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Showing 18601 - 18650Bevacizumab Makes Inroads against Ovarian Cancer
Bevacizumab (Avastin) administered with chemotherapy and continued after chemotherapy improves outcomes in ovarian cancer, according to two multicenter, randomized, double-blind phase III investigations presented at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting. The first study, ICON7, incorporated bevacizumab as...
Second Primary Malignancies Explored in Multiple Myeloma
Three randomized controlled trials presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) suggested that treating multiple myeloma with lenalidomide (Revlimid) increased the risk of second primary malignancies; of particular concern is transformation to acute myeloid...
Patients with Early Breast Cancer Benefit from Regional Nodal Irradiation
Findings from a Canadian study presented at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting may expand the pool of patients with lymph node–positive breast cancer offered extended-field irradiation.1 “Results from MA.20 suggest that all women with node-positive disease following breast-conserving surgery be offered...
Rising Costs of Cancer Care: It's More Than Drugs
All parties—the government, payers, and consumers—agree that, left unchecked, rising health-care costs will eventually hamstring vital portions of our delivery system. For example, Medicare, which covers more than 50% of the nation’s patients with cancer, is marching headlong toward insolvency....
Acting on Fear
When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1979 there was no global movement to raise awareness of the disease, there were no pink ribbon pins to show support, and there was no Internet with which to search for information. My doctor gave me the news on a Friday night, and the following...
SIDEBAR: American Lung Association Reflects on the National Lung Screening Trial
The American Lung Association is optimistic about the promising results of NCI’s National Lung Screening Trial, which indicate low-dose CT scans can have significant impact on lung cancer mortality. This study is the first comprehensive clinical trial to find that screening high-risk individuals...
A Clinician Weighs In on the National Lung Screening Trial
The results of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) will have important implications for practicing oncologists if low-dose helical CT screening is used routinely in the clinic. First, we will begin to find many more small tumors than we do now. This will pose new sets of questions for...
A Landmark Lung Screening Trial: What Does It Mean for Clinicians and Their Patients?
The NCI-funded National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine,1 was heralded as a landmark study in lung cancer detection. This study is the first comprehensive clinical trial to find that screening high-risk individuals with low-dose CT reduces lung ...
Surgical Site Infections after Colectomy More Likely in Obese Patients
Obese patients appear to have a significantly increased risk of developing a surgical site infection after segmental or total colectomy for colon cancer, diverticulitis, or inflammatory bowel disease, and the presence of infection increases the cost associated with the procedure, according to a...
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy with CMV Improves Outcome for Invasive Bladder Cancer
Long-term results from a phase III trial show that neoadjuvant chemotherapy with CMV (cisplatin, methotrexate, and vinblastine) improves the outcome for patients with muscle-invasive urothelial cancer of the bladder treated by cystectomy and/or radiotherapy. “Three cycles of CMV before cystectomy...
Androgen Deprivation Therapy plus Radiotherapy Increases Survival in Men with Localized Prostate Cancer
The addition of short-term androgen deprivation therapy to radiotherapy for men with stage T1b, T1c, T2a, or T2b prostate adenocarcinoma and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 20 ng/mL or less “conferred a modest but significant increase in the 10-year rate of overall survival, from 57 to...
Identifying Genetic Factors That Predict Response to Chemotherapy in NSCLC
A genetic variation in the chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) gene was statistically significantly associated with poor overall survival in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy with or without radiation. The variation was identified by a ...
SIDEBAR: NY State Law Mandates Discussion on End-of-life Care
Earlier this year, the New York State legislature passed a law requiring physicians and nurse practitioners to talk to patients with an expected survival of less than 6 months about their options, including hospice care and aggressive vs palliative treatment, although patients can refuse to discuss ...
‘Unrealistic Optimism’ Poses Ethical Challenges, May Affect Informed Consent Process
Does a patient’s optimistic expectation of reaping a health benefit from participating in phase I and phase II oncology studies, even when he understands that these early trials are not designed to provide direct therapeutic benefit, compromise the informed consent process? And, does that...
Updated Drug Label Approved for Pioglitazone after Safety Review
The FDA recently approved updated drug labels for pioglitazone (Actos) and other pioglitazone-containing medicines (in combination with metformin, Actoplus Met and Actoplus Met XR; and with glimepiride, Duetact) to include safety information that the use of pioglitazone for more than 1 year may be...
SIDEBAR: Age at Diagnosis and Importance of Long-term Considerations
"Patients are willing to accept self-limited acute adverse effects associated with recovery” after brachytherapy and radical prostatectomy, according to the study authors. These effects “have been well documented for both modalities and are quite different. Late effects have been less well...
SIDEBAR: The Anonymity Advantage
This study has the advantage of not only being patient-reported but also of patient anonymity; the questionnaires were not administered or discussed with the patients by any of the treating physicians,” the study authors reported. “I know that patients often want to please their doctor. They don’t ...
