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Showing 13951 - 14000CLEOPATRA: Survival With Dual HER2 Blockade ‘Unprecedented’
In the final overall survival analysis of the phase III CLEOPATRA trial, HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients lived 15.7 months longer if they received pertuzumab (Perjeta) in addition to trastuzumab (Herceptin) and docetaxel, investigators reported at the European Society for Medical...
More on Chemotherapy Costs
I took exception to a number of the comments made by Rena Conti, PhD, in The ASCO Post (“Health-Care Reform Is Changing the Oncology Landscape,” October 15, 2014, page 1). I realize that The ASCO Post is not a peer-reviewed and indexed publication, but as an ASCO member, I also recognize that the...
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded to John O’Keefe, PhD, and Jointly to May-Britt Moser, PhD, and Edvard I. Moser, PhD
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded with one half to John O’Keefe, PhD, of University College London, and the second half jointly awarded to May-Britt Moser, PhD, and Edvard I. Moser, PhD, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, for their...
Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Protein Promotes Breast Cancer Recurrence by Potentiating c-MET Signaling
Breast cancer mortality is primarily due to tumor recurrence. In a study reported in Cancer Discovery, Feng and colleagues found that the suppressor of cytokine signaling protein SPSB1 is spontaneously upregulated in mammary tumor recurrence and is both necessary and sufficient to promote tumor...
DNA Double-Strand Break Repair Genes and Oxidative Damage in Brain Metastasis of Breast Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Woditschka and colleagues identified a role for the DNA repair genes BARD1 and RAD51 and oxidative damage in brain metastases in breast cancer. The two genes were implicated in expression profiling of 23 matched resected brain...
Impressive Survival Data for Women With HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Increase First-Line Use of Pertuzumab/Trastuzumab
"Impressive,” “outstanding,” and “unprecedented” are among the terms used to describe the 56.5-month overall survival for women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer receiving first-line treatment with pertuzumab (Perjeta) in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and docetaxel in the...
Ramucirumab in Combination With Paclitaxel in Advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma
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 November 5, 2014, ramucirumab (Cyramza) was approved for use...
The Power of Laughter
The following essay by Julie Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories (May 2014), coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. When I met Cindy, she was...
2014 Oncology Meetings
NOVEMBER EORTC-NCI-AACR International Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer TherapeuticsNovember 18-21 • Barcelona, SpainFor more information: www.aacr.org ESMO Symposium on Immuno-OncologyNovember 21-22 • Geneva, Switzerland For more information: www.esmo.org/Conferences/Immuno-Oncology-2014...
A Father and Son’s Journey Through Medicine
BOOKMARK Title: The Good Doctor: A Father, a Son, and the Evolution of Medical EthicsAuthor: Barron H. Lerner, MDPublisher: Beacon PressPublication date: May 13, 2014Price: $25.95; hardcover, 240 pages One morning in 1996, an infectious disease specialist was making rounds when he and his team...
Acupuncture Treatment for Cancer Pain and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves inserting and manipulating filiform needles into specific points of the body to achieve a therapeutic effect. According to traditional Chinese medicine, disruptions in the flow of “vital energy” (qi) throughout the body are the...
Why Physician-Scientists Are Indispensable to Cancer Research
This is an exciting time for cancer research. We are beginning to see breakthroughs for patients with advanced melanoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, lung cancer, and many other forms of cancer. Even so, cancer is projected to increase by about 45% and to become the leading cause of death in America ...
Clinical Trials Actively Recruiting Patients With Colon or Rectal Cancer
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies of people with colon or rectal cancer in the newly diagnosed and metastatic settings. The studies include phase I, Ib, II, observational, and interventional trials investigating new drug...
Whole-Brain Radiation Therapy Plus Stereotactic Radiosurgery Improves Survival in Better-Prognosis Patients With Brain Metastases
In a secondary analysis utilizing the graded prognostic assessment—an improved diagnosis-specific index—patients with one to three brain metastases had no survival advantage when treated with whole-brain radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery, compared with whole-brain radiotherapy alone,...
ASCO Endorses Guideline for Molecular Testing for Selecting Lung Cancer Patients for EGFR and ALK Inhibitor Treatment
ASCO has endorsed the recently developed joint College of American Pathologists (CAP), International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) guideline on molecular testing for selection of patients with lung cancer for EGFR and ALK inhibitor...
Kinase-Activating Alterations Identified in Most Cases of Philadelphia Chromosome–Like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia May Be Targetable With Available Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Kathryn G. Roberts, PhD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and colleagues performed detailed genomic analysis of patients with Philadelphia chromosome–like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and identified kinase-activating...
