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Showing 12351 - 12400KEYNOTE-045 Studying Pembrolizumab in Advanced Bladder Cancer Meets Primary Endpoint and Stops Early
Merck announced October 21, 2016, that the phase III KEYNOTE-045 trial investigating the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the company’s anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) therapy in patients with previously treated advanced urothelial cancer, met the primary endpoint of overall ...
CancerLinQ™ Platform Hits Milestone of Having More Than 1 Million Patient Records in System
CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly-owned nonprofit of ASCO, announced on October 20, 2016, that more than 1 million patient records are now in the CancerLinQ™ platform. In addition, 70 practices have signed agreements to participate in CancerLinQ, representing more than 1,500 oncologists. “We...
ASCO Applauds MACRA’s Focus on High-Quality, Patient-Centered Care
Editor’s note: As The ASCO Post went to press, the Department of Health & Human Services finalized a landmark new payment system for Medicare clinicians. The system, known as MACRA, (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015), replaces the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate and will...
Minimal Residual Disease Assessment and Prediction of Outcome in CLL Responders
Assessment of minimal residual disease was associated with improved prediction of outcome in responders, as well as complete responders, in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who respond to treatment. Kovacs et al reported these findings, which are based on an analysis of two phase...
Venetoclax Monotherapy Safe and Clinically Active in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
A phase II study has found venetoclax (Venclexta) to be clinically active in patients with high-risk relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or those unfit for intensive chemotherapy, with an overall response rate of 19% and a tolerable safety profile. The study results, which were...
Similar Functional Outcomes With Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic and Open Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy
Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy and open radical retropubic prostatectomy yielded similar domain-specific quality-of-life or pathologic outcomes at 12 weeks in men with newly diagnosed, clinically localized prostate cancer, according to the results of a randomized phase III trial reported ...
Pembrolizumab in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Laura Q. Chow, MD, of the University of Washington, and colleagues, a fixed-dose reduced-frequency pembrolizumab (Keytruda) regimen produced durable responses in the phase IB KEYNOTE-012 expansion cohort of patients with recurrent or metastatic...
Genetic Characteristics of Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Cancers
Next-generation sequencing of recurrent or metastatic head and neck tumors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) has provided insight into the molecular characteristics of these tumors, which may aid in the implementation of precision treatment. Luc G. Morris, MD, MSc, of Memorial Sloan...
Key Guideline Recommendations
Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing is recommended in all resource settings; visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) may be used in the basic setting as a “stepping stone” that helps build health service capacity until HPV testing becomes available. Although cotesting with HPV and Papanicolaou...
ASCO Issues Global Recommendations to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening
Earlier this month, ASCO issued a new global guideline on screening for cervical cancer.1 The guideline provides evidence-based recommendations for screening, follow-up of positive screening results, and treatment of women with cervical precancers in countries worldwide. ASCO’s guideline...
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Selects Moffitt Cancer Center as One of Five Cell Therapies Processing Facilities
Moffitt Cancer Center has been selected as a Cell Therapies Processing Facility by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Moffitt is one of five institutions that make up the NHLBI’s Production Assistance for Cellular Therapies group. The...
Study Finds African American Cancer Survivors More Likely to Experience Lasting Debt Related to Cancer and Its Treatment
African American cancer survivors are more likely than whites to experience lasting debt or forgo necessary medical care as they struggle with the financial burden of cancer, whereas white cancer survivors are somewhat more likely to use existing assets to pay for their cancer care, according to a...
Affordable Care Act Increased Access to Cancer Care and Clinical Trial Participation Among Hispanics in California
Implementation of the Affordable Care Act may have led to a significant increase in the number of Hispanic breast cancer patients treated in California at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. Further, there was also an increase reported in the number of Hispanic women who...
Face Mask for Radiation Therapy
By the 1930s, the dangers of radiation were well known. American Martyr’s to Science Through the Roentgen Rays, published in 1936, documented the dead heroes of American radiology, from Clarence Daly, Thomas Edison’s associate, to Elizabeth Fleischman, the only woman in the group, who was a U.S....
2016-2017 Oncology Meetings
OCTOBER 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer SocietyOctober 29-31 • Lisbon, PortugalFor more information:http://igcs2016.com NOVEMBER 2016 Oncofertility Conference: Expanding Access to Emerging and Existing Oncofertility ServicesNovember 1-3 • Chicago, Illinois For more...
New American Cancer Society Report Reveals Gaps, Identifies Unique Barriers in Pediatric Cancer Research
A first-of-its-kind joint report from the American Cancer Society and the Alliance for Childhood Cancer has compiled the latest information related to pediatric cancer, including statistics and trends; a current list of drugs used to treat pediatric cancers; ongoing pediatric cancer clinical...
A Cancer Diagnosis Brings Two Sisters Back Together
Elizabeth Lesser is an award-winning writer and co-founder of the Omega Institute, the largest adult education center in the United States focusing on health, wellness, spirituality, and creativity. She is the author of several acclaimed books including Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help...
