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Showing 3101 - 3150ASCO Honors Leaders in Cancer Care With 2019 Special Awards
ASCO and ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation proudly recognize the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards, the Society's highest honors, and Conquer Cancer's Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards. The recipients of these awards have worked to transform cancer care around the world. ASCO...
We Need Better Screening Methods for Detecting Breast Cancer
MY BREAST CANCER was probably a decade in the making, although I only became aware that there might be a problem in 2014, when I noticed some slight pain in my left breast. A routine mammogram and ultrasound found benign cysts in my dense breasts, which most likely explained the pain, I was told,...
A Peaceful Transformation: The Origin of the Frederick National Laboratory
JUST 2 MONTHS before Congress passed what to this day is America’s most sweeping anticancer legislation, President Richard Nixon came to Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to declare his administration’s historic commitment to the fight. “I have come here today for the purpose of making an...
Health-Care Fraud Prosecutions Are on the Rise
Prosecuting health-care fraud is a top priority for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal government agencies.1,2 After all, the government earns a $6 return for every $1 that it spends on enforcement. In December 2018, the DOJ announced that it had obtained more than $2.5 billion...
Reshaping the Treatment Landscape in Refractory Multiple Myeloma
THE TREATMENT approaches for multiple myeloma, both newly diagnosed and relapsed disease, continue to undergo major transformation as new agents and combinations are being introduced.1 This change has been driven by the introduction of novel drug classes such as monoclonal antibodies, as well as...
A Single Dose of a PD-1 Inhibitor Before Surgery May Predict Outcomes in Patients With Melanoma
A single dose of a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor before resection for melanoma may predict clinical outcomes for patients. Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania—who documented this finding in the largest cohort of patients to be...
Effect of Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion on Colorectal Cancer Screening and Survival in Kentucky
Kentucky has been one of the most successful states in reducing its uninsured rate, which happened in part through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion that took effect on January 1, 2014. In the past, Kentucky has reported low rates of colorectal cancer screening, and has ranked ...
Late Morbidity and Mortality in Survivors of Medulloblastoma
In a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Salloum et al found that changes in medulloblastoma therapy over 3 decades that have improved survival have also increased risk for subsequent neoplasms and debilitating health conditions. As noted...
QOPI Round 1 Now Open for Data Abstraction
As of January 9, ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Round 1 of reporting is open for data abstraction. Round 1 will close on June 3, and final reports will be available approximately 2 weeks after the round closes. To get started, go to the registration portal and log in. A...
Who I Am and What I Will Do
I am a radiation oncologist from Zambia, where we only have one cancer center offering radiotherapy—and I will beat cancer. This bold statement often evokes a look of surprise. However, if the conversation is allowed to go on, I’ll say cancer is beatable even where resources are thin. I am...
Advances in Haploidentical Transplantation and Cellular Therapies
With advances in the field, the number of haploidentical stem cell transplants being performed (ie, using human leukocyte antigen [HLA] half-matched donor stem cells) has been increasing. In recognition of evolving strategies to improve outcomes, a group of transplant physicians started the...
Innovative Research to Improve the Supportive Care Needs of Cancer Survivors
First launched in 2014, the Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium introduced a nascent interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of both the physical and psychological symptoms of cancer to improve disease outcome and quality of life for patients. Today, it has evolved into a leading forum for...
Long-Term Study Finds Axillary Radiotherapy Safe and Effective After Positive Sentinel Node Biopsy
Following identification of a positive sentinel lymph node, surgical axillary lymph node dissection and axillary radiation therapy provide comparable locoregional control and survival, according to a 10-year follow-up of the large European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer AMAROS...
Creating ‘Right-Sized’ Follow-up Care in Oncology as Number of Cancer Survivors Grows
An aging population, a growing number of cancer survivors, and a projected shortage of cancer care providers will lead to challenges in delivering care for cancer survivors in the United States if systemic changes are not made, according to a commentary in the Journal of the National Cancer...
TAT 2019: Trends in Distribution of Cancer Type in Phase I Trials
The proportion of early-stage drug trials tackling the most common tumor types has declined sharply since the early 1990s, as less common cancers receive increasing attention in trials, according to new research presented by Sato et al at the TAT 2019–International Congress on Targeted...
Large Single-Arm Trial of Hydroxyurea for Sickle Cell Anemia in Sub-Saharan Africa
THE LARGEST PROSPECTIVE trial of hydroxyurea for sickle cell anemia has shown that this treatment is feasible, accepted, well tolerated, and safe for children living in sub-Saharan Africa. Hydroxyurea has long been the standard of care for treating children with sickle cell anemia in developed...
