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Showing 13001 - 13050Unprecedented Release of Medicare Data Raises Concerns About Lack of Context: Statements From COA and ASTRO
In April, as part of the Obama administration’s work to make the U.S. health-care system more transparent, affordable, and accountable, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a vast amount of privacy-protected data on services and procedures provided to Medicare...
Looking Ahead in Treating Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
It’s the dawn of a new era in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), largely due to the development of agents targeting the BCR signaling pathway, according to John C. Byrd, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus. At the 19th Annual Conference of the...
NCCN Roundtable: When a Parent Has Cancer
Attendees at this year’s annual conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) not only got up to date on the Guidelines but left with a better understanding of how children deal with a parent’s cancer, and how oncology providers can best help. Panelists for the NCCN roundtable...
NCCN Scientific Posters Include New Findings in Bladder Cancer, Survivorship Care, and Antiemetic Therapy
The 19th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), recently held in Hollywood, Florida, featured a number of scientific posters by member organizations and meeting sponsors. The ASCO Post captured some of the most interesting findings for our readers, including these...
Surveillance After Colon Cancer Surgery: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Finding salvageable colon cancer recurrence is akin to finding a needle in a haystack, rendering routine patient surveillance of little value. But finding that needle offers an opportunity for treating recurrent disease early, which makes surveillance worthwhile. These were the opposing views...
Delaying Androgen Deprivation Therapy May Not Compromise Survival in Men With Prostate Cancer and PSA-Only Relapse
In men with prostate cancer and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-only recurrence after curative surgery or radiation, delaying androgen deprivation therapy for at least 2 years or until clinical progression (ie, new symptoms, metastasis by imaging techniques or short PSA doubling time) did not...
Phase I Study of Novel Third-Generation EGFR Inhibitor Holds Promise Against Resistance Mutation in Patients With Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Preliminary evidence suggests that AZD9291, a novel mutant-selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, may become a treatment option for patients with advanced, EGFR-mutant, non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has progressed on standard EGFR inhibitors....
ALTTO Trial Finds Dual Anti-HER2 Therapy No Better Than Trastuzumab Alone
The highly anticipated results from the phase III ALTTO trial show no additional benefit for adding lapatinib (Tykerb) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) in the adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.1 The results were presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting’s Plenary Session by Martine J....
'Small Practices Like Mine'
Recently, I participated in ASCO’s Congressional news briefing in Washington, DC, following the release of its report, The State of Cancer Care in America: 2014. During my presentation I talked about the workforce shortage of approximately 1,500 medical oncologists that is predicted by 2025. A...
Expert Point of View: Michael J. Morris, MD
Formal discussant of the E3805 study, Michael J. Morris, MD, Associate Member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said that these results confirm the role of upfront chemotherapy along with androgen-deprivation therapy in men with newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-sensitive...
‘Unprecedented’ Survival Benefit in Prostate Cancer With Addition of Docetaxel to Hormone Therapy
Adding docetaxel to standard androgen ablation therapy (ie, testosterone suppression) extended survival by more than 1 year in men with newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in the phase III E3805 trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health. As reported at the ASCO...
New Option for Preserving Fertility in Women Being Treated With Chemotherapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer
One of the most reported studies emanating from the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting involves the use of the luteinizing hormone–releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist goserelin (Zoladex) to reduce the risk of ovarian failure among women being treated with chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, and to...
2014 Oncology Meetings
JUNE MASCC/ISOO International Symposium on Supportive Care in CancerJune 26-28 • Miami, Florida For more information: www.mascc.org/symposium European Conference of Oncology Pharmacy 2June 26-28 • Krakow, Poland For more information: http://ecop2014.wordpress.com 6th International Workshop on...
Genomic Confidence and Competence
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Stacy W. Gray, MD, AM, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues presented one of the first studies evaluating how academic oncologists perceive the incorporation of a...
Physician Attitudes About Multiplex Tumor Genomic Testing: Variation in Projected Use and Confidence
It is a widely expressed belief that predictive multiplex somatic genomic testing represents the ability to transform cancer care by identifying targetable alterations in multiple cancer genes. Do oncologists share this belief? How do they intend to use such tests in practice? In a study reported...
Cancer Care Under the Affordable Care Act
The problematic rollout of the Affordable Care Act’s website, HealthCare.gov, made good political theater, but while much of the heated discussion centered on the plan’s need to enroll “young invincibles,” America’s cancer care system and the older patients it serves were also affected by parts of...
David Craig, PharmD, Named to FDA Advisory Committee
Moffitt Cancer Center recently announced that Clinical Pharmacist David Craig, PharmD, has been appointed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee. Dr. Craig specializes in pain medicine and palliative care. The Anesthetic and Analgesic...
