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Showing 19701 - 19750Imatinib Receives New Indication for Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
The FDA approved a new use of imatinib (Gleevec) to treat children newly diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is the most common type of pediatric cancer, affecting approximately 2,900 children annually, and progresses quickly if untreated....
Genetic and Epigenetic Alterations in Colorectal Cancer and Metastases
Treatment of colorectal cancer is complicated by the potential difference in molecular profiles between the primary tumor and metastases. Miranda and colleagues from the Humanitas Clinical and Research Center in Milan, Italy, recently assessed the presence of molecular heterogeneity during...
Solving a 30-year Mystery
When I began experiencing severe neck and back pain about 9 years ago, I had no idea it could be a late side effect from the radiation therapy I had received 31 years ago to treat my Hodgkin lymphoma. And none of the doctors I’ve seen over the past decade have been able to make the connection...
SIDEBAR: Beta-adrenergic Signaling Pathway
The take-home message from this study is that in this large group of patients, we have found that beta-blocker intake during radiation therapy for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with improved survival and reduced rates of tumor spread, even when controlling for a large number of...
Use of Beta-blockers Associated with Improved Survival in Patients with NSCLC Receiving Definitive Radiation Therapy
As reported recently in Annals of Oncology, a retrospective study by Wang and colleagues showed that use of beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists (beta-blockers), typically used in treatment of hypertension and heart disease, was associated with significantly improved distant metastasis–free...
More Brief Reports from ASH, Including New Data in Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
At the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held in Atlanta, nearly 5,000 abstracts were presented in oral sessions and posters. As part of our ongoing comprehensive coverage from the meeting, here are several more studies of note. New Targets in Acute Myeloid Leukemia...
Global Women’s Cancer Summit: Collaboration Aims to Reduce Breast, Cervical Cancers
World leaders from governments, cancer organizations, and the private sector joined together recently for the first Global Women’s Cancer Summit to address the challenge of reducing the global burden of women’s cancers. The summit was hosted by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and underwritten by GE...
Expert Point of View: David J. Kuter, MD, PhD
David J. Kuter, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Center for Hematology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, commented on the findings for The ASCO Post. “TOPPS is a good attempt to address whether transfusions are helpful as prophylaxis in patients...
No Rationale for Eliminating Prophylactic Platelet Transfusions in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies
Prophylactic platelet transfusions should remain the standard of care for many patients with hematologic malignancies who are thrombocytopenic during intensive treatment or stem cell transplant, investigators of the TOPPS trial (noninferiority Trial Of Prophylactic Platelet transfusionS)...
Make a Lasting Difference: Choose the Giving Option that Works for You
If you are like the many supporters of the Conquer Cancer Foundation, you may have reached a point where you would welcome the opportunity to influence not only the future ownership of your possessions, but the meaning that others assign to your life. One way to accomplish this is by considering...
Now in Spanish: Stopping Tobacco Use After a Cancer Diagnosis
Tell your patients about Stopping Tobacco Use After a Cancer Diagnosis, Cancer.Net’s newest Spanish language booklet designed to help patients understand the benefits of quitting in the context of a cancer diagnosis. This booklet explains how patients can talk with their doctor about their tobacco...
New ASCO Workforce Studies Release Preliminary Data on Oncology Workforce Environment
ASCO has released the preliminary findings of a far-reaching research initiative to collect and analyze oncology workforce demographic and practice data. This initiative will help guide the Society’s response to the ever-changing business and political landscape in which oncologists care for people ...
A New Donor Shines with Conquer Cancer Foundation
To support all of our valuable programs for patients and physicians, the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology partners with organizations of every size and scale, and every partnership has a lasting impact. Recently, the Foundation began working with a new...
Expert Point of View: Laura van't Veer, PhD
Laura van’t Veer, PhD, Director of the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) of the University of California, San Francisco, commented on the meta-analysis. She said the study confirms that a pathologic complete response in the neoadjuvant setting is generally meaningful as it clearly ...
Expert Point of View: Sandra Swain, MD, FACP
Sandra Swain, MD, FACP, Medical Director of the Washington Cancer Institute, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, moderated the San Antonio session where the dose-dense chemotherapy studies were presented, and commented on the findings of the two studies. iddETC Trial With regard...
Dose-dense Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer: Epirubicin-based Regimens Studied in German and UK Trials
In the treatment of early breast cancer, dose-dense regimens (given every 2 weeks) have proven superior to conventionally dosed chemotherapy (given every 3 weeks), but data on long-term survival are lacking. Two studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium evaluated the benefit of...
Final 'Joint Analysis' Confirms Life-saving Benefit of Trastuzumab in Patients with HER2-positive Early Breast Cancer
In the final planned joint analysis of overall survival from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-31 and North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) N9831 trials, the addition of trastuzumab (Herceptin) to paclitaxel following doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) reduced...
