The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Sheila N. Garland, PhD, R Psych, and Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, present...
In recognition of her work in value-based care, Barbara McAneny, MD, FASCO, MACP, was honored with the Annual Achievement Award of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC). Her work in developing the grant-funded COME HOME oncology medical home initiative demonstrated reduced costs and...
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (MATCH) clinical trial has achieved the goal of screening nearly 6,000 patients in just under 2 years, according to data presented at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research–NCI–European Organisation for Research...
Dual HER2 targeting in metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers did not significantly improve outcomes over trastuzumab (Herceptin) alone—both in combination with chemotherapy—according to the results of the phase III JACOB study reported at the 2017 European Society for Medical...
THE INFORMATION contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies focused on geriatric oncology. These studies highlight psychological interventions, managing cancer symptoms, the surgical process, fall prevention, and making treatment decisions; as well ...
CLINICIANS ARE now well acquainted with BRAF mutations in advanced melanoma, but there is more to genomics in this disease than identifying BRAF and prescribing a BRAF inhibitor. At the 2017 Debates and Didactics Conference, held at Sea Island, Georgia, Melinda L. Yushak, MD, MPH, of Emory...
Invited discussant Nadia Harbeck, MD, PhD, Head of the Breast Center of the University of Munich (LMU), Germany, said the UNICANCER-NeoPAL trial points toward the future of endocrine therapy in early breast cancer—using cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors as a means of “enhancing” this ...
“Growing research suggests that body weight is not only related to the risk of developing malignancy, but also prognosis after diagnosis, especially in breast cancer,” said Jennifer A. Ligibel, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, at the 19th Annual Lynn Sage Breast...
Although a majority of major cancer centers may test for minimal residual disease (MRD), a recent survey conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, suggests most oncologists remain uncertain about what to do with the results. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network®...
Although most Americans, 78%, recognize that smoking is a major risk factor for cancer, just 31% say obesity—the second-leading preventable cause of cancer after smoking—is a risk factor for the disease, according to the results of ASCO’s National Cancer Opinion Survey, which polled over 4,000...
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) treatment was active in patients with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive advanced cervical cancer enrolled in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 trial. The findings were reported by Frenel et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details In the advanced...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maurer et al found that event-free survival at 24 months (EFS24) was associated with prolonged subsequent overall survival among patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). Study Details The study involved patients with systemic PTCL...
PRIMARY RESULTS from the randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III study ARIEL3—presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress and published recently in The Lancet1—demonstrated that maintenance treatment with the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib ...
THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR CANCER SURVIVORSHIP (NCCS) presented its second annual Ellen L. Stovall Award for Innovation in Patient-Centered Cancer Care recently in Washington, DC. This year’s award recipients were Pat Coyne, MSN, of the Medical University of South Carolina, and Meg Gaines, JD, of...
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE announced the election of 70 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting in October. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated...
In a 2013 survey, oncologists in the United States and Canada said they aim to retire at about age 64 or 65—but the majority transition into retirement in the few years after turning 65.1 When oncologists reach the point of retirement, the transition from ever-busy physician to retiree can be a...
Here is a brief look at the study findings and clinical implications of several recent and important clinical trials in neoplastic hematology. Attention is focused on hematopoietic cell transplantation in a variety of hematologic malignancies, with investigations addressing the role of maintenance ...
According to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have 5-year survival rates of 86% and 71%, respectively.1 Although the increased number of survivors is welcome proof of the success of new treatment regimens, it also ...
Communicating effectively with patients with advanced cancer not only helps patients and their family members successfully transition to palliative and end-of-life care, it can prevent physicians from experiencing professional burnout, according to Robert M. Arnold, MD, Distinguished Service...
In this roundup, The ASCO Post offers a glance at key findings from studies in noncolorectal gastrointestinal malignancies presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress from investigators around the world. Docetaxel-Based Triplet in Gastric Cancer The superiority of...
After surgical resection of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), investigators from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) have validated outcomes for tumors deemed to be of “uncertain” residual tumor status (ie, R[un]). “The residual tumor (R) classification reflects the ...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Goode et al in the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis Consortium, higher levels of cytotoxic CD8-positive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were associated with significantly improved overall survival among women with high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Study Details The ...
Anthony L. Back, MD, of the University of Washington, talks about how clinicians can protect themselves from burnout and develop resilience. The default approach––“pretending we are not affected by stress”––often backfires, he says, and makes caregivers more susceptible to workplace pressures.
Preliminary results from a phase II open-label trial of tipifarnib, a farnesyltransferase inhibitor, in patients with HRAS-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) were presented by Alan L. Ho, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International...
The phase III AFFINITY trial has shown no survival benefit with the addition of the antisense oligonucleotide custirsen to cabazitaxel (Jevtana)/prednisone in patients with metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with docetaxel. These findings were reported in The Lancet Oncology by Beer et...
