Search Results
Your search for The ASCO Post matches 17431 pages
Showing 15401 - 15450The Emerging Role of Radiation Therapy in Gastrointestinal Cancers
The use of radiation therapy in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer has evolved over the past several decades, in a gradual, stepwise fashion. Since most gastrointestinal cancers are diagnosed at a locally advanced stage, coupled with the inherent sensitivity of most parts of the...
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Appoints Chair of Department of Radiation Oncology
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has named Thomas E. Merchant, DO, PhD, as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Merchant will hold the Baddia J. Rashid Endowed Chair in Radiation Oncology. “Dr. Merchant is a proven leader in pediatric radiotherapy and will be instrumental in...
Current Progress Against Cancer and What Lies Ahead in the Next Decade
In January, ASCO released its report, Clinical Cancer Advances 2015: An Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer,1 which details research advances over the past decade that have led to longer survival and better quality of life for the more than half-a-million people diagnosed with cancer each...
Jim Hu, MD, Joins NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College
Jim Hu, MD, has been appointed Director of the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and recruited as the Ronald Lynch Chair of Urologic Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College. He assumed his new role on February 1. Dr. Hu is an expert in the use...
Global Oncology Launches Global Cancer Project Map With NCI
Nonprofit Global Oncology, Inc (GO) announced the launch of the Global Cancer Project Map, a novel online resource and virtual information exchange connecting the global cancer community. Developed by Global Oncology in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Global...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Overall Survival in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Still Climbing the Mountain
Muscle-invasive bladder cancer can be a lethal disease despite curative intent local therapy, with 5-year survival that can be as low as 30% based on the extent of T status and/or lymph node involvement. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with MVAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and...
NCCN Honors Joseph V. Simone, MD, FASCO, and John A. Gentile, Jr, at Group’s 20th Annual Conference
At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 20th Annual Conference held last month in Hollywood, Florida, NCCN honored Joseph V. Simone, MD, FASCO, and John (Jack) A. Gentile, Jr, with the NCCN Board of Producers Award. Dr. Simone is President of Simone Consulting Company, which advises...
Michael H. Levy, MD, PhD, Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Michael H. Levy, MD, PhD, Director of the Pain and Palliative Care Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and one of the founding leaders of the American hospice and palliative care movement, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine...
EMPEROR Science Award Program
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and PBS LearningMedia announced The EMPEROR Science Award Program. This initiative will encourage students from disadvantaged high schools to pursue careers in science, with a particular emphasis on cancer research, through a year of mentorship with a scientist from a...
Breast Cancer Management in Review
Anyone who has attended the major oncology meetings knows that research from clinical trials in breast cancer often dominates the stage, with countless abstracts featuring new and updated results. To help the readers of The ASCO Post stay up to date with the latest discoveries and findings...
James P. Allison, PhD, Wins 2015 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
James P. Allison, PhD, Chair of Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has received the 2015 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in recognition of his work in the field of immunotherapy. “In immunotherapy, it’s not the tumor but the immune system that is targeted....
FDA Approves Nivolumab to Treat Metastatic Squamous NSCLC
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of patients with metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Nivolumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the...
FDA Approves First Biosimilar Product Filgrastim-Sndz
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), the first biosimilar product approved in the United States. A biosimilar product is a biologic product that is approved based on a showing that it is highly similar to an already-approved biologic. The biosimilar...
Results of RTOG 0617 Reconsidered
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0617 was a study initially designed to address an important issue in radiation oncology regarding the treatment of stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Are outcomes improved with high-dose as opposed to standard-dose thoracic radiation therapy? The...
New Tobacco Atlas Details Scale and Harm of the Tobacco Epidemic
The Tobacco Atlas, fifth edition, its companion mobile app, and website TobaccoAtlas.org, were released by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation at the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health held March 17–21, 2015 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Atlas details the scale...
State Oncology Societies Join ASCO’s Call on Congress to Replace SGR Formula
In a show of solidarity, state oncology societies from across the United States joined ASCO in its call on Congress to repeal Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before the current payment patch expires. In a letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership, 48 signatories, representing tens ...
NCCN Publishes New Guidelines for Smoking Cessation
Tobacco-related diseases are the most preventable cause of death worldwide. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015, nearly 171,000 of the estimated 589,430 cancer deaths in the United States—more than 25%—will be caused by tobacco smoking. Smoking cessation leads to improvement in cancer ...
