Cancer patients’ out-of-pocket costs are rising dramatically, and insurance premiums, cost sharing, and ancillary expenses can be devastating. Many people go bankrupt as a result of the high costs of health care. Drugs are among the most serious economic culprits. They grow more expensive every...
The ASCO Annual Meeting in June confirmed—and expanded—the excitement of the oncology community about molecular medicine and its future. The complex molecular pathways were pictured in living color on many slides in many large auditoriums. Newspapers across the country were equally enthusiastic as...
Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, Director of the Donald A. Adam Comprehensive Melanoma Research Center at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, formally discussed the prembrolizumab study at the ASCO Annual Meeting. He called the response rate and the ongoing responses...
The latest bit of good news for the programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)–targeting antibodies in advanced melanoma comes for pembrolizumab (MK-3475). While the results came from only a phase I study, they were among those chosen for presentation at an ASCO press briefing during the Annual Meeting....
A multicenter, open-label phase II trial found that the selective proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib (Kyprolis), in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone produced high complete response rates and was associated with low toxicity in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma....
Survivors of nonmetastatic colorectal cancer, when surveyed about their needs and preferences for survivorship information, responded that they would prefer receiving more information about late effects of treatment, challenges to expect, general health maintenance, and risks of recurrence. Most of ...
Women who have small (≤ 1 cm), node-negative breast tumors “have an excellent prognosis without chemotherapy,” concluded the authors of a prospective cohort study involving 4,113 women with T1a,b, N0, M0 breast cancer. “Size and tumor subtype may identify patients in whom the rate of recurrence...
His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, “This was a man!” —William Shakespeare I have too many positive memories of John to regale you with here,” said Roger Kirby, MD, in a tribute to his close friend and colleague, John Michael...
An online survey of 201 unemployed cancer survivors looking for work found that a majority—61%—are at least somewhat concerned that a potential employer would find out about their cancer diagnosis and not hire them. In this survey conducted by Cancer and Careers, 66% of participants said they...
Anticancer immunity may be enhanced by harnessing the ability of dendritic cells to initiate T-cell immunity through efficient uptake and presentation of endocytosed material. In preclinical models, delivery of tumor-associated antigens to dendritic cells using receptor-specific monoclonal...
The antitumor activities of cytolytic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells are being increasingly investigated and exploited in cancer immunotherapy. One mechanism by which these cells recognize tumor cells is by engagement of NKG2D, an activating receptor on cytolytic T lymphocytes and natural...
Chronic inflammation is implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, and the plasma inflammatory biomarker macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1, GDF15) may have a direct role in tumorigenesis. As reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mehta and colleagues found that...
Dysfunctional redox regulation in cancer results in production of reactive oxygen species, damaging DNA and free deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs). The MTH1 protein, which is nonessential in normal cells, sanitizes oxidized dNTP pools, preventing incorporation of damaged bases during DNA...
Moffitt Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Department Chair Scott Antonia, MD, PhD, received an Infrastructure Grant Florida’s James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program. The grant will help fund Moffitt’s comprehensive lung screening program. Earlier this year the U.S. Preventive Services Task ...
Members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) have elected David C. Beyer, MD, FASTRO, President-Elect of the ASTRO Board of Directors. Dr. Beyer will begin his term at the Annual Business Meeting in September during ASTRO’s 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Colleen A.F....
Many potential drug-nutrient interactions can affect cancer treatment. It is important to consider these interactions given the significant use of supplements and other self-treatment options during cancer care. Antioxidants account for a large portion of the $32 billion in supplement industry...
JULY 5th World Congress of International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies Annual Meeting of American Head and Neck SocietyJuly 26-30 • New York, New YorkFor more information:www.ahns.info/meetings/index.php AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research WorkshopJuly 26-August 1 •...
ASCO Answers: Managing the Cost of Cancer Care explains the various costs associated with cancer treatment, including health-care coverage through the Affordable Care Act. It also provides a list of financial resources available to help offset expenses related to care and tips for organizing...
Editor’s note: In the July 10 issue of The ASCO Post, this article by Marie Krejci as told to Jo Cavallo was published; however, the published version was incomplete in that it did not reflect important updates made by Ms. Krejci. We apologize to Ms. Krejci for this error and to our readers for any ...
Unfortunately, when I see The ASCO Post, my first impression is that you enable a group of researchers (part-time clinicians) to pontificate about their own agendas. The agenda that seems to be missing is the presentation of information that either supports or refutes the freight train of “quality...
Prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 233,000 American men in 2014. It is one of the leading causes of death by a cancer (killing ~29,500 men annually).1 Hundreds of thousands of men undergo prostate biopsies each year, most for either benign disease or for a cancer that will never lead to their...
Researchers at the University of California Davis have determined that surgical biopsies can be safely performed on select patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer, which should enhance their access to drugs that target specific genetic mutations such as epidermal growth factor receptor...
Patrick G. Johnston, MD, PhD, FMedSci, Professor of Oncology and President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, grew up in Derry, a city in Northern Ireland. Derry is distinct in being Ireland’s only remaining fully intact walled city, considered one of the finest examples of a walled ...
The Ohio Hematology Oncology Society (OHOS) was formed 2 decades ago to advocate for and provide educational seminars and networking opportunities to hematologists and medical oncologists throughout the states of Ohio and West Virginia. Today, the society is focused on the needs of its nearly 200...
