Space is limited for this year’s Research Community Forum Annual Meeting. Physician investigators and research staff are invited to attend this one-of-a-kind meeting taking place September 23–24 at ASCO headquarters in the DC metro area. The meeting offers a unique platform to physician researchers ...
ASCO Answers: Stopping Tobacco Use After a Cancer Diagnosis offers people with cancer and their caregivers information on why and how to quit tobacco use. With information on available treatments and resources, this booklet gives patients practical tools to work with their health-care team to stop ...
Researchers frequently contact ASCO with requests to survey Society members. To help facilitate this type of research for ASCO members, ASCO has changed its previous policy of declining such requests and is now assembling a cohort of members who are willing to participate in investigator-initiated...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed rule for 2019 Medicare physician reimbursement. CMS estimates that in 2019, the overall impact for the hematology/oncology specialty will be a 4% reduction in reimbursement and a 2% reimbursement reduction for...
A new frailty index predicts overall survival for patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma, according to a study recently published in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics (JCO CCI). This tool is important because frailty is a critical factor in treatment decision-making for many patients with...
In 2018, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) provided funds for Conquer Cancer to establish a Young Investigator Award (YIA) supporting female researchers and underscore the importance of gender diversity in oncology practice and research. “We provided this grant as part of our commitment to empowering...
GUEST EDITOR Dr. Abraham is the Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic. For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with breast cancer surgeon...
In May 2018, daratumumab (Darzalex) was approved for use in combination with VMP (bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisone) in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced the appointments of Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, and Michael N. Pollak, MD, as Editors-in-Chief of Cancer Prevention Research, one of eight journals published by the AACR. Cancer Prevention Research publishes original preclinical,...
The evolving concept that dietary fat plays an important role in the etiology of human cancer emerged more than 50 years ago. Ernst Wynder, MD, whose seminal epidemiologic work led to identifying smoking as a contributory cause of lung cancer, presented a paper in 1967 showing a decided correlation ...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On July 13, 2018, enzalutamide (Xtandi) was approved for...
To meet the growing demand for high-quality cancer care in China, Tahoe Hospital Management Co Ltd has reached a 5-year agreement with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) where health-care professionals from the Pennsylvania-based medical center will assist in the planning and...
Two studies about postmastectomy breast reconstruction were recently published in JAMA Surgery. One study found overall complication rates of 32.9% at 2 years after reconstruction, with women having autologous reconstruction more likely to have complications than those having implant...
The complication rate among women who underwent postmastectomy breast reconstruction was 32.9% at 2 years postoperatively, and women undergoing autologous reconstruction “had significantly higher odds of developing any complication compared with those undergoing expander-implant reconstruction,”...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lenvatinib capsules (Lenvima) for first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). REFLECT Trial Approval was based on the international, multicenter, randomized, open-label, noninferiority REFLECT trial ...
It’s not just the leaps in development of precision medicines, the soaring costs, the new payment models, clinical trial designs, sources of data, and federal policies. It’s all of them plus the rapidity with which change is happening that makes this era of oncology exceptional. “I would say...
Though many case studies and anecdotal reports have touted the effectiveness of cannabinoids for cancer pain, in randomized studies, the areas in which they are effective are “fairly borderline,” according to Ian Olver, AM, MD, PhD, Immediate Past President of the Multinational Association of...
Cannabis has been used in health care for millennia, and its use has been well documented, albeit never definitively integrated into clinical practice. Recent societal changes and the increasing acceptance and availability of cannabis have reignited the medical and public debate around its role in...
In the early part of the 20th century, the U.S. government classified cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug: a dangerous substance with no medical value. For many years, that classification prevented systematic research in cannabinoid use in medicine. As a result of societal changes and an intense and...
In a roundtable discussion moderated by Clifford Goodman, PhD, of The Lewin Group, Falls Church, Virginia, representatives of the patient advocacy community, public and private payers, large and small clinics, and the pharmaceutical industry did not always see eye to eye on what “value” means nor ...
On August 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mogamulizumab-kpkc (Poteligeo) injection for intravenous use in the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome after at least one prior systemic therapy. This approval provides a new...
Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, is the recipient of the first James O. Armitage Clinical Investigator Award, presented at the 2018 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference in July in Maui. Dr. Davids is Director of the Lymphoma BioBank and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and...
Although many agents have been able to successfully inhibit the proliferative capacity of cancer cells or disable mutations that spur cancer growth, one area that has proven elusive is the apoptotic pathway—the cell’s means of resisting death. That is until recently. Dysregulation of B-cell...
For patients with cancer, marijuana may be valuable in controlling pain and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Furthermore, it may have efficacy as an appetite stimulant. No randomized clinical trial has investigated the utility of whole-plant medical marijuana to alleviate these symptoms in ...
