Editor’s note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a report on lung cancer incidence trends in the United States.1 According to the report, incidence rates for lung cancer have decreased between 2005 and 2009, the period evaluated. Lung cancer incidence has...
Matthew Ellis, MB, PhD, Professor of Medicine and the Anheuser-Busch Chair in Medical Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, commented for The ASCO Post on the emerging field of research on drugging PI3K mutations. Critical Mechanisms “Multiple somatic lesions in breast...
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Chair of the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Guideline Panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and former Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, commented on the study by Yamshon et al for The ASCO Post. He said the...
The biologic doublet of lenalidomide (Revlimid) plus rituximab (Rituxan) can achieve high response rates and durable remissions in lymphoma, according to a parade of phase II studies presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The immunomodulatory agent ...
There is no doubt that this is a halcyon period in oncology. The unraveling of the genome has been tremendously important, and finally has helped us to move treatment selection from an era of rational empiricism to one of refined, molecular prognostication. In the care of breast cancer, the impact...
About one-third of the most important clinical advances in cancer last year were made possible at least in part through federal funding, according to ASCO’s annual report on progress in cancer, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 Significant Declines in Funding The report, “Clinical...
Lajos Pusztai, MD, DPhil, Professor of Medicine and Director of Breast Medical Oncology at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, who was the formal discussant of the papers by Sikov et al and Rugo et al, said there is mounting evidence for using carboplatin. He and his own research team have...
Many of the advances that have bettered mankind are attributed to those who were driven by a primary passion. Geoffrey P. Herzig, MD, lived the better part of his life with a primary passion: conducting research to increase the cure rate of leukemia and lymphoma patients. His friend and colleague,...
An update of the ASCO 2007 oncology workforce study found that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, when fully implemented, may “modestly exacerbate” anticipated workforce shortages, increasing the demand for oncologists and radiation oncologists by 500,000 visits per year. “Unless...
Pomalidomide (Pomalyst) plus low-dose dexamethasone significantly improved progression-free survival compared to pomalidomide alone in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma enrolled in a multicenter, open-label study, the phase II part of the MM-002 trial. The study confirmed the...
A randomized phase III trial conducted in 26 countries found that combining chlorambucil (Leukeran) with an anti-CD20 antibody—either obinutuzumab (Gazya) or rituximab (Rituxan)—produced better outcomes among patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and coexisting...
In a study reported in Science, Viaud and colleagues showed that the antitumor activity of cyclophosphamide is dependent on the effect of this agent on gut microflora. In mouse studies, the investigators found that cyclophosphamide altered the composition of microbiota in the small intestine,...
Like all early detection strategies, screening mammography involves trade-offs,” H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH, and Honor J. Passow, PhD, of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, Hanover, New Hampshire, wrote in a Special Communication in JAMA Internal Medicine.1 They...
“If women are to truly participate in the decision of whether or not to be screened [for breast cancer using mammography], they need some quantification of its benefits and harms,” asserted H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, and Honor J. Passow, PhD, Instructor, at The Dartmouth...
A new global cancer report1 compiled by the United Nations’ International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) shows, as a single entity cancer is the biggest cause of mortality worldwide, and there were an estimated 8.2 million deaths from cancer in 2012. The report also noted that global cancer...
Fourteen years ago, when I was just 29, I was feeling weak and fatigued and had severe pain in my abdomen. I’d had these symptoms for about a year, but none of the several doctors I saw or any of the tests they performed could find the source of my problems. I even had one nurse practitioner tell...
FEBRUARY European Society for Medical Oncology Sarcoma and GIST 2014February 18-19 • Milan, ItalyFor more information: www.esmo.org 2014 BMT Tandem MeetingAmerican Society for Blood and Marrow TransplantationFebruary 19 - 23 • Orlando, FloridaFor more information: www.asbmt.org Multidisciplinary...
Over the past several decades, outcomes data have traced the success stories in cancer research and therapeutics. However, during those decades of increasingly rapid scientific breakthroughs, certain psychosocial components in the continuum of cancer care were often overlooked. One such element is...
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, has appointed Hannah Valantine, MD, to Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity. Dr. Valantine will lead NIH’s effort to diversify the biomedical research workforce by developing a vision and comprehensive strategy...
Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Barrie R. Cassileth, MS, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center...
Kava Scientific Name: Piper methysticum Common Names: Kava-kava, kawa, kavain, rauschpfeffer, intoxicating long pepper, tonga, yagona, and yaqona. Overview Kava, a perennial shrub indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Rim, is known for its relaxant effects and used for social and...
Looking over an illustrious career in medical oncology that spans 5 decades, Franco M. Muggia, MD, told The ASCO Post that he is excited about the future and hopes to continue making contributions to the field of oncology in years to come. At the forefront of the early clinical development of...
Founded nearly 3 decades ago in response to unfavorable changes in Medicare reimbursement regulations and growing coverage issues with Michigan’s private payers that threatened oncologists’ ability to provide quality cancer care to patients, the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology (MSHO)...
To help tell the story of progress against cancer, ASCO launched CancerProgress.Net in 2011. The site is intended as a resource for media, policymakers, oncologists, advocates, and the public. One central feature of the site is an interactive timeline of major milestones in cancer treatment,...
