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Showing 4051 - 4100Expert Point of View #2: Can Molecular Profiling Identify ER-positive Patients Destined for Relapse?
Understanding the different relapse patterns within estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer is important for guiding treatment decisions, said Laura Esserman, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center. Women who fall into the two separate categories may have different ...
Expert Point of View: Can Molecular Profiling Identify ER-positive Patients Destined for Relapse?
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) trials have demonstrated that recurrence patterns are different for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive vs ER-negative breast cancer. While ER-negative disease carries a high risk for early recurrence—peaking around year 1.5 from diagnosis—risk steadily...
Expert Point of View: Benefits of Some Bisphosphonates Confirmed in Breast Cancer Outcomes, but Questions Remain
James Ingle, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, formally discussed the ABCSG-12 and ZO-FAST bisphosphonate studies presented at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, noting, “There is a lot of interest in the effect of bisphosphonates on the tumor microenvironment and the impact ...
Expert Point of View: Dual HER2 Blockade Substantially Delays Disease Progression
The availability of effective therapies for HER2-positive tumors has made breast cancer a better managed disease, but outcomes could be further enhanced through the targeting of other players in this pathway, emerging data suggest. C. Kent Osborne, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston,...
Facing the Future without Fear of Breast Cancer Recurrence
A year ago, I was living my dream. Married to a wonderful man, Danny, and with two young children to raise, Karl, 7, and Marcus, 4, I had given up a career in accounting to be a stay-at-home mom. At age 34, I was enjoying life, helping my children with their homework and going to their soccer and...
Nearly Identical Survival for Laparoscopy vs Laparatomy in Patients with Stage I/IIA Disease
Building on previously reported results that laparoscopic surgical management of uterine cancer is superior for short-term safety and length-of-stay endpoints, the Gynecologic Oncology Group reported small and lower than anticipated potential for increase risk of cancer recurrence with laparoscopy...
A Patient with Cancer Saw a Need and Left a Living Legacy
It is well documented that the rigors of delivering cancer care can unintentionally supersede valuable doctor-patient communication. Before he died in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a patient with cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital, recognized this phenomenon and founded the Kenneth B. Schwartz...
Reexcision Rates Following Breast-conservation Surgery Vary Widely
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. Reexcision rates for women with...
Challenges, Progress, and Future Directions in Head and Neck Cancer
Although head and neck cancer remains a major therapeutic challenge, significant advances have been made over the past few decades. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Marshall R. Posner, MD, Medical Director of the Head and Neck Oncology Program, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, about the...
Starting Down the Path toward Electronic QOPI®: ASCO and US Oncology Collaborate in Quality Measurement
The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®), ASCO’s quality measurement program, is entering its 6th successful year and continuing to grow, both in number of participants and in quality measures evaluated. In the truest spirit of quality improvement, ASCO’s oncologist leaders have determined...
SWOG S0226 Findings Revive Interest in Combination Hormonal Therapy
Two hormonal therapies combined are more efficacious than one when used as first-line treatment for hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women, finds Southwest Oncology Group trial S0226. Results of the phase III trial, reported at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio...
Inefficient Markets Impede Cancer Pain Relief
The potent analgesic property of morphine was first isolated in 1804, and after more than 2 centuries morphine is still the gold standard for moderate to severe pain. It is relatively easy to produce, and compared to most pharmaceuticals, morphine is dirt-cheap. Therein lies the cruel conundrum:...
A Visionary Call for the ‘Creative Destruction’ of Medicine
According to nationally regarded cardiologist and geneticist Eric Topol, MD, Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health, the next frontier of the digital revolution can create exponentially better health care. Dr. Topol, who is also Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and...
Survival Advantage of Oxaliplatin Extends to Diverse Group of Patients
The survival advantage conferred by adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy with fluorouracil (5-FU), as previously shown in randomized controlled trials, extends to patients in the general population, including older and minority group patients and those with higher comorbidity. These results, ...
Cost of Cancer Therapy: The Elephant in the Room?
I am distressed by your coverage of innovative therapies, such as dual HER2 blockade (see The ASCO Post, January 1, 2012, and Supplement to February 15, 2012), without mentioning that these therapies will never be cost-effective given the current pricing of the agents involved. If we wish to...
Surviving Cancer Means Making Many Difficult Decisions
The best advice I received after getting a diagnosis of stage I invasive lobular carcinoma in my left breast was from my radiologist, who told me, “Remember, be your own best advocate.” Those words have stayed with me through my 6-year struggle with breast cancer and its aftermath. Extraordinary...
Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: A Distinct Population of Patients Who Need to Be Treated Differently
In the News focuses on media reports that your patients may have questions about at their next visit. This continuing column will provide summaries of articles in the popular press that may prompt such questions, as well as comments from colleagues in the field. Cancer among adolescents and young...
