BookmarkTitle: The Anti-cancer Diet: Reduce Cancer Risk Through the Foods You EatAuthors: David Khayat, MDPublisher: W.W. Norton & CompanyPublication date: April 2015Price: $26.95; hardcover, 288 pages In 2002, David Khayat, MD, was in Turkey on holiday with friends when he received a call...
Bookmark Title: The Fear Cure: Cultivating Courage as Medicine for the Body, Mind, and Soul Author: Lissa Rankin, MD Publisher: Hay House, Inc Publication date: February 23, 2015 Price: $25.99; hardcover, 336 pages Fear is a healthy survival mechanism, a fight-or-flight response designed to put...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ofatumumab (Arzerra), a CD20-directed cytolytic monoclonal antibody, for extended treatment of patients who are in complete or partial response after at least two lines of therapy for recurrent or progressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
According to the most recent estimates, 55% to 65% of women who inherit the BRCA1 mutation and about 45% of women who inherit the BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by the time they are 70 years old. There is also a substantial increase in the probability of developing ovarian cancers in...
Sergio A. Giralt, MD, Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, told The ASCO Post that defibrotide could be helpful in high-risk patients and applauded the investigators for completing the trial to prove it. “Veno-occlusive...
Although chemotherapy is often cited as the main culprit for diminishing cognitive function in patients with cancer, ushering the term “chemobrain” into the vernacular, research by Tim A. Ahles, PhD, and his colleagues is showing that multiple factors may contribute to the condition.1 Using breast...
The outcomes of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have dramatically improved as the result of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment. Use of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor regimen can lower the blood CML biomarker to levels imperceptible by current detection methods. For patients in “molecular...
Investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) have found that significant bone loss occurs during the first month of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is far earlier than previously assumed. Results of the study were published by Orgel et al in the...
Cancer will kill more than 8 million people worldwide this year, which is equivalent to the entire population of New York. Half of these will be people of working age (30–69 years old). It has been estimated that the cost implications on world economies caused by cancer and the other...
The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) will launch the inaugural Psychosocial Oncology Institute on March 3, 2016, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina in San Diego, California. Instructors for the full-day, interactive institute—leaders in the psychosocial oncology field—will...
The past year has produced an embarrassment of riches regarding the value of aromatase inhibitors for women with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. The long-awaited NSABP B-35 study matured and was reported by Margolese and colleagues at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting this past summer, followed...
On January 4, ASCO submitted a joint comment letter with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI), and American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on proposed changes to the Common...
Research is the bedrock of progress against cancer, and discoveries in cancer biology are moving from bench to bedside faster than ever. No recent advance has been more transformative than the rise of immunotherapy, particularly over the past year, making this treatment strategy ASCO’s Advance of...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO has received a generous grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) in support of a new ASCO initiative, “Improving the Delivery of Cancer Care in Medically Underserved Communities.” Over an 18-month period, this initiative will bring ASCO’s Quality...
When it comes to cancer, one of the most frustrating moments for patients and doctors alike is discovering a promising treatment has suddenly stopped working. Generally, this occurs when cancer develops resistance and finds ways to bypass a treatment’s effects. Cancer drug resistance happens more...
At a Capitol Hill briefing today, ASCO announced immunotherapy as the top cancer advance of the year. Recent breakthroughs in immunotherapy—along with almost 60 other important cancer research advances—are described in ASCO's just-released report, Clinical Cancer Advances 2016: ASCO's...
In some patients, blood in the urine, or hematuria, may be the only warning sign of cancer in the urinary tract. A new report from the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) High Value Care Task Force published by Nielsen et al in Annals of Internal Medicine issues advice for physicians on how ...
Sparano JA, Gray RJ, Makower DF, et al: Prospective validation of a 21-gene expression assay in breast cancer. N Engl J Med 373:2005-2014, 2015. Chagpar AB, Killelea BK, Tsangaris TN, et al: A randomized, controlled trial of cavity shave margins in breast cancer. N Engl J Med 373:503-510, 2015....
The 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research, the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, and Baylor College of Medicine, was held in December 2015. As has been true for...
Suleiman Massarweh, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, and Director of Breast Clinical Trials at Stanford Cancer Institute, commented on the ADAPT trial for The ASCO Post. “The complete pathologic response rate in estrogen...
Several experts commented that an all-oral regimen would bring convenience to the treatment of myeloma. Thierry Facon, MD, of Lille University Hospital in France, told The ASCO Post that although ixazomib (Ninlaro) may not be more active than other proteasome inhibitors, “It definitely has...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the appointment of an Acting Deputy Office Director and an Associate Director of Clinical Science in its Office of Hematology and Oncology Products (OHOP). Acting Deputy Office Director Amy E. McKee, MD, was recently announced as the...
Late in 2015, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the label for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a humanized antibody, to include the initial treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Previously, pembrolizumab had received accelerated approval in patients with...
In 1956, the American College of Surgeons encouraged the development of hospital-based registries, but for the most part, these efforts were clumsy, inaccessible card files of data. Today, advanced microcomputer technology has increased the ability to not only collect and cull cancer data but also...
A 70-year-old female patient underwent a cardiac procedure to repair her mitral valve, and at the same time, she also underwent a coronary artery bypass grafting. She had an uneventful course for the first four postoperative days. On the sixth postoperative day, she started complaining of abdominal ...
Options for second-line therapy of advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma are expanding. Updates from the CheckMate 025 and METEOR trials presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium solidify the value of both nivolumab (Opdivo, an immune checkpoint inhibitor) and cabozantinib...
During hysterectomies for noncancerous conditions, removing both fallopian tubes while keeping the ovaries may help protect against ovarian cancer and preserve hormonal levels, but few women receive this surgical option, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. Published by ...
