Search Results
Your search for this matches 25372 pages
Showing 18951 - 19000Some Patients Using Complementary and Alternative Therapies May Be Receiving ‘Parallel’ Rather Than Integrative Care
Most patients with cancer receiving complementary and alternative medicine do so not as part of integrative care, but rather as “parallel care,” according to Lynda Balneaves, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, School of Nursing in Vancouver. Dr. Balneaves is lead...
AACR Urges Congress to Maintain, Preferably Increase, Cancer Research Funding
December 23, 2011, marked the 40th anniversary of the National Cancer Act. To mark that occasion, on February 2, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held a Congressional briefing, attended by about 100 legislative aides, to remind Congress that the war on cancer is far from over....
Research Funding Key to Continued Progress in Cancer Care
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) President and ASCO member Judy Garber, MD, MPH, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about the findings of AACR’s landmark Cancer Progress Report,1 In addition, she offered her perspective on the current and future state of cancer research. Project...
Risk Stratification of BRCA Mutation Carriers May Help Guide Follow-up
Patient and tumor characteristics can stratify women with breast cancer and a BRCA mutation into groups having different risks of contralateral disease, which may help tailor follow-up, suggests a study of more than 5,000 women in the Netherlands. Confirming findings of other studies, the study...
Context May Affect Benefit of Adjuvant Clodronate in Breast Cancer
A benefit of the oral bisphosphonate clodronate when used as adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer may depend on factors such as the endpoint assessed and patient age, suggests the randomized B-34 trial conducted by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP). The trial,...
Maintenance with Lenalidomide or Bortezomib Prolongs Remission in Elderly Patients with Multiple Myeloma
The benefit of maintenance therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients ineligible for stem cell transplant, such as the elderly, is still debated, though value appears to be emerging, according to studies presented at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting....
Researchers Map Potential Genetic Origins, Pathways of Lung Cancer in Never-smokers
Findings from a small study on potential gene mutations and pathway alterations that could lead to lung cancer in never-smokers were presented in a poster at the American Association for Cancer Research–International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of...
How I Work up the Patient with Thrombocytosis
Thrombocytosis is defined as a platelet count greater than 400 × 109/L. In routine clinical practice, thrombocytosis is much more likely to be reactive (> 80% of cases) than primary. Reactive thrombocytosis is usually associated with infections, inflammation, trauma, hemolysis, metastatic...
FDA Drug Approvals, January–March 2012
Imatinib mesylate tablets (Gleevec) approved for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients following complete gross resection of Kit (CD117) positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Accelerated approval for this indication was granted in December 2008. Vismodegib (Erivedge) capsules...
ODAC Votes against Denosumab to Delay Bone Metastasis in Men with Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 12 to 1 that the risk-benefit ratio was insufficient for an expanded use of denosumab (Xgeva) to delay the spread of prostate cancer to the bone in men with castration-resistant disease. The panel was not asked specifically whether it...
FDA Acts to Bolster Supply of Critically Needed Cancer Drugs
The FDA has announced a series of steps to increase the supply of critically needed cancer drugs and build on President Obama’s Executive Order to help prevent future drug shortages. The President’s order, issued last October 31, directed the FDA to take action to help further prevent and reduce...
ASCO Submits Testimony for Congressional Hearing Examining Quality Programs that Reward High-quality Care
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee recently held a hearing on programs and initiatives that reward physicians who deliver high-quality, efficient care. ASCO submitted written testimony from CEO Allen S. Lichter, MD, on many aspects of quality care, including how the Quality Oncology...
Pre–Annual Meeting Seminar Series Kicks Off
This year, ASCO is cosponsoring a new series of intimate, discussion-based seminars to be held just before the start of the Annual Meeting in June. The three seminars, which start at 1:00 PM on Thursday, May 31, and continue through noon on Friday, June 1, the first day of the Annual Meeting, are: ...
Research of Former Foundation Grantee James Yao Highlighted at the GI Cancers Symposium
A study led by James C. Yao, MD, Assistant Professor and Deputy Chair of Gastrointestinal Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, was presented at the 2012 Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium in San Francisco and highlighted in the meeting’s press program. In the ...
ASCO Launches Community Research Forum to Tackle Top Research Conundrums
Just how many research-focused staff members is it optimal to have when conducting clinical trials in a community-practice setting? To properly gauge that, should the practice look closely at how many studies it’s working on? The complexity of those studies? The number of patients enrolled? Some...
What You Need to Know About Axitinib, New Agent for Treating Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication In January 2012, the second-generation vascular...
Eating Problems and Pain Prevalent in Survivors of Head/Neck Cancer
“Eating problems due to poor oropharyngeal functioning and persistent pain are the most prevalent problems” faced by patients 5 years after being treated for head and neck cancer, according to a study published online by the Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.1 More than 50% of...
