According to the American Cancer Society, over 252,700 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2017, and about 40,610 women will die of their disease. Between 7% and 10% of those new cases will be diagnosed in women younger than age 40, accounting for more than 40% of all cancer...
Ensuring that all patients with cancer have access to the potential benefits of precision medicine regardless of where they are treated has been a primary goal of Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, since the concept was first introduced following completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. Dr....
Radiotherapy at a high enough dose may increase survival in early-stage pancreatic cancer, according to research presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 36 Conference.1 Previous research has suggested that radiotherapy may be of little help in this setting. The...
The hematology/oncology workforce continues to struggle with adequate representation of racial and ethnic minorities. To promote the development of an oncology workforce that reflects the demographics of the population it serves, ASCO has introduced its Strategic Plan for Increasing Racial &...
Here are several abstracts selected from the proceedings of the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting newer therapeutics in smoldering and relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma. For the full details of these study abstracts, visit...
Launched during the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 22nd Annual Conference: Improving the Quality, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Cancer Care™, JNCCN360.org is the latest resource from the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (JNCCN). Currently available for breast...
As thyroid cancer rates rise, more patients are having surgery to remove all or part of their thyroid. A new study by Papaleontiou et al in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests complications from these procedures are more common than previously believed. Overall, 6.5% of ...
Lung cancer persistently remains the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. Only about 15% of lung cancers are diagnosed at the localized stage, when clinical intervention could markedly improve patient outcomes. For decades, lung cancer specialists and advocacy...
In 2005, Stupp and colleagues published their landmark paper demonstrating in a randomized phase III trial that the addition of temozolomide to radiation increased overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Notably, patients over age 70 years were excluded from this study.1...
As the U.S. population ages,1 the number of older women with breast cancer will increase,2 as well as the number of patients with frailty and other comorbid medical conditions. These patients are at increased risk for toxicity and functional decline during their breast cancer treatment course....
EACH YEAR, the ASCO President chooses a theme for his or her term, which is not a trivial pursuit. Trying to think up something novel and catchy, yet not schmaltzy, is quite a challenge. However, in my year as Chair of the Scientific Program Committee for the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting, then during...
Alcohol intake was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in a large study of African American women, indicating that they, like white women, may benefit from limiting their alcohol consumption, according to results of a study published by Williams et al in Cancer Epidemiology,...
A study by Mariotto et al investigating the prevalence of women living with metastatic breast cancer in the United States estimates that there are 154,794 women living with the disease. In addition, the median and 5-year relative survival for women initially diagnosed with metastatic breast...
Radiotherapy at a high enough dose may increase survival in early-stage pancreatic cancer, according to research presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 36 Conference (Abstract OC-0426). Previous research has suggested that radiotherapy may be of little help to...
Treating prostate cancer with a single, high dose of radiation delivered precisely to the site of the tumor results in good quality of life and fewer trips to the hospital, with adverse side effects that are no worse than if the radiation treatment had been given in several lower doses. These...
Although radiation therapy is an essential part of modern cancer treatment, and is indicated for about half of all new cancer patients, facilities for its provision are sadly lacking in many countries worldwide. Indeed, 29 out of 52 African nations have no radiotherapy facilities whatsoever. At the ...
Around half of women who have been treated for locally advanced cervical cancer suffer from symptoms of insomnia, fatigue, or hot flashes at some point, according to new research presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 36 Conference (Abstract OC-0051). Cervical...
Hematologist-oncologist Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBA, will lead a new bone marrow transplantation program at New York University (NYU) Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center for treating blood-borne cancers and potentially utilize transplantation as an adjunct to immunotherapy for solid tumors. He...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) together with the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) announced the launch of a church-based initiative addressing striking health-care disparities among African Americans with multiple myeloma. Black Americans have twice the incidence of multiple...
Minimal residual disease is a promising biomarker for guiding the management of multiple myeloma that is becoming increasingly important with the advent of more efficacious therapies, according to emerging data and expert opinion. “The story of minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma is like...
Kelly Cares Foundation recently became one of the newest supporters of the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Young Investigator Awards, the flagship program begun in 1984 to support early-career cancer researchers. The mission of Kelly Cares Foundation is to inspire hope by investing resources to...
Here are several abstracts selected from the proceedings of this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting newer therapeutics in various types of high-grade, aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), including peripheral T-cell lymphomas, central...
Using a novel approach called tumor-treating fields—which involves the delivery of low-intensity electric fields to the brain by a patient-operated device—along with standard-of-care temozolomide therapy improved overall survival and progression-free survival vs temozolomide alone in patients with...
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have found that babies born to mothers who underwent fertility treatments may be at increased risk of developing types of pediatric malignancies and neoplasms. The study, published by Wainstock et al in the American Journal of Obstetrics &...
