On April 4, 2016, The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced a Blue Ribbon Panel of scientific experts, cancer leaders, and patient advocates that will inform the scientific direction and goals at NCI of Vice President Joe Biden’s National...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fang et al found that lower vitamin D levels were associated with poorer outcome in patients with melanoma independent of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Study Details The study involved data from 1,042 prospectively observed patients with ...
In a small retrospective series, patients with metastatic breast cancer treated according to the receptor status of the primary tumor, not the metastatic one, had significantly longer median overall survival. The study was reported at the 2016 Miami Breast Cancer Conference by T. Allen Pannell, Jr, ...
In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a recommendation against routine screening for prostate cancer.1,2 The grade D recommendation was considered controversial at the time, and remains so now, because many stakeholders have weighed the same body of evidence and come to...
Kevin C. Oeffinger, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses American Cancer Society recommendations, including the advice that women with an average risk of breast cancer should undergo regular screening mammography starting at age 45, and that women 55 and older should have...
Toby C. Campbell, MD, of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, discusses palliative care, hospice care, and best supportive care practices, as well as the challenges of symptom management and end-of-life issues.
In preclinical studies, breast cancer cells became resistant to therapeutics targeting CDK4/6, such as palbociclib (Ibrance), in multiple ways. According to the research published by Herrera-Abreu et al in Cancer Research, different combinations of therapeutics might prevent and overcome the...
As summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post, Ivey and colleagues demonstrated that assessing for NPM1-mutated gene transcripts by reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay is a feasible approach for measuring minimal residual disease after acute myeloid leukemia (AML)...
Patients diagnosed with stage I to III rectal cancer at a younger age are at increased risk of having positive lymph nodes, according to an analysis of data published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “This finding merits further investigation and may ultimately impact treatment...
Many low- and middle-income countries do not have a defined medical specialty in surgical oncology, and lack an educational infrastructure to respond to the local burden of cancer, but a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) fellowship is succeeding in addressing this problem by training...
PILOT Study Title: Feasibility of Assessing Blood Pressure Remotely in Childhood Cancer Survivors (Pilot Study-Survivor) Study Type: Interventional/randomized/parallel assignment Study Sponsor and Collaborators: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Purpose: To evaluate a high blood pressure...
Wells Messersmith, MD, Professor and Head of Medical Oncology and Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program, University of Colorado, Denver, discussed the two studies. Closer Look at STEAM Dr. Messersmith said the FOLFOXIRI (fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, oxaliplatin, irinotecan) vs FOLFOX...
Two trials reported at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium evaluated bevacizumab (Avastin)-containing regimens in the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer and supported some, but not all, previous findings. The STEAM trial found some numerical differences but no...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Oncology Research Program (ORP), in collaboration with Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC), has awarded 10 grants for project proposals to develop and adopt evidence-based initiatives to improve patient care and outcomes in...
New data on molecular biomarkers in advanced prostate cancer are accumulating at a fast pace. The studies in this area can now be broadly grouped in two distinct areas—those that broadly relate to androgen signaling and those that relate to DNA-repair pathways. The Androgen-Signaling Pathway With...
“New!” “Improved!” “Throw out that old [fill in the blank] and go buy a new [fill in the blank]!” Sound familiar? The key to marketing is to convince customers that they need a product without which they had previously been quite happy. All too often, this strategy is accompanied by a caveat emptor ...
In a phase III trial (SWOG S9005) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 YongLi Ji, MD, PhD, and Claire Verschraegen, MD, of the University of Vermont Cancer Center; and colleagues found no benefit of treatment with the antiprogestin agent mifepristone vs placebo in patients with...
The role of advanced practitioners in oncology is growing as the demand for team-based care increases—and with that growth comes a need for training materials specifically tailored to this group. ASCO University®, ASCO’s home for lifelong learning, has collaborated with the Association of Physician ...
Earlier this month, experts from four major institutions issued the annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer (1975–2012). This year’s report showed that death rates continued to decline for all cancers combined, as well as for most cancer sites for men and women of all major racial and...
Venous thromboembolic events are more prevalent in patients with cancer than in persons without it. Cancer is associated with a high rate of venous thromboembolism recurrence, bleeding, requirement for long-term anticoagulation, and reduced quality of life. Moreover, thrombosis is the second most...
A randomized phase II study in symptomatic, untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) found an increased overall response rate with obinutuzumab (Gazyva) at a 2,000 mg vs 1,000 dose. In addition, the “data demonstrate that obinutuzumab produces a higher response rate in...
Here are several more abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, focusing on the topic of anticoagulation and the cancer patient. For other selected abstracts from this conference, see the December 25, 2015, and the...
Neurosurgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis used hyperthermic laser ablation to shrink tumors in patients with recurrent glioblastoma and noted a temporary disruption of the blood-brain barrier, thereby enabling them to deliver chemotherapy to the peritumoral region....
