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Showing 451 - 500An Oncology Surgeon Leads Mexico’s Melanoma Program
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with surgical oncologist Héctor Martínez-Said, MD, of the Melanoma Clinic at NCI Mexico. Dr. Martínez-Said’s maternal grandfather was part of a Lebanese immigration movement...
Study Finds Diagnostic Mammography Performance Varies Across Racial and Ethnic Groups
The disparities in female breast cancer incidence and mortality among racial and ethnic groups is well documented. Studies show that while Black women have a lower incidence of breast cancer compared with White women, they are 41% more likely to die from the disease than White women. Breast cancer...
Elevating Cancer Care in the United States for All: Current Challenges and Potential Solutions
Optimizing oncology care in the United States will require making state-of-the-art care more accessible to all. Delivering quality, equitable cancer care is undoubtedly a challenge in a country as large, diverse, and disparate as the United States, but if it is to be achieved, it will entail the...
Androgen Receptor Signaling May Contribute to Targeted Therapy Resistance in Patients With Melanoma
Androgen receptor (AR) signaling may affect response to BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy in both male and female patients with melanoma, according to findings from a study published by Vellano et al in Nature. The report provides a new target to combat therapeutic resistance and one possible answer to...
How Social Media Is Fueling an Epidemic of Misinformation and Disinformation—and Distrust in Science
The COVID-19 pandemic and the confluence of events that followed—including the rapid development of vaccines, the mixed messaging on mitigation efforts to prevent coronavirus infection, and the growing political polarization—helped spark public mistrust and skepticism toward science. This mistrust...
Capecitabine Plus Temozolomide vs Temozolomide Alone in Advanced Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors
In the updated final analysis of the phase II ECOG-ACRIN E2211 trial, patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors experienced a significant improvement in progression-free survival with capecitabine plus temozolomide over temozolomide alone.1 Although the 5-month difference in overall...
Researchers Examine Racial Differences in Treatment and Outcomes of First-Line Therapies for Kidney Cancer
Black and White patients treated with similar first-line therapies for advanced kidney cancer experienced similar outcomes, but different response rates, according to research from Fox Chase Cancer Center presented by Daniel Geynisman, MD, at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 4548). “This was...
Turning Point
On a cool, gray November morning, I took the call from a walk-in doctor about Carla, a 26-year-old woman with progressive lymphadenopathy who was refusing investigations because of severe needle phobia. Carla was willing to meet with me to discuss treatment options for a suspected diagnosis of...
An International Leader Bridges the Political Divide in the Name of Humanity and Cancer Care
Michael Silbermann, DMD, PhD, was born on January 19, 1935, in the old quarter of Acre, a northern Arab city stretching along the north end of the Bay of Haifa in present-day Israel. “Acre, which was developed more than 4,000 years ago, was one of the primary harbors of the Phoenician people....
A Nationally Regarded Pediatric Oncologist Found His Passion Early
ASCO Past President, Michael Link, MD, who has pioneered new strategies for treating common childhood cancers, was born and reared in a suburb of Cleveland. “My first significant exposure to medicine was my own family doctor, Dr. J.W. Epstein. Looking back, I was impressed by the combination of...
Mount Sinai and Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation to Collaborate on Aging-Related Cancer
The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) at Mount Sinai and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) are launching a unique research program that will fund collaborations between TCI physician-scientists and colleagues from other established cancer research institutions to address the worldwide ...
Sunil Verma, MD, Navigates an International Path From Clinical Educator in Oncology to Leadership in Industry
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor, Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Sunil Verma, MD, the Global Head of Oncology, Medical, at AstraZeneca. Sunil Verma, MD, was born in Zambia, a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern, and East Africa. “My...
Navigating Difficult Waters: A Cancer Journey
In the summer of 2017, while visiting Normandy, 64-year-old Mark’s right testis became enlarged and tender. His initial workup identified a large testicular Leydig cell tumor with adverse pathologic features; computed tomography showed no evidence of metastasis.1,2 His medical history was otherwise ...
A Leader in Oncology Balances Philosophy, Medicine, and Humility
"The reality is that closure is a myth. My personal and professional experience with those who have lost friends and family, including children, has taught me that going on with life is not the same as gaining closure. The wound of loss is a part of each person’s life forever,” wrote...
After Rounds on the Leukemia Ward, a Young Doctor Finds His Calling in Stem Cell Transplantation
Internationally recognized stem cell transplant pioneer Richard E. Champlin, MD, was born in Milwaukee and moved to Homewood, a suburb on the southern lip of Chicago, with his parents when he was 3 years old. Following high school, Dr. Champlin entered Purdue University in Indiana to pursue a...
ASCO’s President-Elect Makes Partnering With Patients the Cornerstone of His Presidential Term
This year, Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, takes on two new leadership roles in his illustrious medical career. In February, Dr. Winer left his positions as Chief Clinical Development Officer and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Leader of the...
No Good Treatment Options, So I’ll Eat Ice Cream
On a warm summer afternoon, I stood in front of tables at the local farmers market loaded with my favorite fruits and vegetables: peaches, tomatoes, corn, peppers, melons, kale. I practically drooled thinking about what I could make that week: corn and tomato salad, kale and mushroom quesadillas,...
