Avelumab (Bavencio) achieved durable responses in patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, according to longer-term follow-up of the phase II JAVELIN study, the largest study conducted to date in this relatively rare orphan cancer.1 Results were presented at the 2017 American Association for ...
“The status quo for HPV [human papillomavirus]-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma is not sufficient.… Our treatment is effective, but the toxicity associated with it is not tolerable.” And HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer “is a cancer of relatively younger patients,” said Nishant...
High attrition but positive trends such as increased “benefit finding” were observed with a Web-based intervention designed to address the psychosocial burden on informal caregivers, according to Allison J. Applebaum, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center...
In an Australian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Haydu et al found that conditional melanoma-specific survival was worse within the first 2 years of diagnosis of stage III disease for men, increasing age, and increasing American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage. The...
A new analysis of patients who have undergone treatment for prostate cancer shows a connection between androgen-deprivation therapy and dementia, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Previous studies from Penn have shown men who undergo...
On April 11, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) posted for public comment a draft recommendation statement and three draft evidence reviews on screening for prostate cancer. Through this draft recommendation, the Task Force is providing clinicians and their patients with...
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have begun to establish a biological basis for the long-held but not well-tested theory that neighborhood exposures can impact health outcomes. Shannon Lynch, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase, led a team...
Overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in men, women, and children for all major racial and ethnic groups, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2014, published by Jemal et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The report...
To better understand the conditions and mechanisms driving health disparities in the United States, The Lancet partnered with physicians and public health researchers from the City University of New York, Harvard Medical School, Cornell University, Yale School of Medicine, and the New York...
A study presented by Hildebrandt et al at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR; Abstract 990) revealed several findings about racial disparities in health-related quality of life among colorectal cancer patients. Hispanics and blacks had a higher burden of...
Few pediatric oncology patients or their parents expressed negative attitudes toward early integration of palliative care during cancer treatment, according to a study by Levine et al reported in JAMA Oncology. Study Details The study involved completion of surveys by 129 patient-parent dyads...
In an interim analysis of the phase IB KEYNOTE-028 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Alley et al found that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) treatment produced durable responses in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Study Details The current report involves 25 patients with previously...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Cancer Care Ontario today issued a joint clinical practice guideline update on brachytherapy for patients with prostate cancer. The update provides evidence-based recommendations for different patient risk groups and specifies the most effective...
Hypofractionated radiotherapy was noninferior to standard radiotherapy in biochemical-clinical failure disease-free survival in men with localized prostate cancer, according to a study reported by Catton et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details In the trial, 1,206 patients with...
In an analysis of the phase III ASSURE trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Haas et al found no disease-free or overall survival benefit of adjuvant sunitinib (Sutent) or sorafenib (Nexavar) vs placebo in a high-risk subset of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma histology and pT3, pT4, or...
As reported by Mason et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, long-term survival results of the UK-based, multiarm, multistage platform–design STAMPEDE trial showed no survival benefit with the addition of celecoxib or celecoxib plus zoledronic acid in men initiating long-term hormone...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Trevor J. Royce, MD, of Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues found that a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir > 0.5 ng/mL may be a dominant risk factor for all-cause mortality after radiation therapy and...
I read with great interest Dr. Robert E. Montenegro’s comments in the The ASCO Post, January 25, 2017, where he felt “marginalized” when questioned about his country of origin or the quality of his English. As physicians, we constantly deal in a world of uncertainties and are required to address...
Eric M. Horwitz, MD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been selected by the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) as an inaugural ABS Fellow. Dr. Horwitz is among 12 fellows in the inaugural class. He will be formally recognized at the ABS 2017 Annual...
Sheldon M. Feldman, MD, has been named Chief of the Division of Breast Surgery and Surgical Oncology and Director of Breast Cancer Services at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, the clinical arm of the National Cancer Institute–designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center. He will also join...
More than one-third of men with incurable metastatic prostate cancer mistakenly believe that their cancer may be curable, according to a survey of patient expectations at an academic cancer center. “This study is part of a larger survey of treatment decision-making among men with metastatic...
In a study in the Swedish population reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sud et al found an increased risk of second cancers in survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma. Risk was further augmented in those with first-degree relatives with a cancer diagnosis. Study Details The study used data from...
In a Swedish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Loeb et al found that use of testosterone replacement therapy was not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and was associated with a lower risk of aggressive cancer among men developing the disease. Study Details The ...
Analysis of the largest American cancer database indicates that racial disparities persist in the treatment and outcomes of patients diagnosed with stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite increased availability of potentially curative treatments for early-stage NSCLC,...
In a large European cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Smith Byrne et al found that vasectomy was not associated with an increased overall risk of prostate cancer or death from prostate cancer but appeared to increase the risk of lower-grade disease. Other studies have...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Salloum et al found that use of nonindicated imaging for diagnostic staging of low-risk prostate cancer in a nonprofit integrated health-care system remained common but has decreased in frequency. As noted by the authors: “The overuse...
