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Showing 5001 - 5050Overcoming Drug Development Challenges in the New Era of Cancer Care
While the last 15 years have brought unprecedented advances in oncology drug development, the next 10 years promise to usher in even greater opportunities to realize the goal of precision medicine in the treatment of cancer, providing patients with more effective care and better outcomes. Reaching...
ASCO Resources for Transitioning to ICD-10
ASCO has developed resources to educate and assist oncology practices in transitioning to the 10th Edition of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) coding system. Practices are encouraged to prepare for the transition before the October 1,...
The Latest Gastrointestinal Cancer News for Patients
The 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium is taking place now. Direct your patients to www.cancer.net/gisymposium for summaries of the research being highlighted, including what the latest research means for their care. Your patients can also download or listen to a podcast with an ASCO expert...
ESMO Releases Position Paper on Med-Oncs' Role in Cancer Care
A new position statement from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) reports that medical oncologists have a vital role to play in cancer care.1 According to the position statement, medical oncologists are specialist cancer physicians trained to provide treatment with drugs, spanning from ...
Molecularly Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column offering insight into the FDA and its policies and procedures. This installment addresses a changing paradigm in the treatment of lung cancer, exemplified by concurrent approval of a companion diagnostic with each of several new targeted agents or new...
Surprising Findings for Lenalidomide Maintenance in Updated IFM 2005-02 Analysis
A new analysis of the multiple myeloma Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) 2005-02 trial showed that lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance prolongs progression-free survival after stem cell transplantation, but does not improve overall survival.1 This is possibly attributed to the shorter...
Expert Point of View: Debu Tripathy, MD
Debu Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine, Co-Leader of the Women’s Cancer Program, and the Priscilla and Art Ulene Chair in Women’s Cancer at the University of Southern California Norris Cancer Center, Los Angeles, commented on the APT study for The ASCO Post. “In treating early-stage...
Seven Studies at SABCS Make Dr. Jame Abraham's List of 'Practice-Changing' Talks
From December 10 to 14, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, and Baylor College of Medicine once again hosted the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), presenting...
Novel BRAF Fusions Identified in 'Pan-Negative' Melanomas Subset May Be Sensitive to MEK Inhibition
A study by Sosman et al has identified two novel BRAF fusions in melanomas previously considered to be negative for molecular targets. In addition, these “pan-negative” melanomas were found to be sensitive to MEK inhibitors. According to the study, BRAF fusions define a new molecular subset of...
Addressing the Challenges of an Aging Population
We have an aging population, which is a good thing since people are living longer. [But] cancer is a disease that tends to occur most frequently in older people, so the combination of those two events will lead to many more older people with cancer, a larger cancer population in general, and a...
Evaluating and Screening Geriatric Patients for Treatment
One of the key questions in geriatric oncology is: How can we use all of the work geriatricians have done over the years in general geriatrics and apply that to the field of oncology? One-quarter to one-third of us are going to develop cancer throughout our lifetime, and half of the time it is...
Who Opts for Chemoprevention?
Based on age and risk, an estimated 10 million women in the United States may be eligible for an agent aimed at preventing breast cancer, but chemoprevention is underutilized. Fewer than 5% of women at high risk who are offered tamoxifen for chemoprevention agree to take the drug, partly due to...
ASCO's 50th Anniversary and the Road Ahead
As the American Society of Clinical Oncology celebrates its 50th anniversary, ASCO’s Chief Executive Officer Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, recently talked with The ASCO Post about the Society’s past, present, and future. Important Milestone What are your thoughts about ASCO’s origins and its 50th...
Risk-Based Breast Cancer Screening: Studies Suggest Alternatives to Age-Based Guidelines
Measuring certain hormone levels could help determine a woman’s risk for breast cancer and add a key factor to current risk-prediction models, according to investigators from Harvard Medical School. Their new study results were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual ...
Expect Questions, and Some Reluctance, About Getting a Flu Shot
People with weakened immune systems due to diseases like cancer are at increased risk of severe complications from the flu virus and should get flu shots annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly encourages this practice, and most oncologists would recommend that for...
Cancer Patients Are at Increased Risk of Complications From the Flu and Should Receive Flu Shots, but Not the Nasal Spray
Widespread influenza activity continues to be reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with a recent increase in flu-related hospitalizations.1,2 Patients with cancer are at increased risk from flu complications and should receive the flu shot, but not the flu nasal spray...
An Overview of the REGAL Trial and Anti-VEGF Therapies in Recurrent Glioblastoma
As published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Batchelor and colleagues1 and reviewed in a recent issue of The ASCO Post (November 15, 2013, page 106), the REGAL trial was a randomized, phase III, placebo-controlled, partially blinded trial evaluating the efficacy of cediranib, an...
