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Showing 23951 - 24000What You Should Know about Peginterferon Alfa-2b for Adjuvant Treatment of Melanoma
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 Peginterferon alfa-2b (PegIntron, Sylatron) was recently ...
Challenges, Progress, and Future Directions in Head and Neck Cancer
Although head and neck cancer remains a major therapeutic challenge, significant advances have been made over the past few decades. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Marshall R. Posner, MD, Medical Director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, about the...
Adding Thalidomide to Chemoradiation Increases Toxicities but Not Survival for Stage III Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Adding thalidomide (Thalomid) to the third-generation chemotherapy doublet of paclitaxel and carboplatin and radiation for patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) increased toxicities but did not improve survival. These results from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)...
A Dose of Destruction and Tough Love for Health Care
Title: The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care Author: Eric Topol, MD Publisher: Basic Books Publication date: February 1, 2012 Price: $27.99 / $31.00 (CAN), Hardcover, 320 pages More information: http://creativedestructionofmedicine.com/...
Cancer.Net Mobile App 2.0: Available Now!
With the recent updates to the free Cancer.Net app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, your patients can use interactive tools to help manage their care. Patients with iCloud-enabled devices can use the cloud service to back up the questions, symptoms, and medications they’ve entered into the...
Starting Down the Path toward Electronic QOPI®: ASCO and US Oncology Collaborate in Quality Measurement
The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®), ASCO’s quality measurement program, is entering its 6th successful year and continuing to grow, both in number of participants and in quality measures evaluated. In the truest spirit of quality improvement, ASCO’s oncologist leaders have determined...
ASCO Seeks Better Access to Clinical Trials for Patients with Cancer
ASCO and other organizations submitted recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to influence development of a clinical trials coverage regulation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The health-care law requires insurers to cover routine care costs for...
SIDEBAR: Leadership to Legacy
Through the Conquer Cancer Foundation Leadership to Legacy campaign, ASCO members and other field leaders have the opportunity to personally invest in the future of oncology by supporting the work of its most talented young researchers. Contributions to the Leadership to Legacy campaign not only...
Career Development Award Recipient Susan K. Parsons, MD, Supports Next Generation of Researchers
Like all pediatric oncologists, Susan K. Parsons, MD, MRP, knows that when a child is diagnosed with cancer, it happens to the whole family. Siblings must cope with everything from disruption of routine to reduced parental attention, to the often-new possibility of mortality. Parents must navigate...
SWOG S0226 Findings Revive Interest in Combination Hormonal Therapy
Two hormonal therapies combined are more efficacious than one when used as first-line treatment for hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women, finds Southwest Oncology Group trial S0226. Results of the phase III trial, reported at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio...
Expert Point of View: Genomics Projects Plumb Breast Cancer’s Inner Workings
Charles M. Perou, PhD, the May Goldman Shaw Distinguished Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, commented on the research being conducted by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC). “The TCGA and ICGC efforts...
Genomics Projects Plumb Breast Cancer’s Inner Workings
Two large collaborative genomics projects are producing new and sometimes surprising findings about what makes breast cancers tick—information that may ultimately be applied to improve clinical outcomes. In a special session titled “Genome Data for the Masses: Presentation of TCGA and ICGC Breast...
Atypical Breast Lesions: How High Is the Cancer Risk?
Women with atypical breast lesions have approximately a 5% to 11% risk of developing breast cancer within 5 years, depending on histology, and this risk can be reduced with chemoprevention, according to a presentation at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 Investigators tracked the...
Important News Briefs: New Data Reported in Gastric, Colorectal, and Hepatocellular Cancers
Findings presented at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium will impact the future care of patients with these malignancies. The ASCO Post has summarized some of the most newsworthy data in the following briefs. In the phase III GRANITE-1 trial (n = 656), single-agent treatment with...
What Were the Take-home Messages from the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium?
Richard M. Goldberg, MD, of The Ohio State University Medical Center, chaired the steering committee of the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, which attracted approximately 4,000 registrants who viewed data from some 700 scientific abstracts. The ASCO Post asked Dr. Goldberg...
Lung Cancer Alliance Announces National Framework for Lung Cancer Screening Excellence
The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) moved lung cancer screening to a national platform by announcing a Framework for Lung Cancer Screening Excellence, which includes a bill of rights for the at-risk public and guiding principles for lung cancer screening sites. “The science is indisputable: Screening...
Inefficient Markets Impede Cancer Pain Relief
The potent analgesic property of morphine was first isolated in 1804, and after more than 2 centuries morphine is still the gold standard for moderate to severe pain. It is relatively easy to produce, and compared to most pharmaceuticals, morphine is dirt-cheap. Therein lies the cruel conundrum:...
