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Showing 25851 - 25900Integrative Oncology: Essential to Cancer Care
During the 1960s and 1970s, the concept of an expanded approach to oncologic treatment encompassing “body, mind, and spirit” grew in patient popularity and morphed into two basic categories: “alternative” and “complementary” therapies. Together, these later became known by the acronym CAM, for...
Ruxolitinib for Myelofibrosis Therapy: A Good Start but a Long Road Ahead
Following a priority review process for orphan diseases, ruxolitinb (Jakafi) recently became the first drug to receive FDA approval for the treatment of intermediate- and high-risk myelofibrosis. Discovery in 2004 of the JAK2V617F mutation in a significant proportion of patients with...
BOLERO-2: Everolimus Thwarts Resistance to Hormonal Therapy in Advanced Breast Cancer
Adding an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) to hormonal therapy for advanced breast cancer effectively circumvents resistance, suggest updated results of the randomized BOLERO-2 trial. With a median follow-up of 12.5 months, the likelihood of disease progression or death among...
Don’t Take Away Our Hope
After experiencing the loss of my wife Dina’s first pregnancy during her second trimester, we naturally worried that something would go wrong when she became pregnant again. But when our son Will was delivered at full term, we thought we could finally relax. Born at a whopping 10 lb, Will seemed...
Chemoradiotherapy for Early-stage Nasopharyngeal Disease
Adding chemotherapy to radiotherapy resulted in statistically significantly higher 5‑year overall, progression-free, and distant metastasis-free survival among patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a phase III randomized trial. Adding cisplatin-based chemotherapy to radiotherapy...
Everolimus for Tumors Associated with Carcinoid Syndrome
The combination of everolimus (Afinitor) plus octreotide (Sandostatin) long-acting repeatable (LAR) formulation improved progression-free survival by 23% over placebo plus octreotide LAR in a randomized phase III study of patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors associated with carcinoid...
Adding Alemtuzumab to Fludarabine in CLL
In a randomized phase III trial among previously treated patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the combination of alemtuzumab (Campath) plus fludarabine resulted in significant improvements in progression-free survival, complete response rate, and overall survival ...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Awards Oncology Fellows for GI Cancer Research
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Merit Awards will be presented to 20 leading oncology trainees for their important contributions to gastrointestinal cancer research. This year’s recipients will be recognized at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, which takes place January 19-21 in...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
The current lack of awareness about the high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among people being treated for cancer as outpatients means “there’s a great role for provider education,” Alok Khorana, MD, told The ASCO Post. Here are Dr. Khorana’s answers to some likely questions from patients....
SIDEBAR: Clinical Trials of VTE Prophylaxis for Outpatients
Several studies are investigating low-molecular-weight heparins to reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among patients with cancer. “I enrolled patients in SAVE-ONCO,” Alok Khorana, MD, said, “but that trial used drug called semuloparin, which is not currently available in the United...
Outpatients Need to Be Aware of High Risk of Developing Venous Thromboembolism
Most patients who develop venous thromboembolisms (VTE) while being treated for cancer, do so as outpatients, according to results of a retrospective, observational study comparing the incidence of VTE among inpatients and outpatients with cancer. Yet many outpatients do not even realize that they...
Studies Reveal that Hormonal Factors Influence Lung Cancer Risk in Women
In an effort to understand lung cancer risk factors and develop prevention strategies for the disease, Christina S. Baik, MD, MPH, thoracic oncologist and staff scientist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has examined epidemiologic trends in lung...
2012 Oncology Meetings
JANUARY 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers SymposiumJanuary 19-21 • San Francisco, California For more information: www.asco.org Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer SymposiumJanuary 26-28 • Phoenia, Arizona For more information: http://headandnecksymposium.org FEBRUARY American Society for Blood...
First Genomic-based Pediatric Trials Launched in Neuroblastoma
Last November, Dell announced it was donating an initial $4 million including cloud-computing technology to speed up development of personalized medicine trials for children with neuroblastoma and other pediatric cancers. According to the American Cancer Society, about 650 children under the age of ...
Shortening the Learning Curve of the U.S. Health-care System
If we are able to harness the full potential of digital technologies, computerized registries, databases, and the Web, could we solve many of the current woes of our sluggish and costly health-care system? Yes, according to Lynn Etheredge, a consultant with the Rapid Learning Project at the George...
Expert Point of View: Therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma in the Elderly Remains Undefined
Elderly Hodgkin lymphoma, typically defined as affecting individuals ≥ 60 years of age, remains a disease for which no standard treatment recommendation exists. This population is underrepresented in clinical studies, and survival rates in older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are significantly and ...
Therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma in the Elderly Remains Undefined
At the 2011 Pan-Pacific Lymphoma Conference held recently in Kauai, Hawaii, Andrew M. Evens, DO, MSc, Director of the Lymphoma Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, discussed Hodgkin lymphoma in elderly patients. Event-free survival and overall survival rates in...
Advances in Gynecologic Cancer Surgery Continue to Improve Outcomes
Over the past several decades, advances in chemotherapy and surgery have begun to translate into improved survival in gynecologic malignancies. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Ginger Gardner, MD, a surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who specializes in the management...
What You Should Know about Denosumab (Prolia) for Increasing Bone Mass during Breast and Prostate Cancer 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. Indications In September 2011, the monoclonal antibody RANKL...
Expert Point of View: European Perspective
ECCO President Michael Baumann, MD, said that the findings on changes in receptor status throughout breast cancer progression were of major importance, “because many patients do not receive optimal treatment for their disease. The price of regular biopsies may seem high, but in the long run they...
Expert Point of View: U.S. Perspective
“The practice of rebiopsy at relapse and metastasis is becoming increasingly common in the United States,” said Hope Rugo, MD, Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. “More than 20% of patients have differing results from the primary tumor to rebiopsy at disease progression. It ...
Changes in Receptor Status during Breast Cancer Progression Warrant Rebiopsies at Relapse and Metastasis
Oncologists should be aware that common clinical tumor markers (denoting hormonal and HER2 status) change as breast cancer progresses, because these changes can affect treatment selection. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 receptor status was changed from the time of the...
Single-agent Lapatinib Arm Discontinued in ALTTO
The Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization (ALTTO) study, which is evaluating various anti-HER2 therapy approaches in breast cancer, has discontinued the single-agent lapatinib (Tykerb) arm, according to study sponsor GlaxoSmithKline. Following a preplanned interim analysis...
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy or Surgery First: Outcome Not Affected
Chemotherapy can be delivered before breast-conserving therapy or after surgery, without influencing long-term local-regional recurrence, a large study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center confirmed. The data were presented at the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium in San Francisco.1 “A ...
JOP Content Now Available Online before Print
Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) recently began publishing the majority of its articles online ahead of print. This exciting initiative benefits both JOP’s authors and readers by making practice-changing content readily available online in a timely manner. With the launch of the...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Grantees Advance Cancer Care
Each year, the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO funds Young Investigator Awards (YIAs) and Career Development Awards (CDAs). These research grants provide start-up funding for young physician-scientists as they embark on cancer research careers. Clearly, the programs are working: Six of the top...
Give Your Patients the Latest GI Research News
On January 19, direct your patients to www.cancer.net/gisymposium, where they can get up-to-the-minute research highlights from the 3-day 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Also, your patients can listen to a podcast of the symposium highlights online or download it free of charge at...
Renewing Our Commitment to Conquering Cancer
Congress passed a resolution in December recognizing the 40th anniversary of the National Cancer Act of 1971 and the more than 12 million cancer survivors who are alive as a result of the nation’s commitment to cancer research and advances in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment....
Joining ASCO’s ACT Network Offers Variety of Advocacy Opportunities
Are you looking for ways to discuss the issues that impact the oncology community with members of Congress? Doing so is easier than you think. ASCO’s ACT Network provides many different opportunities to contact your policymakers, including the ability to draft your own message to your member of...
ASCO Launches FASCO Designation
ASCO has announced the designation of Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, otherwise known as FASCO. Formerly called the ASCO Statesman Award and launched in 2007, the distinction is designed to honor ASCO’s most active volunteer members. “The FASCO status represents recognition for ...
Acupuncture Continues to Secure Position within Integrative Oncology
More than 14 years after an NIH Consensus Panel finding of “efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting,” an informal show-of-hands poll at the Eighth International Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Conference indicated acupuncture was not yet fully...
NIH Director Calls for Rigorous Evaluation of Integrative Medicine to Provide Evidence of Efficacy
“Many new frontiers exist in integrative medicine,” NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, stated in his keynote address at the Eighth International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) in Cleveland. “The evidence is overwhelming that these approaches are being used by many...
‘New Science, New Solutions’ Explored at Society for Integrative Oncology Conference
“Innovating Integrative Oncology: New Science, New Solutions” was the title of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Eighth International Conference. Topics ranged from molecular biology to mitigation of treatment toxicity to mind-body medicine. A total of 505 people attended the conference,...
Estrogen for Vulvovaginal Atrophy in Breast Cancer: Debate Continues
Vulvovaginal atrophy is a concern for the majority of patients with breast cancer, not only because of its physical and psychosexual consequences, but because the optimal treatment—estrogen replacement—is controversial. Patients and physicians alike remain concerned that external estradiol may...
