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Showing 5851 - 5900A Political Activist Challenges the Drug Approval Process and the U.S. Government
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) primary concern in the drug approval process is to ensure that the drug is safe and effective. For the past several decades, the advocacy groups have vociferously painted the agency as a stodgy bureaucracy that prevents desperate patients access to...
Crizotinib in ROS1-Positive Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
On March 11, 2016, crizotinib (Xalkori) was approved for treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ROS1 rearrangement–positive tumors.1,2 A U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test for the detection of ROS1 rearrangements in NSCLC is not currently...
Everolimus Improves Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Lung or Gastrointestinal Tract
In a phase III trial (RADIANT-4) reported in The Lancet, James C. Yao, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues found that everolimus (Afinitor) and supportive care significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs placebo and supportive care in patients with...
Providing Perspective on Pressing Economic Issues Facing Cancer Care—Now and in the Future
CANCERSCAPE, the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), provided a forum for about 300 attendees to gain insight into the complexities of oncology treatment, where “clinical advances, policy mandates, and value-based payment reform intersect.” Of particular...
ASCO Pledges to Advance Interoperability Among Health Information Systems
ASCO has joined members of the health-care community in pledging to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to commit to principles that will advance interoperability among health information systems. A formal announcement of the initiative was delivered by HHS Secretary Sylvia M....
Donate Now to Access the Conquer Cancer Foundation Donor Lounge at ASCO Annual Meeting
The Foundation’s Donor Lounge is the perfect space to recharge or meet with friends and colleagues during ASCO’s Annual Meeting. It’s where industry leaders network and enjoy access to complimentary light refreshments and where busy attendees escape for a quiet place to relax. Make accessing this...
Pathologic Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy Associated With Improved Outcomes in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer was associated with a significantly better outcome vs non–pathologic complete response, in a patient-level meta-analysis reported by Broglio et al in JAMA Oncology. Response vs No Response The study included...
Experts Consider What It Means to Improve Quality of Care in an Era of Increasing Reliance on Targeted Therapies
Precision medicine is judged according to different values across the multiple stakeholders involved in cancer care. At this year’s Quality Care Symposium, presenters from different sectors of oncology addressed a central question: How do we assess quality in the age of precision medicine?1,2 Right ...
Jeffrey Fowler, MD, Begins Presidency of Society of Gynecologic Oncology
Jeffrey Fowler, MD, John G. Boutselis Chair in Gynecologic Oncology and Professor and Vice-Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, started his 1-year term as the 48th President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) at the conclusion of the...
Trabectedin Improves Progression-Free Survival in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma
In women with uterine leiomyosarcoma, trabectedin (Yondelis), a novel cytotoxic agent, significantly improved progression-free survival, compared with dacarbazine (4.2 vs 1.5 months, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.55, P < .001). According to the study’s authors, a lack of cumulative toxicity allows...
Throwing Out the Baby With the Bathwater: A Critical Appraisal of the USPSTF Recommendation Against Screening for Prostate Cancer
In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a recommendation against routine screening for prostate cancer.1,2 The grade D recommendation was considered controversial at the time, and remains so now, because many stakeholders have weighed the same body of evidence and come to...
Atezolizumab Improves Survival vs Docetaxel in Previously Treated NSCLC: Increased Benefit With Increased PD-L1 Expression
In the phase II POPLAR trial reported in The Lancet, Louis Fehrenbacher, MD, of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, and colleagues found that the investigational anti–programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody atezolizumab improved overall survival vs docetaxel in patients with non–small cell...
ENDO 2016: Engineered Ovary Implant Restores Fertility in Mice
Northwestern University scientists used a three-dimensional (3D) printer to create a prosthetic ovary—an implant that allowed mice that had their ovaries surgically removed to bear live young. The results were presented by Laronda et al on Saturday, April 2, at the Endocrine Society's Annual...
Phase II Trial Shows Benefit of Adding Ramucirumab to Docetaxel in Previously Treated Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
Adding the anti–vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) antibody ramucirumab to docetaxel improved progression-free survival among previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, reported Petrylak et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. ...
TP53 Gene Variant S47 May Contribute to Increased Cancer Risk in People of African Descent
For years, clinical data have shown that African Americans have a higher death rate and shorter period of survival among patients with commonly diagnosed cancers. While studies have focused on whether socioeconomic factors contribute to these statistics, researchers have been diligently trying to...
ASCO Endorses Cancer Care Ontario Recommendations on Decision-Making in Adjuvant Systemic Therapy for Early-Stage, Operable Breast Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by N. Lynn Henry, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues, ASCO has endorsed Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) guideline recommendations on the role of patient and disease factors in decisions on adjuvant systemic...
