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Showing 20501 - 20550BRCA Mutation Has Little Effect on Outcome with Neoadjuvant Therapy
A retrospective analysis to determine the efficacy of neoadjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer patients with and without BRCA mutations found the overall prognosis was similar in both groups of patients. “No significant differences were noted in survival outcomes with respect to BRCA status...
Fear of the Unknown: Cancer Treatment Can Be Scarier than the Disease Itself
Two years ago, I was feeling fine except for a nagging problem with severe constipation. I believed this was caused by some loperamide I had taken to quell the episodes of diarrhea I experienced following dinner at a local barbecue restaurant. When the symptoms persisted for a couple of months, I...
Physicians Can Help Patients Set Realistic Expectations for Sexual Functioning after Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Models that can be personalized to predict erectile function of individual patients following treatment for early-stage prostate cancer have been developed and validated in a study involving a total of 2,940 men, and are ready for use in clinical practice, according to Martin G. Sanda, MD, the...
Important Briefs from the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium
The 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium was recently held in San Francisco, bringing together a multidisciplinary group of specialists and sponsored by ASCO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Society of Breast Disease, the American Society of...
Integrative Medicine Offers Added Value for Patients with Cancer
Addressing a patient’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs during the cancer journey, integrative medicine combines such time-honored therapies as nutrition, exercise, and meditation alongside allopathic approaches to cancer care, with the ultimate goal of improving survival rates and reducing ...
Panitumumab Is Not Beneficial in KRAS Mutations: No Exceptions
The need to restrict treatment with panitumumab (Vectibix) to metastatic colorectal cancer patients with wild-type (normal) KRAS tumors was upheld in a study presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress (EMCC). The investigation found a consistent lack of benefit for the drug...
Time to Reconsider Treatment Paradigm for Elderly Patients with Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer?
Significantly longer median overall survival among elderly patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving doublet chemotherapy rather than monotherapy yielded a 36% reduction in mortality risk in a phase III randomized trial. “We saw a survival benefit with doublet chemotherapy ...
Crizotinib: New Drug for ALK-positive Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Indication Crizotinib (Xalkori) is an oral inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases including anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR, c-Met), and recepteur d’origine nantais (RON). In August 2011, the FDA granted the drug accelerated approval for the treatment of...
New Technologies Are Driving Up Costs: Are They Worth the Price?
Expensive new cancer therapies and technologies are alluring for both physicians and their patients. Prostate cancer, because of the sheer volume of cases and the variability of treatment options, serves as a dynamic disease model in the ongoing debate over how to curb spending and maintain...
Susan Halabi, PhD, Is Helping to Fund Future of Cancer Research
Susan Halabi, PhD, thinks in terms of probabilities. Based at Duke University School of Medicine, where she is an Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Dr. Halabi specializes in the design and analysis of clinical trials, statistical analysis of biomarker and microarray data, and ...
A Conversation with Richard J. Gilbertson, MD, PhD
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, the country’s first and only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children, recently appointed internationally regarded pediatric brain tumor researcher, Richard J. Gilbertson, MD, PhD, as its new Cancer Center Director. In a...
AACR Issues Landmark Report on Cancer Progress
At a recent press conference in Washington, DC, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) assembled luminaries from the cancer research and care communities to discuss the salient points of the association’s newly released progress report on the current and future state of cancer research ...
Expert Point of View: European Perspective
Martine Piccart, MD, of the Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium, and President-Elect of the European Society for Medical Oncology, was highly enthusiastic about the findings of the phase II T-DM1 study, but said, “We have to remember this is an open-label trial, and in a study like this,...
T-DM1: Antibody Drug Conjugate Outperforms Standard Anti‑HER2 Therapy in Metastatic HER2-positive Breast Cancer
The investigational antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 improved progression-free survival over standard chemotherapy with docetaxel plus trastuzumab (Herceptin) when given as first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to an open-label phase II study reported at the 2011...
No Improvement in Survival with High-dose over Standard-dose Radiation for Stage III Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Surprisingly, less may be more when it comes to radiation therapy with concurrent chemotherapy for patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to an interim analysis of the randomized phase III Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0617 trial presented at the 53rd Annual ...
Do We Need the USPSTF?
Like most of the folks reading this commentary, I’m a taxpayer. Although I sometimes become impatient with the strategic games on Capitol Hill, I basically appreciate that government helps many things to work, and some of them even work well. However, there are aspects of government function that...
NSCLC Studies: Bevacizumab/Pemetrexed Maintenance Improves Survival, KRAS Status Has No Impact on Outcomes with Sorafenib
Maintenance therapy with bevacizumab (Avastin) plus pemetrexed (Alimta) showed a modest improvement in progression-free survival vs bevacizumab alone in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the final analysis of the AVAPERL study. In a separate study, selecting...
