STEVEN A. ROSENBERG, MD, PhD, Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), began his pioneering research in adoptive cell transfer using interleukin (IL)-2 in the mid-1970s. His IL-2 studies were among the clinical trials that led to the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval ...
ANTONIO OMURO, MD, a clinician and researcher with expertise in brain tumors, has been appointed Chief of Neuro-Oncology and a leader for the Brain Tumor Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital. “We are so fortunate to have recruited Dr. Omuro to lead our efforts in Brain Tumors and other nervous...
DISCUSSANT OF the NRG-CC001 trial, Christina I. Tsien, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, underscored the importance of this research, noting that cognitive impairment affects nearly 50% of patients who undergo whole-brain radiation therapy. ...
ANALYSIS OF a phase III trial has confirmed that conformal avoidance of the hippocampal dentate gyrus using intensity-modulated radiotherapy during whole-brain radiotherapy for brain metastases preserves neurocognitive function and improves patient-reported symptom burden while achieving similar...
IN PATIENTS with a controlled primary tumor and up to 5 oligometastatic lesions, delivering stereotactic ablative radiotherapy was associated with a 13-month improvement in overall survival when compared with palliative standard-of-care treatments alone (41 months vs 28 months; P = .09).1...
DISCUSSANT OF the abstract, Catherine C. Park, MD, FASTRO, Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco, expressed excitement about this study’s results, which suggest the possibility of curing patients with stage IV disease. “We’re...
FOR A SUBSET of patients with stage IV lung cancer, aggressive treatment may improve overall survival, according to data presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).1 The results of the phase II study showed that with long-term follow-up, local...
LAURIE H. SEHN, MD, Chair, Lymphoma Tumour Group, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, said these results are not unexpected and support de-escalation in selected patients. “The FLYER trial evaluates treatment with four cycles compared with six cycles of cyclophosphamide,...
THE REGIMEN of four cycles of rituximab (Rituxan)/cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone (R-CHOP) plus two cycles of rituximab was noninferior to that of six cycles of R-CHOP in younger patients with favorable-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), according to the results of...
AT THE 2018 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, Aung Naing, MD, FACP, of the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, commented on studies evaluating novel drugs to be combined with programmed cell death ...
THE 2018 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting hosted a meeting of the minds of the world’s premier cancer immunologists. In addition to the cutting-edge laboratory science explored and presented at the meeting, numerous phase I clinical trials and a few phase II studies offered ...
A RECENT survey of 400 clinical oncologists found that 80% discuss the use of medical cannabis with their patients, and although nearly 50% recommend it, fewer than 30% consider themselves knowledgeable enough to make such recommendations.1 Oncologists are perhaps among the most evidence-demanding ...
THE STUDY’S discussant, Susan M. O’Brien, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Science, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Irvine Health, said the results of the Alliance North American Intergroup Study A041202—demonstrating that ibrutinib (Imbruvica) is more...
IBRUTINIB (IMBRUVICA) as a front-line agent proved superior to standard-of-care chemoimmunotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in older patients in A041202, an Alliance-led National Clinical Trials Network study.1 At a follow-up of 38 months, the median progression-free survival was not ...
Shanu Modi, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses study findings from a large phase I study on trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with low HER2-expressing breast cancer (Abstract P6-17-02).
Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, summarizes a spotlight session she chaired, which included discussion of new immunotherapy drug combinations, predictive factors, and the immune microenvironment.
Monica Morrow, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center reviews lessons learned from top abstracts, including how to tailor the extent of local therapy to minimize morbidity, the diminishing role of axillary lymph node dissection, long-term sequelae of breast surgical procedures, and the need...
Shom Goel, MD, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses preclinical data that suggest CDK4/6 inhibitors not only stop the growth of breast cancer cells, but also enhance antitumor immunity, a phenomenon that might help improve outcomes for people with advanced disease.
Roisin M. Connolly, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, discusses clinical trials during the past year on studies on CDK and PI3K inhibitors in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer and immune checkpoint agents in triple-negative breast cancer.
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, of the University of Michigan, and Rachel A. Freedman, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss the twin challenges of overtreating people with cancer and the missed opportunities and dangers of undertreatment.
Kathy S. Albain, MD, of Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, discusses study findings on race, ethnicity, and patient outcomes in hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, node-negative breast cancer (Abstract GS4-07).
Allison Magnuson, DO, of the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital, discusses the development of a chemotherapy toxicity risk score that is associated with dose reduction as well as reduced respiratory distress and fewer hospitalizations (Abstract GS6-04).
Roberto A. Leon-Ferre, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses study findings on the effectiveness of oxybutynin in decreasing the frequency and severity of hot flashes (Abstract GS6-01).
Dejan Juric, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses phase III study findings on liquid biopsy–based assessment of PIK3CA mutational status and the combination of the selective PI3K-alpha inhibitor alpelisib plus fulvestrant in the treatment of advanced breast cancer (Abstract GS3-08).
Laura S. Dominici, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the lower quality-of-life scores seen after unilateral or bilateral mastectomy compared with breast-conserving surgery in women younger than age 40 who are treated for breast cancer (Abstract GS6-05).