ASCO Commends U.S. House of Representatives for Voting to Repeal the SGR, Urges Senate to Pass Legislation
We applaud the House of Representatives for passing legislation that eliminates the Sustainable Growth Rate [SGR] formula and takes a giant leap toward meaningful and urgently needed Medicare physician payment reform. Cancer incidence among Medicare beneficiaries is expected to increase by 67% by...
Understanding the Role of Immune Function in the Treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
The addition of trastuzumab (Herceptin) to adjuvant chemotherapy undoubtedly transformed HER2-positive breast cancer from one of the most deadly subtypes to a highly treatable disease. Randomized phase III trials established adjuvant trastuzumab as standard of care in HER2-positive breast...
The ASCO Post Replies
Nivolumab (Opdivo) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lung cancer on March 4, 2015, before clinical data from the pivotal trials (CheckMate 017 and CheckMate 063) were presented at a major oncology conference or published in a peer-reviewed journal....
Nivolumab in Lung Cancer
I find The ASCO Post to be a good way to hear about new ideas that I might otherwise have missed. I read an article recently about the approval of nivolumab (Opdivo) for treating metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (The ASCO Post, April 10, 2015). I thought it would have been much more...
Expect Questions About Cold Caps to Spare Hair During Chemotherapy
For patients who have confronted a diagnosis of cancer, then endured weeks of chemotherapy, it would seem that losing their hair would not be a big concern. But for many patients, it can be. “You have to spend a year either putting on wigs or announcing to the world that you’ve had chemotherapy,”...
Scalp Cooling Caps Offer Option to Prevent Hair Loss During Chemotherapy
Hair loss remains one of the most dreaded side effects of chemotherapy, particularly for women. Scalp cooling caps worn by patients during chemotherapy infusion and for brief periods of time before and after offer these patients an option to preserve 50% or more of the hair on their heads. Although ...
2015 Canada Gairdner Awards Honor Top Medical Researchers Worldwide
The Gairdner Foundation named the winners of the 2015 Canada Gairdner Awards, recognizing some of the most significant medical discoveries around the world. The awards provide a $100,000 (CAD) prize to each scientist for his or her work. The aim of the Gairdner Awards is to promote a culture of...
2015 Oncology Meetings
MAY International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG): Cancer Care of the Older Adult Across the Cancer ContinuumMay 1 • New York, New York For more information: www.siog.org 1st Annual New Treatments in Oncology Conference (ANTO)May 1-2 • Scottsdale, Arizona For more information:...
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...
AACR Honors Cancer Pioneers at the 2015 Annual Meeting
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recognized six oncologists making valuable contributions to their fields with awards at the Association’s Annual Meeting 2015, held in Philadelphia from April 18–22. William C. Hahn, MD, PhD, was awarded with the 39th Annual AACR–Richard and Hinda ...
Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, Honored With AACR Memorial Lectureship
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) honored Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, with the 9th Annual Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015. Dr. Cantley is the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor in...
Dana-Farber President and CEO Edward J. Benz, Jr, MD, to Retire in 2016
Dana-Farber President and CEO Edward J. Benz, Jr, MD, has announced he will retire from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in 2016, after 16 years running the organization. Dr. Benz will also vacate the positions as Director and Principal Investigator of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center...
Robert H. Lurie Names Associate Director for Administration
Aleksandar Zafirovski, MBA, has been named Executive Administrative Director and Associate Director for Administration for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. He has served as Interim Associate Director since 2014. Mr. Zafirovski has previously been...
Richard Gilbertson, MD, PhD, Leaves St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital announced the departure of Scientific and Comprehensive Cancer Center Director, Richard Gilbertson, MD, PhD. Dr. Gilbertson will be Director of the Cambridge Cancer Centre at the University of Cambridge. Since joining St. Jude in 2000, Dr. Gilbertson has led...
Owen N. Witte, MD, Recognized With AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) honored Owen N. Witte, MD, Founding Director of the Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research, and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of California,...
FDA Grants Priority Review to Carfilzomib Supplemental New Drug Application for Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Amgen’s supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for carfilzomib (Kyprolis) injection for the treatment of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy. The sNDA is designed to support the conversion of ...
FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Rucaparib in Advanced Ovarian Cancer With BRCA Mutations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Clovis Oncology’s investigational agent rucaparib as monotherapy treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in patients who have received at least two lines of prior platinum-containing therapy, with BRCA-mutated ...
