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Showing 201 - 250An Early Interest in Cancer Immunology Inspires a Life’s Work in Melanoma
F. Stephen Hodi, MD, Director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, was born in Framingham and grew up in the town of Acton, a western suburb of Boston. “My dad was an engineer, and I was influenced by puzzle-solving and using...
Researcher and Leader in Cancer Center Administration, John W. Yarbro, MD, PhD, Dies at 88
Most who leave a mark in life are noted for a single contribution; few are remembered for the breadth of their contributions. Such a man was John W. Yarbro, MD, PhD, who, near the end of his rich life, stepped foot on Antarctica, completing his desire to have visited all of the world’s seven...
The Story of Three Patients With Leukemia
The human drama within the oncology world is a never-ending story of triumph, tragedy, and all of the valiant efforts and human emotions in between. The doctor-patient relationship in oncology is deeper and longer than in most medical specialties due to the life-and-death stakes at play after a...
Despites Advances, Treatment-Related Sequelae Remain Problematic in Pediatric Neuro-oncology
The management of pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors is extremely complex, as are the survivorship issues in this highly vulnerable patient population. To shed light on the current clinical reality in this setting, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Katherine E. Warren, MD, an internationally...
Being Interviewed on Zoom? Here Are Some Professional Tips
You’ve agreed to be interviewed on Zoom. If you’re like most people, the technology itself isn’t a barrier. (And if it is, you can consult our step-by-step guide to using Zoom at https://bit.ly/2yxcTN0.) However, you might be less sure about what you can do to make the best impression (and the most ...
Overcoming the Challenges of Presenting the ASCO Annual Meeting During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the worldwide cases of the coronavirus started to mount in February and March, medical societies and organizations monitoring the escalating COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international and domestic travel made the difficult decision to postpone or cancel their scientific conferences. On...
Online Guide Offers Tips for Communicating With Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A NEW ONLINE GUIDE provides tips to help oncology and other clinicians navigate the difficult and distressing communications with patients that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthony Back, MD, a medical oncologist and palliative medicine specialist at the University of Washington and...
Don’t Touch Me With a 6-Foot Pole
The universe has an intriguing way of registering our wishes and delivering them in convoluted, mutated forms. Last winter, I recall coming home after a long day at the hospital and being ambushed by my 3-year-old daughter and preteen son. She wanted to play, he needed help with homework, and they ...
A Clinical Trial Saved My Life
In the fall of 2009, I began experiencing some abdominal discomfort, pain in my right shoulder, and severe fatigue that were easily explained away as the result of gallstones and by my career as a paramedic. I had many of the risk factors for gallbladder disease, and both my mother and sister...
Updates From Selected Clinical Trials in Breast Cancer
Each year, The ASCO Post asks Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, Chairman of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Taussig Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, to offer his picks for the most important research presented at 2019 San...
Immunotherapy ‘Comes of Age’ in Breast Cancer
Immunotherapeutics in breast cancer will likely not be limited to late-stage triple-negative breast cancer. Earlier lines, combination regimens, and expansion into different disease subtypes should become part of this emerging landscape, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine...
The Opioid Crisis as Told From the Streets to the Clinics and Its Unintended Consequences
The history of drug addictions and epidemics in the United States dates back to the Civil War, when morphine was introduced as a pain medication for wounded soldiers. Regular off-label use of morphine quickly spread from war hospitals to the general public. It is estimated that more than 400,000...
Roles Are Reversed in ‘Personalized Medicine’ as Physicians Care for Parents With Cancer
As early-career oncologists, Rachna Shroff, MD, and Nina Shah, MD, offered patients a textbook bedside manner—personal interactions were limited, and emotions were rarely shared. “People talk about how, especially in oncology, the more you let [a patient] in, the more profoundly you feel losses,...
Former ASCO President Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, FASCO, Shares Highlights of a Noted Career
In this edition of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Research Development at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Vice President of MedStar Genetic Medicine at Medstar...
Gastrointestinal Patient-Reported Outcomes With Postoperative Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy vs Standard Radiotherapy
In an analysis from the NRG Oncology RTOG 1203 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Yeung et al found improved patient-reported gastrointestinal toxicity with intensity-modulated radiotherapy vs standard radiotherapy among patients with cervical or endometrial cancer requiring...
New Guideline Tackles Rapidly Evolving Imaging Strategies for Advanced Prostate Cancer
Advances in radiology and molecular imaging have the potential to significantly change how clinicians diagnose, stage, and monitor response to therapy in patients with prostate cancer. However, there are limited data comparing these next-generation imaging modalities to each other and to...
