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Showing 15001 - 15050HHS Announces Physician Groups Selected for Initiative Promoting Better Cancer Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that it has selected nearly 200 physician group practices and 17 health insurance companies to participate in a care delivery model that supports and encourages higher quality and more coordinated cancer care. The Medicare arm of...
Selected Hematology Abstracts From the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting
Here are several abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, focusing on clinical trials on therapeutics in different types of leukemia, multiple myeloma, follicular lymphoma, and central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. For full details of these study abstracts, visit...
App Triggers Earlier Detection of Relapse, May Help Improve Survival of Patients With Lung Cancer
Web-based applications have invaded mainstream culture and grabbed the attention of multitudes of people around the world. According to a study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, an app may also contribute to extending the lives of people with cancer and, at the same time, reduce...
Expert Point of View: Isabelle Ray-Coquard, MD, PhD
Isabelle Ray-Coquard, MD, PhD, of the Centre Leon Berard, Claude Bernard, and Professor at Claude Bernard University Lyon, France, was the study’s formal discussant. She noted the “great benefits” provided by hormonal therapy in terms of progression-free survival and, in the subset with no...
Benefit Strongly Suggested With Hormonal Maintenance in Low-Grade Serous Carcinoma
In patients with low-grade serous carcinoma, maintenance hormonal therapy reduced the risk of recurrence by 77%, compared with surveillance, in a retrospective cohort from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study was reported by David Marc Gershenson, MD, at the 2016 ASCO...
Expert Point of View: Sunil Verma, MD
Sunil Verma, MD, Professor and Head of the Department of Oncology and Medical Director of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre of the University of Calgary in Canada, was the study’s formal discussant. He cited several limitations of the study: It was an open-label study, was initially a phase II study but ...
Expert Point of View: Marc S. Ernstoff, MD
The field of studies of combination immunotherapies is exploding, and “the future looks bright, with currently 71 trials of combination therapy in melanoma,” said formal discussant of these trials Marc S. Ernstoff, MD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York. “We now know that...
Studies Suggest Bright Future for Combination Immunotherapy in Advanced Melanoma, but Questions Remain
Two studies presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting focused on the use of combination immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma. Updated results from the phase III CheckMate 067 trial centered on the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) compared...
CMS Proposal for Part B Drug Payment: A Poorly Conceived Experiment
On March 11, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register to test a change in reimbursement for Part B drugs.1 The first phase involves changing the 6% add-on to the average sales price (ASP) used to make drug payments under Part B to...
Charting a New Course at the FDA
In February, after serving for a year as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco, Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, was named the agency’s Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Prior to his appointment at the FDA, Dr. Califf was the Donald F....
Results of Two Practice-Changing Breast Cancer Trials Upheld
Results of two pivotal breast cancer trials reported at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting confirmed the practice-changing findings that resulted from earlier findings. PALOMA-2 The phase III PALOMA-2 trial confirmed results from the smaller, open-label phase II PALOMA-1 trial that led to the U.S. Food...
Stress and Adverse Life Events Unlikely to Cause Breast Cancer
Day-to-day psychological stress and adverse life events are unlikely to increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new prospective study published by Schoemaker et al in Breast Cancer Research. Women with breast cancer often consider stress as a likely cause of their ...
Swiss Study Examines Cost-Effectiveness of Nivolumab vs Docetaxel in Advanced Nonsquamous NSCLC
Nivolumab, a checkpoint inhibitor approved for patients with squamous and nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in 2015, is not cost-effective when compared to treatment with docetaxel, chemotherapy medication. However, a Swiss analysis showed the cost-effectiveness of nivolumab is...
Patient-Oncologist Difference of Opinion About Advanced Cancer Prognosis Is Common, Study Shows
Misunderstandings about prognosis between patients with advanced cancer and their doctors was common, according to a study by Gramling et al in JAMA Oncology—and the vast majority of patients didn't know that their doctors held different opinions about how long they might live. “We've...
Early Evidence of Anti–PD-1 Activity in Enzalutamide-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Restoring tumor-specific immunity is a treatment strategy that works well in melanoma and lung cancer patients. Now a new study out of the Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) Knight Cancer Institute is reviving hope that the approach also may help men with life-threatening prostate...
Preclinical Study Shows Target of Trastuzumab, Receptor Protein ErbB2, Needed for Coronary Vasculature Patterning
A receptor protein that is the target of the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) is needed for proper heart blood vessel development, reported researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. They published their findings this month in a paper ...
PET/MRI: A One-Stop Imaging Test to Detect Prostate Cancer?
