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Showing 3401 - 3450American Psychosocial Oncology Society Endorses Psychosocial Standards of Care for Children With Cancer and Their Families
The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) has endorsed the “Psychosocial Standards of Care for Children With Cancer and Their Families,” which were published in a December 2015 special supplement of Pediatric Blood & Cancer. The scientific, evidence-based psychosocial standards define...
2016 Oncology Meetings
JANUARY 2016 8th Annual T-Cell Lymphoma ForumJanuary 28-30 • San Francisco, CA For more information: www.tcellforum.com/ 3rd Annual University of Southern California Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer SymposiumJanuary 30 • Los Angeles, California For more information:...
Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, Joins City of Hope
Medical oncologist and researcher Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, has joined City of Hope as Professor and Chair in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research. He will play a key leadership role in the expansion of clinical programs at City of Hope’s Duarte campus and in its clinics...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Afghanistan
The ASCO Post is pleased to introduce this special focus on the worldwide cancer burden, beginning in this issue with a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
Study Reveals Potential Therapy Targets for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
A multi-institutional international investigation led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, has revealed new information about how molecules called long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) interact with HIF-1, a signaling pathway that is overexpressed in many cancers....
Phase III Trial Shows Improved Progression-Free Survival With Ibrutinib vs Temsirolimus in Relapsed/Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
In aphase III trial reported in The Lancet and at the recent American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Martin Dreyling, MD, of the European Mantle Cell Lymphoma Network, and colleagues found that ibrutinib (Imbruvica) was associated with improved progression-free survival vs...
ASCO Submits Comments to CMS on EHR Stage 3 of Meaningful Use and Modifications Final Rule
On December 15, ASCO submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the agency’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Stage 3 of Meaningful Use and Modifications in 2015 through 2017. The Society’s comments provided recommendations to CMS regarding the implementation of...
Study Confirms Benefit of Triplet vs Doublet in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
Triplets should be the standard of care in most newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients, according to a study that validated a practice that has become common in the United States, though not necessarily elsewhere. The use of three drugs led to significant reductions in disease progression and...
Multiple Myeloma in 2015: A Year for the Record Books
Few malignancies have received as much attention, in the way of newly approved drugs, as multiple myeloma did in 2015. In November alone, 3 new agents were approved, bringing the total to 4 for the year as part of a record 7 approvals and to 16 regulatory approvals over the past 12 years. Speakers...
Study Shows Inferior Outcomes for African American Pediatric Lymphoma Patients
Researchers from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have published a study showing that African American pediatric patients with Hodgkin lymphoma have inferior overall survival compared with their white and Hispanic peers. The study, published ...
New NCCN Guidelines for Vulvar Cancer Available
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has published new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for vulvar cancer; these NCCN Guidelines® are currently available as Version 1.2016. The NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium (NCCN Compendium®) has been...
New Precision Medicine Guidelines Aimed at Improving Personalized Cancer Treatment Plans for Patients
A committee of national experts, led by a Cleveland Clinic researcher, has established first-of-its-kind guidelines to promote more accurate and individualized cancer predictions, guiding more precise treatment and leading to improved patient survival rates and outcomes. These guidelines were...
Pregnancy-Associated Melanoma Is Linked With Higher Death Rates
Melanoma is on the rise in women of childbearing age. Those at the greatest risk, according to new Cleveland Clinic research, are women younger than 50 who are pregnant or have recently been pregnant. After adjusting for age, tumor location, and stage, researchers from Cleveland Clinic's...
Link Between Obesity and Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer Revealed in Preclinical Models
Obesity has long been associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer, but the link has never been understood. Now, a research team led by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University has revealed the biologic connection, and in the process, has identified an approved drug that might prevent...
Ultrasound Guidance Lowers Risks of Thoracic Nerve Block Technique for Mastectomy
A regional anesthesia technique called thoracic paravertebral nerve block is highly effective in controlling pain after breast cancer surgery, but concern about potential complications may limit its use. A new study provides evidence that using ultrasound to guide the nerve blocking procedure...
HPV Vaccine Uptake Is Highest Among Girls in High-Poverty and Majority Hispanic Communities
Adolescent girls living in high-poverty communities and majority Hispanic communities were more likely to have received at least one dose of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine than those living in low-poverty communities and in communities of other racial and ethnic compositions. These findings...
Pembrolizumab Improves Survival vs Docetaxel in Previously Treated PD-L1–Positive Advanced NSCLC
As reported in The Lancet by Herbst et al, the phase II/III KEYNOTE-010 trial showed that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly improved overall survival vs docetaxel in patients with previously treated programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Adjuvant Therapy in Cutaneous Melanoma: The Need for a New Approach
Melanoma of the skin remains a fatal disease, and its incidence continues to rise, mostly in young adults during their prime. Surgery remains the most effective therapeutic modality, but patients’ survival depends on the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Various therapeutic agents have ...
