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Showing 15101 - 15150Cancer Will Always Be Part of My Life
My first experience with cancer was when I was just 9 years old, and a lump the size of an egg popped out on the right side of my neck. A biopsy of the tumor found that it was Hodgkin lymphoma, and I was given huge doses of external-beam radiotherapy applied to my neck, chest, and underarm lymph...
Margaret Foti Recognized as 2015 Honoree of the ‘One Hundred’ by Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was honored for her “dedication and commitment to solving cancer through research” and for her “passionate advocacy for increased federal funding for cancer research and biomedical science,” at Massachusetts...
Jonathan L. Finlay, MB, ChB, FRCP, Recipient of the Elizabeth and Richard Germain Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer
During the Wyss Family Symposium, hosted by Nationwide Children’s Hospital May 11–12, Jonathan L. Finlay, MB, ChB, FRCP, Director of Neuro-Oncology at Nationwide Children’s, was announced as the first recipient of the Elizabeth and Richard Germain Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer. Dr. Finlay is...
Five Oncology Researchers Selected as Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced 26 of the nation’s top biomedical researchers as investigators for the Institute. These scientists will receive the flexible support necessary to move their research in creative new directions. The initiative represents an investment in basic biomedical ...
Another Angiogenesis Inhibitor Shows Benefit in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, but Where Do We Go Next?
The phase III RAISE trial—reported by Tabernero and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology1 and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—demonstrated that ramucirumab (Cyramza), a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody to the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) extracellular domain, in...
Nancy Brinker Named May LUNGevity Hero
The LUNGevity Foundation has announced Nancy Brinker, Founder and Chief of Global Strategy of Susan G. Komen, as the May LUNGevity Hero in recognition of her decades-long dedication and trailblazing work in the fight against cancer. A true pioneer of the advocacy movement, Ms. Brinker gave a...
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, Receives the 2015 Wallace A. Reed, MD, Award
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, Distinguished Professor and Physician-in-Chief of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), received the 2015 Wallace A. Reed, MD, Award on May 29 from the Arizona Medical Association (ArMA). The award recognizes his accomplishments in advancing innovative...
Fulfilling NCI’s Commitment to Supporting the Best Science
On April 1, 2015, Douglas R. Lowy, MD, became Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), succeeding Harold Varmus, MD, who left NCI to join the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. (See “The Next Step in a Storied Career,” in the May 25, 2015 issue of The ASCO Post.)...
The Promise of Immune Checkpoint Inhibition: Changing the Therapeutic Landscape for Melanoma and Other Malignancies
The past 3 years have witnessed transformative changes in the way that solid tumors and hematologic malignancies are approached, in almost every instance now including consideration of some form of immunomodulation in the first- or later-line therapeutic setting. The greatest success has occurred...
New ASCO University® Tumor Genomics Program Helps Cancer Care Providers Increase Their Understanding of Next-Generation Sequencing
Innovation in the field of genomic assessment and characterization has rapidly progressed in recent years. As next-generation sequencing increasingly becomes a standard of care, it is vital for cancer care providers to develop a deeper understanding of its research and clinical applications. For...
ASCO Launches Electronic Practical Tips for the Oncology Practice, 6th Edition
In mid-May, ASCO launched Practical Tips for the Oncology Practice, 6th Edition, a comprehensive resource providing answers to the most commonly asked questions regarding billing, coding, reimbursements, coverage questions, and regulatory policies that affect the day-to-day practice of oncology....
First National Data on Breast Cancer Subtypes Mark New Era in Biomarker Epidemiology
This year’s Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer contains the first national combined data set on the incidence of four major breast cancer subtypes by race/ethnicity, poverty level, geography, and other factors. The findings show that “there are unique racial/ethnic-specific incidence...
The Basket Trial: An Evolving Clinical Trial Design
The recently published results of the CUSTOM (Molecular Profiling and Targeted Therapies in Advanced Thoracic Malignancies) trial, reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, describe a basket trial focused on identifying molecular biomarkers in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small...
Outcomes of the CUSTOM ‘Basket’ Trial of Molecular Profiling and Targeted Therapy in Advanced Thoracic Malignancies
In the phase II CUSTOM trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ariel Lopez-Chavez, MD, Anish Thomas, MD, and colleagues performed molecular profiling of tumors in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), or thymic malignancies and...
What Is the Future of Intraperitoneal Treatment in Advanced Ovarian Cancer?
An analysis of Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) studies recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tewari and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post showed a survival benefit of intraperitoneal chemotherapy vs intravenous chemotherapy over long-term follow-up in women...
Long-Term Survival Advantage Seen With Intraperitoneal vs Intravenous Chemotherapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer
In an analysis of Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) studies reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Devansu Tewari, MD, of Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center, and colleagues found that intraperitoneal chemotherapy was associated with a survival advantage compared with intravenous...
