Practice Benchmark, Is Now a Yearly JOP Supplement
Would it surprise you to learn that 40% of your peers in oncology who responded to a survey last year have a certified electronic medical record system in place? Or that 86% of them are in physician-owned practices? Or that the average number of full-time equivalent hematology/oncology physicians...
Sunitinib and Everolimus: New Indications in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors
With In the Clinic, The ASCO Post 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. Sunitinib Indication—The oral kinase inhibitor...
NCCN Guidelines® for Lung Cancer Screening Now Available
The new NCCN Guidelines for Lung Cancer Screening primarily refer to non–small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer, and recommend helical low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for select patients at high risk for the disease. In addition to outlining the appropriate use of ...
Predictive Biomarker for Bevacizumab: Are We Getting Closer?
The need to identify a biomarker to guide treatment with bevacizumab (Avastin) is abundantly clear, and studies presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress suggest this goal may be in sight. “Finding predictive biomarkers is a challenge, but there are candidates,” said Eric Van ...
Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy May Extend Survival for Patients with Esophagogastric Junction Adenocarcinoma
Several American and European clinical trials have yielded mixed results on the survival advantage of preoperative chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced esophagogastric junction adenonocarcinoma. However, a distinguished panel at the 2011 ASTRO Annual Meeting did agree that surgery...
NCCN Meeting Addresses Issues in Hematologic Malignancies
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 6th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, held recently in New York, included reviews of the management of hematologic diseases as well as discussions of outstanding issues in the field. The following is a synopsis of some of the important...
Novel HDAC Inhibitor May Restore Estrogen Sensitivity in Breast Cancer
The addition of the investigational histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor entinostat significantly delayed breast cancer progression and showed a trend for a survival benefit in the phase II ENCORE 301 study. The study was conducted in women with advanced estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer...
Expert Point of View: Aflibercept Improves Overall Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
David Kerr, MD, of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, who is also President of the European Society of Medical Oncology, formally discussed the study, which he called “well designed and well conducted.” He applauded the investigators for performing a preplanned subgroup analysis with a...
Aflibercept Improves Overall Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The novel fusion protein aflibercept added to standard chemotherapy led to an overall survival benefit in a global phase III trial of second-line metastatic colorectal cancer, reported at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm.1 “Adding aflibercept to FOLFIRI [leucovorin,...
Neural Stem Cell Transplantation May Improve Cognitive Function in Brain Cancer
The potentially devastating long-term consequences on cognitive function in patients with brain cancer following cranial irradiation led Charles L. Limoli, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Irvine, to study neural stem cell transplantation and how the procedure may...
My Cancer Is Incurable, but My Future Is Limitless
Cancer has nearly always been part of my life. When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The doctors told my parents that unless I was treated immediately, I wouldn’t live longer than a month. Over the next 3 years, I underwent intensive courses of chemotherapy and...
Researchers Find Remarkable Heterogeneity in Sarcomas
Does one size fit all for the treatment of sarcoma? The answer is a resounding “no,” according to Jean-Yves Blay, MD, Department of Medicine, Université Claude Bernard, and Unité INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research Unit), Lyon, France. Researchers have been able to classify...
SIDEBAR: Patient Advocates Form Huge Presence at EMCC 2011
Patient advocate and two-time breast cancer survivor Kathi Apostolidis from Greece spoke at a session on patients’ and physicians’ use of social media. “Social media is not a fad. It has real value,” she said. She uses social media to connect with oncologists and policymakers across the globe, and...
Twitter Dominates Social Media Buzz at Stockholm Meeting
There was a time when clinical trial results were disseminated mainly through peer-reviewed journals that appeared in your mailbox. Computers and prompt reporting from medical conferences changed that, and same-day postings on medical websites brought “breaking news” a step closer. But the...
Reflections from The ASCO Post
The editors gratefully acknowledge all contributors to The ASCO Post and thank the columnists who contributed to Volume 2, January–December 2011: Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP Richard Boxer, MD, FACS Carlton G. Brown, RN, PhD, AOCN Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD E. David Crawford, MD Emil J. Freireich, MD, ...
Improving Quality and Safety with Health Information Technology
A well-documented flaw in paper-based health care is the propensity for medical errors. According to Blackford Middleton, MD, MPH, MSc, implementing clinical decision support software can decrease medical error, improve outcomes, and lower the costs of care. Presenting a session titled “Improving...
American Society of Hematology Elects New Officers
The American Society of Hematology announced the election of three new members to its Executive Committee, the governing body of the organization, for terms to begin in January 2012. Linda J. Burns, MD, will serve a 1-year term as Vice President, followed by successive terms as President-Elect and...
Male Breast Cancer Differs from Breast Cancer in Women, but Little Data Informs Treatment
Although a rare occurrence, men do get breast cancer, and when they do, it has a distinct biology from that of female breast cancer. About 90% of cases most closely resemble postmenopausal female invasive ductal carcinoma, and 10% are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which accounts for 25% of...