A Visionary Call for the ‘Creative Destruction’ of Medicine
According to nationally regarded cardiologist and geneticist Eric Topol, MD, Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health, the next frontier of the digital revolution can create exponentially better health care. Dr. Topol, who is also Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and...
Expert Point of View: Two Novel Agents Prolong Survival in Advanced Prostate Cancer
“My comment on the AFFIRM trial is ‘wow, very impressive.’ The median survival and the declines in PSA levels are impressive, and this is going to change the way we care for patients in our practices,” said Nicholas Vogelzang, MD, medical oncologist with Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada and...
Two Novel Agents Prolong Survival in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Two novel agents with distinct mechanisms of action join ranks of treatments that extend survival for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer: MDV3100 and radium-223. Both drugs achieved a survival advantage compared with placebo, with relatively benign side-effect profiles, according to ...
2012 Oncology Meetings
MARCH Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association 8th Annual Meeting March 21-24 • Orlando, Florida For more information: www.hoparx.org 65th Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Meeting March 21-24 • Orlando, Florida For more information: www.surgonc.org Society of Interventional Radiology 37th...
VEGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Linked to Increased Risk of Fatal Adverse Events
A meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials involving 4,679 patients showed that the use of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors was associated with an increased risk of fatal adverse events. “The crude incidence of [fatal adverse events] in patients ...
Survival Advantage of Oxaliplatin Extends to Diverse Group of Patients
The survival advantage conferred by adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy with fluorouracil (5-FU), as previously shown in randomized controlled trials, extends to patients in the general population, including older and minority group patients and those with higher comorbidity. These results, ...
Cost of Cancer Therapy: The Elephant in the Room?
I am distressed by your coverage of innovative therapies, such as dual HER2 blockade (see The ASCO Post, January 1, 2012, and Supplement to February 15, 2012), without mentioning that these therapies will never be cost-effective given the current pricing of the agents involved. If we wish to...
Surviving Cancer Means Making Many Difficult Decisions
The best advice I received after getting a diagnosis of stage I invasive lobular carcinoma in my left breast was from my radiologist, who told me, “Remember, be your own best advocate.” Those words have stayed with me through my 6-year struggle with breast cancer and its aftermath. Extraordinary...
SIDEBAR: Should ‘AYA’ Be an Oncology Subspecialty?
The lag in improvement in survival rates for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer and a greater awareness of the unique issues they face has prompted discussion about whether “AYA” should become a new oncology subspecialty.1 “Yes and no,” according to Archie Bleyer, MD. “I am going to...
SIDEBAR: Expect and Ask Questions about Sex and Fertility Preservation
What most concerns the adolescent and young adult population? “If they are worried about anything, it is sex and having families,” according to Archie Bleyer, MD. Years ago, he said, “oncologists were so worried about just getting them in remission, treating their cancers, and getting them to...
Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: A Distinct Population of Patients Who Need to Be Treated Differently
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. Cancer among adolescents and young...
ASH 2011 Presentations Include Novel Agents and New Strategies in Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma
Attendees at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held recently in in San Diego, were able to choose from a wide range of interesting and important sessions exploring hematologic malignancies. In addition to The ASCO Post’s regular news coverage from the meeting,...
Some Patients Using Complementary and Alternative Therapies May Be Receiving ‘Parallel’ Rather Than Integrative Care
Most patients with cancer receiving complementary and alternative medicine do so not as part of integrative care, but rather as “parallel care,” according to Lynda Balneaves, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, School of Nursing in Vancouver. Dr. Balneaves is lead...
AACR Urges Congress to Maintain, Preferably Increase, Cancer Research Funding
December 23, 2011, marked the 40th anniversary of the National Cancer Act. To mark that occasion, on February 2, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held a Congressional briefing, attended by about 100 legislative aides, to remind Congress that the war on cancer is far from over....
Research Funding Key to Continued Progress in Cancer Care
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) President and ASCO member Judy Garber, MD, MPH, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about the findings of AACR’s landmark Cancer Progress Report,1 In addition, she offered her perspective on the current and future state of cancer research. Project...
Risk Stratification of BRCA Mutation Carriers May Help Guide Follow-up
Patient and tumor characteristics can stratify women with breast cancer and a BRCA mutation into groups having different risks of contralateral disease, which may help tailor follow-up, suggests a study of more than 5,000 women in the Netherlands. Confirming findings of other studies, the study...
Context May Affect Benefit of Adjuvant Clodronate in Breast Cancer
A benefit of the oral bisphosphonate clodronate when used as adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer may depend on factors such as the endpoint assessed and patient age, suggests the randomized B-34 trial conducted by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP). The trial,...