Persistent Racial, Ethnic Disparities Found in Survival Rates for Early-Onset Colon Cancer
The 5-year survival for younger adults with colorectal cancer improved for White patients alone between 1992 and 2013, according to a new analysis presented by Zaki et al at Digestive Disease Week 2022 (Abstract 895). However, no survival gains were found for Black, Hispanic, or Asian patients with ...
Representatives Diana DeGette and Fred Upton Named ASCO Congressional Champions for Cancer Care
ASCO recently presented Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO-1) and Fred Upton (R-MI-6) with the annual Congressional Champion for Cancer Care Award in recognition of their commitment to legislation that focuses on medical innovation. The award honors members of Congress who are leading champions...
Innovation Can Advance Equitable Cancer Care
The North Star of an organization is its mission statement. At ASCO, no initiative gets the green light unless it can fulfill the Society’s mission. ASCO updated its mission statement in 2020 specifically to reinforce our goal of reducing disparities, changing it to read: “Conquering cancer through ...
A Second Edition Adds New Value to Personalized Medicine
Since the publication of the first draft of the human genome, genotyping and genomics have been integrated into standard clinical care for select cancers. But as precision medicine in oncology develops to comprise big data, proteomics, transcriptomics, molecular imaging, and more, there are...
Understanding Oncologists’ Perceptions About Palliative Care and the Barriers Preventing Its Use
Despite studies showing the benefits of early palliative care in improving the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer (including reducing symptoms of depression),1 a recent survey of oncologists found there is broad variation in the appropriate utilization of this care.2 Conducted by...
The Impact of War on Patients With Cancer
Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, ASCO, together with its partners the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center–Jefferson Health, began assembling resources to establish a network of oncology professionals to help Ukrainian patients with cancer find...
Tackling the Global Burden of Cancer on Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer
Several recent studies examining the global burden of cancer on adolescents and young adults (AYAs) show the growing magnitude of the disease’s impact on the lives of individuals between the ages of 15 and 39. Although considered a rare occurrence, cancer in this age group has risen by...
UC Davis Launches Center for Advancing Cancer Health Equity
To address cancer health disparities in the region, the University of California (UC) Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is launching the Center for Advancing Cancer Health Equity, which will conduct community-engaged research and interventions using multilevel approaches. The new center will build...
How St. Jude and the WHO Are Sparking an International Movement to Increase Treatment Access for Children With Cancer
The toll of cancer on children, especially those living in low-resource countries, is staggering. Each year, an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents worldwide develop cancer,1 and despite improved survival rates, the global 5-year net childhood cancer survival rate is only 37.4%,2 making...
Drug Developers Share Thoughts on the Oncology Pipeline and the Changes in Clinical Trials
Two oncologists who are now heads of oncology development for pharmaceutical companies discussed the future of cancer drugs at the Community Oncology Alliance’s 2022 Community Oncology Conference. They were Johanna Bendell, MD, Global Head of Oncology, Pharma Research, and Early Development at...
Colonoscopy After Positive FIT Test May Reduce Risk of Death From Colorectal Cancer
Recent research underlines the importance of following up with a colonoscopy exam after a positive result on an at-home stool test to screen for colorectal cancer. The test, known as the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), checks for traces of blood in patient-collected stool samples, which can be an...
Report Finds Uptake of Erdafitinib for Urothelial Cancer May Be Limited, Despite Positive Real-World Survival Data
The first bladder cancer drug targeting a cancer-driving gene mutation has been used relatively little despite its clear efficacy in a clinical trial, suggests a report published as a research letter by Nimgaonkar et al in JAMA Oncology. Researchers analyzed a large, nationwide database of cancer...
Sentinel Node May Not Be Informative in Making Treatment Decisions for Some Breast Cancer Subsets
In women aged 70 and older with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, low-risk breast cancers, sentinel lymph node biopsy may not be a reliable indicator of the need for adjuvant chemotherapy, researchers reported at the 2022 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1 “We found that...
Why Are Black Women Still Dying at Higher Rates Than White Women From Breast Cancer?
What is so dismaying to me is that the statistic on survival for Black women with breast cancer has not changed since I was diagnosed with breast cancer 17 years ago. In 2005, Black women were 41% more likely to die of the disease than White women, even though Black women are less likely to be...
Assessing Food Insecurity Among Patients With Cancer
Food insecurity, particularly as it affects cancer survivors, is a serious problem, according to a survey of oncology registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.1 “Despite these concerns, most oncology RDNs interviewed are not using...
Going the Last Mile: Accelerating Delivery of Multiple Myeloma Therapies to All Patients
When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996, I was given 3 years to live. At the time, there was little understanding of this disease, which was termed incurable. There were no new treatments, few drugs in the pipeline, hardly any clinical trials, and no multiple myeloma community or...
BELINDA Trial: CAR T-Cell Therapy Fails to Improve Outcomes in Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
The autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel failed to improve event-free survival vs standard-of-care treatment strategies in patients with aggressive, relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to results of the phase III BELINDA trial,...
