Several studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC, focused on factors associated with breast cancer mortality. One study found that older women with longer intervals between mammograms had a higher likelihood of dying of breast cancer. ...
One would hope that the importance of treatment for tobacco dependence would be well recognized as a cornerstone of standard care for cancer patients. However, a policy statement released by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) at its recent Annual Meeting revealed some surprising...
As recently reported by Gong Yang, MD, MPH, Research Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 higher prediagnosis consumption of soy food was associated with improved overall survival in Chinese women with lung...
The new guidelines from the College of American Pathologists, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and Association for Molecular Pathology (CAP/IASLC/AMP) are a significant step toward personalized therapy of patients with lung cancer. More than 226,000 new patients per year are...
A new guideline for molecular testing to select lung cancer patients for treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been jointly developed by the College of American Pathologists, International Association for the Study ...
In April, ASCO released its updated conflict of interest policy in the development and presentation of scientific research and educational content. The revised policy is designed to increase transparency in financial relationships between individuals and health-care companies and impose new...
For the treatment of metastases to the liver and the lung, interventional radiologists reported early success with two novel approaches at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 38th Annual Scientific Meeting, held recently in New Orleans. Cryoablation of Lung Tumors For patients with...
If sorafenib (Nexavar) and local ablation techniques are both effective in the treatment of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, could they deliver an even greater punch when combined? The concurrent use of interventional radiology approaches and sorafenib for metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma is ...
At the 18th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), representatives of NCCN Guidelines panels presented two new sets of guidelines along with updates for several tumor types, summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post. New NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship “The...
In a recent issue of The ASCO Post, I counted 14 expert commentaries where the authority who wrote or was interviewed for the piece reported “no potential conflicts of interest.” I wondered how likely that was. We need to be clearer on the meaning of potential conflicts of interest. How often have...
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 ...
“Patients with cancer who are cachexic by the conventional criterion (involuntary weight loss) and by two additional criteria (muscle depletion and low muscle attenuation) share a poor prognosis, regardless of overall body weight,” concluded a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researchers...
Older patients and those with comorbid conditions are less likely to receive palliative radiotherapy, according to an analysis of data from 51,610 patients with stage IV breast, prostate, lung, or colorectal cancer. The study also found that black patients with prostate cancer were 20% less likely...
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...
Follow-up imaging for patients with benign breast biopsies can be safely done at 12 months rather than 6 months, when radiologic and pathologic findings are concordant, according to a study reported at the American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting in Chicago.1 Current guidelines from the...
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,...
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at higher risk of melanoma, reported researchers at Mayo Clinic. Researchers found that inflammatory bowel disease is associated with a 37% greater risk for the disease. The findings were presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2013 conference in...
A proposal to examine the cellular journey from normal skin to precancerous lesion to skin cancer earned Kenneth Tsai, MD, PhD, the Sixth Annual Landon Foundation–AACR Innovator Award for Cancer Prevention Research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, held recently ...
“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,...
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...
A study analyzing the impact of the Delaware Cancer Consortium, the state’s cancer control program, reports a 41% reduction in colorectal mortality rates for African Americans.1 The recently published study provided analysis on a novel design and approach used to eliminate colorectal cancer...
Although the state of Delaware comprises just 2,489 square miles, giving it an area ranking of 49 out of 50 states, its small size gives its population of nearly 1 million an advantage many larger states do not have: ready access to local politicians to address complex issues such as improving...
The American Cancer Society encourages all to assist in efforts to fight cancer by: Donating at cancer.org/fight Participating in a local Relay For Life or Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in their community Enrolling in its Cancer Prevention Study-3 to find better ways to prevent...
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...
Mayo Clinic researchers have used next-generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression. The findings appeared online recently in the journal Cancer Research.1 Gleason...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
Results of the first of three planned annual screening examinations from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) were recently published and physicians may now have more information to share with their patients about the benefits and risks of low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening.1...
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 ...
The Dutch-Belgian Randomized Lung Cancer Screening Trial (Dutch acronym: NELSON study) was designed to investigate whether screening for lung cancer by low-dose multidetector computed tomography (CT) in high-risk subjects would lead to a decrease in 10-year lung cancer mortality of at least 25%...
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...
In a molecular profile analysis of 2,271 cases of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), EGFR was mutated in 12% and KRAS in 32% of cases. HER2 gene amplification was confirmed as a rare event in NSCLC (4%). Coexistence of HER2 gene amplification and EGFR mutation was identified in three cases, while...
“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...
Now that the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting is over, direct your patients to www.cancer.net/ascoannualmeeting to find podcasts and videos with ASCO experts and read summaries on the research highlighted at the meeting. In addition, your patients can continue to hear about the latest research throughout...
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...
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,...
Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at an intensified dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added heart toxicity, according to the results of a study published online in Blood.1 Acute...
Findings from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 00-01, recently reported by Lynda M. Vrooman, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues in Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate that postinduction dexamethasone and individualized dosing of Escherichia coli–derived...
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were recognized recently by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, and Friends of Cancer Research for their outstanding commitment to cancer...
Once-daily oral moxifloxacin works at least as well as twice-daily oral ciprofloxacin plus amoxicillin–clavulanic acid when it comes to treating febrile neutropenia in patients who are at low risk for complications, according to a randomized, double-blind trial reported in the Journal of Clinical...
On May 15, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved radium Ra 223 dichloride (Xofigo) for the treatment of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases, and no known visceral metastatic disease. Radium-223 dichloride is an alpha-particle–emitting...
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 ...
Readers’ comments extracted from www.nejm.org To force people to live simply because we possess the technology to do so does not speak to either the ethics or the morality of such a decision. Suffering has existential dimensions. Symptoms can be treated with greatest chance. My grandfather...
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. ...