Neal J. Meropol, MD, Chief of Hematology and Oncology at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, commented that the quality of the data on ramucirumab is “very high,” and therefore, “we can believe these results.” The magnitude of the benefit,...
In gastric cancer, the concept of targeted therapy assumed clinical significance when the addition of trastuzumab (Herceptin) to chemotherapy improved survival by almost 3 months in the ToGA trial.1 Another anti-HER2 agent, lapatinib (Tykerb), now looks promising, as does an agent targeting the...
Formal discussant William K. Oh, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Professor of Medicine and Urology, and the Ezra M. Greenspan, MD, Professor in Clinical Cancer Therapeutics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, was not convinced that corticosteroids...
A post hoc analysis of the AFFIRM trial found that on-study use of corticosteroids led to worse outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer regardless of whether patients were randomly assigned to enzalutamide (Xtandi) or placebo.1 On-study corticosteroid use was associated with...
“The durability of PSA response is encouraging [with ARN-509], as is the toxicity data, but these are relatively asymptomatic patients,” said formal discussant William Oh, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Professor of Medicine and Urology, and the Ezra M. Greenspan, MD, ...
Preliminary results of a phase II study suggest that a novel antiandrogen called ARN-509 is safe, well tolerated, and has promising activity in high-risk nonmetastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. ARN-509 is a novel, second-generation, oral antiandrogen that binds directly to the...
Now there are mature data from three trials comparing adjuvant radiotherapy vs a wait-and see approach in men following radical prostatectomy, said formal discussant Anthony D’Amico, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Despite...
Extended follow-up of the German ARO 96-02 trial shows that adjuvant radiotherapy reduces the risk of biochemical failure in men whose prostate cancer extends through the prostate capsule (stage T3), compared with a wait-and-see approach, after radical prostatectomy. Adjuvant radiotherapy reduced...
The FDA approved the antibodydrug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), referred to as T-DM1 during clinical research, for patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer who were previously treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and taxane chemotherapy. Ado-trastuzumab emtansine was...
After six recurrences of colorectal cancer, the chances it will recur again are high. But if I concentrate on that, I couldn’t live my life. In retrospect, I should have paid attention sooner to the abdominal pain I was experiencing and not dismiss it as a simple case of gas. But at age 47 and with ...
In June, Clifford A. Hudis, MD, Chief of the Breast Cancer Medicine Service and Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Professor in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, will begin his term as President of ASCO. Among Dr. Hudis’ priorities will be...
Robert A. Wolff, MD, Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, observed, “The bevacizumab seemed to leverage the capecitabine with a magnitude of benefit that is very reminiscent of the initial trials with...
In elderly patients with treatment-naive metastatic colorectal cancer, a trend toward a survival benefit was observed for bevacizumab (Avastin) plus capecitabine (Xeloda) in the international phase III AVEX trial, which was presented at the 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium by David...
Maintenance therapy with thalidomide (Thalomid) and prednisone after autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma improved progression-free survival but not overall survival, according to results of a phase III trial reported in Blood. Patients receiving maintenance...
An updated and modified lung-cancer risk-prediction model developed from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial “was more sensitive” for lung cancer detection than criteria from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST), according to a study in TheNew...
Two recent studies in the Journal of Clinical Oncology focused on treatment strategies to preserve the larynx while increasing survival of patients with cancer of larynx. RTOG 91-11 Ten-year results from the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 91-11 trial found that both chemotherapy regimens...
The American Association for Cancer Research recently released its second Annual Report on Cancer Survivorship in the United States. The report shows that as of January 2012, there were approximately 13.7 million cancer survivors in the United States, a number that is expected to rise by 31% to 18...
Dietary supplement use by patients with cancer has increased significantly over the past 2 decades despite insufficient evidence of safety and effectiveness. Finding reliable sources of information about dietary supplements can be daunting. Patients typically rely on family, friends, and the...
The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) will be holding its 10th International Conference in Vancouver, Canada, from Sunday, October 20, 2013 to Tuesday, October 22, 2013. This year’s SIO theme: “From bedside, to bench, to best practices.” The conference will include keynote speakers, plenary...
The “About Herbs” site (http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/about-herbs-botanicals-other-products) provides objective information for oncologists and health-care professionals, including a clinical summary for each agent and details about constituents, adverse effects,...
Over the past decade, integrative oncology has gained wide acceptance as an evidenced-based way to improve the lives of patients with cancer throughout the continuum of their care. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Barrie R. Cassileth, MS, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and Laurance ...
The ASCO Post is an outstanding publication that I always look forward to reading. I also understand there are policies and rules to be followed, particularly regarding conflicts of interest and disclosures from contributors. I am writing in regard to “Cancer Has Made Me A Better Doctor,” by David...
In looking at a recent issue of The ASCO Post, I noted that expert opinions from specialists were published alongside a number of clinical reports. Below each opinion was a disclosure statement, often saying that the expert had no conflict of interest to report. While I do not know each of these...
I read with great interest Dr. Richard Boxer’s editorial on accountable care organizations in the January 15 issue of The ASCO Post. Much of what he says is unfortunately true. There are several points that I would like to make, however. First of all, Dr. Boxer states that the “principle that...
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a registered 501(c)(3) charity, is furthering its commitment to finding cures for all children with cancer by introducing the ALSF Centers of Excellence program. The Centers of Excellence program aims to fund the research of leading childhood cancer...