Paying It Forward: Breakthrough Prize Winners and Institutions Commit $3 Million in Support of Next Generation of Scientists
Following last year’s announcement of the first-ever Breakthrough Prizes, established by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to celebrate scientists and encourage careers in the field, the winners were frequently asked what they would do with their newfound prize money of $3 million each. Three ...
Issues in the Management of the Axilla in Patients With Breast Cancer
For the past 40 years the story of breast cancer surgery in general, and for the past 20 years the management of the axilla in particular, has been one of increasing conservatism. To give our readers insight into the current and future direction of axillary management, The ASCO Post spoke with...
A New Era in the Management of Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Approximately 20% of all breast cancers are human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive. Prior to the era of HER2-targeted therapy, HER2-positive breast cancer was characterized by a poor prognosis.1,2 The development of the first HER2-targeted therapy, trastuzumab (Herceptin), led to...
ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline: Systemic Therapy for Patients With Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Approximately 15% of patients with breast cancer have tumors that overexpress the HER2 protein and these patients can benefit from HER2-targeted therapies. The American Society of Clinical Oncology recently released a clinical practice guideline on systemic therapy for patients with advanced...
Videos Tell Stories of 50 Years of Progress Against Cancer
Nearly 3 years ago, ASCO launched CancerProgress.Net to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. National Cancer Act, which led to major new investments in cancer research and significant increases in cancer survival. The site provides a dynamic and interactive history of progress...
The 2014 Conquer Cancer Foundation Grants and Awards
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO presented more than $5 million in grants and awards to more than 250 promising oncology researchers at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting, held May 30 to June 3 in Chicago, Illinois. The Conquer Cancer Foundation and ASCO congratulate the 2014 grant and award...
FDA Approval of Siltuximab for Multicentric Castleman’s Disease
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the FDA and its policies and procedures. In this installment, FDA hematologist/oncologist Albert Deisseroth, MD, PhD, discusses the recent approval of siltuximab for patients with multicentric Castleman’s disease who are human...
Many Patients With Colorectal Cancer Fail to Receive Adjuvant Chemotherapy
Data from the National Cancer Data Bank (2010–2011) suggest that 30% of patients with colorectal cancer who are eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy fail to receive it, but their odds increase by 30% when surgery is performed by laparoscopy, rather than laparotomy.1 “In this large national database...
Colorectal Cancer Screening Poised for Change
New screening modalities and the customization of the screening population could soon change the way that screening for colorectal cancer is done. At Digestive Disease Week 2014, the largest gathering of gastrointestinal disease specialists in the world, researchers presented data suggesting that...
Gastric Cancer Detected in a Breath Test
By detecting certain volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath, NanoArtificial Nose technology (NA-NOSE) was able to differentiate patients with gastric cancer from those with benign lesions, with high accuracy, in a poster that earned a merit award at Digestive Disease Week 2014, the largest...
Preoperative Breast MRI: Does Higher Sensitivity Equal Better Outcomes?
Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is superior to more commonly used imaging modalities in preoperative breast cancer staging and should be a key element in routine workup. But despite its high sensitivity for catching cancers, breast MRI still does not deliver maximum value for the patient....
Research Insights From the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer still kills 40,000 Americans a year out of approximately 44,000 diagnosed. While advances in diagnosis and treatment are extending the lives of patients with other cancers, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains the second most lethal tumor (behind lung cancer). While a magic...
Expert Point of View: Gregory A. Masters, MD, FASCO
This combination shows good activity in the difficult-to-treat second-line setting of NSCLC,” said Gregory A. Masters, MD, FASCO, about the results of the REVEL study reported at the ASCO Annual Meeting. Dr. Masters, who is Attending Physician at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research...
Chemotherapy Plus Ramucirumab Provides Survival Advantage Over Chemotherapy Alone in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Ramucirumab (Cyramza) added to docetaxel improved overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has progressed on one prior therapy, according to results of a phase III trial presented at the 50th ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The...
Expert Point of View: Gregory A. Masters, MD, FASCO
At an ASCO press conference held during the Annual Meeting, moderator Gregory A. Masters, MD, FASCO, who is Attending Physician at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute, Newark, Delaware, commented on the study presented by Liu et al. “This new combination demonstrates how...
Pieces of the Puzzle in Treating Early Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Separate studies in early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found that the addition of consolidation chemotherapy to concurrent chemoradiotherapy did not improve survival and that adjuvant erlotinib (Tarceva) did not improve survival. There was a suggestion of benefit for adjuvant erlotinib...
Ibrutinib Surpasses Ofatumumab as Second-Line Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) significantly improved progression-free survival, overall survival, and response when compared with ofatumumab (Arzerra) as second-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) in the phase III RESONATE study. The study results were...
