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Showing 5251 - 5300Expect Questions about Experience and Outcomes
“Patients are becoming more sophisticated in their ability and willingness to interrogate the health-care system about their care,” according to Robert E. Bristow, MD, MBA, lead author of the study finding that many women with ovarian cancer are not receiving care consistent with National...
Drug Approvals in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Can We Do Better?
Forty years ago, President Richard Nixon announced a “war on cancer.” Some of that war’s first battles were won in the field of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with two agents, cytarabine and daunorubicin, receiving U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval based on their ability to produce...
Lynch Syndrome: A Multitude of Predispositions
The current uncertainty regarding the relative frequencies of cancers of various anatomic sites in Lynch syndrome poses a difficulty in commenting on the syndrome’s overall cancer spectrum. It is even more vexing to address the order in which these cancers are prone to occur. What we do know is...
Emerging Prognostic Markers in Colon Cancer
Patients with stage II colon cancer generally have a favorable prognosis, with about 80% of patients surviving 5 years after surgery and the majority of these long-term survivors presumed to be cured. Clearly though, some patients are destined to recur after surgery, and there is an urgent need to...
SIDEBAR: NCCN Patient Guidelines for Adolescents and Young Adults
NCCN Patient Guidelines for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer are now available. Visit www.nccn.com to view these and other NCCN guidelines for patients. Patient versions of the NCCN Guidelines are available in the following categories: Adolescents and young adults Breast cancer Chronic...
NCCN Patient Guidelines for Adolescents and Young Adults
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has issued new NCCN Guidelines for Patients, titled “Caring for Adolescents and Young Adults [AYA].” These guidelines fill an unmet need in oncology, as Peter F. Coccia, MD, Chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel for Young Adult Oncology and a member of...
Novel Regimen Produces High Pathologic Complete Response Rates in Triple-negative Breast Cancer
Interim results from a small neoadjuvant study of patients with triple-negative breast cancer has found high rates of pathologic complete response with the combination of nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane), carboplatin, and bevacizumab (Avastin).1 The study was presented at the 18th Annual Conference of the ...
Debt and the Oncology Fellow
Despite today’s challenging economy, health care is one field that offers vast career opportunities. Oncology, with the impending workforce shortage, is especially eager for bright young doctors to join its ranks. But the rising costs of medical school can be a deterrent, leading the best and...
New Labeling for Reformulated OxyContin to Curb Abuse
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved updated labeling for the reformulated painkiller OxyContin (controlled-release oxycodone hydrochloride). The new labeling will indicate that the drug has physical and chemical properties that make injection or snorting challenging. This new measure ...
New ASCO Answers Guides to Breast, Prostate, and Lung Cancer Now Available for Patients
The new ASCO Answers guides to cancer are designed to help patients newly diagnosed with cancer understand their disease and treatment options. These comprehensive, patient-friendly booklets contain trusted information about diagnosis, treatment, side effects, and the psychosocial effects of...
ASCO President’s Personal Philanthropy Honors Founder Jane C. Wright, MD
During her term as ASCO President, Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, of the Washington Cancer Institute has kept a solid focus on her presidential and 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting theme of “Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer.” These bridges take many forms, spanning challenges to be overcome in oncology...
Disparities in Cancer Care: How A Deep South Community Overcame Them
Racial inequities were a daily observation for Edward E. Partridge, MD, growing up in Alabama during the civil rights era. When he became a physician, he saw that these disparities extended into his own field, gynecologic oncology. He decided to do something about it. Dr. Partridge recently...
Managing Female Reproductive Complications after Cancer Treatment in Children and Young Adults
Follow-up care for female patients treated for cancer as children, adolescents, or young adults should include assessment and management of the late effects that therapy may have on reproductive health, as detailed in updated guidelines from the Children’s Oncology Group. “It is important for...
Personal Testimonial: CAR-modified T Cells in Adults
Twelve adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have been treated with CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia by Carl June, MD, Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy, and colleagues. These were all end-stage...
Preliminary Progress with Genetically Engineered T Cells in Treating Childhood ALL
Two small phase I studies at separate centers demonstrated encouraging results in the treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using reinfused autologous genetically engineered T cells. Results of both studies were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for ...
Women in Oncology: Trending in the Right Direction
According to ASCO President Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, an important part of her Presidential theme, “Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer,” is finding creative ways to ensure that we have enough oncologists to care for our burgeoning cancer patient population. Adding more women to the oncology...
Breakthroughs in Targeted Therapies for Breast Cancer Are Improving Patient Survival Rates
For more than 20 years, José Baselga, MD, PhD, has devoted his medical and scientific career to caring for breast cancer patients and the development of novel molecular targeted agents to treat the disease. From 1996 to 2010, he was Head of the Oncology Department of Vall d’Hebron University...