Luspatercept May Reduce the Need for Transfusion in Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes
IN THE RANDOMIZED, double-blind, phase III MEDALIST trial, the experimental drug luspatercept significantly reduced the need for frequent red blood cell transfusions in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and ring sideroblasts. With luspatercept, 37.8% of patients remained...
Conference Highlights From the 2018 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition
In sunny San Diego, the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition welcomed nearly 30,000 attendees who were eager to present, learn, network, and cheer the joint achievements of many researchers. The packed meeting was filled with important information from...
CancerLinQ Leader Contributes to New BRCA Exchange to Inform Understanding of Cancer Risk
A new global resource that includes data on thousands of inherited variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes will help inform the understanding of cancer risk. Wendy Rubinstein, MD, PhD, FACP, FACMG, Deputy Medical Director of CancerLinQ, LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary of ASCO, served as a...
In Era of Immunotherapy, Radiation Therapy May Become Essential Component of Systemic Treatments of Cancer
“IN THIS era of immunotherapy, it is highly possible, and potentially probable, that radiation therapy may become not just a form of locoregional and palliative treatment, but an essential component of our systemic treatments of cancer,” according to Zachary S. Morris, MD, PhD, Vice-Chair,...
Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer Expands, but Concerns Persist About Patient Selection and Toxicities
SOME PATIENTS with advanced head and neck cancer may achieve durable responses with immunotherapy, and recent trial results suggest first-line immunotherapy may increase survival among patients with recurrent or metastatic disease. However, concerns remain about selecting patients most likely to...
Expert Point of View: Michael J. Overman, MD
INVITED STUDY discussant Michael J. Overman, MD, Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, is a co-investigator on CheckMate 142, which led to the approval of another immunotherapy doublet—nivolumab plus ipilimumab—in patients...
Expert Point of View: Andrew X. Zhu, MD, PhD
ANDREW X. ZHU, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, noted that Prep-02/ JSAP-05 is the first study to show the value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, the findings are applicable only to Asian ...
Emerging Role for Neoadjuvant Treatment of Resectable Pancreatic Cancer
SEVERAL STUDIES presented at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium evaluated the benefits of neoadjuvant treatment in patients with pancreatic cancer—and in patients deemed fully resectable, not just “borderline” resectable.1-3 Although the standard of care for resectable pancreatic ductal...
Crizanlizumab Improves Prevention of Vaso-occlusive Crises in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease
For the first time in more than 20 years, patients with sickle cell disease may have another treatment option to reduce painful vaso-occlusive crises, according to data presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 Results of the phase II, randomized,...
Former JAMA Editor Offers Perspective on Challenges Past and Present in American Health Care
BOOKMARK Title: Severed Trust: Why American Medicine Hasn’t Been FixedAuthor: George D. Lundberg, MD, With James StaceyPublisher: Basic BooksPublication date: March 2001Price: $28.00, hardcover, 336 pages Pathologist George D. Lundberg, MD, served as Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of the American...
Cancer Has Given Me the Life I Was Meant to Live
The first symptom of my multiple myeloma appeared 6 months before I received the official diagnosis. I began having some discomfort, not pain exactly, in my right hip, and developed a pronounced limp. I had recently left my medical practice to launch Global Girls Global Women, a nonprofit...
Physician Wellness: Time to Heal the Healer
Physician wellness is emblazoned upfront in the news with attention-seeking headlines on a daily basis. The fact that one or two physicians commit suicide every day in this country sometimes elicits more of a sympathetic acknowledgment than a committed call to address it. Moreover, these sobering...
Norman E. Sharpless, MD: From Director of a Comprehensive Cancer Center to Director of the NCI
GUEST EDITOR Dr. Abraham is the Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic. In this installment of the Living a Full Life series of articles, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, interviewed Norman E. ...
Benefit of Annual Screening in Women Aged 35–39 With a Family History of Breast Cancer
Annual screening for women aged 35–39 who have a family history of breast cancer may be highly effective in detecting tumors earlier, according to findings published by Evans et al in The Lancet’s online journal EClinicalMedicine. The FH02 trial found that annual mammograms for...
ERG Gene Variations and Risk of ALL in Hispanic Children
Scientists have identified genetic variations in a fourth gene that are associated with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Hispanic children. These findings were published by Qian et al in Blood. The gene is ERG, a transcription factor that is also...
Involvement of Primary Care Providers in Cancer Treatment Decisions
The idea of team-based cancer care most often focuses on involving primary care physicians in the care of cancer survivors, but research has shown patients are also discussing initial cancer treatment options with their primary care doctors. Now, a new study by Wallner et al in Cancer has...
Small Study Investigates Rise of Glottic Carcinoma in Young Adults and HPV Infection
An increase in the diagnosis of glottic carcinoma in young adults may be due in part to infection with strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) described finding HPV infection in all tested samples of glottic carcinoma from 10 patients diagnosed ...
