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Showing 22051 - 22100Combination Treatment Every 2 Weeks May Benefit Some Women With High-Risk Early-Stage Breast Cancer
In a phase III trial (SWOG S0221) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, George T. Budd, MD, of Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues found no difference in disease-free survival among four different combinations of continuous or every-other-week...
ASCO Collaborates in Launch of Crowd-Sourced Molecular Oncology Tumor Board Series
The ASCO University®, the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) recently announced their collaboration to create the Molecular Oncology Tumor Board series, an online and user-driven resource designed to help cancer care providers with the...
Highlights From the 2014 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium
The inaugural 2014 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium was held October 24 to 25 in Boston. Over 200 abstracts were presented, covering topics such as the integration of palliative care into treatment and the financial hardships facing people living with cancer. The following abstracts were among ...
ASCO Supports HHS Shift Toward Alternative Payment Models
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its intention to shift Medicare away from the current fee-for-service model and toward a system that pays providers based on the quality—rather than the quantity—of care they provide their patients. The announcement marks the...
Introduce Your Patients to PRE-ACT
This free, video-based program, called Preparatory Education About Clinical Trials (PRE-ACT), helps patients and their caregivers learn about clinical trials and address barriers to participation. Direct your patients to cancer.net/preact to learn more about this online resource. Also, visit...
Expanding the Reach of ASCO’s Educational Efforts
Catherine H. Van Poznak, MD, Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Michigan, uses the skills she learned as a 2010–2011 participant in ASCO’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) to further the Society’s educational efforts through her service on the Professional Development...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Researcher Spotlight
James D. Murphy, MD, MS, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, received a 2012 Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of ASCO Young Investigator Award for his research focusing on access to the delivery of palliative radiation therapy. Dr....
Aged to (Im)Perfection: Age-Related Clonal Hematopoiesis?
Five decades ago, the analysis of metaphase chromosomes in the hematologic malignancies provided our first broad glimpse into the genetic anatomy of a malignant cell. Today, the advent of high-throughput methods such as next-generation sequencing, capable of surveying the entire genome, provides an ...
Clonal Hematopoiesis With Somatic Mutations Increases Risk of Hematologic Cancer, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Disease
In two studies recently reported in The New England Journal of Medicine,1,2 whole-exome sequencing of DNA from peripheral blood cells of individuals unselected for hematologic phenotype showed that clonal hematopoiesis with somatic mutations is increasingly common with increasing age and is...
Jennifer Adair, PhD, Recognized as ‘Outstanding New Investigator’
Jennifer Adair, PhD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has been named a 2015 Outstanding New Investigator by the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT). The award recognizes Dr. Adair’s independent research efforts to understand and improve blood stem cell–based gene...
Determining Why Not All Patients Respond to PD-1 Inhibitors
Recent research1 conducted by Robert H. Pierce, MD, and his colleagues investigating why PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) inhibitors result in remarkably durable clinical remissions in some patients with melanoma, whereas others reap a short-term benefit or no benefit at all is showing that...
Crizotinib Crosses Another Finish Line in Lung Cancer
Treatment of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive lung cancer has been one of the great success stories in oncology in the past decade. First discovered in lung cancer in 2007, ALK rearrangements are found in 3% to 5% of patients and define a distinct molecular subgroup of the disease with...
First-Line Crizotinib Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Chemotherapy in ALK-Positive NSCLC
In a phase III trial (PROFILE 1014) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Benjamin J. Solomon, MB, BS, PhD, of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, and colleagues found that the ALK inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) improved progression-free survival vs standard chemotherapy in...
FDA Approves Lenvatinib for Progressive Radioiodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to lenvatinib (Lenvima) to treat patients with progressive, differentiated thyroid cancer whose disease progressed despite receiving radioactive iodine therapy. Lenvatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that binds to multiple sites...
FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to MPDL3280A for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to Genentech’s investigational cancer immunotherapy MPDL3280A for the treatment of PD-L1–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy (and an...
FDA Approves Palbociclib in Combination With Letrozole for Advanced Breast Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to palbociclib (Ibrance) in combination with letrozole for the treatment of postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have not yet received an endocrine-based therapy....
Nivolumab in Previously Treated Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer
The approval of multiple inhibitors of either the VEGF or mTOR pathway provided an incremental advance in the treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cancer. However, the agents have several important limitations: For example, the optimal clinical effect appears to be dependent on chronic...