Expert Point of View: Everolimus Overcomes Resistance to Hormonal Therapy in Advanced Breast Cancer
The goal of this study was to reverse the resistance to endocrine therapy and delay time to chemotherapy, explained Fabrice Andre, MD, Institut Gustave Roissy, Villejuif, France. “The control group is appropriate because we have no better endocrine therapy than exemestane. Progression-free survival ...
Everolimus Overcomes Resistance to Hormonal Therapy in Advanced Breast Cancer
Adding everolimus (Afinitor) to exemestane in postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer resistant to aromatase inhibitors significantly improved outcomes, according to the phase III BOLERO-2 trial reported at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, held September 23–27 in...
FDA Commissioner Announces Decision on Bevacizumab
On November 18, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said she is revoking the agency’s approval of the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin) after concluding that the drug has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use. Bevacizumab will still remain on the market as an...
ASCO Supports the United Nations Political Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases
In September, government leaders from around the world as well as representatives from civil society, the private sector and academia gathered at the United Nations in New York for the first-ever summit on the growing economic and human crisis posed by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), especially in ...
Rates of Surgery and Survival Increasing for Early-stage Cancers
Surgery is increasingly being used to treat patients with early-stage laryngeal cancer in the United States, and chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy is being used increasingly to treat patients in an advanced stage of the disease, according to a report in the October issue of...
Alternative Treatment for Advanced Ovarian Cancer Reduces Neurotoxicity and Alopecia
A randomized phase III clinical trial found that carboplatin/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) was not superior in prolonging progression compared to the standard carboplatin/paclitaxel as first-line therapy of patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The carboplatin/liposomal doxorubicin...
Fewer False-positives, Small Increased Risk of Late Diagnosis with Biennial Mammography
Screening mammography every other year reduced false-positive recalls by about one-third compared to annual screening, but was associated with a small increase in the probability of late-stage cancer diagnosis, according to a study funded by the NCI and published in Annals of Internal Medicine. To...
Low-level Expression of ESR1 Tied to Tamoxifen Resistance
Data from a retrospective analysis of two pivotal breast cancer studies suggest that the low-level expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) gene ESR1 “is a determinant of tamoxifen resistance in ER-positive breast cancer,” reported researchers in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “We performed...
Oxaliplatin Improved Overall Survival in Patients under 70
The addition of oxaliplatin to fluorouracil (5-FU) plus leucovorin improved overall survival in patients younger than 70 years old participating in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) C-07 trial. Patients eligible for the trial had either stage II or III colon cancer and ...
Should Age at Initial Screening Colonoscopy Be Younger for Men?
A study to investigate the most appropriate age for initial screening colonoscopy to improve detection of adenomas, advanced adenomas, and colorectal cancer, and lower colorectal cancer mortality found that the most appropriate age might be different for men and women. “In our study, analysis of...
MRI Helps Predict Survival Outcomes in Patients with Rectal Cancer
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer to predict survival outcomes for good and poor responders and offer patients additional treatment options before definitive surgery, according to a study conducted at 11 specialist colorectal cancer units in...
Adjuvant Trastuzumab in Nonanthracycline Regimen Studied
One of four large, randomized trials to evaluate adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer—and the only study to include a nonanthracycline chemotherapy regimen—found that regimen had similar efficacy to anthracycline-containing regimens, but with lower rates of...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
Young women with early-stage breast cancer “should be counseled appropriately regarding their treatment options, and should not choose a mastectomy based on the assumption of improved survival,” maintained investigators presenting a retrospective study at the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium. Their...
Challenging Perceptions about Treatment Options for Younger Women with Early-stage Breast Cancer
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. “There is a perception out there...
A Conversation with Craig B. Thompson, MD
In November 2010, Craig B. Thompson, MD, was named President and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York, succeeding Harold Varmus, MD, who is now Director of the NCI. A cancer clinician and researcher, before coming to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Dr. Thompson was Director of...
Researchers Explore Reasons for Higher Risk of Triple-negative Breast Cancer in Underserved African-American Women
Triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease, has a bad reputation, and among socioeconomically disadvantaged black women, that reputation is especially well deserved. In fact, according to Lisa A. Newman, MD, Director of the Breast Care Center, University of...
Fighting to Get Back Control
I’ve had raging hormones since I was 18, when I was diagnosed with a benign pituitary adenoma. The tumor caused unpredictable menstrual cycles that remained constant throughout my life, even after it had been successfully treated. So 2 years ago, when I turned 40 and started having sudden bouts of...
