Search Results
Your search for ,NOt matches 22378 pages
Showing 16551 - 16600Expert Point of View: Novel HDAC Inhibitor May Restore Estrogen Sensitivity in Breast Cancer
Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD, of Baylor Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas, who moderated the symposium where the results were presented, called the use of entinostat in advanced estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer “very, very promising.” She added, “I agree that it’s time for a phase III trial of...
Chemotherapy Drug Shortages: A Preventable Human Disaster
The issue of chemotherapy drug shortages continues with no end in sight. Many heartfelt human interest stories have been told on television, in newspapers, and even to Congress, but the bottom line is that little, if any, action has been taken. Uniquely American Problem News of the generic...
Important Lessons for Oncology from the Front Lines of the AIDS Pandemic
On June 5, 1981, the CDC issued a warning about a rare type of pneumonia discovered among a small group of young gay men in Los Angeles, later determined to be AIDS-related, ushering in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Early on, AIDS-related malignancies brought the oncology community into this formidable...
Aflibercept Improves Overall Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The novel fusion protein aflibercept added to standard chemotherapy led to an overall survival benefit in a global phase III trial of second-line metastatic colorectal cancer, reported at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm.1 “Adding aflibercept to FOLFIRI [leucovorin,...
Neural Stem Cell Transplantation May Improve Cognitive Function in Brain Cancer
The potentially devastating long-term consequences on cognitive function in patients with brain cancer following cranial irradiation led Charles L. Limoli, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Irvine, to study neural stem cell transplantation and how the procedure may...
Medicare Reimbursement to Physicians: Déjà Vu All Over Again
In February 2011, The ASCO Post published an opinion piece (“Congress and the ‘Doctor Fix’: Looking Back, Looking Ahead”) about the ping-pong of legislative continuing resolutions to avert a 21.3% cut in physician reimbursement. These continuing resolutions were necessary because the Affordable...
My Cancer Is Incurable, but My Future Is Limitless
Cancer has nearly always been part of my life. When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The doctors told my parents that unless I was treated immediately, I wouldn’t live longer than a month. Over the next 3 years, I underwent intensive courses of chemotherapy and...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
Patients concerned about an increased risk of cancer among recipients of organ transplantation need to know that “in the great majority of cases, patients don’t get cancer,” according to Eric Engels, MD, MPH, lead author of the Transplant Cancer Match Study report and Senior Investigator, Division...
Solid Organ Transplant Recipients Have Increased Risk for Broad Range of Malignancies
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. The Transplant Cancer Match Study, a ...
Significant Neurologic and Executive Function Impairment among Breast Cancer Survivors
Women who survive breast cancer show significant neurologic impairment, with outcomes appearing to be significantly poorer for those treated with chemotherapy, according to a report in the Archives of Neurology. Investigators at Stanford University School of Medicine in California conducted an...
Significantly Longer Survival with Axitinib Compared to Sorafenib in Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma
A phase III study comparing the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors axitinib and sorafenib (Nexavar) as second-line therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma found that axitinib produced significantly longer progression-free survival. Published in The...
The Art and Grace of Just Letting Go
Like a breeze rippling across a lake, the end of your career is approaching and you cannot escape its path. You can see it coming, and before you know it the inexorable movement will rush past you. You have two choices: Build a sail so that you can capture the energy and move with it, or remain...
Researchers Find Remarkable Heterogeneity in Sarcomas
Does one size fit all for the treatment of sarcoma? The answer is a resounding “no,” according to Jean-Yves Blay, MD, Department of Medicine, Université Claude Bernard, and Unité INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research Unit), Lyon, France. Researchers have been able to classify...
SIDEBAR: Patient Advocates Form Huge Presence at EMCC 2011
Patient advocate and two-time breast cancer survivor Kathi Apostolidis from Greece spoke at a session on patients’ and physicians’ use of social media. “Social media is not a fad. It has real value,” she said. She uses social media to connect with oncologists and policymakers across the globe, and...
Twitter Dominates Social Media Buzz at Stockholm Meeting
There was a time when clinical trial results were disseminated mainly through peer-reviewed journals that appeared in your mailbox. Computers and prompt reporting from medical conferences changed that, and same-day postings on medical websites brought “breaking news” a step closer. But the...
Reflections from The ASCO Post
The editors gratefully acknowledge all contributors to The ASCO Post and thank the columnists who contributed to Volume 2, January–December 2011: Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP Richard Boxer, MD, FACS Carlton G. Brown, RN, PhD, AOCN Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD E. David Crawford, MD Emil J. Freireich, MD, ...
