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Showing 4351 - 4400Expert Point of View: Crizotinib Yields Benefits in Aggressive Pediatric Tumors
Michael P. Link, MD, 2011–2012 President of ASCO and a pediatric oncologist himself (at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford), said the crizotinib study by Mosse and colleagues has far-ranging implications. “The molecular driver (ALK)...
Crizotinib Yields Benefits in Aggressive Pediatric Tumors
The value of the targeted agent crizotinib (Xalkori) may not be restricted to the 5% of patients with non–small cell lung cancer who have abnormalities in the ALK gene. In a phase I study conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group consortium, crizotinib halted tumor growth and, in some cases,...
To Scan or Not to Scan for Colon Cancer Recurrence?
Over the past 2 decades, we have seen a substantial increase in the 5-year survival of patients with stage II and III colon cancer, marking an evolving oncologic success story. However, in the postoperative setting, the value of regular CT screening to monitor for recurrence has been greeted with...
Too Soon to Know How Circulating Tumor Cells Might Be Used to Guide Treatment of Breast Cancer
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. “A simple blood test.” These were...
Expert Point of View: Mark Gilbert, MD
Commending the investigators for their undertaking, Mark Gilbert, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said, “Perseverance and analysis of long-term outcomes lead to practice-changing findings and important insights.” He pointed out that two randomized trials...
New Standard of Care for Anaplastic Oligodendroglial Tumors with 1p/19q Codeletions
Adjuvant chemotherapy with PCV (procarbazine [Matulane], lomustine [CeeNU], and vincristine) following standard radiation therapy delayed disease progression and increased survival in patients with a relatively rare type of brain tumor called anaplastic oligodendroglioma. A subgroup analysis found...
Expert Point of View: Michael Williams, MD
Michael Williams, MD, the Byrd S. Leavell Professor of Medicine and Chief of Hematologic Malignancies at the University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, commented, “Bendamustine/rituximab provides equivalent or better responses vs R-CHOP [rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin,...
German Study Finds Bendamustine Improves Progression-free Survival in Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Updated results of the StiL NHL1 study, presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session, showed that bendamustine plus rituximab (Rituxan) more than doubled the median progression-free survival, compared with the standard R-CHOP regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin,...
Breast Cancer and Noncommunicable Diseases: Where in the World Do We Start?
As the world’s most common cancer among women, and the most likely reason around the globe that a woman will die of cancer, breast cancer affects countries at all economic levels. Despite the common misconception that breast cancer is primarily a problem of high-income countries, the majority of...
Screening Should Begin Early for Survivors of Childhood Cancer
Survivors of childhood cancer, particularly those treated for childhood Hodgkin lymphoma or Wilms tumor with abdominal radiation, procarbazine (Matulane), and platinum chemotherapy, are at an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal subsequent malignant neoplasms, according to a retrospective...
2012 Oncology Meetings
July Pan Pacific Lymphoma ConferenceJuly 17-20 • Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii For more information: unmc.edu/panpacificlymphoma 13th International Lung Cancer CongressJuly 19-22 • Huntington Beach, California For more information: http://cancerlearning.onclive.com 5th Latin American Lung Cancer...
Early Access to Palliative/Supportive Care vs Usual Care Improves Pain Management
Many cancer patients remain undertreated for pain despite availability of guidelines and educational efforts to improve pain treatment. In a recent Annals of Oncology article, Bandieri and colleagues from the Italian Epidemiologia Clinico-Assistenziale del Dolore in Ospedale (ECAD-O) group report a ...
Gene Profiling–guided Therapy May Improve Survival in Patients with Carcinoma of Unknown Primary
Molecular gene-expression profiling is an emerging technique to determine tissue of origin in patients with carcinoma of unknown primary, although the value of predictions from such profiling in improving treatment outcomes is unclear. In a prospective trial using tumor profiling results to direct...
First-line Afatinib Superior to Standard Chemotherapy in Advanced EGFR-mutated Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
First-line therapy with the investigational oral agent afatinib improved progression-free survival compared with standard chemotherapy (pemetrexed (Alimta)/cisplatin) in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring an EGFR mutation. Afatinib improved progression-free survival ...
Second-line Treatments Tested in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Results of two late-breaking phase III trials presented at 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting add to the evolving understanding of how best to treat non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The TAILOR trial suggested the benefit of chemotherapy over EGFR-targeted therapy as second-line treatment of patients with...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Your Patients
For now, genomic sequencing seems to have a greater presence in the news than in the clinic. What can physicians tell their patients who ask about genetic testing to identify mutations driving cancer growth? “The real answer is that when you get down to it, genomics is like any other test,”...
Genomics vs Site of Cancer Origin as Basis for Treatment of Cancer Is ‘False Dichotomy’
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. Despite recent news reports...