Rising Costs in Radiation Oncology Linked to Medicare Coverage
In the ongoing debate over how to control rising cancer care costs, it is vital to identify usage patterns of expensive new technologies. A recent study examined the relationship between Medicare reimbursement and the increasing use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).1 The ASCO Post...
Expert Point of View: Answer to Secondary Cancers with RAF Inhibitors May Be Concomitant MEK Inhibition
“The development of nonmelanoma skin cancers secondary to RAF inhibitor treatment has been recognized since 2005, having been seen initially with sorafenib (Nexavar),” noted Mario E. Lacouture, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Commenting on recently published studies in this setting,...
Answer to Secondary Cancers with RAF Inhibitors May Be Concomitant MEK Inhibition
Keratoacanthomas and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas are frequently observed in patients receiving the RAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) for treatment of BRAF-mutated melanoma. As discussed by Lacouture and colleagues in a recent Journal of Clinical Oncology article, these effects appear to...
Expert Point of View: Next-generation Sequencing in Metastatic Triple-negative Breast Cancer Yields Rewards
Hope Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, commented on Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s presentation on molecular pathways in triple-negative breast cancer at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. “The really exciting thing is that we have moved from intrinsic subtyping of breast...
SIDEBAR: Genotype and Treatment Outcomes
At the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD, described how the genetic profiles of 12 patients with metastatic triple-negative breast were used to guide treatment for metastatic disease Patient #10 was a 59-year-old African-American woman with primary...
Next-generation Sequencing in Metastatic Triple-negative Breast Cancer Yields Rewards
The startling molecular heterogeneity of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is now obvious and helps to explain the poor outcomes observed in this patient subset. Comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic interrogation of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is elucidating the molecular...
Autologous Transplant vs Consolidation Chemotherapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Recent European Trial
Investigators in the Dutch-Belgian Hemato-Oncology Cooperative Group and the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Collaborative Group recently reported in the journal Blood that autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation significantly reduced relapse rate compared with intensive...
Immune Changes Reported with Early Use of Sipuleucel-T in Neoadjuvant Setting for Prostate Cancer
Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) can generate a circulating immune response to treat men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, as per its FDA-approved indication.1 A neoadjuvant trial was performed to investigate whether earlier use of sipuleucel-T can generate an immune response in the...
New Assays, Surveillance Techniques Reported for GI Malignancies
Two studies highlighted in press conferences and one presented during an invited lecture at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, held recently in San Francisco, suggest that early detection of pancreatic, esophageal, and colorectal cancers could soon improve. Enzyme Immunoassay Spots...
Important News Briefs: New Data Reported in Prostate, Bladder, and Kidney Cancers
The recent 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium featured a wealth of presentations on prostate, bladder, kidney, and other genitourinary cancers. Brief summaries of some of the oral and poster sessions are presented. Exercise and Recurrence Vigorous exercise has been shown to reduce cancer...
Expert Point of View: Prostate Cancer Studies Compare Outcomes, Toxicities, and Costs
Nicholas B. Vogelzang, MD, moderator of the press briefing where these findings were presented, agreed that the first study supports intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) as the current standard of care. With costs of health care increasing exponentially, it is important to establish the...
Prostate Cancer Studies Compare Outcomes, Toxicities, and Costs
Patients with prostate cancer are treated with various forms of radiotherapy and/or radical prostatectomy with little comparative data to inform treatment selection. Two studies presented at the 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium attempt to address that gap. In one study of men with localized...
Moving the Field of Geriatric Oncology Forward
With the aging of the population, virtually all of the subspecialties of oncology will soon be concerned primarily with the care of older patients. While there is not one precise definition of the age of “geriatric” patients, it is clear that the aging of our society has necessitated a focus on the ...
Searching for Quality in an Increasingly Complex Health-care Environment
With the Presidential election just around the corner, the health-care debate will undoubtedly heat up. The ASCO Post spoke with Sean R. Tunis, MD, MSc, Founder and Director, Center for Medical Technology Policy, and former Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ...
Re-analysis of RADIANT-2 Finds Benefit for Everolimus in Patients with Carcinoid Tumors
A re-analysis of the RADIANT-2 trial, which evaluated everolimus (Afinitor) in patients with advanced nonpancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, has yielded prognostic factors that identify a group of patients who are not only at high risk for recurrence but who may derive benefit from treatment with...
GU Symposium 2016: Even After Antiandrogen Therapy, Docetaxel Remains Useful in Prostate Cancer
A study presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium showed that 40% of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with docetaxel following abiraterone (Zytiga) had at least a 50% reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA), demonstrating the activity of...
GU Symposium 2016: Updated Results of IMvigor 210 Show Durable Response Rates With Atezolizumab in Advanced Bladder Cancer
In the pivotal phase II IMvigor 210 study, the investigational cancer immunotherapy atezolizumab (MPDL3280A) showed encouraging response rates in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, Roche announced. These data were presented by Hoffman-Censits et al at the 2016...