On April 28, the European Commission approved nivolumab (Opdivo) as monotherapy for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in adults with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy. Nivolumab is the first and only immuno-oncology treatment that has...
Second cancers in children as well as adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are far deadlier than they are in older adults and may partially account for the relatively poor outcomes of cancer patients aged 15 to 39 years overall, according to a new study by University of California (UC), Davis...
A study using linked Texas Cancer Registry–Medicare data has identified racial/ethnic disparities in end-of-life care in women with ovarian cancer. The study was reported by Taylor et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details The study included 3,666 patients dying in 2000 to...
Research from epidemiologists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, published by Minlikeeva et al in Cancer Causes & Control, suggests that hypertension and diabetes and the use of medications to treat these comorbidities may have an effect on survival outcomes in women with ovarian cancer. Study...
Chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction, often referred to as “chemobrain” or “chemofog,” is a common occurrence during active cancer treatment and may continue after treatment is completed. However, since treatment other than chemotherapy, including radiation therapy, surgery, and hormonal...
Better vision function seems to be related to better quality of life after treatment for head and neck cancer, particularly among patients who have had surgery, according to Hsiao-Lan Wang, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida. Head and neck...
Alexandra Levine, MD, MACP, is Professor in the Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope, Duarte, California, and has been on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic from the beginning—before the disease even had a name. Dr. Levine spoke with The ASCO Post about ...
Although the prognosis of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has improved with R-CHOP—the addition of rituximab (Rituxan) to the cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone chemotherapy regimen—one-third of patients still relapse after therapy, and patients with the ...
Researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle reported early results from a small study of their chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product (JCAR014) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) at the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition....
David M. Livingston, MD, a cancer biologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has won a major award for discoveries in cancer research from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). He received the Pezcoller Foundation–AACR International Award at the AACR Annual Meeting in Washington,...
The approach to treatment of high-risk, clinical stage I, nonseminomatous or combined germ cell tumors of the testis is not written in stone. Orchiectomy followed by surveillance or chemotherapy with two cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) is a favored approach by most experts. A...
Amrita Krishnan, MD, Director of the Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Multiple Myeloma Research at the City of Hope in Duarte, California, told The ASCO Post that the most exciting drug in the “New Agents” session she moderated at the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting...
Early-phase studies suggest that venetoclax (Venclexta) holds promise as a treatment for myeloma. At the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, investigators reported strong activity in heavily pretreated patients, especially those with the t(11;14)...
ASCO has announced that Alexander Chin, MD, MBA, and Joanna C. Yang, MD, have been selected for the 2017–2018 ASCO Health Policy Fellowship program, now entering its second year. The fellowship, aimed at early career oncologists, provides the skills necessary to monitor and shape the regulatory and ...
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have begun to establish a biologic basis for the long-held but not well-tested theory that neighborhood exposures can impact health outcomes. Shannon Lynch, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase, led a team...
John Krolewski, MD, PhD, has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics and Co-Leader of the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) Genetics and Genomics Program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He will also hold the John & Santa Palisano Endowed Chair of Cancer...
Orthopedic surgeon Kristy L. Weber, MD, became the second Vice President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Directors at the organization’s 2017 Annual Meeting. Her new role is the first position in a 4-year term of volunteer service that includes Dr. Weber serving as...
ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) proudly announce the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards, the Society’s highest honors, and the CCF Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. The recipients of these awards include researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked ...
At this year’s ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Blase N. Polite, MD, MPP, Associate Professor of Medicine at The University of Chicago Medical Center, examined his practice’s experience with the Oncology Care Model, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services test payment and delivery program...
ASCO strongly supports increasing access to investigational new treatment options for patients with cancer, while raising serious concerns about recently proposed federal “right-to-try” legislation as well as state-enacted right-to-try laws. In a position statement released April 4, 2017, ASCO said ...
“The status quo for HPV [human papillomavirus]-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma is not sufficient.… Our treatment is effective, but the toxicity associated with it is not tolerable.” And HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer “is a cancer of relatively younger patients,” said Nishant...
This past November, ASCO announced the launch of CancerLinQ Discovery™, a big data learning platform physicians and researchers can use to analyze highly curated, de-identified, real-world cancer care data sets to broaden their clinical knowledge about specific cancers and eventually improve...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new clinical guideline for the management of oropharyngeal cancer. The guideline, “Radiation therapy for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: An ASTRO Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline,” was published by Sher et ...
On April 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) requirements for the use of epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa to treat patients with anemia due to associated myelosuppressive chemotherapy. The Agency's announcement regarding...
Using state-of-the-art gene-editing technology, scientists from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago have discovered a promising target to treat atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, a highly aggressive and therapy-resistant brain tumor that mostly occurs in infants. They found...
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have begun to establish a biological basis for the long-held but not well-tested theory that neighborhood exposures can impact health outcomes. Shannon Lynch, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase, led a team...