Michael E. Jung, PhD, Charles Sawyers, MD, and Howard I. Scher, MD, Receive Team Science Award From American Association for Cancer Research
Michael E. Jung, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Member at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center; Charles Sawyers, MD, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program Director at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Howard I. Scher, MD, Chief of the Genitourinary...
Preparing for the ‘Silver Tsunami’ and the Impact of an Aging Population on Cancer Care
“Older adults constitute the only increasing natural resource in the entire world.” —Linda Fried, PhD, Columbia School of Public Health The good and bad news about our changing demographic world is that the population of older adults is increasing in the United States and worldwide. While it is...
In Search of ‘Just’ Prices: Questioning the High Cost of New Cancer Drugs
As the oncology community begins the slow and often difficult-to-define transition from volume to value in the delivery of cancer care, the relationship between the price and value of certain high-priced cancer drugs is getting more scrutiny. We generally correlate the efficacy of a new drug and...
Aspirin as Adjuvant Therapy for Colon Cancer: Is the Time Right?
Aspirin has long proved to be a multipotent drug, with efficacy as a pain reliever, anti-inflammatory agent, antiplatelet agent, and cardioprotective agent. In the cancer world, a large literature has accumulated demonstrating its ability to prevent various epithelial malignancies, most notably...
Breast Cancer Management in Review
With the field of breast oncology as complex as ever, a brief update of the latest findings impacting breast cancer treatment seems timely. To that end, I have assembled highlights from a collection of newsworthy studies featured over the past year and into early 2015. Part 1 of this review, which...
Richard Pazdur, MD, and Anthony S. Fauci, MD, Included in Fortune’s List of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders
Richard Pazdur, MD, Director of the Office of Oncology and Hematology Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was named one of the world’s 50 greatest leaders by Fortune Magazine. The list also included names such as Pope Francis, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Chief Justice of the United...
Overweight Girls Face Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer Later in Life
Girls who are overweight as young children and teens may face increased risk for colorectal cancer decades later, regardless of what they weigh as adults, suggests a new study published by Xuehong Zhang, MD, ScD, Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues in Cancer Epidemiology,...
Opioid-Reduction Strategy for Postoperative Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery
One persistent and potentially debilitating problem breast cancer patients suffer with is postoperative pain. Studies show that proper pain management is an essential component in the healing process, but undertreatment of pain symptoms remains an ongoing issue in the oncology community. Opioids,...
Should We Be Worried If Patients Tolerate Endocrine Therapy Well?
When meeting with patients to discuss adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer, the question often arises, “How will I know that the treatment is working?” While the efficacy of these treatments has been demonstrated for the majority of patients in multiple large randomized clinical trials,...
Remembering Dr. Jane Weeks’ Pioneering Work and NCCN’s Outcomes Research Initiative
Jane Carrie Weeks, MD, MSc, a prominent researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Center, died of cancer on September 10, 2013, at the age of 61. At the time of her death, Dr. Weeks was Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public ...
20 Years of NCCN: The Best Is Yet to Come
As the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) celebrates its 20th year, The ASCO Post asked its Chief Executive Officer, Robert W. Carlson, MD, to reflect on the organization’s accomplishments, mission, and future and on the role he may have played in its success. The Early Years You became...
Heal Thy Patient … Reflections on the Human Side of Medicine
The first time I met Mrs. X and her husband was to discuss the surgical treatment options for pancreatic cancer. She had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at her local hospital and was being referred to a tertiary care center for operative management. Mrs. X and her husband were no...
PRIME II and the Omission of Radiation Therapy in Low-Risk, Elderly Patients Undergoing Breast Conservation: The Time Has Come
Despite the high prevalence of breast cancer worldwide, it is important to recognize that > 40% of all cases occur in women aged 65 years or older in both the United States and the United Kingdom.1,2 Breast cancers in older patients are more often associated with indolent features and with...
2015 Oncology Meetings
MAY 13th Annual Meeting of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT)May 11-13 • Mainz, Germany For more information: www.meeting.cimt.eu 54th Annual Conference of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative GroupMay 18-23 • San Diego, California For more information: http://ptcog54.org American...
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...
Robert Coleman, MD, Begins SGO and Foundation Presidency
Robert L. Coleman, MD, Professor, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, started his 1-year term as the 47th President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and 5th President of the Foundation for Gynecologic...