Journal of Oncology Practice Explores Use of Palliative Care in Practice
A recent issue of the Journal of Oncology Practice features a special series of articles on palliative care and end-of-life issues in the oncology practice setting. Articles explore the integration of palliative care services in ambulatory settings, unique delivery mechanisms for palliative care,...
Clinical Cancer Advances 2011: ASCO’s Report on Progress Against Cancer
This year marks the 40th anniversary ofthe National Cancer Act and places a more prominent focus on how much progress against cancer has been made over the past 4 decades. In the past year alone, significant advances have been made in cancer prevention and screening, hard-to-treat cancers, and...
2012 GU Cancers Symposium to Reflect the Field’s Focus on Personalized Cancer Care
The 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, to be held in San Francisco February 2–4, will feature some exciting advancements in the field that center on personalized cancer care. “The major cancer discussed at the meeting tends to be prostate cancer, and there hasn’t yet been a lot of specific...
ASCO Issues Blueprint for Transforming Cancer Research in the ‘Molecular Era’
On November 3, ASCO issued a new report that lays out ASCO’s vision for transforming clinical and translational research to deliver more effective and personalized cancer therapies faster. The report, Accelerating Progress Against Cancer: ASCO’s Blueprint for Transforming Clinical and Translational ...
ASCO Helps Survivors Transition into Life after Treatment with New Booklet
Progress against cancer has helped save or extend the lives of millions of patients. Thanks to advances in medical research, there are about 12 million cancer survivors today in the United States. For patients transitioning back into everyday life after surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or...
Medical Students Can Now Be ASCO Members, Thanks to an Intern Who Pressed
ASCO has just added a membership category for medical students, spurred on by—you guessed it—a medical student. Daniel G. Stover, MD, knew he wanted to go into oncology from very early on. But when he contacted ASCO to join as an intern, having just graduated from Vanderbilt School of Medicine, he...
Lessons from a Northern Neighbor: A Conversation with Joseph M. Connors, MD
Policy analysts searching for a better understanding of health-care models often compare the cancer delivery systems of Canada and the United States. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer,...
Gathering Data Point to Potential Advantages of Vismodegib in Basal Cell Carcinoma and Other Advanced Cancers
Vismodegib is a small-molecule, orally active hedgehog pathway inhibitor that has shown considerable promise in treating basal cell carcinoma and is currently being evaluated alone and in combination in early-phase trials in medulloblastoma and a long list of other cancers.1 Owing to its...
Important Briefs from the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress
Nearly 16,000 people from 16 countries attended this year’s European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, held recently in Stockholm. The ASCO Post has featured several key reports from the meeting and will offer further coverage in upcoming issues. Additional noteworthy studies presented at the...
New Drug Approved to Treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
The FDA has approved asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze) to treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who have developed hypersensitivity to Escherichia coli–derived asparaginase (Elspar) and pegaspargase (Oncaspar). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most commonly diagnosed...
2011 in Review: Oncology Drugs/Indications Newly Approved by FDA
At press time, the FDA had granted approval for the following new agents and indications for cancer treatment in 2011. Asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze) as a component of a multiagent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients who have...
A Conversation with Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD
Last September, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, a leading scholar in bioethics and health-care policy, was named the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor and Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His appointment will be shared between ...
FDA Announces Bevacizumab Decision: Agency Will Revoke Breast Cancer Indication
On November 18, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said she is revoking the agency’s approval of the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin) after concluding that the drug has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use. Bevacizumab will remain on the market as an...
Benefits of Radiation after Breast-conserving Surgery Cut Risk of Recurrence in Half
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. “After breast-conserving surgery,...
MD Anderson Cancer Center’s New President Has a Bold Vision
On September 1, 2011, Ronald A. DePinho, MD, became only the fourth President in the 70-year history of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. DePinho spent the previous 14 years as head of Dana-Farber’s Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. In a recent interview...
The Newly Diagnosed Patient with Cancer and Access to Care
A study presented at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting raised concerns that newly diagnosed cancer patients are having trouble seeing an oncologist. Interviews with several cancer centers and community practices, however, suggest that the process runs smoothly, for the most part. Majority of Patients...
Physician-based Screening Leads to the Detection of Thinner Melanomas with More Favorable Prognosis
Physician-based screening leads to detection of thinner melanomas that were less likely to have negative prognostic attributes such as ulceration and dermal mitosis, according to a retrospective review of patient records and biopsy logs from 394 patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma. The...
Help Your Patients Start Off Healthy in 2012
The beginning of a new year is an opportunity for a fresh start for many, including people with cancer. To help your patients set and achieve their health and wellness goals, direct them to Cancer.Net (www.cancer.net), ASCO’s patient website, where they can learn about seven steps for a healthier...
