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Showing 4751 - 4800Combination Therapy May Be Better Than Radiotherapy Alone to Treat Aggressive Brain Cancer, According to Early Study
Radiotherapy effectively damages brain tumors, but the cancer cells can repair themselves in order to live on. Now, researchers at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University have tested a strategy that combines radiotherapy with a drug that shuts down the ability of tumor to mend...
U.S. Senate Confirms Robert M. Califf, MD, as FDA Commissioner
On February 24, 2016, Stephen Ostroff, MD, Acting Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement to announce that the U.S. Senate voted in support of the confirmation of Robert M. Califf, MD, to be Commissioner FDA. In the statement, Dr. Ostroff said, “Dr. Califf has...
A TV Host’s Breast Cancer Survival Story
Bookmark Title: Had I Known: A Memoir of SurvivalAuthor: Joan Lunden with Laura MortonPublisher: Harper CollinsPublication date: September 2015Price: $26.99; hardcover, 336 pages In 1974, several weeks after Betty Ford became the nation’s First Lady, she underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer....
‘Red-Flag’ Symptoms That Could Signal Colorectal Cancer in Patients Under 50 Years Old Should Be Taken Seriously
In clinical practice, Samantha Hendren, MD, MPH, has been “shocked by what a large proportion of patients we are seeing who are under 50 and presenting with colorectal cancer,” often with advanced disease due to delayed diagnosis. “And that is because patients and physicians don’t even think of...
Comprehensive Genomic Analysis Reveals New Genetic Insights Into Malignant Mesothelioma
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer; the 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is between 5% and 10%. Although aggressive surgery can help some patients with early-stage mesothelioma, current treatments for patients with more advanced mesothelioma are...
Expert Point of View: C. Kent Osborne, MD
“We used to consider HER2-positive breast cancer one of the more aggressive forms of the disease. Now we have treatments based on HER2 expression that have dramatically altered the course of the disease for many patients,” said C. Kent Osborne, MD, who moderated the press conference where these...
Expert Point of View: Kathy S. Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO, and Jame Abraham, MD
The general consensus of breast cancer experts of the initial findings of BCIRG-006 triggered a more judicious use of anthracyclines, and this trend continues. Kathy S. Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO, Professor of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois, said...
Final Analysis of BCIRG-006 Supports Use of Non–Anthracycline-Containing Regimen in Treatment of Women With Early Breast Cancer
The final analysis of the BCIRG-006 trial confirmed the long-term efficacy of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in early breast cancer and also validated the concept that anthracyclines increase toxicity and they are not always necessary for a good outcome.1 The 10-year follow-up of the landmark trial was...
Pediatric Oncology Groups Endorse Ethical Framework for Rationing Scarce Drugs
The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) have endorsed formal clinical recommendations for rationing chemotherapy and supportive care agents during times of shortage. The guidance is needed because persistent shortages of many standard...
Two Forms of Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases Are Equally Effective
While two advanced radiosurgery approaches—Gamma Knife and RapidArc—offer different strengths, they are equally effective at eradicating cancer in the brain, say researchers at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. Their study, published by Liu et al in Frontiers in Oncology,...
Expert Point of View: Ravi Vij, MD
“These are very exciting data,” said Ravi Vij, MD, Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine. “To see such responses in a phase I study in such a relapsed/refractory disease is indeed amazing.” “We have already seen the value of immunomodulatory drugs and...
CAR-T Cell Therapy May Have Role in Treating Multiple Myeloma
Among the burgeoning options for treating multiple myeloma could be an approach that is proving to be exciting in leukemia: CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T cells) therapy. Preliminary results of the first-in-humans study in myeloma were presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2015 ASH...
Genomic Alterations in Primary Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Desmedt et al identified genomic alterations in invasive lobular breast cancer, including several that may serve as targets for current treatment and for treatment research. Invasive lobular breast cancer cells are characterized by...
Children With Leukemia From High-Poverty Areas More Likely to Suffer Early Relapse
Among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common pediatric cancer, those who live in high-poverty areas are substantially more likely to suffer early relapse than other patients, despite having received the same treatment, according to new research from Dana-Farber/Boston...
Hypofractionation Is Ready for Prime Time in Prostate Cancer, but Will It Be Adopted?
Separate phase III trials presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium demonstrated that modest hypofractionated radiotherapy is noninferior to conventional radiotherapy for men with intermediate- and low-risk prostate cancer and should be considered a new standard of care.1,2 However, it...
Mylin A. Torres, MD, Named Director of Winship’s Glenn Family Breast Center
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has named Mylin A. Torres, MD, the new Director of the Glenn Family Breast Center, effective January 19, 2016. She succeeds Ruth O’Regan, MD, who now heads the University of Wisconsin Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Torres is Associate Professor ...