Expert Point of View: Maintenance with Lenalidomide or Bortezomib Prolongs Remission in Elderly Patients with Multiple Myeloma
David S. Siegel, MD, PhD, of the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, commented to The ASCO Post that essentially all patients with multiple myeloma could be candidates for maintenance therapy. “But I don’t know that we have established that maintenance...
Maintenance with Lenalidomide or Bortezomib Prolongs Remission in Elderly Patients with Multiple Myeloma
The benefit of maintenance therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients ineligible for stem cell transplant, such as the elderly, is still debated, though value appears to be emerging, according to studies presented at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting....
Researchers Map Potential Genetic Origins, Pathways of Lung Cancer in Never-smokers
Findings from a small study on potential gene mutations and pathway alterations that could lead to lung cancer in never-smokers were presented in a poster at the American Association for Cancer Research–International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of...
How I Work up the Patient with Thrombocytosis
Thrombocytosis is defined as a platelet count greater than 400 × 109/L. In routine clinical practice, thrombocytosis is much more likely to be reactive (> 80% of cases) than primary. Reactive thrombocytosis is usually associated with infections, inflammation, trauma, hemolysis, metastatic...
FDA Drug Approvals, January–March 2012
Imatinib mesylate tablets (Gleevec) approved for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients following complete gross resection of Kit (CD117) positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Accelerated approval for this indication was granted in December 2008. Vismodegib (Erivedge) capsules...
First Urine-based Molecular Test to Gauge Need for Repeat Prostate Biopsies
Gen-Probe announced the FDA has approved its PROGENSA PCA3 (prostate cancer gene 3) assay, the first molecular test to help determine the need for repeat prostate biopsies in men who have had a previous negative biopsy. “Overexpression of the PCA3 gene is highly specific to cancerous prostate...
Ki-67 Image Analysis and Digital Read Applications Cleared
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc, received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for the Ventana Companion Algorithm Ki-67 (30-9) image analysis application used with the Ventana iScan Coreo Au scanner running Virtuoso software. Ventana is currently the only company offering an FDA-cleared Ki-67 image...
ODAC Votes against Denosumab to Delay Bone Metastasis in Men with Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 12 to 1 that the risk-benefit ratio was insufficient for an expanded use of denosumab (Xgeva) to delay the spread of prostate cancer to the bone in men with castration-resistant disease. The panel was not asked specifically whether it...
New Colonoscopy System Cleared by FDA
A developer of endoscopy products based in New York and Kissing, Germany, invendo medical, announced that the company received 510(k) clearance by the FDA of the company’s new C20 colonoscopy system, including the SC20 single-use colonoscope. The invendoscope SC20 has several features that are...
FDA Acts to Bolster Supply of Critically Needed Cancer Drugs
The FDA has announced a series of steps to increase the supply of critically needed cancer drugs and build on President Obama’s Executive Order to help prevent future drug shortages. The President’s order, issued last October 31, directed the FDA to take action to help further prevent and reduce...
Help Your Patients Organize Their Cancer Care
Direct your patients to Cancer.Net/podcasts, where they can listen to a podcast about staying organized during cancer treatment, getting financial information in order, preparing questions ahead of appointments, and setting up a filing system for important documents. ■ © 2012. American Society of ...
ASCO Submits Testimony for Congressional Hearing Examining Quality Programs that Reward High-quality Care
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee recently held a hearing on programs and initiatives that reward physicians who deliver high-quality, efficient care. ASCO submitted written testimony from CEO Allen S. Lichter, MD, on many aspects of quality care, including how the Quality Oncology...
Pre–Annual Meeting Seminar Series Kicks Off
This year, ASCO is cosponsoring a new series of intimate, discussion-based seminars to be held just before the start of the Annual Meeting in June. The three seminars, which start at 1:00 PM on Thursday, May 31, and continue through noon on Friday, June 1, the first day of the Annual Meeting, are: ...
Research of Former Foundation Grantee James Yao Highlighted at the GI Cancers Symposium
A study led by James C. Yao, MD, Assistant Professor and Deputy Chair of Gastrointestinal Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, was presented at the 2012 Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium in San Francisco and highlighted in the meeting’s press program. In the ...
ASCO Launches Community Research Forum to Tackle Top Research Conundrums
Just how many research-focused staff members is it optimal to have when conducting clinical trials in a community-practice setting? To properly gauge that, should the practice look closely at how many studies it’s working on? The complexity of those studies? The number of patients enrolled? Some...
What You Need to Know About Axitinib, New Agent for Treating Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
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 January 2012, the second-generation vascular...
