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Showing 15501 - 15550Discussing Sexual Health Issues With Female Cancer Survivors
Advances in cancer treatment have led to increasing numbers of long-term survivors, bringing greater attention to the needs of this growing population. Female cancer patients often experience difficult adjustments related to sexual health and intimacy. To better understand the complexity of this...
Pioneering Medical Oncologist Remembers a Time Before the Subspecialty Was Created
While the first written record of cancer dates back to ancient Egypt, the history of modern oncology is fairly short, dating back only slightly more than half a century. Clinical trials in the early days of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the emerging cooperative groups were led by a...
Ibrutinib in Previously Treated CLL and CLL With 17p Deletion
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 July 28, 2014, the approved use of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in...
Prominent Immunotherapy Researcher Sees Success Beyond the Challenges
Activating the immune system for therapeutic benefit in cancer patients has long been a goal in the scientific community. After decades of disappointment, this intriguing approach has come to the forefront of cancer research, showing promising results in several malignancies. To keep abreast of...
ASTRO Names Angelita Habr-Gama, MD, PhD, Honorary Member
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has named Angelita Habr-Gama, MD, PhD, as the 2014 Honorary Member, the Society’s highest honor. Dr. Habr-Gama is Professor of Surgery at the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine and Staff Surgeon of Coloproctological Surgery at Hospital...
Getting Results: How Oncologists and Pathologists Can Work Together to Facilitate Molecular Testing
Advances in molecular testing mean that highly specific information can be detailed about the molecular characteristics of a patient’s tumor, as well as indications of potential responsiveness to targeted therapy. But getting those detailed results from the pathologists can be a challenge to many...
Low-Risk Prostate Cancer and Principles of Active Surveillance
For specific diseases, many physicians tend to recommend interventions and therapies with which they are most comfortable and familiar. It is not surprising that urologists and radiation oncologists did so in the study reported by Hoffman and colleagues in JAMA Internal Medicine and reviewed in...
Active Surveillance in Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: When Will We Pay It More Than Just Lip Service?
Active surveillance is well established as an appropriate management option for men with low-risk prostate cancer and particularly for those over 65 years of age. Its legitimacy is now enshrined within National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, in the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
Minority of Older Patients With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Managed by Observation, Rates Vary Widely Among Urologists and Radiation Oncologists
Most older men with low-risk prostate cancer receive upfront treatment, despite the absence of a clear survival benefit and potential for morbidity. In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Karen E. Hoffman, MD, MHSc, MPH, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer...
NIH Awards $14.5 Million to Research Groups Studying Newest DNA Sequencing Techniques
A number of microsized technologies, such as nanopores and microfluidics, are among the approaches researchers will use to develop high-quality, low-cost DNA sequencing technology through new grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grants, which total approximately $14.5 million to ...
Early Change in Chemotherapy Based on Elevated Circulating Tumor Cells Does Not Improve Outcome in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Elevated circulating tumor cells are associated with poor prognosis in metastatic breast cancer. In a phase III trial (Southwest Oncology Group [SWOG] S0500) reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jeffrey B. Smerage, MD, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor in Medical Oncology at the University of...
FDA Approval of Ceritinib for the Treatment of ALK-Positive Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its policies and procedures. In this installment, FDA oncologists Sean Khozin, MD, MPH, and Dikran Kazandjian, MD, discuss anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small cell...
Our First Charge: Fostering the Next Generation of Oncologists and Cancer Researchers
Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH, FASCO, is Co-Director of the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, a Full Member of the Divisions of Public Health Sciences and Clinical Research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Pharmacy at the...
More Collaboration Needed Between Oncologists and Primary Care Physicians
One of the most important cancer survivorship issues is the transition from oncologist to the primary care setting. With a growing population of cancer survivors, patients need to feel secure about their primary care provider having the tools to address their special needs. To shed light on this...
Patience Remains a Virtue: The Ongoing Quest to Optimize Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer
The most recent ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline update—summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post—represents the latest chapter in the ongoing evolution of adjuvant endocrine therapy for hormone-sensitive breast cancer.1 Rather than including a comprehensive review of the 2010 guidelines, this...
FDA Grants Bevacizumab Priority Review for Recurrent Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Genentech’s supplemental Biologics License Application and granted Priority Review for bevacizumab (Avastin) plus chemotherapy for the treatment of women with recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. “The majority of women with ovarian...
Study Finds New Genetic Risk Markers in Pancreatic Cancer
A large DNA analysis of people with and without pancreatic cancer has identified several new genetic markers that signal increased risk of developing the disease, report scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other institutions worldwide. The markers are variations in the inherited DNA...