Reducing Incidental Cardiac Irradiation during Breast Radiotherapy
In the treatment of breast cancer, a wealth of data from prospective clinical trials and meta-analyses has documented the benefits of radiation to prevent local-regional recurrence and improve survival. Accordingly, important quality indicators in breast cancer care include: (1) receipt of...
Factors Increasing Risk of Death from Breast Cancer Identified
Several studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC, focused on factors associated with breast cancer mortality. One study found that older women with longer intervals between mammograms had a higher likelihood of dying of breast cancer. ...
Expert Point of View: Richard Hurt, MD
Richard Hurt, MD, Director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, applauds the new American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) policy recommendations. “It is disappointing that more oncologists are not paying enough attention to tobacco use in their...
Congress Must Reverse Devastating Budget Cuts to Cancer Care
Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, ASCO President, issued the following statement on April 27, 2013: “Today, out of concern for public safety, Congress provided the Federal Aviation Administration enhanced flexibility in application of sequestration related cuts, including reversal of furlough requirements ...
The Tissue Is the Issue: Choosing Therapy for Lung Cancer
The new guidelines from the College of American Pathologists, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and Association for Molecular Pathology (CAP/IASLC/AMP) are a significant step toward personalized therapy of patients with lung cancer. More than 226,000 new patients per year are...
Expert Point of View: Charles E. Ray, Jr, MD, PhD
Addressing the studies on cryoablation and irreversible electroporation ablation at a Society of Interventional Radiology press briefing, Charles E. Ray, Jr, MD, PhD, Chief of Interventional Radiology at University of Colorado, told The ASCO Post that these novel approaches to metastases are...
NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: 2013 Updates
At the 18th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), representatives of NCCN Guidelines panels presented two new sets of guidelines along with updates for several tumor types, summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post. New NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship “The...
On the Potential for Conflicts of Interest
In a recent issue of The ASCO Post, I counted 14 expert commentaries where the authority who wrote or was interviewed for the piece reported “no potential conflicts of interest.” I wondered how likely that was. We need to be clearer on the meaning of potential conflicts of interest. How often have...
How Is Sequestration Affecting Health Care?
The Budget Control Act of 2011, which calls for $1.2 trillion in federal funding cuts in national defense and nondefense programs, went into effect on March 1. The across-the-board cuts affect 21 agencies and programs directly involved in the health-care sector, including: Centers for Disease...
Proof of Principle for Adoptive T-cell Therapy in Cancer
In a recently published study, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center investigators demonstrated the considerable antitumor efficacy of 19-28z chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The ASCO Post asked lead...
Francis Crick's Discovery of the Structure of DNA Transformed 20th Century Biologic Sciences
“My Dear Michael, Jim Watson and I have probably made a most important discovery. We have built a model for the structure of des-oxy-ribose-nucleic-acid, called DNA for short.… In other words we think we have found the basic copying mechanism by which life comes from life,” wrote Francis Crick,...
Coping with Tongue Cancer: A Lonely Journey
Thirteen years ago, at just 34 years old, I never expected that my life could be interrupted by cancer. A nonsmoker and nondrinker, I had always practiced a healthy lifestyle and wasn’t concerned initially when what looked like a cold sore popped up on the left side of my tongue. But as several...
American Cancer Society Marks 100th Year Anniversary
The American Cancer Society announced the Society’s 100th birthday on May 22, 2013. Founded 100 years ago by 15 prominent physicians and business leaders in New York, the American Cancer Society, first known as the American Society for the Control of Cancer, launched the fight against a disease...
Making Prevention and Early Detection of Cancer a Priority
Conquering cancer has been the goal of Bert Vogelstein, MD, since he was a teenager in Baltimore. For more than 3 decades, Dr. Vogelstein, Co-Director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Johns Hopkins Medical...
Utilizing the Power of Rapid Learning Health-care Systems to Improve Patient Care
Lynn Etheredge’s career in shaping national health-care and social policy spans more than 4 decades and four Presidential administrations. He was the lead analyst in the development of health insurance proposals for Medicare and Medicaid while working in the White House Office of Management and...
Low-dose CT Detects Twice as Many Early-stage Lung Cancers as Chest X-ray, According to Additional NLST Results
Results of the first of three planned annual screening examinations from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) were recently published and physicians may now have more information to share with their patients about the benefits and risks of low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening.1...
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Reaches Agreement with FDA on Phase III Trial Design for Bavituximab in NSCLC
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals recently announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a phase III registration trial design of the company’s lead clinical immunotherapeutic candidate bavituximab in second-line non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial...
