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Showing 5151 - 5200SIDEBAR: Trials’ Shortcomings Leave Role of Induction Chemotherapy Unclear
Given certain shortcomings of the DeCIDE and PARADIGM trials, the true role of induction chemotherapy in head and neck cancer is still not clear, said George R. Blumenschein, Jr, MD, Associate Professor at The Unviersity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, at the Best of ASCO San Diego...
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...
Pediatric Pathologist Sidney Farber, MD: The ‘Father of Modern Chemotherapy’ and Cofounder of the Jimmy Fund
In June 3, 1948, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study by Sidney Farber, MD, showing that a synthetic compound, 4-aminopteroylglutamic acid (aminopterin), could induce remissions in seriously ill children with acute leukemia.1 Although the study was small—just 16 children—10 showed...
SIDEBAR: Treatment Decisions for Locally Advanced NSCLC Draw on 'Art of Medicine'
With treatment advances, there are now fewer absolutes in managing locally advanced NSCLC, according to Dr. Reckamp. “We are moving toward treating performance status 2 patients, and obviously, that is a heterogeneous group of people,” she elaborated. “For those who need a lot of care, you need to...
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...
SIDEBAR: From Small Centers to Academic Centers
The use of cytoreduction plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) to treat carcinomatosis “came from the smaller centers,” noted Nita Ahuja, MD, Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancies Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “A lot of things in medicine come from academia and move...
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,...
Novel Device May Eliminate Need for Re-excision after Lumpectomy
A novel device employed during breast surgery reduces the need for re-excision due to positive margins. This lessens patient anxiety, lowers treatment costs, and helps preserve the cosmetic appearance of the breast, according to a large prospective study reported at the 2012 Breast Cancer...
Anthracycline Use Steadily Declining in Early Breast Cancer Population
Anthracycline use in early-stage breast cancer has been steadily declining, especially for patients with stage I/II or HER2-positive disease, according to an analysis of patients treated at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.1 Treatment Alternatives Lead author...
Noncolorectal GI Cancer Evidence Incorporated into Guidelines
The noncolorectal gastrointestinal cancer studies selected for this year’s Best of ASCO meetings include some whose results are being folded into practice guidelines or are good candidates for incorporation, according to Alexandria T. Phan, MD, Associate Professor at The University of Texas MD...
Viral Infection and Liver Cancer: A Global Health Crisis
It is estimated that at least 15% of all cancers worldwide can be attributed to infectious etiologies, mostly viral infections. At this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting, an intriguing session on virally induced cancers provided critical clues that could be of real practical value in advancing our battle...
Despite Progress, Chemotherapy Drug Shortages Still Vex the Oncology Community
During the first week of November 2011, President Obama signed an Executive Order directing the FDA to take steps to help resolve the drug shortages that were affecting patient care across the country. The oncology community was hit especially hard; many of the drug shortfalls were generic...
Feminist Author Babette Rosmond Helped Propel the Adoption of Patients’ Rights to Choose Their Cancer Treatment
Then writer and editor Babette Rosmond was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1971, the second wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement that began in the mid-1960s was in its infancy. Still, when told by her doctor that she would need a radical mastectomy—a procedure developed by William Stewart...
SIDEBAR: Don’t Expect Direct Questions from Patients about Pain
Just asking patients “Is there something else you want to address in the visit,” rather than “Is there anything else you want to address in the visit today,” dramatically reduced patients’ unmet concerns during a primary care visit, according to a 2007 study.1 That learning can be applied to...
A Series of Medical Missteps
Since the beginning of my symptoms—occasional pain on the upper left side of my abdomen, accompanied at times by nausea—which started nearly 20 years ago, my condition, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, either remained undetected or was completely misdiagnosed until just recently. A series of...
SIDEBAR: All Eyes on Trials of IV vs IP Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer
The positive findings from the NOVEL trial add to the debate about how intravenous (IV) chemotherapy stacks up against intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy when treating ovarian cancer and the role of dose-dense approaches in general, according to Jonathan S. Berek, MD, of the Stanford Women’s Cancer...
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,...
Novel Drug Combinations Present New Hope for Effective Treatments in Multiple Myeloma
Developing early-phase clinical trials that incorporate combinations of novel agents targeting different pathways in the hematologic cancer multiple myeloma is a leading focus of the work of Sagar Lonial, MD, Professor of Hematology and Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Hematology ...
