Ruben A. Mesa, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses pacritinib and its significant efficacy in myelofibrosis (Abstract LBA7006).
Jame Abraham, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic discusses analyses of two trials for locally advanced, inflammatory, or early HER2-positive breast cancer using docetaxel, trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and neratinib (Abstracts 505 and 508).
Asher Alban Chanan-Khan, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discusses an important treatment option that significantly improved overall response rate and reduced risk of progression or death by 80% (Abstract LBA7005).
Luis G. Paz-Ares, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Universitario Doce De Octubre, discusses the superior overall survival in patients taking nivolumab vs docetaxel in advanced nonsquamous NSCLC (Abstract LBA109).
Laurie Helen Sehn, MD, MPH, of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, discusses a first-ever finding on obinutuzumab and bendamustine in the setting of rituximab-refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Abstract LBA8502).
Martine J. Piccart-Gebhart, MD, PhD, of the Jules Bordet Institute, and ECCO President, discusses ways in which imaging can form the solution to individualized cancer treatment.
Kathleen Elizabeth Bickel, MD, MPhil, of the White River Junction VA Medical Center, discusses the ASCO/AAHPM Guidance Statement, which will help oncology providers enhance their delivery of palliative care (Abstract 108).
Kevin C. Oeffinger, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, summarizes the main take-home messages of the conference.
ASCO applauds President Obama for his bold vision to launch a national effort on cancer, which he described during his State of the Union address on January 12, 2016. We also join him in recognizing Vice President Biden’s leadership in calling for a “moonshot” that will reduce the cancer-related...
The recently updated U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation once again confirmed the value of screening mammography, concluding that the benefit of mammography outweighs the harms of screening in all age groups from age 40 through age 74. It emphasizes that both women and...
Ten years ago, ASCO created the Journal of Oncology Practice to address a gap in the literature; there were no peer-reviewed journals dedicated to the practical issues of delivering quality oncology care. The original research and editorials published in JOP focus on care delivery topics such as...
ASCO recently announced that the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) will be printed on a monthly basis and offer new resources to supply oncology professionals with cutting-edge information on cancer care delivery. Doubling its content, the expanded journal also features clinical information from a ...
Passion is a much-needed virtue in one who seeks to change the world for the better. When you combine intelligence, stamina, iron-willed determination, the grace of an ambassador, and simple human likability with passion, you get that rare person who can turn words and ideas into reality. Such a...
I love reading The ASCO Post, but I have a suggestion. For your reports on drug development, how about making it a policy to note the class or type of any new agent being discussed—ie, a brief description of the drug’s mechanism of action? For example, a recent issue included a nice article...
The authors of an ovarian cancer screening study published in The Lancet1 and many of the experts commenting on the study in the media agree that the results of multimodal screening are encouraging and could reduce mortality from ovarian cancer, but further follow-up is needed. Considering that the ...
"A solid triple but not a home run” is how Karen H. Lu, MD, characterized a study in The Lancet reporting a reduction in deaths from ovarian cancer with the use of multimodal ovarian cancer screening.1 Dr. Lu’s remark was one of several, mostly but not universally, favorable and optimistic comments ...
Rakesh Jain, PhD, the A. Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology) at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and Mary-Claire King, PhD, Professor of Genome Sciences and Medicine (Medical Genetics) at the University of Washington, have been selected as recipients...
Through the Lens of Oncology History A Century of Progress The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology Tumors & Treatment: A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS. The photos below are from the volume titled “The...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the “Art of Oncology” as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) has endorsed the “Psychosocial Standards of Care for Children With Cancer and Their Families,” which were published in a December 2015 special supplement of Pediatric Blood & Cancer. The scientific, evidence-based psychosocial standards define...
JANUARY 2016 8th Annual T-Cell Lymphoma ForumJanuary 28-30 • San Francisco, CA For more information: www.tcellforum.com/ 3rd Annual University of Southern California Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer SymposiumJanuary 30 • Los Angeles, California For more information:...
Medical oncologist and researcher Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, has joined City of Hope as Professor and Chair in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research. He will play a key leadership role in the expansion of clinical programs at City of Hope’s Duarte campus and in its clinics...
Bookmark Title: The New Generation Breast Cancer Book: How to Navigate Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options—and Remain Optimistic—in an Age of Information Overload Author: Elisa Port, MD Publisher: Ballantine Books Publication date: September 2015 Price: $20.00; paperback, 320 pages When a new...
In a population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Suzanne P. Moore, PhD, of Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, Australia, and colleagues compared cancer incidence in indigenous people in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States with the incidence in nonindigenous ...
Bookmark Title: Empty Hands, A Memoir: One Woman’s Journey to Save Children Orphaned by AIDS in South Africa Author: Sister Abegail Ntleko Publisher: North Atlantic Books Publication date: September 1, 2015 Price: $12.95; paperback, 176 pages With the development of the multidrug highly active...