Updated German Guidelines for Basal Cell Carcinoma
The German S2k guidelines for cutaneous basal cell carcinoma were recently updated to include new developments regarding the epidemiology, diagnosis, and histology of the disease. Commissioned by the Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group of the German Cancer Society and the German Society of...
2019 GU Cancers Symposium: Study Evaluates Survival by Race in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
A large, retrospective study analyzing 5 years of data from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) found that African American men with chemotherapy-naive, metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer who were treated with abiraterone acetate or enzalutamide lived 20% longer compared with...
Neoadjuvant Combination Checkpoint Blockade in Advanced Melanoma
Neoadjuvant combination checkpoint blockade showed activity among patients with high-risk stage III melanoma in a small study. However, a high incidence of side effects caused the trial to be closed early. These results were published by Rodabe N. Amaria, MD, Assistant Professor of Melanoma...
Advancing the Science and Art of Integrative Oncology
In 2019, we will mark the 20th year of the establishment of the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), which helped lay the foundation for the emerging field of integrative oncology. Over the past 2 decades, academic cancer institutions, including The...
Breast Cancer Surgical Terminology Should Be Updated to Reflect Modern Medical Practice
BREAST CANCER is a microscopic disease, with most patients presenting with “localized” stage I to III disease, for which they are offered curative-intent surgery often accompanied by radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. More accurately, we now know that patients with localized...
Encourage Lung Cancer Screening to Prevent Early Deaths
Discussions of benefits and harms from screening of high-risk populations for lung cancer have missed the point. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) showed an early and statistically significant major benefit in all-cause mortality from computed tomography (CT) screening.1 Those referred for...
How Turning ‘Cold’ Tumors Into ‘Hot’ Ones May Improve Response to Immunotherapy
The proliferation of immunotherapeutics in the treatment of cancer over the past decade has revolutionized the way many cancers are treated, especially lung cancer and melanoma, as well as some blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma, drastically improving outcomes for many patients with...
Novel Treatments of Myelodysplastic Syndromes
AS PART of The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here is an update on seven different studies on new therapeutics in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Among the treatments highlighted here are the erythroid maturation...
Integrative Oncology Scholars Program: Model for Evidence-Based Complementary Care
THE FIRST full year of educational training in the practice of complementary therapies is now underway at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor through its Integrative Oncology Scholars Program, which launched in 2017. The program, which is supported through a 5-year grant from the National...
More Than 60 Leading Health-Care Organizations Call on CMS to Maintain Coverage for Medically Necessary Cancer Testing
Leading health-care companies and organizations representing patients, providers, academic medical centers, laboratories, and diagnostic manufacturers urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to revise its interpretation of the National Coverage Determination (NCD) for...
Site of Care May Affect Racial and Ethnic Minorities’ Access to Palliative Treatment
For patients at the end of life, palliative care can prolong survival and improve the quality of life for patients with a life-threatening illness and for their families—but studies have found that racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive end-of-life palliative care than...
American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control Report Released
According to the American Lung Association’s recently released 2019 State of Tobacco Control report, states and the federal government have not taken meaningful action in establishing policies to prevent and reduce tobacco use, the nation's leading cause of preventable death and disease. ...
New Standards for Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs Focus on Developing Evidence-Based Measures
ASCO recently published standards on the safe handling of hazardous drugs in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 ASCO’s standards largely endorse best practices issued by other stakeholder groups for safely handling hazardous drugs but offer alternatives in several key areas where more research is...
Clinical Cancer Advances 2019: ASCO Names Advance of the Year, Debuts Research Priorities for the Cancer Community
In the release of its annual report on progress against cancer, Clinical Cancer Advances 2019, ASCO recognized progress in treating rare cancers as the Advance of the Year. The report catalogs a year’s worth of remarkable research advancements, reinforces the need for continued federal research...
Expert Point of View: Steven Gore, MD, Eyten Stein, MD, and Elihu H. Estey, MD
In discussions after these presentations, several points were made by several experts. To begin, Steven Gore, MD, Director of Hematologic Malignancies at Yale Medical School, called the study of venetoclax plus 10-day decitabine “very important,” but he raised the issue of appropriate dosing. He...
Expert Point of View: Mrinal S. Patnaik, MBBS and David P. Steensma, MD
Mrinal S. Patnaik, MBBS, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Oncology and a consultant in hematology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, commented on the MEDALIST trial for The ASCO Post. “Given its unique mode of action, relative ease of administration, and excellent tolerability,...
Luspatercept May Reduce the Need for Transfusion in Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes
In the randomized, double-blind, phase III MEDALIST trial, the experimental drug luspatercept significantly reduced the need for frequent red blood cell transfusions in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and ring sideroblasts. With luspatercept, 37.9% remained transfusion-free ...
