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Showing 20301 - 20350Measures 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...
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
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,...
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...
Unexpected Results May Push Breast Cancer Research toward More Productive Approaches
Two recent articles on breast cancer prognostic factors in the Journal of Clinical Oncology “do not jibe with accepted—and profoundly influential—notions of malignant progression,” according to an editorial accompanying the articles in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. One of the articles found...
Patients with HER2-positive Breast Cancer Benefit from Trastuzumab plus Chemotherapy
Adding trastuzumab (Herceptin) to standard anthracycline/taxane–based chemotherapy continued to produce disease-free and overall survival benefits in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer enrolled in the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) N9831 and the National Surgical Adjuvant...
Comorbidities Can Be as Important as Stage in Predicting Breast Cancer Survival in Older Patients
Comorbidities can be as important as stage in predicting survival among older women with breast cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. While previous studies have combined comorbidities into a summary measure or comorbidity index, the current study assessed...
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...
Long-term Data Show Benefit of Degarelix Beyond 3 Years in Advanced Hormone-dependent Prostate Cancer
Degarelix (Firmagon) is effective and well tolerated beyond 3 years in patients with advanced prostate cancer, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Urology.1 The new study (CS21A) extends the conclusions of the pivotal phase III study (CS21) in which the risk of prostate-specific ...
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...
Tissue of Origin Test Evaluated in Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary
According to results of a study published in the Journal of Molecular Biomarkers and Diagnosis,1 the recently developed Tissue of Origin Test (Pathwork Diagnostics, Inc) aids in the diagnosis of challenging cancer cases such as those that are metastatic or that have a complex clinical history,...
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...
New ASCO in Action Website
For the past 2 years, ASCO members and others who have looked to ASCO for insight on policy issues have turned to the ASCO in Action section of the Society’s website for up-to-date information. Now, ASCO has launched a whole new website devoted entirely to policy issues and ASCO’s specific efforts...
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...
A Conversation with Monica Morrow, MD, FACS
Over the past 15 years, practice guidelines have become an accepted tool to help physicians optimize patient care by offering informed assessment of the benefits and potential harms associated with various care options. However, a plethora of new guidelines have entered the market, many of which...
Novel BRAF Inhibitor Receives FDA Approval in Metastatic Melanoma
Vemurafenib (Zelboraf) received FDA approval on August 17, 2011, for treatment of metastatic or unresectable melanoma, based on the results of the phase III BRIM3 trial.1 BRIM3 compared vemurafenib to dacarbazine in 675 untreated patients with the BRAF V600E mutation. Vemurafenib targets the...
We Can Conduct Clinical Trials of Protons
A great deal has been written about proton therapy, with a good deal of heat and only a modest amount of light. I would like to comment on an aspect of the proton vs photon controversy that I believe has not been adequately addressed: Should we run clinical trials that would allow us to prove that...
Palliative Care, Quality of Life, and Cost
More than half of our nation’s patients with cancer are Medicare beneficiaries, making the entitlement program ground zero in the heated debate on health-care spending. Total Medicare expenditures attributable to beneficiaries in their last year of life runs upward of 30%; this statistic serves as...
Important Benefit for Small Population Is a Major Milestone in Lymphoma
The approval of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) is a major milestone for the treatment of patients with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma. It represents an excellent example of personalized cancer therapy. Patients are preselected based on a predictive biomarker that is...
FDA Approves Brentuximab Vedotin in Two Lymphoma Indications
The antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) was granted accelerated approval on August 19 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Brentuximab vedotin is the first new drug to be approved in Hodgkin lymphoma in more...
Giving Women a Fighting Chance When They Have Breast Cancer
I knew there was a chance I could get breast cancer, I just never thought it would really happen to me. I am one of 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in our country today. Just weeks after getting a clean mammogram and my 41st birthday, I felt a lump in my breast. As a young and otherwise...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Treating Cancer or Fear?
I read the article by Deb Stewart, “Acting on Fear” (The ASCO Post, August 15, 2011, page 1) with interest, disappointment, and empathy. “Acting on fear” in cancer treatment generally, and particularly in breast cancer, is not uncommon. Hence, I was most interested in the article’s major thrust, as ...