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
As the number of solid organ transplants in the United States rises, cancer in this patient population is a growing concern. In fact, solid organ transplant recipients have an up to 50 times greater risk than the general population of developing skin cancers, and for kidney transplant recipients,...
Denial’s Many Faces
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
A Retired Oncologist Remains Involved in the Science and Policy of Oncology
The history of medicine once was featured in medical school curricula. That is becoming less common due to time restriction and the increased prevalence of more technical topics. However, the importance of the history of medicine cannot be overstated: It shapes every aspect of our cultural,...
Comparing Prescribing Habits in Academic and Nonacademic Oncology Settings
The art of oncology practice is tailored to the individual patient with cancer, and with the advent of highly personalized targeted therapies, patient outcomes have improved markedly over the past several decades. Although much of oncology practice is guideline- or protocol-driven, chemotherapy...
Studies Find Estrogen Alone Protective, Estrogen Plus Progestin Detrimental in Postmenopausal Women
In postmenopausal women without prior breast cancer, estrogen alone reduced the risk of breast cancer, not only during treatment, but for years after estrogen was stopped. It also reduced deaths as a result of breast cancer and deaths after breast cancer from all causes. However, in contrast,...
Radiation Oncologist Felix Y. Feng, MD, Strives for Balance Between Work and Family Life
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Felix Y. Feng, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Urology, and Medicine; George and Judy Marcus Distinguished Professor; Vice Chair of Translational Research in the Department of Radiation...
Residual Cancer Burden Is Prognostic of Outcomes Across Breast Cancer Subtypes
Residual cancer burden after neoadjuvant chemotherapy can accurately predict disease recurrence and survival across all breast cancer subtypes, according to the findings from a meta-analysis presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium by W. Fraser Symmans, MD, Professor and Director...
Transplantation Specialist Karen Ballen, MD, Treasures Long-Term Connections With Her Patients
Karen Ballen, MD, an international expert in stem cell transplantation, particularly for patients who have a difficult time finding a donor, was born and reared in the Bronx in a family that encouraged academic and professional pursuits. “My grandfather was an old-fashioned pediatrician who made...
A Systematic Approach to Identifying the Molecular Factors That Lead to Cancer Progression
Although gene mutations are the primary drivers of carcinogenesis, an array of complex and tumor-specific molecular interaction networks determine cancer cell behavior. To learn more about this line of inquiry, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Andrea Califano, Dr., Professor of Chemical Biology...
Studies Show the U.S. Health-Care System Hampered by Waste and Trailing Other High-Income Countries
Recent studies show that at least one-quarter of our nation’s health-care expenditures are being consumed by waste, fraud, and abuse. Moreover, since 2004, annual reports from the Commonwealth Fund have consistently rated the performance of our health-care system last among high-income countries,...
Working to Improve Survival Rates in Pancreatic Cancer
Although pancreatic cancer survival rates have slowly improved over the past few decades for all stages of pancreatic cancer combined, the 1-year rate is 20%, and the 5-year rate is about 9%. There is no single diagnostic test to detect pancreatic cancer, and less than 20% of tumors are confined to ...
Despite Challenges, Pioneer in CT Screening for Early Lung Cancer Works to Move the Field Forward
In 1999, a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College advocated the use of a then-novel practice: low-dose radiation CT screening for lung cancer. It captures a full thoracic image in a single breath hold, and can recognize a tumor in its earliest stages when the chance for cure is...
A Need for Human Connection Led to a Rewarding Career in Geriatric Oncology for Lodovico Balducci, MD
Older adults are the fastest-growing segment of our population, and more than 65% of patients with newly diagnosed cancer are 65 years of age or older. Although we now recognize the special needs of older patients with cancer, the field of geriatric oncology emerged quietly, with early growing...
An Oncologist’s Thoughtful Examination of Cancer and Personal Loss
“I could not have written this book when I was 30 years old. It is not because of any great discoveries I have made or research papers I have published since. It is because of the experience the intervening decades have given me as I cared for thousands of cancer patients and accompanied many to...
Reflections on Long-Term Outcomes With BRAF/MEK Inhibition in Advanced Melanoma
For the treatment of BRAF V600-mutated advanced melanoma, we now have three BRAF/MEK inhibitor combinations that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: dabrafenib/trametinib, vemurafenib/cobimetinib, and encorafenib/binimetinib. Although the toxicity profiles for these combinations ...
A Tale of Two Eugenes
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Managing Rectal Cancer: Better Outcomes Now, but Still a Challenging Clinical Setting
The management of rectal cancer has evolved over the past decades, yielding several major practice changes that have substantially improved outcomes. However, rectal cancer treatment remains challenging and even with improved outcomes can result in life-altering morbidity. To shed light on the...
