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Showing 551 - 600Impact of Peer-Review Intervention on Radiotherapy Schedules for Palliative Treatment of Bone Metastases
In a single-center study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Walker et al found that institution of a peer-review process resulted in shorter fractionation schedules for palliation of bone metastases, consistent with current guidelines. As stated by the authors, “Shorter...
Leading International Cancer Organizations Call on United Nations Members to Reduce Disease Burden
ASCO AND the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) are calling on leaders and health ministers of the 193 United Nations (UN) member countries to reduce the burden of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer. The two organizations issued a joint statement in advance of the third ...
Meeting the Challenges of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities
In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ipilimumab (Yervoy), an anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte– associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), the first checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of advanced melanoma.1 Since then, several more checkpoint inhibitors directed at both the programmed...
ASCO, Conquer Cancer Congratulate 2018 Grant and Award Recipients
ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation presented more than $7.3 million in grants and awards to exceptional oncology researchers at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. ASCO and Conquer Cancer congratulate the recipients and offer their profound thanks to those who generously supported these awards. Visit...
In Cases Where Early Detection of Metastatic Disease Offers No Advantage, Why Conduct Routine Surveillance?
“What is a reasonable plan of follow-up for patients with cancers for which early detection of metastatic disease offers no advantage?” Posing that question during his Presidential Address at the 2018 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Cancer Symposium, Kelly M. McMasters, MD,PhD,...
Geographic Differences in End-of-Life Cancer Care
When it comes to how much end-of-life care a patient with cancer receives, geography may, indeed, be destiny, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School that found differences in this type of cancer care across different parts of the country. The findings, published by Keating et al...
Palliative Care Preferences in Male Patients With Cancer
Men with advanced cancer are 30% less likely than women to consider palliative care, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) study. Researchers believe the findings reflect social norms about gender roles, as well as widespread messages in the media and society about...
A. Oliver Sartor, MD, on Issues in Immunotherapy
A. Oliver Sartor, MD, of Tulane University, speaks anecdotally about immunotherapy for prostate cancer and shares his experiences in speaking to patients with late-stage disease about the knowns, unknowns, risks, and toxicities of using a therapy outside the context of a clinical trial setting. The ...
Owen A. O’Connor, MD, PhD, on Issues in Immunotherapy
Owen A. O'Connor, MD, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center, shares his perspective on immunotherapy for patients with late-stage cancer in the context of a clinical trial setting and recent Right-to-Try legislation. The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of...
ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline Update: Disease Management for Patients With Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Naren Ramakrishna, MD, of the University of Florida Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health, and colleagues, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline update on disease management for patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer and...
Mindfulness in Cancer Care: Hype or Help?
GUEST EDITOR Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief, Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. “Mindfulness” has gained significant popularity in the lay press in recent...
WHO Names St. Jude Its First Collaborating Center for Childhood Cancer
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) has designated St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as the first WHO Collaborating Center for Childhood Cancer. With this collaboration, both organizations aim to expand efforts to develop strategies to strengthen the global resources, organization, and planning ...
How Learning What’s on Your Patient’s Bucket List May Improve Care
It may sound too good to be true, but asking patients a simple question about what is on their bucket list can actually spark a dialogue about how best to make their cancer care and survivorship fit into their life plans, as well as be an effective way to identify their end-of-life care goals,...
ESMO Prioritizes Cancer Care at 71st World Health Assembly
AT THE 71ST World Health Assembly in Geneva, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) delivered two statements positioning cancer as a priority on the global agenda of the World Health Organization (WHO). Presenting its recommendations for action to the international community, ESMO...
Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking Is Legal—and Ethical—for Terminally Ill Patients Looking to Hasten Death
Terminally ill patients with cancer will sometimes ask their clinicians for help with assisted or hastened death.1 Although palliative care and hospice care can usually address the concerns of most patients, some have physical or existential suffering that is refractory to comfort and supportive...
Resilience While Caring for Seriously Ill Patients: Skills and Strategies to Prevent Burnout
A career in oncology can be extremely rewarding. Fast-paced advances in research and treatment, exciting changes in the practice environment, and the opportunity to build strong relationships with and provide critical support to patients can be incredibly professionally satisfying—but they can...
Expert Point of View: Daniel George, MD, Robert J. Motzer, MD, and Paul Russo, MD
Formal discussant of the CARMENA trial, Daniel George, MD, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, had reservations about the broad application of these results. “CARMENA was designed to reassess the value and role of nephrectomy in patients who present with metastatic renal...
