Primary treatment of most solid tumors includes surgical excision or radiation therapy, both of which require precise anatomic localization of the tumor as well as surrounding tissue and organs. If the targeting is too broad, unnecessary morbidity may occur to nearby structures, along with the...
With a focus on the pathology aspects of diagnosing lymphoma, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) are collaborating to develop an evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the workup of...
Analysis of male- and female-derived tumor samples revealed differences in prognostic biomarkers, genes that drive cancer, and in regulation of key pathways that may predict responses to treatment, according to results published in two studies in Cancer Research, one by Li et al and the other...
A therapeutic vaccine may boost antibodies and T cells, helping them infiltrate human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck cancer tumors. Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania tested the immunotherapy approach in two groups of patients with...
As of August 2018, more than 100 teams from oncology practices around the United States and the world have participated in ASCO’s Quality Training Program (QTP). The QTP offers education and training for physician-led oncology teams. The program prepares teams of oncology providers to design,...
How do patients really feel when they are in your care? What does it feel like to cure a cancer? How are the children of oncologists affected when grief is a parent’s occupational hazard? These are the personal topics explored in the candid and inspirational mini-podcast series, Your Stories:...
Advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma have led to longer progression-free survival, but the majority of patients will still relapse despite newer treatments. A number of new drugs and combinations are under study in the hope of improving outcomes. “Multiple myeloma is a complex disease...
The C-C chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) is predominantly expressed in type 2 helper T (Th2) cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells.1 Under physiologic conditions and in response to its ligands, CCL17 (TARC) and CCL22 (MDC), CCR4 promotes T-cell migration to the skin.2 Of note, CCR4 is highly expressed in...
Although approximately 20% to 30% of patients with cancer will develop venous thromboembolism (VTE), clinicians continue to debate strategies for pharmacologic treatment and prevention.1 At the 2018 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference, held on Sea Island, Georgia, Christine...
Because neuroendocrine tumors are not one disease but a continuum of diseases, ranging from well-differentiated tumors to poorly differentiated and small cell tumors, treatment approaches can vary greatly. At the 2018 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology conference, held on Sea Island,...
The Beat AML Master Clinical Trial seeks to change the treatment paradigm and outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by personalizing therapy and ultimately facilitating the approval of novel targeted agents. Co-investigator William Blum, MD, of the Winship Cancer Institute at the Emory...
We have seen remarkable progress in the outcomes of patients with advanced-stage follicular lymphoma over the past 2 decades.1 Recent manuscripts and presentations describing long-term follow-up of randomized trials comparing various chemotherapy platforms (all combined with anti-CD20 antibodies)...
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a poster child for the success of molecularly targeted therapy, with some patients appearing to be “cured” of their disease and others living for a long time after treatment with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the BCR-ABL1 protein. However, there are still...
Having high levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH)—a hormone that indicates the size of a woman’s ovarian reserve—before menopause may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, a study by Ge et al in the International Journal of Cancer found. In a major study,...
A preclinical study showing that a vaccination with a recombinant adenovirus expressing a truncated ErbB-2 antigen can cure advanced established murine breast cancer as well as extensive established metastatic lung cancer led to the launch of a small phase I study investigating a therapeutic cancer ...
Findings presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) showed poziotinib demonstrates clinical activity among patients with stage IV NSCLC with genetic mutations that have previously not responded to treatment....
USING MULTIGENE hereditary cancer panels to test for mutations in five genes can identify women at high risk for triple-negative breast cancer who may then benefit from more frequent screening, risk management, and potentially targeted therapies as well. A study that looked at multigene panel...
In the fall of 2009, I suddenly went from being a healthy, physically active 47-year-old to a patient with stage IV non–small lung cancer (NSCLC), with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. A never-smoker, I had attributed a persistent cough I’d been having to the change in the season. And why...
Although the basic concept of using the body’s immune defense mechanisms to fight cancer has been around for centuries, the idea of using immunotherapy in cancer, in general, returned to prominence when Dr. Thomas Burnet first proposed the theory of cancer immunosurveillance in 1957. Despite...
THE ALBERT and Mary Lasker Foundation has announced the winners of its 2018 Lasker Awards: C. David Allis, PhD, of Rockefeller University, and Michael Grunstein, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, will receive the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award; John B. Glen, BVMS, PhD,...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Providing care to patients with cancer can be overwhelming, and caregivers are at risk for physical and psychological distress, which can negatively impact their own health. Over the past decade, supporting caregiver well-being has gained prominence as a national health-care issue. In this...
The estimated cost of cancer care in the United States was $125 billion in 2010 and is expected to rise to $175 billion by 2020.1 In an effort to reign in spiraling costs and deliver better care, the term “value” has become part of the new oncology lexicon, as providers, patients, and payers seek...
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2016, over 42,000 Americans died from opioid overdose, making the epidemic a top public health concern. Although opioids are commonly used for cancer-associated pain, the risks for overdose in patients with cancer were unknown. A...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Rare Pediatric Disease designation to CLR 131 for the treatment of osteosarcoma. CLR 131 has received Rare Pediatric Disease designation in four pediatric cancers: neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, and now...