Anti–PD-L1 Agent Shows Activity in Early Study of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
An investigational immunotherapy called MPDL3280A showed encouraging and durable clinical activity in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, in an early study presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).1 Responses...
Studies Evaluate Effectiveness of Active Surveillance in Prostate Cancer Patients
Active surveillance has become a viable option for many men with low-risk prostate cancer who choose not to undergo active treatment such as surgery or radiotherapy. Four studies evaluating the effectiveness, trends, and other considerations for active surveillance in managing prostate cancer were...
New Studies Call for Smarter Approach to Prostate Cancer Screening
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in American men, yet controversy over the utilization and frequency of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening methods remains, due to the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of men with low-grade, less-aggressive forms of the disease. At the 110th...
Cost Analysis of Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomy
Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy may ease cancer-related anxiety for patients at high risk of breast cancer, but it does very little to contain the costs. A study presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons 16th Annual Meeting found that bilateral prophylactic mastectomy was not...
Expert Point of View: Alison M. Friedmann, MD
Commenting on the AREN0532/AREN0533 data, Alison M. Friedmann, MD, of the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, said that this is an important study. “This continues to build on the highly successful risk-adapted treatment approach of the previous National...
Expert Point of View: Andrew B. Lassman, MD
Formal discussant, Andrew B. Lassman, MD, of the Department of Neurology at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Columbia University Medical Center in New York, congratulated Dr. Brown and his coauthors for undertaking and completing a “herculean task” that took 10 years. To illustrate...
Whole-Brain Radiation: Risks Outweigh Benefits for Limited Brain Metastases
New data from a phase III Alliance trial weighs in on a longstanding debate in the treatment of brain metastases: Should whole-brain radiation therapy be added to stereotactic radiosurgery? The study found that although whole-brain radiation therapy improved local tumor control in patients with...
Expert Point of View: Lori J. Wirth, MD
Pembrolizumab [Keytruda] has a more favorable side-effect profile than cytotoxic chemotherapy and cetuximab [Erbitux]. This is particularly important for recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer patients who have been so beaten up by their disease, the treatment for their disease, and their...
Clinically Meaningful Preliminary Results With Pembrolizumab in Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is making inroads into head and neck cancer, with encouraging results in heavily pre-treated patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, according to a report on the expansion-cohort KEYNOTE-012 study presented at the 2015 ASCO...
Second-Line Nivolumab Therapy Improves Survival in Patients With Nonsquamous Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immunotherapy with nivolumab (Opdivo) extended survival in patients with the most common form of lung cancer—nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients whose disease progressed on standard platinum doublet therapy who were treated with...
Expert Point of View: Neil Howard Segal, MD, PhD
Neil Howard Segal, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, who discussed the study at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting, emphasized that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) exerted a “clear benefit in patients with mismatch repair deficiency,” based on the “very impressive response rate of...
Mismatch Repair Deficiency Predicts Benefit With Pembrolizumab in Colorectal Cancer
A genetic marker to predict response to anti–PD-1 (anti-programmed cell death protein 1) antibodies may have emerged in colorectal cancer, a tumor type that is a newcomer to the anti–PD-1 ballgame. In a phase II study of colorectal cancer patients treated with pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the presence ...
Clinical Trials, Drug Costs, and Restoring the Primacy of the Patient Volunteer
“What’s past is prologue.” —William Shakespeare Today, a cancer drug under study in a clinical trial is commonly provided for a finite period of time after the study closes to accrual. If that drug were not yet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved when the study began, the complimentary ...
CheckMate 067: Dual Checkpoint Blockade Proves Effective in Advanced Melanoma
In advanced melanoma, combination treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) more than doubled the median progression-free survival time over ipilimumab alone in the CheckMate 067 trial. That said, single-agent nivolumab proved almost as powerful in patients expressing the programmed ...
Sexual Dysfunction After Gynecologic Cancer Treatment
A study presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting showed decreased sexual activity in women following treatment for gynecologic cancers, down from 6 to 7 times per month before treatment to 3 to 5 times per month after treatment (abstract 9592). “[Sexual dysfunction] is a topic that not many people want ...
Response to May 10 Cartoon
As a medical writer specializing in oncology, an ASCO member, and someone who tries to build sensitivity to patients into all my work, I was concerned about the cartoon I saw in the May 10, 2015, issue of The ASCO Post. On page 46, there is a cartoon of someone being thrown off a cliff because he...
Patient Guides Available Through ASCO University Bookstore
ASCO Answers: Managing the Cost of Cancer Care explains the various costs associated with cancer treatment, including health-care coverage through the Affordable Care Act. It also provides a list of financial resources available to help offset expenses related to care and tips for organizing...