Radiolabeled Somatostatin Analog May Represent A Paradigm Change in the Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumors
A radiolabeled somatostatin analog compound, 177Lu-DOTA0-Tyr3-Octreotate (Lu-177 dotatate), reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 79% in the international phase III NETTER-1 population of previously treated, advanced neuroendocrine tumors of midgut origin.1 Lu-177 dotatate belongs to...
Expert Point of View: Irvin M. Modlin, MD, and Eric Liu, MD
Two neuroendocrine tumor experts had slightly different reactions to the latest RADIANT-4 data. Irvin M. Modlin, MD, Emeritus Professor of Gastroenterological Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, said in an interview that he essentially restricts his use of...
Everolimus Effective in Neuroendocrine Tumors of Gastrointestinal Origin
In a subgroup analysis of the phase III RADIANT-4 trial, focusing on neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal origin, the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) essentially doubled the median progression-free survival time, compared with placebo, researchers reported at the 2016 Gastrointestinal...
Study Links Normal Stem Cells to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
A study that revealed new findings about prostate cells may point to future strategies for treating aggressive and therapy-resistant forms of prostate cancer. The study proved that the prostate basal cell layer contains adult stem cells, which possess a unique gene-expression profile resembling the ...
Study Finds 36% Increase in Number of Male Smokers in India Over 17 Years
The number of men smoking tobacco in India rose by more than one third to 108 million between 1998 and 2015, according to a new study published in the journal BMJ Global Health. The study also found that cigarettes were replacing the traditional bidi, a small, inexpensive Indian cigarette,...
Eye Movement Affected in Some Former Childhood Cancer Patients
A study from Lund University in Sweden has shown that commonly used chemotherapy toxins impair the eyesight in childhood cancer survivors in a way that indicates an impact on the central nervous system. The results were published by Einarsson et al in PLOS One. It was not the former patients' ...
Jaclyn Biegel, PhD, Joins Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles as Director of Center for Personalized Medicine
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has named Jaclyn Biegel, PhD, a leading academic expert on pediatric brain tumors, rhabdoid tumors, and cancer cytogenetics, as the Director of the Center for Personalized Medicine at CHLA. Dr. Biegel, who formerly served as Director of the Cancer Cytogenetics ...
Global Cancer: The Current Reality and the Future Need for Action
The estimated number of cancer cases worldwide in 2008 was 12.7 million, with 7.6 million deaths. By 2030, it is estimated that there will be 22 million newly diagnosed cancer cases and 12 million deaths, shocking to contemplate in dollars and human suffering. Although this impending disaster has...
Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, Named Deputy Director of Winship Cancer Institute
Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, an internationally recognized lung cancer physician-investigator, has been named Deputy Director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. He will also serve as Assistant Dean for Cancer Research in the Emory School of Medicine. In his role as Winship’s Deputy...
Expect Questions About Updated Dietary Guidelines
The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans1 have generated comments and controversy, with some organizations expressing concern that the guidelines did not recommend limiting the consumption of red and processed meat. These organizations include the American Institute for Cancer Research...
Failure of Updated Dietary Guidelines to Advise Limiting Red and Processed Meat Deemed a ‘Missed Opportunity’
“A missed opportunity” is how Susan Higginbotham, PhD, RD, Vice President for Research, American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), described the “failure” of updated dietary guidelines to recommend limiting consumption of red and processed meat. Doing so would have “the potential to save...
ASCO Announces New Award Recognizing Extraordinary Contributions to Cancer Survivorship Care
ASCO has announced the creation of the Ellen L. Stovall Award and Lecture for Advancement of Cancer Survivorship Care, intended to recognize and promote the work of pioneers and leaders in the growing field of survivorship. The first award will be presented at the 2017 Cancer Survivorship...
Candid Discussions on Living With and After Cancer at An Evening for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers
On January 14, 2016, the Cancer Survivorship Symposium opened with An Evening for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers, an event featuring networking, a panel discussion, and an open forum to share the challenges of living with or after a cancer diagnosis. The audience included Symposium attendees as...
Rolapitant Reduces Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Receiving Moderately and Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy
In three phase III studies reported in The Lancet Oncology, the addition of the neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor antagonist rolapitant to serotonin (5-HT3) receptor antagonist and dexamethasone treatment significantly improved complete response rates in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and ...
Evolving Tools for Clinical Decision-Making
Value in cancer care—and how to define it—is a hot topic. There is general agreement that it is some measure of benefit vs cost, but “should the focus be on providing value to patients at a population level or at an individual level?” asked Alan Balch, PhD, CEO of the Patient Advocate Foundation,...
David J. McConkey, PhD, Named Director of Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute
David J. McConkey, PhD, has been appointed Director of the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute. The institute was established in 2014 with a $15 million gift from Baltimore-area commercial real estate developer Erwin L. Greenberg and his wife, Stephanie Cooper Greenberg, and a $30...