Inequities in Care for Patients With Cancer and Serious Mental Illness
Studies show that people suffering from serious mental illness are at increased risk for poor cancer outcomes and mortality due to inequities in their cancer care. Although psychiatric care at the time of diagnosis may improve care, current models for integrating psychiatric interventions and...
How to Help Terminally Ill Patients Find Peace in the Dying Process
End-of-Life Oncology is a new occasional column in The ASCO Post that will explore how to ensure the care received by terminally ill patients is in alignment with their end-of-life goals and wishes. In this inaugural installment, The ASCO Post talked with Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS,...
Expert Point of View: Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD
Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, also commented on this phase I study of AMG 510. “Although it is a little bit early to tell and the number of patients with non–small cell lung cancer treated is still small, AMG 510 is the first potential true breakthrough in the...
The Role of Primary Care Physicians in Cancer Care
As our aging population increases, so does the demand for oncology services; however, as ASCO and other organizations have pointed out, a workforce shortage of oncology care specialists looms in the not-so-distant future. Given the growing need for care models that meet this demand, a better...
ASTRO 2019: ORIOLE Trial: Observation vs SABR for Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer
The randomized, phase II ORIOLE trial studying the efficacy of targeted high-dose radiation for men with oligometastatic prostate cancer has shown that stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) is an effective and safe option for patients who wish to delay hormone-suppression therapy. Data from the...
Oncology Communications Online: Pause and Think Before Hitting ‘Send’
The emergence of online technologies over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the way society communicates and shares information. This sea change has also had profound influence on the practice of medicine, from real-time information-sharing among colleagues, to having instant access...
Insightful Advice From a College Advisor Leads to an Unexpected Career in Oncology
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Tatiana M. Prowell, MD, who currently serves as Associate Professor of Oncology in the Breast Cancer Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and as a Medical Officer and...
Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, Pioneer in HPV-Related Head and Neck Cancer, Has Often Changed Lanes in Her Career
When The ASCO Post asked physician-scientist Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, where she was from, she answered, “North America.” Actually, she was born in Canada, but her father worked for a large international company, so the family moved regularly through Canada, the United States, and Mexico. “I...
ASCO Breakthrough: Why Now, Why Bangkok?
ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology Innovators was created, in part, to recognize our increasingly large and international community of members, to bring a meeting to their area, to go outside the United States, and shake up our own thinking. Why is now the time to organize a summit...
Almost 20 Years Later, Breast Fitness Is More Relevant Than Ever
BOOKMARK Title: Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast CancerAuthors: Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD; Julie Gralow, MD; and Lisa TalbottPublisher: St. Martin’s PressPublication Date: October 2000 (first edition)Price: $48.75, hardcover, 352 pages The...
Out of the Mouths of Babes: A Physician Discusses Her Cancer Diagnosis With Her Two Young Children
In medical school, I learned a five-step model on how to deliver bad news to a patient. I still fall back on this method, time and again, in my primary care clinic; I have even used it when giving really tough feedback to a learner who is struggling in some aspect of performance. But I honestly...
Is It Time to Reevaluate the P Value in Biomedical Research?
Developed in 1925 by British statistician Sir Ronald Fisher, the P value is a measure that is ever-present in abstracts and studies, a small statistical tool that has enormous power to aid research being published in the literature or support drug approval. Over the past several years, however, a...
No Man Is an Island: Reflections From an ASCO IDEA Recipient
IT WAS a chilly Chicago morning, and I was sitting at the lobby of my hotel when I saw a smiling gentleman cheerfully waving at me from his car. It was Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, picking me up for our drive to Indiana. I was one of the recipients of the ASCO International Development and Education...
Active Surveillance for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Requires Active Participation by Patient and Clinician
Active surveillance of patients with early-stage prostate cancer “is tackling the problem of overtreatment” and, with rigorous monitoring, “is safe and allows us to treat only patients who need treatment when their cancer progresses,” Ronald C. Chen, MD, MPH, affirmed in an interview with The ASCO...
Physicians and the Threat of Nuclear War
The Hippocratic Oath calls on physicians to “use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment,” but not all versions of the oath call on us to prevent disease. Here we urge our colleagues to acknowledge that additional mandate and renew their commitment to preventing what could ...
A Compassionate Family Doctor Sparked an Interest in Medicine for Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO
GUEST EDITOR Jame Abraham, MD, FACP Dr. Abraham is the Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic. For this installment of the Living a Full Life series of articles, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD,...
Looking Into the Future of Psychosocial Oncology
Over the past several decades, the field of psychosocial oncology has matured into an invaluable subspecialty that helps patients with cancer and their caregivers deal with the existential issues that arise in cancer, especially in the advanced-disease setting. In an effort to add to this...
