Search Results
Your search for all items matches 34705 pages
Showing 28251 - 28300American Lung Association Applauds U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation of Screening for Those at High Risk of Lung Cancer
The American Lung Association issued the following statement on December 31, 2013, in response to the recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to screen individuals at high risk of lung cancer. “The [USPSTF] made a recommendation that will save lives. The Task Force...
Molecularly Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column offering insight into the FDA and its policies and procedures. This installment addresses a changing paradigm in the treatment of lung cancer, exemplified by concurrent approval of a companion diagnostic with each of several new targeted agents or new...
IFM 2005-02 Update Differs From CALGB 100104: Why?
The updated analysis of the Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) 2005-02 trial in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients showed that lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance prolongs progression-free survival after stem cell transplantation, but does not improve overall survival, according to...
Surprising Findings for Lenalidomide Maintenance in Updated IFM 2005-02 Analysis
A new analysis of the multiple myeloma Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) 2005-02 trial showed that lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance prolongs progression-free survival after stem cell transplantation, but does not improve overall survival.1 This is possibly attributed to the shorter...
Overall Survival Improved by Adding Panitumumab to FOLFOX4 but Only in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Without RAS Mutation
Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that harbors KRAS mutations in exon 2 and patients with other activating RAS mutations do not benefit from anti–epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy and may in fact be harmed by it. In an analysis reported in The New England Journal of Medicine ...
Study Explores Protective Effect of Aspirin Against Colorectal Cancer
It has been posited that aspirin treatment may reduce risk for colorectal cancer through inhibition of WNT/cadherin-associated protein β1 (CTNNB1, or β-catenin) signaling. In a study reported recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Nan et al investigated the potential role of the...
Tivozanib Improves Progression-Free but Not Overall Survival vs Sorafenib in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
The investigational agent tivozanib is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-1, -2, and -3. In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Robert J. Motzer, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and...
Genetic Flaw That Drives Some Ovarian Cancers Identified
Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, have identified an overactive gene that drives about one-third of high-grade serous ovarian tumors—the most common and malignant type of ovarian cancer. The gene, GAB2, isn’t mutated or abnormal, but triggers cancerous cell growth because the...
Younger Women With Younger Children Less Likely to Receive Radiation Therapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery for Breast Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Pan et al assessed factors associated with noncompliance with recommended radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer.1 A primary factor in underuse of radiation therapy was younger patients having...
Expert Point of View: Kent Osborne, MD
“Over time, we have been doing less radiation and less surgery to control local disease, mainly because our systemic therapies (endocrine therapy, aromatase inhibitors, and chemotherapy) are killing cancer cells and obviating the need for local therapy. This study is likely to be...
Can Postoperative Radiotherapy Be Avoided in Older Women With Early Breast Cancer and High Estrogen Receptor Expression?
A more conservative approach that avoids radiation therapy seems to be a reasonable option for a subgroup of older women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer at low risk of recurrence. Overall outcomes were similar with or without radiation in older women with hormone receptor–positive...
Expert Point of View: Debu Tripathy, MD
Debu Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine, Co-Leader of the Women’s Cancer Program, and the Priscilla and Art Ulene Chair in Women’s Cancer at the University of Southern California Norris Cancer Center, Los Angeles, commented on the APT study for The ASCO Post. “In treating early-stage...
HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients With Small Tumors Benefit From Low-Toxicity Regimen
There may be a benefit for treating small HER2-positive tumors—a breast cancer subset for whom treatment recommendations have not been established but for whom there is still risk of recurrence—and this can be done with little toxicity, according to a multicenter study presented at the 2013 San...
Seven Studies at SABCS Make Dr. Jame Abraham's List of 'Practice-Changing' Talks
From December 10 to 14, 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 once again hosted the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), presenting...
Philips Receives FDA Clearance for Spectral Breast Density Measurement Application
Royal Philips has announced that that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Spectral Breast Density Management Application for its MicroDose SI full-field digital mammography system. The application is the first spectral breast density measurement ...
Novel BRAF Fusions Identified in 'Pan-Negative' Melanomas Subset May Be Sensitive to MEK Inhibition
A study by Sosman et al has identified two novel BRAF fusions in melanomas previously considered to be negative for molecular targets. In addition, these “pan-negative” melanomas were found to be sensitive to MEK inhibitors. According to the study, BRAF fusions define a new molecular subset of...
Addressing the Challenges of an Aging Population
We have an aging population, which is a good thing since people are living longer. [But] cancer is a disease that tends to occur most frequently in older people, so the combination of those two events will lead to many more older people with cancer, a larger cancer population in general, and a...
Evaluating and Screening Geriatric Patients for Treatment
One of the key questions in geriatric oncology is: How can we use all of the work geriatricians have done over the years in general geriatrics and apply that to the field of oncology? One-quarter to one-third of us are going to develop cancer throughout our lifetime, and half of the time it is...