Lower Vitamin D Levels Associated With Adverse Pathology at Prostatectomy in Men With Localized Prostate Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nyame et al found that lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) levels were associated with an increased likelihood of adverse pathology at radical prostatectomy in men with localized prostate cancer. Study Details The cross-sectional...
ASCO Endorses European Association of Urology Guideline on Muscle-Invasive and Metastatic Bladder Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Matthew I. Milowsky, MD, of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues, ASCO has endorsed the European Association of Urology clinical practice guideline on muscle-invasive and metastatic bladder cancer. ...
PET Probe [18F]CFA Detects Deoxycytidine Kinase Activity, May Lead to New Ways to Improve Response to Treatment
A promising new discovery by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) scientists could lead to a new method of identifying cancer patients whose disease expresses high levels of an enzyme and who are more likely to respond to particular treatments. Their findings were published by Kim et al in...
No Treatment Failure or Survival Benefit but Less Toxicity With Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Elderly Patients With Advanced NSCLC
Use of comprehensive geriatric assessment to guide therapy in elderly patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) did not improve treatment failure–free or overall survival but was associated with slightly reduced toxicity, based on the results of the phase III...
Survivors of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer May Be at Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer were at a greater than twofold increased risk for cardiovascular disease than their counterparts without cancer, according to a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Chao et al. Study Details The study involved data from a...
MRI-Guided Adaptive Reoptimization in Radiotherapy Shows Promise in Urinary Bladder Cancer Treatment
A new radiotherapy technique could help doctors to focus treatment more precisely on tumors in the bladder and reduce damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Researchers showed that pretreatment imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was effective at guiding radiotherapy toward tumors in the...
Minimal Residual Disease in AML: Worth Looking?
As summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post, Ivey and colleagues demonstrated that assessing for NPM1-mutated gene transcripts by reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay is a feasible approach for measuring minimal residual disease after acute myeloid leukemia (AML)...
High Rate of Overuse of Serum Tumor Marker Testing
A retrospective review to evaluate the frequency of serum tumor marker testing “found a high rate of serum tumor marker testing overuse and extreme overuse in patients with advanced solid tumors,” Melissa K. Accordino, MD, of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York,...
Long Noncoding RNA SAMMSON Linked to Malignant Melanoma
In collaboration with researchers from Ghent University, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB) scientists from the University of Leuven have revealed a remarkable link between malignant melanoma and a noncoding RNA gene called SAMMSON. The SAMMSON gene is specifically expressed in human...
Survival Differs With Metastatic Site in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Overall survival differed according to the site of metastases in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to a meta-analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Halabi et al. Study Details The study involved data from 8,820 men who received docetaxel chemotherapy in...
Unique Fellowship Aims to Lessen Global Cancer Burden by Training Foreign Medical Graduates in Surgical Oncology
Many low- and middle-income countries do not have a defined medical specialty in surgical oncology, and lack an educational infrastructure to respond to the local burden of cancer, but a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) fellowship is succeeding in addressing this problem by training...
Enzalutamide Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Bicalutamide in Nonmetastatic and Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Treatment with enzalutamide (Xtandi) tripled median progression-free survival vs bicalutamide in patients with nonmetastatic or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to the phase II STRIVE trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Penson et al. Study Details In...
Assessment of Survival Impact of Atypical Responses With Pembrolizumab Treatment in Advanced Melanoma
As reported by Hodi et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, use of conventional Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) to assess response may have underestimated the benefit of treatment with the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in the...
Fecal Immunochemical Test Highly Sensitive and Effective When Used for Colorectal Cancer Annual Screening Programs
Annual screening with the fecal immunochemical test is highly sensitive for detecting colorectal cancer and “is feasible and effective for population-level colorectal cancer screening,” according to a large-scale retrospective cohort study assessing this test over four rounds of annual screening....
I Never Forget I Have Cancer
I have a history of fibrocystic breasts, which required biopsies to make certain the cysts were benign, and for years they were. But in 2009, my mammogram screening picked up a suspicious lump in my right breast, which turned out to be stage III estrogen receptor–positive/progesterone...
Somebody’s Watching You: Meet the Tweet Trackers of the Social Oncology Project
In a one-story concrete industrial building across the street from a lumberyard in Austin, Texas, Greg Matthews and his computers are tracking everything that more than 500,000 U.S.-based physicians post publicly on social media. Every tweet. Every public blog, Facebook, or Instagram post. Every...
The Perplexing Increase in Bilateral Mastectomies
The increased rate of bilateral mastectomies, as shown in recently released data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is “perplexing,” Ismail Jatoi, MD, PhD, told The ASCO Post. “We are seeing more and more women with unilateral breast cancer opt for bilateral mastectomy,...