Expert Point of View: ‘Breakthrough’ Approach to Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma via Inhibition of Hedgehog Pathway
“Vismodegib is a breakthrough for advanced basal cell carcinoma. These responses were convincing and spectacular, with a clinical benefit in more than 80% of patients and progression-free survival of 10 months,” said Caroline Robert, MD, Institut Gustav Roussy, Villejuif Paris-Sud, France, who was...
‘Breakthrough’ Approach to Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma via Inhibition of Hedgehog Pathway
The first-in-class Hedgehog pathway inhibitor vismodegib appears to be a successful treatment for advanced basal cell carcinoma, a disfiguring and debilitating disease, according to a pivotal multicenter nonrandomized trial presented as a Best Abstract at a Presidential Session during the recent...
Improved Survival with Concurrent Chemotherapy plus Radiotherapy for Patients with Stage III Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Five-year survival was statistically significantly higher for patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received concurrent rather than sequential cisplatin-based chemotherapy combined with thoracic radiotherapy, according to the phase III Radiation Therapy Oncology Group...
A Conversation with Judith Redwing Keyssar, RN
The number of patients seeking hospice and palliative care has grown significantly since 1974, when the NCI funded the first hospice facility in Branford, Connecticut. Nevertheless, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 85% of Americans still die in hospitals or nursing homes....
FDA Approves Cetuximab to Treat Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer
On November 7, the FDA approved cetuximab (Erbitux) in combination with platinum-based therapy plus fluorouracil (5-FU) for the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent locoregional disease and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The approval was based primarily on...
Geriatric Oncology, a Much Needed Discipline for Future Cancer Care
The U.S. health-care system, with its rapidly aging population, faces a multitude of difficult clinical and financial challenges in caring for its burgeoning population of older patients with cancer. Moreover, age-related social and medical issues among older patients need to be addressed by a...
Chemotherapy Generally Safe in Pregnancy
The diagnosis of cancer in a pregnant woman causes concerns for both the mother and her unborn child. But studies suggest that most chemotherapy regimens can be delivered with reasonable safety after the first trimester. Cancer is diagnosed in about 1 per 1,000 to 2,000 pregnancies, mostly breast...
Impact of Basic Science Advances on Cancer Management Highlighted at AACR Conference
New research in basic science labs coupled with advanced information technology is leading to a more sophisticated understanding of the causes of cancer, how it progresses, and potential methods of treatment, said Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, Nobel Laureate and Chairperson of the Second Annual...
FDA Approves Molecular Test to Detect HPV
Gen-Probe recently announced that the FDA has approved its APTIMA HPV assay, an amplified nucleic acid test that detects high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) that are associated with cervical cancer and precancerous lesions. The test has been approved to run on Gen-Probe’s fully...
Tamoxifen vs Surgery Study Shows Older Patients with Breast Cancer Can Achieve a ‘Personal Cure’
A truly final review—when all the patients in the trial have died and the cause of death is known for each—of a randomized trial comparing tamoxifen to surgery in patients over the age of 70 with operable breast cancer found no differences in the survival rates or deaths attributable to breast...
Expert Point of View: Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Effectively Controls High-risk Prostate Cancer
The take-home message of the study findings from the Fox Chase trial reported at the 53rd ASTRO Annual Meeting plenary session supports the use of hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy as a more convenient and cost-effective alternative than conventional IMRT, according to formal...
Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Effectively Controls High-risk Prostate Cancer
The use of hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) appears to be a reasonable option for men with intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer,1 reported Alan Pollack, MD, Chairman of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami and lead...
Oncology’s Only Benchmark Report, National Practice Benchmark, Is Now a Yearly JOP Supplement
Would it surprise you to learn that 40% of your peers in oncology who responded to a survey last year have a certified electronic medical record system in place? Or that 86% of them are in physician-owned practices? Or that the average number of full-time equivalent hematology/oncology physicians...
Sunitinib and Everolimus: New Indications in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors
With In the Clinic, The ASCO Post 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. Sunitinib Indication—The oral kinase inhibitor...
Predictive Biomarker for Bevacizumab: Are We Getting Closer?
The need to identify a biomarker to guide treatment with bevacizumab (Avastin) is abundantly clear, and studies presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress suggest this goal may be in sight. “Finding predictive biomarkers is a challenge, but there are candidates,” said Eric Van ...
Despite Challenges, Combined-modality Therapy Warranted for Locally Recurrent Colorectal Cancer
Encouraging outcomes have been achieved with a combined-modality treatment approach for patients with locally recurrent colorectal cancer in both curative and palliative settings, although room for improvement remains. During a session presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
