Results from the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011 trial, which found no benefit for completion axillary nodal dissection in patients with breast cancer involving one to two positive sentinel nodes,1 have led to changes in breast cancer management, though points of...
The fight against tobacco use among young people was accelerated recently by Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, with the release of the Surgeon General’s Report, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults. This report details the scope, health consequences, and influences that...
More than 80% of radiation oncologists discuss the impact of cancer treatments on fertility with their patients of childbearing age. This can lead to improved quality of life for young patients with cancer, according to a study in Practical Radiation Oncology.1 In the past, the clinical focus for...
The RAS oncogenes are the most frequently mutated class of oncogenes in human cancers, and this has prompted a search for Ras inhibitors to effectively treat tumors with these mutations. Despite intensive efforts, however, none has materialized clinically because K-Ras is proving to be a very...
The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z1031 trial examined the effect of neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy on clinical response and breast-conservation rates in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-rich stage II or III breast cancer. An update of the surgical...
May 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference May 3-5 • Brussels, Belgium For more information: www.esmo.org ONS 37th Annual Congress May 3-6 • New Orleans, Louisiana For more information: www.ons.org State of the Art Techniques in IMRT, IGRT, SBRT, Proton and Brachytherapy May 4-6 • Las Vegas, Nevada...
Ronald D. Alvarez, MD, Professor and Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was elected the 44th President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology at the society’s 43rd Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer held March 24-27, 2012, in Austin, Texas....
The American Society of Clinical Oncology has joined the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation and eight other medical specialty societies to take a collective stand in improving patient care and addressing rising health-care costs. As part of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely®...
MAY AUA Annual MeetingMay 19-23 • Atlanta, Georgia For more information: www.aua2012.org Keystone Symposia: The Role of Inflammation during CarcinogenesisMay 20-25 • Dublin, Ireland For more information: www.keystonesymposia.org JUNE Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Primer on Tumor Immunology...
Following recent clinical trial data from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment (EORTC) showing a survival benefit for patients with small kidney cancers treated with radical vs partial nephrectomy, an analysis using linked Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) and...
Immunotherapeutic approaches, including vaccines, a monoclonal antibody, and a combination of low-dose interleukin (IL)-2 (Proleukin) and retinoic acid, are showing some success in clinical trials investigating the prevention of breast cancer recurrence in women at high risk, the treatment of...
JUNE World Conference on Interventional OncologyJune 14-17 • Chicago, Illinois For more information: www.wcio2012.org Emerging Strategies in Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Head & Neck CancerJune 16 • Atlanta, Georgia For more information: http://cancernetus.com 8th Central European ...
Panobinostat produced objective responses in 27% and tumor reductions in 74% of 129 patients enrolled in “the largest, prospective, multicenter, international trial conducted in heavily pretreated patients” with Hodgkin lymphoma who relapsed or were refractory to autologous stem cell...
If, as expected, the cost of whole-genome sequencing continues to drop, perhaps down to the $1,000 vicinity, it may become an alluring option for consumers who want to know about their risks for cancer and other diseases. But can genome sequencing really provide practical information about...
The value of the targeted agent crizotinib (Xalkori) may not be restricted to the 5% of patients with non–small cell lung cancer who have abnormalities in the ALK gene. In a phase I study conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group consortium, crizotinib halted tumor growth and, in some cases,...
Onyx Pharmaceuticals recently announced that the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) determined by a vote of 11–0 (with 1 abstention) that, in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior lines of therapy that included a proteasome...
In the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, established older agents outperformed newer, more expensive drugs in two studies that made news at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. Microtubule Inhibitors In the phase III open-label CALBG 40502/NCCTG N063H trial of 799 chemotherapy-naive patients with...
July Pan Pacific Lymphoma ConferenceJuly 17-20 • Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii For more information: unmc.edu/panpacificlymphoma 13th International Lung Cancer CongressJuly 19-22 • Huntington Beach, California For more information: http://cancerlearning.onclive.com 5th Latin American Lung 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 April 2012, pazopanib (Votrient) was approved for the ...
Cabozantinib prolonged progression-free survival in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer with documented disease progression in the phase III EXAM trial. Based on these results, Exelixis submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA in May 2012. The...