Need for Data Capture Crucial, Now and After ‘Meaningful Use’
It’s never enough. Whether it is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), other payers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, or specialty companies, one can never provide enough data. When will it all end? The problem, or the opportunity for many, is that it won’t end. The need for discrete ...
Oncologists Need Hands-on Approach in Developing Next Generation of EHRs
The electronic health record system offered by vendors is more like a filing cabinet, not the sophisticated, interactive database needed by busy oncologists, according to Kevin S. Hughes, MD, FACS, Co-Director, Avon Comprehensive Breast Evaluation Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, who...
Improving Quality and Safety with Health Information Technology
A well-documented flaw in paper-based health care is the propensity for medical errors. According to Blackford Middleton, MD, MPH, MSc, implementing clinical decision support software can decrease medical error, improve outcomes, and lower the costs of care. Presenting a session titled “Improving...
Male Breast Cancer Differs from Breast Cancer in Women, but Little Data Informs Treatment
Although a rare occurrence, men do get breast cancer, and when they do, it has a distinct biology from that of female breast cancer. About 90% of cases most closely resemble postmenopausal female invasive ductal carcinoma, and 10% are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which accounts for 25% of...
Journal of Oncology Practice Explores Use of Palliative Care in Practice
A recent issue of the Journal of Oncology Practice features a special series of articles on palliative care and end-of-life issues in the oncology practice setting. Articles explore the integration of palliative care services in ambulatory settings, unique delivery mechanisms for palliative care,...
ASCO Issues Blueprint for Transforming Cancer Research in the ‘Molecular Era’
On November 3, ASCO issued a new report that lays out ASCO’s vision for transforming clinical and translational research to deliver more effective and personalized cancer therapies faster. The report, Accelerating Progress Against Cancer: ASCO’s Blueprint for Transforming Clinical and Translational ...
Medical Students Can Now Be ASCO Members, Thanks to an Intern Who Pressed
ASCO has just added a membership category for medical students, spurred on by—you guessed it—a medical student. Daniel G. Stover, MD, knew he wanted to go into oncology from very early on. But when he contacted ASCO to join as an intern, having just graduated from Vanderbilt School of Medicine, he...
Lessons from a Northern Neighbor: A Conversation with Joseph M. Connors, MD
Policy analysts searching for a better understanding of health-care models often compare the cancer delivery systems of Canada and the United States. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer,...
Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio Can Upstage Patients with Bladder Cancer
A sizable proportion of bladder cancer patients who would benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy are not receiving it, researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, concluded. Their conclusion was based on their assessment of the neutrophil/lymphocyte...
Expert Point of View: Benefit of Panitumumab Seen Primarily in Patients with Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer and HPV-negative Tumors
Discussing the presentation, Jean Bourhis, MD, PhD, of the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France, said that while HPV has become a major prognostic factor in locally advanced head and neck cancer, its prognostic value in recurrent and metastatic disease is less clear. “The role of HPV in...
Benefit of Panitumumab Seen Primarily in Patients with Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer and HPV-negative Tumors
The addition of panitumumab (Vectibix) to chemotherapy improved overall and progression-free survival in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, but its benefit was limited to patients whose tumors were negative for the human papillomavirus (HPV).1 The...
Important Briefs from the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress
Nearly 16,000 people from 16 countries attended this year’s European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, held recently in Stockholm. The ASCO Post has featured several key reports from the meeting and will offer further coverage in upcoming issues. Additional noteworthy studies presented at the...
How Should We Treat Nodular Lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma?
At the 2011 Pan-Pacific Lymphoma Conference in Kauai, Hawaii, Andreas Engert, MD, Chairman of the German Hodgkin Lymphoma Study Group (GHSG) and Professor of Medicine at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, discussed the treatment of nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL),...
New Drug Approved to Treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
The FDA has approved asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze) to treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who have developed hypersensitivity to Escherichia coli–derived asparaginase (Elspar) and pegaspargase (Oncaspar). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most commonly diagnosed...
2011 in Review: Oncology Drugs/Indications Newly Approved by FDA
At press time, the FDA had granted approval for the following new agents and indications for cancer treatment in 2011. Asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze) as a component of a multiagent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients who have...
SIDEBAR: Adding Trastuzumab to Adjuvant Chemotherapy
Adding trastuzumab (Herceptin) to adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved disease-free survival of patients with resected stage I to III invasive HER2-positive breast cancer in the phase III North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) N9831 trial. There was also a trend toward a further...