Cancer.Net Features Patient-friendly News from the ASCO Annual Meeting
Now that the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting is over, direct your patients to www.cancer.net/ascoannualmeeting to find podcasts and videos with ASCO experts and read summaries on the research highlighted at the meeting. In addition, your patients can continue to hear about the latest research throughout...
Transforming Grand Rounds into Chartrounds: Technology and the Improving Cancer Care Grant Advance Patient Care
When Patricia Hardenbergh, MD, moved from her academic position as a breast radiation oncologist at Duke University to a small, rural practice in Edwards, Colorado, she realized that being a community oncologist was a very different experience. She was an expert in treating breast cancer and also...
Determining the Best Diet for Patients with Cancer
How much does diet and body weight influence the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence? What is the optimal diet for patients with cancer and survivors to follow? There are currently no hard and fast rules, but some dietary clues are starting to emerge. Search...
A New Center for Lymphoid Malignancies Aims to Provide Precision Patient Care
In January, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center opened the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies, a 3,700 square foot outpatient clinic, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The Center is solely focused on the treatment of all forms of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma,...
Intensified Liposomal Daunorubicin May Offer High Survival Rates without Added Cardiotoxicity for Children with Leukemia
Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at an intensified dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added heart toxicity, according to the results of a study published online in Blood.1 Acute...
Cancer Organizations Recognize Sen. Shelby and Rep. DeLauro for Their Commitment to the Fight against Cancer
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were recognized recently by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, and Friends of Cancer Research for their outstanding commitment to cancer...
Expert Point of View: Alison Freifeld, MD
The EORTC Infectious Diseases Group Trial XV “is a long-awaited study because it finally is an investigation of outpatient management of low-risk fever and neutropenia in a large number of patients,” Alison Freifeld, MD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, commented in an...
Expert Point of View: Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD
This study should be placed in the context of treating to cure, said Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. “If we can further increase the cure rate in stage III non–small cell lung cancer...
Caring for the Whole Patient Both during Active Treatment and at End of Life
Despite studies showing that a majority of patients prefer to die at home rather than in an institutional setting,1 in many parts of the country, over 30% die in nursing homes and over 50% die in hospitals, according to Ira Byock, MD, Director of Palliative Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical...
For Renowned Researcher, Seeing Basic Science Turn into Promising Therapies Is the 'Holy Grail' of Oncology
“From bench to bedside” is a phrase that captures the essence of modern oncology: Researchers at the bench seek to solve the biologic puzzles of cancer that can translate into the development of therapeutics delivered at the bedside. Owen N. Witte, MD, has spent most of his career as a basic bench...
Innovative Leader in Oncology Is Committed to Tackling the Most Critical Issues in Managed Care
“I’m a Nebraskan,” said Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MHA, a leader in the oncology community who is well known for his innovative efforts to align physician payment and quality of care in ways that will best configure to the rapidly changing health-care environment. Speaking in the flat vowels and neutral...
The Power of Listening: From Candy Striper to the Front Lines of the Early AIDS Pandemic
Alexandra Levine, MD, MACP, the Chief Medical Officer of City of Hope National Medical Center, has traveled to 74 countries, seeking out adventures in some of the world’s most far-flung regions. Her illustrious oncology journey has also been an adventure, from the front lines of the AIDS pandemic...
UICC President Balances Innovation and Pragmatism to Reduce the Global Burden of Cancer
Mary K. Gospodarowicz, MD, FRCPC, is determined to help reduce the worldwide burden of cancer, a problem of epic proportions. Her approach is simple: adopt what works and reject what doesn’t. Much progress in the fight against cancer can be made without waiting for the next paradigm-changing...
After a Distinguished Career, Trailblazing Swiss Oncologist Remains Devoted to Addressing the Global Cancer Challenge
Switzerland, a landlocked country with a population about that of New York City, has four geographic regions, each with its own official language. Internationally regarded lymphoma and breast cancer expert, Franco Cavalli, MD, FRCP, was born and raised in Locarno, a town in the Italian region of...
Distinguished Researcher Changed the Face of Hematologic Malignancies
Clara D. Bloomfield, MD, grew up in a steadfastly academic environment that spurned typical children’s entertainment such as comic books or television. Born in New York City during World War II, she moved to Washington, DC, with her family while her father, an expert on labor and industrial...
Prolific Surgical Oncologist Understands the True Value of Mentorship
Charles M. Balch, MD, FACS, PhD (hc), was born in Milford, Delaware, where his father was a research chemist for DuPont during World War II. “My father was part of the team that developed rayon for parachutes. It was a top priority program because they couldn’t get nylon from the Philippines. After ...