The Raven
The call from the dermatologist came at noon on Good Friday, just after my wife left with our two young daughters for a week on her family’s tree farm in Northern Michigan. I was on call for the hospital inpatient leukemia service, so I could not join them. When the dermatologist solemnly began,...
AMA Rejects Recommendation to Reaffirm Opposition to Medical Aid in Dying
On June 11, the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates voted 56% to 44% to reject a report by its Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) that recommended the AMA maintain its Code of Medical Ethics’ opposition to medical aid in dying. Instead, the House of Delegates...
Informed Consent Issues for Patients With Advanced Cancer in Phase I Trials
As reported by Hlubocky et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice, oncologists may not provide patients with advanced cancer participating in phase I clinical trials with sufficient information about prognosis and purposes of phase I testing during enrollment discussions. Study Details The study...
ESMO Emphasizes Importance of Cancer on the Global Health Agenda at the 71st World Health Assembly
At the 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) delivered two statements positioning cancer as a priority on the global agenda of the World Health Organization (WHO). Presenting its recommendations for action to the international community,...
Former Chair of ASCO’s Health Disparities Committee, Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, Faced Her Own Barriers
Nationally regarded radiation oncologist Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Wheatley Heights, a suburban hamlet on Long Island, New York, that shares borders with the prosperous community of Dix Hills and one of the Island’s lowest-income towns, Wyandanch. “I was fortunate to live ...
Pioneer in Genitourinary Oncology, José R. Germà-Lluch, MD, PhD, Sheds Light on Treating Rare Tumors
“At the age of 6, my mother threw me into the arms of Hippocrates’ discipline, giving me as a special gift a toy suitcase full of medical equipment and a little puppet to train my skills with a stethoscope, syringe, thermometer, small reflex hammer, and torch to explore the oropharyngeal airways....
ASCO Launches Its Education Scholars Program
Education is such an integral part of ASCO’s strategic plan to reduce the burden of cancer for all patients, it is incorporated into the Society’s mission statement to “conquer cancer through research, education, and promotion of the highest patient care.” In 2017, ASCO’s Board of Directors voted...
Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline
As reported by Hedy L. Kindler, MD, of the University of Chicago, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.1 The guideline was based on a systematic literature search and expert panel...
Robert M. Arnold, MD, Receives 2018 Association of Specialty Professors Award
Robert M. Arnold, MD, a researcher and physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), has been recently recognized by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine for his efforts to train clinicians to have difficult end-of-life conversations. Dr. Arnold accepted the 2018 Eric G....
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Quality of End-of-Life Care Among Patients With Lung Cancer
Significant disparities in the quality of end-of-life lung cancer care were found among racial/ethnic minorities, with higher odds of experiencing potentially preventable medical encounters during end of life as compared with non-Hispanic whites. These findings were published by Karanth et al in...
Using Video Decision-Support Tools to Facilitate End-of-Life Discussions With Patients
GUEST EDITOR Addressing the evolving needs of cancer survivors at various stages of their illness and care, Palliative Care in Oncology is guest edited by Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD. Dr. Von Roenn is ASCO’s Vice President of Education, Science, and Professional Development. Research shows that...
Massage Therapy for Patients With Cancer
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, reviews the current data on the use of massage to...
An Inspiring Experience at Cancer Control for Primary Care Course in Bhutan
I’ll admit it. When I was first asked if I would chair the Cancer Control for Primary Care (CCPC) Course in Bhutan, I immediately exclaimed yes... and then sheepishly went to look up where exactly Bhutan was on a map. For the uninitiated, Bhutan is a country nestled between India and Tibet in the...
A Clinician’s Guide to Treating Patients With Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma, a grade 4 astrocytoma, is the most common and most aggressive form of primary brain tumors in adults. The most recent guidance on molecular profiling, diagnostic and prognostic factors, and treatments for newly diagnosed and recurrent diseases was described in the Journal of Oncology ...
Enormous Cost of Failure to Screen Heavy Smokers for Lung Nodules
In 2011 the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) group published its publicly funded study of three annual screening chest computed tomography (CT) scans among heavy smokers aged 55 to 74.1 The results remain the first and only screening study for any cancer demonstrating a...
Updated ASTRO Guideline for Palliative Radiotherapy in Lung Cancer
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued an update to its clinical guideline for the use of palliative-intent radiation therapy for patients with incurable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Reflecting new evidence from randomized clinical trials, the guideline now...
