Using imatinib to treat chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) first line, with selective switching to nilotinib (Tasigna) “leads to excellent molecular response and survival” and “may be preferable to universal first-line use of more potent agents, considering efficacy, toxicity, and...
In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Chacon and colleagues found that ex vivo manipulation of the tumor microenvironment could enhance expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for use in adoptive cell therapy. The addition of an agonistic anti–4-1BB antibody during initial tumor...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Church and colleagues assessed whether proofreading mutations in POLE (which encodes the DNA polymerase epsilon catalytic subunit) were associated with prognosis in endometrial cancer. Such mutations have been reported in...
Gene fusions resulting in androgen receptor–modulated ERG gene overexpression can be found in up to 70% of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Attard and colleagues assessed the effect of ERG rearrangement on outcomes in...
Does the finding that the incidence of fractures is “compellingly higher” after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation mean that physicians counseling patients about transplant should feel compelled to discuss the fracture risks? Huifang Linda Lu, MD, PhD, the corresponding author of the study...
The incidence of fractures is “compellingly higher” after receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, according to a retrospective study of patients receiving transplants for treatment of multiple myeloma, other hematologic malignancies, and some solid tumors (mostly breast and ovarian) as...
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced a $10 million gift from the Gerstner Family Foundation, which will expand cancer research at Broad Institute and broaden collaborations with Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The research will focus on the...
My first experience with cancer was when I was just 9 years old, and a lump the size of an egg popped out on the right side of my neck. A biopsy of the tumor found that it was Hodgkin lymphoma, and I was given huge doses of external-beam radiotherapy applied to my neck, chest, and underarm lymph...
Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was honored for her “dedication and commitment to solving cancer through research” and for her “passionate advocacy for increased federal funding for cancer research and biomedical science,” at Massachusetts...
Meir Wetzler, MD, Chief of the Leukemia Section at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and University at Buffalo (UB) Professor of Medicine, died on February 23 from injuries sustained during a skiing accident in Colorado. He was 60 years old. Nationally prominent in his field, Dr. Wetzler helped set...
Carol A. Kruse, PhD, a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) scientist and recognized leader in immunologic therapy for brain cancer, recently passed away in Los Angeles after a 6-month battle with an aggressive form of cancer. She was 61. Dr. Kruse was a UCLA Professor of Neurosurgery and...
Alan C. Sartorelli, PhD, Alfred Gilman Professor of Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine, Past President of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and a Fellow of the AACR Academy, died on April 30, 2015. A pioneer in cancer chemotherapy, Dr. Sartorelli was one of the...
During the Wyss Family Symposium, hosted by Nationwide Children’s Hospital May 11–12, Jonathan L. Finlay, MB, ChB, FRCP, Director of Neuro-Oncology at Nationwide Children’s, was announced as the first recipient of the Elizabeth and Richard Germain Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer. Dr. Finlay is...
Providing students and residents with feedback on their medical performance is a key element in their learning and development and ensures that high standards are met, according to Charlene M. Dewey, MD, MEd, FACP, Assistant Dean of Educator Development; Associate Professor of Medical Education and ...
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced 26 of the nation’s top biomedical researchers as investigators for the Institute. These scientists will receive the flexible support necessary to move their research in creative new directions. The initiative represents an investment in basic biomedical ...
In the phase III RAISE trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD, Head of Medical Oncology at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, and colleagues found that the addition of the antiangiogenic anti–vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) antibody...
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, Distinguished Professor and Physician-in-Chief of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), received the 2015 Wallace A. Reed, MD, Award on May 29 from the Arizona Medical Association (ArMA). The award recognizes his accomplishments in advancing innovative...
Roswell Park Cancer Institute recently announced a restructuring of its leadership. “In many cases, these new appointments represent Roswell Park Cancer Institute parlaying our own existing strengths and talents,” says President and CEO Candace Johnson, PhD. “Restructuring some of these positions...
Investigators for the nationwide trial, NCI-MATCH: Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (EAY131), have announced that the precision medicine trial will open to patient enrollment in July. The announcement was made recently during ASCO’s Annual Meeting in Chicago. The MATCH trial seeks to determine ...
On April 1, 2015, Douglas R. Lowy, MD, became Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), succeeding Harold Varmus, MD, who left NCI to join the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. (See “The Next Step in a Storied Career,” in the May 25, 2015 issue of The ASCO Post.)...
ASCO appointed Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the new Editor in Chief of its award-winning patient information website, Cancer.Net. Dr. Schapira assumed this role at the...
The past 3 years have witnessed transformative changes in the way that solid tumors and hematologic malignancies are approached, in almost every instance now including consideration of some form of immunomodulation in the first- or later-line therapeutic setting. The greatest success has occurred...
In a phase III trial (CheckMate 037) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center, and colleagues found that treatment with the PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) resulted in a significantly greater response rate vs...
Kenneth C. Frazier, JD, Chairman and CEO of Merck & Co., Inc., was elected Chairman of the Board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Mr. Frazier formerly held the position of Chairman-Elect and succeeds Ian C. Read, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Inc. New Officers ...
Innovation in the field of genomic assessment and characterization has rapidly progressed in recent years. As next-generation sequencing increasingly becomes a standard of care, it is vital for cancer care providers to develop a deeper understanding of its research and clinical applications. For...
