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Showing 30801 - 30850Penn’s Basser Center for BRCA Names David Livingston, MD, Winner of 2015 Annual Basser Global Prize
The Basser Center for BRCA at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center has announced the recipient of its third annual Basser Global Prize: molecular cancer expert David Livingston, MD, Emil Frei Professor of Genetics and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Deputy Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard...
Improved Understanding of Glioma Tumor Biology
The management of patients with lower-grade gliomas is evolving. As evidenced by two recent publications in The New England Journal of Medicine,1,2 reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, there has been a substantial increase in our knowledge of the molecular characteristics of these neoplasms....
New Molecular Classifications of Gliomas Established
Two studies reported in The New England Journal of Medicine identified new molecular classifications of glioma that capture biologic and prognostic differences. The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network identified three prognostically significant subtypes of lower-grade glioma that were identified...
The Conundrum of Estrogen-Receptor Signaling in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
BOLERO-1—reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—is the next installment in a series of randomized trials evaluating the addition of everolimus (Afinitor) to standard therapy in metastatic breast cancer.1 The initial evaluation of everolimus in the HER2-positive metastatic setting looked extremely...
Adding Everolimus to First-Line Trastuzumab/Paclitaxel Does Not Increase Progression-Free Survival in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
In the phase III BOLERO-1 trial, reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues found that the addition of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) to trastuzumab (Herceptin)/paclitaxel did not significantly increase...
Calculating the Value of Cancer Drugs
For nearly a decade, Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, Director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, has been a leading voice in sounding the alarm over the escalating cost of cancer drugs and in seeking a solution to the problem. In 2012, Dr....
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Appoints Madeline Bell, MS, as CEO
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced that Madeline Bell, MS, formerly President and Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and will succeed Steven M. Altschuler, MD, as CEO. The transition of leadership was completed on July 1, 2015....
Carfilzomib in Combination With Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
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 24, 2015, carfilzomib (Kyprolis) was approved for use in...
Learning to Refine the Use of Regorafenib to Best Advantage in Advanced Colorectal Cancer
In patients with advanced colorectal cancer who have been heavily treated with a sequence of chemotherapy regimens and/or targeted therapies, the goals of treatment on or off a clinical trial are readily definable. These patients and their managing teams are striving to extend the length of lives,...
Regorafenib Improves Overall Survival in Asian Patients With Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In a phase III trial (CONCUR) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jin Li, MD, and colleagues found that the multikinase inhibitor regorafenib (Stivarga) improved overall survival vs placebo in Asian patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer.1 Regorafenib is approved in the United...
FDA Approves Sonidegib for Locally Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sonidegib (Odomzo) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma that has recurred following surgery or radiation therapy or those who are not candidates for surgery or radiation therapy. The approval was based on...
Managing Cancer Pain at the End of Life
Cancer-related pain does not exist in a vacuum. To effectively treat it, clinicians should understand the contributing factors. Proper assessment and management of cancer pain at the end of life can significantly alleviate patient suffering, according to Eduardo Bruera, MD, FAAHPM, Department Chair ...
Dispelling the Myths Associated With Osteonecrosis of the Jaw
Osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with cancer treatment is frequently misunderstood, according to Cesar Augusto Migliorati, DDS, MS, PhD, who delivered an update on its proper recognition and management at the 2015 Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of...
Short Course of Radiotherapy May Be Adequate for Elderly and Frail Patients With Glioblastoma Multiforme
No difference in overall survival or progression-free survival was observed between elderly and/or frail patients undergoing short and standard courses of radiotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme, according to data presented by Elena Fidarova, MD, at the 2015 Multinational Association of Supportive ...
Dactinomycin Formulation Gets Orphan Drug Designation
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug designation to NanoSmart Pharmaceuticals’ novel formulation of dactinomycin for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of childhood bone cancer. The designation was granted on the basis of a plausible hypothesis that the novel ...
FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Lenvatinib for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted lenvatinib (Lenvima) Breakthrough Therapy designation for investigational use in patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma who were previously treated with a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy. Lenvatinib...
FDA Approves Carfilzomib Combination for Patients With Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved carfilzomib (Kyprolis) in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma who have received one to three prior lines of therapy. In the United States, there are nearly...
Gefitinib in EGFR-Mutant Metastatic NSCLC
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 13, 2015, gefitinib (Iressa) was approved for first-line ...
