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Showing 5801 - 5850Expert Point of View: Daniel G. Coit, MD
Daniel G. Coit, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and Chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Melanoma Guidelines Panel, discussed the findings reported by Lewin et al at the ASCO Annual Meeting. “This is a small retrospective study examining a prospective...
Expert Point of View: Wendy Stock, MD
Wendy Stock, MD, of the University of Chicago, was the formal discussant of these three studies presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting. Commenting on the first study on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by Dr. Gerber and colleagues, she said, “This work can improve understanding of the leukemia stem...
New Concept for Brain Tumors: Tumor Treating Fields
A novel treatment modality that applies electric forces to brain tumors via scalp electrodes improved outcomes in a study reported at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 In the first report of the full dataset, tumor treating fields significantly and consistently prolonged both progression-free...
Expert Point of View: Keith T. Flaherty, MD
Keith T. Flaherty, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapy, Boston, was interviewed by The ASCO Post for his thoughts on the findings from Atreya and colleagues. He believes the study’s outcomes are sufficient for...
Expert Point of View: Jeffrey L. Wolf, MD
Jeffrey L. Wolf, MD, Director of the Myeloma Program at the University of California, San Francisco, formally discussed the ENDEAVOR study at the ASCO Annual Meeting. He commented that the “doubling” in progression-free survival is “impressive” and said that “time will tell if this difference...
Carfilzomib/Dexamethasone Doubles Progression-Free Survival vs Bortezomib/Dexamethasone in Patients With Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
In the first head-to-head study comparing two proteasome inhibitors in relapsed multiple myeloma, carfilzomib (Kyprolis)/dexamethasone provided a doubling in progression-free survival, compared with bortezomib (Velcade)/dexamethasone.1 Results of the phase III ENDEAVOR trial of the two regimens in...
ASTRO Guidelines on Radiotherapy in Locally Advanced NSCLC: A Good Place to Start
ASCO’s endorsement of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) guidelines on the role of radiotherapy in locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an important summary of the best evidence on the appropriate role and techniques for radiotherapy in this disease.1 These...
Medicare to Reimburse Doctors for End-of-Life Counseling
In a breakthrough proposal announced on July 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to reimburse physicians for end-of-life counseling, a move that the oncology community has long been lobbying for. Arriving just as the presidential election cycle begins to heat up, the CMS ...
Reflections
It is a humbling experience to reach 90 and to have a party and to have friends of the caliber I have. I think what keeps me going is the pleasant activities I have with Drs. Beatriz Pogo [MD, DMSc, Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology at Mount Sinai] and Stella Melana [PhD,...
Mount Sinai Honors James F. Holland, MD, FASCO, on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday
On May 14, 2015, over 160 colleagues, family members, friends, and patients of James F. Holland, MD, FASCO, gathered in the Goldwurm Auditorium in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York to honor Dr. Holland for the contributions he has made during his remarkable career in ...
The Importance of Including Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer in Their Advance Care Planning
Three years ago, a study of adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 28 with metastatic or recurrent cancer or HIV/AIDS compared the usefulness of two previously developed advance care planning guides—one prepared specifically for adolescents and young adults and one specifically for adults. The...
A Lasting Legacy
When Emil J Freireich, MD, retires from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on September 1, he will have spent 50 years at the institution and a total of 60 years in the pursuit of curing childhood leukemia as well as other cancers and in the educational development of young...
Translational Research: Dogs and Humans Nearly Interchangeable in the Laboratory
“Between animal and human medicine there is no dividing line—nor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine.” — Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) Everyone has seen photographs of people who look like their dogs: the young woman with long...
2015–2016 ASCO President Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO: Leading During a Year of Historic Changes
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, began her term as the 2015–2016 President of ASCO at the 2015 Annual Meeting on June 1, 2015. Dr. Vose, a leading expert in the treatment of patients with lymphoma, is the current Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professorial Chair and Chief of the Oncology/Hematology ...
Collective Wisdom: Patient-Centered Care and Research
In 1964, when the first seven physicians who founded ASCO met, I doubt they imagined what a successful Society they were forming. At that time, cancer treatments were just beginning to have some early successes with a few cytotoxic therapies, new radiation modalities, and improved surgical...
Blame
The following essay by Karen J. Krag, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. It is easier ...
The Human Heart: Tales of Science and Mystery
BOOKMARK Title: The Man Who Touched His Own Heart: True Tales of Science, Surgery, and Mystery Author: Rob Dunn Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Publication date: February 3, 2015 Price: $27.00; hardcover, 384 pages No part of the human anatomy has been as mythologized, analogized, and...