Oncology researchers have discovered that an abnormal fused gene that drives pediatric brain tumors poses a triple threat, operating simultaneously through three distinct biologic mechanisms—the first such example in cancer biology. The study was published by Bandopadhayay et al in Nature...
Dr. Robert Rifkin, Medical Director of Biosimilars at US Oncology Research, moderates a roundtable discussion on Global Perspectives on the Integration of Biosimilars into Oncology Practice, held in conjunction with the 2015 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida....
Women who eat more high-fiber foods during adolescence and young adulthood—especially fruits and vegetables—may have significantly lower breast cancer risk than those who eat less dietary fiber when young, according to a new large-scale study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan...
Vice President Joe Biden's “moonshot” initiative to defeat cancer earned support for a tax increase to fund cancer research among half of respondents (50%) in a new national public opinion survey commissioned by Research!America. Thirty-eight percent disagree and an additional 12% are...
Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with common epidermal growth factor (EGFR) mutations and brain metastases showed improved progression-free survival and response from the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib (Gilotrif) compared to standard platinum doublet chemotherapy....
Care for mothers with terminal cancer could be improved to help resolve their psychological distress and to help surviving family members cope, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have found. Based on the study findings published by Park et al in the journal BMJ...
Ayalew Tefferi, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, on abstract 634, “Imetelstat, a Telomerase Inhibitor, Therapy for Myelofibrosis: A Pilot Study.”
Ayalew Tefferi, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, on abstract 403, “A Compendium of Cytogenetic Abnormalities in Myelofibrosis: Molecular and Phenotypic Correlates in 826 Patients;” abstract 406, “Integration of Mutations and Karyotype Towards a Genetics-Based Prognostic Scoring System (GPSS) for Primary...
Laurie Sehn, MD, of the BC Cancer Agency, on abstract 289, “Nivolumab in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: Preliminary Safety, Efficacy, and Biomarker Results of a Phase I Study,” presented by Philippe Armand, MD, PhD.
Laurie Sehn, MD, of the BC Cancer Agency, on abstract 625, “Sustained Remission With the Combination Biologic Doublet of Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab as Initial Treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma: A Multicenter Phase II Study Report,” presented by Jia Ruan, MD, PhD.
Laurie Sehn, MD, of the BC Cancer Agency, on abstract 629, “Brentuximab Vedotin Monotherapy in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients With Undetectable CD30: Preliminary Results From a Phase II Study.”
Laurie Sehn, MD, of the BC Cancer Agency, on abstract 393, “R-CHOP With or Without Radiotherapy in Nonbulky Limited-Stage Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Preliminary Results of the Prospective Randomized Phase III 02-03 Trial From the Lysa/Goelams Group,” presented by Thierry Lamy, MD, PhD.
Matthew Lunning, DO, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, on abstract 801, “Ublituximab, a Novel Glycoengineered Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody, in Combination with TGR-1202, a Next-Generation Once Daily PI3kδ Inhibitor, Demonstrates Activity in Heavily Pretreated and High-Risk Chronic...
Sagar Lonial, MD, of Winship Cancer Institute, offers his thoughts on abstract 79, “Carfilzomib, Lenalidomide, and Dexamethasone vs Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone in Patients With Relapsed Multiple Myeloma: Interim Results From ASPIRE, a Randomized, Open-Label, Multicenter Phase III Study,”...
Keith McCrae, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, offers his thoughts on abstract 232, “Long-Term Complications After Splenectomy in Adult Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia With a Minimum Follow-up of 10 Years: First Results From a Single-Center Case-Control Study in 140 Patients With Primary ITP,”...
Keith McCrae, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, offers his thoughts on abstract 229, “Caplacizumab, Anti-Vwf Nanobody Potentially Changing the Treatment Paradigm in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Results of the TITAN Trial,” presented by Flora Peyvandi, MD.
Bertrand Coiffier, MD, PhD, of Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, offers his thoughts on abstract 146, “Rituximab Maintenance vs Wait and Watch After Four Courses of R-DHAP Followed By Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Previously Untreated Young Patients With Mantle Cell Lymphoma: First Interim...
Sagar Lonial, MD, of Winship Cancer Institute, offers his thoughts on abstract 302, “Final Results for the 1703 Phase Ib/II Study of Elotuzumab in Combination With Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma,” presented by Paul G. Richardson, MD; abstract...
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, offers her thoughts on abstract 289, “Nivolumab in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: Preliminary Safety, Efficacy, and Biomarker Results of a Phase I Study,” presented by Philippe Armand, MD, PhD.
Bertrand Coiffier, MD, PhD, of Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, offers his thoughts on abstract 393, “R-CHOP With or Without Radiotherapy in Nonbulky Limited-Stage Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Preliminary Results of the Prospective Randomized Phase III 02-03 Trial from the Lysa/Goelams Group,”...
Keith McCrae, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, offers his thoughts on abstract 4848, “Implementation of a Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Management Program Reduces the Cost of Diagnostic Testing and Pharmacologic Treatment in an Academic Medical Center,” presented by Caroline Dupre Vaughn, RN.
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, offers her thoughts on abstract 801, “Ublituximab, a Novel Glycoengineered Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody, in Combination With TGR-1202, a Next-Generation Once-Daily PI3kδ Inhibitor, Demonstrates Activity in Heavily...
2014 ASH President Linda J. Burns, MD, of the University of Minnesota, offers her thoughts on abstract 53, “ACE-536 Increases Hemoglobin and Decreases Transfusion Burden and Serum Ferritin in Adults With Beta-Thalassemia: Preliminary Results From a Phase II Study,” presented by Antonio G. Piga, MD.