Steven M. Horwitz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, reviews the data supporting current treatment approaches for T-cell lymphomas and discusses the specific subtype criteria used to individualize therapy.
Richard I. Fisher, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center-Temple Health, discusses this rare disease––with features between classical Hodgkin lymphoma and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma––and reviews the clinical data on treatment.
Wyndham H. Wilson, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, discusses the molecular underpinnings of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and targeted treatments.
A new study from the University of Illinois confirms a link between Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screenings and a lower risk of developing cervical cancer in women over age 65. However, most American health guidelines discourage women in that age range from receiving screenings unless they have...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Odejide et al surveyed hematologic oncologists to identify acceptable end-of-life-care quality measures and asked the clinician to identify barriers to such care. Respondents considered unrealistic patient expectations the top barrier to...
In a meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Spring et al found that neoadjuvant endocrine therapy was associated with outcomes similar to those with chemotherapy in women with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. Similar Outcomes The analysis included 3,490 patients from 20...
A collaboration between multiple European institutions has uncovered a correlation between a rare mutation in colorectal cancers and a better prognosis, raising the possibility that patients with such tumors may not require chemotherapy after surgery. Findings were published by Domingo et al in The ...
Fredrick B. Hagemeister, Jr, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses whether rituximab maintenance should be used in indolent lymphomas other than follicular.
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses this evolution of clinical trials, and using genomic methods to direct therapy.
John G. Gribben, MD, DSc, of Barts Cancer Institute, discusses the pros and cons of both autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation in follicular lymphoma, and the challenges of selecting the right patients for these procedures.
Beth M. Faiman, PhD, MSN, CNP, AOCN, of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses working with patients with multiple myeloma to minimize the toxicity of their treatment and improve their outcomes.
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses the key presentations at the 2016 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference.
Bruce D. Cheson, MD, of Georgetown University Hospital, and Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discuss whether lymphoma should be staged with a positron emission tomography (PET) scan and what follow-up scans are needed.
David G. Maloney, MD, PhD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for lymphoma and their toxicity.
Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses the role of checkpoint inhibitors in Hodgkin lymphoma and the efficacy of nivolumab and pembrolizumab.
Susan M. O’Brien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, discusses the challenges of treating older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma, and the positive results with newer regimens using blinatumomab and inotuzumab.
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alok A. Khorana, MD, of Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on the treatment of potentially curable pancreatic cancer.1 The recommendations are based on an expert panel systematic review of the...
Kieron M. Dunleavy, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, discusses the genomic landscape of aggressive lymphomas and how this is informing therapy decisions.
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the pros and cons of these two regimens, with or without another agent, in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
The role of endocrine therapy for hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer is well established, and clinicians are strongly encouraged to consider one of several therapeutic options for the majority of patients who present with metastatic disease. The recent ASCO guideline on this topic, ...
As reported by Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on endocrine therapy for hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer.1 The...
The liquid biopsy may be a welcome reprieve from typical biopsies. The minimally invasive test could reduce the need for the sometimes painful and risky procedures involved in sampling tumors, particularly those that reside deep within the body. However, thus far, the utility of the test has been...
Five-year survival data published by Chen et al in Blood suggest that the targeted therapy brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) may be curative in some patients with Hodgkin lymphoma whose disease has persisted despite receiving previous therapies. This multinational phase II study examined brentuximab...
The cumulative incidence of endocrinopathies steadily increased over time in aging survivors of childhood cancers, according to an analysis of data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study reported by Mostoufi-Moab et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details The study included...
Self-administered relaxing acupressure and stimulating acupressure were both associated with reduced persistent fatigue vs usual care in breast cancer survivors, according to a randomized clinical trial reported by Zick et al in JAMA Oncology. However, only relaxing acupressure had significant...
Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) has been a leader in the push for better and faster cancer drug development. Now it is tackling the use of real-world evidence in clinical trials. This is the report of a meeting on the subject that took place on June 16 in Washington, DC.1 Real-world evidence...
A large observational study examining the variation in breast density assessment among radiologists in clinical practice has found a wide variation—from 6.3% to 84.5%—in the percentage of mammograms rated as showing dense breasts, which persisted after adjusting for patient...
A nationwide project is enlisting patients with breast cancer to share their tumor samples and clinical information. Launched in October 2015, the Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Project has enrolled more than 2,000 patients from all 50 states and is yielding information that will be shared with...
