Fox Chase Cancer Center and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine are pleased to announce the winners of its American Cancer Society (ACS) Institutional Research Grant Pilot Project Competition for Junior Investigators. The competition was open to eligible junior faculty at Fox Chase Cancer Center and ...
Mark A. Israel, MD, a pediatric oncologist, translational scientist, and a recognized leader in cancer research has been appointed National Executive Director of the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), a nonprofit organization dedicated solely to funding cancer research in Israel. Dr. Israel joins ...
ROBERT W. DAY, MD, the longest-serving President and Director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the leader who brought into being its campus overlooking Seattle’s South Lake Union, died in his Seattle home on January 6, 2018 of lung cancer. He was 87. “It is a tragic loss for all of...
Interim results of the phase III CATNON trial (EORTC study 26053-22054) indicate a survival benefit of adjuvant temozolomide in 1p/19q non-codeleted anaplastic glioma. These findings were reported in The Lancet by Martin J. van den Bent, MD, of the Brain Tumour Centre at Erasmus MC Cancer...
In a Hong Kong study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, K.C. Allen Chan, MBBS, PhD, MRCP, FRCPA, FHKCPath, FHMAM, of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Chemical Pathology, and colleagues found that screening for circulating cell-free Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sekhar and colleagues found that the increasing proportion of lymph node–positive disease associated with enhanced detection techniques has led to nodal stage migration in anal cancer, which may reduce prognostic discrimination on the basis of lymph...
We don’t feel our liver or pancreas working, but we all feel our hearts beating—the drumbeat of our mortality since we all have a finite number of heartbeats from birth to death. And unlike with most other organs, we are painfully aware of how fragile this mighty muscle can be. About 610,000 people ...
FROM WILHELM RÖNTGEN’S groundbreaking discovery of x-rays in 1895, the history of radiotherapy has been rich with colorful paradigm-changing researchers and physicians who over the past century have transformed the field into one of the pillars of cancer treatment. One such trailblazer who...
Understanding what consciousness is, and why and how it evolved, is perhaps the greatest mystery known to science. With its 100 billion or so neurons and a processing rate of about 4 billion bits per second, the human brain is a miraculously complicated entity, much of which is still under...
This past December, nearly 400 medical professionals from a variety of fields—including medical oncology, palliative care, science, nursing, social work, and psychology—and 23 countries traveled to Atlanta, to attend the 2nd Global Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Congress. The 3-day...
The days leading up to our daughter Emily’s diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on May 28, 2010, when she was just 5, offered few clues about the terrifying, life-and-death months and years we were about to experience. She was happy and seemingly healthy, literally until the day before...
Nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) led to a 1-year overall survival rate of 85% in previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer patients with DNA mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) tumors. These data were presented in the first report ...
While many patients with cancer can benefit from palliative care to ease symptoms from the disease or its treatment, for children with cancer, especially critically ill children, palliative care can provide an additional layer of medical and emotional support for both young patients and their...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Channing Paller, MD, explores the role of pomegranate- and grape-based...
ON JANUARY 15, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of arsenic trioxide (Trisenox) injection in combination with tretinoin for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed low-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia whose disease is characterized by the presence of the...
BREAST CANCER Survival in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Explored in Retrospective Study In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stover et al found that cell-free (cf) DNA tumor fraction ≥ 10% was associated with worse survival in metastatic triple-negative breast...
On January 12, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to olaparib (Lynparza), a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who...
On January 12, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to afatinib (Gilotrif) for a broadened indication in first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have nonresistant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations ...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have had a dramatic impact on survival for patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with whispers that a cure might be achieved in a subset of patients. In typical fashion, active new agents are evaluated in earlier stages of disease. Stage III NSCLC...
Levine Cancer Institute (LCI) has announced a new Department of Supportive Oncology, helmed by palliative medicine pioneer Declan Walsh, MD. Under the leadership of Dr. Walsh, the new department will integrate its services throughout the Institute. The department includes cancer rehabilitation,...
Primary endpoint findings and updated results of secondary endpoints from the phase II LAPACT trial of nanoparticle albumin–bound (nab)-paclitaxel (Abraxane) plus gemcitabine in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer were presented by Hammel et al at the 2018 Gastrointestinal (GI)...
Updated results were recently reported from the 30 patient safety lead-in of the phase III BEACON CRC trial evaluating the triplet combination of encorafenib (a BRAF inhibitor), binimetinib (an MEK inhibitor), and cetuximab (Erbitux, an anti–EGFR antibody) in patients with BRAF-mutant...
Ursula Matulonis, MD, has been named the first incumbent of the Brock-Wilson Family Chair at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber). The newly established Chair was created to advance gynecologic oncology research and support a highly dedicated faculty member at Dana-Farber. Dr. Matulonis is...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Bryan J. Schneider, MD, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues, ASCO has endorsed the recently released American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) evidence-based guideline on stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in early...
FOR DAYS BEFORE HURRICANE HARVEY was expected to move toward Houston, Texas, on Sunday, August 27, 2017, after pummeling other cities in Texas and Louisiana, the leadership team at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) in Houston strategized on how to ensure the...
