Bookmark Title: Pick Your Poison: How Our Mad Dash to Chemical Utopia Is Making Lab Rats of Us All Author: Monona Rossol Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Publication date: October 2015 Price: E-book, 210 pages Monona Rossol is a chemist and “industrial hygienist” who is a frequent contributor to...
Bookmark Title: AIDS Between Science and Politics Author: Peter Piot Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication date: May 2015 Price: $29.95; hardcover, 216 pages AIDS is a global phenomenon that recognizes neither national boundaries nor social strata. The AIDS pandemic was one of the...
We'll provide the resources. You provide the voice. The Campaign to Conquer Cancer is raising $150 million to support a world free from the fear of cancer. Our potential to raise money increases with every new person who learns about our work. We need the most trusted leaders in the oncology...
Seventeen distinguished ASCO members have been selected by the ASCO Nominating Committee as candidates for open leadership positions within the Society. They include the office of President-Elect, four seats on the Society’s Board of Directors, and three seats on the ASCO Nominating Committee....
On September 30, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution that will fund the government at current levels through December 11. Funding for both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) dipped slightly as part of a 0.21% cut to all nondefense discretionary...
A new article published in the Journal of Oncology Practice evaluates differences between the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell cancer who participated in clinical trials vs those who received the same therapy in routine clinical practice. Nearly 40% of patients in the real-world...
Dear Friends: This is the time of year when I often receive cards from patients celebrating their holiday season. Most cards include photos of my patients on vacation or alongside their growing families, conquering cancer in the simplest and most perfect way—with happiness and hope. I am grateful...
Cancer.Net Mobile app offers your patients and their caregivers trusted, oncologist-approved cancer information and the tools and resources they need to help plan and manage cancer care. The newest version of Cancer.Net Mobile is optimized for the latest iOS versions, and offers an all-new visual...
S. Gail Eckhardt, MD, FASCO, is a tenured Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she also holds the Stapp Harlow Chair in Cancer Research. She has been a faculty member at the institution since 1999 and was Division Head of Medical Oncology from 2006–2014. Currently, she...
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 October 9, 2015, the anti–programmed cell death protein 1...
Aromatase inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy in reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence in hormone receptor–positive patients, but medication compliance can be limited by uncomfortable side effects, including musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Musculoskeletal symptoms have been reported ...
Pfizer recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to the company’s investigational antibody-drug conjugate inotuzumab ozogamicin for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The FDA’s decision was based on the results of the phase III ...
ASCO recently called for comprehensive physician payment reform to support the full scope of services required by patients with cancer, rather than jeopardizing patient outcomes by reducing the available resources in a particular cancer care setting in an effort to achieve “site neutrality” in...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Algeria. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the world. For the ...
The LUNGevity Foundation and the biopharmaceutical company Celgene have joined forces to launch a new resource for caregivers of people diagnosed with lung cancer. The program, “Your Journey Together,” is a support tool focusing on the specific needs of this group and includes a series of videos,...
Peter A. Kanetsky, PhD, MPH, Chair and Program Leader of Cancer Epidemiology at the Moffitt Cancer Center, has been elected as the new president for the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO). He will serve as President-Elect before taking the post in March 2017. ASPO is a multidisciplinary ...
Martine Extermann, MD, PhD, senior member of Moffitt’s Senior Adult Oncology Program, has been honored with the Geriatric Oncology Lifetime Achievement Award, originally known as the “Preis geriatrische Onkologie für das Lebenswerk 2015,” at this year’s German, Austrian, and Swiss Congress of the...
The investigational drug telotristat etiprate was shown to have clinical benefit when added to somatostatin analog therapy for carcinoid syndrome not adequately controlled by long-acting somatostatin analog therapy, the current standard of care, in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors....
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for patients with lung cancer. The trials are investigating DNA, RNA, and protein changes contributing to carcinogenesis; new prevention strategies; combination therapies; radiation,...
In Europe, the field of geriatric oncology has a long history of development, and its organization and implementation continue to improve every day. This would not have happened without the strong commitment of national authorities to health policies, a critical success factor. Four Missions In...
The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) presented the AACI Distinguished Scientist Award to Lewis Cantley, PhD, on October 26, during the 2015 AACI/Cancer Center Administrators Forum Annual Meeting, in Washington, DC. A cell biologist and biochemist who serves as The Margaret and...
The incidence of melanoma among children, adolescents, and young adults has reached epidemic proportions, increasing more than 250% over the past 4 decades, with young females at highest risk for the deadly cancer, according to a study1 by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo,...
A new collaboration between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System will provide access to the latest therapeutic cancer clinical trials and state-of-the-art care for men and women who have served in the armed forces. The...
In metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer, several trials have shown that the addition of the anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) to different chemotherapy regimens significantly improved response rates and progression-free survival by various...
The phase III National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-40 (NRG Oncology) trial showed that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to docetaxel + anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved pathologic complete response rate, the primary endpoint, in patients with early...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has announced the election of three new members to its Executive Committee, the governing body of the organization, for terms beginning after the 2015 ASH Annual Meeting, taking place December 5–8 in Orlando. Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH, will serve a 1-year...
