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Showing 15301 - 15350U.S. Senate Confirms Robert M. Califf, MD, as FDA Commissioner
On February 24, 2016, Stephen Ostroff, MD, Acting Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement to announce that the U.S. Senate voted in support of the confirmation of Robert M. Califf, MD, to be Commissioner FDA. In the statement, Dr. Ostroff said, “Dr. Califf has...
Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity Among Surgeons Do Not Always Result in Culturally Competent Care
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.” These findings highlight...
Melanoma-Specific Survival Significantly Higher With Wider Excision Margins
Among patients with high-risk, primary cutaneous melanomas, the risk of death from melanoma, at a median follow-up of 8.8 years, was significantly higher among those randomized to surgery with a 1-cm excision margin than among those randomized to surgery with a 3-cm excision margin. Although...
A TV Host’s Breast Cancer Survival Story
Bookmark Title: Had I Known: A Memoir of SurvivalAuthor: Joan Lunden with Laura MortonPublisher: Harper CollinsPublication date: September 2015Price: $26.99; hardcover, 336 pages In 1974, several weeks after Betty Ford became the nation’s First Lady, she underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer....
Questions From Younger Patients About Colorectal Cancer Should Be Addressed Promptly
A study in Cancer1 finding an increasing rate of colorectal cancer among patients under the age of 50 should serve to raise awareness about the need for testing among those with “red-flag” symptoms and earlier screening for those at high risk, the study’s corresponding author, Samantha Hendren, MD, ...
‘Red-Flag’ Symptoms That Could Signal Colorectal Cancer in Patients Under 50 Years Old Should Be Taken Seriously
In clinical practice, Samantha Hendren, MD, MPH, has been “shocked by what a large proportion of patients we are seeing who are under 50 and presenting with colorectal cancer,” often with advanced disease due to delayed diagnosis. “And that is because patients and physicians don’t even think of...
Selected Abstracts From 2015 ASH Annual Meeting: Part 3
Here are several more abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, focusing on the topic of anticoagulation and the cancer patient. For other selected abstracts from this conference, see the December 25, 2015, and the...
Adding Targeted Therapy to Chemoimmunotherapy in Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Questions as to Optimal Strategy Remain
The HELIOS study is an international phase III trial of bendamustine (Treanda) plus rituximab (Rituxan) in combination with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) vs placebo in patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. As reported by Chanan-Khan in The Lancet Oncology1 and reviewed in this...
An Increase for the National Institutes of Health Budget
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received a nearly $2 billion funding increase—the first large increase for the agency in more than 12 years—in the federal omnibus spending bill Congress passed on December 18, 2015. And President Barack Obama signed the bill into law a day later. The 6.6%...
Comprehensive Genomic Analysis Reveals New Genetic Insights Into Malignant Mesothelioma
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer; the 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is between 5% and 10%. Although aggressive surgery can help some patients with early-stage mesothelioma, current treatments for patients with more advanced mesothelioma are...
Hyperthermic Laser Surgery Disrupts Blood-Brain-Barrier in Glioblastoma, Opening Path for Chemotherapy
Neurosurgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis used hyperthermic laser ablation to shrink tumors in patients with recurrent glioblastoma and noted a temporary disruption of the blood-brain barrier, thereby enabling them to deliver chemotherapy to the peritumoral region....
Geriatric Assessment Is Key to Treatment Decisions for Patients 80 Years and Older With Breast Cancer
A review of major studies and the current literature underscored the role of geriatric assessment in making treatment recommendations for patients aged 80 years and older with early and metastatic breast cancer. The review was reported by Shachar et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice. The...
Expert Point of View: C. Kent Osborne, MD
“We used to consider HER2-positive breast cancer one of the more aggressive forms of the disease. Now we have treatments based on HER2 expression that have dramatically altered the course of the disease for many patients,” said C. Kent Osborne, MD, who moderated the press conference where these...
Role of Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine in Metastatic Breast Cancer Solidified
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (formerly T-DM1; Kadcyla) improved overall survival compared with treatment of physician’s choice of therapy for patients with pretreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to the phase III TH3RESA trial.1 Patients enrolled in the trial had previously been...
Expert Point of View: Kathy S. Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO, and Jame Abraham, MD
The general consensus of breast cancer experts of the initial findings of BCIRG-006 triggered a more judicious use of anthracyclines, and this trend continues. Kathy S. Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO, Professor of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois, said...
Final Analysis of BCIRG-006 Supports Use of Non–Anthracycline-Containing Regimen in Treatment of Women With Early Breast Cancer
The final analysis of the BCIRG-006 trial confirmed the long-term efficacy of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in early breast cancer and also validated the concept that anthracyclines increase toxicity and they are not always necessary for a good outcome.1 The 10-year follow-up of the landmark trial was...
