In a recently published study, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center investigators demonstrated the considerable antitumor efficacy of 19-28z chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The ASCO Post asked lead...
As was recently reported in Science Translational Medicine, Renier J. Brentjens, MD, and colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, found that profound molecular remission was rapidly induced in patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using autologous T ...
I have read with interest the recent tributes to Emil “Tom” Frei III, MD, who passed away in April. I was backstage at the ASCO Annual Meeting in 1981, when Dr. Frei was giving his Karnofsky acceptance address. I had a slide presentation at the combined ASCO/American Association for Cancer Research ...
Nearly one-quarter of women in a large prospective study of racially diverse patients with stage I to III breast cancer reported symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with increased risk of PTSD among black, Asian, and younger women. “These potential risk factors can be...
Clinicians should engage in shared decision-making with women who are at increased risk of breast cancer about using medications, such as tamoxifen and raloxifene (Evista), to reduce risk, and should offer prescriptions to women considered at low risk for adverse effects from these medications,...
Inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) is associated with a 37% greater risk for melanoma. Given the new data, physicians should appropriately counsel patients with inflammatory bowel disease about the risk of melanoma.
“My Dear Michael, Jim Watson and I have probably made a most important discovery. We have built a model for the structure of des-oxy-ribose-nucleic-acid, called DNA for short.… In other words we think we have found the basic copying mechanism by which life comes from life,” wrote Francis Crick,...
June Molecular and Translational Oncology WorkshopJune 14-18 • Fort Myers, FloridaFor more information: www.cancereducationconsortium.org/programs_mtow.html 12th International Conference on Malignant LymphomaJune 19-22 • Lugano, SwitzerlandFor more information: www.lymphcon.ch British...
Thirteen years ago, at just 34 years old, I never expected that my life could be interrupted by cancer. A nonsmoker and nondrinker, I had always practiced a healthy lifestyle and wasn’t concerned initially when what looked like a cold sore popped up on the left side of my tongue. But as several...
The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque, recently announced the recruitment of four cancer physicians and scientists. The UNM Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of the State of New Mexico and one of the nation’s 60...
Positively charged gold nanoparticles are usually toxic to cells, but cancer cells somehow manage to avoid nanoparticle toxicity. Mayo Clinic researchers found out why and determined how to make the nanoparticles effective against ovarian cancer cells. The discovery is detailed in the current...
The American Cancer Society announced the Society’s 100th birthday on May 22, 2013. Founded 100 years ago by 15 prominent physicians and business leaders in New York, the American Cancer Society, first known as the American Society for the Control of Cancer, launched the fight against a disease...
Conquering cancer has been the goal of Bert Vogelstein, MD, since he was a teenager in Baltimore. For more than 3 decades, Dr. Vogelstein, Co-Director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Johns Hopkins Medical...
Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was honored with the 2013 Stanley P. Reimann Honor Award for her deep and far-reaching contributions to cancer science and medicine at a celebration hosted by Fox Chase Cancer Center, held...
In a study testing the effectiveness of three strategies to improve oral chemotherapy adherence, tailored coaching was beneficial for some patients, reducing barriers to adherence, reported Susan M. Schneider, PhD, RN, AOCN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, Associate Professor and Director of Oncology Nursing...
Quality nursing and ongoing education are critical for success in using gene-modified T-cell therapy for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), said Cheryl Caravano, RN, at the recent Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society. Ms. Caravano is a clinical nurse IV at Memorial...
The Mara Mogensen Flagherty Lecture at this year’s 38th Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society in Washington, DC, focused on the importance of listening to and acknowledging the individual stories of patients with cancer and survivors. Once they are adept at listening, clinicians need to...
A new clinical trial is testing whether targeting treatments to a genetic anomaly can lead to better treatments for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer. The trial, led by investigators at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, is being conducted at 11 sites throughout...
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) sends signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs under conditions of hypoxia, an international team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered. The results were reported in an early online...
Lynn Etheredge’s career in shaping national health-care and social policy spans more than 4 decades and four Presidential administrations. He was the lead analyst in the development of health insurance proposals for Medicare and Medicaid while working in the White House Office of Management and...
A new measure of cell heterogeneity within a tumor may predict treatment outcomes of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. In a recent report,1 investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary reported how the mutant allele tumor...
In order to support high-quality science, the European Hematology Association collaborates with 16 Scientific Working Groups (SWGs) and concentrates on fostering activities directed towards basic and translational research. In simultaneous sessions on Thursday, June 13, during the European...
Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma is feasible for HIV-infected patients, with no differences in post-transplant survival or hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence rates compared with liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma in HIV-uninfected patients. The study, published in ...
The phase III open-label AXIS trial comparing axitinib (Inlyta) vs sorafenib (Nexavar) as second-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma showed significantly prolonged independent radiology committee–assessed progression-free survival with axitinib treatment (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.665, P ...
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals recently announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a phase III registration trial design of the company’s lead clinical immunotherapeutic candidate bavituximab in second-line non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial...
The study discussant, Elisabeth Quoix, MD, of the University Hospitals of Strasbourg, France, said that this meta-analysis confirmed that platinum-based doublets remain the standard treatment in this setting. Benefit of platinum-based doublets over non–platinum-based chemotherapy is essentially due ...