Cancer Information on Wikipedia as Accurate as on PDQ but Harder to Understand
A comparison of cancer information on Wikipedia and the patient version of information on the NCI’s Physician Data Query (PDQ) “found that although Wikipedia had similar accuracy and depth to the PDQ, the written style was more complex and thus might be less understandable to patients.” According...
Hepatic Resection Remains Preferred Strategy for Colorectal Liver Metastases
Hepatic resection was shown to be superior to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of colorectal liver metastases, according to a model used to stimulate a randomized controlled trial. Researchers from the Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Program at the Providence Portland Medical...
Replacing Epirubicin with Docetaxel for Three Cycles Improved Outcomes for Node-positive Breast Cancer
Substituting docetaxel for epirubicin in the final three cycles of chemotherapy resulted in improvement in disease-free and overall survival in a trial among postmenopausal women with node-positive early breast cancer. Following complete excision, women enrolled in the Docetaxel Epirubicin Adjuvant ...
Comparing Therapies for Managing Hot Flashes in Women with Breast Cancer
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, two often-prescribed treatments recommended in clinical guidelines for the management of hot flashes were found to be effective in managing hot flashes in patients with breast cancer. Patient-reported hot flash scores showed that venlafaxine, a selective ...
Doxorubicin/Cyclophosphamide with Docetaxel Equally Effective in Combination or Sequentially
Five-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates were “indistinguishable” in patients with operable, node-positive, HER2-nonamplified breast cancer treated with the sequential or combination regimens of doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) and docetaxel (T). The Breast Cancer International...
Elderly Patients with Ovarian Cancer Least Likely to Receive Chemotherapy
An analysis of data for 4,617 women aged 65 years or older diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer found that those in the oldest age group, 80 and up, were least likely to receive any chemotherapy. While 53% of patients 80 and older received no chemotherapy, the rate was less than half (22%) for...
SIDEBAR: ASCO’s Role Recognized
One point that Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD, and David P. Ryan, MD, agreed on was that ASCO has done a service to the oncology community by presenting their debate about cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. That debate, conducted at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting, sparked...
‘Hot Chemotherapy’ Generates Heated Debate about Its Use with Cytoreductive Surgery to Manage Peritoneal Metastases
"Hot chemotherapy” has become the common term for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which together with cytoreductive surgery is being used by some surgeons to treat patients with carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer. While HIPEC is not considered the most important component of...
Oncology Community Faces Complex Challenges in Evolving Policy Arena
As the political environment heats up in advance of the upcoming presidential campaign season, many issues crucial to the oncology community are being placed on the political chopping block as policymakers seek ways to reduce the mounting debt and soaring health-care spending. To help clarify some...
ASCO Issues Policy Statement to Reduce Cancer Care Disparities
Last August, ASCO issued the policy statement, “Opportunities in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to Reduce Cancer Care Disparities” in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 The statement builds on ASCO’s policy on disparities in cancer care released in 2009. It calls on both the...
SIDEBAR: Who Should Manage Survivorship Care?
It has been suggested that after completing their treatment, cancer patients can be transitioned to primary care providers for continued “survivorship” care. But at the Best of ASCO meeting, speakers and audience members alike felt survivorship care is the domain of the treating oncologist. Few...
Yoga, Geriatric Assessment, and Nausea/Vomiting Addressed in Session on Supportive Care and Survivorship Issues
Marie E. Wood, MD, of the Familial Cancer Program at the University of Vermont, Burlington, addressed clinically relevant issues in supportive care and survivorship at the Best of ASCO® Annual Meeting ‘11 in Miami. Delayed Nausea and Vomiting Two studies addressed the problem of...
Improvements Highlighted in Treatment of Leukemias and Preleukemias
Certain preleukemic conditions and leukemia in high-risk patients have remained challenging to treat despite advances in hematology, according to Wendy Stock, MD, of the University of Chicago. But studies reported at the Best of ASCO® Annual Meeting ‘11 in Seattle show progress even in these ...
Newly Elected ASTRO Officers Installed at Annual Meeting
Recently elected officers for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) began their terms at ASTRO’s 53rd Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, which was held October 2-6, 2011. The new Board of Directors members are: President-elect: Colleen A. Lawton, MD, FASTRO, Medical College of Wisconsin, ...