Making the Most of Poster Sessions
Nathan A. Pennell, MD, PhD, an Associate Professor and Director of the Lung Cancer Medical Oncology Program at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute and a Poster Walk leader at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting, offers advice for anyone planning to attend a Poster Session: Plan ahead. Make sure ...
2015 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium Highlights
The Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, held October 9–10, 2015, in Boston, Massachusetts, brought together more than 670 members of the cancer care community, including oncologists, radiologists, palliative care specialists, nurses, and patient advocates. Sessions delivered information on...
ASCO Recommends Improvements to Medicare for Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions
ASCO has submitted comments to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care Working Group regarding the Bipartisan Chronic Care Working Group Policy Options document published in December 2015. The society commended the working group for its efforts to improve the Medicare program for...
Conquer Cancer Foundation–Funded Research Published in High-Impact Journals
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (CCF) encourages grantees to share the results of their research to help advance progress against cancer. Publication in peer-reviewed journals is one of the most important ways for scientists to achieve recognition. That...
Advanced Imaging May Be Unnecessary for Many Women With Early Breast Cancer, but Rate of Such Testing Remains High
Up to 60% of the computed tomography (CT) scans, bone scans, and positron emission tomography (PET) scans performed for more than 29,000 Michigan women diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2008 and 2014 could not be medically justified based on retrospective record review, according to the...
ASCO’s Incoming President-Elect Charts His Course for 2017
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...
Carfilzomib Plus Dexamethasone in Previously Treated Multiple Myeloma
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 January 21, 2016, carfilzomib (Kyprolis) was approved for use in ...
Pediatric Oncology Groups Endorse Ethical Framework for Rationing Scarce Drugs
The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) have endorsed formal clinical recommendations for rationing chemotherapy and supportive care agents during times of shortage. The guidance is needed because persistent shortages of many standard...
PET Scan Use in Follow-up Care for Lung and Esophageal Cancer Shows Wide Variation Between Hospitals, No Impact on Survival
A new study suggests that one approach to watching for a cancer's return is being inappropriately used at many hospitals and isn't helping patients survive longer. The findings are published by Healy et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study looked at how often survivors ...
Two Forms of Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases Are Equally Effective
While two advanced radiosurgery approaches—Gamma Knife and RapidArc—offer different strengths, they are equally effective at eradicating cancer in the brain, say researchers at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. Their study, published by Liu et al in Frontiers in Oncology,...
Expert Point of View: Ravi Vij, MD
“These are very exciting data,” said Ravi Vij, MD, Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine. “To see such responses in a phase I study in such a relapsed/refractory disease is indeed amazing.” “We have already seen the value of immunomodulatory drugs and...
Survivorship Care in Manitoba: Transition Appointments and Follow-up Care Plans
Working with specialized oncology teams, a provincial agency in Manitoba, Canada, has developed standardized care plans and guidelines for cancer survivors that are implemented in a transition appointment.1 This appointment, which follows the end of active treatment, marks the transfer of medical...
Genomic Alterations in Primary Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Desmedt et al identified genomic alterations in invasive lobular breast cancer, including several that may serve as targets for current treatment and for treatment research. Invasive lobular breast cancer cells are characterized by...
Patient and Provider Engagement With Healthy Lifestyle Information
Most young women diagnosed with breast cancer are not physically active in the months after a cancer diagnosis, but physical activity increased over time. According to data presented at the 2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, higher levels of physical activity were seen among women whose oncology...
Expert Point of View: Daniel Hamstra, MD
Formal discussant of these trials Daniel Hamstra, MD, of Texas Center for Proton Therapy, Irving, offered his perspective. With increased doses of radiation using additional conventional fractions, tumor control is improved, but the risk of damage to normal tissue is increased. Hypofractionation is ...
Half of Elderly Patients With Colorectal Cancer Receive Expensive Therapy With Little Survival Benefit
A study published by Bradley et al in Medical Care showed that over a recent 10-year period, the rate of metastatic colorectal cancer patients older than age 75 receiving three or more treatments increased from 2% to 53%. During this period, 1-year treatment costs increased 32% to reach an...
Children With Leukemia From High-Poverty Areas More Likely to Suffer Early Relapse
Among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common pediatric cancer, those who live in high-poverty areas are substantially more likely to suffer early relapse than other patients, despite having received the same treatment, according to new research from Dana-Farber/Boston...