At 5 Years, Brachytherapy Shows Quality-of-life Advantages over Radical Prostatectomy for Favorable-risk Prostate Cancer
Five years after treatment for favorable-risk prostate cancer, men who either chose or were randomly assigned to receive brachytherapy reported quality-of-life advantages in urinary and sexual domains and in patient satisfaction compared to men who received radical prostatectomy, according to a...
Experts Address Cancer-related Distress—the ‘Sixth Vital Sign’
More research is needed to investigate the effects of screening and treatment for distress in cancer care, according to a recent issue of the international journal Psycho‑Oncology. This special edition of the journal includes a review of screening for distress and depression over 40 years in cancer ...
Cancer Care in the UK: A Conversation with Chris Parker, MD
In the contentious debate over rising health-care spending, the cancer care policies of the British National Health Service (NHS) are often cited by U.S. policymakers as an example of how health-care rationing denies patients life-prolonging treatments based on costs. The ASCO Post recently spoke...
Research in Combining Targeted Agents Faces Numerous Challenges
If the clinical trials endeavor in oncology is falling short of its goals and if targeted agents have not kept their promise, can a new approach to drug development provide a solution? Very possibly, said John Hohneker, MD, Chair of the Workshop Planning Committee for the conference, “Facilitating...
Circulating Tumor Cell Assay Shows Potential for Predicting Prognosis in Head and Neck Carcinoma
According to the NCI, an estimated 49,260 new cases of oral cavity, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cancers occurred in the United States in 2010, and approximately 11,480 deaths were attributed to these cases. It is estimated that 95% or more of these cases are squamous cell carcinomas. Currently, the...
ASCO Examines Impact of Health-care Reform on Cancer Care Disparities
In a new policy statement, ASCO outlines specific provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that have the potential to reduce cancer care disparities. ASCO’s statement makes recommendations to ensure that such provisions are carried out effectively, and urges additional...
UN Summit to Focus on Noncommunicable Diseases This Month
For the second time since its inception 65 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly is holding a “High-level Meeting” that will focus on health. During the September 19–20 meeting, world leaders will shine a spotlight on the devastation that noncommunicable diseases are causing and have...
Measures of Success for Cooperative Group Reorganization
ASCO continues to work with the NCI and others to transform the Cooperative Group Program through implementation of recommendations of the 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the Cooperative Group Program.” Five...
A Conversation with Constance M. Chen, MD, MPH
Although incidence data vary widely, breast cancer–related lymphedema may affect as many as 54% of the 2.3 million survivors of breast cancer in the United States. The condition is often disabling and can result in both long-term devastating physical consequences for survivors, including the loss...
Congressional Hearing Highlights Oncology Drug Shortages
Some oncology drugs are in such short supply that the situation is now critical, with almost 200 drugs affected—triple that of 2003. This was the background described by speakers at a July 2011 congressional briefing sponsored by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), ASCO, and other...
Screening for Ovarian Cancer Does Not Reduce Mortality and Leads to Unnecessary Tests for False-Positives
Formal discussant of this trial, Usha Menon, MD, Professor of Gynecological Oncology at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College, London, raised several important issues about the design of the PLCO trial particularly related to the dilution of the screening effect due to prolonged...
Screening for Ovarian Cancer Does Not Reduce Mortality and Leads to Unnecessary Tests for False-Positives
Using a CA-125 blood test combined with transvaginal ultrasound for early detection of ovarian cancer failed to reduce the risk of mortality associated with the disease and led to a large number of false-positive tests with unnecessary related biopsies and other follow-up procedures in the large,...
Expert Point of View: Adjuvant Immunotherapy Provides No Clinical Benefit in Patients with High‑risk Renal Cell Carcinoma
Commenting on the renal cell carcinoma study presented in abstract 4505 at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting, Walter M. Stadler, MD, of The University of Chicago, said, “The EORTC and investigators should be congratulated for conducting and completing this extremely difficult trial.” Unfortunately, he...
Adjuvant Immunotherapy Provides No Clinical Benefit in Patients with High‑risk Renal Cell Carcinoma
For renal cell carcinoma patients at high risk of relapse following nephrectomy, adjuvant therapy with the combination of interleukin-2 (Proleukin), interferon alfa, and fluorouracil (5-FU) provides no survival benefit over observation alone, according to a phase III trial conducted by the European ...
Genomic Researchers Identify Weak Points in Breast Cancer Cells
A large-scale project in genetic profiling has identified weak points in breast tumor cells that not only represent potentially new “druggable” targets but could lead to an entirely new classification of all cancers. The findings were recently reported in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American ...
A Conversation with Samuel Silver, MD, PhD
Over the past 2 decades, significant therapeutic advances have led to greater survival rates and quality of life for patients with cancer. During the same period there has been a transformation in the way oncology services are both perceived and delivered. In a recent conversation with The ASCO...