An Oncologist’s Memoir
BOOKMARK Title: Megalies: A Memoir Author: Lodovico Balducci, MD Publisher: Resource Publications Publication date: February 28, 2014 Price: $33.00; hardcover, 304 pages Reading a good book produces various sensory responses; a skilled author exerts his or her narrative power on each page,...
Using Gene Analytics to Identify Patients at Risk for Treatment Toxicity
Genomic applications are now an accepted part of oncologic science and practice. Differences in gene expression have been used to understand and predict tumor behaviors and response to treatment. And now it seems likely that genomics may also play a pivotal role in guiding treatment preferences by...
Past President of ASCO Takes on New Role at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to Improve Patient Care and Public Health
In June, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (Memorial) in New York announced it had appointed Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, Chief of Breast Medicine Service, to a newly created position of Vice President for Government Relations and Chief Advocacy Officer. In addition to his new role, Dr. Hudis ...
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Ultrasound Fusion: A Promising Technology for Image-Guided Prostate Biopsy
An elegant study by Siddiqui et al1—reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—offers compelling evidence for the diagnostic utility of “targeted” prostate biopsy using multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data fused with ultrasound images. The technique involves first performing a...
The Value Proposition in Oncology: ASCO Session Weighs Points of View
The value proposition in health care is often represented with the following equation: Value = Outcomes/Cost. The simplicity of this equation, however, belies the complexity of its parts, which are the contributions of multiple stakeholders with unique perspectives. A session presented at the 2015...
Value: What Do We Mean, Who Should Decide?
Oscar Wilde famously defined a cynic as “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” I do not think that oncologists need to be as cynical as this, but it was very appropriate that a major theme of this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting was the concept of “value.” It is clear that...
Bevacizumab More Cost-Effective Than Cetuximab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The landmark CALGB/SWOG 80405 trial concluded that bevacizumab (Avastin) and cetuximab (Erbitux) provide comparable benefit in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. However, in terms of cost, bevacizumab was recently declared the winner. In an economic analysis presented at the 2015 ASCO...
Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia and Thrombocytopenia: Answers From Hematology Expert Review Questions
Question 1: What is the best first step in management of this patient? Correct Answer: C. Start plasma exchange. Expert Perspective Although distinguishing among thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, typical hemolytic uremic syndrome, and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (see Table 1 in the...
Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia and Thrombocytopenia: Questions
Hematology Expert Review is an occasional feature that includes a case report followed by questions, answers, and expert commentary. In the July 25 issue of The ASCO Post, part 1 of a case report was published and focused on diagnosis (see summary below). Here, in part 2, the management of this...
Strengthening the Doctor-Patient Relationship: An Interview With Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO
Earlier this summer, Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, was named Editor-in-Chief of Cancer.Net, ASCO’s patient information website. Prior to taking on this role, Dr....
Conquer Cancer Foundation Donor Spotlight: Ludwig Cancer Research
Among the Conquer Cancer Foundation’s newest supporters, Ludwig Cancer Research is an international community of distinguished scientists dedicated to preventing and controlling cancer. Its emphasis on collaboration and long-term support has fostered its role as a leader in immunotherapy and other...
Johnson & Johnson Creates Independent Bioethics Panel to Evaluate Compassionate Drug Use Requests
In May 2015, Johnson & Johnson announced its partnership with New York University (NYU) School of Medicine in New York to create a first-of-its kind independent bioethics panel to review requests made to the company for compassionate use of an investigational drug and determine how the company...
15th Annual Conference of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG)
Join the best minds in Geriatric Oncology during the 15th SIOG Annual Conference taking place in Prague, Czech Republic, on November 12–14, 2015. The 3-day scientific program of SIOG 2015 will have the theme: “Geriatric Oncology and Supportive Care: A Global Approach to Advance the Science.” ...
Improved Understanding of Glioma Tumor Biology
The management of patients with lower-grade gliomas is evolving. As evidenced by two recent publications in The New England Journal of Medicine,1,2 reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, there has been a substantial increase in our knowledge of the molecular characteristics of these neoplasms....
Adding Everolimus to First-Line Trastuzumab/Paclitaxel Does Not Increase Progression-Free Survival in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
In the phase III BOLERO-1 trial, reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues found that the addition of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) to trastuzumab (Herceptin)/paclitaxel did not significantly increase...
Calculating the Value of Cancer Drugs
For nearly a decade, Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, Director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, has been a leading voice in sounding the alarm over the escalating cost of cancer drugs and in seeking a solution to the problem. In 2012, Dr....
Learning to Refine the Use of Regorafenib to Best Advantage in Advanced Colorectal Cancer
In patients with advanced colorectal cancer who have been heavily treated with a sequence of chemotherapy regimens and/or targeted therapies, the goals of treatment on or off a clinical trial are readily definable. These patients and their managing teams are striving to extend the length of lives,...