The cost-effectiveness of population-based panel testing for the known high- and moderate-penetrance ovarian and breast cancer mutations, including BRCA1, BRCA2, RAD51C, RAD51D, BRIP1, and PALB2, was not known. Now, a study evaluating the cost-effectiveness of screening the general population for...
In the December 25 issue of The ASCO Post, a photo published for Eduardo Oliveira, PhD, was incorrect. The correct photo is printed here. Dr. Oliveira is Professor of Exercise Physiology and Exercise Cancer Specialist at Mama Help Breast Cancer Support Center at the University of Porto, in Lisbon, ...
On May 18, 2017, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted regular approval for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant...
On May 26, 2017, ceritinib (Zykadia) was granted regular approval for treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test.1,2 In 2014, the drug received ...
AT THE START OF 2018, seven senior employees assumed new roles at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. Five of these program leaders were promoted or reappointed, and two have newly joined the Institute from other centers around the United States. Meet the Appointees Charles...
THE CANCER death rate dropped 1.7% from 2014 to 2015, continuing a drop that began in 1991 and has reached 26%, resulting in nearly 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths during that time. The data are reported in “Cancer Statistics, 2018,” the American Cancer Society’s comprehensive annual report on...
Oncology occupational therapist Mackenzi Pergolotti, PhD, OTR/L, was born in Buffalo, New York. “I lived there until I was 6,” she shared. “Then my family moved around the state a bit, finally settling in the small town of Bath, situated near the Finger Lakes—a beautiful area in central New ...
Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, a long-time member and volunteer, has been elected to serve as the President of ASCO for the term beginning in June 2019. He will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago in June 2018. Additionally, five members were...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH (AACR) is pleased to announce the appointment of Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, as Editor-in-Chief of its Cancer Research journal. Published under different titles in its early years, Cancer Research was the first English-language journal to be published in the ...
The monoclonal antibody ramucirumab (Cyramza) was evaluated as first-line therapy for the treatment of metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma in the international phase III RAINFALL trial. Charles Fuchs, MD, of Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut, presented findings...
Detailed results of the phase III CELESTIAL trial in patients with previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were presented in a late-breaking oral session by Abou-Alfa et al at the 2018 ASCO Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium (Abstract 207). Study Findings In CELESTIAL,...
Findings from the phase II KEYNOTE-224 trial investigating the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who were previously treated with sorafenib (Nexavar) were presented by Zhu et al at the 2018 Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium in San Francisco...
“There is huge potential to positively influence a patient’s experience and outcomes” by addressing concerns about sexual function after cancer treatment early in the course of treatment planning, Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MA, stated in her keynote address at the 11th Annual Oncofertility...
“Several new drugs that have been approved for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are changing the landscape of this disease. CLL is associated with a long survival, so we will need longer follow-up to see how deep the responses are,” said Robert Brodsky, MD, Director of...
Venetoclax (Venclexta) plus rituximab (Rituxan)—a non–chemotherapy-containing regimen—was superior to standard-of-care bendamustine plus rituximab for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to a final analysis of the phase III MURANO study reported at...
“The JULIET study, along with ZUMA-1, shows striking responses that are remarkably similar, even though there are differences in the signaling domains of both chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products [tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta)],” said Renier J....
Primary analysis of the JULIET trial adds to mounting evidence that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is effective for the treatment of lymphoma in patients with no other good treatment options. A single infusion of CAR T cells (CTL019) achieved durable remissions in almost 40% of...
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that the risk of death from breast cancer is twice as high for patients with high heterogeneity of the estrogen receptor within the same tumor, compared to patients with low heterogeneity. The study, published by Lindström et al in ...
“Patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma who are more than 60 years old have unacceptably low progression-free survival rates compared with younger patients. Dr. Evens and colleagues were interested in improving outcomes for this group of patients,” said Jennifer Amengual, MD, Assistant Professor ...
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have provided the first description of the structure of the herpes virus associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma. The findings, published by Dai et al in Nature, answer important questions about how the virus spreads and provide a...
Older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma typically do not fare as well as younger patients on standard regimens. A phase II study reported the best outcomes to date in older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma who were treated with sequential brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) before and after a regimen of...
Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, Director of the Multiple Myeloma Program at the University of Chicago Medical Center, commented on the study for The ASCO Post. “Overall, I was impressed with these results. They make an important contribution to the field. This is an advance in the right direction,”...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Qian et al found that loss-of-function germline TP53 variants increase the risk of childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), as well as the risk of poorer response to therapy and second malignancies. Study Details In the study,...
Can aggressive treatment of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients prevent disease worsening? A carfilzomib (Kyprolis)-based regimen and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) plus maintenance produced encouraging outcomes in the phase II GEM-CESAR study by the Spanish Myeloma Group. The...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Pezzi et al found that lack of health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, was associated with not receiving combined-modality therapy in limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). They also found that lack of insurance was associated with poorer...