Astragalus
The use of dietary supplements by cancer patients has risen significantly over the past 2 decades despite insufficient evidence of safety and effectiveness. Finding reliable sources of information about dietary supplements can be daunting. Patients typically rely on family, friends, and the...
Response Rate Is Significantly Improved with Nab- vs Solvent-based Paclitaxel plus Carboplatin in Advanced NSCLC
Final results of a phase III trial found nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel (Abraxane) plus carboplatin as first-line therapy in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) resulted in a significantly improved overall response rate vs conventional solvent-based paclitaxel...
FDG-PET Falls Short for Diagnosis of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The ability to make a diagnosis of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with FDG-PET varies widely among centers, and this imaging modality performed more poorly in community and academic centers than in published studies.1 A secondary analysis of the prospective American College of Surgeons Oncology ...
No Improvement in Overall Survival, Worse Toxicity with Motesanib Added to Chemotherapy in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Two trials (E4599 and AVAiL) have suggested a benefit to adding the anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) to chemotherapy in patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Bevacizumab acts by binding directly to circulating...
Supportive Care Research Runs the Gamut from Genetic Markers of Treatment Side Effects to Neuropathic Pain Therapies
Attendees from around the world gathered for the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) International Symposium on Supportive Care in Cancer, held June 28–30 in New York. Below are highlights from the meeting, representing...
Biokine Therapeutics Awarded FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Mobilization of Stem Cells in Patients with Cancer
Biokine Therapeutics Ltd announced that it has received Orphan Drug designation from the FDA for BKT140, a highly selective chemokine receptor antagonist that induces mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow into peripheral blood for collection and subsequent transplantation in...
Rethinking the Role of PSA Screening in Public Health
Population screening to identify preclinical disease is considered a central factor in the decades-long decrease in mortality seen in certain cancers. However, hope in the face of deadly disease can sometimes blind us to the scientific evidence. According to the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task ...
Meetings Calendar
September 1st Multidisciplinary Symposium: Molecular Oncology: From Laboratory Bench to MedicineSeptember 17-22 • Kyiv, Ukraine For more information: http://rmd.org.ua/en Cancer Vaccines: Advances in Design, Therapy and EfficacySeptember 19-20 • London, United Kingdom For more information:...
Metastasis Promoted by Cleaving and Inhibiting Proapoptotic Effect of von Willebrand Factor
Mochizuki and colleagues from Keio University in Tokyo, the Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute in Kumamoto, and RIKEN in Saitama have shown that von Willebrand factor has proapoptotic effects and that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 28 (ADAM28) promotes metastasis by cleaving and...
Dying Patients with Cancer Who Avoid Aggressive Care but Stay Connected with an Oncologist Have Better Quality of Life
Dying patients with cancer who avoided hospitalizations and life-prolonging measures, who worried less, prayed or meditated, were visited by a pastor, and maintained a therapeutic alliance with their oncologist had the highest quality of life at the end of life, according to a study recently...
Physical Activity Benefits Breast Cancer Survivors, but Role in Reducing Breast Cancer Risk Is Less Clear
Breast cancer survivors who engage in moderate to high levels of physical activity have reduced mortality and improved quality of life, according to recent studies. In addition, exercise may play a role in lowering the risk of breast cancer. “Physical activity can hasten recovery from the immediate ...
Biomarker-driven Adaptive Trial Design Proving Informative in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Biomarker-driven adaptive trial design is an accelerated strategy for targeted drug development that is proving informative in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology and Associate Director of Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center,...
Management of a Patient with Systemic Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma following Failure of One or More Combination Regimens
Case Summary presented by Steven M. Horwitz, MD, Assistant Attending, Lymphoma Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. This is a case of a 49-year-old woman who developed an enlarged right axillary lymph node. The woman had noticed some discomfort under her right arm, which she...
Management of a Patient with Relapsed and Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma
Case Summary presented by Andreas Engert, MD, Chairman, German Hodgkin Study Group, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany This is a case report of a 23-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2009. She received two cycles of ABVD (doxorubicin,...
Faculty Q&A Discussion: Communicating with Patients
Dr. Armitage: As oncologists, we face many challenges. I think the most difficult is when you say to a patient with a disease everybody expects will be cured, and every patient expects to be cured, “It is not worth trying to do that. It is time to worry about keeping you as well as possible for as ...
SIDEBAR: Is Watch and Wait the Best Strategy for Indolent NHL in the Rituximab Era?
Data from the RESORT and its planned subanalysis can guide oncologists in optimizing treatment for indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with low–tumor burden advanced-stage disease, according to Michael E. Williams, MD, of the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville. The phase III...
Which Rituximab-based Regimen Works Best in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma?
The treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients has been recently informed by several important studies, which were discussed at the Best of ASCO Boston meeting by Michael E. Williams, MD, of the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville. Bendamustine Outperforms R-CHOP in NHL...
New Therapies Capitalize on Lung Cancer’s Molecular Vulnerabilities
Research reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting attests to the tremendous molecular diversity of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the power of appropriately selected treatment, according to Leora Horn, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who presented data on molecular findings...
2012-2013 Oncology Meetings Calendar
October 2012 14th Biennial Meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer SocietyOctober 13-16 • Vancouver, Canada For more information: www2.kenes.com/igcs2012/Pages/home.aspx 13th World Congress of the International Society for Diseases of the EsophagusOctober 15-17 • Venice, Italy For more...
Reduced Disease Progression in Patients with Continued Gemcitabine Maintenance or Erlotinib Switch Maintenance
A phase III study showed that progression-free survival was significantly prolonged with continuation maintenance with gemcitabine or switch maintenance with erlotinib (Tarceva) compared with observation in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received first-line treatment...
2012 Is ‘Banner Year’ for Research on Symptom Management
The year 2012 was “a banner year for symptom management,” according to Debra L. Barton, RN, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, who presented data on patient and survivor care at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. “I have been doing symptom management for about 20 years, and it seems...
Link Found between Aspirin and Reduced Risk of Death Due to Prostate Cancer
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. Over the past few weeks, Stanley L....
FDA Approves New Treatment for Severe Neutropenia
The FDA recently approved Sicor Biotech’s tbo-filgrastim (Neutroval) to reduce the time certain patients receiving chemotherapy experience severe neutropenia. The new drug is a short-acting recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) agent. It is marketed as Tevagrastim in Europe,...
Pediatric Pathologist Sidney Farber, MD: The ‘Father of Modern Chemotherapy’ and Cofounder of the Jimmy Fund
In June 3, 1948, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study by Sidney Farber, MD, showing that a synthetic compound, 4-aminopteroylglutamic acid (aminopterin), could induce remissions in seriously ill children with acute leukemia.1 Although the study was small—just 16 children—10 showed...
Progress, Slow but Sure, Seen for Current Lung Cancer Therapies
This year, we have some abstracts that help move things forward in lung cancer, maybe at a little bit slower pace than in previous years. But there are important points that we can learn from some of these abstracts,” commented Karen L. Reckamp, MD, of the City of Hope, who presented findings on...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Not Linked to Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Contradicting what some previous investigations have found, a study from The US Oncology Network found that adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer does not increase the risk of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (AML/MDS), at least within the first 3 years of treatment.1 The...
Expert Point of View: Stephen E. Jones, MD
In a debate about the benefit of anthracycline therapy at the Symposium, Stephen E. Jones, MD, of US Oncology Research, The Woodlands, Texas, advocated for greater use of non–anthracycline-containing regimens. Dr. Jones was the principal investigator of US Oncology Research Trial 9735,1 which found ...
Anthracycline Use Steadily Declining in Early Breast Cancer Population
Anthracycline use in early-stage breast cancer has been steadily declining, especially for patients with stage I/II or HER2-positive disease, according to an analysis of patients treated at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.1 Treatment Alternatives Lead author...
Pain Remains Prevalent among Oncology Outpatients, with Odds of Undertreatment Twice as High among Minority Patients
In 1994, a landmark study of pain among oncology outpatients prompted a host of pain management initiatives.1 More than 18 years later, a recent study among more than 2,000 cancer outpatients has found that “one-third of the patients who had pain or used analgesics received inadequate treatment for ...
Role of Crizotinib in Previously Treated ALK-positive Advanced NSCLC
In yet another success story for personalized medicine, a targeted therapy extended survival in patients whose cancers expressed the target. Crizotinib (Xalkori), the first-in-class ALK inhibitor, extended progression-free survival and improved response rates compared with single-agent chemotherapy ...
Phase II Study Suggests Advantage of Irreversible Pan-HER Inhibition in Advanced NSCLC
Dacomitinib is a new tyrosine kinase inhibitor that forms irreversible covalent bonds with the ATP domain of each of the three kinase-active members of the HER family—EGFR/HER1, HER2, and HER4. Agents such as erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa), which are of proven benefit in advanced...
Nab-paclitaxel Approved in First-line Metastatic NSCLC
The FDA has approved paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension, albumin-bound (nab-paclitaxel, Abraxane) for use in combination with carboplatin for the initial treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are not candidates for ...
Strong Association Increasingly Recognized Between Obesity and Cancer Incidence/Poor Prognosis
The rise in obesity in the United States coincides with greater recognition of the role of obesity in cancer and other diseases.1 While decades of research have indicated a strong association between obesity and cancer, “several forces have made that association increasingly recognized,” according...