Cancer Rates Declining in Canada, but Cases and Deaths Increasing Because of Demographic Factors
Overall cancer rates in Canada are declining, but the number of cases and deaths are increasing slightly because of population growth and an aging population, according to a new study published by Brenner et al in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The study is the result of a...
Patients With Cancer Face Greater Risks From Abdominal Aneurysm Repair
Elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in patients with a cancer diagnosis is associated with several poor postoperative outcomes, according to a newly published study from researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Roush et al reported their findings in the Journal of...
From Iran to Silicon Valley, a Cancer Survivor Shares Her Story
The Iranian revolution of 1979 transformed Iran from an absolute monarchy under Shah Mohammad Pahlavi to an Islamist republic under Ayatollah Khomeini. The author of a new book called The Magic of Normal, Maky Zanganeh, PhD, was born in Iran in 1970. As a young woman, she experienced the war in her ...
AML Study Shows Benefit of CPX-351 vs Hypomethylating Agent Plus Venetoclax in Subgroup of Older Adults
For older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), front-line treatment with liposomal daunorubicin/cytarabine (CPX-351) appears to be equivalent to treatment with a hypomethylating agent plus venetoclax, according to data presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting ...
Why Are Many Women Overdue for Cervical Cancer Screening?
Cervical cancer screening has reduced new cases and deaths from the disease over the past 50 years. However, the percentage of women in the United States who are overdue for cervical cancer screening has been growing, and the reasons have not been clear. To better understand the decline in cervical ...
Break Through Cancer Announces $50 Million in Grants to Researchers From Five Top Cancer Research Centers
Today, 1 year after its founding, Break Through Cancer announced $50 million in grants to support several cutting-edge research projects using a novel “TeamLab” structure—designed to maximize interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Sidney Kimmel...
Patients With Lung Cancer and a Genetic Variant Linked to Autoimmune Disease May Be Especially Responsive to Immunotherapy
A variant of the CTLA-4 gene associated with autoimmune disease was found to be more frequent in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who experienced an exceptionally high response to anti–PD-1 immunotherapy and a higher rate of immune-related side effects than in a comparable cohort of ...
Protecting the Immunocompromised From COVID-19: Practical Information for Physicians
COVID-19 may have caught the world off guard in 2020, but in the 2 years since the pandemic began, several effective monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs have emerged to protect the most vulnerable patients. The ASCO Post spoke with Gunjan L. Shah, MD, a hematologic oncologist at Memorial...
Expert Point of View: Elena Élez, MD, PhD
Invited discussant of the two studies, Elena Élez, MD, PhD, of the Colon Cancer Program, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain, discussed the challenge of treating BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer and what the new data bring to that effort. Dr. Élez noted: “BRAF V600E–mutant...
New ASCO-SNO Guideline Addresses Treatment Recommendations Tailored to Glioma Subtypes
Reflecting recent significant classification changes and new data on the use of biomarkers to inform treatment for central nervous system tumors, a new guideline offers oncologists up-to-date recommendations for managing gliomas in adults with neurologic cancer.1 “Over the past decade, there have...
Study Identifies Genetic Variants That May Contribute to Accelerated Aging in Childhood Cancer Survivors
Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified variants in two genes that may be associated with accelerated aging in childhood cancer survivors. Their research looked at the difference between the survivors’ biologic age and chronologic age. The study, published by Dong et...
Younger Patients With Appendicitis May Be at Increased Risk for Appendiceal Cancer
Although appendectomy is still the most effective treatment for acute appendicitis, nonoperative management is increasingly common, as recent studies—such as one published in November 2020 in The New England Journal of Medicine and a second published in December 2021 in the same journal—have shown...
Project Confirm: An Initiative to Promote Transparency of the Accelerated Approval Program for Oncology Indications
OCE Insights is an occasional column developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, Gautam U. Mehta, MD, Neurosurgical Oncologist and Clinical Reviewer, Division of Oncology 2; Fatima Rizvi,...
President’s Cancer Panel Report: Closing Gaps in Cancer Screening for All Americans
Much progress has been made in the past 50 years since the signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which included the establishment of the President’s Cancer Panel. Nevertheless, there remain significant opportunities to make improvements across the cancer spectrum, perhaps none more pressing...
Patients With Merkel Cell Carcinoma Face 40% 5-Year Recurrence Rate, According to Recent Study
Patients treated for Merkel cell carcinoma face a 5-year recurrence rate of 40%—markedly higher than the recurrence rates for melanoma and other skin cancers, according to research published by McEvoy et al in JAMA Dermatology. Additionally, in the study cohort of more than 600 patients, 95% of...
Final Analysis of PALLAS Trial: No Benefit of Adjuvant Palbociclib Plus Endocrine Therapy in Early Breast Cancer
The final protocol-defined analysis of the phase III PALLAS trial confirmed the negative results of the second interim analysis, showing no benefit of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy in the adjuvant breast cancer setting. Michael Gnant, MD, of the Medical University of Vienna, reported these...
