The value of the targeted agent crizotinib (Xalkori) may not be restricted to the 5% of patients with non–small cell lung cancer who have abnormalities in the ALK gene. In a phase I study conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group consortium, crizotinib halted tumor growth and, in some cases,...
“This is one of the first, if not the first, study to show that a treatment can make prostate cancer in the prostate gland itself disappear in a reproducible number of patients, and it is an exciting step forward,” said Nicholas Vogelzang, MD, moderator of the pre–ASCO Annual Meeting press...
Use of the CYP17 inhibitor abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) in combination with leuprolide and prednisone prior to radical prostatectomy achieved pathologic complete response or near complete response in one-third of men with high-risk, localized prostate cancer. Abiraterone is FDA-approved for...
Advances in next-generation DNA sequencing technologies are allowing scientists to decipher the whole genome or whole exome (ie, the coding region of the genome) of cancer specimens more quickly and inexpensively than ever before. And the results are revealing genes that had not previously been...
Positive results continue to be reported for trastuzumab emtansine (T‑DM1), the antibody-drug conjugate linking trastuzumab (Herceptin) to a cytotoxic agent. Early results of the international phase III EMILIA study, presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting, showed a 35% reduction in risk of...
Internationally renowned clinical investigator Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse on the rural outskirts of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Polio was a scourge at the time, and Dr. Von Hoff recalled lining up with his skittish classmates to get the newly developed...
Sandra M. Swain, MD, Medical Director of the Washington Cancer Institute at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and ASCO President for the 2012 to 2013 term, is a leading authority on breast cancer treatment with a global reputation in cutting-edge clinical research. The...
Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, grew up in New York City. A product of the public school system, Dr. Shulman entered Syracuse University as a history major, only to realize that studying the past, although important, wasn’t for him. “I wanted a field...
David Khayat, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, was inspired to become an oncologist by an episode that could have been ripped from the pages of one of his best-selling novels. At the age of 18, Dr. Khayat was the witness at his best...
Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, FACP, ASCO Past President (2006-2007), grew up under the oppressive regime of communist Hungary during the Cold War. “As college-educated intellectuals, my family was among the ‘politically undesirables,’ and if we had not escaped Hungary, neither my two sisters nor I...
Kathleen M. Foley, MD, began her life’s work in cancer pain management at a time when suffering was a universally accepted consequence of the disease. Since then, Dr. Foley’s tireless work in the clinic and public forum has advanced not only the clinical treatment of cancer pain, but also the...
Since May 1, 2005, Karen H. Antman, MD, has served as Dean of Boston University School of Medicine and Provost of the Boston University Medical Campus, located in the historic South End of Boston. Her road to this esteemed institution was paved with prominent positions, such as former ASCO...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present this special anniversary edition in recognition of the publication's 3rd year serving the oncology community. We hope you enjoy this special commemorative issue profiling several of the many leaders in the oncology community. In coming issues ofThe ASCO Post and...
Janssen Research & Development, LLC, has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the FDA to extend the use of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) administered with prednisone for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who are asymptomatic or...
The FDA has approved pertuzumab (Perjeta), a new anti-HER2 therapy, to treat patients with HER2-positive late-stage breast cancer. Intended for patients who have not received prior treatment for metastatic breast cancer with an anti-HER2 therapy or chemotherapy, pertuzumab is combined with...
Over the past 2 decades, we have seen a substantial increase in the 5-year survival of patients with stage II and III colon cancer, marking an evolving oncologic success story. However, in the postoperative setting, the value of regular CT screening to monitor for recurrence has been greeted with...
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. “A simple blood test.” These were...
Onyx Pharmaceuticals recently announced that the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) determined by a vote of 11–0 (with 1 abstention) that, in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior lines of therapy that included a proteasome...
The recently published book, Malignant: Medical Ethicists Confront Cancer, takes a personal look at the cancer experience from the perspective of seven medical ethicists who were also patients with cancer or cared for spouses with cancer.1 The book’s editor, Rebecca Dresser, JD, MS, who teaches law ...
Direct your patients to www.cancer.net/podcasts to hear ASCO experts discuss the research that was presented at 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. This series of “Research Round-up” podcasts provides the latest information on treatment and care for people with cancer and will help your patients understand...
May 18 marked the 10th anniversary of Cancer.Net, the patient information website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). This milestone is not only important to the more than 12 million cancer survivors in the United States who have searched for reliable answers to many of the issues...
Cancer science and information technology are advancing rapidly, but the way we care for patients today cannot fully capitalize on those advances. The proliferation of scientific results and novel treatments is a growing challenge for all oncology professionals as we enter the era of highly...
“Our old friends are sometimes worth keeping, and that is certainly true for weekly paclitaxel,” said the invited discussant of CALGB 40502, Kathy Miller, MD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, at the ASCO Annual Meeting. She noted that Dr. Rugo must “remain strict to the...
In the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, established older agents outperformed newer, more expensive drugs in two studies that made news at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. Microtubule Inhibitors In the phase III open-label CALBG 40502/NCCTG N063H trial of 799 chemotherapy-naive patients with...
“We are approaching the 15th year of exploring molecularly targeted therapies in ovarian cancer,” said Michael Seiden, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, and formal discussant of the papers presented during an oral abstract session on gynecologic cancer at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting....
A trio of randomized, controlled trials of different molecularly targeted therapies showed variable results in ovarian cancer, as reported at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. The phase III AURELIA trial demonstrated that the addition of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)...