On January 19, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) was granted accelerated approved for treatment of patients with marginal zone lymphoma who require systemic therapy and have received at least one prior anti-CD20–based therapy.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on overall response rate in a...
Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and Pasi A. Jänne, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, have been named co-leaders of the Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C)-American Cancer Society (ACS) Lung Cancer Dream Team, joining co-leader Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, of...
A multicenter study of North American testicular cancer survivors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy has found a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors that doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease.1 According to the results of this trial,...
In a rigorous study of tumor tissue collected from 125 patients with aggressive brain cancers, researchers at Johns Hopkins said they have found no evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and concluded that a link between the two diseases, as claimed by earlier reports, likely does not exist. A ...
Formal discussant for the presentation of SWOG S9921 results, Susan F. Slovin, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, said there were some important points to understand about this “vintage” trial. “The trial was designed 20 years ago, and the view is...
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. It affects 80% of individuals, with the initial infection usually occurring between the ages of 15 and 24. Persistent infection with oncogenic HPV genotypes, primarily 16 and 18, is the cause of virtually all...
Exercise and/or psychological therapy may work better than medications to reduce cancer-related fatigue and should be recommended first to patients, according to a Wilmot Cancer Institute-led study published by Mustian et al in JAMA Oncology. “If a [patient with cancer] is having trouble...
Results from a new prospective clinical trial indicate that high–dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy administered in a single 19-Gy treatment may be a safe and effective alternative to longer courses of HDR treatment for men with localized prostate cancer. The study was reported by Krauss et al in...
A new analysis of data from the U.S. Military Health System found that mood and adjustment disorders such as anxiety and depression were strong predictors of the annual number of outpatient visits, hospital admissions, and number of days in the hospital for patients with breast and prostate...
Many news reports about the latest cancer statistics released by the American Cancer Society (ACS) have focused on the 25% reduction in cancer mortality since 1991. Several reports quoted ACS Chief Medical Officer Otis W. Brawley, MD, FACP, who said in a statement1 announcing the publication of...
Scientific Name: Glycine max Common Names: Soybean, soya, tofu, miso, tempeh Overview An annual herb indigenous to East Asia, soy was domesticated more than 3,000 years ago for its pods and edible seeds. It is now the world’s most important legume crop and is grown in diverse climates. Foods...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present this special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the world. For the convenience of the reader, each issue will focus on one country from one of the six regions...
“Estimates suggest that by the year 2020, there will be over 500,000 adult survivors of childhood cancer in the United States,” Daniel A. Mulrooney, MD, MS, of the Division of Cancer Survivorship, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, reported at the 10th Oncofertility Conference in...
In 1959, my 5-year-old cousin, Kim, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). As an 8-year-old, I didn’t really understand what was happening to him, except that he had to go to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana, for treatment. The haunting vision of his looking...
In a retrospective study in three U.S. institutions reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Pelosof et al found that never smokers accounted for an increasing proportion of cases of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during the period from 1990 to 2013. The study used data...
As reported by Zelenetz et al in The Lancet Oncology, an interim analysis of a phase III trial has shown the superiority of adding the phosphoinositide-3-kinase δ inhibitor idelalisib (Zydelig) to bendamustine/rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic...
The field of prostate cancer is being energized by discoveries in genetics, novel imaging techniques, and the potential of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of prostate cancer. Not all of these advances are currently clinically actionable, but all have the potential to change clinical...
In a Danish study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Klemann et al found a low risk of prostate cancer–specific mortality in men with benign initial transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy sets. The risk was particularly low among those with lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Study...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Shipley et al in the NRG Oncology Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), the final analysis of the phase III RTOG 9601 trial showed that the addition of antiandrogen therapy with bicalutamide to radiation therapy significantly improves overall ...
By 2050, the death rates from malignant melanoma will have decreased from their current levels, but the numbers of people dying from the disease will have increased due to the aging of populations. However, if new treatments for the deadly skin cancer prove to be effective, the numbers of deaths...
In the UK PROMIS study reported in The Lancet, Ahmed et al found that use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) might reduce the need for transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy and may improve detection of clinically significant prostate cancer. Study Details In the ...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Royce et al found that a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir > 0.5 ng/mL may be a dominant risk factor for all-cause mortality after radiation therapy and androgen-deprivation therapy in men with localized unfavorable-risk prostate cancer. Study Details...
On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describing cases of a rare lung infection in five young gay men in Los Angeles. The men had other unusual infections as well, indicating their immune systems were compromised....
“As a medical student, I often felt marginalized from my medical community. I have been told that my name is ‘not American,’ fallen prey to being confused for support staff such as a janitor (even while wearing my white coat) and been asked questions like, ‘Where are you really from?’ or ‘How old...