Enzalutamide (Xtandi) monotherapy induced striking declines in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a majority of patients with hormone-naive prostate cancer in a phase II trial, and this oral agent appears to have little effect on bone mineral density. If these findings are confirmed in a phase III...
Follicular lymphoma is the second most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the United States. Of the nearly 70,000 new cases of NHL anticipated in 2013,1 approximately 7,000 to 13,000 (10%–19%) will be follicular lymphoma, by recent estimates.2-5 For many years, the median overall...
A workforce shortage of geriatricians and other health professionals certified in caring for older patients with cancer is colliding with the aging of the population and the increasing number of older Americans with cancer. After describing factors contributing to these dual challenges, Arti...
Hedy Lee Kindler, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, the invited discussant of three of these presentations, emphasized the persistent lethality of advanced pancreatic cancer. She predicted that within this decade, pancreatic cancer will become the second leading...
The challenge of treating pancreatic cancer inched forward with studies reported at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting, though some important studies proved disappointing. Nab-paclitaxel Improves Overall Survival In treatment-naive metastatic patients, the addition of nanoparticle albumin-bound...
Joseph M. Connors, MD, authored a commentary in the June 25 issue of The ASCO Post inspired by a recent New England Journal of Medicine publication on dose-adjusted EPOCH-R chemotherapy (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab) for primary mediastinal B-cell ...
My feature interview in the August 15, 2012, issue of The ASCO Post, entitled “Rethinking the Role of PSA Screening in Public Health”1 drew swift reaction from well-known figures in the prostate cancer field. The subsequent Letters to the Editor, three in all, constituted a two-pronged attack. They ...
I am the Outreach Administrator/Newsletter Editor at Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC). SPOHNC is a national nonprofit organization involved in the development of support programs. As such, it can have an enormous positive impact on meeting the psychosocial needs of...
All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus arsenic trioxide bested the already high remission rates achieved by ATRA with chemotherapy, the standard of care for acute promyelocytic leukemia, in a phase III multicenter trial among patients with low-to-intermediate risk acute promyelocytic leukemia....
“Ridaforolimus delayed tumor progression to a small statistically significant degree in patients with metastatic sarcoma who experienced benefit with prior chemotherapy,” according to results of an international phase III trial. The large randomized placebo-controlled phase III trial evaluated the...
Lambrolizumab produced a high rate of sustained tumor regression when tested among 135 patients with advanced melanoma in a multi-institutional, international, phase I expansion study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. At a median follow-up of 11 months, responses were durable in the...
The use of androgen deprivation therapy was significantly associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury among men with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic prostate cancer, according to a study published in JAMA. The study was motivated by the increasing use of androgen deprivation therapy in...
Long-term follow-up of Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) trial 9343 confirmed and extended 5-year results that in women age ≥ 70 years with clinical stage I, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer treated with lumpectomy followed by tamoxifen, “irradiation adds no significant benefit in...
Adding cetuximab (Erbitux) to cisplatin doubled the overall response rate and appeared to prolong progression-free and overall survival in a randomized phase II study among patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Although the trial did not meet its primary endpoint of overall...
Results from an international collaborative study showed that women with primary breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy had overall survival similar to nonpregnant patients. Reporting their findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the authors concluded: “This information is important when...
In 1979, when I was just 35 years old, I started experiencing abnormal vaginal bleeding and lower back pain. When a Pap test came back normal, the gynecologist I saw said not to worry about anything, that I was fine. But I wasn’t fine. My symptoms quickly escalated, and I sought the opinion of...
Doctors at Cornell University Hospital for Animals in Ithaca, New York, reported what they believe may be the first case of a pig being treated for lymphoma. The animal was described as a 730-pound black-and-white Hampshire pig that was diagnosed with presumptive B-cell lymphoma. The 4-year-old...
An educator and scientist for over 30 years, David Sadava, PhD, became interested in the science of cancer while on sabbatical from Claremont Colleges, where he was teaching courses in molecular biology and biotechnology, and went to the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, California, to study...
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has been chosen to guide the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University as it establishes its own medical school, which aims to educate physician-scientists to become the nation’s next leaders in health care, medical education and biomedical...
An “alarming difference” in survival outcomes between young, non-Hispanic white males and females with primary invasive melanoma (see accompanying article) is one of several skin cancer–related study findings in the news this summer. Other studies have concerned the rising rates of melanoma among...
Consistent use of sunscreen is one of the key messages of SUNSPORT (Stanford University Network for Sun Protection, Organization, Research, and Teamwork). The program is geared towards reducing sun exposure among students playing in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) sports. “The...
An “alarming difference” in survival outcomes between young, non-Hispanic white males and females with primary invasive melanoma “highlights the urgent need for both behavioral interventions to promote early detection strategies in young men and further investigation of the biological basis for the ...
The addition of tomosynthesis to standard digital mammography resulted in a 30% reduction in overall recall rates among women being screened for breast cancer, according to a new study published online in Radiology.1 The results demonstrate that digital tomosynthesis is an effective tool in...
Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California, recently named Christine R. Carico the 2013 recipient of the Medical Center’s Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Gifted Scholars Program in Neuroscience award. Ms. Carico will spend the next year researching brain disorders like the one that took the life ...
Looking over his 5 decades in clinical oncology and research, Joseph R. Bertino, MD, says his greatest professional satisfaction comes from seeing his former students and oncology fellows go on to achieve great success in their own medical and research careers. It is a fitting sentiment since Dr....
August Hematology and Medical Oncology Best PracticesAugust 15-22 • Arlington, VirginiaFor more information: www.gwumc.edu/cehp/hemoncbestpractices/ Best of ASCO® Los AngelesAugust 16-17 • Los Angeles, CaliforniaFor more information: boa.asco.org ISEH – Society for Hematology and Stem Cells 42nd...
Benedick Fraass, PhD, FAAPM, FASTRO, FACR, has received the William D. Coolidge Award from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine for his distinguished career achievements in medical physics, including his pioneering work in radiation oncology. “The William D. Coolidge Award credits...
Richard I. Fisher, MD, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Fisher will also hold the title of Cancer Center Director of Fox Chase, serving as the Principal Investigator on the Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer...
The FDA recently issued a warning that acetaminophen has been associated with a risk of rare but serious skin reactions. These skin reactions, known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, can be fatal. Serious Adverse Reactions FDA ...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society recently announced the appointment of Rosemarie Loffredo as its new Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer. In this newly created role, Ms. Loffredo will help ensure the Society achieves the goals of its long-range strategic plan. She will lead ...
This October for 3 full days (October 20–22) in Vancouver, Canada, oncologists, scientists, and other oncology health professionals will gather for the Society for Integrative Oncology Annual Meeting. This year’s conference theme is Translational Science in Integrative Oncology: From Bedside, to...
Michael A. Carducci, MD, Professor of Oncology and Urology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore was recently selected as Associate Director for Clinical Research. In this role, Dr. Carducci will facilitate clinical research activities as well as oversee...
The National Institutes of Health will fund up to $24 million per year for 4 years to establish six to eight investigator-initiated Big Data to Knowledge Centers of Excellence. The centers will improve the ability of the research community to use increasingly large and complex datasets through the...
The most recent figures from the National Cancer Institute put the number of cancer survivors in the United States at nearly 14 million—by 2022, that number is expected to top 18 million. And for the vast majority of those survivors—more than 80%—returning to work after treatment is a top priority...
Since the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement in 1997 concluded that the evidence to date suggests acupuncture is effective in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting,1 numerous additional indications for its use in relieving symptoms related to cancer or its...
Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Barrie R. Cassileth, MS, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center...
David Penson, MD, MPH, Professor of Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, has received a $2 million research award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to study localized prostate cancer. Dr. Penson is also Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Surgical ...
It is imperative that [Commission on Cancer]-accredited programs adopt a universal definition of distress. We concur with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network definition of distress as an “unpleasant emotional experience of a psychological (cognitive, behavioral, emotional), social, and/or...
In 2015, the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) will require cancer centers to implement screening programs for psychosocial distress as a new criterion for accreditation. The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) recently announced recommendations to support a...
About 70,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year, and in the past 30 years, there has been little or no improvement in survival in this population. In addition to the disease itself, they face many other challenges: reentry into...
Applicable manufacturers are required to report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services the following types of payment: Consulting fees Compensation for services other than consulting, including serving as faculty or as a speaker at an event other than a continuing education program ...
The Sunshine Act calls for disclosure by manufacturers of payments to “covered recipients.” A covered recipient is a teaching hospital or any physician who is currently licensed and legally authorized to practice, except for a physician who is an employee of the applicable manufacturer that is...
Applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations must begin data collection in connection with the requirements of the Sunshine Act on August 1, 2013. The first reports must be filed with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) by March 31, 2014. CMS will release the...
Signed into law on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act represents the most significant overhaul of the U.S. health-care system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Because of the law’s sheer scope, parts of it still remain obfuscated by its 2,400 or so...
Now in its fifth year, the West Virginia Oncology Society (WVOS) is already having a major impact on cancer care in the state. In 2010, a joint initiative to develop a statewide cancer clinical trials network was launched by WVOS and the West Virginia University Cancer Center. With funding support...
In the phase III PARAMOUNT trial, pemetrexed (Alimta) continuation maintenance therapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 38% compared with placebo after pemetrexed/cisplatin induction in patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Final overall...
EGFR mutation status may not be known at the time treatment is started in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Further, some data suggest that the efficacy of concurrent treatment with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor and chemotherapy is reduced because the G1 cell-cycle...
Evidence shows that diets high in red and processed meat are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Marjorie L. McCullough, ScD, Strategic Director of Nutritional Epidemiology, and colleagues from the Epidemiology Research...
There is ongoing debate about the efficacy of erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have wild-type EGFR. In the TAILOR trial, reported in Lancet Oncology by Garassino and colleagues,1 erlotinib was compared with standard docetaxel as...
A significant proportion of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have poor performance status, and optimal clinical management of these patients has not been established. In an attempt to help define optimal chemotherapy in such patients, Mauro Zukin, MD, of Instituto Nacional...