Immunotherapy Makes Inroads in Small Cell Lung Cancer
Early data on immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) have been encouraging. SCLC may catch up to non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), where immunotherapy is now standard of care, if these early data are borne out in phase III trials. Phase Ib and II studies of immunotherapy in SCLC were...
Moving Forward in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Targeted Combinations and Immunotherapy
The newer targeted therapies and immunotherapies have proven to be a boon to the treatment of lung and other cancers, but how best to deploy those therapies remains a burning question. Another important focus of current research is the identification and validation of biomarkers for these...
‘Right to Try’ Laws: Helpful or Harmful?
Since 2014, “Right to Try” legislation has been sweeping the nation. Created to enable terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental drugs, biologics, and devices by sidestepping the approval process of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at press time, 22 states have enacted...
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: The Dawn of a New Era for Lung Cancer Therapy
The therapeutic paradigm for lung cancer has changed rapidly over the past few years toward individualized therapy. For certain subsets of patients, molecularly targeted agents have resulted in robust gains in overall survival and quality of life. However, for the majority of patients with...
Studies Explore New Avenues to Pursue in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Two agents targeting novel pathways show promise in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, according to separate studies presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting and reviewed at the Best of ASCO® meeting by Steven J. Isakoff, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. The first study...
James Welsh, MD, FACRO, Elected President of the American College of Radiation Oncology
Loyola University Medical Center radiation oncologist James Welsh, MD, FACRO, was recently elected president of the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO). Dr. Welsh, installed as president during ACRO’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, will serve a 2-year term as President. In 2017, Dr....
Cancer Diagnosis Among Patients With Diabetes Reduced Adherence to Evidence-Based Medications
“A cancer diagnosis among patients with diabetes reduced adherence with evidence-based medications, particularly if patients’ life expectancy was short,” according to a study among Medicare beneficiaries reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice. “These findings emphasize the vulnerability of...
More Than One-Third of Those Diagnosed With Hepatocellular Carcinoma as Outpatients Have Diagnostic Delays of 3 or More Months
Nearly 20% of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma “wait more than 3 months from presentation to diagnosis, which can contribute to interval tumor growth,” Nishant Patel, MD, and colleagues concluded in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. They based their conclusions on a...
Determining Why Patients With HIV Infection and Non–AIDS-Defining Cancers Are Less Likely to Receive Cancer Treatment
A survey sent to medical and radiation oncologists to identify factors contributing to observed disparities in cancer treatment between patients infected with HIV and those not infected “found that a substantial proportion of physicians (21%) would alter their treatment recommendations based on HIV ...
Increased Lifetime Risk of Cardiovascular Disease for Patients Treated for Hodgkin Lymphoma
Survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma treated as adolescents or adults are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases throughout their lives, according to results of a retrospective cohort study of 2,524 Dutch patients followed for a median of 20 years. “Treating physicians and patients should be aware...
Long-Term Use of Thyroid Hormone Replacement Linked to Decreased Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Long-term thyroid hormone replacement was associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer, but hyperthyroidism and untreated hypothyroidism were associated with a modestly elevated risk, according to a study using a large population-based medical records database from the United Kingdom. A...
Clinical Trials Actively Recruiting Patients With Thyroid Cancer
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for patients with thyroid cancer. The trials are investigating novel drug combinations; the effects of radioiodine; blood cell modification; biomarker-targeted therapies; and the effects...
Joxel Garcia, MD, to Direct MD Anderson Moon Shots Program Prevention Efforts
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has appointed former United States Public Health Service four-star Admiral Joxel Garcia, MD, as the inaugural Executive Director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform, part of MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program. He joined MD Anderson on August ...
Expect Questions or Ask About Postmastectomy Pain
Since postmastectomy pain occurs in an estimated 20% to 40% of patients undergoing the procedure, physicians who treat these women can expect questions about the pain and how to deal with it. However, some patients may be reluctant to ask about it. “Sometimes, women don’t want to complain to their ...
Increased Interest in Simple Injection to Treat Women With Postmastectomy Pain
After presenting results of a study showing that injecting a standard analgesic combination into trigger points of pain along the inframammary fold relieved postmastectomy pain, Laura J. Esserman, MD, MBA, Director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center and Co-Leader of the Breast Oncology...
Mayo Clinic Receives $11 Million Grant from NCI to Study NHL Survivorship
Mayo Clinic has received a 5-year, $11 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study survivorship in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes Cohort Study will enroll 12,000 patients with NHL. The study will follow these patients for...
Unneccessary Complexity in Scientific Terminology?