Intertriginous areas refer to skin folds (such as axillae, inguinal creases, and inframammary creases), which are characterized by increased friction, temperature, and occlusion. Intertriginous drug reactions are an underrecognized side effect associated with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin...
The International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS), as part of the opening ceremonies of its 5th World Congress, and in collaboration with the annual meeting of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS), will proclaim July 27th as “World Head and Neck Cancer Day.” The...
Oncologists now have a means of bringing personalized medicine to advanced squamous cell carcinoma, and it involves a biomarker-driven clinical trial that maximizes the chance of successful treatment and new drug approvals. Lung-MAP (Lung Cancer Master Protocol) is a unique concept in which the...
Despite promising new agents and therapeutic approaches, 5-year lung cancer survival rates have lagged far behind those of most other malignancies. To shed light on some of the important issues facing lung cancer experts, The ASCO Post recently spoke with internationally recognized lung cancer...
The information in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies of children with cancer. The studies include pilot and phase I and II studies evaluating new therapies, functional imaging tests, tests to measure the neuropsychological and behavioral function in...
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people diagnosed with cancer are two to four times more likely to go untreated for their cancer compared to uninfected cancer patients, according to a large retrospective study from researchers in Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center and the National...
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 July 3, 2014, belinostat (Beleodaq) was granted accelerated...
Despite evidence from a number of prospective, randomized controlled trials showing that screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality, screening mammography has been the subject of continual debate, controversy, and conflicting guidelines. Recently, the Swiss Medical Board, tasked with...
In a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspective” article, Nikola Biller-Andorno, MD, PhD, of the University of Zurich and Harvard Medical School, and Peter Jüni, MD, of the University of Bern, provide the rationale for a recent report by the Swiss Medical Board advocating the phasing out of...
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor MET have been found to promote the proliferation, migration, and survival of tumor cells and to play a role in gastric cancer. In a phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Timothy Iveson, MD, of the University Hospital Southampton NHS...
Treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer has been slow to advance. Three decades lapsed between the description of the first differentiated thyroid cancer patient being cured by radioactive iodine in the 1940s1 and the report of the study that led to the approval of doxorubicin in the 1970s.2 The ...
Patients with radioactive iodine–refractory locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer have a poor prognosis. In the double-blind phase III DECISION trial reported in The Lancet, Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD, of Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues ...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation has an excellent track record of finding and funding the most promising young investigators. Past recipients Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, and Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, received funding from the Conquer Cancer Foundation early in their career and at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting...
Cancer.Net, ASCO’s patient information website, is in the process of updating the design and is now offering an easier way to navigate the site. Based on extensive testing, the site’s new look and feel is designed to improve each user’s experience. The changes will keep Cancer.Net up-to-date with...
To raise awareness of the importance of federally funded biomedical research that improves the lives of people worldwide, ASCO has created a badge that organizations and individuals can use to publicize research that has received federal funding. To use the Federally Funded Research badge,...
It has been almost 10 years since the Institute of Medicine released its influential report, “From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition,” in which it stressed that all patients completing cancer treatment should receive a survivorship care plan. Since then, the need to help...
In a series of articles on the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s CancerProgress.Net website, past ASCO presidents are sharing their recollections of the major issues during their terms. Emil J Freireich, MD, FASCO, (1980–1981), remembered that during his presidency, ASCO began the process of...
“Illumination” is a provocative word, evoking as it does the banishment of the darkness of ignorance by the light of new knowledge. Today, we are benefiting from a steady stream of new knowledge about the molecular basis of cancer and the interaction between host and tumor immunology. The concept...
In the phase III double-blind, placebo-controlled CONCUR trial,1 previously treated patients with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum had increased overall survival, the primary endpoint, when treated with regorafenib (Stivarga). Regorafenib also improved progression-free survival, a...
The addition of the novel agent MM-398 to standard treatment improved overall survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have already received gemcitabine, according to a phase III trial reported at the ESMO 16th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona.1 “Patients...
Commenting on the RECOURSE data,1 ESMO spokesperson Jean-Yves Douillard, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology, Institut de Cancérologie de l’Ouest (ICO) René Gauducheau, Saint-Herblain, France, said, “The phase III trial of TAS-102 is a global study and confirms the results of the phase II study...
The new combination agent TAS-102 can improve overall survival compared to placebo in patients whose metastatic colorectal cancer is refractory to standard therapies, researchers reported at the ESMO 16th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona.1 “Around 50% of patients with...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a drug safety communication to health-care professionals warning that docetaxel contains ethanol, which may cause patients to experience intoxication during and after treatment. FDA is revising the labels of all docetaxel drug products to warn...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough therapy designation to blinatumomab for adults with Philadelphia chromosome–negative relapsed/refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is an investigational bispecific T-cell engager antibody...
More than 400 abstracts—a record—were submitted for the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in Chicago. Here is a small sampling of those studies, with comments from the abstract authors. Token Economy to Improve Compliance BMT Bucks form the basis of a...
All four studies presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session were at least partially funded by federal dollars, bringing long overdue attention to the value of federally supported cancer research. Perhaps because of this high visibility, ASCO leaders took to the soapbox to sound the...