A Gene Hunter’s Advice on How to Take Control of Your Genetic Inheritance
Since the late 1970s, researchers have identified several gene mutations that are implicated in cancer. Many of these mutations are acquired during our lifetime, but, as we know, some are inherited in families. Identifying heritable cancer-causing genetic mutations is a double-edged sword,...
A Drop of Blood
I was a third-year internal medicine resident, rotating through the oncology service, when I was asked to perform my first circumcision. My team was rounding on Tom, a 52-year-old gentleman currently receiving third-line treatment for metastatic esophageal cancer; we were discussing at length his...
A Fight to Remember
In 2006, one of my close friends, Robert O’Connor, won the mayoral race for my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Everyone loved Robert, affectionately known as “Bob” and often referred to as “The People’s Mayor.” Bob was “Mr. Pittsburgh,” and it was his promise to reverse the city’s...
‘Know Your Tumor’ Program Aids Patients With Pancreatic Cancer
Patients with pancreatic cancer can obtain molecular tumor profiling through the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Know Your TumorSM precision medicine initiative, a partnership with Perthera, a personalized medicine service company that facilitates the multi-omic profiling and generates the...
The Time Is Now for the Worldwide Cancer Community to Be Proactive
The ASCO Post recently spoke with nationally recognized surgical oncologist Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, Jerald L & Carolynn J. Varner Professor of Surgical Oncology & Global Health; Vice Chair of Education; and Program Director, General Surgery Residency, University of Nebraska ...
NCCN Awards 10 Grants for Provider Performance and Quality in Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer Initiatives
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Oncology Research Program (ORP), in collaboration with Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC), has awarded 10 grants for project proposals to develop and adopt evidence-based initiatives to improve patient care and outcomes in...
New High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Advances Treatment for Prostate Cancer
For the estimated 220,000 men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, deciding on a method of treatment can be a challenge. Some with early-stage cancer pursue active surveillance, while others with more severe cancer immediately pursue surgery, including prostatectomy. Others fall...
PARP Inhibitor Olaparib Produces High Response Rate in Metastatic Prostate Cancer With DNA-Repair Defects
In the TOPARP-A phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Joaquin Mateo, MD, of the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden in London, and colleagues, found that the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) produced a high response rate in patients with previously treated ...
Introduction of New Diagnostic Devices in Oncology: New Is Not Necessarily Better
“New!” “Improved!” “Throw out that old [fill in the blank] and go buy a new [fill in the blank]!” Sound familiar? The key to marketing is to convince customers that they need a product without which they had previously been quite happy. All too often, this strategy is accompanied by a caveat emptor ...
Modified CAR T Cells Overcome Immune Suppression, Effective Against Solid Tumors in Preclinical Models
Adding a genetically engineered “switch receptor” to second-generation CAR T cells blocked PD-1–mediated immune suppression, and made the immunotherapy effective against solid tumors in preclinical models, according to a study published by Liu et al in Cancer Research....
Is This the Dawn of Cancer Biosimilars?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, did more than make it possible for millions of Americans to afford health care; it also established an abbreviated approval pathway for biologic products that are “biosimilar” to, or shown to be “interchangeable” with, a U.S....
Obinutuzumab in Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma
On February 26, 2016, obinutuzumab (Gazyva) was approved for use in combination with bendamustine (Bendeka, Treanda) followed by obinutuzumab monotherapy for treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma who have relapsed after or are refractory to a rituximab (Rituxan)-containing regimen.1,2...
ASCO University® Launches New Certificate Programs for Advanced Practitioners
The role of advanced practitioners in oncology is growing as the demand for team-based care increases—and with that growth comes a need for training materials specifically tailored to this group. ASCO University®, ASCO’s home for lifelong learning, has collaborated with the Association of Physician ...
Join the Conversation Online at jgo.org
Journal of Global Oncology now offers readers the option to comment on any JGO article. Users can sign in through social media or a Disqus account and share their thoughts with the JGO community. All comments will be moderated by the journal to ensure they are constructive and relevant. Start a...
Palbociclib Combined With Fulvestrant in Advanced Breast Cancer Progressing After Endocrine Therapy
On February 19, 2016, palbociclib (Ibrance) was approved for use in combination with fulvestrant (Faslodex) for treatment of hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy.1,2 In February 2015, palbociclib in...
Reduction in Late Mortality in Childhood Cancer Survivors
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Gregory T. Armstrong, MD, MSCE, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, and colleagues found that late mortality has decreased over time among 5-year survivors of childhood cancer in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study cohort.1...
Everolimus in Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors
On February 26, 2016, everolimus (Afinitor) was approved for treatment of adult patients with progressive, well-differentiated, nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal or lung origin that are unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic.1,2 The drug was previously approved for...
