Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, was elected ASCO President for the 2017–2018 term this past December and will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting, June 3–7, 2016, in Chicago. As an ASCO member since 1986, Dr. Johnson brings over 30 years of experience with ASCO to the...
A radiolabeled somatostatin analog compound, 177Lu-DOTA0-Tyr3-Octreotate (Lu-177 dotatate), reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 79% in the international phase III NETTER-1 population of previously treated, advanced neuroendocrine tumors of midgut origin.1 Lu-177 dotatate belongs to...
To facilitate doctor/patient conversations about costs of cancer care, researchers developed and piloted an online tool for oncologists. The innovative resource lists prices for the 50 most commonly prescribed cancer treatment regimens. A survey of the pilot users at four clinics in Washington...
Two quality improvement projects described in the Journal of Oncology Practice resulted in reduced errors in prescribing intravenous (IV) and oral chemotherapy. A project at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston outpatient infusion centers first identified 15 different types of...
Every so often, a memoir comes along in which the story speaks to universal themes. For that magic to occur, the author must step aside at times and let others tell their story, too. Moreover, the writing must be clear, vibrant, and above all else honest to the core. The recently published memoir...
“A missed opportunity” is how Susan Higginbotham, PhD, RD, Vice President for Research, American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), described the “failure” of updated dietary guidelines to recommend limiting consumption of red and processed meat. Doing so would have “the potential to save...
On January 14, 2016, the Cancer Survivorship Symposium opened with An Evening for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers, an event featuring networking, a panel discussion, and an open forum to share the challenges of living with or after a cancer diagnosis. The audience included Symposium attendees as...
A survey of oncology surgeons from six hospitals in Washington State found that the surgeons in the sample “displayed and valued cultural awareness and sensitivity” but that “cultural awareness and sensitivity did not necessarily result in culturally competent behavior.”...
Although more people than ever before are surviving cancer—there are currently 14.5 million cancer survivors, and that number is expected to climb to 19 million by 20241—they often experience long-lasting physical, emotional, and financial concerns related to the disease. To address the unmet...
Bringing new cancer therapies through the discovery and development process entails considerable risk and many years of study. It also requires substantial investment and incentives from the public and private sectors to fuel future investment and discovery. A system that rewards advances in cancer ...
Preliminary research has identified autoantibodies—immune proteins found in the blood specific for one's own proteins—that can potentially detect lung cancer early by distinguishing between smokers with or without lung cancer and can also discriminate between lung cancer and low-dose...
A study of all Norwegian men born between 1965 and 1985 showed that male cancer survivors are less likely to have children than those without a cancer diagnosis. “These findings are important for male cancer survivors, seeing as we can identify groups at risk of having reproduction...
Pediatric oncologists from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have investigated techniques to improve and broaden a novel personalized cell therapy to treat children with cancer. The researchers say that a patient’s outcome may be improved if clinicians select specific...
Cancer immunotherapy expert Crystal Mackall, MD, joined the Stanford University School of Medicine faculty on January 1 as Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, as well as Associate Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute and Co-Medical Director of the Stanford Laboratory for Cell and Gene...
BookmarkTitle: The Anti-cancer Diet: Reduce Cancer Risk Through the Foods You EatAuthors: David Khayat, MDPublisher: W.W. Norton & CompanyPublication date: April 2015Price: $26.95; hardcover, 288 pages In 2002, David Khayat, MD, was in Turkey on holiday with friends when he received a call...
Bookmark Title: The Fear Cure: Cultivating Courage as Medicine for the Body, Mind, and Soul Author: Lissa Rankin, MD Publisher: Hay House, Inc Publication date: February 23, 2015 Price: $25.99; hardcover, 336 pages Fear is a healthy survival mechanism, a fight-or-flight response designed to put...
Bookmark Title: The Death of Cancer: After Fifty Years on the Front Lines of Medicine, a Pioneering Oncologist Reveals Why the War on Cancer Is Winnable—and How We Can Get There Authors: Vincent T. DeVita, Jr, MD, and Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication date:...
According to the most recent estimates, 55% to 65% of women who inherit the BRCA1 mutation and about 45% of women who inherit the BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by the time they are 70 years old. There is also a substantial increase in the probability of developing ovarian cancers in...
Cancer will kill more than 8 million people worldwide this year, which is equivalent to the entire population of New York. Half of these will be people of working age (30–69 years old). It has been estimated that the cost implications on world economies caused by cancer and the other...
Research is the bedrock of progress against cancer, and discoveries in cancer biology are moving from bench to bedside faster than ever. No recent advance has been more transformative than the rise of immunotherapy, particularly over the past year, making this treatment strategy ASCO’s Advance of...
A 70-year-old female patient underwent a cardiac procedure to repair her mitral valve, and at the same time, she also underwent a coronary artery bypass grafting. She had an uneventful course for the first four postoperative days. On the sixth postoperative day, she started complaining of abdominal ...
A longitudinal case-controlled analysis of the probability of attaining normality after achieving 60: A perspective from the social sciences based on expert ethnographic insights.” So begins a long and charmingly erudite birthday card to internationally regarded biostatistician Norman Breslow, PhD, ...
Passion is a much-needed virtue in one who seeks to change the world for the better. When you combine intelligence, stamina, iron-willed determination, the grace of an ambassador, and simple human likability with passion, you get that rare person who can turn words and ideas into reality. Such a...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the “Art of Oncology” as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Surveys conducted between 1950 and 1970 show that most physicians considered it inhumane to give patients with a poor cancer prognosis the bad news.1,2 Since then, it has been well established that open communication between physician and patient is an essential part of effective cancer care and...