The RAINBOW Trial: Dawn of a New Era in Upper Gastrointestinal Malignancies
As reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post (page 155), the RAINBOW trial is an international phase III study demonstrating improved overall survival with ramucirumab (Cyramza) plus paclitaxel as second-line therapy for patients with advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma over...
Two Phase III Trials Show Benefit With BRAF/MEK Inhibitor Combination vs BRAF Inhibitor Alone in Advanced Melanoma
Two phase III trials have shown that the strategy of adding MEK inhibitor therapy to BRAF inhibitor therapy significantly improves progression-free survival in previously untreated patients with advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma.1,2 Overall survival benefit is also suggested by interim analysis in both ...
Expert Panel Explores Cost, Value, and Patient-Centered Care in Cancer Treatment
In assessing a cancer treatment, cost and value are two key factors. So how, the moderator asked, do they enter into your everyday decisions? Tanisha Carino, PhD, Executive Vice President of Avalere Health, was speaking to a clinical oncologist, a patient advocate, a pharma executive, and a health...
X-Ray of Metastatic Carcinoma of the Lungs, Washington, DC, 1924
One hundred years ago, primary lung cancer was considered a rarity, with only a few hundred cases acknowledged in the world literature. Until the middle of the 1920s, medical textbooks by noted authors continued to label the disease “rare,” although metastatic lung disease was recognized and...
Radiation Treatment for Facial Cancer, Boston, 1903
Diseases and cancers of the face were so visible and disfiguring that they were usually brought to the attention of a physician in their early stages. The effect and success produced by Finsen’s light therapy on lupus, eczema, psoriasis, other skin diseases and even infections, such as...
Expert Panels Offer Five Proposals to Address Challenges in Regulating, Implementing Next-Generation Sequencing
At the third annual Blueprint for Drug/Diagnostic Co-Development forum, cohosted by Friends of Cancer Research in Washington, DC, and the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York, two panels tackled considerations in simultaneous development of drugs and companion diagnostics. Friends of...
Dying in America: Ensuring High-Quality Care at the End of Life
In September, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life. The report argues that the U.S. health-care system subjects patients to too many—and often futile—interventions near the end of life, often ...
High-Dose Melphalan, Early Stem Cell Transplant, and Lenalidomide Maintenance in Myeloma: One Size Still Does Not Fit All
In an important recent study by Dr. Antonio Palumbo and colleagues,1 reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post (page 128), 273 patients aged ≤ 65 years were randomly assigned to early transplant or consolidation therapy using MPR (melphalan, prednisone, and lenalidomide [Revlimid]) after successful...
Key Solutions to Sexual Concerns in Cancer Survivor
Evaluating a Patient’s Sexual Health—The National Cancer Institute suggests designating and training a member of the oncology team, such as an oncology nurse or social worker, as the expert on sexual health issues. When assessing general quality-of-life concerns, relationship and sexuality should...
Addressing Patients’ Sexual Dysfunction Throughout Survivorship
Studies show that all cancers and related treatments have the potential to affect sexuality and sexual function. Surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, bone marrow transplantation, and radiation therapy can physically impact sexual health in myriad ways, including vaginal dryness, dyspareunia,...
NIH Awards Aim to Improve Understanding of Cell Pathways, Development of New Therapies
Building on a successful 3-year pilot project, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than $64 million to six individuals at five research institutions to create a database of human cellular responses—the Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS)....
Pancreatic Cancer in 2014
Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. This year, about 46,000 people in this country will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and more than 39,000 will die of the disease. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Margaret A....
Study Sheds Light on Factors That May Contribute to Pancreatic Cancer
New research that provides a better understanding of pancreatic cancer may help identify individuals at increased risk. The findings were recently published early online in Cancer.1 Pancreatic cancer is usually detected at a very late stage and has a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Strategies ...
Top 10 Myths About FDA’s Office of Hematology and Oncology Products
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its policies and procedures. In this installment, FDA oncologists Gideon Blumenthal, MD, and Tatiana Prowell, MD, discuss 10 common myths about FDA’s Office of Hematology and Oncology ...
Bortezomib in Previously Untreated Mantle Cell Lymphoma
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 October 9, 2014, bortezomib (Velcade) was granted approval for ...
Pazopanib Maintenance Improves Progression-Free Survival in Ovarian Cancer
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Andreas du Bois, MD, PhD, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology at Kliniken Essen-Mitte in Essen, Germany, and colleagues found that maintenance therapy with the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and platelet-derived...
Complexity of the Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Decision
The powerful and important study by Kurian et al,1 reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, adds vital information to the discussion regarding use of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy among patients with unilateral breast cancer in the United States.2,3 Based upon data from the California...