The Challenges and Rewards of Neuro-oncology
Despite the extremely difficult clinical challenges posed by brain tumors, mortality rates in this disease have decreased somewhat over the past several decades due, in part, to advances in surgical techniques and therapies. The ASCO Post recently discussed contemporary issues in neuro-oncology...
Expert Point of View: Axel Grothey, MD and Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD
Two gastrointestinal cancer experts commented on the findings in interviews with The ASCO Post. Axel Grothey, MD, Professor of Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, noted, “The PEAK and SPIRITT trial were decently designed, decently powered randomized phase II trials, and the results...
Outcomes Comparable for Panitumumab and Bevacizumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, outcomes were comparable whether patients received the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor panitumumab (Vectibix) or the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor bevacizumab (Avastin). This was shown both in the...
On Radiation and Cancer Risk
We owe our life to radiation. The universe was created in a thermonuclear explosion, and continued existence of life on Earth depends on plants using chlorophyll to capture light energy emitted by the sun (and exploding supernovas) and converting it into chemical energy, with the subsequent...
Study Finds Young Cancer Survivors Often Skip Checkups
Athough the majority of the more than 69,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with cancer each year will survive their disease, many of them will experience interruptions in their education and a derailment in their career tract, curtailing their lifetime earning potential and reducing ...
Expert Point of View: Jordan D. Berlin, MD
Jordan D. Berlin, MD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and Clinical Director of the GI Oncology Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, commented on the findings of TRIBE. “This study is outstanding, and while we don’t have overall survival data yet the findings suggest that we...
FOLFOXIRI Plus Bevacizumab Is Superior to FOLFIRI Plus Bevacizumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
For the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, better outcomes were achieved when bevacizumab (Avastin) was added to FOLFOXIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil [5-FU], oxaliplatin, irinotecan), rather than FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-FU, irinotecan), in the phase III TRIBE trial conducted at 35 Italian...
Sequestration Will Have Shattering Impact on Entire U.S. Cancer Enterprise
March 1 marked the beginning of sequestration, the unprecedented automatic budget cuts that immediately take effect across the federal government—after months of futile negotiations by the President and Congress. Sequestration will have a shattering impact on the entire cancer enterprise in the...
Large Epidemiologic Studies Re-examine Hazards of Smoking
“Smokers lose at least one decade of life expectancy, as compared with those who have never smoked,” and the increased risk of death from cigarettes smoking “are now nearly identical for men and women,” according to two separate studies published online by TheNew England Journal of Medicine. One...
PET/CT With 124I-Girentuximab Can Identify Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma While Minimizing Invasive Diagnostic Risks
Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with iodine-124 (124I) –girentuximab “can accurately and noninvasively identify” clear cell renal cell carcinoma, according to a phase III multicenter study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In addition, “PET/CT with...
Short Wait for Lab Results Is Reasonable Strategy to Better Characterize AML and Design Therapy
Waiting a short period of time for laboratory results to better characterize acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and design therapeutic approaches is a reasonable strategy, researchers in Toulouse, France, found after a retrospective review of 599 newly diagnosed AML patients treated by induction...
Older Patients Do Better with Hematopoietic Transplants from Siblings of Similar Age than from Younger but Unrelated Donors
Patients ≥ 50 years old with leukemia/lymphoma are increasingly undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants, raising questions about whether they might have better outcomes with transplants from younger allele-level 8/8 human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched unrelated donors than from...
Short-term Survival Advantage of Carrying BRCA Mutation Does Not Extend to Long Term
While carrying a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 mutation was associated with a better prognosis in the 3-year period after diagnosis of invasive ovarian cancer, this short-term survival advantage did not lead to long-term survival benefit, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer...
SIDEBAR: Ask Patients about Their Smoking Status
“Receiving a cancer diagnosis represents a ‘teachable moment’ for delivering smoking cessation and relapse prevention interventions,” concluded a study in the journal Cancer1 about smoking relapse in patients with thoracic cancer or head and neck cancer. Previous research by two of the study’s...
Patients with Cancer Need to Know That It Is Never Too Late to Quit Smoking
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. Patients with head and neck or lung...
Fitness: Can Exercise Lengthen Survival in Patients with Cancer?
Regular physical activity has long been associated with decreased risk of disease, including many types of cancer. Such benefits may translate into increased life expectancy of up to 4.5 years, with even the lowest levels of activity providing some survival advantage.1 Most strikingly, however,...
SIDEBAR: Patient Information Available at Cancer.Net
Cancer.Net offers information written for patients on breast reconstruction and what to expect following a mastectomy. To obtain this information, you may wish to recommend your patients visit http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/breast-cancer/treatment. Also, to learn more about ASCO programs for...