At age 73, I’m no shrinking violet and I don’t run to the doctor at the first sign of a problem. I practice naturopathy and can usually ward off potential health issues by maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. When I began experiencing some mild discomfort in my rectum 2½ years ago, I was...
Press briefing moderator George Daley, MD, PhD, of Boston Children’s Hospital, was enthusiastic about these results, despite the small number of patients treated in studies of CAR-T cells thus far. Most of the results have been in a positive direction, he noted. “It is remarkably exciting to see...
The approach of using genetically engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells has received much attention for treating leukemias, where it has achieved spectacular long-lasting complete remissions in some patients with no other treatment options. CAR-T cells are also being studied in...
Poor black patients undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer are at higher risk for death than white patients and patients with higher socioeconomic status, according to a scientific presentation by Erhunmwunsee et al at the 52nd Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The abstract,...
Two quality improvement projects described by Bryant-Bova in the Journal of Oncology Practiceresulted in reduced errors in prescribing intravenous and oral chemotherapy. A project at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston outpatient infusion centers first identified 15 different types ...
ASCO announced today that the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) will be printed on a monthly basis and offer new resources to supply oncology professionals with cutting-edge information on cancer care delivery. Doubling its content, the expanded journal also features clinical information from a...
Melanoma of the skin remains a fatal disease, and its incidence continues to rise, mostly in young adults during their prime. Surgery remains the most effective therapeutic modality, but patients’ survival depends on the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Various therapeutic agents have ...
Many breast cancer–focused meetings and conferences are held each year, but the Breast Cancer Symposium, which takes place this year in San Francisco, September 8–11, is one of the few that takes an interdisciplinary approach to delivering practical, how-to clinical information for attendees from...
Results from the Women’s Health Initiative1 showing a decreased incidence of breast cancer among postmenopausal hysterectomized women who took estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) may seem paradoxical, but “comply exactly” with laboratory research, according to V. Craig Jordan, OBE, PhD, DSc,...
Several presentations at the 59th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), held April 30–May 4 in Washington, DC, focused on cancers associated with the reproductive tract and issues important to women’s health. Four noteworthy studies presented at...
Each year in the United States, approximately 70,000 people between the ages of 15 and 40 are diagnosed with cancer. And while getting a cancer diagnosis at any age can be devastating, for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) grappling with sexuality, body image, peer pressure, dating, marriage,...
Cardiac toxicity related to chemotherapy is not a new topic but it is an increasingly important one, as concerns are no longer limited to the anthracyclines. Targeted agents unfortunately “target” the cardiovascular system as well, especially bevacizumab (Avastin), trastuzumab (Herceptin) when...
For Nora Janjan, MD, MPSA, MBA, the practice of oncology is rooted in purpose, empathy, and trust. “You walk into the hospital and you know exactly why you’re there,” she says. “You are there to help patients and their loved ones through probably the most difficult experience that they will ever...
The National Cancer Institute recognized Cheryl Saenz, MD, and Linda R. Duska, MD, among others, late last year with a Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award. The 2-year award includes $50,000 in funding for cancer research programs at NCI-designated cancer centers. The ASCO Post...
Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD, Chief, Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about her quest to stamp out the illegitimate use of alternative medicine in cancer care and the results from her latest research. A...
The challenges of life-threatening physical illness can sometimes lead to suicide. In fact, given the critical stressors that a person with cancer faces, we might expect suicide to be a more common reaction. Patients with cancer are at increased risk of completed suicide, though the prevalence of...
In the contentious debate over rising health-care spending, the cancer care policies of the British National Health Service (NHS) are often cited by U.S. policymakers as an example of how health-care rationing denies patients life-prolonging treatments based on costs. The ASCO Post recently spoke...
If the clinical trials endeavor in oncology is falling short of its goals and if targeted agents have not kept their promise, can a new approach to drug development provide a solution? Very possibly, said John Hohneker, MD, Chair of the Workshop Planning Committee for the conference, “Facilitating...
Although incidence data vary widely, breast cancer–related lymphedema may affect as many as 54% of the 2.3 million survivors of breast cancer in the United States. The condition is often disabling and can result in both long-term devastating physical consequences for survivors, including the loss...
A large-scale project in genetic profiling has identified weak points in breast tumor cells that not only represent potentially new “druggable” targets but could lead to an entirely new classification of all cancers. The findings were recently reported in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American ...
Over the past 2 decades, significant therapeutic advances have led to greater survival rates and quality of life for patients with cancer. During the same period there has been a transformation in the way oncology services are both perceived and delivered. In a recent conversation with The ASCO...
Women who have already undergone mastectomy and chemotherapy may question why additional breast cancer treatment is needed. Benjamin D. Smith, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said that he frequently has patients referred to him who initially express their preference to avoid radiation...
In this installment of Oncology Worldwide, internationally regarded lymphoma expert and cancer survivor, Kensei Tobinai, MD, Chief, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, sheds light on the Japanese oncology experience. Medical Education What was the medical school experience in Japan like? When...
George W. Sledge, Jr, MD, has been treating patients with breast cancer, and pursuing research in the field, for more than 30 years—the last few electrified by a rapid proliferation of knowledge. “We have so much to offer our patients today,” says Dr. Sledge, who serves as Ballve-Lantero Professor...
Over the past 15 years, practice guidelines have become an accepted tool to help physicians optimize patient care by offering informed assessment of the benefits and potential harms associated with various care options. However, a plethora of new guidelines have entered the market, many of which...