Expert Point of View: Irvin M. Modlin, MD, Lisa Bodei, MD, and Eric Liu, MD
The ASCO Post interviewed Irvin M. Modlin, MD, Emeritus Professor of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, regarding his thoughts on the NETTER-1 results and peptide receptor radionuclide therapies for neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Modlin led the first study of a peptide...
Study Finds Most Patients With Melanoma Had Few Total Nevi and No Atypical Nevi
Although nevi are considered among the strongest risk factors for melanoma, most patients with melanoma had few total and no atypical nevi, according to a study of 566 patients with invasive cutaneous melanoma. “Three notable findings emerged from this case study,” Alan C. Geller, MPH, ...
Radiolabeled Somatostatin Analog May Represent A Paradigm Change in the Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumors
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...
ASCO Provides Support and Guidance for the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative
Although President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act in 1971, essentially declaring a war on cancer, the genesis of the idea had actually been born 2 years earlier, after the first landing on the moon set off a new era of scientific exploration and sparked a belief that any scientific...
Neratinib Shows Some Activity in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Brain Metastases
In the phase II Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) 022 study, reported by Freedman et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the erbB1, HER2, erbB4 inhibitor neratinib showed some activity in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer brain metastases. Study Details In the...
Expert Point of View: Irvin M. Modlin, MD, and Eric Liu, MD
Two neuroendocrine tumor experts had slightly different reactions to the latest RADIANT-4 data. Irvin M. Modlin, MD, Emeritus Professor of Gastroenterological Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, said in an interview that he essentially restricts his use of...
Everolimus Effective in Neuroendocrine Tumors of Gastrointestinal Origin
In a subgroup analysis of the phase III RADIANT-4 trial, focusing on neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal origin, the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) essentially doubled the median progression-free survival time, compared with placebo, researchers reported at the 2016 Gastrointestinal...
Adding Immunotherapy to Radiofrequency Ablation in Colorectal Cancer With Liver Metastasis Shows Promise in Preclinical Models
In a retrospective case-controlled study conducted in patients with colorectal cancer who had received primary tumor resection with or without preoperative radiofrequency ablation for liver metastases, the electrical procedure was found to induce antitumor immune responses in the...
Study Links Normal Stem Cells to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
A study that revealed new findings about prostate cells may point to future strategies for treating aggressive and therapy-resistant forms of prostate cancer. The study proved that the prostate basal cell layer contains adult stem cells, which possess a unique gene-expression profile resembling the ...
New Biomarker Identifies Uveal Melanoma Patients at High Risk for Metastasis
Among uveal melanomas categorized as class 1, those with high levels of PRAME mRNA were more likely to metastasize than those with low levels of PRAME mRNA, suggesting that patients who have class 1 uveal melanoma with high levels of PRAME mRNA should be monitored more closely for metastatic...
Racial/Ethnic Variations in Lung Cancer Incidence and Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative Study Cohort
As reported by Patel et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, analysis of lung cancer incidence and mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative Study cohort of postmenopausal women showed a marginally significant lower risk of cancer in Hispanic women vs white women and no difference in...
Breast Reconstruction Using Abdominal Tissue: Differences in Outcome With Four Techniques
In women undergoing breast reconstruction using autologous tissue, newer muscle-sparing abdominal flaps can reduce complications while improving some aspects of quality of life, according to a study by Macadem et al in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Comparison of four types of abdominal flaps ...
Study Finds 36% Increase in Number of Male Smokers in India Over 17 Years
The number of men smoking tobacco in India rose by more than one third to 108 million between 1998 and 2015, according to a new study published in the journal BMJ Global Health. The study also found that cigarettes were replacing the traditional bidi, a small, inexpensive Indian cigarette,...
Malignant Brain Tumors Most Common Cause of Cancer Deaths in Adolescents and Young Adults
A new report published by Ostrom et al in the journal Neuro-Oncology sponsored by the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) found that malignant brain tumors are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 39, and the most common cancer occurring...
2016 Quality Care Symposium: New Triage System Decreases Emergency Room Visits by Oncology Patients in Florida
A quality improvement initiative to reduce patients’ reliance on emergency room (ER) visits to treat cancer treatment side effects has shown to be highly effective, according to early findings from a new study. The strategy, involving a telephone triage service coupled with patient education, ...
2016 Quality Care Symposium: Online Tool Improves Access to Information on Cancer Treatment Costs
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...
2016 Quality Care Symposium: Study Suggests Many Women With Early Breast Cancer Receive Unnecessary Imaging Tests
A new study suggests that up to 60% of the computed tomography (CT) scans, bone scans, and positron-emission tomography (PET) scans performed for more than 29,000 Michigan women diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2008 and 2014 could not be medically justified based on retrospective record...
