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Showing 21001 - 21050Which Rituximab-based Regimen Works Best in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma?
The treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients has been recently informed by several important studies, which were discussed at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting by Michael E. Williams, MD, of the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville. Bendamustine Outperforms R-CHOP in NHL...
SIDEBAR: A Tough Call: The T1a HER2-positive Tumor
The optimal adjuvant management of T1a HER2-positive breast cancers is uncertain and requires an individualized approach, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center....
SIDEBAR: Browsing the Anti-HER2 Options
“Where do current findings leave us in terms of anti-HER2 therapy options?” asked Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Center, Boston, who moderated the Best of ASCO Boston meeting. New drugs are joining trastuzumab (Herceptin) and lapatinib (Tykerb), and there will be some juggling...
SIDEBAR: Does Lapatinib Prevent CNS Metastases in HER2-positive Breast Cancer?
Lapatinib has shown some efficacy against existing brain metastases in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer but not in preventing them in the first place, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller...
Refining Current Treatments and Looking Ahead in HER2-positive Breast Cancer
In a study presented at the ASCO Plenary Session, trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), the antibody-drug conjugate linking trastuzumab (Herceptin) to a cytotoxic agent, improved progression-free survival by 3.2 months, representing a 35% reduction in risk of progression in the phase III EMILIA trial.1...
Cytotoxic Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: Are We Done Tweaking It?
While novel targeted agents may grab the headlines in the treatment of breast cancer, oncologists still debate the optimal delivery of conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, still a vital component of treatment. At the Best of ASCO Boston meeting, Steven J. Isakoff, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General...
New Therapies Capitalize on Lung Cancer’s Molecular Vulnerabilities
Research reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting attests to the tremendous molecular diversity of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the power of appropriately selected treatment, according to Leora Horn, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who presented data on molecular findings...
Best of ASCO® Meetings Offer Data, Commentary, and Interaction with the Experts
Three Best of ASCO meetings were held over the summer in Chicago, Boston, and San Diego. The faculty distilled the most interesting and immediately applicable data from the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting, provided personal perspectives, and interacted with attendees for an educational experience that was ...
On Mentoring: Looking Back with Gratitude and Paying It Forward
Upon graduation from medical school, doctors are given a gift that lasts a lifetime—the gift of respect. That respect needs to be re-earned every day, but it is accompanied by other rewards that come with caring for people: the ability to gain another’s trust, to reverse illness that alters the...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Individualism in Clinical Decision-making
I found a statement by Dr. Peter Bach in the August 15, 2012, issue of The ASCO Post (in the article, “As Conflicting Guidelines Evolve, Experts Continue to Debate the Merits of Cancer Screening”) very troubling. To wit: There’s a cognitive dissonance between the practice of evidence-based medicine ...
Long-term Survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma May Have Increased Risk of Neurocognitive Impairment
A “new finding” that long-term survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma may be at risk for neurocognitive impairment and central nervous system (CNS) pathology arose from a study among 62 patients treated with either high-dose (≥ 30 Gy) thoracic radiation or lower-dose (< 30 Gy) thoracic...
Reduced Disease Progression in Patients with Continued Gemcitabine Maintenance or Erlotinib Switch Maintenance
A phase III study showed that progression-free survival was significantly prolonged with continuation maintenance with gemcitabine or switch maintenance with erlotinib (Tarceva) compared with observation in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received first-line treatment...
Anthracycline/Trastuzumab Treatment Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Failure, Cardiomyopathy
A population-based, retrospective cohort study of 12,500 women diagnosed with incident, invasive breast cancer found that anthracycline and trastuzumab (Herceptin) were associated with increased risk of heart failure and/or cardiomyopathy. “Compared with women who received no chemotherapy, our...
Paclitaxel Poliglumex Gets Orphan Drug Designation for Glioblastoma Multiforme
Cell Therapeutics, Inc, recently announced that paclitaxel poliglumex (OPAXIO) has been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. Orphan designation was granted based on preliminary activity seen from phase II results of paclitaxel poliglumex when...
SIDEBAR: Is Vitamin D Supplementation Ready for Prime Time?
The VITAL study generated a host of questions about vitamin D among ASCO Annual Meeting attendees, including whether the study’s findings are ready for clinical application, according to Debra L. Barton, RN, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, speaking at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
2012 Is ‘Banner Year’ for Research on Symptom Management
The year 2012 was “a banner year for symptom management,” according to Debra L. Barton, RN, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, who presented data on patient and survivor care at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. “I have been doing symptom management for about 20 years, and it seems...