A University of Michigan study published by Piert et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine reported that the addition of molecular imaging based on F-18-choline positron-emission tomography (PET) improves the identification of significant prostate cancer over multiparametric prostate magnetic...
Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese People May Lower Levels of Certain Proteins Linked to Cancer
A new study investigating the effects of dietary weight loss and exercise on circulating levels of certain angiogenesis-related proteins, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), in postmenopausal...
Juno Therapeutics to Resume JCAR015 Phase II ROCKET Trial After FDA Clinical Hold
Juno Therapeutics, Inc, announced on July 12, 2016, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed the clinical hold on the phase II clinical trial of JCAR015 (known as the ROCKET trial) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Under the ...
Opportunistic Salpingectomy for Ovarian Cancer Prevention Adopted Without Adverse Surgical Outcomes
A surgical procedure recommended to reduce the future risk of ovarian cancer has been successfully implemented throughout Kaiser Permanente in Northern California without a change in surgical outcomes, according to research published by Garcia et al in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Previous...
Immune Cell Infiltrates May Portend Better Prognosis Across Several Tumor Types
High expression of T-cell and B-cell signatures in infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment predicted improved overall survival across many tumor types, according to a study reported by Iglesia et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Study Details The study involved use of mRNA...
Internationally Renowned Geneticist, Alfred George Knudson, MD, PhD, Dies
Considered a visionary in cancer research, Alfred George Knudson, MD, PhD, was internationally recognized for his “two-hit theory” of cancer causation, which explained the relationship between hereditary and nonhereditary cancer types, predicting the existence of tumor-suppressor genes. ...
New Analysis Evaluates Predictors of Persistent Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery
An analysis led by McMaster University researchers has found that women who undergo armpit lymph node surgery for breast cancer are much more likely to develop chronic pain. Wang et al published their review of studies exploring risk factors for developing chronic pain after breast cancer...
Heart Failure After First Heart Attack Associated With Increased Risk of Cancer
Patients who develop heart failure after their first heart attack have a greater risk of developing cancer when compared to first-time heart attack survivors without heart failure, according to a study published by Hasin et al in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Heart failure...
Plasma vs Tissue Genotyping and Outcomes With Osimertinib in Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor T790M resistance mutation on a plasma assay had similar outcomes with the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib (Tagrisso) as did those who were...
Despite Increasing Global Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Use Remains Rare
Despite increasing legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide worldwide, the practices remain relatively rare and, when carried out, are primarily motivated by psychological factors such as loss of autonomy or enjoyment of life, rather than physical pain. A new comprehensive...
Survey Asks Women Whom They Trust Most When Selecting Breast Cancer Surgery and Reviews Postsurgical Satisfaction
A research team led by Rebecca M. Kwait, MD, Breast Health Fellow at The Breast Health Center at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, recently presented research indicating that when faced with a decision on the type of surgery to have for breast cancer, more women trust their own judgment ...
FDA Approves First HPV Test for Use With SurePath Preservative Fluid
On July 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Roche cobas HPV Test as the first test for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that can be used with cervical cells obtained for a Papanicolau (Pap) test and collected in SurePath Preservative Fluid. The FDA approves HPV tests to be used...
FDA Advances Precision Medicine Initiative by Issuing Draft Guidances on Next-Generation Sequencing–Based Tests
In support of the President’s Precision Medicine Initiative, on July 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued two draft guidances that, when finalized, will provide a flexible and streamlined approach to the oversight of tests that detect medically important differences in a...
ESMO Releases New Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has released new consensus guidelines for the management of metastatic colorectal cancer that reflect an increasingly personalized approach to treatment. These guidelines were published by Van Cutsem et al in Annals of Oncology. “Management of ...
When Combined With Targeted Therapy, Cytoreductive Nephrectomy May Improve Survival in Metastatic RCC
In a National Cancer Data Base study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hanna et al found that cytoreductive nephrectomy may improve survival in patients receiving targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Study Details The study involved data from 15,390 patients treated...
Impact of Systemic Inflammation on Quality of Life in Advanced Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Laird et al found that increased systemic inflammation was associated with poorer patient-reported quality of life independent of performance status. Study Details The study involved data from 2,520 adult patients in a biobank of patients...
World GI 2016: Anti–PD-L1 Immunotherapy Combined With MEK Inhibition Shows Response in Microsatellite-Stable Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Anti–PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) immunotherapy may achieve a response in patients with microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer if combined with a MEK inhibitor, according to phase I data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 18th World Congress on ...