Moffitt Cancer Center has made a lasting commitment to the prevention and cure of cancer, working fervently in the areas of patient care, research, and education to advance further in fighting this disease, according to Alan F. List, MD, Moffitt’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. List,...
WITH THE INCLUSION of proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents first into salvage and then as components of first-line, consolidation, and maintenance regimens, response rates, depth of response, and median progression-free and overall survival have all improved for patients suffering...
AS REPORTED BY David P. Carbone, MD, PhD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine, the phase III CheckMate 026 trial has shown no progression-free survival benefit for first-line nivolumab (Opdivo) vs platinum-based...
BASED ON THE RESULTS of COMBI-AD1 and CheckMate 238,2 invited discussant Alexander Eggermont, MD, PhD, Professor of Oncology at Gustave Roussy in Paris, commented: “It’s a good day for melanoma!” In COMBI-AD, treatment with the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist)...
FOR PATIENTS with locally advanced, resectable melanoma harboring BRAF mutations, adjuvant treatment with BRAF/ MEK inhibition significantly improves overall survival, results of the COMBI-AD trial have shown. The study was presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017...
ABIRATERONE ACETATE (Zytiga) plus prednisone and docetaxel have moved up from the castrate-resistant metastatic setting to earlier in the course of disease as treatment of high-risk hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in men who are initiating androgen-deprivation therapy, based on level 1 evidence...
ASCO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT and Chief Medical Officer, Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FASCO, FSCT, will participate in a panel discussion at the ECRI Annual Conference "Workflow, Workarounds, and Overworked Health Systems: Innovations and Challenges for Quality, Safety, and Technology," on...
IT IS A SAD TRUTH that academic medicine, like many other professions, has a glass ceiling that hampers its ambitions. In medicine, this glass ceiling blocks women and minority faculty from reaching the highest ranks of leadership. Even if the root cause is not yet known, we want to eliminate...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klosky et al identified factors associated with sperm banking among adolescent males with newly diagnosed cancer who were at increased risk for treatment-related fertility loss. The study included 146 adolescents aged 13 to 22 years (mean...
Nationally regarded leukemia and lymphoma specialist Gwen L. Nichols, MD, was born in the Bronx, New York, and when she became of school age, her parents moved to the upstate suburb of Chappaqua, where she grew up. Asked if there were any physicians in her family who might have influenced her...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present information on...
Sharyn L. Kurtz, PA-C, MPAS, MA, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the long-term side effects associated with curative treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and how to develop an individualized follow-up schedule for survivors.
Studies show that only about one-third of patients with acute myeloid leukemia who have detectable amounts of cancer cells in their blood at the time of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation will be alive 3 years later, compared with nearly three-quarters of those patients without minimal...
IN PATIENTS with malignant pleural mesothelioma, combination immunotherapy with two checkpoint inhibitors in the second or third line of treatment extended survival to at least 15 months in the MAPS2 trial,1 sponsored by the Intergroupe Francophone de Cancérologie Thoracique (IFCT) and reported at ...
Earlier this year, at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, former Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, PhD, launched the Biden Cancer Initiative, their new venture to continue the fight to make progress in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and care. The Biden Cancer Initiative will...
A study using linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare data has shown a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality and a nonsignificantly increased risk of breast cancer–specific mortality in elderly breast cancer patients with preexisting severe mental...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present information on...
At the time this article was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Danaher was practicing at Monash -University, -Melbourne, Australia; Drs. Brand and Mack, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Dr. Pickard, at the Imperial College -Healthcare NHS Trust, London; and Dr. Berry,...
Two scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) received the 2017 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for their significant research leading to the development of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. The award is the country’s most prestigious biomedical research prize and was...
THE BACKBONE treatment for soft-tissue sarcomas has long been anthracycline-based, but new approaches are coming. These novel strategies were discussed at the 2017 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference in Sea Island, Georgia, by Melinda L. Yushak, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor ...
AMYLOIDOSIS REMAINS a challenging and nuanced diagnosis. At the 2017 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference, held in Sea Island, Georgia, Jonathan L. Kaufman, MD, discussed his approach to diagnosing amyloid light-chain amyloidosis. Dr. Kaufman is Associate Professor of...
THE PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor durvalumab (Imfinzi) improved progression-free survival by 11.2 months compared with placebo in patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease did not progress following standard treatment ...
ON AUGUST 30, 2017, the first genetically engineered T-cell therapy (tisagenlecleucel [Kymriah]) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients up to 25 years of age with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is refractory or in second or...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Whitney et al found that the majority of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer were hospitalized within 1 year of diagnosis, with a sizable proportion having multiple hospitalizations. Hospitalization Rates The study involved California...
A phase I/IIa study investigating the safety and effectiveness of a third-generation CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with lymphoma or leukemia has found that the treatment led to a complete response in 6 of the 15 patients in the study and that overall...