International Society of Geriatric Oncology Meeting Explores Multidisciplinary, Tailored Treatment of Older Patients With Cancer
The annual meeting of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG, www.siog.org) was held in Copenhagen from October 24 to 26. The theme of the meeting was the “Multidisciplinary Approach Towards Personalized Treatments.” The Society, which was founded in 2000, is a multidisciplinary...
Expert Point of View: Carlos L. Arteaga, MD and David Cameron, MD, MRCP
After the IBIS-II presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, of Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, noted that women at high risk are afraid of developing breast cancer and that pharmacologic intervention may allay their anxiety. “Dr. Cuzick’s study...
Who Opts for Chemoprevention?
Based on age and risk, an estimated 10 million women in the United States may be eligible for an agent aimed at preventing breast cancer, but chemoprevention is underutilized. Fewer than 5% of women at high risk who are offered tamoxifen for chemoprevention agree to take the drug, partly due to...
Anastrozole Halves Risk of First Breast Cancer in High-Risk Postmenopausal Women
Five years of treatment with anastrozole reduced the risk of breast cancer by 53% in postmenopausal women at high risk for developing the disease, according to an analysis of the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study (IBIS)-II trial. Anastrozole reduced the risk of estrogen...
Expert Point of View: Prashant Kapoor, MD
At the recent American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, Prashant Kapoor, MD, Assistant Professor of Hematology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, agreed that CTL019 is a promising, exciting, and novel approach to treating patients with advanced B-cell hematologic malignancies. “Although...
Mounting Success in Trials of Genetically Engineered T Cells to Treat Leukemias and Lymphomas
Reports have been trickling in from centers conducting research on the use of chimeric antigen receptor–modified T cells (CAR-T) in hematologic cancer, and the news is encouraging. When directed against CD19, such personalized therapeutic T cells are known as CTL019, and small pilot trials of this...
Expert Point of View: Peter Ravdin, MD
These results are striking in postmenopausal women. The survival advantage in postmenopausal women leaves no room for interpretation. If survival is improved, you have done something good,” stated Peter Ravdin, MD, commenting on the EBCTCG meta-analysis presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer...
Adjuvant Bisphosphonates in Early Breast Cancer: Practice-Changing Findings?
Adjuvant use of bisphosphonates reduced the risk of bone recurrence by 34% and the risk of breast cancer death by 17% in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer in a large meta-analysis conducted by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). The potentially...
ASCO's 50th Anniversary and the Road Ahead
As the American Society of Clinical Oncology celebrates its 50th anniversary, ASCO’s Chief Executive Officer Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, recently talked with The ASCO Post about the Society’s past, present, and future. Important Milestone What are your thoughts about ASCO’s origins and its 50th...
Risk-Based Breast Cancer Screening: Studies Suggest Alternatives to Age-Based Guidelines
Measuring certain hormone levels could help determine a woman’s risk for breast cancer and add a key factor to current risk-prediction models, according to investigators from Harvard Medical School. Their new study results were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual ...
Expert Point of View: Joseph R. Mikhael, MD
These are exciting data from the head-to-head phase III comparison of MPT [melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (Thalomid)], a globally accepted standard of care, to the novel combination of lenalidomide/low-dose dexamethasone in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients ineligible for...
Continuous Lenalidomide/Low-Dose Dexamethasone: A New Option for Older Patients With Newly Diagnosed Myeloma
First-line treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma using the Rd regimen (continuous lenalidomide [Revlimid] plus low-dose dexamethasone) was superior to standard triplet treatment with MPT (melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide [Thalomid]) for 72 weeks, according to initial results of the...
Artemis Project® for a Preventive Breast Cancer Vaccine
I read with interest the article, “Breast Cancer Vaccines for Primary Prevention Move Toward Clinical Use,” which appeared in the December 15th issue of The ASCO Post (page 28). However, information presented regarding the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s (NBCC’s) Artemis Project for a breast...
Leukemia Pioneer John M. Goldman, DM, Dies at 75
“He gave his honours to the world again,his blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace.” —William Shakespeare, Henry VIII In 1971, John M. Goldman, DM, FRCP, FRCPath, FMedSci, began research in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a uniformly fatal disease at the time. Over the ensuing decades, Dr....
Oncology Meetings
FEBRUARY 25th International Congress on Anti-Cancer TreatmentFebruary 4-6 • Paris, FranceFor more information: www.icact.fr APOS 11th Annual ConferenceFebruary 13-15 • Tampa, FloridaFor more information:www.apos-society.org/apos2014/ European Society for Medical Oncology Sarcoma and GIST...