Fixing the Drug Shortage: It’s About Time
I have spent the past 30 years trying to improve the results of treatment for advanced cancer. I had the privilege of working with Sir Michael Peckham when the late Professor Tim McElwain and he were evolving variants of the PVB (cisplatin, vinblastine, bleomycin) and PEB (cisplatin, etoposide,...
Increased Use of Hospital Services Boosts Oncology Spending
For our ongoing series on the rising costs of cancer care, The ASCO Post spoke with Lee N. Newcomer, MD, Senior Vice President of Oncology for UnitedHealthcare. Dr. Newcomer is responsible for improving cost-effective cancer care at the nation’s largest health insurer. He shed light on areas of...
Expert Point of View: World Conference on Lung Cancer
The EURTAC study provides additional evidence of the efficacy of the oral EGFR inhibitors in the first-line treatment of patients with mutated EGFR—and, importantly, in Western patients, rather than Asians, for whom data are more abundant. “The findings speak to the fact that all patients with...
World Conference on Lung Cancer: Personalized Approaches to Treatment
The 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted more than 7,000 attendees in Amsterdam recently, with the theme “Better Care through Personalized Medical Approaches.” The following are brief summaries of key data presented at the conference, with perspective provided by Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, of...
Keeping a Positive Attitude
I’ve been in alcohol and drug recovery for 20 years, and my wife of nearly 50 years, Arlene, and I have been through a lot together during that time. So 2 years ago, when my doctor told us that I had stage III prostate cancer and a Gleason score of 8, we both looked at him and asked if we could...
Androgen Deprivation plus Radiotherapy Increases Survival in Men with Localized Prostate Cancer
Adding short-term androgen-deprivation therapy to radiotherapy “conferred a modest but significant increase in the 10-year rate of overall survival, from 57% to 62%,” in men with localized prostate cancer enrolled in Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial 94-08. “This increase was...
Wide Variation in Use of Radioactive Iodine for Thyroid Cancer
The proportion of patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer who received radioactive iodine following total thyroidectomy increased significantly since 1990, and there is wide variation in the use of adjuvant radioactive iodine, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical...
Many Women Treated for High-risk Breast Cancer Do Not Receive Recommended Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy
Despite major studies showing that postmastectomy radiation therapy improves survival for women with high-risk breast cancer and evidence-based guidelines supporting the use of postmastectomy radiotherapy, 45% of these patients do not receive such treatment, according to an analysis of data from...
Crizotinib plus Companion Diagnostic Test Approved in NSCLC
On August 26, 2011, the FDA granted accelerated approval to Pfizer’s crizotinib (Xalkori) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test. The FDA approved the...
Treating Cancer in Japan: A Conversation with Kensei Tobinai, MD
In this installment of Oncology Worldwide, internationally regarded lymphoma expert and cancer survivor, Kensei Tobinai, MD, Chief, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, sheds light on the Japanese oncology experience. Medical Education What was the medical school experience in Japan like? When...
Integrative Oncology Modalities Supported by Varying Levels of Evidence, but More Research Needed Overall
Over the past couple of decades, unregulated nonstandard oncology approaches have gained growing popularity among cancer patients. The relatively new field of integrative oncology was established to promote a more holistic and multidisciplinary approach to cancer care and to encourage scientific...
Lifestyle Changes Can Benefit Patients with Cancer
Oncologists may successfully manage their patients with cancer by following treatment guidelines, but they come up short when it comes to prescribing simple measures to enhance their patients’ health, according to Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, who spoke on the...
Action Date Set for Denosumab Supplemental Application
Amgen announced that the FDA will target a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of April 26, 2012, for the supplemental Biologics License Application to expand the indication for denosumab (Xgeva) to treat men with castrate-resistant prostate cancer to reduce the risk of developing...
ASCO’s International Clinical Trials Workshop Educates Nascent Researchers on the Inner Workings of Clinical Trials
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly conducting drug development research outside of the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. Attracted to the perceived lower costs, easier patient recruitment, and market potential, drug developers are now conducting more phase III clinical trials in...
ASCO’s Immediate Past President Helps Build Future of Cancer Research and Care by Supporting Conquer Cancer Foundation
George W. Sledge, Jr, MD, has been treating patients with breast cancer, and pursuing research in the field, for more than 30 years—the last few electrified by a rapid proliferation of knowledge. “We have so much to offer our patients today,” says Dr. Sledge, who serves as Ballve-Lantero Professor...
Developing Targeted-agent Combinations: Business and Regulatory Issues, and Legal Obstacles
The Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum recently convened a public workshop, “Facilitating Collaborations to Develop Combination Investigational Cancer Therapies,” to address the promises and challenges involved in the development of combination oncologic drug therapies. In the...
Oncology Drug Shortage: An Unintended Consequence of the Medicare Modernization Act and Free-market Forces?
Oncology has a drug shortage problem, and the FDA says that it is getting worse. Drug shortages are not a new phenomenon, but over the past few years we have seen a rapidly growing number of shortfalls that are limiting providers’ ability to care for their patients. In 2004, the FDA reported 58...
