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Showing 451 - 500A Famous French Oncologist’s Gastronomic Advice for Reducing Cancer Risk
BookmarkTitle: The Anti-cancer Diet: Reduce Cancer Risk Through the Foods You EatAuthors: David Khayat, MDPublisher: W.W. Norton & CompanyPublication date: April 2015Price: $26.95; hardcover, 288 pages In 2002, David Khayat, MD, was in Turkey on holiday with friends when he received a call...
Could a Screening Test That Would Reduce Deaths From Ovarian Cancer Be on the Way?
"A solid triple but not a home run” is how Karen H. Lu, MD, characterized a study in The Lancet reporting a reduction in deaths from ovarian cancer with the use of multimodal ovarian cancer screening.1 Dr. Lu’s remark was one of several, mostly but not universally, favorable and optimistic comments ...
The New Frontiers of Breast Cancer
A seismic shift is underway in screening and treatment approaches for breast cancer. These changes are being fueled by studies showing that mammography in younger women may do more harm than good and that advances in genomic testing and a better understanding of the biology of breast cancers may...
SIDEBAR: 'It's Darwinian'
Depriving breast cancer cells of estrogen, whether by oophorectomy or treatment with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, will induce “a crisis point, and about 80% of the cells will die off,” V. Craig Jordan, OBE, PhD, DSc, reported. After a while, “by chance, some of the cells that have the right...
‘Paradoxical’ Result Tying Estrogen to Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer Is Consistent with Laboratory Data
Results from the Women’s Health Initiative1 showing a decreased incidence of breast cancer among postmenopausal hysterectomized women who took estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) may seem paradoxical, but “comply exactly” with laboratory research, according to V. Craig Jordan, OBE, PhD, DSc,...
‘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...
SIDEBAR: The Anonymity Advantage
This study has the advantage of not only being patient-reported but also of patient anonymity; the questionnaires were not administered or discussed with the patients by any of the treating physicians,” the study authors reported. “I know that patients often want to please their doctor. They don’t ...
A Conversation with Samuel Silver, MD, PhD
Over the past 2 decades, significant therapeutic advances have led to greater survival rates and quality of life for patients with cancer. During the same period there has been a transformation in the way oncology services are both perceived and delivered. In a recent conversation with The ASCO...
Fixing the Drug Shortage: It’s About Time
I have spent the past 30 years trying to improve the results of treatment for advanced cancer. I had the privilege of working with Sir Michael Peckham when the late Professor Tim McElwain and he were evolving variants of the PVB (cisplatin, vinblastine, bleomycin) and PEB (cisplatin, etoposide,...
SIDEBAR: Higher Postmastectomy Radiotherapy Rates at NCCN Institutions
While the investigators reported that overall only 54.8% of patients with high-risk breast cancer received postmastectomy radiation therapy, they also cited a report that 83.6% of high-risk patients treated at National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) institutions received such treatment....
‘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...
ASCO Study Shows Integrating Nonphysician Providers into Oncology Practices Is a Win for Patients and Providers
Is the expanded use of nonphysician providers (NPPs) a viable way to help ease the challenges oncology practices could feel if the number of oncologists entering the field does not keep pace with potential growth in the demand for their services? The ASCO Workforce Advisory Group thought the...
Health-care Policy: A Three-act Play
The health of Americans, the economy, the debt crisis, and the action or inaction in Washington are all seriously interrelated. Decades ago, the bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robs banks. His famous answer, “Because that’s where the money is,” succinctly describes the approach that...
Multiple Myeloma Research Spotlights Treatment Concerns and Advances
Myeloma data reported at this year’s ASCO meeting raise concern about the safety of a mainstay class of drugs in this disease, while also hinting at good efficacy of some novel drugs and approaches, according to William I. Bensinger, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle....
SIDEBAR: Risk-based Approach Needed for Stage II Colorectal Cancer
Management of stage II colorectal cancer remains a considerable gray area where an individualized risk-based approach and more molecular research are needed, according to Axel Grothey, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “Stage II is a little bit more complicated than stage III,” he...
Lessons from a Northern Neighbor: A Conversation with Joseph M. Connors, MD
Policy analysts searching for a better understanding of health-care models often compare the cancer delivery systems of Canada and the United States. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer,...