My Life Will Never Be Normal
After being diagnosed with stage II invasive ductal carcinoma in my right breast in 2004, I did an Internet search to learn more about my treatment options so I could be prepared when I met with my oncologist to discuss my treatment plan. I was especially interested in therapies that would be...
Zora Brown, Prominent Cancer Research Advocate, Dies at 63
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) reported with sadness the loss of Zora Brown, a trustee for the AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer, a breast and ovarian cancer survivor, and a pioneering advocate for cancer research and breast cancer awareness among...
Expert Point of View: Nancy L. Keating, MD, MPH
By Nancy L. Keating, MD, MPH In this large study examining care for patients with a variety of tumor types in the Veterans Health Administration (VA), we found no clear association of tumor boards with better quality of care or outcomes. It is unclear if our findings can be generalized outside of...
Study Shows Little Association of Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards with Measures of Care
A survey of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers recently reported by Nancy L. Keating, MD, MPH, and colleagues at Harvard Medical School in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that the presence of multidisciplinary tumor boards had little association with rates of recommended...
Focus on the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California
For more than 2 decades, the guiding principle of the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California (MOASC) has been to ensure the continuation of the private practice of medical oncology and to provide the highest quality care to cancer patients. Founded in 1990, MOASC is the largest...
Study Shows New Approach Connecting Smokers to Quit Lines Increases Smoking Cessation Treatment Enrollment
Self-identified smokers directly connected to a tobacco cessation quit line are 13 times more likely to enroll in a treatment program as compared to smokers who are handed a quit line referral card and encouraged to call on their own, according to a new study published online in JAMA Internal...
IBM's Watson Goes Through Basic Training in Oncology
While IBM’s Watson supercomputer may have defeated two former champions on the TV game show Jeopardy! 2 years ago, it is now facing its greatest challenge yet: deciphering huge amounts of scientific data and interpreting clinical information to help oncologists make personalized evidence-based...
Survey Shows Public's Knowledge of Cancer Progress Is Rising, But Myths Persist
People are more optimistic today about their chances of surviving cancer, according to findings from a new international survey commissioned by Lilly Oncology. The phone survey of 4,341 individuals (including people in the general population, cancer survivors, and caregivers) in six countries (the...
City of Hope Names Robert Stone, JD, as New Chief Executive Officer
After 10 years at City of Hope, in Duarte, California, former FDA acting Commissioner Michael A. Friedman, MD, has decided to retire from his position as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board of Directors has selected current President Robert Stone, JD, to assume the dual role of President and...
Analysis Shows No 10-year Survival Advantage in Patients with Ovarian Cancer and BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutations
Several studies have suggested that short-term overall survival for women with ovarian cancer and BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations is better than that in patients without such mutations. Indeed, a recent report by Kelly L. Bolton, PhD, and colleagues indicated that 5-year overall survival was 36% for...
Enhanced Electronic Module Aims to Prevent Errors in Oral Chemotherapy Prescribing
An oral chemotherapy prescription-writing module grafted to a shared electronic medical record is part of a series of quality improvement efforts undertaken at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to prevent errors in prescribing oral chemotherapy agents. While oncologists have readily accepted...
Preparing for the Next Superstorm: Protecting Patients during Natural Disasters
When Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast last October, the magnitude of devastation it left in its wake exceeded even the most dire predictions. Eighty mile per hour winds and record storm surges destroyed antiquated electrical grids and flooded subway stations, leaving much of New York...
FDA Approves Regorafenib for Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors
The FDA has expanded the approved use of regorafenib (Stivarga) to treat patients with metastatic or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) that no longer respond to treatment with imatinib (Gleevec) or sunitinib (Sutent). Regorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, blocks several enzymes...
FOXP3 Expression Linked to Better Survival with Adjuvant Anthracycline Not Followed by Taxane in Breast Cancer
The French UNICANCER-PACS 01 trial compared six cycles of anthracycline-based adjuvant therapy with FEC (epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, fluorouracil; FEC6) vs three cycles of FEC followed by three cycles of docetaxel (FEC/docetaxel) in patients with node-positive primary breast cancer. After...
Expert Point of View: Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD
“This study confirms previously published racial disparities in access to care, but factors that drive these disparities have not been elucidated,” stated Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, Department of Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. The study was...
Black Women Less Likely to Get Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and More Likely to Have Lymphedema on Axillary Lymph Node Dissection
Although sentinel lymph node biopsy is the recommended method for axillary staging of node-negative breast cancer, racial disparities in access to care were found in a study presented at the 2012 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Black women were 12% less likely than white women with breast...
