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Showing 5001 - 5050Lung Cancer Alliance Announces National Framework for Lung Cancer Screening Excellence
The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) moved lung cancer screening to a national platform by announcing a Framework for Lung Cancer Screening Excellence, which includes a bill of rights for the at-risk public and guiding principles for lung cancer screening sites. “The science is indisputable: Screening...
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...
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...
SIDEBAR: Should ‘AYA’ Be an Oncology Subspecialty?
The lag in improvement in survival rates for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer and a greater awareness of the unique issues they face has prompted discussion about whether “AYA” should become a new oncology subspecialty.1 “Yes and no,” according to Archie Bleyer, MD. “I am going to...
SIDEBAR: Expect and Ask Questions about Sex and Fertility Preservation
What most concerns the adolescent and young adult population? “If they are worried about anything, it is sex and having families,” according to Archie Bleyer, MD. Years ago, he said, “oncologists were so worried about just getting them in remission, treating their cancers, and getting them to...
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...
Some Patients Using Complementary and Alternative Therapies May Be Receiving ‘Parallel’ Rather Than Integrative Care
Most patients with cancer receiving complementary and alternative medicine do so not as part of integrative care, but rather as “parallel care,” according to Lynda Balneaves, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, School of Nursing in Vancouver. Dr. Balneaves is lead...
AACR Urges Congress to Maintain, Preferably Increase, Cancer Research Funding
December 23, 2011, marked the 40th anniversary of the National Cancer Act. To mark that occasion, on February 2, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held a Congressional briefing, attended by about 100 legislative aides, to remind Congress that the war on cancer is far from over....
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,...
Researchers Map Potential Genetic Origins, Pathways of Lung Cancer in Never-smokers
Findings from a small study on potential gene mutations and pathway alterations that could lead to lung cancer in never-smokers were presented in a poster at the American Association for Cancer Research–International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of...
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...
FDA Acts to Bolster Supply of Critically Needed Cancer Drugs
The FDA has announced a series of steps to increase the supply of critically needed cancer drugs and build on President Obama’s Executive Order to help prevent future drug shortages. The President’s order, issued last October 31, directed the FDA to take action to help further prevent and reduce...
ASCO Submits Testimony for Congressional Hearing Examining Quality Programs that Reward High-quality Care
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee recently held a hearing on programs and initiatives that reward physicians who deliver high-quality, efficient care. ASCO submitted written testimony from CEO Allen S. Lichter, MD, on many aspects of quality care, including how the Quality Oncology...
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...
Next-generation Sequencing in Metastatic Triple-negative Breast Cancer Yields Rewards
The startling molecular heterogeneity of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is now obvious and helps to explain the poor outcomes observed in this patient subset. Comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic interrogation of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is elucidating the molecular...
Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Question That Doesn’t Go Away
More than 3 decades ago, the first trials of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation as consolidation therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission were conducted. The initial results were inconclusive; most patients survived the procedure, but post-transplant relapse was common ...
GU Symposium 2016: Even After Antiandrogen Therapy, Docetaxel Remains Useful in Prostate Cancer
A study presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium showed that 40% of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with docetaxel following abiraterone (Zytiga) had at least a 50% reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA), demonstrating the activity of...
Palliative Care Offers Greater Cost Savings for Cancer Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions
Patients with incurable cancer and numerous other serious health conditions who consulted with a palliative care team within 2 days of hospitalization had significant savings in hospital costs, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by...
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...
FDA Approves New Silicone Gel–filled Breast Implant
The FDA recently approved a silicone gel-filled breast implant manufactured by Sientra Inc for breast augmentation in women at least 22 years old and breast reconstruction in women of any age. As a condition of approval, Sientra is required to conduct postapproval studies that will assess long-term ...
SIDEBAR: International Study Confirms ACOSOG Z0011
Preliminary findings of the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) 23-01 trial1 show no benefit for axillary lymph node dissection in patients with only minimally involved sentinel nodes, thereby supporting the results of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011...
Advances in Axillary Surgery for Patients with Breast Cancer
Results from the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011 trial, which found no benefit for completion axillary nodal dissection in patients with breast cancer involving one to two positive sentinel nodes,1 have led to changes in breast cancer management, though points of...
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 ...
AACR Inducts Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (hon) as President; Elects Charles L. Sawyers, MD, as President-elect, 2012-2013
Leadership of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) inducted Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (hon), as President of the society during the AACR Annual Meeting held earlier this month Dr. McCormick is the Director of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family ...
2012 Annual Meeting to Highlight NCI’s ‘Provocative Questions’ and Offer First-ever Pre–Annual Meeting Seminars
As this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting was being planned, the NCI was developing and releasing its “Provocative Questions” project—an effort to stimulate the cancer community to ask itself 24 key questions in order to advance the treatment of cancer and provide better care. It quickly became clear to...