In the highlighted quote in the article titled “Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine Fails to Replace Standard of Care in First-Line Metastatic Breast Cancer,” which appeared in on page 3 of the July 10 issue of The ASCO Post, a most remarkable sentence was constructed: T-DM1 and T-DM1 plus pertuzumab...
2015 Oncology Meetings
SEPTEMBER 2015 Breast Cancer SymposiumSeptember 25-27 • San Francisco, California For more information: breastcasym.org The European Cancer CongressSeptember 25-29 • Vienna, Austria For more information: www.esmo.org/Conferences/European-Cancer-Congress-2015 17th Annual International Meeting of...
ASCO and UICC Collaborate to Extend Reach of the Journal of Global Oncology
ASCO and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) announced their partnership to expand the reach of the Journal of Global Oncology (JGO), a new open-access journal that will focus on cancer care, research, and care delivery issues unique to countries and settings with limited health-care...
From Small-Town Mexico to Big Pharma, a Look at Opiates for Good and Bad
Bookmark Title: Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic Author: Sam Quinones Publisher: Bloomsbury Press Publication date: April 21, 2015 Price: $28.00; hardcover, 384 pages Despite growing awareness within the oncology community and the emergence of the palliative care...
Chris Marshall, FRS, FMedSci, Dies at 66 of Colorectal Cancer
Chris Marshall, FRS, FMedSci, a rigorous scientist with a lasting legacy of game-changing discoveries in cancer research and generous support for his younger colleagues, has died at 66. The cause of death was colorectal cancer. Professor Marshall was the Head of the Division for Cancer Biology at...
Breast Surgeon Carolyn Mary Kaelin, MD, MPH, FACS, Dies at 54
Carolyn Mary Kaelin, MD, MPH, FACS, died on July 28 at the age of 54. A gifted and compassionate breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Kaelin was a surgical oncologist in the Women’s Cancers Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Director of the Breast Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Kaelin...
To the One of the Many
(Using Shakespeare’s words to confront the plight of a Physician) Give me that man That is not passion’s slave Give me that blanket that comforts and soothes For in my heart There was a fighting that would not let me sleep, Our indiscretion Sometimes serves us well. In those wakeful...
Coriolus versicolor
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 ...
‘Share the Journey’ Mobile App Aims to Understand the Different Experiences of Breast Cancer Survivors
In March 2015, Sage Bionetworks and Apple released “Share the Journey: Mind, Body, and Wellness After Breast Cancer,” a patient-centered iPhone app that tracks five common consequences of breast cancer treatment, including fatigue, cognitive function, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and a...
I’m Living a Full and Happy Life With Stage IV Breast Cancer
After coping with breast cancer for more than a decade, it is difficult for me to put into words exactly how grateful I am to all the doctors, nurses, and researchers whose efforts have kept me alive for all these years. And not just alive, but thriving. A routine mammogram had discovered two...
Diane Simeone, MD, Named Upcoming Chair of PanCAN Scientific Board
Diane Simeone, MD, Director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center at the University of Michigan, was recently named the Upcoming Chair of the National Scientific and Medical Advisory Board for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). Her 2-year term as Chair runs from 2017 to 2019. Dr. Simeone will ...
Thomas J. Lynch Jr, MD, Leaves Yale Cancer Center
Thomas J. Lynch Jr, MD, Director of Yale Cancer Center and Physician-in-Chief of Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, left Yale in August to become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization. Dr. Lynch joined Yale Cancer Center as Director in 2009 ...
A Cancer Handbook for Inquisitive Laypersons and Health-Care Professionals
Bookmark Title: The Cancer Solution: Taking Charge of Your Life With CancerAuthor: Jack C. Westman, MD, MSPublisher: Archway PublishingPublication date: January 15, 2015Price: $20.00; paperback, 310 pages I was at a meeting in San Francisco in 1978 and received a call from my wife, Nancy:...
Never Say Never
The following essay by Grace Wang, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. D.K. came to me ...
Hypertrophic Tumor of the Forehead, Philadelphia, Circa 1870
Through the Lens of Oncology History: A Century of Progress The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology Tumors & Treatment: A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS. The photos below are from the volume titled “The...
How Carolyn D. Runowicz, MD, FASCO, Is Shaping the Future of Gynecologic Cancers
Carolyn D. Runowicz, MD, FASCO, has worn just about every hat in the field of oncology—clinician, professor, researcher, administrator, and even cancer survivor. Currently the Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Herbert ...