Several meta-analyses conducted in the past have suggested that survival of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is improved if first-line chemotherapy includes platinum derivatives. Results from a new meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials show that platinum-based...
“I’ve been living with melanoma for 7 years.” That’s a statement that, at the outset of her diagnosis, Joanne Maricle would have found surprising. Yet Joanne, who is featured in a video that is part of a new Patient and Advocate Video Series on ASCO’s CancerProgress.Net website, is able to lay...
ASCO has released its new conflict of interest policy, ASCO Policy for Relationships With Companies, which updates its earlier policy in key ways that are designed to increase transparency in relationships with commercial interests. Comprehensive Framework The new policy establishes a more...
Aiming to facilitate widespread dissemination of practice-changing research, ASCO offers the Best of ASCO® Meetings, which condense the most cutting-edge science and education from the ASCO Annual Meeting into a 2-day program. The smaller size of these meetings, compared to the Annual Meeting,...
When Patricia Hardenbergh, MD, moved from her academic position as a breast radiation oncologist at Duke University to a small, rural practice in Edwards, Colorado, she realized that being a community oncologist was a very different experience. She was an expert in treating breast cancer and also...
The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ECOG-ACRIN) Cancer Research Group recently announced that it has appointed Joseph A. Sparano, MD, as its Vice Chair. In his new role, Dr. Sparano will assist the Group leadership in defining research...
Predicting toxicity in older patients receiving chemotherapy is an important clinical problem. It has been shown that standard oncology measures such as performance status are not adequate to predict outcomes in the elderly. Clinical measures that are important in geriatric oncology are not...
John P. Leonard, MD, a hematology and oncology expert specializing in the treatment of lymphomas at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been named Chair of the Lymphoma Committee for the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored group, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Dr. Leonard is the ...
How much does diet and body weight influence the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence? What is the optimal diet for patients with cancer and survivors to follow? There are currently no hard and fast rules, but some dietary clues are starting to emerge. Search...
In January, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center opened the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies, a 3,700 square foot outpatient clinic, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The Center is solely focused on the treatment of all forms of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma,...
After passage of the Washington Death with Dignity Act in November 2008, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance—the site of outpatient care for patients with cancer from Fred Hutchinson–University of Washington Cancer Consortium—developed a Death with Dignity program. The program is adapted from existing ...
In a separate interview, Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said that he found the relapse rate of 20% observed in this study to be quite low, and he wanted to know the characteristics of the 537 patients included in the ...
Most relapses following treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are detected by abnormalities on physical exam, lab tests, and symptoms—not by routine imaging, according to a study presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.1 In fact, in a prospective study assessing post-treatment outcomes of...
“This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the treatment of cancer,” commented Clifford A. Hudis, MD, President-Elect of ASCO and moderator of the press briefing. “These studies focus on our ability to productively manipulate the immune system by targeting PD-L1 and PD-1, which allows the ...
This study should be placed in the context of treating to cure, said Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. “If we can further increase the cure rate in stage III non–small cell lung cancer...
Antibody-mediated blockade of the programmed death 1 protein (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) resulted in potent and durable tumor regression and prolonged stabilization of disease in patients with advanced solid tumors, according to early data on these drugs presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting. ...
In November 2008, the Washington State legislature passed the Washington Death with Dignity Act allowing patients with a terminal diagnosis and less than 6 months to live to request and self-administer lethal medication. After considerable internal debate, our cancer center elected to develop a...
Despite studies showing that a majority of patients prefer to die at home rather than in an institutional setting,1 in many parts of the country, over 30% die in nursing homes and over 50% die in hospitals, according to Ira Byock, MD, Director of Palliative Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical...
Tumors can be recognized by the immune system, but they have multiple mechanisms for evading eradication by the immune system. The tumor microenvironment suppresses the immune response, partly because tumors can express molecules that inhibit immune responses. The cancer clinical trials summarized...
“From bench to bedside” is a phrase that captures the essence of modern oncology: Researchers at the bench seek to solve the biologic puzzles of cancer that can translate into the development of therapeutics delivered at the bedside. Owen N. Witte, MD, has spent most of his career as a basic bench...
“I’m a Nebraskan,” said Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MHA, a leader in the oncology community who is well known for his innovative efforts to align physician payment and quality of care in ways that will best configure to the rapidly changing health-care environment. Speaking in the flat vowels and neutral...
Alexandra Levine, MD, MACP, the Chief Medical Officer of City of Hope National Medical Center, has traveled to 74 countries, seeking out adventures in some of the world’s most far-flung regions. Her illustrious oncology journey has also been an adventure, from the front lines of the AIDS pandemic...
Mary K. Gospodarowicz, MD, FRCPC, is determined to help reduce the worldwide burden of cancer, a problem of epic proportions. Her approach is simple: adopt what works and reject what doesn’t. Much progress in the fight against cancer can be made without waiting for the next paradigm-changing...
Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, grew up in Dayton, Ohio, in a time and place that he describes as pleasant and community-oriented. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Einhorn has maintained strong roots in the Midwest. “After finishing high school, I did my undergrad at Indiana University and went to ...