As part of ASCO’s efforts to support research sites and clinical investigators, ASCO’s Community Research Forum (CRF) was created as a solution-oriented venue for community-based research sites. The Forum and its working groups have developed several tools and resources that aim to help researchers ...
ASCO, together with 30 organizations, have sent a letter to President Obama asking for his leadership in giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate e-cigarettes and other currently unregulated tobacco products. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control ...
Internationally renowned oncologist David Kerr, MD, DSc, will serve as founding Editor-in-Chief of the new ASCO publication, Journal of Global Oncology (JGO). JGO will be the first journal focused exclusively on cancer research, treatment, and care delivery in middle- and low-resource countries...
This year’s Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer contains the first national combined data set on the incidence of four major breast cancer subtypes by race/ethnicity, poverty level, geography, and other factors. The findings show that “there are unique racial/ethnic-specific incidence...
At its 152nd Annual Meeting on April 28, 2015, the membership of the National Academy of Sciences voted to change the name of the Institute of Medicine to the National Academy of Medicine. The newly named National Academy of Medicine will continue to be an honorific society and will inherit the...
Neal Shore, MD, FACS, of Atlantic Urology Clinics, LLC, was recently appointed President-Elect of the Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA). “I am honored to be appointed to this prestigious position within [the Association] and look forward to furthering the organization’s goal,...
The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), the GW University Hospital, and the GW Medical Faculty Associates announced the appointment of Eduardo M. Sotomayor, MD, as the inaugural Director of the GW Cancer Center (GWCC). He will also serve as a Professor...
The recently published results of the CUSTOM (Molecular Profiling and Targeted Therapies in Advanced Thoracic Malignancies) trial, reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, describe a basket trial focused on identifying molecular biomarkers in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small...
In the phase II CUSTOM trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ariel Lopez-Chavez, MD, Anish Thomas, MD, and colleagues performed molecular profiling of tumors in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), or thymic malignancies and...
An analysis of Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) studies recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tewari and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post showed a survival benefit of intraperitoneal chemotherapy vs intravenous chemotherapy over long-term follow-up in women...
In an analysis of Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) studies reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Devansu Tewari, MD, of Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center, and colleagues found that intraperitoneal chemotherapy was associated with a survival advantage compared with intravenous...
An investigational immunotherapy called MPDL3280A showed encouraging and durable clinical activity in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, in an early study presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).1 Responses...
Active surveillance has become a viable option for many men with low-risk prostate cancer who choose not to undergo active treatment such as surgery or radiotherapy. Four studies evaluating the effectiveness, trends, and other considerations for active surveillance in managing prostate cancer were...
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in American men, yet controversy over the utilization and frequency of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening methods remains, due to the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of men with low-grade, less-aggressive forms of the disease. At the 110th...
Mastectomies that preserve the nipple and an envelope of breast skin are as safe as more radical operations for qualifying early-stage breast cancer patients, according to a meta-analysis and systematic literature review presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons 16th Annual Meeting.1...
Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy may ease cancer-related anxiety for patients at high risk of breast cancer, but it does very little to contain the costs. A study presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons 16th Annual Meeting found that bilateral prophylactic mastectomy was not...
Data from two phase III studies led by the Children’s Oncology Group show that augmenting or intensifying therapy for children with high-risk Wilms tumor improved relapse-free survival. These children are deemed to be at high risk due to a specific chromosomal abnormality that confers worse...
Formal discussant, Andrew B. Lassman, MD, of the Department of Neurology at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Columbia University Medical Center in New York, congratulated Dr. Brown and his coauthors for undertaking and completing a “herculean task” that took 10 years. To illustrate...
New data from a phase III Alliance trial weighs in on a longstanding debate in the treatment of brain metastases: Should whole-brain radiation therapy be added to stereotactic radiosurgery? The study found that although whole-brain radiation therapy improved local tumor control in patients with...
Pembrolizumab [Keytruda] has a more favorable side-effect profile than cytotoxic chemotherapy and cetuximab [Erbitux]. This is particularly important for recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer patients who have been so beaten up by their disease, the treatment for their disease, and their...
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is making inroads into head and neck cancer, with encouraging results in heavily pre-treated patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, according to a report on the expansion-cohort KEYNOTE-012 study presented at the 2015 ASCO...
Anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immunotherapy with nivolumab (Opdivo) extended survival in patients with the most common form of lung cancer—nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients whose disease progressed on standard platinum doublet therapy who were treated with...
A genetic marker to predict response to anti–PD-1 (anti-programmed cell death protein 1) antibodies may have emerged in colorectal cancer, a tumor type that is a newcomer to the anti–PD-1 ballgame. In a phase II study of colorectal cancer patients treated with pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the presence ...
“What’s past is prologue.” —William Shakespeare Today, a cancer drug under study in a clinical trial is commonly provided for a finite period of time after the study closes to accrual. If that drug were not yet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved when the study began, the complimentary ...
Michael B. Atkins, MD, Deputy Director, Lombardi Cancer Center of Georgetown University, Washington, DC, discussed CheckMate 067 at the Plenary Session. Pending overall survival data, he concluded, “Nivolumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab are superior to ipilimumab. These treatments (along with...