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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
As reported in Science Translational Medicine, Pitroda and colleagues developed a recombination proficiency score that measures the efficiency of DNA repair pathways in the context of cancer therapy aimed at generating DNA damage. The score is based on expression levels of four genes involved in...
In a study of the roles of interleukin (IL)-17A and circulating tumor cells in colorectal cancer metastasis, Tseng and colleagues measured mesenteric circulating tumor cells according to colorectal cancer stage in patients and assessed the interaction of circulating tumor cells and IL-17A in a...
New therapeutic approaches to blocking inhibitory pathways of the immune system have raised hopes that such treatments might thwart development of metastases. In a study in Nature, Paolino and colleagues have shown that genetic deletion of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b (casitas B-lineage...
Although it is known that nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-δ/β (PPAR-d) is upregulated in colorectal cancer, the role of PPAR-d in tumorigenesis remains uncertain. In a study reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zuo and colleagues developed a mouse model...
I’ve been health conscious all my life. I have never smoked, I eat a healthy diet, and I have maintained a near-daily exercise routine since I was 20. I’m also steadfast about keeping yearly medical checkups and screenings. So when I felt a sharp, lightning-bolt of pain that went from the top of my ...
When Jane Cooke Wright, MD, met with six other oncologists at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago on April 9, 1964, to discuss the creation of American Society of Clinical Oncology, the first medical society dedicated to bringing patient-oriented issues to clinical oncology, the Civil Rights Act...
On April 9, 1964, seven physicians—Jane Cooke Wright, MD, FASCO; Arnoldus Goudsmit, MD, PhD; Fred J. Ansfield, MD, FASCO; Harry F. Bisel, MD, FASCO; Herman H. Freckman, MD, FASCO; Robert W. Talley, MD, FASCO; and William Wilson, MD, FASCO—met for lunch at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. They...
Oncologists are occupied with an unusual kind of medicine, and, as a result, we are exposed to enormous personal stress and strain, because patients we care for are profoundly sick with potentially fatal diseases. As a group, we deal with the possible mortality of those for whom we are responsible...
My Presidency was the first year that the Annual Meeting hit 10,000 attendees, which at the time we thought was a huge number—it seemed that we’d hit the ceiling. It was about 9 years after we published the results from our study of combination chemotherapy (MOPP) in the treatment of advanced...
During my Presidency, we decided to increase ASCO’s size to give clinical investigators a better position in the medical world. To that end, I decided that the Society needed its own journal. At that time, we sent our papers to Blood or Cancer Research, where, in my estimation, they received poor...