Fully updated and now with 8th Edition AJCC staging information, this updated guide is designed for people newly diagnosed with small cell lung cancer to help them get organized and learn more about their diagnosis, treatment options, side effects, support options, follow-up care, and more. It...
Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, a long-time ASCO member and volunteer, began his role as ASCO President-Elect in June 2018. An ASCO member for nearly 30 years, Dr. Burris’ service to the Society is extensive. His volunteer roles include member of the ASCO Board of Directors and...
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. Find him on Twitter @jamecancerdoc. For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor, Jame Abraham, MD,...
Investigators have unraveled the origins and identified mutations associated with mixed-phenotype acute leukemia. The study, published by Alexander et al in Nature, potentially lays the foundation for more effective treatment of patients with this high-risk cancer. Mixed-phenotype acute...
Several studies published earlier this year present preliminary but compelling evidence that electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine through aerosols without burning tobacco, may pose serious health consequences to users, including cardiovascular disease and...
A pair of new studies from researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania are shedding light on why patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) respond or do not respond to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Although CAR T-cell therapy is...
Long-term follow-up data on axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) in lymphoma, potential partners for nivolumab (Opdivo) in solid tumors, and a targeted agent for RET-altered cancers were featured during the developmental therapeutics program at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. At the Best of ASCO...
My male colleagues sometimes broach the topic of #MeToo or sexual harassment in medicine by saying how uncomfortable it makes them. Ah, yes. How uncomfortable the sexual harassment I have faced for years makes you. I casually bring up microaggressions—subtle verbal or nonverbal slights against...
The treatment of triple-negative breast cancer remains a clinical challenge with no single validated target, though numerous pathways are druggable and are being investigated. In the subset of BRCA-mutated triple-negative breast cancer, the approval of the first poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)...
Compared with placebo, cabozantinib (Cabometyx) significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who were previously treated with sorafenib (Nexavar), with no new safety signals, according to data from the phase III CELESTIAL ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a series of critical and historic enforcement actions related to the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children. In the largest coordinated enforcement effort in the its history, the agency issued more than 1,300 warning...
A group of men with especially aggressive prostate cancer may respond unusually well to immunotherapy, according to a study published by Rodrigues et al in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The research offers the possibility of effective treatment, with clinical trials already underway. An...
Case studies have reported a high prevalence of methotrexate subacute neurotoxicity among Hispanic adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), suggesting sensitivity to methotrexate therapy may differ by race and ethnicity. Now, a prospective study in pediatric patients with ALL has found...
The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation today announced the winners of its 2018 Lasker Awards: C. David Allis, PhD, of Rockefeller University and Michael Grunstein, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, will receive the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research...
A new study suggests chemotherapy may cause acute amenorrhea, leading to early menopause in women with lung cancer. The study is the first to comment on amenorrhea rates in women younger than 50, concluding that women with lung cancer who desire future fertility should be educated about risks and...
HOW DO patients really feel when they are in your care? What does it feel like to cure a cancer? How are the children of oncologists affected when grief is a parent’s occupational hazard? They are the personal topics explored in the candid and inspirational mini-podcast series, Your Stories:...
The tumultuous history of modern South Africa has numerous stories that lie beneath the surface of the sociopolitical headlines, such as the story of lung cancer expert Leora Horn, MD. “I was born and reared in Johannesburg, South Africa, a second-generation African family. In 1987, because of the...
THE GEORGETOWN Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center has developed and released a cache of brain cancer biomedical data and made them freely available to researchers worldwide. The database, referred to as REMBRANDT (Repository for Molecular Brain Neoplasia Data), contains information on 671 adult...
Male breast cancer is a rare and understudied malignancy when compared with female breast cancer, with conflicting literature on survival outcomes in men and women. The ASCO Post spoke recently with breast cancer expert Sharon Giordano, MD, MPH, FASCO, Professor at The University of Texas MD...
COMMENTING ON the importance of this topic at a press conference during the 2018 Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC)/International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO) Annual Meeting, Ian Olver, MD, PhD, Immediate Past President of MASCC and Director of the University of...
IMMUNE CHECKPOINT inhibitors represent a giant step forward in the treatment of many cancers, and as these agents have “come of age” in the past few years, so has the collective understanding of their potential for causing adverse events. Although checkpoint inhibitors are known to be associated...
As novel therapies come on board for treating relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, the field is advancing toward more personalized therapy. The goal, even in the advanced-disease setting, is to increase the chances of complete response and negative positron-emission tomography (PET), while...
In triple-negative breast cancer, researchers have so far been unable to identify markers that can classify patients by prognosis or probability of responding to different treatments. In a study published by Zagorac et al in Nature Communications, researchers from the Spanish National Cancer...
I have always been plagued with nagging headaches, so when they intensified in late 2010, I wasn’t too concerned. But when my eyes began involuntarily moving rapidly back and forth as I was writing Christmas cards, I knew the symptoms were a sign of something serious. A magnetic resonance imaging...
A MAN in his early 70s sits in our office. His general health is good, and he is feeling well. Yet he is deeply worried. Four years ago, when his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level rapidly increased after radical prostatectomy and subsequent radiation therapy, he was started on...