World GI 2016: Phase III RESORCE Study Data Show Regorafenib Improves Overall Survival in Previously Treated Patients With Unresectable Liver Cancer
Results from the phase III RESORCE trial show that regorafenib (Stivarga) tablets achieved a median overall survival improvement in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that progressed after treatment with sorafenib (Nexavar) tablets. The study, presented by Bruix et al during...
Study Finds Incidence of Mutations in DNA-Repair Genes Significantly Higher in Men With Metastatic Prostate Cancer
The incidence of mutations in DNA-repair genes was significantly higher among men with metastatic prostate cancer than among men with localized disease (11.8% vs 4.6%), according to a study by Pritchard et al reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, the frequency ...
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy May Render Advanced Ovarian Cancers Responsive to Immunotherapy
Although most patients with advanced ovarian cancer initially respond to platinum-based chemotherapy, they usually relapse. According to a study by Frances R. Balkwill, PhD, Professor of Cancer Biology at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom, and colleagues...
Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Events Seen in Patients With CML Taking Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors have dramatically increased survival for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), continuous administration of these drugs may elicit long-term toxicity, including cardiovascular adverse events. To investigate the incidence of vascular events in patients...
Ann G. Schwartz, PhD, MPH, Elected to ILCCO Steering Committee
Ann G. Schwartz, PhD, MPH, Deputy Center Director and Executive Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, was recently elected to a...
ASH and LLS Announce AML Awareness and Education Collaboration
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) are teaming up to raise awareness and provide education about the need for new treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a complex group of approximately 20 different types of blood cancers with a very...
Prevention Needed to Stem Global Rise in Human Papillomavirus–Related Anal Cancer
The incidence rate of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related anal cancer and its precursor lesion, anal intraepithelial neoplasia, is rising in the United States and globally. Although 5-year survival rates in localized disease are generally favorable, survival in metastatic disease remains poor,...
Stereo X-Ray of Stomach Cancer
A few months after William Roentgen’s first publications, x-rays were being produced as stereoroentgenograms. Doctors Emil Beck, James MacKenzie, Charles Leonard, Hildebrand, Walsham, and others used stereoroentgenography during the first decade of the 20th century to study the lungs, heart, and...
A Concerned Physician Reflects on Today’s Doctor-Patient Relationship
Doctoring isn’t what it used to be. Like many other professions, it has gone through a multitude of changes ostensibly to improve efficiencies and lower costs. The digital age has reshaped clinical practice from the front office to the exam room. And with the advent of electronic health records...
Managing Upper Extremity Dysfunction in Breast Cancer Survivors
With an increased number of breast cancer survivors and patients with metastatic disease living longer, it is imperative for oncology care providers to manage issues of new and chronic upper extremity dysfunction as a result of the malignancy itself or its treatment. As one of my patients...
Detection of Breast Cancer With Ultrasound vs Tomosynthesis in Women With Mammography-Negative Dense Breasts
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alberto S. Tagliafico, MD, of the University of Genoa, and colleagues, interim findings in the Italian prospective ASTOUND study indicate that ultrasound is associated with improved incremental detection of breast cancer at screening compared with ...
Complexities in the Diagnosis and Management of Amyloidosis
Question 1: What is the next best step for this patient? Correct Answer: C. Determination of amyloid subtype. Expert Perspective Amyloidosis encompasses a heterogeneous group of diseases bound by the characteristic deposition of amyloid fibrils in soft tissues and bone marrow, and it could be...
Four NCI-Designated Cancer Centers Collaborate to Establish Research Consortium
The Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, and The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have...
HOX Gene Expression in Ovarian Cancer Offers Novel Prognostic Significance
A new study has identified a gene signature that predicts poor survival from ovarian cancer. The study also identified genes which help the cancer develop resistance to chemotherapy—offering a new route to help tackle the disease. The study, published by Kelly et al in the International...
Relapse of Leukemia After Bone Marrow Transplantation: Cytomegalovirus Infection Has No Protective Effect
Recent studies on a small number of patients with leukemia treated with bone marrow transplantation have suggested that the presence of the common cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients or their donors may protect against relapse or even death after the transplant. A large international study published...
Cancer Research Grant Opportunities for Early-Career and Junior Faculty Researchers
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO (CCF) is currently accepting applications for the 2017 Young Investigator Award (YIA) and Career Development Award (CDA). Young Investigator Award (YIA) A 1-year grant totaling $50,000, the YIA provides research funding to promising physicians to support the...
QOPI Certification Program Certifies First International Practice
On June 1, 2016, ASCO announced that the Contemporary Oncology Team of Athens, Greece, as part of the new international pilot project, is the first international practice to receive Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) certification through QOPI Certification Program, LLC (QCP). What is...