Carpe Diem
My life as a cancer survivor and an oncologist has taught me the importance of living every day to the fullest. Sometimes we all need a little reminding to appreciate life to the fullest. When I think of my former patient, Marc, that is what comes to mind. When I was a senior in high school, I was...
Redefining Cancer
The ability to interrogate cancer cells at the genomic, proteomic, immunologic, and metabolomic levels will transform oncology care from one that relies mainly on trial-and-error treatment strategies based on the anatomy of the tumor to one that is more precisely based on the tumor’s molecular...
‘Frozen Sleep’ as Cancer Treatment, Springfield, Illinois, 1939
Through the Lens of Oncology History: A Century of Progress The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology Tumors & Treatment: A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS. The photo below is from the volume titled “The Radium...
Hormonal Therapy and Risk of Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecologic malignancy in the United States, with an estimated 21,290 new cases expected this year. Ovarian cancer causes 5% of all cancer deaths in women, making it responsible for the highest number of gynecologic cancer deaths.1 Age, family history, and...
Meta-analysis Shows Increased Risk of Ovarian Cancer With Menopausal Hormone Therapy
In a study reported in The Lancet, the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer found that use of menopausal hormone therapy was associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer, with risk being highest among current users.1 The study consisted of meta-analyses of...
Deciphering the Genetic Variability of Cancer to Advance Precision Oncology Care
In 2014, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York opened the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology with the sole purpose of expediting the translation of novel molecular discoveries into clinical innovations to turn the goal of precision oncology care into...
ASCO Releases Payment Reform Proposal to Support Higher Quality, More Affordable Cancer Care
ASCO released a proposal to significantly improve the quality and affordability of care for cancer patients. ASCO’s Patient-Centered Oncology Payment: Payment Reform to Support Higher Quality, More Affordable Cancer Care (PCOP) proposal is designed to simultaneously improve services to patients and ...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy Proves Effective in Localized, High-Risk Prostate Cancer
For the first time, a large randomized trial has suggested that overall survival is improved by the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy to androgen suppression and radiotherapy in men with localized, high-risk, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Docetaxel has been used to treat metastatic...
Expert Point of View: Jeremy Abramson, MD
Jeremy Abramson, MD, Clinical Director of the Center for Lymphoma at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, is not convinced that ibrutinib (Ibruvica) combined with bendamustine (Treanda) and rituximab (Rituxan) should be the new standard of care for previously treated chronic lymphocytic...
Ibrutinib Plus Bendamustine/Rituximab Called a New Standard in Patients With Previously Treated CLL
The addition of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to standard therapy with bendamustine (Treanda)/rituximab (Rituxan) significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death and overall response rates compared with bendamustine/rituximab alone in previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
Two Factors Predict for Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With Cancer
Patients with cancer who develop venous thromboembolism are at high risk of such obstructive disease recurring despite adequate anticoagulation. A prespecified analysis of the CATCH trial identified two major predictors of recurrence: venous compression by the tumor and a diagnosis of hepatobiliary ...
Eribulin Improves Overall Survival in Difficult-to-Treat Sarcoma Types
Eribulin (Halaven), a cytotoxic agent approved for advanced/metastatic breast cancer, may improve overall survival for patients with two common and difficult-to-treat forms of advanced/metastatic sarcoma, investigators reported at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 Eribulin is a microtubule inhibitor...
Not All Stage III Melanoma Patients Need Complete Nodal Dissection
Complete lymph node dissection did not improve survival in melanoma patients randomized to this practice, vs sentinel lymph node biopsy alone, German investigators reported at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 “This is the first study that tested the typical recommendation of complete lymph node...
Routine Resection of Cavity Shave Margins Halved Reexcision Rates in Breast Cancer
Taking additional tissue circumferentially around the cavity left by partial mastectomy (“cavity shave margins”) cut the rate of positive margins by nearly 50% and the rate of reexcision for margin clearance by more than 50% compared with standard partial mastectomy with or without the surgeon...
Single-Agent Daratumumab Activity Deemed ‘Remarkable’ in Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Heavily pretreated patients with multiple myeloma achieved rapid, durable, and deepening responses to the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody daratumumab, in a phase II study presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 “Daratumumab showed remarkable single-agent activity in heavily pretreated and...
ASCO Releases Details of Its Conceptual Framework for Assessing Value in Cancer Care
Defining and ensuring the delivery of high-value oncology care has been one of ASCO’s major goals for more than a decade. In 2007, ASCO formed the Task Force on the Cost of Cancer Care, now called the Value in Cancer Care Task Force, to identify the drivers of the increasing costs of oncology care...
Considering Clonality in Precision Medicine
Precision cancer medicine entails treating patients based upon the molecular characteristics of their tumor. One could argue that we have been tailoring therapeutic regimens based upon tumor characteristics for years, whether it be treating patients based upon disease subtypes determined by...