Neutropenic complications remain the main dose-limiting toxicity of cancer chemotherapy treatment and are associated with considerable morbidity, mortality, and costs.1 Although patients who have experienced a prior neutropenic event are at increased risk of subsequent events, several studies have...
ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline update on use of hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors, as reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Thomas J. Smith, MD, FACP, FASCO, FAAHMP, and colleagues.1 This update to the ASCO 2006 guideline was based on a systematic review of...
Maciej (Matt) Lesniak, MD, has been named the Michael J. Marchese Professor and Chair of the Departments of Neurological Surgery at Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Prior to joining Northwestern, Dr. Lesniak was a Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and...
Breast cancer and ovarian cancer specialist, Victoria L. Seewaldt, MD, has joined City of Hope as the Ruth Ziegler Chair in Population Sciences. Dr. Seewaldt, who is a specialist in developing risk models for aggressive cancers, will also serve as the Associate Director of the Comprehensive Cancer...
Nancy A. Speck, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the Associate Director of Penn’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Co-Leader of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at...
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) announced that it has appointed Marc Hurlbert, PhD, as its new Chief Mission Officer (CMO). Formerly the Executive Director of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, Dr. Hurlbert succeeds Margaret (Peg) Mastrianni, who will retire in January 2016 after serving...
The Affordable Care Act established a 15-member Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) to reduce Medicare spending growth using a target system and fast-track legislative approval process. By April 30 of each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will project whether Medicare’s...
In 2014, the Institute of Medicine report Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life called for more conversations about improving care for those who are dying. Improving the care of the imminently dying is an important issue in the oncology...
Treatment decision-making for oncologists and their patients may become simpler through the use of graphic NCCN Evidence Blocks™, which were unveiled at the NCCN 10th Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™ sponsored by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN¨). The first of the NCCN...
A nationwide online survey of 776 pediatricians and family physicians assessing the quality of their human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine recommendations to parents has found that approximately 27% of respondents said they do not strongly endorse HPV vaccination; further, 26% and 39% of respondents...
Ovarian cancer clinical trialists are forming a working group to develop a standard definition of pathologic complete response in ovarian cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Such agreement within the field potentially would enable the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider...
On October 21 in Washington, DC, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) hosted a reception to honor Richard Pazdur, MD, and Ellen Goodman. NCCS Chief Executive Officer, Shelly Fuld Nasso, welcomed attendees to the special awards reception. NCCS Public Service Leadership Award The...
Renowned clinician-scientist Alec Kimmelman, MD, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at NYU Langone Medical Center. His appointment is effective February 1, 2016. Dr. Kimmelman joins the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone following a distinguished...
Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD, an oncologist whose work in experimental cancer therapy and tumor model development has led to key advances in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, has been named Director of the Leon V. & Marilyn L. Rosenberg Clinical Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of...
Discussant of the Neoadjuvant Breast Symphony Trial data, William J. Gradishar, MD, FASCO, Betsy Bramsen Professor of Breast Oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago, underscored the importance of identifying patients in a more precise and...
Molecular categorization of tumors with immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has become a critical component in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, improving outcomes by assigning the most appropriate therapy to specific tumor pathways. According to a...
These are interesting results,” said Martin Reck, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology at the Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf in Germany, who discussed the study at the Presidential Session of the 2015 European Cancer Congress. Responses to rovalpituzumab tesirine, he noted, “are superior ...
The antibody-drug conjugate rovalpituzumab tesirine has shown strong clinical activity as second- and third-line treatment for small cell lung cancer in a phase I/Ib multicenter study,1 especially in the subset with high expression of the delta-like protein 3 (DLL3), which the drug targets. This...
Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS, the William W. Coon Professor of Surgical Oncology and Associate Chair of Clinical Affairs at the University of Michigan Health System, has been named Chair of Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Senior Vice President of the...
Martin Reck, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology at the Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf in Germany, discussed the study at the Presidential Session, calling it “very important work.” This study shows that, with more sensitive assays, T790M mutations are much more frequent than previously ...
Treatment with erlotinib and bevacizumab (Avastin) may help overcome the poor prognosis associated with T790M mutations present at diagnosis in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the results of the phase II BELIEF trial.1 At the 2015 European Cancer Congress, Rolf A. Stahel,...
In discussing the findings of this study on genetic sequencing of breast cancer tissue, Fabrice André, MD, PhD, of the Gustave Roussy Institute, in Villejuif, France, questioned whether all the genes that were found to be enriched in the relapsed samples were driving the relapse and whether any...
Breast tumors that recur appear to have a different genetic profile than those that do not, and they often demonstrate targetable mutations, according to the largest study of genetic sequencing of breast cancer tissue to date.1 This finding was presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress. “We...
On October 28, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the monoclonal antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with cutaneous melanoma with pathologic involvement of regional lymph nodes of more than 1 mm who have undergone complete resection, including ...