Bosutinib Shows 'Acceptable Safety' in Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive Leukemia
Bosutinib (Bosulif) demonstrated “acceptable safety with manageable toxicities” in a phase I/II study among patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or advanced Philadelphia chromosome–positive leukemia (accelerated-phase/blast-phase CML or acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Patients...
Some Lung Cancers Detected by Low-Dose CT in National Lung Screening Trial May Be Indolent
More than 18% of all lung cancers detected by low-dose computed tomography in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) may be clinically insignificant. Overdiagnosis should be considered when describing the risks of [low-dose computed tomography] screening for lung cancer, according to a review of...
Final Overall Survival Data Show Better Results With Higher Dose of Fulvestrant
Among patients with locally advanced or metastatic estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer, fulvestrant (Faslodex) given at 500 mg “is associated with a 19% reduction in risk of death and a 4.1-month difference in median overall survival compared with fulvestrant 250 mg,” according to final...
Champions Oncology Names Chief Medical Officer
Champions Oncology, a company engaged in the development of advanced technology solutions and services to personalize the development and use of oncology drugs, has announced the appointment of Angela Davies, MD, as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Davies has demonstrated experience in both academic...
Texas Children’s Hospital Announces New Chief of Interventional Radiology
The Department of Pediatric Radiology at Texas Children’s Hospital recently announced that Kamlesh U. Kukreja, MD, has been named the new Chief of Interventional Radiology. Dr. Kukreja has also been appointed as Assistant Professor of Radiology at Baylor College of Medicine. “For more than a...
Expect Questions, and Some Reluctance, About Getting a Flu Shot
People with weakened immune systems due to diseases like cancer are at increased risk of severe complications from the flu virus and should get flu shots annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly encourages this practice, and most oncologists would recommend that for...
Cancer Patients Are at Increased Risk of Complications From the Flu and Should Receive Flu Shots, but Not the Nasal Spray
Widespread influenza activity continues to be reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with a recent increase in flu-related hospitalizations.1,2 Patients with cancer are at increased risk from flu complications and should receive the flu shot, but not the flu nasal spray...
Grant to Develop Website and Mobile App to Track Radiation Therapy Toxicity Awarded to Radiation Oncology Resident
The Radiation Oncology Institute has selected Malolan S. Rajagopalan, MD, a radiation oncology resident at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, to receive a $20,000 grant for a project to compile best practices regarding the management of radiation therapy toxicity. Dr. Rajagopalan’s...
An Overview of the REGAL Trial and Anti-VEGF Therapies in Recurrent Glioblastoma
As published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Batchelor and colleagues1 and reviewed in a recent issue of The ASCO Post (November 15, 2013, page 106), the REGAL trial was a randomized, phase III, placebo-controlled, partially blinded trial evaluating the efficacy of cediranib, an...
Major Cancer Milestones in History, From ASCO’s CancerProgress.Net
To help tell the story of progress against cancer, ASCO launched CancerProgress.Net in 2011. The site is intended as a resource for media, policymakers, oncologists, advocates, and the public. One central feature of the site is an interactive timeline of major milestones in cancer treatment,...
Gary Lyman, MD, Joins Scott Ramsey, MD, PhD, in Co-Leading Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research at Fred Hutchinson
The Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research (HICOR) has named Gary Lyman, MD, MPH, the Institute’s Co-Director with Scott Ramsey, MD, PhD, an internist and health-care economist, and a member of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer ...
Reports From the IPOS/AORTIC Travel Scholars
Eight individuals were awarded travel scholarships allowing them to attend the IPOS/AORTIC Program (International Psycho-Oncology Society/African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer) and share their experiences and efforts toward improving the psychosocial care of patients with cancer...
Surgeon General’s New Report Attributes Smoking as Cause of Death in More Than 20 Million Americans Over Past 50 Years
According to a new Surgeon General’s report issued last month, more than 20 million Americans have died from smoking over the past 50 years. The new report concludes that cigarette smoking kills nearly half a million Americans a year, with an additional 16 million suffering from smoking-related...
50th Anniversary of the First U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health
“When the first Surgeon General’s Report was released in 1964, more than half of American men and over a third of women smoked and lung cancer had gone from an obscure disease to a leading cause of death. In issuing this pioneering report summarizing the known health risks of smoking, our nation’s...
Health IT Safety Guide
A new set of guides and interactive tools to help health-care providers more safely use electronic health information technology products, such as electronic health records (EHRs), are now available at www.HealthIT.gov. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)...
FDA Approves Combination Therapy for Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma With BRAF V600E/K Mutations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved trametinib (Mekinist) for use in combination with dabrafenib (Tafinlar) for the treatment of patients with unresectable melanoma or metastatic melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations. These mutations must be detected by an FDA-approved...
Dabrafenib Receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for BRAF-Mutated NSCLC
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for dabrafenib (Tafinlar) for the treatment of patients with metastatic BRAF V600E mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have received at least one prior line of platinum-containing...