Radiotherapy Not Helpful in Early-stage Parotid Acinic Cell Cancer
Adjuvant radiotherapy for patients with parotid acinic cell carcinoma “does not confer a therapeutic advantage in low-grade and early-stage tumors if resection is complete,” but the benefit for patients with higher-grade or higher-stage disease is uncertain because there were few of these patients...
Link Found between Aspirin and Reduced Risk of Death Due to Prostate 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. Over the past few weeks, Stanley L....
Starting Over after Cancer Treatment
When bloody discharge started oozing from the nipple on my left breast, I knew instinctively that it was serious. Although I was just 43, having lost two aunts to breast cancer, I knew my family history increased my risk for developing the disease. So when I saw my gynecologist for an exam, I was...
Einstein-Montefiore Scientists Awarded NCI Grants to Study ‘Provocative Questions’ in Cancer Research
Two research teams at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, have each been awarded grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of their “Provocative Questions” program. The innovative effort is...
Levine Cancer Institute Opens New Research and Administrative Headquarters
Carolinas HealthCare System's Levine Cancer Institute recently announced the opening of its research and administrative headquarters on the campus of CHS's Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The development of the Institute and the building was made possible by a $20 million...
Lisa Carey, MD, Named Division Chief of Hematology-Oncology, UNC School of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief of the N.C. Cancer Hospital
Nationally recognized clinical researcher and physician Lisa A. Carey, MD, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of the N.C. Cancer Hospital. Dr. Carey, a member of the UNC faculty for more...
Cancer Memoir Provides Inspiration for Those with Terminal Illness and Their Caregivers
“It almost always begins in darkness, my memory’s trip back to China where Terrence and I meet.” So begins Amanda Bennett’s moving new memoir, The Cost of Hope, the story of an intensely devoted marriage, cruelly shortened by the cancer that killed her husband. The word “darkness” in Ms. Bennett’s...
Tweeting at ASCO Annual Meetings Can Enhance the Experience
Tweeting at concerts or plays may earn you scornful looks or even stern warnings from ushers, but tweeting at the ASCO Annual Meeting may enhance the meeting experience for you and others. In a study comparing trends in Twitter use by physicians during the 2010 and 2011 ASCO Annual Meetings, some...
New Studies Explore Exposure to Cancer-causing Agents
Key studies on cancer epidemiology and prevention delivered both reassuring and not-so-reassuring findings on exposure to agents believed to be cancer-promoting. Kala Visvanathan, MD, MHS, of The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Baltimore,...
The Language of Cancer
For more than a year, Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, has been blogging at ASCO Connection (connection.asco.org) about such diverse topics as cancer survivorship, the redesign of clinical studies based on patients’ molecular characteristics, and the power of laughter. Last May, Dr. Dizon tackled the impact ...
Prone Position during Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer Is Associated with Reduced Irradiation to Lung and Heart
Preliminary data on prone positioning during whole-breast radiotherapy following breast-preservation surgery “suggest that radiation exposure to the heart and lung can be reduced compared with supine positioning with similar efficacy,” according to a research letter in the Journal of the American...
For Advanced Sarcomas, New Agents Prolong Remission but Not Survival
“We are beginning to understand the molecular biology underlying a portion of the 80 or so subtypes of sarcomas, and we hope this will lead to subtype-specific treatments,” said William D. Tap, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting. “And in...
FDA Approves New Treatment for Severe Neutropenia
The FDA recently approved Sicor Biotech’s tbo-filgrastim (Neutroval) to reduce the time certain patients receiving chemotherapy experience severe neutropenia. The new drug is a short-acting recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) agent. It is marketed as Tevagrastim in Europe,...
New Drug Application Submitted for Regorafenib to Treat GIST
Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals recently announced that Bayer HealthCare has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for the oral multikinase inhibitor regorafenib for the treatment of metastatic and/or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in patients whose...
Childhood Radiation Increases Breast Cancer Risk
The risk of developing breast cancer after receiving radiotherapy to the chest as a child are as high as those for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, according to review of 1,268 cancer survivors and 4,570 female first-degree relatives of participants in the Women’s Environmental Cancer and Radiation...
Pivotal Trials in Head and Neck Cancers Yield Mixed Results
The latest research in head and neck cancer reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting presents a mixed picture, according to George R. Blumenschein, Jr, MD, Associate Professor at The Unviersity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, who presented the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
Enzalutamide for Metastatic Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer
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 August 31, enzalutamide (Xtandi) was approved for the ...
Hormonal Therapy with Enzalutamide Increases Survival in Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer after Chemotherapy
The androgen receptor–signaling inhibitor enzalutamide (Xtandi) is reported to differ from conventional antiandrogen agents in that it inhibits androgen receptor nuclear translocation, DNA binding, and coactivator recruitment, has a greater affinity for the androgen receptor, and induces tumor...