Founded on September 1, 1992, by John M. Rainey, MD, the Louisiana Oncology Society has had numerous legislative successes (see sidebar) since that time, including leading the effort to support Louisiana’s Oral Chemotherapy Parity Law, which was passed in 2012 and is now in effect throughout the...
Renowned scientist Ramon E. Parsons, MD, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Dr. Parsons is a researcher in cancer genetics and will bring an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to Mount Sinai’s research...
Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of adult kidney cancer and the third most common urologic malignancy, accounting for about 2% of all malignancies and 2% of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It is also one of the most difficult cancers to detect and treat because it is usually found...
Recently reported data from the Prostate Cancer Outcome Study (PCOS) can “serve as a tool for a medical oncologist, a urologic oncologist, or a radiation oncologist to say, ‘Here is what could happen on average at 2, 5, 15 years after treatment with either surgery or radiation,’” according to the...
Fifteen years after being treated with radical prostatectomy or external-beam radiation for localized prostate cancer, “the prevalence of erectile dysfunction was nearly universal,” among men enrolled in a long-term functional outcomes analysis of the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study (PCOS). There...
Over the past few decades, radiation therapies have rapidly advanced, due, in large part, to an increasing technologic armamentarium. Among modern science’s most impressive machines, for example, 220-ton particle accelerators can generate near-light-speed beams of protons, with sniper-like...
Holly Goe, RN, MSN, has been named Vice President of Indiana University Health Cancer Centers, Indianapolis. She has been serving as interim Vice President since October after being named the program’s Executive Director for Clinical Operations last April. Before joining IU Health in April 2012,...
Women are 30% less likely to die of ovarian cancer if they have guideline-recommended treatment, yet nearly two-thirds of those with the disease do not receive it, often because they are cared for at hospitals that treat a small number of ovarian cancer patients. These are the findings of a study...
Patients with advanced ovarian cancer who undergo intensive treatment with chemotherapy that bathes the abdomen are significantly more likely to live longer than those who receive standard intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, according to a study that analyzed long-term follow-up from two landmark...
April IV Latin American Symposium of Gastroenterology OncologyApril 17-20 • Vina del Mar, ChileFor more information: www.slago.com 3rd ITLT Essen 2013 - Interdisciplinary Treatment of Liver TumorsApril 18-20 • Essen, GermanyFor more information: www.itlt.org The Arizona Clinical Oncology Society...
Early detection of renal cell carcinoma using biomarkers remains challenging. Kim and colleagues recently evaluated a three-marker assay consisting of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), L-plastin (LCP1), and nonmetastatic cells 1 protein (NM23A). After validation of the three-marker assay in...
Colorectal cancer that is microsatellite stable but chromosomally unstable is characterized by poor prognosis and remains largely intractable at the metastatic stage. Mutational analysis has shown that the mixed lineage kinase 4 (MLK4) protein kinase is frequently mutated in microsatellite-stable...
Dysregulation of TGF-β signaling promotes tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, and a potent immunosuppressive network in pancreas cancer. A strategy for disrupting the tumor-promoting pathway is the silencing of TGF-β by use of small-interfering (si) RNA. Ellermeier and colleagues found that the...
Breast cancer deaths have declined over the past 2 decades, with approximately half of the decrease estimated to be due to advances in early detection and treatment. However, not all racial groups have benefited equally from these advances. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and...
Jonathan Friedberg, MD, MMSc, has been appointed Director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. Dr. Friedberg joined the Medical Center in 2002 and was named Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine in 2009. ...
Menarche and menopause mark the onset and offset of ovarian and endocrine activity associated with reproduction, and early menarche and late menopause are known to increase risk of breast cancer. In a recent Lancet Oncology article, the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer...
Results of the election of new officers and trustees (2013–2014) for the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) were announced recently at the ACCC Annual National Meeting. First Nonphysician ACCC President Elected Virginia Vaitones, MSW, became ACCC President at the 39th Annual National...
The authors are to be congratulated for successfully conducting a randomized study of FLAG (fludarabine, cytarabine, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [Neupogen]) vs FLAG plus liposomal daunorubicin (DaunoXome) in relapsed pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The difficulty in conducting ...
Optimal reinduction therapy for patients with relapsed pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains undefined. Liposomal daunorubicin (DaunoXome), which offers the potential for reduced cardiotoxicity compared with traditional daunorubicin, is effective in this setting. Gertjan J.L. Kaspers, MD,...
It is clear from our study, and other studies examining mind-body interventions in patients with cancer, that it is important for patients to consider participating in some kind of program to manage their stress and improve their quality of life. This is particularly true for patients who are...
Qigong (“qi” or “chi” = energy flow, “gong” = skill or achievement) is an integrated mind-body exercise and meditative practice that involves rhythmic breathing coordinated with repetition of fluid movements and calm focus on the body. A study reported in Cancer by Zhen Chen, MD, and colleagues...
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reported that group therapy sessions may help patients cope with mesothelioma. Their two-part pilot study, which began recruitment in May 2011, is examining the emotional burden of the cancer and offers discussion groups as a source of...
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reported that a new behavioral tapering intervention combined with cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy did not affect short- and long-term abstinence rates compared to cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy alone among smokers newly...
Researchers at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, have been studying the effects of breast cancer on young women, particularly ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic populations. They have found that young women are increasingly being diagnosed with breast cancer, yet...
This poster by Ms. Zadeh and colleagues was one of two tied for the Best Program award, presented by the APOS Scientific Program Committee at the Annual Meeting. The two award-winning posters were: Helping Providers to Help Adolescents and Young Adults be Involved in End-of-life Care: The...