Help Your Patients Understand Cost of Care
Encourage your patients to review ASCO’s newly updated Managing the Cost of Cancer Care booklet, which can help them make informed treatment decisions. This resource explains the various costs associated with cancer treatment, key provisions in the 2010 health-care reform law that are now being...
2012 Breast Cancer Symposium to Expand Tumor Board Session, Add ‘Meet the Professors’ Session
The days of attending the Breast Cancer Symposium, just quietly listening to useful lectures, and then going home are over. In recent years, the meeting’s sponsors and planners have worked to make the 3-day gathering far more interactive and as intimate as a meeting with 1,500 attendees can be....
Cancer Informatics: A Future Necessity, but Challenges Abound
The National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently convened a workshop on cancer informatics to examine and discuss needs and challenges facing biomedical researchers, which will in turn affect the way oncology is practiced in the future. “This is a time of huge scientific ...
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...
Targeting KRAS in GI Cancers: The Hunt for the Holy Grail in Cancer Research
The RAS oncogenes are the most frequently mutated class of oncogenes in human cancers, and this has prompted a search for Ras inhibitors to effectively treat tumors with these mutations. Despite intensive efforts, however, none has materialized clinically because K-Ras is proving to be a very...
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...
Adding Cetuximab to Adjuvant Therapy with Modified FOLFOX6 Does Not Improve Survival
Adding cetuximab (Erbitux) to adjuvant treatment with mFOLFOX6, the modified sixth version of FOLFOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, oxaliplatin) did not improve disease-free survival among patients with resected stage III colon cancer, even those with wild-type KRAS, according to a phase III study in...
Quality of Life Is What’s Most Important to Me
For me, getting a cancer diagnosis has been more annoying than frightening. Mainly, I’m annoyed at myself for not taking care of an anal skin tag sooner. (I’d had it since birth.) The growth hadn’t been a problem until I got pregnant with my first child and it became temporarily engorged with...
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...
SIDEBAR: Could HPV Testing Be Used Alone?
“In the United States, there are no recommendations currently for HPV screening alone as a primary screening test for cervical cancer,” Michael L. LeFevre, MD, MSPH, Co-Vice Chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) told The ASCO Post. “Cytology picks up very few cases of...
New Guidelines Recommend Less Frequent Screening for Cervical Cancer, but That Doesn’t Mean Screening Is Less Important
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. In March 2012, the U.S. Preventive...
Changing the Course of Human Health through Bold Pursuits in Science
The synergy between industry, academic research, and regulatory bodies will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the future of a robust cancer drug pipeline. To gain insight on oncologic development trends, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Jean Pierre Bizzari, MD, Head of Global...
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 ...
Novel Multikinase Inhibitor Improves Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor regorafenib, given as a single agent to patients with treatment-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, significantly improved overall survival and delayed disease progression in an international phase III trial presented at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers...
I Refuse to Let Cancer Win
My battle with cancer started with a simple sore throat in June 2005. Despite two rounds of an antibiotic to clear up the problem, within 2 months my throat hurt so much I couldn’t swallow, and a mysterious lump had suddenly appeared on my tongue. By the end of August, I was diagnosed with stage...
Collaborating to Conquer Cancer, Theme of 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting
Developing curative regimens and other advances in pediatric oncology have demonstrated "what can be accomplished through collaboration, through the understanding of multidisciplinary care," said Michael P. Link, MD, ASCO President. Dr. Link commented to The ASCO Post about the theme for this...
Update on Oncology Drug Shortage: Better for Now, But Permanent Solutions Must Address Underlying Issues
Over the past few years, drug shortages in the United States have been on the rise, involving hundreds of agents, many of which are lifesaving medications for patients with cancer. In recent months, the FDA has taken steps to alleviate some of the most critical oncology drug shortages. “We should...
Before Accepting a ‘Friend’ Request on Social Media, Carefully Consider the Potential Pitfalls and Perils
To friend or not to friend? That is the question many social networkers ponder daily. Oncologists and other health professionals considering “friend” requests from patients would be wise to first consider the potential pitfalls and perils of accepting such requests, according to an article written...
Expert Point of View: Chemoradiation with Fluorouracil and Mitomycin Reduces Recurrence of Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer
In an editorial accompanying the recently reported UK phase III Bladder Cancer 2001 (BC2001) trial, Shipley and Zietman, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, point out that this trial shows that “the addition of a very tolerable regimen of chemotherapy to radiotherapy...
New Research Shows Promise in Cachexia, a Persistent Clinical Challenge
In the late 1980s, researchers led by Alfred L. Goldberg, PhD, first isolated the large protein complexes now called 26S proteasomes, which are the sites where most cellular proteins are degraded back to amino acids. Protein degradation by the proteasome pathway is critical in regulating many...
More New Data Support Use of Daily Aspirin to Prevent Cancers
Three new studies have added data to the growing evidence that low-dose, daily aspirin helps prevent colorectal cancer and other malignancies and may be useful in preventing metastases as well.1-3 Coming on the heels of other recent studies, the results appear to strengthen the case for using...