Cedars-Sinai Appoints Robert A. Figlin, MD, to Lead New Initiative to Integrate Cancer Care Across Health System
Cedars-Sinai recently announced it has appointed Robert A. Figlin, MD, to integrate research and clinical strategies across the organization in an effort to standardize cancer care and ensure optimal treatment of patients. Dr. Figlin will serve as Deputy Director of the Integrated Oncology Service ...
Dexamethasone Mouth Rinse Should Be Routine Part of Everolimus Treatment
Dexamethasone mouth rinse should be given prophylactically to prevent stomatitis associated with everolimus (Afinitor)/exemestane in metastatic breast cancer, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, principal investigator of the SWISH trial and Director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at...
Palliative Care Still in Its Infancy in Hematologic Malignancies
Palliative care is slowly but surely being integrated into the treatment of patients with solid tumors, but its role in the hematopoietic stem cell transplant setting is still lagging, speakers said at the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium. “There is a huge symptom burden among patients...
New NCCN Patient Resources Assist Decision-Making for Patients With Stomach Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that more than 26,000 people will be diagnosed with stomach cancer in the United States this year, with nearly 1 million new cases diagnosed worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization. Because there are no early symptoms ...
Using Pharmacogenetics to Predict Cancer Prognosis, Response to Treatment, and Toxicity
Although clinical trials are helpful in determining the effectiveness of a specific drug across a patient population, they are not as reliable at pinpointing how well a particular patient will respond to the drug or dosing regimen or how the drug may impact the patient’s quality of life from...
ESMO 2016: Longer Interval Between Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy and Surgery Urged in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
A longer waiting interval from the end of preoperative chemoradiotherapy to surgery increases the rate of pathologic complete response and yields a higher proportion of patients achieving tumor downstaging in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, according to new findings from a...
Sanford Research in South Dakota Receives NIH Grant in Head and Neck, Pediatric Cancers
The Cancer Biology Research Center at Sanford Research in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is the recipient of a 5-year, nearly $11.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to translate laboratory research into clinical trials for head and neck and pediatric cancers. The grant was...
Rise in Oropharyngeal Cancer Incidence in the UK Not Solely Driven by HPV
The rise in the incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2011 was not solely attributable to a rise in the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive disease, according to a study published in Cancer Research,1 which reported that the proportion of ...
ESMO 2016: Dabrafenib/Trametinib/Panitumumab Improves Efficacy in BRAF Mutation–Positive Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and tumors harboring the BRAF V600E mutation who received triple therapy with dabrafenib (Tafinlar), trametinib (Mekinist), and panitumumab (Vectibix) showed an improved best overall response and prolonged progression-free survival compared to...
Barriers and Opportunities Reported in the Study of Human Papillomavirus Education and Immunization Efforts
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates remain low across the United States, with fewer than 40% of girls and just over 21% of boys receiving the recommended vaccine series. Research from Roswell Park Cancer Institute has identified barriers that need to be overcome to improve vaccination...
ESMO 2016: Vemurafenib Shows Clinical Benefit in Diverse BRAF V600–Mutated Tumors
Findings from a phase II trial of vemurafenib in previously treated patients with advanced disease and BRAF-mutated tumors indicate that the drug is effective in patients with diverse BRAF V600–mutated tumors but not in patients with BRAF non-V600 mutations. After a mean treatment...
Precision Promise Clinical Trial Focuses on Precision Medicine, Collaboration, and Data-Sharing in Pancreatic Cancer
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network recently announced Precision Promise, the first large-scale precision medicine trial designed to transform outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer. The organization also announced the 12 initial Precision Promise Clinical Trial Consortium sites selected to...
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Sanger Institute, UK Agree to Full Exchange of Cancer Data
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK, have agreed to a full exchange of cancer mutation data to support the discovery and understanding of genetic mutations causing cancers. The agreement will provide regular updates and exchanges of data between both...
What We Know and What We Need to Know About Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer
Ever since the landmark studies of Griffiths and colleagues in the 1970s,1 primary cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy with the objective of achieving minimal residual disease has been the standard approach for women with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. However, what is...
Expert Point of View: Olivier Michielin, MS, MD, PhD
The paper’s invited discussant was Olivier Michielin, MS, MD, PhD, Head of Personalized Analytical Oncology and the Melanoma Clinic at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland. He called the findings of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment (EORTC) 18071 trial a “new landmark in...
Quality Science at ESMO 2016
Andrés Cervantes, MD, PhD, Scientific Chair of the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, concluded the meeting earlier this month by recognizing a number of important take-home messages. At a closing press conference, Dr. Cervantes noted that the “ESMO 2016 Congress has...