Expert Point of View: Richard Little, MD
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) sees a real need for additional study of treatment options for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with malignancies. The results of this trial make us confident that exclusion from autologous transplant studies on the basis of HIV serostatus is...
HIV-Related Lymphoma Can Be Safely Treated With Transplant
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma can safely undergo autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation, according to results of a phase II multicenter trial presented at the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in...
From ASH 2014: What’s New in the Myeloma Treatment Arsenal?
At the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, attendance at many multiple myeloma sessions outnumbered the room size, as data from studies of novel agents, such as the monoclonal antibodies, and from key trials, such as ASPIRE, drew crowds. The ASCO Post covered...
PI3K Inhibition in Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer ‘Not Ready for Prime Time’
Interest is high in studying the PI3K pathway in hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, but it is not clear which of the PI3K inhibitors under development—if any—will be a “home run.” The phase II FERGI study, reported at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, failed to meet its primary...
Lanreotide Evaluated in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Subgroup
The somatostatin analog lanreotide (Somatuline) depot extended the time to disease progression in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, in a planned subgroup analysis of the CLARINET trial, Alexandria T. Phan, MD, of The Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, reported at the 2015...
Expert Point of View: Laura A. Dawson, MD
Session moderator Laura A. Dawson, MD, of the University of Toronto, commented on this study by Dr. Ross and colleagues for The ASCO Post: “Moving forward, I think we need to change the way we make treatment decisions, no question. Treatment based on profiling is the way of the future. Dr. Ross’...
Targeting Biliary Tract Cancers Through Genomic Profiling
Biliary tract cancers are challenging, but a large genomic profiling study has identified potentially clinically relevant genomic alterations in up to two-thirds of patients.1 “The diverse landscape of clinically relevant genomic alterations in biliary tract cancers can serve as targets for...
Expert Point of View: Jaffer A. Ajani, MD
Jaffer A. Ajani, MD, Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, discussed the two studies. He emphasized the impressive cytoreductive activity of AMG 337. “Granted, it was only 13 patients, but in 13 patients, 8 [responders] is a...
Inhibiting the MET Pathway in Gastroesophageal Cancer: Hits and Misses
The MET pathway appears to be important in gastroesophageal cancers, but response to a targeted agent may depend on the class of drugs. A robust response to the novel small-molecule MET inhibitor AMG 337 was observed, but a monoclonal antibody targeting MET fell flat, in studies reported at the...
New Data Reported in Colorectal, Gastric, and Pancreatic Cancers
The 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, held January 15–17 in San Francisco, attracted almost 4,000 attendees, who heard or viewed data from nearly 800 scientific abstracts and lectures. Here are our summaries of some of the many important developments from the meeting. Bevacizumab Plus...
Addressing the Global Cancer Burden
Since 1990, the annual global death toll from cancer has risen about 40%, and that number is projected to increase from the current level of approximately 8 million cancer deaths per year to more than 13 million by 2030. The poorer, resource-challenged regions of the world will suffer a...
Big Data and the Promise of Precision Medicine in Cancer
Precision medicine—and its promise to revolutionize how we understand disease and care for our patients—is a concept that oncology has understood and embraced for well over a decade. But millions of Americans recently heard about the concept for the first time when President Obama announced a...
Active Surveillance in Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer Called Into Question
A study presented at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium calls into question the use of active surveillance in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer managed with active surveillance had almost a four times higher risk of prostate...
Caregivers May Want to Know About a Patient’s Impending Death but May Be Afraid to Ask
The likelihood of impending death of patients with advanced cancer “is one of those questions that many people want to know about, but they are too afraid to ask,” David Hui, MD, MSc, said in an interview with The ASCO Post. Dr. Hui is lead author of a study, published in Cancer, on clinical signs...
Recognizing Physical Signs Associated With Impending Death Can Assist Clinicians, Patients, and Caregivers With Complex Decisions
In a recently published study of patients with advanced cancer whose status was systematically documented twice a day, from the time of admission to a palliative care unit until death or discharge, investigators identified eight physical signs associated with death within 3 days. Taken together...
Having Cancer So Early in Life Gave Me Purpose
I had every classic brain tumor symptom in the book—severe headaches, dizziness, morning nausea—which plagued me for 16 years, starting when I was 8. In college, if I allowed myself to sleep more than 4 hours a night, the morning headaches, which were centered on the top of my head, were so severe, ...
The Center of Who We Are
The following essay by Eric M. Genden, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. There’s...
