Webster K. Cavenee, PhD, was honored with the eighth annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research at the AACR Annual Meeting held recently in San Diego. Dr. Cavenee is Director of the Ludwig Institute for ...
A patient with advanced bladder cancer experienced a complete response for 14 months to the drug combination everolimus (Afinitor) and pazopanib (Votrient) in a phase I trial, and genomic profiling of his tumor revealed two alterations that may have caused this exceptional response, according to a...
For much of her career in oncology, Teresa A. Gilewski, MD, has sought to bridge the science of medicine with the humanistic aspect of care. She has created the Art of Medicine lecture series at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she is a medical oncologist on the Breast...
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States, and about 1 in 20 individuals will develop colorectal cancer in their lifetime. The good news is that improvements in screening, earlier detection, and treatments are all leading to improved...
When asked to comment on the study presented by Lin et al at the Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, William Cliby, MD, Chair, Division of Surgery, The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, said, “This study is important because of its size and the utilization of the National Cancer Data Base—the...
A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine has provoked conversation about the management of smoldering multiple myeloma.1 At the recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, shared his thoughts ...
The panel presented two case studies—one on high-dose methotrexate toxicity and one on 5-FU toxicity—as a platform for discussion of considerations, challenges, and interconnected roles of oncologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical pharmacists in safely managing patients...
Indications and Dosing of Methotrexate and 5-FU Dr. Campen: The interesting thing about methotrexate is that it has been used for such a long time. You would think there would be a specific dose that would be considered “high dose,” but high dose is actually quite variable. [Dosage] depends on the...
When the prognosis is poor, breaking the bad news badly can exacerbate the distress experienced by cancer patients and their families. A lack of sensitivity to patient and family emotions and not being attuned to how individual patients would prefer to be informed about their prognoses can result...
On April 9, 1964, seven physicians—Jane Cooke Wright, MD, FASCO; Arnoldus Goudsmit, MD, PhD; Fred J. Ansfield, MD, FASCO; Harry F. Bisel, MD, FASCO; Herman H. Freckman, MD, FASCO; Robert W. Talley, MD, FASCO; and William Wilson, MD, FASCO—met for lunch at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. They...
Duquesne University’s newly established biomedical engineering initiative has received a $1.4 million, 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute to detect, capture and analyze circulating melanoma cells. John Viator, MD, Biomedical Engineering Program Director...
In the fall of 1994, 40-year-old Kenneth B. Schwartz, a health-care lawyer, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Radiation and chemotherapy failed to stop progression of the disease, and 10 months later he died. During his treatment, Mr. Schwartz wrote about the ordeal of coming to grips with the...
New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center has opened the Irving Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, a state-of-the-art facility for comprehensive bone marrow transplant (BMT) care. The new unit features 18 inpatient rooms, a high-tech nurses station for individual patient monitoring, and a...
Bert Howard O’Neil, MD, has been named the inaugural Joseph W. and Jackie J. Cusick Professor of Oncology and a Professor of Medicine at the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine, in Indianapolis. He is also the Phase I Director and Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Program at...
The American Association for Cancer Research welcomed Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, as President of the Organization for 2014–2015. Dr. Arteaga was inaugurated during the AACR’s Annual Meeting. Dr. Arteaga is Professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he...
Genetic screening of cancer can help doctors customize treatments so that patients with melanoma have the best chance of beating it, according to the results of a clinical trial by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The trial, funded by the National Institutes of...
In January, Eric S. Lander, PhD, Director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues published the results from their landmark study,1 which explored the feasibility of creating a comprehensive catalog of cancer genes. The researchers collected and...
Most recent advances in the management of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are in the area of genetics, according to Steven Gore, MD, of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven. “New genomics research is leading to a better understanding of MDS heterogeneity and disease biology, and may...
In 2012, just 1 year after taking the reins as President of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Ronald A. DePinho, MD, announced his plans to launch the Moon Shots Program, the most ambitious endeavor undertaken by the cancer center to dramatically accelerate the pace of reducing...
The Gairdner Foundation of Canada has named James P. Allison, PhD, for one of its 2014 Canada Gairdner International Awards. Dr. Allison is Chair and Professor of Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The honor, announced recently by the Gairdner Foundation,...
Douglas Hanahan, PhD, Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Lausanne, Switzerland, was recently honored with the 11th annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. The award ...
Envision a world where a diagnosis of pediatric cancer is met with the same reaction as a diagnosis of the common cold. In this idyllic world, the word “cancer” no longer carries with it the same traumatic response or stigma that it does today. This hopeful vision is what drives Craig Breslow in...
Leaders in cancer care will be recognized as part of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Special Awards Program at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting. The Special Awards recognize the dedication and significant contributions of researchers, patient advocates, and leaders of the global oncology...
Noah M. Hahn, MD, has been selected as Associate Professor of Oncology and Urology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Before joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Hahn was the Director of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Program at Indiana University. He is an...
Michael S. Gordon, MD, has been named the new Medical Director for the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials program at Scottsdale Healthcare in Phoenix. Dr. Gordon will oversee the center’s phase I clinical trials program. Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials at Scottsdale...
In a pilot study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Deborah Schrag, MD, MPH, and colleagues from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, assessed outcomes with neoadjuvant FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin)/bevacizumab (Avastin) with selective use of...
“The function of the formal controlled clinical trial is to separate the relative handful of discoveries that prove to be true advances in therapy from a legion of false leads and unverifiable clinical impressions, and to delineate in a scientific way the extent of and the limitations that attend...