Experts Seek to Explain the Survival Gap in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer
While overall cancer survival rates continue to rise-there are nearly 12 million cancer survivors today, according to the latest figures from NCI-most of that improvement is among pediatric and older adult patients. For adolescent and young adult patients with cancer, defined by the NCI as those in ...
Survivorship Symposium 2016: Study Finds That Less Than Half of Survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma Received All Recommended Follow-up Care
According to the American Cancer Society’s 2014 Cancer Facts & Figures, Hodgkin lymphoma is diagnosed in about 800 adolescents and young adults each year. And while standard treatments for the cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation, are very effective in improving survival,...
Expert Point of View: Sunitinib/Prednisone Improves Progression-free Survival but not Overall Survival in Metastatic Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer
Philip W. Kantoff, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, emphasized that this was essentially a negative study. “There is no evidence that VEGFR-targeted agents provide a survival benefit for men with advanced prostate cancer,” he indicated. “With shrinking resources and a rapidly improving...
Vanderbilt Oncologists Partner with Cardiologists to Research Chemotherapy-related Cardiac Toxicity
Cardiac toxicity related to chemotherapy is not a new topic but it is an increasingly important one, as concerns are no longer limited to the anthracyclines. Targeted agents unfortunately “target” the cardiovascular system as well, especially bevacizumab (Avastin), trastuzumab (Herceptin) when...
Newly Elected Society Officials for 2011
In December 2010, ASCO announced the results of its 2011 Election for President-Elect and for members of the Board of Directors and the Nominating Committee. Sandra M. Swain, MD (Washington Hospital Center’s Washington Cancer Institute, Georgetown University, and Uniformed Services University of...
On William Osler: The Old Art and the New Science
William Osler (1849–1919) is one of the most revered physicians in the history of medicine. He was an outstanding clinician who emphasized bedside teaching, hard work, medical history, and lifelong learning.1 As Professor of Medicine at four institutions in three countries, he exerted a profound...
Final Decision on Sipuleucel-T
The Centers for Medicare & Mediaid Services (CMS) issued a final decision to cover FDA-approved indications of sipuleucel-T (Provenge) in prostate cancer, calling the treatment “reasonable and necessary.” The CMS final decision assures provider reimbursement of sipuleucel-T for Medicare...
Conflicts of Interest in Health-care Reform?
Last year’s health-care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was designed to incrementally roll out major new bureaucratic entities, oversight, and mandates for the practice of medicine between its enactment and 2013, after the next presidential election. A new...
Optimizing Treatment for Advanced Prostate Cancer Requires Shifting Focus from Individual Drugs to Integrated Therapies
Newer drugs, including sipuleucel-T (Provenge), cabazitaxel (Jevtana), and abiraterone (Zytiga), can extend survival modestly and ease symptoms for men with advanced prostate cancer. Maximizing the benefit to patients will require shifting the focus from developing individual drugs to developing...
Oncology Community Briefs Members of Congress and Calls for Action
ASCO and seven other oncology organizations held a Capitol Hill briefing in July and explained to nearly 200 members of Congress and their staffs how widespread cancer drug shortages are creating “a crisis in care.” According to the University of Utah Drug Information Service, the number of drug...
Rising Costs of Cancer Care: It's More Than Drugs
All parties—the government, payers, and consumers—agree that, left unchecked, rising health-care costs will eventually hamstring vital portions of our delivery system. For example, Medicare, which covers more than 50% of the nation’s patients with cancer, is marching headlong toward insolvency....
‘Unrealistic Optimism’ Poses Ethical Challenges, May Affect Informed Consent Process
Does a patient’s optimistic expectation of reaping a health benefit from participating in phase I and phase II oncology studies, even when he understands that these early trials are not designed to provide direct therapeutic benefit, compromise the informed consent process? And, does that...
Circulating Tumor Cell Assay Shows Potential for Predicting Prognosis in Head and Neck Carcinoma
According to the NCI, an estimated 49,260 new cases of oral cavity, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cancers occurred in the United States in 2010, and approximately 11,480 deaths were attributed to these cases. It is estimated that 95% or more of these cases are squamous cell carcinomas. Currently, the...
Increased Use of Hospital Services Boosts Oncology Spending
For our ongoing series on the rising costs of cancer care, The ASCO Post spoke with Lee N. Newcomer, MD, Senior Vice President of Oncology for UnitedHealthcare. Dr. Newcomer is responsible for improving cost-effective cancer care at the nation’s largest health insurer. He shed light on areas of...
