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Showing 12601 - 12650‘Double-Hit’ Lymphomas a Challenge for the Oncologist
"Double-hit” lymphomas remain challenging tumors, and the best means of treatment remains somewhat elusive, according to studies presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and experts who commented on these findings. “We still don’t have a standard of...
ASH Awards Bridge Grants to 15 Investigators
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recently announced the names of 15 researchers (see sidebar on page 15) who will receive interim support from the Society for hematology research proposals. These proposals earned high scores but could not be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ...
Better Options Emerging for Salvage Therapy in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Emerging effective treatment options for salvage therapy in Hodgkin lymphoma were described by Anas Younes, MD, Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, at the 2014 Highlights of ASH in North America meeting in Miami. “This is an exciting time in Hodgkin...
Cetuximab Fails to Improve Survival in Nonoperable Esophageal Cancer
More data have emerged that discount the potential for benefit with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in esophageal cancer. The latest comes from the RTOG 0436 randomized phase III trial in patients with nonoperable esophageal cancer, the results of which were presented at the 2014 ...
Georgetown Researchers Study Nonsurgical, Minimally Invasive Approach to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Physicians at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, are studying the safety and effectiveness of prostate artery embolization in men with enlarged prostate glands and urinary obstruction. According to the National Institutes of Health,...
Bladder Cancer Patient With Rare Genetic Mutations Shows Exceptional Response to Everolimus/Pazopanib Combination
A patient with advanced bladder cancer experienced a complete response for 14 months to the drug combination everolimus (Afinitor) and pazopanib (Votrient) in a phase I trial, and genomic profiling of his tumor revealed two alterations that may have caused this exceptional response, according to a...
A Conversation With Arie Belldegrun, MD, FACS, and Allan Pantuck, MD, MS, FACS
Cancer Immunotherapy What is the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma? The harnessing of the immune system as an effective treatment for cancer was recently selected by the journal Science as the top scientific Breakthrough of the Year for 2013.1 With this...
A Conversation With David I. Quinn, MBBS, PhD, FRACP
First-Line Therapy Please describe current medical oncology approaches to first-line therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The current first-line therapy for most patients with good- to intermediate-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor...
ASCO Releases Its First-Ever Report on the State of Cancer Care in America
On March 11, ASCO released its first-ever comprehensive assessment of the daunting challenges facing America’s ability to continue to deliver high-quality care to all patients with cancer. ASCO President Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, introduced the assessment at a Congressional news briefing in...
The Outlook on Cancer Research in This Era of Leaner Federal Funding
In the March 1, 2014, issue of The ASCO Post we talked with Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about the future of biomedical research at the NIH during this time of constrained federal funding. We continue that conversation here with our interview of...
SSO-ASTRO Margin Guideline: Why Now and What Does It Mean?
Although breast-conserving therapy has been a standard practice for more than 20 years, controversy still exists over what constitutes the appropriate margin of normal breast tissue around a tumor that minimizes local recurrence while maintaining a good cosmetic outcome. Surveys of surgeons1 and...
Bringing the Humanistic Approach to Palliative Care: From Diagnosis and Throughout Disease Course
For much of her career in oncology, Teresa A. Gilewski, MD, has sought to bridge the science of medicine with the humanistic aspect of care. She has created the Art of Medicine lecture series at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she is a medical oncologist on the Breast...
American Psychosocial Oncology Society Launches Psychosocial Distress Program
In February, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) held its 11th Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida, and it marked a number of firsts. With over 500 registrants and more than 300 abstracts presented over the 3-day program, this was the largest APOS event to date. The theme of this...
Expert Point of View: Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Stephen A. Cannistra, MD
In an editorial accompanying publication of the AURELIA study results, Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Stephen A. Cannistra, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, considered the implications of the benefits observed in the trial and limitations in...
ASCO Rolls Out Support for Changes in Maintenance of Certification Requirements
Big changes came to the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program requirements in 2014. As of January 1, all diplomates, including “grandfathers” (or those certified before 1990 who are “board-certified for life”), must actively participate in MOC...
Help Your Patients Learn About Collecting Family Cancer History
Based on ASCO’s recent recommendations, Cancer.Net has provided your patients with an article and an infographic on the importance of collecting family cancer history, what information to collect, what it can mean, and when and with whom to share this information. Direct your patients to...
Enhance Your ASCO Annual Meeting Experience With Attendee Resources
At the end of the month, more than 25,000 oncology professionals from around the world will meet in Chicago for the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting. Will you be joining this global community? As you’re beginning to consider what to pack for your trip, keep in mind that you have a host of electronic...