Expert Point of View: Elizabeth Plimack, MD
The Egyptian study presented by Brian Baumann, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, was a “valiant effort” to determine whether sequential adjuvant chemotherapy added to adjuvant radiation would improve disease-free survival, said formal discussant of this trial Elizabeth Plimack,...
Expert Point of View: Oliver Sartor, MD
“This platform has no selection bias. Phlebotomy samples are drawn at key decision points. We begin to see that heterogeneity of circulating tumor cells predicted for shorter progression and survival times with selected androgen receptor–directed therapies. We need to study this prospectively,”...
Expert Point of View: Bertram Wiedenmann, MD, PhD and Markus Moehler, MD, PhD
Commenting on the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) antibodies in tumors with mismatch repair deficiency, Bertram Wiedenmann, MD, PhD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, suggested, “The efficacy of pembrolizumab...
Cost in the Context of Value for Cancer Medicines
Bringing new cancer therapies through the discovery and development process entails considerable risk and many years of study. It also requires substantial investment and incentives from the public and private sectors to fuel future investment and discovery. A system that rewards advances in cancer ...
Inherited Genetic Variations That Lead to Severe Drug Toxicity in Pediatric Leukemia Discovered
An international research team has determined how inherited gene variations lead to severe drug toxicity that may threaten chances for a cure in children with leukemia. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists led the study, results of which set the stage to expand the use of a...
Norwegian Male Cancer Survivors Less Likely to Reproduce
A study of all Norwegian men born between 1965 and 1985 showed that male cancer survivors are less likely to have children than those without a cancer diagnosis. “These findings are important for male cancer survivors, seeing as we can identify groups at risk of having reproduction...
Gene Previously Observed Only in Brain Is Important Driver of Metastatic Breast Cancer
When breast cancer becomes metastatic, patient survival is drastically reduced, prompting the need to explore the genes that may cause tumor cells to metastasize. Now, scientists from The Wistar Institute have shown that a gene that was once thought only to be found in the brain is also expressed...
Study Examines Evolution of Cancer
A novel Yale University study answers age-old questions about how cancers spread by applying tools from evolutionary biology. The new insights will help scientists better understand the genetic origins of tumor metastases, and lead to more effective targets for treatment, said the researchers. The...
Preclinical Device Hits Pancreatic Tumors With Drug Cocktail, Sparing the Body
A highly lethal cancer sometimes requires large doses of highly toxic drugs. However, a blitzkrieg approach can be unfeasible for some patients due to severe side effects. Now a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that an implantable device can deliver a ...
Possible Marker for Recurring HPV-Linked Oropharyngeal Cancers
A retrospective analysis of human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies in patients treated for oropharyngeal cancers linked to HPV infection suggests at least one of the antibodies could be useful in identifying those at risk for a recurrence of the cancer, said scientists at The Johns Hopkins...
The Sohn Conference Foundation Unveils The Sohn Precision Medicine Program at Columbia University Medical Center
The Sohn Conference Foundation unveiled The Sohn Precision Medicine Program at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) on January 14, 2016. Funded by a $1.5 million grant provided by The Sohn Conference Foundation over approximately a 3-year period, the Program will provide high-risk pediatric...
A Brain Tumor Diagnosis Has Taken My Life in New Directions
The first sign that I could have a life-threatening illness was a bout of severe dizziness, which sent me first to a general practitioner for a physical examination and then to an ear specialist for more tests. At just 24 and in excellent health, the sudden onset of dizziness didn’t initially set...
Certainty
The following essay by William N. Harwin, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. My wife...
James K.V. Willson, MD, Named Chief Scientific Officer of CPRIT
James K.V. Willson, MD, Associate Dean of Oncology Programs and Professor and Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center, has been named Chief Scientific Officer of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas...
New AJCC Precision Medicine Guidelines Aimed at Improving Personalized Cancer Treatment Plans for Patients
A committee of national experts, led by a Cleveland Clinic researcher, has established first-of-its-kind guidelines to promote more accurate and individualized cancer predictions, guiding more precise treatment and leading to improved patient survival rates and outcomes. These guidelines were...
A Pioneering Oncologist’s Roadmap Forward
Bookmark Title: The Death of Cancer: After Fifty Years on the Front Lines of Medicine, a Pioneering Oncologist Reveals Why the War on Cancer Is Winnable—and How We Can Get There Authors: Vincent T. DeVita, Jr, MD, and Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication date:...
Defibrotide Under Review for Transplant-Related Complication
A potentially fatal complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be reversed with the use of a novel drug currently under priority review at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome is usually a serious complication...
How Cancer and Its Treatments Affect Cognitive Function
Although chemotherapy is often cited as the main culprit for diminishing cognitive function in patients with cancer, ushering the term “chemobrain” into the vernacular, research by Tim A. Ahles, PhD, and his colleagues is showing that multiple factors may contribute to the condition.1 Using breast...