GU Symposium 2016: New Blood Test Technology Shows Promise for Guiding Prostate Cancer Treatment Decisions
An early study suggests that an experimental blood test may help guide individualized decisions on the most appropriate treatments for patients with prostate cancer. The new noninvasive “liquid biopsy” scans the entire landscape of different kinds of cancer cells in blood and analyzes...
GU Symposium 2016: Cabozantinib Improves Upon the Standard of Care for Advanced Kidney Cancer
New analyses from a phase III clinical trial of patients with previously treated advanced kidney cancer demonstrated that patients of all risk levels experience more benefit from cabozantinib (Cometriq) than from the current standard of care, everolimus (Afinitor). The greater activity of...
GU Symposium 2016: Regular Aspirin Use May Reduce Risk of Dying From Prostate Cancer
A large observational study has found that men who take aspirin regularly may have a lower risk of dying from prostate cancer. Men who took aspirin regularly after their prostate cancer diagnosis were less likely to die from the disease. However, aspirin did not affect the overall incidence of...
Long-Term Follow-up of Risk of Cancer Among Twins
In a long-term follow-up study among approximately 200,000 Nordic twin individuals, there was an increased cancer risk in twins whose co-twin was diagnosed with cancer, with an increased risk for cancer overall and for specific types of cancer, including prostate, melanoma, breast, ovary, and...
Palliative Care Offers Greater Cost Savings for Cancer Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions
Patients with incurable cancer and numerous other serious health conditions who consulted with a palliative care team within 2 days of hospitalization had significant savings in hospital costs, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by...
Everolimus Improves Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Lung or Gastrointestinal Tract
In a phase III RADIANT-4 trial reported in The Lancet, Yao et al found that everolimus (Afinitor) and supportive care significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs placebo and supportive care in patients with advanced nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors of the lung or gastrointestinal tract. ...
Report to the Nation Finds Continuing Declines in Cancer Death Rates
Death rates from all cancers combined for men, women, and children continued to decline in the United States between 2004 and 2008, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008. Overall cancer incidence rates among men decreased by an average of 0.6% per year...
SIDEBAR: Oocyte Preservation
For oocyte cryopreservation, eggs removed from a woman’s body are not fertilized with sperm to create embryos before being frozen. For this reason, oocyte cryopreservation may be a suitable option for women who do not have a partner, do not want to use donor sperm, or have religious or ethical...
Options for Preserving Fertility Should Be Considered Early to Maximize the Likelihood of Success
Most cancer survivors prefer to have biologic offspring despite concerns about the possible effects of cancer treatment on the child, the child’s lifetime cancer risk, or their own longevity, according to an ASCO panel that developed guidelines on fertility preservation in patients with cancer.1...
Salvage Chemotherapy plus Best Supportive Care in Advanced Gastric Cancer
Adding salvage chemotherapy to best supportive care was tolerated and improved overall survival among patients with advanced gastric cancer previously treated with both fluoropyrimidines and platinum, administered simultaneously or concurrently. The authors of the study report, published in the...
PSA Screening Reduced Prostate Cancer–Specific but Not Overall Mortality
“Analyses after 2 additional years of follow-up consolidated our previous finding that [prostate-specific antigen (PSA)]-based screening significantly reduced mortality from prostate cancer but did not affect all-cause mortality,” investigators from the European Randomized Study of Screening for...
Benefit of Adjuvant Tamoxifen in ER-positive DCIS
Retrospective analyses of hormone receptors among patients enrolled in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-24 study showed that women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who received tamoxifen after standard therapy had significant...
Sorafenib plus Capecitabine for HER2-negative Advanced Breast Cancer
The addition of sorafenib (Nexavar) to capecitabine (Xeloda) improved progression-free survival among women with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase IIB trial. “There was no significant improvement for overall survival,” ...
Androgen Deprivation Therapy May Lead to Castration Resistance in Prostate Cancer
Although androgen-deprivation therapy is effective in inducing regression of androgen-dependent prostate cancer, relapse often occurs in an androgen-independent manner and is associated with poor prognosis. The mechanisms underlying castration resistance are not fully understood. Sung and...
Targeted Mutations in ATR Pathway and Implications for Combination Strategies
Many chemotherapy agents work by causing DNA strand breaks or accumulation of DNA replication intermediates. ATR (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated and Rad 3-related protein) is a potential target for combination drug strategies, because signaling of this protein in response to such altered DNA...
Targeted Massively Parallel Sequencing Identifies Clinically Relevant Alterations in Cancer Genes
Systematic methods for profiling tumor genomic alterations remain underdeveloped, with current clinical profiling usually being confined to identification of limited numbers of oncogene point mutations. At present, there is no systematic technique for interrogating tumor samples in situ for a...