ASH 2011 Presentations Include Novel Agents and New Strategies in Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma
Attendees at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held recently in in San Diego, were able to choose from a wide range of interesting and important sessions exploring hematologic malignancies. In addition to The ASCO Post’s regular news coverage from the meeting,...
Research Funding Key to Continued Progress in Cancer Care
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) President and ASCO member Judy Garber, MD, MPH, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about the findings of AACR’s landmark Cancer Progress Report,1 In addition, she offered her perspective on the current and future state of cancer research. Project...
Context May Affect Benefit of Adjuvant Clodronate in Breast Cancer
A benefit of the oral bisphosphonate clodronate when used as adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer may depend on factors such as the endpoint assessed and patient age, suggests the randomized B-34 trial conducted by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP). The trial,...
Maintenance with Lenalidomide or Bortezomib Prolongs Remission in Elderly Patients with Multiple Myeloma
The benefit of maintenance therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients ineligible for stem cell transplant, such as the elderly, is still debated, though value appears to be emerging, according to studies presented at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting....
How I Work up the Patient with Thrombocytosis
Thrombocytosis is defined as a platelet count greater than 400 × 109/L. In routine clinical practice, thrombocytosis is much more likely to be reactive (> 80% of cases) than primary. Reactive thrombocytosis is usually associated with infections, inflammation, trauma, hemolysis, metastatic...
Pre–Annual Meeting Seminar Series Kicks Off
This year, ASCO is cosponsoring a new series of intimate, discussion-based seminars to be held just before the start of the Annual Meeting in June. The three seminars, which start at 1:00 PM on Thursday, May 31, and continue through noon on Friday, June 1, the first day of the Annual Meeting, are: ...
ASCO Launches Community Research Forum to Tackle Top Research Conundrums
Just how many research-focused staff members is it optimal to have when conducting clinical trials in a community-practice setting? To properly gauge that, should the practice look closely at how many studies it’s working on? The complexity of those studies? The number of patients enrolled? Some...
Eating Problems and Pain Prevalent in Survivors of Head/Neck Cancer
“Eating problems due to poor oropharyngeal functioning and persistent pain are the most prevalent problems” faced by patients 5 years after being treated for head and neck cancer, according to a study published online by the Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.1 More than 50% of...
Rising Costs in Radiation Oncology Linked to Medicare Coverage
In the ongoing debate over how to control rising cancer care costs, it is vital to identify usage patterns of expensive new technologies. A recent study examined the relationship between Medicare reimbursement and the increasing use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).1 The ASCO Post...
Expert Point of View: Next-generation Sequencing in Metastatic Triple-negative Breast Cancer Yields Rewards
Hope Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, commented on Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s presentation on molecular pathways in triple-negative breast cancer at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. “The really exciting thing is that we have moved from intrinsic subtyping of breast...
Adjuvant Therapy for Stage III Colon Cancer: Survival Advantage of Oxaliplatin Reported in Clinical Trials Extends to Diverse Group of Patients
The survival advantage conferred by adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy with fluorouracil (5-FU) in stage III colon cancer, as previously shown in patients in randomized controlled trials, extends to patients in the general population, including older and minority group patients and those...
New Assays, Surveillance Techniques Reported for GI Malignancies
Two studies highlighted in press conferences and one presented during an invited lecture at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, held recently in San Francisco, suggest that early detection of pancreatic, esophageal, and colorectal cancers could soon improve. Enzyme Immunoassay Spots...
Expert Point of View: Prostate Cancer Studies Compare Outcomes, Toxicities, and Costs
Nicholas B. Vogelzang, MD, moderator of the press briefing where these findings were presented, agreed that the first study supports intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) as the current standard of care. With costs of health care increasing exponentially, it is important to establish the...
Searching for Quality in an Increasingly Complex Health-care Environment
With the Presidential election just around the corner, the health-care debate will undoubtedly heat up. The ASCO Post spoke with Sean R. Tunis, MD, MSc, Founder and Director, Center for Medical Technology Policy, and former Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ...
SIDEBAR: Internet Tool to Calculate ‘Risks to Fertility'
The risk calculator available at the Fertile Hope website (www.fertilehope.org) lets patients know whether specific treatment regimens would put them at high, intermediate, low, very low/no risk, or unknown risk for azoospermia or amenorrhea. Both Fertile Hope and the ASCO fertility recommendations ...
Options for Preserving Fertility Should Be Considered Early to Maximize the Likelihood of Success
Most cancer survivors prefer to have biologic offspring despite concerns about the possible effects of cancer treatment on the child, the child’s lifetime cancer risk, or their own longevity, according to an ASCO panel that developed guidelines on fertility preservation in patients with cancer.1...