ASCO Cosponsors Inaugural Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium
In October, ASCO will cosponsor the inaugural Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium with the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). The Symposium is...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Funds Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries for the First Time
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology has announced the four recipients of the inaugural 2014 International Innovation Grant, which is a new program that underscores the Foundation’s continued commitment to improving the care of patients worldwide. The 1-year...
Major Cancer Advances in 2013 Highlight Importance of Federal Funding
About one-third of the most important clinical advances in cancer last year were made possible at least in part through federal funding, according to ASCO’s annual report on progress in cancer, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 Significant Declines in Funding The report, “Clinical...
Expect Questions from Patients
Like all early detection strategies, screening mammography involves trade-offs,” H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH, and Honor J. Passow, PhD, of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, Hanover, New Hampshire, wrote in a Special Communication in JAMA Internal Medicine.1 They...
Confronting Uncertainty About the Harms and Benefits of Screening Mammography
“If women are to truly participate in the decision of whether or not to be screened [for breast cancer using mammography], they need some quantification of its benefits and harms,” asserted H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, and Honor J. Passow, PhD, Instructor, at The Dartmouth...
Nothing Prepared Me for Cancer
Fourteen years ago, when I was just 29, I was feeling weak and fatigued and had severe pain in my abdomen. I’d had these symptoms for about a year, but none of the several doctors I saw or any of the tests they performed could find the source of my problems. I even had one nurse practitioner tell...
Lessons Learned in Cancer Care Communication
Over the past several decades, outcomes data have traced the success stories in cancer research and therapeutics. However, during those decades of increasingly rapid scientific breakthroughs, certain psychosocial components in the continuum of cancer care were often overlooked. One such element is...
An Early Chemotherapy Innovator, Franco M. Muggia, MD, Now Focuses on Advancing Therapies for Ovarian Cancer
Looking over an illustrious career in medical oncology that spans 5 decades, Franco M. Muggia, MD, told The ASCO Post that he is excited about the future and hopes to continue making contributions to the field of oncology in years to come. At the forefront of the early clinical development of...
Focus on the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology
Founded nearly 3 decades ago in response to unfavorable changes in Medicare reimbursement regulations and growing coverage issues with Michigan’s private payers that threatened oncologists’ ability to provide quality cancer care to patients, the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology (MSHO)...
FDA Programs to Expedite Drug and Biologic Product Development
With the advent of Breakthrough Therapy designation, there are now four FDA programs to expedite the development of promising new agents: Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review, and Accelerated Approval (Table 1). These programs complement one another and serve a common goal: to speed...
NIH Makes Palliative Care More Attainable for Pediatric Patients and Their Families
A campaign “Palliative Care: Conversations Matter” recently launched by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) aims to increase the use of palliative care for children with serious illness. Palliative care can reduce a child’s pain, help manage other distressing symptoms, and provide...
The Latest From the 2014 Genitourinary Symposium
Help your patients catch up on the latest research on genitourinary cancers—direct them to www.cancer .net/gusymposium for summaries of what the latest research means for patient care and a podcast with an ASCO expert explaining the importance of this research. They can also look for coverage of...
Serving the Underserved: Dr. Gina Villani and ASCO’s Health Disparities Committee Work to Minimize Cancer Care Gaps
It has been a little over a decade since the Institute of Medicine landmark report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care found overwhelming evidence of racial disparities in the U.S. health-care system. Since then, ASCO has been dedicated to minimizing these...
HER2 Testing: The Next Chapter
Late last year, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and College of American Pathologists published a comprehensive update of guidelines for HER2 testing,1 the first such update since their initial landmark publication in 2007.2 This new report, summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post,...
Longer-Term Follow-up of Breast Implant–Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma: More Certainty About Certain Uncertainties
When what is now called breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma was first recognized and initially described, a number of uncertainties prevailed—mainly, was the association with breast implants real, and was this a true lymphoma? Through the significant efforts of those who...
Novel Agents Show Activity in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
PI3K-mediated activation of downstream effectors allows tumors to escape from negative growth control, and this action may be checked with PI3K inhibitors. At the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, researchers reported results in patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma...
ASCO's Education and Professional Development Services
Last September, Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD, left her position as Professor of Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago to join ASCO as its Senior Director of Education, Science and Professional Development. In her new position, Dr. Von Roenn will provide strategic...
