A study examining prevalence estimates of colorectal cancer screening at the county level in the United States has found that the country is far behind reaching the goal of screening 80% of adults aged 50 and older for colorectal cancer by 2018, which is supported by the National Colorectal Cancer...
On March 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation for the anti–connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) antibody pamrevlumab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer. This follows review of the phase II clinical...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, McQuade et al found that obesity was associated with improved outcomes in treatment of metastatic melanoma with targeted therapy or immunotherapy—but not chemotherapy—with a survival benefit appearing to be restricted to obese male patients....
People with stage III colon cancer who regularly eat nuts are at significantly lower risk of cancer recurrence and mortality than those who don’t, according to findings published by Fadelu et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Findings The study followed 826 participants in the CALGB...
On February 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to GC4419, a highly selective and potent small molecule dismutase mimetic, for the reduction of the duration, incidence, and severity of severe oral mucositis induced by radiation therapy with...
Research shows that secondhand smoke is a major cause of disease, including lung cancer and heart disease, as well as respiratory problems in nonsmokers. In addition, exposure to secondhand smoke increases the likelihood of nonsmokers becoming active smokers. In a study assessing the impact of...
THE 7th AND LATEST EDITION of Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice has been published by Elsevier. This authoritative reference in the field of hematology delivers expert scientific content and clinical guidance to enhance problem-solving skills and make optimal use of the newest diagnostic...
In May 2017, I started to reflect on my own personal views of wellness and the importance of the team. Since that time, I have been fortunate to speak with members of front-line clinical teams from four different practices: Eric Tetzlaff, MSH, PA-C, and Michael Hall, MD, MS, of Fox Chase Cancer...
As reported by Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology, a prespecified interim analysis of the phase III ENDEAVOR trial has shown a significant overall survival benefit for carfilzomib (Kyprolis)...
On February 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted a new drug application (NDA) for ivosidenib (AG-120) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutation. The NDA was granted Priority Review...
Kathleen M. Schmeler, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, was given the “Heroes in Medicine” award from Physician’s Weekly in May 2016. Her primary work is in cervical 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...
OBESE PATIENTS with metastatic melanoma who are treated with targeted or immune therapies live significantly longer than those with a normal body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in The Lancet Oncology of 1,918 patients in 6 independent clinical cohorts.1 This effect—referred to as ...
THE FIRST TWO randomized trials to directly compare direct oral anticoagulants vs low–molecular-weight heparin for management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer suggest that direct oral anticoagulants may become the new standard of care.1,2 Direct oral anticoagulants appear to...
Combining ultrasound imaging with a blood test for high alpha fetoprotein levels may improve detection of early-stage liver cancer by as much as 40%, researchers at UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center found. Their findings were presented by Tzartzeva et al in Gastroenterology....
A family history of breast cancer continues to significantly increase chances of developing invasive breast tumors in women aged 65 years and older, according to research published by Braithwaite et al in JAMA Internal Medicine. The findings could impact mammography screening decisions later in...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Grill et al found that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to radiotherapy plus temozolomide (RT + TMZ) did not improve event-free survival in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed high-grade glioma. Study Details In the...
Nominations are now being accepted for the William L. McGuire Award and Lectureship. The award is given annually at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in recognition of an investigator whose extraordinary and sustained achievements in translational and/or clinical research have made an impact ...
Temporary ovarian suppression during chemotherapy as a means of preserving ovarian function and fertility in young women with early breast cancer is controversial. An eagerly awaited meta-analysis including individual patient data from five randomized controlled trials found that the use of...
Matthew J. Ellis, MB, PhD, Director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, commented on the POETIC trial for The ASCO Post. “This is a wonderful study that validates a point that our research team has also made over the years—that Ki67 is much more...
We have covered many of the important presentations from the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in the pages of The ASCO Post and in our online Evening News. Here are summaries of additional noteworthy studies presented at the meeting. We hope you will find them of interest. Predicting...
“To what extent do treatments for prostate cancer impact sexual functioning? To a great extent,” Christian Nelson, PhD, Chief, Psychiatry Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, told participants at the 11th Annual Oncofertility Consortium Conference in Chicago.1 Most men with...
Invited discussant Brian M. Wolpin, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said the results of the LAPACT trial will be useful as an aid to patient counseling as well as in designing and interpreting future studies. However, he added, they are not “practice-changing,” as nanoparticle...
In the December 10, 2017, issue of The ASCO Post, I authored an article in which I raised the possibility of curing follicular lymphoma without the dreaded chemotherapy. Clearly, no good deed goes unpunished: My good friend and The ASCO Post’s editor Jim Armitage, MD, challenged me to defend that...
Following the publication of two landmark studies in the United States,1,2 laryngeal preservation with combined chemoradiotherapy has become standard practice as opposed to laryngectomy for patients with locally advanced laryngeal cancer. The Department of Veterans Affairs Laryngeal Cancer Study...
ASCO has released its review of leading oncology pathway vendors in the United States. “Oncology Clinical Pathways: Charting the Landscape of Pathway Providers,” published in the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP), examines the clinical pathways offered by six commercial vendors using...
Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors is the first of a new generation of immunotherapy treatments, revolutionizing treatment for many different types of cancer. By unleashing the body's immune system to attack cancer, these treatments can send even the most hard-to-treat cancers into...
Cancer care guidelines recommend that cancer survivors who experience sexual dysfunction after cancer treatment use therapeutic aids to help improve their sexual health. However, a new study of 25 leading cancer centers found that 87% of the centers reported having no sexual aids available on site...
A follow-up study to a randomized clinical trial reveals that exercising during adjuvant chemotherapy helps people engage in more physical activity years later. Four years later, people with breast or colon cancer who had participated in an 18-week exercise program while receiving chemotherapy...
Combining the antiangiogenic agent axitinib (Inlyta) with the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was found to have promising antitumor activity and no unexpected side effects in an early-phase clinical trial in patients with advanced kidney cancer who had not been previously treated. The full...
Gateway for Cancer Research has renewed and expanded its support for the Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award Program. The organization will underwrite the Gateway for Cancer Research Young Investigator Award (YIA) for each of the next 3 years to enable promising physician-scientists...
In Clinical Cancer Advances 2018: ASCO’s Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer, which highlights the most impactful cancer research progress and the importance of federally funded research, ASCO recognized a type of adoptive cell immunotherapy—chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy—as...
VIVIANE TABAR, MD, has been named the new Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). Dr. Tabar has been a faculty member at MSK for more than 15 years and is currently the Theresa C. Feng Chair for Neurosurgical Oncology and the Vice Chair for...
AS REVIEWED in this issue of The ASCO Post, Patel and colleagues have presented data from the phase I JAVELIN study evaluating avelumab (Bavencio) in platinum-refractory patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.1 The drug is active with durable responses when compared with historical...
Using nuclear medicine, German researchers may have found a way to accurately differentiate cancerous tissue from healthy tissue in prostate cancer patients. The research is highlighted in findings published by Rahbar et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. These new findings demonstrate that...
TWO IMPORTANT STUDIES, both updates of earlier findings and presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, provided different findings as to the relative benefit of nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel (Abraxane), vs solvent-based paclitaxel in breast cancer. “The two studies...
JULIE GRALOW, MD, FASCO, Director of Breast Medical Oncology for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, commented on the findings of the SUCCESS A trial in an interview with The ASCO Post. The Oxford meta-analysis...
THE PHASE III SUCCESS A trial, presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, found no benefit for extending the use of intravenous zoledronic acid from 2 years to 5 years.1 “At this time point, our study showed no difference in disease-free survival or overall survival between 5 years ...
“ONCOLOGISTS WANT to find drugs that will delay the use of chemotherapy, and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors provide that. These agents work better than chemotherapy and with less toxicity,” said press conference moderator C. Kent Osborne, MD, Director of the Duncan Cancer Center at...
OLDER WOMEN with breast cancer derive benefit from treatment with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors as part of initial endocrine-based therapy for hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, metastatic breast cancer, according to a retrospective pooled subgroup analysis of women aged 70 or ...
ALTHOUGH PRECISION medicine may be a recent discovery in some fields, it is an old story in the field of breast cancer, and one that has been exceptionally important in terms of managing the disease, according to George Sledge, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncologist at the...
MYELOMA SPECIALIST Dan Vogl, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, told The ASCO Post that the potential use of daratumumab (Darzalex) in amyloid light-chain amyloidosis is “exciting.” The drug could answer an unmet need in relapsed disease and become ...
DARATUMUMAB (DARZALEX) may be an effective treatment for systemic amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, according to phase II studies reported at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1,2 While the cohorts were small and the arms uncontrolled, the findings...
KEN SHAIN, MD, Assistant Member of the Department of Malignant Hematology and Tumor Biology, Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and Scientific Director of the Moffitt Myeloma Working Group, moderated the session where the study was presented and offered comments to The ASCO Post. “Professor...
Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide, with an estimated 456,000 new cases in 2012, and the sixth most common cause of death from cancer with an estimated 400,000 deaths, according to data from GLOBOCAN, which provides statistics on the incidence and mortality of cancer...
Patients with esophageal cancer who refuse surgery when it is recommended are less likely to survive long term than similar groups of patients who undergo an operation, according to research presented by Ghaly et al at the 54th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (P78). ...
A new analysis of the ongoing STAMPEDE clinical trial found that adding docetaxel to hormone therapy for advanced prostate cancer improves quality of life and lowers the need for subsequent therapy. Docetaxel was also found to be cost-effective. These findings will be presented by James et al at...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dieli-Conwright et al found that an aerobic and resistance intervention reduced metabolic syndrome factors and sarcopenic obesity among sedentary, overweight, or obese women with breast cancer. Study Details In the study, 100 women from...
AS REVIEWED in this issue of The ASCO Post, ASCO and Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) have issued an updated guideline on the role of bone-modifying agents in metastatic breast cancer.1 The updated guideline supports a change in clinical practice for our patients with breast cancer and bone metastasis....
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Pavel and colleagues, no significant difference in deterioration of health-related quality of life was observed with everolimus (Afinitor) vs placebo in the phase III RADIANT-4 trial, which included patients with advanced nonfunctional well-differentiated...