Using gene therapy and a combination of chemotherapy drugs, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have been able to enhance the tolerance and effectiveness of medications used in treating glioblastoma while also protecting healthy cells from their toxic effects. The report,...
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies of children and adults with intraocular cancers. The studies include pilot, phase 0, phase I, phase II, and observational trials evaluating new combination therapies, vaccines, optical...
Louis B. Harrison, MD, has joined Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, and Senior Member. Moffitt’s Radiation Oncology program includes faculty of cancer specialists who provide comprehensive cancer care for tumors at all anatomical locations, as well as...
James P. Allison, PhD, has been bucking the status quo since he was a teenager growing up in the small agricultural town of Alice, Texas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He first butted heads with authority figures when he was in high school and learned that his biology class had omitted the teaching of...
In an accompanying editorial,1 Karla Kerlikowske, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues point out that while the finding of Killelea et al that digital mammography screening was not associated with downstaging of disease may not be surprising, given the similar accuracy ...
In a study of the use of breast cancer screening modalities in the Medicare population reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Brigid K. Killelea, MD, MPH, FACS, and colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine, Yale Cancer Center, and Yale–New Haven Hospital, New Haven,...
In a study reported in JAMA and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Friedewald and colleagues1 showed that the addition of tomosynthesis to digital mammography2 resulted in a decrease in the screening recall rate3 and an increase in the cancer detection rate.4,5 This retrospective analysis of...
In March, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) transformed its Cooperative Group Program into the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN). Spurred by recommendations in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010 report, A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the NCI...
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched initial human testing of an investigational vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease, according to a news release issued by NIH. The early-stage trial has begun initial human...
Kenneth S. Ramos, MD, PhD, PharmB, has been named the new MD-PhD Program Director at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson. The Program was established in 1990 to provide dual training in medicine and research to students interested in careers as research-intensive physicians...
Although a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order does not mean “do not treat,” that is how it is often interpreted, according to a study examining the level of care oncology inpatients at a tertiary care hospital received.1 The study found that the interpretation of DNR orders among oncology nurses and...
Over the past decade, ASCO has launched multiple initiatives on cancer genetics that complement the rapid progress in the field. These initiatives have resulted in educational offerings and policy recommendations that have improved both preventive and therapeutic options for patients with cancer...
We read the letter to the editor in the July 24, 2014, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine entitled, “A Randomized Trial of Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Cystectomy,” with great interest.1 Provocative Results In the letter, reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Bochner and...
Cervical cancer is one of the major killers among women in Rwanda, and with the support of Rwanda’s First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, the country is rolling out a free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening program in collaboration with Marck, Qiagen (a Dutch...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently announced publication of the 20th annual edition of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC). One of the eight original NCCN Guidelines, the NCCN Guidelines for SCLC was initially...
The recent publication by Antoniou et al on risk of breast cancer in PALB2 carriers,1 reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post (page 47), is a contribution to the interesting history of the PALB2 gene, and an important milestone in the expansion of hereditary cancer susceptibility testing in the...
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its policies and procedures. In this installment, Virginia Kwitkowski, MS, RN, ACNP-BC, and Elektra Papadopoulos, MD, MPH, discuss FDA’s current approach to the review of study...
Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a $2.3 million grant to study oncology nurses’ exposure to hazardous drugs, including identifying ways to reduce exposure. “There are significant acute and long-term side effects from hazardous ...
Fox Chase Cancer Center has announced the appointment of two staff to the Center’s Department of Radiation Oncology and Surgical Oncology, respectively. Mark A. Hallman, MD, PhD, joins the Department of Radiation Oncology having served there recently as the Department’s Chief Resident. Sanjay S....
Postoperative radiation therapy, given after adjuvant chemotherapy, significantly increased overall survival in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to chemotherapy alone, according to a study reported at ASCO’s 2014 Annual Meeting.1 That study, an analysis of records in the National Cancer...
The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation has announced Mary-Claire King, PhD, of the University of Washington, Seattle, will receive the 2014 Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award for her contributions to medical science and human rights. Dr. King’s demonstration of the existence of familial...
Production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is increased during normal ovulation, and can account for much of the reversible toxicity associated with ovarian hyperstimulation.1,2 We also have compelling data from multiple clinical trials to validate the importance of tumor-associated...
The updated results of the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC)—reported in The Lancet by Fritz H. Schröder, MD, of Erasmus University Medical Center, and colleagues1 and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—show a continued decline, as predicted,2 in the number...
The 13-year follow-up of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), reported by Fritz H. Schröder, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Urology at Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues in The Lancet, showed that prostate-specific...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted accelerated approval to the anti–PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients with advanced or unresectable melanoma who are no longer responding to other drugs. Pembrolizumab is intended for use following treatment...
The three leukemia/lymphoma studies selected from the many 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting abstracts for presentation at the recent Best of ASCO meeting in Chicago “are really paradigm-shifting,” noted Lucy A. Godley, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago. These studies, she said, “give great promise for...