PTEN acts as a tumor-suppressor gene through the action of its phosphatase protein product, which participates in regulation of the cell cycle to prevent too-rapid cell growth and division. Loss of PTEN function has been shown to increase PI3K/mTOR signaling, and preclinical data suggest that PTEN...
Molecular gene-expression profiling is an emerging technique to determine tissue of origin in patients with carcinoma of unknown primary, although the value of predictions from such profiling in improving treatment outcomes is unclear. In a prospective trial using tumor profiling results to direct...
A survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy has been reported for select elderly patients with stage III colon cancer, but many elderly patients are not candidates for or are not given adjuvant therapy due to comorbidities and fear of toxicity. In a recent Annals of Oncology article, van...
An update, with more than a 10-year median follow-up, from Intergroup 0116 (INT-0116), a randomized phase III trial of postoperative chemotherapy in patients at moderate risk of locoregional failure following curative gastric cancer resection, “demonstrates strong persistent benefit from adjuvant...
More than 1,400 people from 62 countries attended the 2012 Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) International Symposium on Supportive Care in Cancer, held in New York last June. One of the featured sessions, which was jointly...
Results of several long-running chemotherapy trials were reported at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting breast cancer oral session, reported in brief here. NSABP B-38 The final analysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-38 trial showed that the addition of gemcitabine...
Risk stratification and outcomes can be improved for women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), according to two studies presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. RTOG 9804 Findings from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9804 trial suggested that even for DCIS patients whose prognosis...
Agents with novel mechanisms of action may strongly impact outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), if data from early-phase studies presented at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting are any indication. There is a clear unmet need for more effective therapies...
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 July 2012, carfilzomib (Kyprolis) was granted...
September 1st Multidisciplinary Symposium: Molecular Oncology: From Laboratory Bench to MedicineSeptember 17-22 • Kyiv, Ukraine For more information: http://rmd.org.ua/en Cancer Vaccines: Advances in Design, Therapy and EfficacySeptember 19-20 • London, United Kingdom For more information:...
An article that appeared in the August 15 issue of The ASCO Post (“Rethinking the Role of PSA Screening in Public Health”) contains false statements about the discovery of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and its effectiveness as a test for early detection of prostate cancer. Contrary to what’s...
In August 2012, the antiangiogenic agent ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap) was approved for use in combination with FOLFIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan) for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer resistant to or progressing after an oxaliplatin-containing regimen.1,2 Approval was based on...
For any nonprofit cancer organization, a key challenge is how to balance the enormous task of supporting cancer patients with the latest information about current treatments while helping to advance the search for new breakthroughs in therapeutic options. For the past 6 years, the Kidney Cancer...
The tripartite motif family protein 27 (TRIM27) is a transcriptional repressor that reduces induction of cell senescence by retinoblastoma-associated protein (RB1). High levels of TRIM27 expression occur in several human cancers and have been associated with poor prognosis in breast and endometrial ...
Metronomic chemotherapy using a multidrug regimen appears beneficial and fairly well tolerated in patients with multiple myeloma that is highly refractory to previous treatments, investigators from the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy in Little Rock, Arkansas, reported.1 Their results...
Breast cancer survivors who engage in moderate to high levels of physical activity have reduced mortality and improved quality of life, according to recent studies. In addition, exercise may play a role in lowering the risk of breast cancer. “Physical activity can hasten recovery from the immediate ...
The FDA has approved bosutinib (Bosulif) to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The drug is intended for patients with chronic, accelerated, or blast phase Philadelphia chromosome–positive CML who are resistant to or who cannot tolerate other therapies, including imatinib (Gleevec). The...
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...
October 2012 14th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer SocietyOctober 13-16 • Vancouver, Canada For more information: www2.kenes.com/igcs2012/Pages/home.aspx 13th World Congress of the International Society for Diseases of the EsophagusOctober 15-17 • Venice, Italy For more...
A recently reported study finding that anticoagulants and particularly aspirin were associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer–specific mortality1 has the potential to generate a lot of questions because of the large number of patients potentially affected. As the study’s corresponding...
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....
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts recently proclaiming October 21 through October 27 as Male Breast Cancer Awareness Week in their respective states. With this proclamation, New Jersey and Massachusetts become the third and fourth states to recognize...
“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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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,...
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 ...