The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in partnership with international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, recently took action against more than 500 websites that illegally sell potentially dangerous, unapproved versions of prescription medicines, including opioids, antibiotics, and...
Nearly 100 oncology care providers from across the United States traveled to Capitol Hill on September 27 and 28 to participate in the second annual ASCO Advocacy Summit. Advocates met with Members of Congress and their staff to educate them on critical issues affecting patients with cancer ...
The statistics on physician suicide are stark: Physicians are more than twice as likely to take their own lives as nonphysicians, and more than 400 physicians commit suicide each year in the United States. Moreover, young physicians at the early part of their training are reported to be...
STAYING UP-TO-DATE in the fast-paced world of oncology literature is a daunting task at best. To assist with that task, The ASCO Post has assembled an assortment of studies recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) and the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP). Future installments...
ON AUGUST 30, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) for pediatric and young adult patients up to 25 years with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is refractory to initial treatment or in second or later relapse. Tisagenlecleucel ...
Nicholas G. Nickols, MD, PhD, an attending physician at the West Los Angeles Veteran Affairs Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, has been awarded the prestigious 2017 VALOR Young Investigator Award by the Prostate Cancer Foundation....
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued what it has called a “historic action,” making the first gene therapy available in the United States. The FDA approved tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) for certain pediatric and young adult patients with a form of acute lymphoblastic...
This past fall, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle opened an all-encompassing 9,222-square foot outpatient cellular immunotherapy clinic, specifically designed to serve patients participating in the center’s novel immunotherapy clinical trials, which mainly focus on chimeric...
On August 3, the leadership of Kids v Cancer, an advocacy group promoting pediatric cancer research, issued the following statement: Today, the U.S. Senate passed the FDA Reauthorization Act and with it, the RACE for Children Act. Now, new cancer drugs will be developed not only for...
Improper storage, use, and disposal of prescribed opioids can lead to diversion or accidental overdose. Given that opioids are the mainstay of cancer pain treatment, this issue is particularly germane in the oncology community. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Akhila Reddy, MD, and Maxine de la...
How well patients with cancer fared after chemotherapy was affected by their social interaction with other patients during treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the University of...
Research sites and investigators face an ever-increasing number of challenges in the conduct and management of cancer clinical trials. Many of these challenges stem from the multitude of requirements for clinical trials that sponsors and regulatory and administrative agencies have set. In...
KHURSHID GURU, MD, an acclaimed robotic surgeon, has been named Chair of the Department of Urology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Dr. Guru, who was recruited to Roswell Park in 2005 to direct the Institute’s robotic surgery program, will lead a team of more than 50 faculty members, clinicians,...
AT THE NATIONAL Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 22nd Annual Conference, experts from several fields met with journalists to highlight “what’s hot” in their specialties. The ASCO Post captured that conversation. Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Guidelines NCCN HAS LAUNCHED new NCCN Clinical...
Immunotherapy researcher and oncologist Edus H. Warren, MD, PhD, has been selected to lead the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) program in Global Oncology in its effort to transform cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa, China, and other regions by providing greater access to the...
In 2017, ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO are proud to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the International Development and Education Award (IDEA). The IDEA program supports the professional development of early-career oncologists in low- and middle-income countries around the world....
The family and staff of Harborside Press mourn the loss of former colleague, and forever friend James F. McCarthy, who passed away after a brief illness on June 23, 2017. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 7, 1929, to John A. and Eda K. McCarthy, Jim was a graduate of Brooklyn Preparatory High ...
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. Because cultural origins...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a strategic plan to eliminate the agency’s existing Orphan Drug designation request backlog and ensure continued timely response to all new requests for designation with firm deadlines. The agency’s Orphan Drug Modernization...
On June 26, at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden launched the Biden Cancer Initiative, their new venture to continue the fight to make progress in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and care. Initiative Overview The Biden Cancer Initiative...
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) has awarded $24 million to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) to continue operating the NCI’s primary public access point for cancer information in both English and Spanish. With the new contract, the Contact Center will emphasize clinical trial ...
Being transparent about the cost of cancer treatments with patients has been increasingly recommended to help minimize financial harm and improve care, but what's preventing or derailing those conversations is less understood. New findings from Penn Medicine that identified several barriers and key ...
Among patients with cancer, as many as 53% of emergency department visits that do not require admission could be avoided with better symptom management and greater availability of outpatient care tailored to their needs, according to a new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer...
In a study of three radiation therapies for early-stage breast cancer, one treatment option stands out as offering the most value based on factors including health outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and quality of life. The treatment—hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation—also requires...
Robert L. Comis, MD, FASCO, Co-Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, succumbed to a sudden illness at his home and died on May 10, 2017, at the age of 71. A giant in national and international clinical research since 1977, Dr. Comis is known as a champion of patient access to cancer...
Waun Ki Hong, MD, FACP, one of the nation’s leading experts in head and neck and lung cancers, was born in South Korea and grew up in a tiny village outside the nation’s capital of Seoul. Number six of seven siblings, Dr. Hong described his early life in the cozy village as blissful, until the...
George P. Canellos, MD, President of ASCO from 1993 to 1994, was born in Boston on November 1, 1934. “I came from a business family and never wanted to do business at all. As long back as I can remember, I always found medicine attractive—not only because you could help people, but you could also...