Mount Sinai and Thomas Jefferson University Researchers Receive Falk Foundation Grant to Study Uveal Melanoma
Uveal melanoma is the second most common type of skin cancer. Approximately 50% of patients with uveal melanoma will develop metastasis, most commonly to the liver. The disease can appear more than 10 years after the primary lesion has been removed, lying dormant for long periods. There are...
UPMC Honors Stanley M. Marks, MD, With Endowed Chair in Hematology/Oncology Leadership
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) announced that Stanley M. Marks, MD, oncologist and advocate for cancer patients throughout the western Pennsylvania region, is being honored by the UPMC and his medical partners at Oncology Hematology Association (OHA) through the establishment...
Huntsman Cancer Institute Names Ben Tanner Executive Director
University of Utah Health Care (UUHC) has named Ben Tanner, Huntsman Cancer Institute’s current Director of Clinical Operations and Chief Operating Officer (COO), as the Institute’s Executive Director, replacing Ray Lynch, who is retiring after 13 years of service. Mr. Tanner has been COO of the...
With Changing Strategies for Laryngeal Cancer, Multidisciplinary Team Approach Is Key
The treatment of cancer of the larynx has changed dramatically in recent years. With organ preservation now possible in many cases, it is more important than ever for patients to receive guidance from every corner of the field. In a recent article in the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP),1 a...
NIH Expands National Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced awards to add four regional medical center groups to the national network of health-care provider organizations that will implement the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program. Combined, the new health-care provider organizations will...
German Society Salutes ‘Big Four’ for Pioneering Work in Women’s Health Care
Diethelm Wallwiener, MD, President of the German Society for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, announced “The Big Four of the Millennium” at the 61st Congress of the Society, held recently in Stuttgart, Germany. The award recognizes individuals’ whose work in the 20th century created the standards of...
Breast Cancer Study Finds Higher Mortality Rate in Black Women Than White Women, and the Disparity Is Growing
The Avon Foundation for Women recently released a new study on the racial disparities in breast cancer mortality in the 50 largest cities in the United States between 2005 and 2014. Published in Cancer Epidemiology,1 the study was conducted by Sinai Urban Health Institute in collaboration with the...
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Olaratumab for Treatment of Advanced Soft-Tissue Sarcoma
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to olaratumab (Lartruvo) in combination with doxorubicin to treat adults with certain types of soft-tissue sarcoma. Olaratumab is approved for use with the FDA-approved chemotherapy drug doxorubicin for the treatment of ...
NCCN Issues New Clinical Practice Guidelines for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
Myeloproliferative neoplasms are a group of blood cancers characterized by significant symptoms and a high risk of transformation into acute leukemia. These cancers—myelofibrosis, essential thrombocythemia, and polycythemia vera—affect approximately 13,000; 134,000; and 148,000 patients in the...
Nancy E. Davidson, MD, to Lead Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced that Nancy E. Davidson, MD, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, has accepted the position of Executive Director of the Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium—1 of the 47 National Cancer Institute–designated ...
Yanis Boumber, MD, PhD, Returns to Fox Chase, Department of Thoracic Oncology and Molecular Therapeutics Program
Yanis Boumber, MD, PhD, has joined the Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology and the Molecular Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Boumber first joined Fox Chase’s Department of Medical Oncology in 2013 and now returns to Fox Chase from the University of New Mexico Comprehensive ...
ESMO 2016: Pooled Analysis Shows PD-L1 Expression as a Biomarker for Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab Response in Advanced Melanoma
A pooled analysis from three clinical trials in advanced melanoma shows that although patients treated with nivolumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab with ≥ 5% programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor expression have similar progression-free survival, durable response rates were higher for the...
ESMO 2016: Meta-analysis Confirms Superiority of Concomitant Over Induction Chemotherapy in Nonmetastatic Head and Neck Cancer
Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma achieved prolonged overall survival when concomitant chemotherapy was administered with locoregional treatment or radiotherapy, according to findings from a large meta-analysis reported by Blanchard et al at the European Society for Medical...
ESMO 2016: Clinical Benefit Demonstrated With Everolimus and Pasireotide LAR Alone or in Combination in Advanced Lung and Thymic Carcinoids
In patients with advanced lung or thymus carcinoid receiving everolimus, pasireotide LAR, or the combination of the two drugs, statistically significant positive impact was seen on proportion of patients’ progression-free rate at 9 months (primary endpoint) in all three arms, more relevant in ...
COA Releases 2016 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report
On October 4, the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) released the 2016 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report, which tracks the changing landscape of cancer care in the United States. It documents a 121% increase in community cancer clinic closings and a 172% increase in consolidation into...
Atezolizumab Approved for the Treatment of Metastatic NSCLC That Has Progressed During or After Platinum-Containing Therapy
On October 18, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease progressed during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic...
New SSO-ASTRO-ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline Clarifies the Question of Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery in Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
In 2014, the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) published a “Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery With Whole-Breast Irradiation in Stages I and II Invasive Breast Cancer.”1 A multidisciplinary expert guideline used a...