FDA Grants Fast Track Designation for TAR-200 in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
On April 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation for TAR-200, a gemcitabine-releasing intravesical system (GemRIS), for the treatment of patients with organ-confined or locally advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are unfit for curative-intent therapy....
ASCO Develops Professional Resources for Pain Management
When it comes to helping patients with cancer manage pain, education and communication are critical. ASCO University® has developed two resources for providers to help facilitate educated clinical decision-making skills for pain management and feedback from patients in the forms of the Pain...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Sparks Global Oncology Innovation and Partnerships With IIG and IDEA Awards
ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2018 International Innovation Grants (IIG) and International Development and Education Awards (IDEA). Both the grant and award support oncology professionals in low-and middle-income countries, investing in either an innovative...
Support, Inform Patients With ASCO Resources
Stock your practice with ASCO resources for your patients. Visit ASCO’s patient information website, Cancer.Net, for a newly updated comprehensive guide to colorectal cancer at cancer.net/colorectal and a shorter, one-page colorectal cancer fact sheet. Copies can be purchased from the ASCO...
ASCO International: 2017 Year in Review
In late 2016, ASCO announced further expansion of its robust portfolio of international programs, and significant progress toward this expansion was achieved in 2017. All of these accomplishments reflect the hard work and commitment of many ASCO member volunteers, ASCO staff, and organizations...
Association of Early Palliative Care With Patient-Reported Outcomes and End-of-Life Care
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hoerger et al found that patients with a higher proportion of early palliative care visits addressing behavioral coping strategies had improvement in depression symptoms and quality of life. In addition, those with a high proportion of visits ...
The Challenge of Prognostication in the Era of Immunotherapy
GUEST EDITOR Addressing the evolving needs of cancer survivors at various stages of their illness and care, Palliative Care in Oncology is guest edited by Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD. Dr. Von Roenn is ASCO’s Vice President of Education, Science, and Professional Development. Although advances in such ...
Legal Duties of Clinicians When Terminally Ill Patients With Cancer or Their Surrogates Insist on ‘Futile’ Treatment
Law and Ethics in Oncology explores the legal and ethical issues oncologists must be aware of in this era of precision medicine and changing health-care policy, both to protect patients’ rights and to safeguard against potential legal jeopardy. For years, ASCO and other medical societies have...
Dose Rounding of Anticancer Agents: Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Position Statement
As reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice by Fahrenbruch et al, the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) has issued a position statement on dose rounding of biologic and cytotoxic anticancer agents. To formulate the position statement, the HOPA standards committee organized a work ...
Why Palliative Care Isn’t Just for Older Patients With Cancer
It is well established that adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer—defined by the National Cancer Institute as those between the ages of 15 and 39 years—have not reaped a comparable survival benefit as either younger or older adult cancer survivors over the past 4 decades, despite...
Providing Cancer Treatment Without Patient Consent
Law and Ethics in Oncology explores the legal and ethical issues oncologists must be aware of in this era of precision medicine and changing health-care policy, both to protect patients’ rights and to safeguard against potential legal jeopardy. Increasingly, across the United States, hospitals are...
NCCN Summit Explores Survivorship Issues for Patients and Clinicians
When Yelak Biru was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1995, he and his physicians had one main posttreatment goal: to detect and treat any relapse early and to prolong survival as long as possible with the limited drugs available. Then, in the early 2000s, came newer treatments. Myeloma survival...
ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline: Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
As reported by Hedy L. Kindler, MD, of the University of Chicago, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The guideline was informed by a systematic literature search and expert panel review ...
The Toxicity of Time
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the “Art of Oncology” as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Second Global AYA Cancer Congress Highlights Research Advances and the Global Burden of Cancer Among Young Adults
This past December, nearly 400 medical professionals from a variety of fields—including medical oncology, palliative care, science, nursing, social work, and psychology—and 23 countries traveled to Atlanta, to attend the 2nd Global Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Congress. The 3-day...
Working Together to Help Pediatric Patients With Cancer Live and Live Well
While many patients with cancer can benefit from palliative care to ease symptoms from the disease or its treatment, for children with cancer, especially critically ill children, palliative care can provide an additional layer of medical and emotional support for both young patients and their...
Levine Cancer Institute Creates Integrated Department of Supportive Oncology to Be Led by Declan Walsh, MD
Levine Cancer Institute (LCI) has announced a new Department of Supportive Oncology, helmed by palliative medicine pioneer Declan Walsh, MD. Under the leadership of Dr. Walsh, the new department will integrate its services throughout the Institute. The department includes cancer rehabilitation,...