The Evolving Role of Surgery in Germ Cell Tumors
Over the past several decades, the role of postchemotherapy surgery for advanced testicular cancer has evolved with regard to patient selection, surgical planning, lymph node dissection, and surgical technique. To add clarity to this complex clinical setting, The ASCO Post recently spoke with...
Enzalutamide and the Landscape of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Integrating New Indications With Existing Agents
The androgen receptor axis is a validated target for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Several perturbations in this pathway are postulated to lead to androgen-independent growth, including androgen receptor mutation and amplification as well as the autocrine production of...
PREVAIL Trial: Enzalutamide Before Chemotherapy Prolongs Survival in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
The androgen-receptor inhibitor enzalutamide (Xtandi) has been shown to prolong survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with progressive disease after chemotherapy. In the phase III PREVAIL trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Tomasz M. Beer, MD, of...
EGFR as a Therapeutic Target for Gastroesophageal Cancer—or Is It Really?
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is often amplified and its protein overexpressed in upper gastrointestinal cancers—and overexpression has prognostic value. With the advent of monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors against EGFR, we have witnessed a rash of randomized...
No Overall Survival Improvement but Some Palliative Benefit With Gefitinib in Esophageal Cancer Progressing Postchemotherapy
In what may be the first randomized trial of systemic therapy in this setting, Susan J. Dutton, MSc, of University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and colleagues evaluated the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib vs placebo in patients with esophageal cancer...
NEPA for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Key Endpoints and Additional Analyses Show Strong Efficacy
For the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, NEPA, a novel combination of a neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist and the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist palonosetron (Aloxi), has been studied in three pivotal trials that were recently published in the Annals of Oncology.1-3 Further...
Mucositis Remains a Challenge in Head and Neck Cancer
Chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer requires intensive supportive care by a knowledgeable and proactive multidisciplinary team, according to Avraham Eisbruch, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. “Aggressive chemoradiotherapy has improved the cure...
New Research Presented in Wilms Tumor, Pediatric Sarcoma, Head and Neck Cancer, and Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
In the past few months, numerous presentations from this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting have been covered in depth in the pages of The ASCO Post and online at ASCOPost.com. The brief summaries below capture additional important highlights that have not been covered thus far. We hope you will find them...
Mixed Results for Targeting MET in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Two different abstracts explored the potential for MET as a therapeutic target in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with different results. A phase III study found that onartuzumab, an antibody that targets the MET receptor, combined with erlotinib (Tarceva) was not as...
Studies Assess Response to Platinum Therapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Studies in triple-negative breast cancer presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting sought to determine predictors of response to platinum agents. One identified a subset of responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, but prediction proved more elusive in metastatic disease. Neoadjuvant Carboplatin The...
Anti–PD-1 Agent Shows Activity in Renal Cell Carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma can be added to the growing list of tumors that respond to programmed death (PD)-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to the results of the CheckMate trials, presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting. The phase II CheckMate-010 trial evaluated three doses of nivolumab as a ...
Who Will Care for Patients With Cancer?
The workforce numbers show a disturbing trend. According to a recent study by ASCO, by 2025, overall demand for oncology services is projected to grow by 40%, but physician supply is predicted to increase by only 25%, generating a shortage of 2,258 oncologists providing full-time equivalent...
Does the United States Have the Best Health-Care System in the World?
Many concerns were raised and dire speculations predicted during the further implementation of the Affordable Care Act this year. So far, the trickling news is good: An estimated total of 20 million people gained coverage under the new law as of May 1,1 about 6 million enrolled in the law’s...
Recent FDA Drug Approvals Foster Growing Treatment Armamentarium for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Rare B-Cell Lymphomas
Recent approvals announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have led to increased treatment options for managing several difficult-to-treat hematologic B-cell cancers. The newly approved drugs and/or their indications include the oral PI3K delta inhibitor idelalisib (Zydelig) for the...
Pioneer in Fight Against Tobacco, Emanuel Farber, MD, PhD, Dies at 85
On December 11, 1969, a soft-spoken pathologist wearing outsized spectacles answered a long and complex series of questions by the legal team representing Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, the maker of Chesterfield cigarettes. The tobacco lawyers contended that one Leslie Thayer—a lifelong...
Jesse L. Steinfeld, MD, Past Surgeon General, ASCO President, Dies at 87
The 1964 Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health started a culture change in the way Americans viewed tobacco and their health, and has saved countless million of lives. But the 1964 Report remained scientifically ambiguous on certain vital issues, such as the effect smoking had on the...