City of Hope’s New Chief Scientific Officer and Cancer Center Director Reflects on His Career Path and the Future of Cancer Care
City of Hope in Duarte, California, has named Steven T. Rosen, MD, as its first Provost and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Rosen will guide the scientific direction of the center’s medical research, treatment, and education. He will also assume directorship of the comprehensive cancer institute,...
Cancer Pain: The Humbling Reality
As a medical oncologist and palliative care physician, I’ve had the privilege of caring for cancer patients and delivering primary palliative care and symptom control, as well as the chance to care for patients especially referred for complex pain and symptom problems (in secondary and even...
Overdiagnosis of Breast Cancer: New Research Directions
Currently, one of the most challenging problems in oncology is to accurately predict whether neoplastic lesions detected by screening tests will progress. The focus on developing ever-more sensitive cancer screening tests has produced the clinical dilemma of overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis occurs when ...
Updated Information on Clinical Trials
Your patients can learn about clinical trials in a variety of ways at www.cancer.net/clinicaltrials. The articles available explain what clinical trials are, how they are used to learn more about cancer care, and how they are conducted. In addition, your patients can read a new article explaining...
Cancer.Net Expands Its Social Media Presence With Launch of Blog
In an effort to continue to bring patients and those who care about and for them the most timely, comprehensive cancer information, ASCO’s patient education website, Cancer.Net, has added a new interactive resource—the Cancer.Net Blog (www.cancer.net/blog). “We decided that a blog made sense for...
Cancer Progress in Jeopardy: Stories From the Front Lines
ASCO is exploring what is happening on the front lines in the laboratory and the clinic due to the shrinking federal funding for cancer research and clinical trials with a series of stories about oncologists. The series is posted on ASCO.org (www.asco.org/nihfunding). In the first article, Robert...
Amplifying the Signal: Foundation Donor Takes His Advocacy Into the Twittersphere
Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD, a Medical Oncologist for Aurora Cancer Care and the Medical Director of Early Cancer Research at Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, has become something of an expert on the Conquer Cancer Foundation. It began in 2006, when he received a Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO...
Expert Point of View: Debu Tripathy, MD
Debu Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine, Co-Leader of the Women’s Cancer Program, and the Priscilla and Art Ulene Chair in Women’s Cancer at the University of Southern California Norris Cancer Center, Los Angeles, commented on the APT study for The ASCO Post. “In treating early-stage HER2-positive ...
Expert Point of View: Daniel J. Canter, MD
“We have a lot of options for first-line therapy [in renal cell carcinoma] these days. The question is, what do we do with first-line failures?” said Daniel J. Canter, MD, formal discussant of the SWITCH trial at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Dr. Canter is Vice Chairman of the Urologic...
The Future of Biomedical Research
In January, Congress approved a $1 trillion appropriations bill for the rest of fiscal year 2014. While the new bill includes $29.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—$1 billion above FY2013 levels after sequestration—including $4.9 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI),...
Focus on the Virginia Association of Hematologists and Oncologists
The state of Virginia encompasses a vast area of 40,000 square miles and is divided into five regions: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, and the Appalachian Plateau. The diverse geography of the state creates unique challenges for...
Cancer Has Allowed Me to Put My Goals First
Despite my family history of cancer—my father had colorectal cancer, his father had gallbladder cancer, and my father’s mother died of what was believed to be uterine cancer—when I complained to my gynecologist about postmenopausal bleeding in the spring of 2011, I was told not to worry about it....
Music Therapy Yields Positive Effects on Coping Skills, Social Integration, and Family Environment for Young Patients With Cancer
A collaborative multisite study has found that teens and young adults undergoing stem cell transplantation as part of cancer treatment gain coping skills and resilience-related outcomes when participating with a board-certified music therapist in a therapeutic music protocol that includes writing...
How to Approach the Problem of CNS Metastasis in HER2-Positive Patients
Central nervous system (CNS) metastasis is a pervasive problem in the setting of HER2-positive breast cancer. While some patients can be managed easily, others are challenging, said Eric P. Winer, MD, Chief of the Division of Women’s Cancers and the Thompson Senior Investigator for Breast Cancer...
How Decoding the Genomes of Exceptional Responders Is Leading to More Effective Treatment for All Patients With Cancer
In 2012, David B. Solit, MD, Geoffrey Beene Chair and Director of the Center for Molecular Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York, and his colleagues published the results of a phase II study1 of 45 patients with advanced bladder cancer. The purpose of the clinical...
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Committee Identifies Eight Palliative Care Priorities in Pediatric Oncology
About 2½ years ago, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis conducted a series of focus groups to better understand the palliative care priorities of bereaved parents. Their findings were never intended to be generalized, but rather to be used to formulate a strategic plan for an...