Higher Intake of Red Meat Associated with Increased Risk of Mortality
Eating more red meat appears to be associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and death from cancer and cardiovascular disease, but substituting fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains for red meat is associated with a lower mortality risk, according to...
ASCO’s Blueprint Sets Goals for Accelerating Cancer Progress
ASCO recently issued a report, Accelerating Progress Against Cancer: ASCO’s Blueprint for Transforming Clinical and Translational Cancer Research, which outlines the Society’s 10-year plan for improving cancer outcomes. Central to achieving that goal are three steps, including (1) therapy...
Cancer Does Not Have to Be a Death Sentence
When I found a large amount of blood on my toilet tissue just before Thanksgiving in 2010, I wasn’t too concerned. At just 45 years old, I was in excellent health, and other than the bloody stool I had no other symptoms signaling that something was seriously wrong. My primary care physician thought ...
New Biomarker Predicts Survival in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have developed the Bone Scan Index (BSI), which is the first quantitative imaging response biomarker that can assess response to treatment and prognosticates for survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Based on Bone ...
ACCC Releases Survey on ‘Oncology Medical Home’
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) released findings from a survey that explores how community-based cancer care programs view the concept of the “oncology medical home”—a patient-centered model for coordinated care, whereby payers would reimburse physicians for services that keep...
An Expert Shares Insight into the Future of Lung Cancer Treatment
Despite growing national focus on early detection, prevention, and new molecular-based treatments, lung cancer persistently remains the number 1 cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States. The ASCO Post spoke to lung cancer specialist Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, Executive Director,...
Surgeon General Releases New Report on Youth Smoking
The fight against tobacco use among young people was accelerated recently by Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, with the release of the Surgeon General’s Report, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults. This report details the scope, health consequences, and influences that...
SELECT Trial Update: Vitamin E Fails to Prevent Prostate Cancer in Healthy Men, Appears to Increase Risk
Supplements touted as preventing prostate cancer may turn out to be dangerous, as is evident from updated results of the largest long-term prevention trial, called the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). Final analysis of SELECT showed that, compared to placebo, vitamin E alone ...
Controlled Study Links ‘Chemobrain’ to Longitudinal Changes in Brain
The phenomenon called “chemobrain”—impaired cognitive functioning following chemotherapy—correlates with longitudinal changes in the brain’s white matter, according a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 Structural changes in the white matter, measured by magnetic resonance diffusion...
ASCO Releases Palliative Care Provisional Clinical Opinion
ASCO has released a provisional clinical opinion (PCO) addressing the integration of palliative care services into standard oncology care.1 The ASCO Post recently spoke with one of the PCO’s lead authors, Thomas J. Smith, MD, Director of Palliative Care for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns...
ACCC Meeting Focuses on Affordable Care Act: Its Future, and What It Might Accomplish
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) mid-March Annual Meeting devoted several sessions to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Will it still be here after the Supreme Court decides its fate? If so, how much of it will survive, and how will it affect oncology practice? In...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients: Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines
Changes in the cervical cancer screening guidelines, as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), mainly concern longer intervals between screening tests and recommended ages when women should start and stop being screened. USPSTF Co-Vice Chair Michael L. LeFevre, MD, MSPH,...
SIDEBAR: Women Who Received HPV Vaccine Still Need Cervical Cancer Screening
The updated cervical cancer screening guidelines from the the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) note that women who receive the HPV vaccine still need to be screened for cervical cancer because the vaccine does not protect against all strains of HPV that can cause cervical cancer. “The...
Institute of Medicine Report on Omics-based Testing Bolsters ASCO’s Blueprint for Transforming Cancer Research
A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) addresses elements that ASCO has stated are necessary for transforming the therapeutic development and clinical trial processes. In March, the IOM released the report “Evolution of Translational Omics: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward,” which...
Expert Point of View: ColoPrint Gene Assay Can Guide Treatment Decisions in Stage II Colon Cancer
Axel Grothey, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, told The ASCO Post that he finds the data “intriguing” and that the study exemplifies the value of developing molecular signatures for use in colon cancer. “It identifies patients with an excellent prognosis, who perhaps should not be...
ColoPrint Gene Assay Can Guide Treatment Decisions in Stage II Colon Cancer
ColoPrint, an 18-gene expression profile assay for patients with early-stage colon cancer, accurately stratifies patients by recurrence risk and identifies a subset who can be adequately treated by surgery alone, investigators reported at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.1 According to...
Novel Agents and Genomic Sequencing Show Promise in Improving Multiple Myeloma Management
For over 30 years, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, has focused his translational research on B-cell ...