AVEREL Trial Shows Benefit of Bevacizumab in HER2-positive Locally Recurrent or Metastatic Breast Cancer
In findings likely to intensify the debate about the role of bevacizumab (Avastin) in advanced breast cancer, the AVEREL trial concludes that adding this antiangiogenic antibody to standard therapy prolongs progression-free survival by about 3 months in women with HER2-positive locally recurrent...
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...
A Dose of Destruction and Tough Love for Health Care
Title: The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care Author: Eric Topol, MD Publisher: Basic Books Publication date: February 1, 2012 Price: $27.99 / $31.00 (CAN), Hardcover, 320 pages More information: http://creativedestructionofmedicine.com/...
Managing Febrile Neutropenia: What Are the Best Antibiotic Regimens?
Management of patients with cancer who have fever and a low neutrophil count is one of the most common scenarios oncologists face today. “Physicians have to be keenly aware of the infection risks, diagnostic methods, and microbial therapies required for managing febrile neutropenic patients because ...
New ASCO President Reflects on Value of Mentorship and Addressing Health-care Disparities
Sandra M. Swain, MD, Medical Director of the Washington Cancer Institute at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and ASCO President for the 2012 to 2013 term, is a leading authority on breast cancer treatment with a global reputation in cutting-edge clinical research. The...
Tracing Breast Cancer Luminary’s Path to Oncology, from Hungary to Houston
Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, FACP, ASCO Past President (2006-2007), grew up under the oppressive regime of communist Hungary during the Cold War. “As college-educated intellectuals, my family was among the ‘politically undesirables,’ and if we had not escaped Hungary, neither my two sisters nor I...
Trailblazing Neurologist Leads the Way in Advancing Treatment of Cancer Pain
Kathleen M. Foley, MD, began her life’s work in cancer pain management at a time when suffering was a universally accepted consequence of the disease. Since then, Dr. Foley’s tireless work in the clinic and public forum has advanced not only the clinical treatment of cancer pain, but also the...
From Small-town House Calls to Bone Marrow Transplants, Nobel Laureate Continues Father’s Legacy
“I echo the sentiments of many previous Nobel laureates when I say that the success we celebrate today was made possible by the work of many others in this and in related fields.” So ended the Nobel Lecture by E. Donnall Thomas, MD, the famed investigator and 1990 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or...
Medical Ethicists Reflect on Their Personal Cancer Experiences
The recently published book, Malignant: Medical Ethicists Confront Cancer, takes a personal look at the cancer experience from the perspective of seven medical ethicists who were also patients with cancer or cared for spouses with cancer.1 The book’s editor, Rebecca Dresser, JD, MS, who teaches law ...
Trailblazer in Argentinean Oncology Remains Optimistic about War on Cancer
Eduardo Cazap, MD, PhD, is founder and first President of the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology (SLACOM). In 2008, he was elected to a 2-year term as President of the International Union against Cancer (UICC). The ASCO Post recently spoke with Dr. Cazap about his roots in...
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...
Despite Challenges, Initiatives Bring Gradual Improvements to Cancer Care in Lebanon
Nagi S. El Saghir, MD, FACP, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Hematology-Oncology at the American University of Beirut, is the founding President of the Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO). Dr. El Saghir has focused much of his research on the early detection, prevention, and treatment of ...
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...
Evidence Is Changing Colorectal Cancer Treatment Landscape
Key colorectal cancer studies presented at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting are changing the treatment landscape in this disease, according to Michael Overman, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who reviewed the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego meeting. The mix included...
SIDEBAR: A Tough Call: The T1a HER2-positive Tumor
The optimal adjuvant management of T1a HER2-positive breast cancers is uncertain and requires an individualized approach, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center....
The Language of Cancer
For more than a year, Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, has been blogging at ASCO Connection (connection.asco.org) about such diverse topics as cancer survivorship, the redesign of clinical studies based on patients’ molecular characteristics, and the power of laughter. Last May, Dr. Dizon tackled the impact ...
Pivotal Trials in Head and Neck Cancers Yield Mixed Results
The latest research in head and neck cancer reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting presents a mixed picture, according to George R. Blumenschein, Jr, MD, Associate Professor at The Unviersity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, who presented the data at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
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...