Judy E. Garber, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, summarizes a special session she moderated, which included discussion of polygenic risk scores, genetic testing in diverse populations, and what to do when presented with moderate-penetrance mutations.
Shoshana M. Rosenberg, ScD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses her study findings on the lower quality of life associated with mastectomy, and the need for intervention and timely referrals to supportive resources, especially for underserved populations (Abstract GS6-04).
Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Daniel F. Hayes, MD, of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center debate whether all women with breast cancer and positive lymph nodes should receive chemotherapy.
Treatment with oxybutynin helped reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes for women who could not take hormone replacement therapy, including breast cancer survivors, according to the results of a trial presented at the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium by Leon-Ferre et al (Abstract ...
Liquid biopsy–based assessment of PIK3CA mutational status served as a better indicator of progression-free survival compared with analysis of tissue biopsy in patients with breast cancer enrolled in the phase III SOLAR-1 clinical trial, according to data presented by Juric et al at the 2018...
An analysis of the association between clinical outcomes and race in participants enrolled in the TAILORx trial found that even with equivalent treatments among women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, black women had worse clinical outcomes than white women, despite ...
On December 6, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin), paclitaxel, and carboplatin for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic, nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no EGFR or...
A study by Dominici et al investigated the long-term quality of life outcomes in young breast cancer survivors across three surgical strategies: breast-conserving surgery, unilateral mastectomy, and bilateral mastectomy. The researchers found that patients who underwent mastectomy had lower breast...
François-Clément Bidard, MD, PhD, of the Institut Curie and the University of Versailles, discusses phase III study findings on the clinical utility of circulating tumor cell count as a tool to choose between first-line hormone therapy and chemotherapy for estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative...
Andrew D. Seidman, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Richard G. Gray, MA, MSc, of the University of Oxford, discuss a meta-analysis of individual patient data from 12 randomized trials including 24,912 women on the effects—in terms of recurrence and cause-specific mortality—of...
Andrew D. Seidman, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Miguel Martín, MD, PhD, of the Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, discuss phase III study findings on adjuvant capecitabine after standard chemotherapy for people with early triple-negative breast cancer...
Andrew D. Seidman, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Charles E. Geyer, MD, of Virginia Commonwealth University, discuss phase III study findings on ado-trastuzumab emtansine vs trastuzumab as adjuvant therapy in patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer with residual invasive ...
Eva M. Ciruelos, MD, PhD, of the University Hospital 12 de Octubre and the SOLTI Group, discusses study findings on palbociclib and trastuzumab in postmenopausal patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (Abstract PD3-03).
Zaida Morante, MD, of the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, discusses retrospective study findings showing the importance of starting adjuvant chemotherapy for people with triple-negative breast cancer within 30 days of surgery (Abstract GS2-05).
Shoichiro Ohtani, MD, PhD, of Hiroshima City Hiroshima Citizens Hospital, discusses study findings on extending anastrozole to 10 years, which led to higher rates of disease-free survival and distant disease–free survival (Abstract GS3-04).
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) recognized outstanding contributors in research, treatment, and caregiving at its Simply the Best Dinner and Gala, which took place recently in San Francisco. The annual event is a celebration of survivors, hope, and determination that brings...
BOOKMARK Title: Cancer Crossings: A Brother, His Doctors, and the Quest for a Cure to Childhood LeukemiaAuthor: Tim WendelPublisher: ILR PressPublication date: April 2018Price: $24.95, hardcover, 256 pages Tim Wendel is a journalist and author of several noted books, mostly concerning sports. In...
BOOKMARK Title: Your Happy Brain: Why and How to Hug ItAuthors: Philomena Lawrence, BA, BEd, and Gilbert Lawrence, MD, FRCRPublisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing PlatformPublication date: June 2018Price: $16.00, paperback, 390 pages Some 2,400 years ago, the ancient Greeks were among the...
To grant more children with cancer access to clinical trials, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation has awarded 29 infrastructure grants totaling $1.7 million to institutions across the country. This series of grants brings the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s funding total to more than $26 million awarded in...
Kathryn J. Ruddy, MD, MPH, of the Mayo Clinic, summarizes a special spotlight session that included discussion of interventions to improve quality of life and the importance of lifestyle in the prevention of cancer and cancer recurrence.
Xavier Pivot, MD, PhD, of the Paul Strauss Cancer Center, discusses final study findings comparing 6 and 12 months of trastuzumab in adjuvant early breast cancer (Abstract GS2-07).
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses the natural history and novel combinations for HER2-positive disease as well as predictive and prognostic markers for this type of breast cancer.
Despite the fact that I had to have open heart surgery at age 7 to fix a congenital heart defect and then more surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to treat a diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma a year later, I never felt like I was a sick kid. Children don’t have the existential worries about...
Data from the NSABP B-39/RTOG 0413 trial indicated that ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) rates 10 years after treatment could not reject the hypothesis that accelerated partial-breast irradiation (PBI) after lumpectomy was inferior to whole-breast irradiation (WBI), according to a...