Now in Spanish: Cancer in Older Adults
Tell your patients about Cancer in Older Adults, Cancer.Net’s newest Spanish language booklet for older adults and their family and friends. The content of the booklet is adapted from the ASCO University Module, Cancer Care for Older Patients. It provides information on the physical and emotional...
AACR’s Cancer Progress Report 2012 Highlights Advances, Challenges, Opportunities
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recently released its Cancer Progress Report for 2012,1 providing a snapshot of the major advances in cancer research, and highlighting the great need for continued funding for the field. “It is a new day for cancer research and cancer patients,” ...
Expert Point of View: Tim Eisen, MD, and Robert Figlin, MD
Over the past few years, we have gone from famine to feast.… We now have sorafenib [Nexavar] and sunitinib [Sutent], temsirolimus [Torisel], and everolimus [Afinitor], and interferon plus bevacizumab [Avastin] for treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. If these drugs [in COMPARZ] are...
Role of Crizotinib in Previously Treated ALK-positive Advanced NSCLC
In yet another success story for personalized medicine, a targeted therapy extended survival in patients whose cancers expressed the target. Crizotinib (Xalkori), the first-in-class ALK inhibitor, extended progression-free survival and improved response rates compared with single-agent chemotherapy ...
Challenges Persist in Treatment of Elderly Patients with CLL, but Novel Agents Hold Promise for Future Strategies
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is mainly a disease of the elderly, and the lack of a standard regimen for elderly patients has been a major challenge. The myelosuppressive regimens used to treat younger patients are not well tolerated by the elderly. However, some newer approaches currently...
Study Reveals Global Picture of Obstacles to Pain Control in Patients with Cancer
Hundreds of millions of patients with cancer around the world are suffering from unrelieved cancer pain, despite the availability of morphine and other drugs that could alleviate that suffering. The major barriers are twofold: governments failing to ensure an adequate supply of morphine and other...
Challenging Times: A Day in the Life of a Community Oncologist
Community oncologists man the front line of cancer care, treating upward of 85% of our nation’s patients. Over the past 2 decades, regulatory and economic changes have left many practices in a state of flux and uncertainty, some struggling to keep their doors open. To shed light on the community...
Ignoring Level 1 Evidence in Invasive Bladder Cancer: Is Ignorance Bliss?
I’ve been part of the uro-oncology community for more than 30 years and have been proud to be involved in a good number of well-powered, enthusiastically subscribed randomized clinical trials. These have dated back to a time before randomization was necessarily the fashion. I have had the pleasure...
Surrounded by Breast Cancer
Nine women on my mother’s side of the family have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly half have died from their disease, including my mother. With odds like these, I was determined to do what I could to stay ahead of this dreaded monster I thought was surely coming for me. First Tests...
Letter to the Editor: Origins of PSA Testing: The Conversation Continues
As Drs. James Mohler and Donald Trump noted in their September 15 letter to The ASCO Post (“More Thoughts on PSA,” 3[14]:2, 2012), Richard Ablin, PhD, discovered a “prostate-specific antigen” of unknown properties, but his PSA is not the antigen in the PSA test we know today. Since Dr. Ablin has...
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...
Explaining Research to Patients
Everyone understands the need for medical research, especially regarding cancer. However, only a minority of the public understand what is actually involved in taking part in a clinical trial. As professionals, we are responsible for designing relevant studies, for their conduct and analysis, and...
Risk Reduction for Patients with Multiple Primary Cancers
The number of patients with multiple primary cancers is increasing so that second malignant neoplasms now represent approximately 16%, or 1 in 6 cancers reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. While some second malignant neoplasms are treatment-related, others...
Options Shifting for First-line Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma
Trials with pazopanib (Votrient) have “provided significant efficacy, toxicity, and tolerability data for pazopanib to be established as a first-line standard of care” for renal cell carcinoma,” Tim Eisen, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, stated at the 11th International Kidney...
Integrative Medicine Showing Benefits in Cancer Management
Donald I. Abrams, MD, Chief of Hematology-Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital and Integrative Oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, has been investigating and incorporating integrative medicine approaches in his clinical treatment...
Seeking Solutions to the Dilemmas of Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment
Widespread use of screening technologies has markedly increased early detection rates of cancer, saving countless lives. However, while screening technologies have remarkable sensitivity, their inability to identify which tumors will progress and which will not has created the phenomenon of...