With the advent of Breakthrough Therapy designation, there are now four FDA programs to expedite the development of promising new agents: Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review, and Accelerated Approval (Table 1). These programs complement one another and serve a common goal: to speed...
A $10 million gift from Internet publishing entrepreneurs and philanthropists Emmet and Toni Stephenson and their daughter Tessa Stephenson Brand will fund the creation of the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center at City of Hope, Duarte, California, the cornerstone of the institution’s new Hematologic...
On January 9, 2014, the combination of trametinib (Mekinist) and dabrafenib (Tafinlar) was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved...
The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer recently announced a $15 million pledge to support breast cancer research at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. This new pledge adds to the previous $20 million in commitments completed in November 2013 and will continue to fund ...
As 2014 rolls in, ASCO is calling for a renewed commitment to federal funding of cancer research. In a letter sent to House and Senate Appropriations leaders, ASCO urged Congress to use spending levels in the recently passed budget to set the highest possible funding level for the National...
On this historic year, as ASCO proudly commemorates its 50th anniversary and decades of evolutionary change and growth, it also celebrates the significant progress that has been made against cancer throughout history. ASCO’s anniversary website, CancerProgress.Net, chronicles these achievements and ...
In November of 2013, the Conquer Cancer Foundation partnered with the Stelter Company—one of the leaders of planned giving resources in the nonprofit community—to launch a new planned giving portal on the Foundation’s website. The planned giving portal focuses on the variety of ways individuals can ...
The implementation of clinical trials and quality research programs by community-based investigators and research staff is one of the most effective weapons available in the fight against cancer. The ASCO Community Research Forum was designed in support of this mission and to aid these...
It has been a little over a decade since the Institute of Medicine landmark report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care found overwhelming evidence of racial disparities in the U.S. health-care system. Since then, ASCO has been dedicated to minimizing these...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a 5-year grant of more than $1.5 million to Herbert J. Zeh III, MD, and Michael T. Lotze, MD, at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with UPMC CancerCenter, to study a novel treatment for pancreatic ductal ...
Late last year, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and College of American Pathologists published a comprehensive update of guidelines for HER2 testing,1 the first such update since their initial landmark publication in 2007.2 This new report, summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post,...
When what is now called breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma was first recognized and initially described, a number of uncertainties prevailed—mainly, was the association with breast implants real, and was this a true lymphoma? Through the significant efforts of those who...
The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica) is changing the landscape of treatment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. New research with the drug in lymphoma, presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, indicates it may be of benefit in...
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Chair of the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Guideline Panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and former Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, put the latest maintenance trials into perspective for The ASCO Post....
Multiple myeloma researchers moved the field forward at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, presenting evaluations of treatment schedules and reports of encouraging activity with compounds in development. Alternating vs Sequential Regimens In 231 newly diagnosed elderly...
CellSearch can be ordered to enumerate circulating tumor cells, but this test is not recommended in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, said Peter Ravdin, MD, PhD, a Breast Cancer Researcher and Biostatistician in San Antonio, Texas, and moderator of the press conference where...
The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium brings together specialists from all over the world who focus on management of breast cancer. We have covered many of the important presentations in the pages of The ASCO Post and in our online Evening News. Below are summaries of additional noteworthy...
The Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO) announced its launch as a new organization focused on meeting the unique educational and professional needs of the advanced practitioner in hematology and oncology. The formation of the Society was made public on January 26,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the New Drug Application (NDA) for idelalisib, a targeted, oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta, for the treatment of refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The FDA has granted a standard review for the NDA, with a target review date of...
Neal J. Meropol, MD, Chief of Hematology and Oncology at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, discussed the CAIRO3 results at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. He said there are three main lessons from CAIRO3: (1) It is feasible yet challenging to...
Manish Shah, MD, Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology and Associate Professor of Medicine at New York–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, discussed the findings of the RAINBOW trial at the 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Dr. Shah noted that in this “well sized” study,...
Dr. Von Roenn’s history with ASCO spans nearly 3 decades. She has served on ASCO’s Board of Directors, the ASCO Palliative Care Task Force, the Scientific Program, Cancer Education, and Cancer Communications Committees, among others. In 2011, Dr. Von Roenn received the ASCO-ACS Award at the Annual...
Last September, Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD, left her position as Professor of Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago to join ASCO as its Senior Director of Education, Science and Professional Development. In her new position, Dr. Von Roenn will provide strategic...
The connection between smoking and lung cancer is universally accepted as scientific fact, and those who choose to smoke are painfully aware of the risk it poses for addiction and subsequent cancer. However, to fully appreciate the significance of the Surgeon General’s report, one must turn back to ...
A state-by-state update on the progress of antismoking initiatives. States are graded on four metrics: tobacco prevention, smoke-free air, cigarette tax, and cessation coverage. For example, Kentucky received 4 F’s, while New York received grades of, F, A, A, and F, respectively. Major parts of the ...
On January 11, 2014, the nation commemorated the 50th anniversary of a document that transformed our public health landscape and has saved millions of lives: Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service. This groundbreaking report, which...