With regard to clinical practice guidelines, clinicians want an authoritative resource that will clearly and concisely instruct them in most clinical scenarios. Guideline developers want to give them this, “but producing guidelines is not as straightforward as it might seem,” according to David...
Oncologists and third-party payers are already experiencing changes as a result of the Affordable Care Act, which earned an “average” rating by a panel of providers, payers, and patients assembled at the 19th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) in Hollywood,...
At the 19th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), lymphoma expert and NCCN Panel Chair on Lymphoma, Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, fielded questions from oncologists. The ASCO Post was there to capture his recommendations for a common clinical scenario—treating the...
A simple blood test may be able to identify men with castration-resistant prostate cancer who will not respond to enzalutamide (Xtandi). The presence of the splice variant androgen receptor (AR) V7 in circulating tumor cells identified men who were unlikely to respond to enzalutamide and whose...
On assuming the Presidency of ASCO a year ago, I recognized that one of our greatest challenges as a professional society is helping the American public understand the value of cancer research, especially now, when scientific advances are accelerating but resources are contracting. This is partly...
Keith Witmer received his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Otis/Parsons School of Design. He subsequently launched his career in advertising and publication with a commanding presence, initially using pen and ink and scratchboard mediums. Working with clients such as FedEx, Apple Computer,...
Ronald Piana is an independent writer and reporter with more than 15 years of experience in oncology communications and publishing. In addition to the profiles published in this special anniversary issue of The ASCO Post, Ron has written more than 100 articles, interviews, and profiles for leading...
Ernest Louis Mazzaferri, Sr, MD, MACP, of Henderson, Nevada, passed away peacefully at home on May 14, 2013 after a short illness, surrounded by his family. He was born September 27, 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Mazzaferri spent most of his medical career at The Ohio State University, serving as...
Dr. Janet L. Rowley’s groundbreaking research in the translocation of genetic material bucked scientific convention and heralded a new understanding that cancer is indeed a genetic disease. Her research was largely responsible for the discoveries that led to the development of the targeted cancer...
Many of the advances that have bettered mankind are attributed to those who were driven by a primary passion. Geoffrey P. Herzig, MD, lived the better part of his life with a primary passion: conducting research to increase the cure rate of leukemia and lymphoma patients. His friend and colleague,...
Donald L. Morton, MD, transformed the management of melanoma and breast cancer by introducing the sentinel node biopsy, giving surgeons an accurate roadmap for treatment, and sparing generations of cancer patients from the morbidity associated with unnecessary surgery. Throughout his distinguished...
Peter Jacobs, MD, PhD, regarded as the father of hematology in his native country of South Africa, began each day at 3 AM in the gym. During his workout, Dr. Jacobs would routinely call the nursing staff for updates on patients in his ward. Before sunup, Dr. Jacobs was on his way to the hospital....
On April 9, 1964, seven physicians—Jane Cooke Wright, MD, FASCO; Arnoldus Goudsmit, MD, PhD; Fred J. Ansfield, MD, FASCO; Harry F. Bisel, MD, FASCO; Herman H. Freckman, MD, FASCO; Robert W. Talley, MD, FASCO; and William Wilson, MD, FASCO—met for lunch at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. They...
David A. Karnofsky, MD, dedicated himself to the pursuit of scientific excellence and the investigation of more effective therapies for cancer for nearly 30 years, from the time he was a young resident at the Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hospital for Cancer Research of Harvard University, until...
The island nation of Curaçao is nestled in the southern Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast. Curaçao was first settled by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people that inhabited the island for hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans. Amid one wave of settlers from Portugal and Spain that...
In 2005, Richard Pazdur, MD, was named the FDA’s Director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products. By any measure, being arbiter of the nation’s oncology drug pipeline is a daunting prospect, but Dr. Pazdur sees it as an opportunity to encourage his talented staff to work for the greater ...
John E. Niederhuber, MD, was born and grew up in Steubenville, Ohio, a steel mill town located along the Ohio River. Dr. Niederhuber had a childhood interest in engineering and chemistry, but it was the town’s general practitioner who made a lasting impact on his career path. “He was an old-style...
Nationally regarded radiation oncologist and lymphoma expert Richard Hoppe, MD, was reared in Seaford, a small town hugging the South Shore of Long Island, New York. “I grew up in the early part of Long Island’s suburban sprawl, and my childhood was a fairly typical experience for that time,”...
World-renowned breast cancer researcher, Nancy E. Davidson, MD, was born in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of two geologists. “My mother was a geologist beginning in the 1940s, a time when women really didn’t pursue that kind of career. So, I was reared in a very scientifically oriented...
Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, grew up in Auburn, a small historic town in central Massachusetts that was settled by the English in 1714. His desire to become a doctor bloomed early. “My decision to possibly pursue a career in medicine was first inspired by my mother, who was a registered nurse, and by...
The road leading to a career in medicine is often a stepwise journey of multiple decision points and influences. However, sometimes the decision to become a doctor is hardwired from birth. Such was the case with 2014-2015 ASCO President Peter P. Yu, MD. Since his days in nursery school, Dr. Yu...
Physicians have a duty to speak up against high cancer drug prices,” Hagop M. Kantarjian, MD, resolutely stated in an interview with The ASCO Post. “We should speak up because high drug prices are harming patients.” A leader in the effort to drive down the cost of drugs needed to treat patients...
The number of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) in community cancer practices is growing, according to ASCO’s annual census of oncology practice, published in March 2014.1 As though to illustrate that finding, a new professional society—the Advanced Practitioner Society for...