Commending the investigators for their undertaking, Mark Gilbert, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said, “Perseverance and analysis of long-term outcomes lead to practice-changing findings and important insights.” He pointed out that two randomized trials...
Adjuvant chemotherapy with PCV (procarbazine [Matulane], lomustine [CeeNU], and vincristine) following standard radiation therapy delayed disease progression and increased survival in patients with a relatively rare type of brain tumor called anaplastic oligodendroglioma. A subgroup analysis found...
Based on the controversial nature of the SWOG 9346 findings, presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting Plenary Session, ASCO intiated a pilot program at the meeting for a “town hall” type of discussion, where attendees could voice their concerns and questions, and where presenter Maha Hussain, MD,...
Based on a prespecified definition of survival comparability, intermittent androgen deprivation proved to be inferior to continuous androgen deprivation for men with newly diagnosed hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer in the phase III SWOG 9346 intergroup trial. The data were presented at...
Updated results of the StiL NHL1 study, presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session, showed that bendamustine plus rituximab (Rituxan) more than doubled the median progression-free survival, compared with the standard R-CHOP regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin,...
In the May 15 issue, The ASCO Post reported on the relative cost-effectiveness of approaches to treating localized prostate cancer (“Advances in Prostate Cancer Accompanied by Ongoing Debates,” page 1). The article analyzed an important scientific paper presented at both urology and radiation...
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued a recommendation statement advising against the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based testing for prostate cancer,1 leaving many in the oncology community concerned that decades of clinical progress will be stalled, and setting ...
Promising results announced at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting from studies with BRAF and MEK inhibitors have made headlines, but only one of these agents—the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf)—has been approved by the FDA. The others are still investigational. Patients interested in gaining...
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 MEK inhibitor trametinib...
July Pan Pacific Lymphoma ConferenceJuly 17-20 • Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii For more information: unmc.edu/panpacificlymphoma 13th International Lung Cancer CongressJuly 19-22 • Huntington Beach, California For more information: http://cancerlearning.onclive.com 5th Latin American Lung Cancer...
Jesús San Miguel, MD, Professor of Medicine (Hematology), Head of the Hematology Department at the University Hospital of Salamanca, and Director of the Biomedical Research Institute of Salamanca, Spain, was awarded the José Carreras Lecture at the 17th Congress of the European Hematology...
The efficacy of cancer immunotherapy has been limited, likely reflecting in large part the incomplete understanding of the complex interactions between tumors and the immune microenvironment. A study presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting helps clarify some of these interactions. Changes in...
Cabozantinib prolonged progression-free survival in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer with documented disease progression in the phase III EXAM trial. Based on these results, Exelixis submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA in May 2012. The...
Mutations in the tumor-suppressor protein p53, among the most common mutations in cancers, affect apoptosis, genomic stability, and angiogenesis. To determine the effect of p53 mutation on clinical characteristics and disease and treatment outcomes, Rabih Said, MD, MPH, and colleagues from The...
Tumor cell recognition by natural killer (NK) cells is mediated by the interaction of activating and inhibitory NK cell receptors with ligands expressed on the tumor cells. NK cells also express adhesion molecules that facilitate formation of the immune synapse with tumor targets. Maria Libera...
Oxaliplatin/fluoropyrimidine–based adjuvant therapy is of benefit in patients with resected stage II/III colon cancer, but the ability to predict risk of toxicity could improve care by permitting individualization of treatment. Ana Custodio, MD, and colleagues from GEMCAD (Grupo Español...
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common severe toxicity in patients receiving paclitaxel, and mutations in genes affecting drug metabolism, distribution, and elimination are likely to modulate risk for such neurotoxicity. In a recent study, Daniel Hertz, PharmD, and colleagues from the University...
PTEN acts as a tumor-suppressor gene through the action of its phosphatase protein product, which participates in regulation of the cell cycle to prevent too-rapid cell growth and division. Loss of PTEN function has been shown to increase PI3K/mTOR signaling, and preclinical data suggest that PTEN...
According to the first national study looking at racial disparity in breast cancer mortality rates at the city level in the United States, societal factors—especially poverty and residential segregation—are resulting in the unnecessary deaths of five black women every day—more than 1,700 deaths a...
While disparities in cancer care remain problematic in wealthy industrial nations like the United States, the challenges faced in poorer regions of the world are, by comparison, inestimable. Nationally regarded health-care expert Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is part of...
The Sarcoma Foundation of America has sponsored the following research projects—each selected through a rigorous peer-review process—in collaboration with the Conquer Cancer Foundation: Evaluation of the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway in the Growth of Myogenic Sarcomas Targeting the Notch Signaling ...
When Matthew Alsante signed on to serve as Executive Director of the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA) 6 years ago, he had a visceral understanding of the importance of the organization’s work. Mr. Alsante had lost his father to lung cancer in 1999. “Right up until the last day of his life, if...
Behind the scenes researchers—who are well acquainted with the human cost of cancer and see the vast scientific and clinical opportunities for conquering it—are working to unlock the secrets of cancer in its many forms. Some are well established in their careers and have been conducting studies for ...
Direct your patients to www.cancer.net/expertsoncancernews so they can learn about ASCO’s new Provisional Clinical Opinion on PSA testing to screen for prostate cancer, including what it means for patients. In addition, patients can find more information about prostate cancer at...