"I'm not sure what extensive disease really is, but in some patients, when you see it, you really recognize it. In other patients, it’s not 100% clear,” Dr. Yu commented (Fig. 1). Some patients with multiple medium or large lesions in bone would clearly meet the definition used in the CHAARTED...
Questions abound when it comes to the optimal timing and sequencing of chemotherapy in metastatic prostate cancer, according to Dr. Yu. For example, arguments could be made both for using it earlier, while disease is still hormone-sensitive, or later, after hormonal resistance emerges. “For...
Several studies reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting address gray areas in the management of prostate cancer, according to Evan Y. Yu, MD, Associate Professor at the University of Washington and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. “In prostate cancer, probably the most excitement has happened...
Precision medicine in the management of ovarian cancer “is a work in progress, to be sure,” Steven B. Newman, MD, noted in wrapping up the session on gynecologic cancer at the recent Best of ASCO meeting in Chicago. “A list of different histologic types of ovarian cancer and potential targets are...
Despite its acceptance as standard of care for early-stage breast cancer almost 25 years ago, barriers still exist that preclude patients from receiving breast-conserving therapy, with some patients still opting for a mastectomy, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer ...
Inhibitors of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) look promising for the treatment of advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and have the advantage of not needing a specific mutation to target, said Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, Professor and Chief of Medical Oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of...
For the treatment of advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), combinations of targeted agents are of great research interest but have not yet been shown to improve outcomes. Single-agent treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, therefore, remains the standard of care for patients with...
Persons whose illnesses are related to exposure to the World Trade Center disaster may be eligible for medical services or monetary compensation under two Federal programs. The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program provides medical monitoring and treatment for responders at the World Trade...
On September 11, 2001, the devastating terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center left in its wake a unique toxic site in both mass and quantity of hazardous materials. It took 9 months to remove approximately 2 million tons of wreckage from Ground Zero, during which thousands of...
Oncologists love jargon—a language peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group that facilitates communication among members. Our day-to-day communications, medical notes, and journal reports are filled with this type of jargon. Other definitions of jargon are less flattering, including...
Don’t expect metastatic lung cancer to be cured any time soon, says Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, Professor and James Dudley Chair in Cancer Research at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver. “You have to be disease-free for some length of time in order to be cured, which is our goal,” he...
Last month, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its 2014 Cancer Progress Report: Transforming Lives Through Research, which highlights the quickening pace of drug development and approval, especially in molecularly targeted agents, that are leading to increased numbers of...
Recent concerns about potential overdiagnosis and overtreatment of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) led researchers in the Netherlands to study late effects of treatment, such as cardiovascular disease, morbidity, and mortality in a large population-based cohort of DCIS patients....
The survival benefit demonstrated in the VELOUR study for FOLFIRI (irinotecan, fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin) plus ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap) vs FOLFIRI plus placebo in metastatic colorectal cancer patients who progressed on oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy persisted beyond median survival times for ...
Analyses of data from 27,404 people aged 65 and older participating in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2000 through 2010 suggest that overscreening for prostate, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening “is common in both men and women, which not only increases health care ...
Patients with cancer and survivors of cancer are living longer than ever before as a result of significant advances made over the past decade. Importantly, however, cardiovascular complications of their cancer treatment may present a life-threatening issue after their cancer treatment has ended....
Men with moderate pattern baldness on the front and the crown of the head at age 45 had a 40% increased risk, compared to men with no baldness at that age, of developing prostate cancer later in life, according to a study led by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and published in...
Despite a diagnosis in August 2013 of stage III high-grade spindle cell sarcoma and subsequent disease recurrence, I’m mindful of how fortunate I am that my cancer was found before widespread metastases could take hold, making treatment futile. It was just happenstance, 2 months before, on a long...
The following essay by Michael Feinstein, MD, is excerpted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was co-edited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org....
We have toolsWe have ghoulsBut nowhere are there more foolsThan in the rulesfrom those who govern the tools! In the bias That climbs on the shoulders To bring plausibility Through implied causality,Where is ignorance?Where is reality?Where are all the tools of Reason? ...
Bookmark Title: Integrative Oncology (Second Edition)Editors: Donald I. Abrams, MD, and Andrew T. Weil, MDPublisher: Oxford University PressPublication date: September 3, 2014Price: $65.00; Paperback, 848 pages In 1990, David Eisenberg, MD, from the Harvard School of Public Health, conducted a...
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for people with breast cancer. The studies include phase I and II, interventional, and observational trials evaluating new therapies; diagnostic tools; genetic counseling; the association ...
A leader in the field of epigenetics whose work has led to important discoveries into how cancer develops and progresses has been named the co-leader of the Lung Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with UPMC CancerCenter. James Herman, MD, comes to...
Primary androgen-deprivation therapy has been widely used in localized prostate cancer, despite the absence of definitive evidence of benefit in early-stage disease. In a large population-based cohort study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Grace L. Lu-Yao, MPH, PhD, of Rutgers Cancer Institute...