The nationally recognized hematologist-oncologist Mojtaba Akhtari, MD, was born and reared in Tehran, Iran. “In my early years, I had a couple of cousins who were medical students. When I visited them in their homes, I was fascinated with the images in their medical text books. I would flip the...
Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, 2017–2018 ASCO President, was born in St. Peter, Minnesota, and grew up on a rural dairy farm. “Neither of my parents had college degrees, but working on a dairy farm with them gave me a solid work ethic. I was working outside on the farm before I was 10 years old. In...
Ensuring that all patients with cancer have access to the potential benefits of precision medicine regardless of where they are treated has been a primary goal of Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, since the concept was first introduced following completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. Dr....
Lung cancer persistently remains the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. Only about 15% of lung cancers are diagnosed at the localized stage, when clinical intervention could markedly improve patient outcomes. For decades, lung cancer specialists and advocacy...
Robert L. Comis, MD, FASCO, Co-Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, succumbed to a sudden illness at his home and died on May 10, 2017, at the age of 71. A giant in national and international clinical research since 1977, Dr. Comis is known as a champion of patient access to cancer...
June 27, 2017, marks the 1-year anniversary since Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, began his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of ASCO. With the launch of the national Cancer Moonshot and the changes in the White House and Congress, it has been a year of tremendous activity drawing on all of...
Many patients with cancer who receive vinca alkaloids such as vincristine have a treatment regimen including other chemotherapy drugs that are administered intrathecally. If vincristine is mistakenly administered into the spinal fluid, it is uniformly fatal, causing ascending paralysis, neurologic...
ASCO has released findings from a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that explored centralizing the development of coverage analyses for multisite cancer clinical trials. In an ASCO special article published by Szczepanek et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice,...
This CE/CME/CEU-accredited supplement is jointly provided by To earn credit/contact hours, you must read all the articles in this supplement and then go to: https://education.annenberg.net/cdk46inhibition Release date: May 10, 2017 Expiration date: May 10, 2018Annenberg Center for Health...
An accomplished urologic oncologist and longtime senior leader at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, James Mohler, MD, received the 2017 Rodger Winn Award at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 22nd Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Mohler is Associate Director and Senior Vice...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) inducted its newly elected class of Fellows of the AACR Academy at its Annual Meeting, held April 1–5, 2017, in Washington, DC. 2017 Class of Fellows Sir Adrian P. Bird, PhD, Buchanan Professor of Genetics, Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, ...
Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, was elected by the members of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) as its President-Elect for 2017–2018. She officially became President-Elect at the AACR Annual Meeting 2017, held in Washington, April 1–5, and will assume the presidency in April 2018 at the ...
Since the mid-2000s, medication and illicit drug abuse in the United Sates has steadily increased, creating what has now been termed an “opioid epidemic.” In response, Congress and the Bush and Obama Administrations have launched intervention and regulatory proposals to help turn the troubling...
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has endorsed a report released by the Core Team for Tobacco Control that outlines key action items that can be taken immediately to accelerate progress toward ending cigarette smoking in adults. Issuing their Executive Summary ...
The majority of children with cancer are treated with complicated chemotherapy regimens that include multiple drugs, demanding monitoring schedules and complex dosing based on body surface area that often require changes in dose. Given this high risk for error in treating children with these highly ...
Lisa Lange, ANP-BC, AOCN, of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, has been promoted to Vice President of the Clinical Trials Office. Ms. Lange brings 26 years of experience as a nurse and nurse practitioner, specializing in clinical oncology care and research. She has been with Karmanos for...
William Breitbart, MD, has been honored with the 2017 American Cancer Society Trish Greene Quality of Life Award, a prestigious national honor that recognizes an outstanding individual who dedicates a significant portion of his or her career to research that improves the quality of life for cancer ...
This CE/CME/CU-accredited supplement is jointly provided by: To earn credit/contact hours, you must read all the articles in this supplement and then go to https://education.annenberg.net/IASLC Release date: February 25, 2017 Expiration date: February 25, 2018Annenberg Center for Health...
Understanding, anticipating, and managing the toxicities associated with immunotherapies for lung cancer are key to steps to safely using and achieving the most benefit from these new agents, according to Beth Eaby-Sandy, MSN, CRNP, OCN, a nurse practitioner at the University of Pennsylvania’s...
Justin F. Klamerus, MD, MMM, has been appointed President of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Hospital, the clinical operation of Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. The appointment was effective as of January 2017. Dr. Klamerus will report directly to Gerold Bepler, MD, PhD, President and Chief...
Cancer takes away millions of lives every year, and in low- and middle-income countries, the high cancer mortality rate can often be attributed to scarce means and a shortage of trained professionals. Hoping to contribute my best in the fight against this disease, I chose to become an oncologist in ...
On January 19, 2017, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, issued the following statement: Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is establishing the Oncology Center of Excellence and appointing Richard Pazdur, MD, as its Director. This will make oncology...
Eastern Maine Medical Center Cancer Care, located at the Lafayette Family Cancer Center, is the newest member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Care Collaborative. Participation in the Collaborative reflects a demonstrated commitment to excellence by meeting a wide array of standards and best practices. As ...