“We used to consider HER2-positive breast cancer one of the more aggressive forms of the disease. Now we have treatments based on HER2 expression that have dramatically altered the course of the disease for many patients,” said C. Kent Osborne, MD, who moderated the press conference where these...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (CCF) encourages grantees to share the results of their research to help advance progress against cancer. Publication in peer-reviewed journals is one of the most important ways for scientists to achieve recognition. That...
Although nevi are considered among the strongest risk factors for melanoma, most patients with melanoma had few total and no atypical nevi, according to a study of 566 patients with invasive cutaneous melanoma. “Three notable findings emerged from this case study,” Alan C. Geller, MPH, ...
In a subgroup analysis of the phase III RADIANT-4 trial, focusing on neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal origin, the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) essentially doubled the median progression-free survival time, compared with placebo, researchers reported at the 2016 Gastrointestinal...
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that light reflectance spectroscopy can differentiate between malignant and benign prostate tissue with 85% accuracy, a finding that may lead to real-time tissue analysis during prostate cancer surgery. These findings were reported...
As reported by Ronald C. Chen, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has endorsed, with qualifications, the 2015 Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) guideline on active surveillance for management of localized prostate cancer....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Burstein et al, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline update on ovarian suppression as part of the extant guideline on adjuvant endocrine therapy in hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. The update is based on an update panel...
Patients diagnosed with stage I to III rectal cancer at a younger age are at increased risk of having positive lymph nodes, according to an analysis of data published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “This finding merits further investigation and may ultimately impact treatment...
The use of dietary supplements by patients with cancer has increased significantly over the past 20 years 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 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has announced the addition of four new members: John W. Epling, Jr, MD, MSEd; Diane Medved Harper, MD, MPH, MS; C. Seth Landefeld, MD; and Carol M. Mangione, MD, MSPH. Like their fellow Task Force members, these experts in prevention and evidence-based...
“A missed opportunity” is how Susan Higginbotham, PhD, RD, Vice President for Research, American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), described the “failure” of updated dietary guidelines to recommend limiting consumption of red and processed meat. Doing so would have “the potential to save...
Here are several more abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, focusing on newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, and amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. For other selected abstracts...
On January 14, 2016, the Cancer Survivorship Symposium opened with An Evening for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers, an event featuring networking, a panel discussion, and an open forum to share the challenges of living with or after a cancer diagnosis. The audience included Symposium attendees as...
A randomized clinical trial examining the effect of a 15-week healthy living program on weight loss in cancer survivors showed a 5.3% decrease in baseline body weight in those participating in the program.1 “Cancer survivors randomized to a 15-week clinic-based weight-loss intervention lost an...
A study evaluating annual physical examination as a screening method to detect thyroid cancer in cancer survivors exposed to neck radiation has shown a substantial cost reduction compared with ultrasound screening, with no thyroid cancer–related mortality.1 According to the analysis, this method...
Although more people than ever before are surviving cancer—there are currently 14.5 million cancer survivors, and that number is expected to climb to 19 million by 20241—they often experience long-lasting physical, emotional, and financial concerns related to the disease. To address the unmet...
The United Kingdom’s phase II NEOSCOPE trial compared the toxicity and efficacy of two preoperative chemoradiation regimens—carboplatin/paclitaxel and oxaliplatin/capecitabine—and judged one to be the winner. “CarPacRT passed the prespecified efficacy criteria for taking forward to phase III, but...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and ASCO have issued a Breast Cancer Survivorship Care guideline, published jointly in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The guideline recommendations were formulated by a multidisciplinary expert work group and are based on...
An experimental nanoparticle therapy that combines low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and fish oil preferentially kills primary liver cancer cells without harming healthy cells, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report. The study was published by Wen et al in Gastroenterology. “This...
On January 28, 2016, ASCO released the following statement by ASCO President Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO: ASCO applauds President Obama for aligning the Administration’s full support behind Vice President Biden’s “moonshot” initiative to accelerate the discovery of new cancer treatments, as...
Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, was named a recipient of the 2016 Wolf Prize in Medicine, considered “Israel’s Nobel Prize.” The Wolf Foundation announced the 2016 winners. The seven winners share $100,000 awards in five...
James K.V. Willson, MD, Associate Dean of Oncology Programs and Professor and Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center, has been named Chief Scientific Officer of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas...
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. On December 18, 2015, approval of the programmed cell death...
These data will help us personalize treatment for our patients. We still don’t know which women with a favorable cancer like ductal carcinoma in situ are most likely to progress. This is an unmet need,” said C. Kent Osborne, MD, Director of the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of...
In screening for breast cancer, results from a study in the United Kingdom suggest that the use of “synthetic” two-dimensional (2D) mammography, rather than 2D/three-dimensional (3D) combinations, could save radiologists’ time and patients’ exposure to radiation as well as result in many fewer...
The 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research, the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, and Baylor College of Medicine, was held in December 2015. As has been true for...
Late in 2015, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the label for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a humanized antibody, to include the initial treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Previously, pembrolizumab had received accelerated approval in patients with...