New ASCO Tobacco Cessation Practice Resources Will Offer Help for Providers as Well as Patients
It is well recognized that tobacco use increases the risk of several kinds of cancer. However, it is less well recognized that quitting tobacco remains important once an individual has been diagnosed with cancer, a common misconception held by oncologists and patients alike. Patients with cancer...
ASCO Achieves Highest Level of Accreditation for Continuing Medical Education Program
In July, ASCO was awarded “Accreditation with Commendation” (the highest level achievable) by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Fewer than 25% of continuing medical education (CME) providers carry the “Commendation” status distinction, which signifies an...
Investigators’ Perseverance Pays Off in Treating Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma
The theme of this year’s key abstracts on central nervous system tumors is that “perseverance and analysis of long-term outcomes lead to practice-changing results and important insights,” according to Eric L. Chang, MD, of the USC Norris Cancer Hospital and Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, who ...
Bosutinib in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Patients with Resistance or Intolerance of Prior Therapy
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 September 4, 2012, bosutinib (Bosulif) was approved...
Kinase Inhibitors Compared in First-line Treatment of CML
Bosutinib (Bosulif) is an oral dual Src/Abl kinase inhibitor that is active against many Bcr-Abl mutations associated with imatinib (Gleevec) resistance and that has reduced activity against nonspecific molecular targets associated with toxicities reported for other second-generation kinase...
Pediatric Pathologist Sidney Farber, MD: The ‘Father of Modern Chemotherapy’ and Cofounder of the Jimmy Fund
In June 3, 1948, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study by Sidney Farber, MD, showing that a synthetic compound, 4-aminopteroylglutamic acid (aminopterin), could induce remissions in seriously ill children with acute leukemia.1 Although the study was small—just 16 children—10 showed...
Radiation to the Skin and Later Risk of Basal Cell Carcinoma Studied
The likelihood of developing basal cell carcinoma was approximately 40 times higher among participants of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) who received a dose of 35 Gy or more to the skin from radiation therapy than survivors who were not treated with radiation, according to a study...
Neuropathy Not Predictive of Outcomes with Adjuvant Taxane Therapy in Breast Cancer
Neuropathy is a common and potentially disabling adverse effect of taxane therapy, particularly weekly paclitaxel. A number of recent studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms that appear to increase risk of grade 2 to 4 neuropathy in patients with breast cancer who receive taxanes....
In DCIS, Radiotherapy Benefits ‘Good Risk’ Patients
Radiation therapy will improve outcomes for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), even if they are considered at low risk for recurrence, according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9804 trial.1 But the follow-up time is short, and the findings still leave some wiggle room,...
Progress, Slow but Sure, Seen for Current Lung Cancer Therapies
This year, we have some abstracts that help move things forward in lung cancer, maybe at a little bit slower pace than in previous years. But there are important points that we can learn from some of these abstracts,” commented Karen L. Reckamp, MD, of the City of Hope, who presented findings on...
SIDEBAR: From Small Centers to Academic Centers
The use of cytoreduction plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) to treat carcinomatosis “came from the smaller centers,” noted Nita Ahuja, MD, Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancies Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “A lot of things in medicine come from academia and move...
Successful Use of Cytoreduction and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy May Hinge on Prior Experience
A review of 60 consecutive patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis who underwent cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)—sometimes called “hot chemotherapy”—found 0% mortality and 33% morbidity, with “a significant reduction of grade III/IV morbidity,...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Not Linked to Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Contradicting what some previous investigations have found, a study from The US Oncology Network found that adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer does not increase the risk of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (AML/MDS), at least within the first 3 years of treatment.1 The...
21-gene Recurrence Score Predicts Outcomes of Node-positive, ER-positive Patients after Adjuvant Chemoendocrine Therapy
The 21-gene recurrence score (obtained with Oncotype DX) can help identify patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, node-positive breast cancer who do not respond well to adjuvant chemoendocrine therapy, according to a retrospective analysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel...
Novel Device May Eliminate Need for Re-excision after Lumpectomy
A novel device employed during breast surgery reduces the need for re-excision due to positive margins. This lessens patient anxiety, lowers treatment costs, and helps preserve the cosmetic appearance of the breast, according to a large prospective study reported at the 2012 Breast Cancer...
Expert Point of View: Stephen E. Jones, MD
In a debate about the benefit of anthracycline therapy at the Symposium, Stephen E. Jones, MD, of US Oncology Research, The Woodlands, Texas, advocated for greater use of non–anthracycline-containing regimens. Dr. Jones was the principal investigator of US Oncology Research Trial 9735,1 which found ...