Managing Cancer Pain at the End of Life
Cancer-related pain does not exist in a vacuum. To effectively treat it, clinicians should understand the contributing factors. Proper assessment and management of cancer pain at the end of life can significantly alleviate patient suffering, according to Eduardo Bruera, MD, FAAHPM, Department Chair ...
‘Right to Try’ Laws: Helpful or Harmful?
Since 2014, “Right to Try” legislation has been sweeping the nation. Created to enable terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental drugs, biologics, and devices by sidestepping the approval process of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at press time, 22 states have enacted...
Increased Lifetime Risk of Cardiovascular Disease for Patients Treated for Hodgkin Lymphoma
Survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma treated as adolescents or adults are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases throughout their lives, according to results of a retrospective cohort study of 2,524 Dutch patients followed for a median of 20 years. “Treating physicians and patients should be aware...
Expect Questions or Ask About Postmastectomy Pain
Since postmastectomy pain occurs in an estimated 20% to 40% of patients undergoing the procedure, physicians who treat these women can expect questions about the pain and how to deal with it. However, some patients may be reluctant to ask about it. “Sometimes, women don’t want to complain to their ...
From Small-Town Mexico to Big Pharma, a Look at Opiates for Good and Bad
Bookmark Title: Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic Author: Sam Quinones Publisher: Bloomsbury Press Publication date: April 21, 2015 Price: $28.00; hardcover, 384 pages Despite growing awareness within the oncology community and the emergence of the palliative care...
To the One of the Many
(Using Shakespeare’s words to confront the plight of a Physician) Give me that man That is not passion’s slave Give me that blanket that comforts and soothes For in my heart There was a fighting that would not let me sleep, Our indiscretion Sometimes serves us well. In those wakeful...
‘Share the Journey’ Mobile App Aims to Understand the Different Experiences of Breast Cancer Survivors
In March 2015, Sage Bionetworks and Apple released “Share the Journey: Mind, Body, and Wellness After Breast Cancer,” a patient-centered iPhone app that tracks five common consequences of breast cancer treatment, including fatigue, cognitive function, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and a...
I’m Living a Full and Happy Life With Stage IV Breast Cancer
After coping with breast cancer for more than a decade, it is difficult for me to put into words exactly how grateful I am to all the doctors, nurses, and researchers whose efforts have kept me alive for all these years. And not just alive, but thriving. A routine mammogram had discovered two...
A Cancer Handbook for Inquisitive Laypersons and Health-Care Professionals
Bookmark Title: The Cancer Solution: Taking Charge of Your Life With CancerAuthor: Jack C. Westman, MD, MSPublisher: Archway PublishingPublication date: January 15, 2015Price: $20.00; paperback, 310 pages I was at a meeting in San Francisco in 1978 and received a call from my wife, Nancy:...
Never Say Never
The following essay by Grace Wang, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. D.K. came to me ...
How Carolyn D. Runowicz, MD, FASCO, Is Shaping the Future of Gynecologic Cancers
Carolyn D. Runowicz, MD, FASCO, has worn just about every hat in the field of oncology—clinician, professor, researcher, administrator, and even cancer survivor. Currently the Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Herbert ...
The Flipped Classroom: Swapping the Traditional Lecture Hall for an Online Version
Despite enormous advances in modern medicine and the explosion of biomedical information over the past century, the way medical education is taught in the United States is stuck in a format that does not optimize learning, according to Charles Prober, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education ...
Getting There From Here: What You Need to Know About Traveling to Cuba
In January 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced changes related to the easing of sanctions on Cuba, which loosened some restrictions on travel for Americans, although some rules still apply. There are 12 legal categories of travel to Cuba,...
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Partners With Cuban Scientists to Develop Lung Cancer Vaccine
Just 4 months after President Barack Obama’s announcement in December 2014 that there would be an easing of the trade embargo between the United States and Cuba, a deal was struck between Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, and the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana,...
State-of-the-Art Management of Germ Cell Tumors Produces High Cure Rates
Pasquale W. Benedetto, MD, the Leonard M. Miller Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, recently spoke at the 2015 New Orleans Summer Cancer Meeting about his approach to diagnosing and treating germ cell tumors in men.1 The ASCO Post was there to...
Emerging Technology Will Help Tackle Tumor Complexity
Emerging laboratory technology will be “moving the bar forward” in terms of molecular markers, genomics, and gene-expression profiling, with the potential for huge payoffs to oncologists and patients, according to Mark Pegram, MD, the Susy Yuan-Huey Hung Professor of Medicine at Stanford School of...