Optimizing HER2-directed Therapy in the Clinic
Seminal research in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer has been led by Edith A. Perez, MD, the Serene M. and Frances C. Durling Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. The ASCO Post asked Dr. Perez to share her approach to HER2-directed therapy. Testing...
Prostate Cancer Screening Reconsidered
Prostate cancer is the most prevalent nonskin cancer in men. An estimated 16% of men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, yet only 3% of men die from it.1 Unlike other cancers, prostate cancer is associated with a prolonged lead-time, meaning it can take anywhere from 5 to 12 years to become...
A Conversation with Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD
Last September, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, a leading scholar in bioethics and health-care policy, was named the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor and Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His appointment will be shared between ...
Breast Cancer Experts Voice Opinion and Express ‘Disappointment’ over FDA Decision
Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, Chair of Medical Breast Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” at the FDA decision to withdraw the bevacizumab (Avastin) indication in breast cancer. “Once the FDA put this in the hands of ODAC, ...
FDA Announces Bevacizumab Decision: Agency Will Revoke Breast Cancer Indication
On November 18, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said she is revoking the agency’s approval of the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin) after concluding that the drug has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use. Bevacizumab will remain on the market as an...
Humor Is Helping Me Survive Cancer
Despite a strong family history of colon cancer—all five of my mother’s siblings had colon cancer, and my mother died of the disease 10 years ago—when some flecks of blood started showing up on my toilet tissue in early 2005, I figured it was from hemorrhoids. At 38, I was a marathon runner and in...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
“The message” of a meta-analysis of 17 randomized trials of breast-conserving surgery with or without radiation, “should be that the benefits of radiation are not temporary, that it provides an increased chance of cure,” Thomas A. Buchholz, MD, told The ASCO Post. The meta-analysis was conducted by ...
Benefits of Radiation after Breast-conserving Surgery Cut Risk of Recurrence in Half
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. “After breast-conserving surgery,...
MD Anderson Cancer Center’s New President Has a Bold Vision
On September 1, 2011, Ronald A. DePinho, MD, became only the fourth President in the 70-year history of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. DePinho spent the previous 14 years as head of Dana-Farber’s Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. In a recent interview...
The Newly Diagnosed Patient with Cancer and Access to Care
A study presented at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting raised concerns that newly diagnosed cancer patients are having trouble seeing an oncologist. Interviews with several cancer centers and community practices, however, suggest that the process runs smoothly, for the most part. Majority of Patients...
Physician-based Screening Leads to the Detection of Thinner Melanomas with More Favorable Prognosis
Physician-based screening leads to detection of thinner melanomas that were less likely to have negative prognostic attributes such as ulceration and dermal mitosis, according to a retrospective review of patient records and biopsy logs from 394 patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma. The...
Intensified Chemotherapy with R-ACVBP Improves Survival in Younger Patients with Diffuse B-cell Lymphoma
Compared with standard R-CHOP (rituximab [Rituxan], doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone), intensified immunochemotherapy with R-ACVBP (dose-intensive rituximab, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vindesine [not available in U.S.], bleomycin, and prednisone) significantly improves ...
New Indication for Cetuximab in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Cetuximab (Erbitux) was recently approved by the FDA for use in...
SIDEBAR: ‘Can’t Stomach Cancer’ Seeks to Jump-start Research, Raise Awareness
In April 2008, Debbie Zelman was 40 years old. The mother of three young children, married to a physician, and a practicing attorney with her own firm, she began to experience a strange sensation upon swallowing food. She was told that this was due to stress, but a few months later, she became very ...
Gastric Cancer Is on the Rise: Screening and Education Are Vital
Gastric cancer is diagnosed in nearly 1 million people globally each year and is responsible for 740,000 deaths, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 21,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with gastric...
Update on Novel Treatments for Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma
At the recent Pan-Pacific Lymphoma Conference in Kauai, Hawaii, Julie M. Vose, MD, from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, discussed novel treatments for peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). PTCL is a heterogeneous group of aggressive T-cell/natural killer (NK) cell non-Hodgkin...
Advances in Lung Cancer Treatment Show Incremental Benefits, but Room for Improvement Remains
Newer therapies for the treatment of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were discussed at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium. More inroads have been made in improving outcomes for patients with NSCLC than for those with SCLC, but there is still room for...
Highlights of Bladder Cancer Research Include Novel Agents and New Approach to Identifying Biomarkers
It is an exciting time for researchers involved in developing new therapies for bladder cancer. More agents are in clinical development, drugs with novel mechanisms and novel trial designs are being implemented, and functional collaboration is occurring in the field, according to Noah Hahn, MD,...