The success of using social media to push forward causes for social good was a driving factor in the launch this past October of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Project (MBC project), which aims to accelerate the understanding of what makes patients with metastatic breast cancer genetically unique....
The ASCO Answers: Caregiving guide is designed to help family caregivers better understand their role on the cancer care team. While there is no one way to be a caregiver, people caring for someone with cancer can use this guide to understand how to meet the needs of their loved ones and work...
ASCO recently collaborated with the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) to provide a 3-day International Palliative Care Workshop in Kazakhstan for health-care professionals, advocates, and volunteers in the former capital of Almaty. Dilyara Kaidarova, MD, PhD, Director of the Almaty Oncology...
Sarah S. Donaldson, MD, FASCO, of Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, is the recipient of the Inaugural Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. Throughout her decades-long career, Dr. Donaldson has mentored countless trainees and young oncologists,...
By including a planned gift to the Conquer Cancer Foundation in your estate plans, you can help make a dramatic difference for cancer patients years—even decades—into the future. With just one small change to your will or trust, your planned gift of any size will deliver a big impact, and: Your...
At the American Medical Association’s (AMA) annual House of Delegates meeting, delegates approved four resolutions submitted by ASCO, demonstrating the entire medical community’s commitment to key cancer care priorities. These resolutions have been incorporated into the AMA’s policy system and will ...
At the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, researchers reported encouraging results for several new drugs and treatment strategies for breast cancer. The ASCO Post brings you brief summaries of a select few. Abemaciclib Trial The cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor abemaciclib produced responses...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that it has selected nearly 200 physician group practices and 17 health insurance companies to participate in a care delivery model that supports and encourages higher quality and more coordinated cancer care. The Medicare arm of...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected Haakon Ragde, MD, as its 2016 Honorary Member, the highest honor ASTRO confers on distinguished cancer researchers, scientists, and leaders in disciplines other than radiation oncology, radiobiology, or radiation physics. Dr. Ragde...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has endorsed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the principal source of guidance on U.S. immunization policy. The ACS's...
Here are several abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, focusing on clinical trials on therapeutics in different types of leukemia, multiple myeloma, follicular lymphoma, and central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. For full details of these study abstracts, visit...
“This is a tremendous advance. If we had a drug that could achieve these results we would rush to use it. This is also personalized medicine that alerts the health-care team when symptoms need addressing. And it is very important that using the app led to appropriate use of scans and tests, which...
Web-based applications have invaded mainstream culture and grabbed the attention of multitudes of people around the world. According to a study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, an app may also contribute to extending the lives of people with cancer and, at the same time, reduce...
Isabelle Ray-Coquard, MD, PhD, of the Centre Leon Berard, Claude Bernard, and Professor at Claude Bernard University Lyon, France, was the study’s formal discussant. She noted the “great benefits” provided by hormonal therapy in terms of progression-free survival and, in the subset with no...
In patients with low-grade serous carcinoma, maintenance hormonal therapy reduced the risk of recurrence by 77%, compared with surveillance, in a retrospective cohort from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study was reported by David Marc Gershenson, MD, at the 2016 ASCO...
Sunil Verma, MD, Professor and Head of the Department of Oncology and Medical Director of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre of the University of Calgary in Canada, was the study’s formal discussant. He cited several limitations of the study: It was an open-label study, was initially a phase II study but ...
In the second-line metastatic breast cancer setting, the addition of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to trastuzumab (Herceptin)/capecitabine did not significantly improve progression-free survival, results of the phase III PHEREXA trial showed.1 This is the first randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of ...
The field of studies of combination immunotherapies is exploding, and “the future looks bright, with currently 71 trials of combination therapy in melanoma,” said formal discussant of these trials Marc S. Ernstoff, MD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York. “We now know that...
Two studies presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting focused on the use of combination immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma. Updated results from the phase III CheckMate 067 trial centered on the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) compared...
On March 11, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register to test a change in reimbursement for Part B drugs.1 The first phase involves changing the 6% add-on to the average sales price (ASP) used to make drug payments under Part B to...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schmitz et al have developed and validated a risk score for CNS relapse—the Central Nervous System International Prognostic Index (CNS-IPI)—in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with R-CHOP (rituximab [Rituxan]...
In February, after serving for a year as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco, Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, was named the agency’s Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Prior to his appointment at the FDA, Dr. Califf was the Donald F....