First Prospective Study of Rare Lymphoma Shows Promising but Inconclusive Results With DA-EPOCH-R
Presenting “the first prospective study” of mediastinal gray zone lymphoma, researchers from the National Cancer Institute reported that DA-EPOCH-R (infusional dose-adjusted etoposide, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide with vincristine, prednisone, and rituximab (Rituxan) and filgrastim (Neupogen)...
Patient, Tumor Characteristics Associated With BRAF and KRAS Mutations
KRAS and BRAF V600E mutations were nearly mutually exclusive and associated with specific patient and tumor characteristics, such as age and smoking status, according to an analysis of data from the N0147 phase III trial for stage III colon cancer. Primary tumors were assessed for KRAS and BRAF...
Prolonged TV Viewing, Other Sedentary Behaviors Linked to Increased Risk of Particular Cancers
“Prolonged TV viewing and time spent in other sedentary pursuits is associated with increased risks of certain types of cancer,” concluded a meta-analysis of data from 43 observational studies including more than 4 million people and 68,936 cancer cases. A positive association with overall...
Small Molecule Induces Catastrophic Vacuolization and Death of Glioblastoma Cells
In a study reported in Cell, Kitambi and colleagues screened patient-derived glioblastoma cells to identify targetable cellular processes gained by these cells that are not necessarily involved in malignancy. They found that a quinine derivative (NSC13316) selectively compromised viability of...
Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk Decreases Rapidly After Starting Regular Physical Activity
Postmenopausal women who in the past 4 years had undertaken regular physical activity equivalent to at least 4 hours of walking per week had a lower risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who exercised less during those 4 years, according to data published recently in Cancer...
Survival Benefit of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Less Than 1% at 20 Years, but Numbers of Procedures Have Increased
For women with stage I and II breast cancer without BRCA mutations, the absolute 20-year survival benefit from contralateral prophylactic mastectomy was less than 1%, regardless of age, estrogen receptor status, and cancer stage, according to a decision analysis study using a Markov model to...
Cancer Has Given Me Courage
In 1986, I was pregnant with my third child and excited to be interviewing for a job on the assembly line at a General Motors plant near my home in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Hiring requirements included a physical examination and a chest x-ray, which was done by my obstetrician to avoid any radiation...
Gynecologic Cancer Care: Collaboration With Resource-Challenged Ethiopia
Over the past 40 years, largely because of universal Pap screening, cervical cancer deaths have been drastically reduced in the United States and other wealthy industrialized countries. However, cervical cancer is still a leading cause of cancer death among women in resource-challenged areas of the ...
Ongoing Clinical Trials Actively Recruiting Patients With Kidney Cancer
The information in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for patients with kidney cancer. The list includes a pilot study and observational, randomized, and nonrandomized phase II and phase III studies evaluating new therapies, combination therapies,...
Program Offers Unique Intervention for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
If Anand P. Jillella, MD, has his way, no future patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) will experience a delay in treatment or lack for an expert consult—and few, if any, will die of this condition. Mortality from APL is much higher than most oncologists think, especially during the first ...
Failure of IGF-1R Inhibitor Figitumumab in Advanced Nonadenocarcinoma Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The vast majority of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients present with advanced disease, and many will develop metastases after primary curative therapy. Until recently, despite its low efficacy, chemotherapy remained the only treatment modality in metastatic NSCLC. Within the past decade,...
Leaders in Health Disparities Honored
The W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association (NMA) Health Institute (Cobb Institute) was established by the National Medical Association to develop, evaluate, and implement strategies to promote wellness and eliminate health disparities and racism in medicine. The Institute recently celebrated ...
Bevacizumab in Persistent, Recurrent, or Metastatic Cervical Cancer
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 August 14, 2014, bevacizumab (Avastin) was approved for the...
#WeConquerCancer: Creative Fundraisers From Committed Conquerors
Conquer Cancer Foundation donors are a consistently creative bunch when it comes to encouraging others to help conquer cancer: Tyler invited his friends and family to a charity spin class; elementary school students in Malibu, California, sold bracelets in honor of their principal; Steve competed...
Best Way to Treat Mediastinal Lymphomas Is Still Unclear
A variety of treatment options used today can achieve good outcomes in patients with mediastinal lymphomas, according to James O. Armitage, MD, the Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He discussed some of the current evidence helping to refine...
Protocol Modifications Decrease Toxicity, Increase Event-Free Survival in Children With Down Syndrome Treated for ALL
Protocol modifications to address increased risk of toxicity and excess early mortality among children with Down syndrome being treated for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) proved safe for patients with Down syndrome, and these patients had event-free survival similar to those without Down ...
Bortezomib Retreatment in 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 August 8, 2014, the approved use of bortezomib (Velcade) in...