We Need Your Vote: History’s Top 5 Cancer Research Achievements
Throughout the year, we are celebrating not only ASCO’s 50th anniversary, but also the tremendous progress achieved against cancer in the last 50 years. Thanks to the dedication and contributions of patients and researchers, and our nation’s long-standing commitment to funding clinical research,...
Conquering Colorectal Cancer With Sanjay Goel, MD, the 2010 Advanced Clinical Research Award in Colorectal Cancer Recipient
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States, and about 1 in 20 individuals will develop colorectal cancer in their lifetime. The good news is that improvements in screening, earlier detection, and treatments are all leading to improved...
Preliminary Study Suggests Veliparib May Be Effective in Resistant, BRCA-Mutated Ovarian Cancers
Veliparib, an oral poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, appears to be of value in treating women with BRCA-mutated gynecologic cancers that are resistant to other therapies. These preliminary findings of a phase II study support the concept that BRCA-associated ovarian cancers are...
Bariatric Surgery Reduces Risk of Uterine Cancer in Obese Women
Bariatric surgery for weight loss appears to protect obese women from developing uterine cancer, according to a large retrospective study presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, held March 22–25 in Tampa, Florida. The study found that obese women who ...
High-Risk Uterine Cancers Found in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers Who Had Preventive Oophorectomy but Not Hysterectomy
Prophylactic surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes is advised for women who carry BRCA mutations to reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. This procedure, referred to as risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, typically does not require a hysterectomy. However, a new study presented ...
Expert Point of View: William Cliby, MD
When asked to comment on the study presented by Lin et al at the Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, William Cliby, MD, Chair, Division of Surgery, The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, said, “This study is important because of its size and the utilization of the National Cancer Data Base—the...
NCCN Receives $2 Million in Research Funding to Study Nintedanib in Colorectal and Lung Cancers
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Oncology Research Program (ORP) has announced it has been awarded a $2 million grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop a program to scientifically evaluate and define the safety and clinical effectiveness of the...
SIDEBAR: Should You Treat Smoldering Multiple Myeloma?
A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine has provoked conversation about the management of smoldering multiple myeloma.1 At the recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, shared his thoughts ...
Promising Compounds in Development for Multiple Myeloma
The term “novel agents” has been used for the past decade to describe proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs that are now conventionally used for multiple myeloma. However, even newer agents in development will be considered truly novel when they hit the market, as they represent new...
SSO Awarded ACCME’S Highest Accreditation Status
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education® (ACCME) recently awarded the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) the designation of Accreditation with Commendation. Accreditation with Commendation is ACCME’s highest accreditation award status and extends SSO’s reaccreditation period from ...
Surgery Plus Radiation Offers Mixed Results in Soft-Tissue Sarcoma
Adjuvant radiation following surgery for soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities did not lead to a survival benefit and seemed to be associated with some degree of long-term limb complications, according to a presentation at the 2014 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Cancer Symposium in Phoenix.1...
Patients With Thin Melanoma Benefit From Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
Sentinel node status is “the most powerful predictor” of melanoma-specific survival in patients with thin melanoma, according to a presentation at the 2014 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Cancer Symposium in Phoenix.1 As a result, sentinel lymph node biopsy should be considered in patients with...
Expert Point of View: Mario Sznol, MD
Mario Sznol, MD, of Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, was formal discussant of the MK-3475 presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. He alluded to all the factors that complicate assays of PD-L1: the disparate nature of the assays themselves, the ...
PD-L1 Studied as Biomarker for Anti–PD-1 Immunotherapy
The anti–PD-1 inhibitor MK-3475 (formerly lambrolizumab) is in late-stage trials for advanced melanoma and is also being studied in other malignancies, including non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). An important aspect of Merck’s development program for MK-3475, as well as for other anti–PD-1 agents ...
Expert Point of View: Gary Schwartz, MD
Formal discussant of the LY2835219 trial reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Gary Schwartz, MD, of Columbia University School of Medicine, New York, said the drug had “dramatic effects” in estrogen receptor–positive patients. “This drug is highly active in...
ASCO Speaks Out on Release of Medicare Physician Payment Data
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is deeply concerned about [the recent] release of Medicare physician payment data. ASCO is committed to the delivery of high-quality, high-value care for all people with cancer in the United States. This data release solely focuses attention on the...
Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma
In 2012, three randomized placebo-controlled trials reported a significant prolongation of progression-free survival with lenalidomide (Revlimid) as maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma.1-3 Two of these trials tested lenalidomide maintenance after stem cell transplantation, and one investigated ...