The ASCO Post is pleased to introduce this special focus on the worldwide cancer burden, beginning in this issue with a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
An increase in the stage of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) due to cancer-positive lymph node discovery was more common following open chest surgery for lung lobe removal of early-stage lung cancer compared to the closed-chest procedure known as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The...
A multi-institutional international investigation led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, has revealed new information about how molecules called long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) interact with HIF-1, a signaling pathway that is overexpressed in many cancers....
Treatment of mantle cell lymphoma continues to evolve, both in the front-line and relapsed settings. Key advances include better use of established agents, such as the incorporation of high-dose cytarabine into initial induction regimens and application of rituximab (Rituxan)...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program (ORP) has awarded five grants to investigators to evaluate and define the preclinical and clinical effectiveness of enzalutamide (Xtandi) in mantle cell lymphoma and endometrial, hepatocellular, and prostate cancers. These...
Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. In 2015, according to the National Cancer Institute, 231,840 women were to be diagnosed with the disease and 40,290 were to die from it. The death rate is highest among women who are not screened regularly...
Mantle cell lymphoma is a pernicious, incurable disease. Front-line therapies for this disease are not currently standardized; however, novel therapies for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma can ideally be translated into beneficial treatments for newly diagnosed patients, as clearly...
Terence S. Dermody, MD, has been named the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief and Scientific Director at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Dr. Dermody will officially...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and the patients they serve, announced the election of a new Board of Directors and Executive Committee officers. “2016 is primed to be an important year for community oncology....
A seismic shift is underway in screening and treatment approaches for breast cancer. These changes are being fueled by studies showing that mammography in younger women may do more harm than good and that advances in genomic testing and a better understanding of the biology of breast cancers may...
About 7 in 10 middle and high school students—more than 18 million young people—see e-cigarette advertising in stores, online, in newspapers and magazines, or on television and in movies, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vital Signs report. E-cigarette ads use...
Surveys conducted between 1950 and 1970 show that most physicians considered it inhumane to give patients with a poor cancer prognosis the bad news.1,2 Since then, it has been well established that open communication between physician and patient is an essential part of effective cancer care and...
Since the initial discovery of ALK rearrangement in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in 2007,1 small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors of ALK have transformed the course of disease for those patients with ALK-rearranged (ie, ALK-positive) NSCLC. Crizotinib (Xalkori), a multitargeted tyrosine...
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has named Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, as the next Dean of the College of Medicine. Dr. DuBois will assume his new role effective March 1, 2016, with an academic appointment as Professor in the College of Medicine while also holding an appointment in...
ASCO University has created a new multidisciplinary immunology program that provides a broad overview of immunobiology, as well as an in-depth focus on topics relevant to the practicing clinician, such as treatment, efficacy, monitoring, and management of immunobiologic agents. ASCO University’s...
On December 15, ASCO submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the agency’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Stage 3 of Meaningful Use and Modifications in 2015 through 2017. The Society’s comments provided recommendations to CMS regarding the implementation of...
The International Innovation Grant, funded by the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of ASCO, provides research funding in support of novel and innovative projects that can have a significant impact on cancer control in low- and middle-income countries. The grant is intended to support research that...
Thomas G. Roberts, Jr, MD, a global investor and oncologist, has been named as the new Chair of the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) Board of Directors. Two new members of the Board have also been announced: Margaret Tempero, MD, FASCO, a Past President of ASCO and a pioneer in cancer treatment and...
In October 2015, the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO (CCF) hosted its first Scientific and Career Development Retreat at ASCO Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, for past recipients of the Young Investigator Award (YIA) and Career Development Award (CDA). The YIA provides funding to promising...
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...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Heather M. Conklin, PhD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and colleagues found that computerized cognitive training showed promise in reducing cognitive late effects in survivors of childhood cancer.1 Study Details In the study,...
An exploratory analysis of the ExteNET study of neratinib in early HER2-positive breast cancer after treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin) upheld the findings previously reported for the 2-year analysis, according to the study’s principal investigator Arlene Chan, MD, of the Breast Cancer...
George Sledge, MD, Professor, and Chief, Division of Oncology, Stanford University Medical Center, told The ASCO Post that he found the data from the pooled analysis “very exciting.” “One of the big questions in triple-negative breast cancer is how to select which drugs work best for which...
The homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score may be a predictive biomarker of response to neoadjuvant platinum-based therapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to studies presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. “We found, in our adjusted analysis,...
Pancreatic cancer tumors are ripe for analysis with a liquid biopsy, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In a proof-of-principle study published recently in Annals of Oncology,1 the investigators reported on research in which they conducted whole-genome,...