Expert Point of View: Scott T. Tagawa, MD
Formal discussant Scott T. Tagawa, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, had the task of putting the three prostate cancer trials—PREVAIL, ELM-PC 4, and SWOG S0925—into context. “Since the approval of docetaxel, we have learned much...
Updated Information on Prostate Cancer Drugs: Enzalutamide, Orteronel, and Cixutumumab
Three separate studies of treatments for prostate cancer reported at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago showed excellent, intermediate, and disappointing results. An update of the previously reported PREVAIL trial (see March 1 issue of The ASCO Post, page 1) was overwhelmingly positive for the ...
Expert Point of View: Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD
Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD, Head of Medical Oncology and the Institute of Oncology at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, discussed the results of CALGB/SWOG 80405 at the ASCO Plenary Session. “CALGB/SWOG 80405 did not meet the primary endpoint of superiority [for cetuximab] in a...
Combined With Chemotherapy, Cetuximab and Bevacizumab Found Comparable for First-Line Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment
Call it a draw: Cetuximab (Erbitux), an EGFR inhibitor, and bevacizumab (Avastin), a VEGF inhibitor, confer comparable benefits as first-line treatment with chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer, according to the phase III Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB)/Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) ...
Advancing Immune Checkpoint Targeting in Cancer Treatment
James P. Allison, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology, Executive Director of the Moon Shots Immunotherapy Platform, and Deputy Directory of the David H. Koch Center for Applied Research of Genitourinary Cancers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, is...
Exemestane/Ovarian Suppression Reduces Recurrence vs Tamoxifen/Ovarian Suppression in Premenopausal Breast Cancer
A joint analysis of two important phase III clinical trials—TEXT (Tamoxifen and Exemestane Trial) and SOFT (Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial)—showed that exemestane plus ovarian function suppression was superior to tamoxifen plus ovarian suppression in preventing recurrence in premenopausal...
Coping With the Aftermath of Cancer
Even now, 3 years after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I’m still struggling with how it is possible to have a normal mammogram and 6 months later be confronted with stage II estrogen/progesterone–positive, HER2-positive breast cancer. The news was especially devastating to hear because it...
Modest Improvement in Progression-Free but Not Overall Survival With Selumetinib vs Chemotherapy
Patients with uveal melanoma treated with selumetinib had modestly improved progression-free survival and response rate compared to patients treated with chemotherapy, but no improvement in overall survival, according to results of a randomized, open-label, phase II trial. “Improvement in clinical...
Discontinuing Statins Near the End of Life Is Safe, Can Reduce Symptom Burden, and Is Generally Acceptable to Patients
Discontinuing statins for patients near the end of life is safe, saves money, spares patients from swallowing yet another pill and from the symptoms associated with statins, and is generally welcomed by patients. That last bit might come as a surprise to some physicians who worry that discontinuing ...
Siltuximab for Multicentric Castleman’s Disease
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. On April 23, 2014, the anti–interleukin (IL)-6 monoclonal antibody...
Life: Magnified
On June 10, Life: Magnified, an eye-catching photo exhibit of scientific images, opened at Washington Dulles International Airport’s Gateway Gallery in Chantilly, Virginia. The exhibit features 46 high-resolution backlit images of cells from the body, including the brain, blood, eye, skin, liver,...
'Physician Education Is Key' to Continued Advances in Geriatric Oncology
Several times during his lecture at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting, Stuart M. Lichtman, MD, FACP, FASCO, the recipient of the B.J. Kennedy Award for Scientific Excellence in Geriatric Oncology, emphasized, “Physician education is the key” to continued advances in geriatric oncology. He specified that ...
ASCO Convenes Think Tank to Tackle Disparities in Cancer Care
Despite advances in cancer screening and in more effective therapies to treat the disease, which have led to improved outcomes and increased survival rates for millions of people with cancer, not every American is reaping the benefits of these advances. Disparities in health-care access, quality of ...
Importance of Using Multiplex Testing for Oncogenic Drivers to Select Targeted Drugs in Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world as well as in the United States, where it is the leading cancer killer in both men and women. The majority of lung cancer patients present with metastatic (stage IV) disease that cannot be cured with current therapies. Standard cytotoxic ...
Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Finds Oncogenic Drivers in Majority of Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinomas
The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (LCMC) was formed to test adenocarcinomas of the lung for 10 oncogenic drivers in order to enable clinicians to select targeted treatments and enroll patients into suitable clinical trials. As recently reported in JAMA by Mark G. Kris, MD, William and Joy Ruane...
2014 Oncology Meetings
JULY Breast Cancer: New Horizons, Current ControversiesJuly 10-12 • Boston, Massachusetts For more information: www.hms-cme.net/341279/ The 12th Annual Scientific Meeting of Japanese Society of Medical OncologyJuly 17-19 • Fukuoka, Japan For more information: www.congre.co.jp/jsmo2014/en/ The 13th...