Study Finds Significant Increase in Bilateral Mastectomy for Unilateral Breast Cancer Despite Lack of Survival Benefit
In an observational cohort study reported in JAMA, Allison W. Kurian, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy at Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues assessed use of and mortality after bilateral mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery plus...
Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma With Lenalidomide Plus Low-Dose Dexamethasone
The FIRST trial—reported by Benboubker and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine and summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post (page 93)—is a landmark study.1 It is one of the largest randomized trials in multiple myeloma ever conducted. More importantly, it is a well-designed trial...
Continuous Lenalidomide/Dexamethasone Improves Progression-Free Survival in Transplant-Ineligible Patients With Myeloma
In the phase III FIRST trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Lotfi Benboubker, MD, Service d’Hématologie et Thérapie Cellulaire, Hôpital Bretonneau, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire (CHRU), Tours, France, and colleagues found that continuous lenalidomide (Revlimid) plus...
Expert Point of View: Hope S. Rugo, MD
Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed the results of the RESILIENCE trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology ...
Studies Evaluate Maintenance Bevacizumab in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Although bevacizumab (Avastin) may no longer be an active player in metastatic breast cancer, phase III studies presented at this year’s European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress reignited interest in the drug as part of maintenance therapy. The TANIA trial met its primary endpoint,...
Moving Forward With Biomarkers in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The effort to identify new biomarkers for response and outcomes in lung cancer is advancing, according to studies presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress in Madrid. Immunohistochemical expression of folate receptor for vintafolide and thymidylate synthase for...
Emerging Drugs Effectively Tackle Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Mutations
For advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), targeting of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation and the ALK abnormality has become an established strategy. Later-generation drugs in these categories are now showing efficacy in trials, including for the treatment of...
Single-Agent Carfilzomib, Compared to Corticosteroids Plus Cyclophosphamide, Fails to Improve Survival in Myeloma
Carfilzomib (Kyprolis), as a single agent, failed to improve survival in relapsed and refractory myeloma patients, as compared with a corticosteroid and optional cyclophosphamide, in the phase III FOCUS trial, presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress in Madrid.1...
Pazopanib Improves Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Pretreated GIST
Patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) can achieve remission on tyrosine kinase inhibitors, but almost all of them eventually develop resistance to these agents. The PAZOGIST trial results suggest that pazopanib (Votrient)—a broad-spectrum tyrosine kinase inhibitor—may be an effective ...
QUASAR2 Final Analysis: Bevacizumab Still of No Value in Adjuvant Treatment of Colorectal Cancer
The final analysis of the international phase III QUASAR2 trial confirmed the lack of benefit for bevacizumab (Avastin) as part of the adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer. “There is no role for bevacizumab in combination with capecitabine as adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer,” said...
Phase III Study Confirms Regorafenib’s Survival Benefit in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The phase III CONCUR trial1 of regorafenib (Stivarga) monotherapy in Asian patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer confirmed the overall survival benefit seen in the previous CORRECT trial,2 and in a planned subgroup analysis, suggesting the benefit is substantial in patients ...
Expert Point of View: Andrés Cervantes, MD, PhD
During a special session at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress, additional analyses from the FIRE-3 and Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB)/SWOG 80405 trial were presented, and an expert panel was charged with putting the findings into context. Role of Subsequent...
FDA Approves Labeling With Abuse-Deterrent Features for Extended-Release Opioid Analgesic
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved new labeling for morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride extended-release capsules. The drug, marketed as Embeda, is an opioid analgesic used to treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and ...
The Ohio State and Moffitt Collaborate on ORIEN: Using Big Data to Accelerate Trials With a Cancer Research ‘Expressway’
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Moffitt Cancer Center have joined forces to create the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN), the largest collaboration of its kind designed to accelerate discoveries in cancer research. Members of this alliance of cancer...
Noteworthy Abstracts From the Breast Cancer Symposium Include Studies of Novel Therapies and of the Impact of Disease Subtypes on Outcomes
More than 150 oral and poster presentations were featured at the 2014 Breast Cancer Symposium, held September 4–6 in San Francisco. The multidisciplinary meeting is sponsored by ASCO, the American Society of Breast Disease, American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Society for Radiation...
Targeted Therapies in Indolent Lymphoma: Challenging the Current Paradigm
The use of targeted therapies in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a burgeoning area. New targeted therapies directed at the cell surface, intracellular pathways, and the microenvironment are being studied for relapsed indolent NHL. These treatments, if validated in large randomized trials,...
For Selected Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, Taking a Break From Combination Chemotherapy Might Be Appropriate and Appreciated
Two phase III studies presented at the Best of ASCO meeting in Chicago shed more light on the role of maintenance therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer undergoing first-line treatment with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. The two studies compared maintenance therapy with bevacizumab...