National guidelines advise doctors to discuss the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening with high-risk patients. A small study (n = 14) by researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center reported there is a gap between what guidelines...
Once dismissed as rare medical miracles that overcame overwhelming odds to thwart cancer, exceptional responders to cancer treatment are now the subject of intense study. In 2015, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced the launch of its Exceptional Responders Initiative, with the goal of...
Although programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade is highly effective in Hodgkin lymphoma, not all patients respond, and not all responses are durable. Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, Chair of the Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Group and Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, described...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to VB4-845 for the treatment of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)–unresponsive, high-grade, non–muscle invasive bladder cancer. VB4-845 is currently being evaluated in a phase III registration...
Patients who develop frequent cases of basal cell carcinoma appear to be at significantly increased risk for the development of other cancers, according to a study published by Cho et al in JCI Insight. Methods Researchers studied 61 people treated at Stanford Health Care for frequent...
In a study reported in JAMA, Presley et al found that use of broad-based genomic sequencing vs routine testing for EGFR mutations or ALK rearrangements alone directed treatment in a minority of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the community oncology setting and was ...
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) technology platform that could potentially change the way drug combinations are being designed, hence enabling doctors to determine the most effective drug...
iCAD has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of its artificial intelligence software program, PowerLook Density Assessment Version 3.4, which provides an automated method of determining breast density. The software is compatible with iCAD’s digital breast...
In a study using National Cancer Database data reported in JAMA Oncology, Wang et al found that definitive pelvic radiation therapy plus chemotherapy was associated with improved survival vs chemotherapy alone in newly diagnosed metastatic cervical cancer. The study included data from 3,169...
In a single-center study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Walker et al found that institution of a peer-review process resulted in shorter fractionation schedules for palliation of bone metastases, consistent with current guidelines. As stated by the authors, “Shorter...
PapGene, Inc, has announced their cancer detection test has received Breakthrough Device designation from the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The PapGene test is a multianalyte test that uses a combination of circulating tumor DNA...
Although heart failure is an uncommon complication of breast cancer treatment, the risk may be higher in patients treated with certain types of chemotherapy and lower in younger patients, according to a study published by Henry et al in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging. Researchers studied 16,456...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for encorafenib (Braftovi) in combination with binimetinib (Mektovi) and cetuximab (Erbitux) for the treatment of patients with BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), as detected by...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Hauschild et al identified baseline lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), performance status, disease burden, and gene signature as potential determinants of treatment outcomes in BRAF V600–mutant metastatic melanoma treated with BRAF and/or MEK inhibitors. Study ...
In a Chinese single-center phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Lan et al found a high response rate with oral apatinib plus oral etoposide in patients with platinum-resistant or refractory ovarian cancer. Study Details The study included 35 patients with progression within 6 months...
Cory Wiegert has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary of ASCO. Mr. Wiegert, a proven expert in building and successfully launching innovative technology solutions, began his new role today (August 13, 2018), overseeing the continued...
Estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer is the most common type of breast cancer, but resistance to therapy is common, and eventual development of metastatic disease is a leading cause of death. In research published by Lei et al in Cell Reports, researchers from Baylor College of...
In the age of big data, cancer researchers are discovering new ways to monitor the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy developed a new way to use bioinformatics as a gathering tool to determine how ...
Sensus Healthcare, Inc, a medical device company specializing in the noninvasive treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers and keloids with image-guided superficial radiation therapy, announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its new...
In a planned subgroup analysis of the phase III AURA3 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wu et al found that the third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib (Tagrisso) produced higher central nervous system (CNS) response rates vs platinum plus pemetrexed (Alimta)...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Sparano et al found that a single circulating tumor cell (CTC) assessment was predictive of late recurrence in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. The study involved patients from a phase III trial of doxorubicin and...
ASCO RECENTLY launched its new “I Live to Conquer Cancer” national outreach and awareness campaign to draw attention to the critical importance of federally funded cancer research. Through a series of compelling videos and written stories, “I Live to Conquer Cancer” puts a human face on cancer...
ASCO AND the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) are calling on leaders and health ministers of the 193 United Nations (UN) member countries to reduce the burden of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer. The two organizations issued a joint statement in advance of the third ...
FULLY UPDATED and now with 8th Edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging information, this updated guide from ASCO is designed for people newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. It aims to help patients get organized and learn more about their diagnosis, treatment options, side effects,...
ASCO DELEGATES participated in the American Medical Association’s (AMA) June Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates (HOD). The AMA HOD is the principal policy-making body of AMA and meets twice a year to discuss pressing issues and establish association policies. This year, delegates approved...
The Conquer Cancer Merit Awards support oncology trainees who are first authors on abstracts selected for presentation at an ASCO scientific meeting, including the ASCO Annual Meeting and thematic symposia. Conquer Cancer recognized 127 recipients with Merit Awards at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting,...