Updated Results from T-DM1 and Regorafenib Trials, plus Other Highlights from ESMO 2012
The 35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna broke all records for attendance, with about 16,000 attendees from all over the world. Some sessions were standing room only, including the Presidential Symposia, the ESMO-ASCO Joint Symposium on genomics in breast cancer, and ...
Beyond Molecular Monitoring: Cytogenetic Testing and Mutational Analysis in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Cytogenetic analysis remains an important component of patient monitoring until a complete cytogenetic response is achieved. In addition, the ability of conventional cytogenetics to identify additional chromosomal abnormalities not detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization is noteworthy. Jorge ...
Past ASCO President, John Ridgway Durant, MD, Dies at 82
John Ridgway Durant, MD, ASCO’s 20th President, was born on July 29th, 1930, and died on October 28th, 2012. Dates that mark a person’s birth and passing are made all the more significant by how that person filled the days that link the two milestones. Dr. Durant will be remembered fondly as a man...
Interval-compressed Chemotherapy More Effective with No Increase in Toxicity
A randomized controlled trial among patients with newly diagnosed localized Ewing sarcoma found that “chemotherapy administered every 2 weeks is more effective than chemotherapy administered every 3 weeks, with no increase in toxicity,” investigators from the Children’s Oncology Group reported in...
Early Surgical Treatment of Low-grade Glioma Improves Survival vs Watchful Waiting
In a comparison of surgical treatment strategies for low-grade gliomas, patients in Norway treated at a hospital that generally favored early surgical resection had better overall survival than patients treated at a hospital that favored diagnostic biopsy and watchful waiting, according to a study...
Promoting a More Balanced Approach to Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Margaret I. Cuomo, MD, is a board-certified radiologist who served for many years as an attending physician in diagnostic radiology at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York. Dr. Cuomo is the daughter of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and sister to Governor Andrew Cuomo. She is...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions and Respond with Reasoned Explanations
“Soaring spending has presented the medical community with a new obligation. When choosing treatments for a patient, we have to consider the financial strains they may cause alongside the benefits they might deliver,” three physicians from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York...
MSKCC’s Decision Not to Purchase New Cancer Drug Sparks Editorial and Unprecedented Actions
“At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, we recently made a decision that should have been a no-brainer: we are not going to give a phenomenally expensive new cancer drug to our patients.” That was the opening sentence of a New York Times op-ed piece written by three physicians from Memorial...
I Am Not a Victim
Six years ago, at age 62, I was feeling in great shape. The year before, I had taken over custody of my 2- and 3-year-old great-grandchildren and decided to change the course of my career from motivational speaker to motivational coach to be home more often with the kids. It was during one of our...
Health-care Crisis Reconsidered
As an oncologist in private practice, I usually read with great interest the many articles in The ASCO Post on issues regarding the politics of oncology practice. These articles deal with the major topics of the day, ranging from the high cost of oncologic care to shortages of generic drugs, to...
Updates on Ruxolitinib from ASCO and ASH 2012, including Long-term Survival Data
Ruxolitinib (Jakafi), a novel, oral JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, was approved by the FDA on November 16, 2011 for patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis. The approval was based on its efficacy in reducing spleen size and improving disease-related burdensome symptoms. In the brief In the ...
Ambitious Call to Arms Seeks a Shift in Priorities to Eradicate Cancer
It has been more than 4 decades since our nation loaded its medical cannons and declared war on cancer, self-assured that money and American scientific resolve would lead to victory. But cancer has proved to be a humbling enemy. The war is now fought in targeted skirmishes; the weaponry is a...
The Practice of More than One Art
The positive healing effects of music can be traced as far back as ancient Greece and the belief that Apollo was God of medicine and music. In his book De Anima, Aristotle wrote that flute music could purify the soul. By the end of the 19th century, researchers were showing a correlation between...
Expert Point of View: Jason A. Efstathiou, MD, DPhil
Although these two trials reported at the ASTRO Annual Meeting are seemingly different, they both establish the value of radiation-based therapy in prostate cancer, demonstrating overall survival benefit and favorable toxicity profiles in high-risk, locally advanced, and castrate-resistant...
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...
Research of Three Conquer Cancer Foundation Grantees Featured among Top Cancer Advances of the Year
Every year, the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology funds research grants that provide critical start-up funding for young physician-scientists, with the goal of enabling them to develop successful careers in cancer research so that they can bring new treatments...