Expert Point of View: Sipuleucel-T Should Be Used Early in Metastatic Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer, before Chemotherapy
“The main message [from Dr. Hall’s presentation at the 2011 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium] is that we need to think about using sipuleucel-T early in men with prostate cancer who are asymptomatic but are castration-resistant and metastatic. “If there is going to be a benefit [of the vaccine],...
Sipuleucel-T Should Be Used Early in Metastatic Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer, before Chemotherapy
When sipuleucel-T (Provenge) was approved by FDA in April 2010, it was the first vaccine to be approved as a treatment for prostate cancer and was hailed as a major advance. Although sipuleucel-T is now reimbursable by Medicare, some physicians are not clear about when to use it, and patients who...
Data on Watchful Waiting for Low-risk Prostate Cancer May Swing Focus to Higher-risk Tumors and Quality of Life
Surgery did not increase survival rates compared to watchful waiting in men with clinically localized prostate cancer. Results were particularly strong for men with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of 10 ng/dL and under, and those who have low-risk disease, according to data from the Prostate ...
NIH Panel Endorses Active Surveillance in Low-risk Prostate Cancer
Active surveillance of localized prostate cancer is a viable management option that should be offered to low-risk patients in place of immediate treatment, said a panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health. A fairly new concept, active surveillance takes a more proactive...
Package Inserts Revised for IV Methotrexate Products
The FDA has approved changes to the package inserts for methotrexate products for intravenous administration. Additional information regarding concomitant proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy has been added to the Warning section of the label. Specifically, the new text includes the following...
Investigational New Drug Application Filed for ONT-10
Oncothyreon Inc announced the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA for ONT-10, a therapeutic vaccine directed at cancers expressing MUC1. Upon completion of the FDA’s review of the IND, Oncothyreon expects to initiate a phase I trial. ONT-10 is a therapeutic vaccine...
New System for Cervical Cancer Screening Approved
Hologic announced that the FDA has approved its Cervista HTA (high throughput automation) system for use with its previously approved Cervista human papillomavirus (HPV) HR test. The Company’s Cervista HTA system automates the DNA extraction and detection steps of the Hologic Cervista HPV HR test,...
ODAC Backs Axitinib for Kidney Cancer
The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13-0 that Pfizer’s drug axitinib (Inlyta) had a favorable benefit-risk profile for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma after initial treatment has failed. The FDA is due to make a final decision in the first half of 2012. Panelists said the ...
Further Individualizing Staging Offers Benefits in Patients with Colon Cancer
Supplementing the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM classification system with additional information available from tumor registries can assist in personalizing treatment and follow-up care for patients with colon cancer, according to a collaborative study by investigators at Memorial...
Resection of Metastatic Lesions Extends Survival in Multiple Tumor Types
Surgical oncologists urged other cancer providers to appreciate the potentially curative role that surgery can play in the management of many stage IV solid tumors, in a session during the American College of Surgeons 97th Annual Clinical Congress in San Francisco. Pulmonary Metastases Stephen G....
Oncology Research a Strong Presence at the American College of Surgeons Meeting: New Data in Pancreatic, Rectal, Thyroid, and Breast Cancers
Research in cancer staging, surgical procedures, outcomes, and medical treatment was included among the 2,000 abstracts presented at the 97th Annual American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in San Francisco. The ASCO Post was there to capture the latest findings. Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in...
Gene Classifier Spots Different Recurrence Patterns in Patients with ER-positive Breast Cancer
A new gene classifier differentiates between women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer who go on to develop metastases early vs late, possibly paving the way for tailored adjuvant therapy. Using pretreatment tumor biopsies, a team led by Minetta C. Liu, MD, of the Georgetown...
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Thin Melanomas?
When sentinel lymph node biopsy for the regional staging of melanoma was first introduced, it was recommended for any patient with a melanoma 1.0 mm in Breslow thickness or greater. Patients with thin melanomas were not thought to have a sufficiently high risk to warrant the additional cost and...
SIDEBAR: Bevacizumab in Breast Cancer: Additional Perspective
A recent poll by MDoutlook1 concluded that payer coverage would have a significant role in bevacizumab’s use in metastatic breast cancer. Usage of the drug could be cut by two-thirds in the United States and by one-third outside the United States. The NCCN has kept its recommendation of bevacizumab ...
Bevacizumab Breast Cancer Indication Rescinded: What Are the Downstream Implications?
Leading up to FDA’s resolution to revoke the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin), the debate over the drug’s clinical value was imbued with contentious ideologic overtones, which culminated in a 2-day public hearing that exposed deep divisions not only in the scientific community,...
Favorable Early-stage Hodgkin Lymphoma and HD.6: The Take-Home and Don’t–Take-Home Messages
The Canadian HD.6 randomized study in patients with nonbulky early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma is mostly of historic interest.1,2 It has little relevance to current treatment standards or questions, and the risk for its inappropriate interpretation is of great concern. Radical Radiation Approach Long...