Case Studies: Collaborative Practice in Action
The panel presented two case studies—one on high-dose methotrexate toxicity and one on 5-FU toxicity—as a platform for discussion of considerations, challenges, and interconnected roles of oncologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical pharmacists in safely managing patients...
Collaborative Exchange: The Expanded Access Program and Uridine Triacetate
The panel discussed the various aspects of obtaining a drug such as uridine triacetate through the expanded access program. Ms. Vogel: The expanded access program allows companies to provide patients access to their medicines while the drugs are still in preapproval process, but it is strictly...
Learning More About Expanded Access Programs
The FDA and ASCO have collaborated to create an educational webinar to explain expanded access programs and to clarify the process to access investigational drugs outside a clinical trial. Although it is primarily intended for physicians, the webinar provides valuable information to anyone...
Collaborative Exchange: Timing of Uridine Triacetate
The challenge of deciding when to administer uridine triacetate was explored by the panel. Dr. Schwartzberg: I assume uridine triacetate would work more effectively if given very early; otherwise we would see the same kind of downstream toxicity we see with methotrexate. Dr. Campen: Exactly, but...
Questions Answered About Uridine Triacetate
Q. What is uridine triacetate? A. It is an investigational, orally active prodrug of uridine currently under development as an antidote to overexposure of fluorouracil (5-FU). Although not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it has been shown to be effective in treating patients...
Collaborative Exchange: Leucovorin and Glucarpidase
The panel discussed the rationale behind the continued use of leucovorin in conjunction with glucarpidase. Dr. Campen: We continue with leucovorin to provide a full basis for recovery of the cells. One important thing to know is that leucovorin should be given separately from glucarpidase because...
Collaborative Exchange: Indications and Dosing
Indications and Dosing of Methotrexate and 5-FU Dr. Campen: The interesting thing about methotrexate is that it has been used for such a long time. You would think there would be a specific dose that would be considered “high dose,” but high dose is actually quite variable. [Dosage] depends on the...
Meet the Panel
Based on a roundtable discussion conducted at the first annual JADPRO Live 2014 educational symposium in St. Petersburg, Florida, this supplement centers on strategies for preventing and treating severe side effects associated with methotrexate and fluorouracil (5-FU) from the unique perspectives...
CE Activity Instructions
CE is available on May 1, 2014 and expires on May 1, 2015. A continuing education activity for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals specializing in the field of oncology. This activity is supported by an unrestricted...
ASCO Issues Two New Guidelines on Treating Patients With Advanced, HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
ASCO recently issued two clinical practice guidelines on treating women with advanced, HER2-positive breast cancer. The first guideline lists the appropriate systemic therapies for women newly diagnosed with advanced disease and those whose early-stage disease progressed to advanced cancer. The...
Food and Drug Interactions Could Reduce Effectiveness of Oral Chemotherapy
Oral chemotherapy agents are associated with drug and food interactions that can significantly reduce the effectiveness of oral chemotherapy and possibly result in harm to patients, according to a study in the Journal of Oncology Practice. It is important therefore, according to the study’s...
Genitourinary Toxicity More Likely With Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Than With Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy
A retrospective analysis of patients with prostate cancer receiving primary treatment with either stereotactic body radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy found that those receiving stereotactic body radiotherapy had greater rates of genitourinary toxicity during 2-year...
Can Empathy Really Be Taught?
In an op-ed article in The New York Times (February 27, 2014) about the challenges of designing training courses to help physicians communicate more effectively with patients about important topics such as end-of-life care, Timothy D. Gilligan, MD, and Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, of the Cleveland...
Don’t Always Expect Questions From Patients About Prognosis
Although most patients want to know about the potential outcome of their disease and whether treatment is likely to have a significant impact on it, the information needs of patients and how best to fulfill those needs are very variable, Walter F. Baile, MD, told The ASCO Post. Dr. Baile is...
Breaking Bad News Badly Can Add to Upset
When the prognosis is poor, breaking the bad news badly can exacerbate the distress experienced by cancer patients and their families. A lack of sensitivity to patient and family emotions and not being attuned to how individual patients would prefer to be informed about their prognoses can result...
New p53-Dependent Gene Cooperates With p53 in Tumor-Suppressor Functions
The TP53 tumor-suppressor gene influences genomic stability, apoptosis, autophagy, response to stress, and DNA damage, and identification of new p53-target genes could help elucidate mechanisms through which p53 controls cell integrity and response to damage. As reported in Journal of the National...
