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Showing 15601 - 15650Increasing the Use of Hypofractionated Radiation in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: The Way Forward
Bekelman and colleagues are to be congratulated on the publication of an important paper—reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—alerting us all to the underutilization of hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer.1 As background, recent randomized...
Expert Point of View: Nancy Kemeny, MD
Nancy Kemeny, MD, Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, discussed the study at the session and noted several limitations: The data could be outdated (chemotherapy and surgery could be better now), some...
Priority Review Granted for Trabectedin in Advanced Soft-Tissue Sarcoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review for the New Drug Application (NDA) for trabectedin to treat patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcoma, including liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma subtypes, who have received prior chemotherapy including an anthracycline. The NDA ...
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Names New Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer
Sagar Lonial, MD, has been named Chief Medical Officer at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and Charles A. Staley, MD, has been named Chief Quality Officer, according to an announcement recently released by the Cancer Institute. Both physicians join Winship’s senior leadership team and...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy Favored in Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer Not Treated With Neoadjuvant Therapy
A large observational study presented at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida, found that adjuvant chemotherapy extended the likelihood of survival in locally advanced bladder cancer compared with observation alone.1 Using three different approaches to propensity scores...
Our Aging Population: Challenges in Caring for Older Patients With Cancer
Managing older-aged cancer patients represents one of the major challenges to our health-care system. Caring for older cancer patients, with their frequent multiple morbidities and a variable health status, requires special integration of an oncologic and geriatric approach. Moreover, our aging...
Intensified Immunotherapy Encouraging in Chemotherapy-Naive Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Emerging evidence suggests that immunotherapy may play an important role in treating prostate cancer. In particular, preliminary results have shown that combining a new vaccine with ipilimumab (Yervoy) boosts overall survival in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer.1 A study comparing...
Association of Community Cancer Centers Names Steven L. D’Amato, BSPharm, BCOP, President
Steven L. D’Amato, BSPharm, BCOP, became President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) at its 41st Annual Meeting on March 18, 2015, in Arlington, Virginia. He is Executive Director of New England Cancer Specialists and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Tufts...
Radiotherapy in Good-Prognosis DLBCL
I was disturbed by the article on “Radiotherapy in Good-Prognosis DLBCL” published recently in The ASCO Post.1 As a practicing radiation oncologist for 30 years, I have seen the evolution of radiation techniques (and philosophy) for non-Hodgkin lymphoma progress from regional—or even...
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...
I Refuse to Capitulate to Cancer
Editor’s note: We regret to announce that Paul Kalanithi, MD, passed away on March 9, 2015. Dr. Kalanithi was Chief Resident in Neurological Surgery at Stanford University when he shared his story, reprinted here, with The ASCO Post just over 1 year ago, in March 2014. We extend our deepest...
Don’t Disregard Questions About Possible Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer Just Because the Patient Is ‘Too Young’
While colorectal cancer predominantly occurs in people over 50 years old, rates are increasing among younger patients. It is important for physicians not to ignore symptoms in patients who are young, “simply because they are young,” Jason A. Zell, DO, MPH, told The ASCO Post. Dr. Zell is the...
Colorectal Cancer Is Significantly Increasing Among Younger Adults and Being Diagnosed at Later Stages
A growing body of literature indicates that the incidence of colorectal cancer is rising among people under age 50, according to Jason A. Zell, DO, MPH. Dr. Zell is the corresponding author of one of the two recent studies finding significant increases in colorectal cancer among adults aged 20 to...
Shining a Spotlight on Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma
In the winter of 2013, my son, Dmitriy, now 26, had a cough that wouldn’t go away. After several rounds of antibiotics failed to halt the persistent problem, a pulmonologist we consulted ordered a chest x-ray, which showed a large tumor lodged between Dmitriy’s lungs. Although the doctor said the...
A Surgeon Cuts to the Chase
BookmarkTitle: The Cost of Cutting: A Surgeon Reveals the Truth Behind a Multibillion-Dollar IndustryAuthor: Paul A. Ruggieri, MDPublisher: Berkley BooksPublication date: September 2014Price: $16.00; paperback, 320 pages The woman seated on the exam table was lean and fit and seemed perfectly at...
2015 Oncology Meetings
APRIL Melanoma and Cutaneous Malignancies MeetingApril 10-11 • New York, New York For more information: www.healio.com/meeting/hemonctodaymelanoma/home?promocode689-8045 Hematologic Malignancies: New Therapies and the Evolving Role of TransplantApril 10-11 • Chicago, Illinois For more information: ...
Technology’s Double-Edged Sword: One Woman’s Story
Bookmark Title: Pandora’s DNA: Tracing the Breast Cancer Genes Through History, Science, and One Family TreeAuthor: Lizzie StarkPublisher: Chicago Review PressPublication date: October 2014Price: $26.95; hardcover, 336 pages If we wish to learn more about cancer, we must concentrate on the cellular ...
The Ongoing Struggle Against Tobacco: Past Accomplishments, Future Steps
In 1913, 10 doctors and 5 laypersons in New York founded the American Cancer Society (ACS). At that time, a cancer diagnosis was almost always fatal and was rarely discussed in public. The Society’s original charter was to raise awareness about cancer, and although that mission has remained firm,...
Refining the ‘Right Patient, Right Drug’ Pairing in Cancer Care: RAS Profiling in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In an important post hoc analysis (reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post), Van Cutsem and colleagues have further refined our knowledge of who are the “right” patients with metastatic colorectal cancer to receive treatment with cetuximab (Erbitux).1 This refinement was accomplished through the...
ONS Lifetime Achievement Award
Deborah K. Mayer, PhD, RN, Director of Cancer Survivorship at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has been named the recipient of the 2015 Oncology Nursing Society Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes her contributions as an oncology nurse researcher, mentor, and educator, as ...
American Association for Cancer Research Elects New Board of Directors, Nominating Committee Members
The members of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have elected five members to serve on the AACR board of directors for the 2015–2018 term and four members to serve on the nominating committee for the 2015–2017 term. They will begin their terms at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, to...
Why Just Having ‘Good’ Communication Skills Is Not Enough for Talking With Seriously Ill Patients
In the Institute of Medicine’s 2014 report Dying in America,1 the report’s authors found that while frequent clinician-patient conversations about end-of-life care, goals, and preferences are necessary to avoid unwanted treatment, most patients do not have those conversations with their physicians. ...
FDA Approves Isavuconazonium Sulfate for the Treatment of Invasive Aspergillosis and Invasive Mucormycosis
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Astellas’ New Drug Application for the use of isavuconazonium sulfate (Cresemba), the prodrug for isavuconazole, for patients 18 years of age and older in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis and invasive mucormycosis (also known as...
The ASPIRE Trial of Carfilzomib in Relapsed Myeloma: A Major Step Forward
Currently in myeloma, there are at least five new agents that are either approved or in the late-stage of development with impending approval. Major questions in the field relate to how we, as clinicians, will use these new agents and where they will fit in the overall treatment schema. The phase...
The 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...