Harold Varmus, MD, Steps Down as NCI Director, Douglas Lowy, MD, Named Acting Director
Harold Varmus, MD, who has led the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for nearly 5 years, has announced that he will step down from his post, effective March 31, 2015. “It has been our great fortune to have Dr. Varmus at the helm of the NCI,” said NIH...
Dr. Halsted’s Breast Amputation Specimens, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1894
A Century of Progress The text and photographs on these pages represent the establishment of oncology as a viable medical specialty during the late 1800s and showcase the early medical advances and treatments in cancer. The images and captions are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled ...
Mobile Patient-Centered App Tracks Breast Cancer Survivors’ Experiences
Patricia Ganz, MD, Director of Cancer Prevention and Control Research at the Jonsson Cancer Center of UCLA, and collaborators Apple and Sage Bionetworks, recently announced the launch of “Share the Journey: Mind, Body and Wellness after Breast Cancer,” a patient-centered mobile application (app)...
Herbal Supplements: Increasing Problems
In Don Quixote, the 1605 Spanish literary masterpiece by Miguel Cervantes, “Balsam of Fierabras” is mentioned often as a therapeutic panacea. It calls for mixing rosemary, wine, oil, and salt. As the story goes, the knight relied heavily on this herbal preparation to relieve him of pain from the...
Clinical Trials Actively Recruiting Patients With Esophageal Cancer
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting observational, interventional, phase I, phase II, and phase III clinical studies for patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent esophageal cancer. All of the studies are listed on the National Institutes...
Fred Hutchinson Health Economist Gary Lyman, MD, MPH, Editor of Recently Released Oncology Handbook
Oncologist and health economist Gary Lyman, MD, MPH, Co-director of the Hutchinson Institute of Cancer Outcomes Research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is the Editor of the second edition of the Oxford American Handbook of Oncology, published February 25, 2015, by Oxford University...
Wrestling With the Challenges of Breast Cancer
Bookmark Title: Then Came Life: Living With Courage, Spirit, and Gratitude After Breast CancerAuthor: Geralyn LucasPublisher: Gotham BooksPublication date: October 2, 2014Price: $19.89; hardcover, 240 pages Over the past decade or so, the oncology community has increased its understanding and...
Medicine Turned Upside Down
BookmarkTitle: The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine Is in Your HandsAuthor: Eric Topol, MDPublisher: Basic BooksPublication date: January 2015Price: $28.99; hardcover, 384 pagesMost books about health care center on fixing broken parts of the massive $3 trillion system, as seen with ...
Silvia C. Formenti, MD, Appointed Chair of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell and Radiation Oncologist-in-Chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
Silvia C. Formenti, MD, has been appointed Chair of the newly established Department of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College and Radiation Oncologist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, effective April 15. Dr. Formenti, currently the Chair of Radiation...
Dinutuximab Combination Approved for Pediatric High-Risk Neuroblastoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved dinutuximab (Unituxin), a monoclonal antibody targeting glycolipid GD2, as part of first-line therapy for pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. A chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to the surface of neuroblastoma cells,...
New Partnership Launches to Empower People Diagnosed With Lymphoma
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), together with the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), CancerCare, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), and Genentech announced the launch of a new partnership, the Alliance for Resource Collaboration in Hematology (ARCH). ARCH was developed...
Five Questions Can Guide the Treatment of Relapsed Myeloma
Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, myeloma expert at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Scottsdale, and Associate Dean of the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, considers five questions when selecting treatment for patients with multiple myeloma who relapse. “With prolonged survival, which approaches 10...
Avoiding Burnout and Maintaining Well-Being While Caring for Seriously Ill Patients
A variety of studies, including one published this past year in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 have showed that clinicians who care for seriously ill patients are at high risk for diminished personal well-being, including high rates of burnout; moral distress, defined as the inability to act in ...
New Oncology Care Model: Encouraging Better Coordination for Cancer Care
On February 12, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its new Oncology Care Model, a multipayer payment and care delivery model intended to support better coordination for cancer care. The initiative will include 24-hour access to practitioners for beneficiaries...
Helping Patients Understand Palliative Care
The booklet Palliative Care: Improving Quality of Life for Patients and Families is one of the latest additions to the ASCO Answers collection of patient education materials developed by ASCO for people with cancer and their caregivers. These materials provide oncologist-approved information in a...
Beating the Odds in The Big Casino
More than 35 ASCO members contributed personal essays to a recently published collection of stories about humanism in medicine, including ASCO Past Presidents Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, FASCO, and Emil J. Freireich, MD, FASCO, and current President-Elect Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO. The Big Casino:...