‘Hot Chemotherapy’ Generates Heated Debate about Its Use with Cytoreductive Surgery to Manage Peritoneal Metastases
"Hot chemotherapy” has become the common term for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which together with cytoreductive surgery is being used by some surgeons to treat patients with carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer. While HIPEC is not considered the most important component of...
SIDEBAR: Customary Prompt Pay
In the 2006 Physician Fee Schedule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interpreted the Medicare Modernization Act definition of average sales price to include “prompt pay” in its calculation. CMS maintains that since the statute includes the words “prompt pay discount,” it must...
Oncology Community Faces Complex Challenges in Evolving Policy Arena
As the political environment heats up in advance of the upcoming presidential campaign season, many issues crucial to the oncology community are being placed on the political chopping block as policymakers seek ways to reduce the mounting debt and soaring health-care spending. To help clarify some...
Yoga, Geriatric Assessment, and Nausea/Vomiting Addressed in Session on Supportive Care and Survivorship Issues
Marie E. Wood, MD, of the Familial Cancer Program at the University of Vermont, Burlington, addressed clinically relevant issues in supportive care and survivorship at the Best of ASCO® Annual Meeting ‘11 in Miami. Delayed Nausea and Vomiting Two studies addressed the problem of...
No Value for Axillary Dissection in Patients with Breast Cancer and Occult Nodal Metastases
In a subanalysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-32 study, nearly 16% of clinically node-negative patients were found to have occult metastases upon more detailed assessment of the sentinel lymph nodes. While a slight difference in outcomes was found among this...
SIDEBAR: Can Society Afford Bevacizumab in Ovarian Cancer?
For bevacizumab (Avastin), as for all targeted agents, there is a critical need to identify likely responders as well as patients at risk for serious toxicities, agreed Daniela Matei, MD, of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and session moderator Daniel F. Hayes, MD, of...
Breast Cancer Studies Explore Wide Variety of Prevention and Treatment Strategies, Offering New Insights
At the Best of ASCO® meeting in Miami, Harold Burstein, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and Carey K. Anders, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented high-impact breast cancer abstracts that will enable clinicians to optimize their use of radiotherapy and biologics. ...
Rates of Surgery and Survival Increasing for Early-stage Cancers
Surgery is increasingly being used to treat patients with early-stage laryngeal cancer in the United States, and chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy is being used increasingly to treat patients in an advanced stage of the disease, according to a report in the October issue of...
Fighting to Get Back Control
I’ve had raging hormones since I was 18, when I was diagnosed with a benign pituitary adenoma. The tumor caused unpredictable menstrual cycles that remained constant throughout my life, even after it had been successfully treated. So 2 years ago, when I turned 40 and started having sudden bouts of...
NCCN Guidelines® for Lung Cancer Screening Now Available
The new NCCN Guidelines for Lung Cancer Screening primarily refer to non–small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer, and recommend helical low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for select patients at high risk for the disease. In addition to outlining the appropriate use of ...
NCCN Meeting Addresses Issues in Hematologic Malignancies
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 6th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, held recently in New York, included reviews of the management of hematologic diseases as well as discussions of outstanding issues in the field. The following is a synopsis of some of the important...
Need for Data Capture Crucial, Now and After ‘Meaningful Use’
It’s never enough. Whether it is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), other payers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, or specialty companies, one can never provide enough data. When will it all end? The problem, or the opportunity for many, is that it won’t end. The need for discrete ...
Improving Quality and Safety with Health Information Technology
A well-documented flaw in paper-based health care is the propensity for medical errors. According to Blackford Middleton, MD, MPH, MSc, implementing clinical decision support software can decrease medical error, improve outcomes, and lower the costs of care. Presenting a session titled “Improving...
ASH Honors Janet Rowley, MD, and Brian Druker, MD
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognized Janet Rowley, MD, of the University of Chicago Medical Center, and Brian Druker, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University with the 2011 Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize for their significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic...
A Conversation with Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD
Last September, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, a leading scholar in bioethics and health-care policy, was named the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor and Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His appointment will be shared between ...
Breast Cancer Experts Voice Opinion and Express ‘Disappointment’ over FDA Decision
Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, Chair of Medical Breast Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” at the FDA decision to withdraw the bevacizumab (Avastin) indication in breast cancer. “Once the FDA put this in the hands of ODAC, ...
FDA Announces Bevacizumab Decision: Agency Will Revoke Breast Cancer Indication
On November 18, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said she is revoking the agency’s approval of the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin) after concluding that the drug has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use. Bevacizumab will remain on the market as an...
MD Anderson Cancer Center’s New President Has a Bold Vision
On September 1, 2011, Ronald A. DePinho, MD, became only the fourth President in the 70-year history of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. DePinho spent the previous 14 years as head of Dana-Farber’s Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. In a recent interview...