Successful Use of Cytoreduction and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy May Hinge on Prior Experience
A review of 60 consecutive patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis who underwent cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)—sometimes called “hot chemotherapy”—found 0% mortality and 33% morbidity, with “a significant reduction of grade III/IV morbidity,...
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 ...
Major Strides Seen in Treatment of Gynecologic Cancers
Research reported at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting shows major strides in treating ovarian and cervical cancers, suggesting the potential of new agents and adding evidence in areas where optimal management is unclear, according to Jonathan S. Berek, MD, of the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center,...
Nobel Laureate E. Donnall Thomas, MD, Dies at 92
In his 1990 Nobel Prize Lecture, Eduard Donnall Thomas, MD, with characteristic humility, acknowledged that the success he celebrated “was made possible by the work of many others in this and related fields.” Dr. Thomas, whose groundbreaking work in bone marrow transplantation marked a new era in...
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...
The Ethics of Rationing Cancer Care
Should cost be a consideration when deciding on treatment for patients with cancer, and if so, what kind of ethical dilemma does that pose for oncologists? With U.S. spending on oncology drugs expected to climb more than 20% annually over the next decade—reaching $173 billion by 2020, according to...
New ASCO Statement Outlines Agenda to Advance Cancer Survivorship Care
In response to the needs of a growing population of cancer survivors, ASCO has released a position statement, recently published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Developed through the work of the ASCO Cancer Survivorship Committee, the statement outlines a comprehensive agenda for...
Important Messages about Palliative Care and Hospice at the Heart of New End-of-life Memoir
The illness memoir’s appeal proves enduring in a very crowded genre, perhaps because illness is a tie that binds us all. As Susan Sontag wrote in her classic work, Illness as a Metaphor, “Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in...
The Doctor Who Championed Patient Navigation in Harlem
After completing his residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Harold P. Freeman, MD, arrived at Harlem Hospital Center in 1967, where the overwhelming majority of his patients presented with late-stage disease. That early experience with underserved patients would shape his career as...
SIDEBAR: Ask Patients about Their Smoking Status
“Receiving a cancer diagnosis represents a ‘teachable moment’ for delivering smoking cessation and relapse prevention interventions,” concluded a study in the journal Cancer1 about smoking relapse in patients with thoracic cancer or head and neck cancer. Previous research by two of the study’s...
Enhanced Electronic Module Aims to Prevent Errors in Oral Chemotherapy Prescribing
An oral chemotherapy prescription-writing module grafted to a shared electronic medical record is part of a series of quality improvement efforts undertaken at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to prevent errors in prescribing oral chemotherapy agents. While oncologists have readily accepted...
Radiation, Still Misunderstood after All These Years
Over the past few decades, radiation therapies have rapidly advanced, due, in large part, to an increasing technologic armamentarium. Among modern science’s most impressive machines, for example, 220-ton particle accelerators can generate near-light-speed beams of protons, with sniper-like...
Sexual Health after Cancer: Communicating with Your Patients
Studies show virtually all cancer survivors will experience some form of sexual dysfunction following a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Yet few cancer survivors seek help for physical problems they may be experiencing, such as vaginal dryness, dyspareunia, chemically induced menopause, reduced...
Dr. Bernard Fisher's Breast Cancer Research Left a Lasting Legacy of Improved Therapeutic Efficacy and Survival
Bernard Fisher, MD, is recognized today for his groundbreaking research in breast cancer, which ultimately ended the standard practice of performing the Halsted radical mastectomy, a treatment that had been in place for more than 75 years. His laboratory and clinical investigations led to more...
Angelina Jolie's Disclosure of Prophylactic Bilateral Mastectomy: A Positive Example for Women with BRCA Mutations?
Angelina Jolie, in a New York Times article entitled “My Medical Choice,”1 disclosed that having a BRCA1 mutation and an estimated 87% risk of breast cancer, “I decided to be proactive and minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy.” She was writing...
Results of AXIS Trial Indicate a Significant Improvement over Historical Survival Data in Renal Cell Carcinoma
The phase III open-label AXIS trial comparing axitinib (Inlyta) vs sorafenib (Nexavar) as second-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma has shown a significant difference in median progression-free survival (8.3 months in the axitinib group vs 5.7 months in the sorafenib group; hazard...
